Shep's Club at Shepherd's Inn — Restaurant in Fresno

Basque Food????? Last Saturday we were in Fresno for my birthday and decided to have Basque cuisine.. My wife and I have been enjoying Basque style dining for 30 or so years and were extremely disappointed. About the only thing Basque about it was family style dining and purchasing pickled tongue which is normally served with the meal. We have had Basque food in several cities since the Basque restaurant closed in Santa Maria 30 or more years ago and all were primarily the same with slight variations. The soup for the evening which was a Saturday night was clam chowder . It wasn't even Friday night. Minnestroni soup with beans and salsa is the normal soup. The "stew" which we were hoping would be Basque style Minnestroni and as described was Chile Verde with pinto beans (where's the pasta?)The dinner is normally served with a side of pasta which we know is traditional. Never dining in maybe 20 or so Basque restaurants have we been served either of these items. We did order the pickled tongue which is normally served as a side. So basically we ate what ever they had available but Basque NOOOO. For desert the meal came with ice cream. You had your choice of vanilla or nothing. Spamoni ? Every Basque restaurant has Spamoni ice cream with options. So, I am sorry but there was nothing about the food that was Basque and what was served was just weird if you wanted Basque cuisine. The bread tasted old and we ordered a margarita and a bloody mary with salt. They must have been out of salt. The rest of food was actually very good. My rib eye was delicious. My wife's lamb steak was also although she had a slight problem finding any meat among the bone. It was sort of like going to a hamburger restaurant ordering a hamburger and being served a hot dog. Even though you may have enjoyed the hot dog it just isn't a hamburger. $85 for basically some sort of mismatch food. Basque no way. The 3 star rating was based only on the fact that what we were served was...

Wife and I Ordered $30+ ribeye. It came with a side. We ordered potato salad. We ordered our meat medium rare. As you can see we got well done. Meat wasn't seasoned and was waaayyy overcooked. Service in the bar was spotty. For a $30+ plate you would think soup or salad would be included, but no. At that cost you would also think to add a veggie? Also they ran out of mushrooms. Now with this said we where told the kitchen was cooking for a large party on the patio. To me this was an excuse. All the professional kitchens I've been in know how to manage orders. I was once told by a chef that every plate that goes out of the kitchen is an audition for future business. With our experience we would never consider coming back for dinner let alone having a large party. My suggestion is making your plates with what appears to be value adds like soup salad and a veggie along with the side and entrees. Very disappointed. We will try again in the future and pray for better food, service and a better value. BTW the potatoe salad was amazing. Our dinner was compt and rightfully so. I would love to hear a reply...

I say 3 because I have mixed feelings. I am at a dance contest at a downtown theater. Its Saturday and all the restaurants are closed. Also there is no fricken parking in downtown Fresno. So I had scouted out shepherds inn in the morning and decided to get the family down there first chance. Well the chance came and I herded them over there as quickly as I could. We walked 0.5 miles. I got to the door at 205. The door was locked. A man unlocked the door and directed me to the restaurant. I seated myself they a young lady came out of the kitchen and said they are closed till 5. The food looks good and though it is a small restaurant it appears to accommodate large groups. But being told yes by one person and no by another is off putting. I will only be in Fresno once a year but I will most likely not eat at the...