Matxain Etxea Basque Restaurant

Food, food, and more food! If you’re hungry this is the place!
I’d give it 3,5 stars if they’d let me. A definite must if you are in the area.
Nice people, nice atmosphere, but all in the all the food is just ok.
It’s not bad, but it’s just not great either.
Simple, not fancy, really basic, but tons of food and relatively tasty. Example, soup is just onions
potatoes and carrots, but the broth has a really nice flavor. Canelini Beans, possibly from a can, but again, not bad. Simple, basic, Tasty. Maybe they add some spice?
Then there’s lamb stew (probably the best part of the meal), french fries, rice, and the main course, so you’ll find something to like! Skip the pork chop, lamb shank is a little gamey but good if you like lamb. Salmon is so so. The «beef» is a very thin rib eye marinated, and possibly the best item.
You won’t go away hungry and the wine is included, though, it’s probably
Carlo Rossi or something, likely they buy it by the barrel. But if you run out of anything you can get more… included in the price!
Still, it’s a fun time with friends, and the whole check for 2 people
will be less than $ 50. Very much like the wool growers in Los Banos, but a nicer atmosphere.
Not gourmet but still you gotta go AT LEAST once while Luis (the owner and such a sweet guy) is still around. Depending on your taste this could end up being your favorite restaurant if quantity and value is your #1 priority.

Had high expectations as I enjoy Basque food and culture. Unfortunately this spot did not live up to expectations.

Really was looking forward to Basque food, if this is authentic, no more for us! I am sure it is not… From our waitress who handed me my silverware handle towards her and then stuck it in my pudding and my coffee when I didn’t take it, to the dirty water with floating particles… We thought the soup and salad were tasty and that is it. The wine list on the website does not exist, the desserts on the website do not exist… I was served runny instant pudding! The food was very bland and I could not distinguish how it could be Basque food from any home cooked meal that someone with no sense of flavor cooked. Very disappointing.

In terms of the overall quality of the food, this is probably my favorite sit down restaurant in San Juan Bautista. I recommend the family style dinner, which comes with lamb stew, rice, beans, fries, salad and wine or coffee. The ribs are delicious, and the shrimp plate is also excellent. And the service is also first rate!

The food here is (well, was) very good. When, of course, you could get an actual menu.
One or two times, you’d walk in and be able to actually choose from a menu. At other random times, however, you’d be shown to your seat and given a small paper with two or three items on it. There was/​is no notice up as to whenever there would be limited servings.
What I was allowed to actually pick off of the menu was great. The limited items? Nothing to write home about, hence the middle of the road review.

The wait staff tries hard, but the food is so bad, they can’t overcome it. I wanted to have Tongue, one of the specials, but they were out, so i had ribs. This dish was OK, but nothing to write home about. The problem comes in the other dishes: the salad had been made way ahead of time and kept in a too-​cold refrigerator so had frozen. They didn’t seem to notice. When I pointed it out, the waiter offered to bring me a side of vegetables, instead. I said yes. she then brought me a bowl of soup with lots of vegetable in it, mostly potatoes, and some very large pieces of carrot. The wine was terrible

Came here for dinner with my husband after mass on a weekend and I loved it. I definitely recommend it. It had a wonderful and quaint familial atmosphere and amazing food.
We got lucky that there was one free table left. It’s often full on the weekend for dinner and it’s best you make a reservation when possible.

Walked in and had a moment of awkwardness. The place is small, kind of dark, intimate and quiet. We had a group of 9. Definitely stood out. But we had reservations for 5:30 and even though it was only 5:15, they were ready for us.
We did the family dinner. I didn’t realize every person got to pick their own protein! DOPE! Most of our group had steak and a couple did chicken.
So let’s go. Soup was yum, lamb stew was super yum, salad was simple but tasty but then the beans came. Whoa. Melt in your mouth. And the rice. And the bread. And the fries and finally. the meat. Our waitress brought as much food as we needed and holy moly… it was all amazing. Even the house wine that came with the meal was actually really good (but I love me a cheap red wine).
We had 4 kids with us and they all loved everything they tried. New experience for all of us and an amazing one. Our waitress was efficient and friendly, the owner even stopped by. Of course we had to thank everyone on our way out. Felt like we had been in someone’s home for the best home-​cooked meal ever! We will be back!

A little underwhelming compared to the reviews I’ve read about this place. The website’s menu seems to be a little outdated, because they didn’t offer paella. I enjoyed the tortilla de patatas, but it needed something like hot sauce to add more flavor. The portions for everything were huge so it was worth the price! The pork chops were enormous and came in two, and was well cooked but slightly underseasoned. The shrimp’s alcohol wasn’t cooked off as much as I would’ve liked and quite oily. The yummiest thing of the night was surprisingly the complimentary bread! It was so soft and had tons of flavor. Not something I would try again, but it was an okay experience.

If you like a leisurely dinner this is a very good place, food was delicious and the place was warm and inviting. I came with a group of 11 and everyone enjoyed their meals. We order the ribs, lamb shank, lamb chops, salmon and steak. Lamb shank was not ready at our early dinner time of 6 and was told it would take an additional 20 minutes. Service was friendly but not very attentive; we had to ask for menus after being seated and waiting for our waitress. We were never asked how our meal was or if we wanted to order dessert or coffee at the end of our meal. Water glasses remained empty until we asked for a refills. Wondering if our waitress was just getting on the job training. I’d certainly go back for the food and hope that the service will improved to be just as good as the food.

Very good traditional Spanish food (written by an European) — I warmly recommend this place! As well as the Spanish beer ;)

We purchased a Groupon for this restaurant. The food was of good taste, and quality, served by a friendly wait staff. The owner even came around the dining room to check on his guests.

Extremely consistantly good food. music on weekends. Lamb shanks are great as are pork ribs and rib eye steaks. family style with soup salad rice beans bread fries Burgundy wine lamb stew and dessert all at price fixed!!! go only if you are really hungry!

This is such a charming restaurant in the heart of San Juan. I love the service, ambiance & culture. The food is delicious!!! And so is the House Pinot =)
If you go on a weekday, you’ll catch some live music
Try them out!

First time visit yesterday… was at best fair. Wait staff was very attentive, and did the best they could. But with the temperature 103 degrees outside, the restaurant was very warm. Moreover, there was an abundance of flys inside the dining area that made it very uncomfortable to eat as you had to eat with one hand and shoo flys off with the other.
On the food side, the lamb stew was tasty, but we had to as for rice with it. The paella rice was good, but none of the seafood in the paella was fully cooked. It seemed like they did not cook the elements separately and then combine them at the end. If seemed like the rice was cooked and the seafood was put in raw to be cooked with the rice… did not work well.
Tapas, chorizo tortilla was good albeit very bland. Queso fundido came out with nothing to put it on… odd.
May come back and try the family meal… but only when it cools off!

So impressed with this restaurant.
It was packed when we got there but they had outside seating so we took them up on it.
My husband & I ordered the family style dinner. Such an amazing deal for an amazing food! It included a bottle of house wine, soup, beans, rice, lamb stew, fries, two main course meats, salad, dessert & coffee! All were delicious!
The only thing I wish is that it wasn’t so far from Santa Cruz.

This is a great restaurant. A perfect stop when driving between San Francisco and Monterrey.
Food is excellent, service is great. Sometime it is packed so we had to wait but worth the wait.
Bbq sauce, queso fundido and shrimps are fantastic.

This place is really an experience. The first time we walked in we were really confused with the menu but quickly realized the value was in the family style option which includes a bottle of wine. The basque cuisine is great and honestly was more than any of us could eat. Definitely returning.

Excellent service and really good food at affordable prices! Very pleased with our meals. We had a Groupon or probably wouldn’t have ever tried it.
I had salmon dinner and my husband loved the lamb stew. We had a shrimp sautéed in garlic appetizer also.
Again, I can’t stress the importance of good friendly service* You won’t be let down if you try it out!

Hands down 5 stars! Came here for a wedding rehearsal dinner, it was really good service and amazing food!
The bread was so hot and soft with perfect butter to add. Our chicken soup and lamb shank stew was extremely good! I chose the lamb shank for main course which came with beans and rice, really amazing!
I would make a trip back to the Vineyard for this restaurant and the wine tasting out there, great job guys!

Wow!!! This place has excellent food and service. The exterior is not high end. The interior is low budget… BUT THE FOOD was EXCELLENT!!! We saw their sign on the corner of 4^th and arrived with it almost empty. But inside an hour it was filled completely. Maria served the whole place!!! Got the orders perfect and got the kids extra pudding… She was incredible. We found a favorite… :)

As I was planning my trip to the unknown-​to-​me town of San Juan Bautista, I jumped online to see what our culinary options were for our only evening free in town. Of all the places, this was the highest rated restaurant in the region, PLUS it had online seating reservation service, which I blindly took as a good sign of its competence. I was sorely wrong.
On my 20 minute stroll through the entirety of the town, I was asked over 15 times where I was from because I was so obviously out of place. This restaurant was no different, a small, slightly run-​down dining establishment awkwardly facing housing, and surrounded by front yards featuring half disassembled cars on the lawns.
We arrived for our reservation to a completely empty restaurant, and I made a b-​line for the restroom to wash my hands. The bathroom was in dire need of some TLC, and left me with a knot of regret in my stomach for my apparent bad choice in dining. At the table, darling man was already looking at the menu, so we both decided to give it a try anyway.
I had an opinion on what Basque was; salt cod, fresh sea food, cured meats, and creative tapas. The dining experience we had here was literally none of the aforementioned. We started with some hot bread and water, and ordered the Tortilla De Chorizo. This dish came out, laying heavily on the plate, with a massive serving of potato, topped with chorizo. It was so dense, awkward and boring, neither of us finished even our quarter of a serving.
After that winner, we went for the Family Style Dinner, which comes with a plethora of side dishes and mains. What they lack in quality and flavor, they make up for in quantity: a salad with no chance of excitement, a soup of mostly potato cubes, white rice that tasted like it came from a bag, overly salted fries that tasted like they came from the freezer, gloppy beans that were actually not terrible, a squishy lamb dish covered in bell peppers, a large bottle of opened and slightly stale table wine, and our two entrees. His pork chop was overcooked to the point of being almost chicken-​like, and my «medium-​well» steak being medium rare, and neither being seasoned at all.
After all this, they asked us repeatedly if we wanted boxes for everything, and each time we said no and another server would come by and ask again. Even if we weren’t going to a retreat all weekend without refrigerators at our fingertips, I STILL wouldn’t take any of this food for leftovers. They then brought us our dessert, which was banana flavored pudding that tasted like laffy taffy. I laughed to myself at thinking that maybe dessert would redeem this flop, but it was my moment of insanity that quickly passed.
Not that I was expecting a culinary masterpiece, but I was sad that Matxain Etxea was under-​representing actual Basque cooking; one of flavor palates that mirror the ocean’s changing tides, fresh ingredients to tickle the senses, and diversity of spice, produce, and meat products. This felt like throwing together a dinner party on a college student budget while shopping at Costco, with cheap alcohol, poorly cooked meats, and little attention to seasoning, quality, or presentation. Such a shame…

I’d wanted to try this place for a long time, but it was tricky arranging a visit to town when the restaurant, which has rather restricted hours, was open, and also when there wasn’t some weekend festival in town, because this place is very small and fills up extremely quickly.
I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed. The lamb shank was small and rather dry. The vegetables were crispy and lightly cooked, but not at all the same mix that the waitress had told me they’d be when I asked. When the best thing in the meal is the salad course, there’s room for improvement.

Oh Matxain Etxea, I wanted to like you. I really did. But your main course really turned me off. I’m not writing you off though. I’m just putting you on the back burner for a while.
I came here with a group of Spanish classmates for an end-​of-​term dinner. Our instructor is from Spain, so she made all the arrangements before hand for us to eat before seeing a play at the San Juan Bautista Mission. When I arrived, everything was all set up and ready to go.
Hot bread and butter? Yes please. I’m a sucker for bread and butter.
We did the family style ($ 28 a person after tax/​tip) so we had an abundance of food. It was definitely a feast. My friend was full before the main course even came out.
The good:
— beans: a little soupy, but definitely very flavorful. There was a hint of basil and tomatoes. Delicious
— rice: high on flavor and a great side
— lamb stew (served with the family style dinner only): the lamb here was tender and the broth part of the stew was bursting with flavors of rosemary. Potatoes were tender. This was an overall very tasty dish.
The a-​ok:
— soup: full of tender carrots, onions, and a sprinkle of herbs. It was a nice warm treat on a cold day, but nothing amazing.
— salad: romaine lettuce, croutons, tomatoes, feta cheese, and house dressing. The salad was too overdressed for my taste, but my classmates seemed to like it.
The ehh. not again:
— fries: served with the main course, it was way under-​seasoned. I’ve never been a fan of thicker cut of fries, but under-​seasoned?! no thanks.
— lamb shank: Tender? Yes. Falls off the bone? Yes. Tastes good? Not quite. Mayyyybee it was a bad cut of meat. Mayyybeeee I was at the end of the lamb shank’s shelf life. I don’t know what the circumstances were, but the lamb shank was gamey and did not taste right. I usually love lamb, but I couldn’t even finish this. Aside from the gamey-​ness, the lamb shank was lacking in flavor. I had high hopes for the lamb shank since I saw it in so many reviews, but I should’ve done my research better and see that they were written years ago.
— banana pudding: banana flavored anything is thumbs down in my book. Everyone at the table commented on how sweet it was and no one finished their dessert, unfortunately.
Our sides came out way before our entrée ever made it to the table. Maybe it’s the style, but I just wasn’t hungry anymore by the time the lamb shank arrived. It was a different, eating the main dish without sides (hey, we were hungry so the sides were pretty much done by the time we got the main dishes).
Table wine was decent, but really Maxtain Extea? Plastic stemware? If you’re going to serve wine, please put it in a glass.
Overall, I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here for lunch or dinner, but if I’m ever in San Juan Bautista, I’d go back to try things a la carte.

Dinner at a Spanish inspired Basque restaurant, in a town with a Spanish mission dating back to the 18^th century style, seemed like it would be a nice way to end the day in San Juan Bautista.
We started dinner with the fried calamari. It did have some tentacles so we were happy with the dish. Then we ordered the family style dinner. The dinner included: soup, salad, beans, fries, rice, and lamb stew. The stew is only served with the dinner. For our mains we had a lamb shank and salmon. Dinner also included a bottle of the house wine, coffee, and the dessert of the day, a pudding. I really liked the soup, The broth was very tasty. I added the beans to the soup. I really enjoyed it and ate more than I should have. The wine did not have a label on it but it was good. We ended up bringing most of our main courses home. The lamb was falling off the bone the next day. The salmon was okay.
With a Groupon and the Unilocal check-​in for a free appetizer the dinner was a bargain. When I stop here again, I think I would order some of the small plates, or the Paella.