Basq Restaurant and Catering

We had an excellent dinner this evening at basq. The restaurant is very nicely and comfortably furnished and the tables were well set. Service was excellent. The bill of fare is not lengthly but, there is an adequate choice to satisfy most appetites. I recommend the muscles as a starter and the red snapper was excellent. They have a full service bar and the wine list offers a good choice. Lunch and dinner are available. We will be returning. This is a top choice restaurant for Bristol.

Winner! I was in town with a work colleague. We wandered State Street looking for a good lunch spot. Basq won us over.
Friendly staff, warm, inviting atmosphere and good menu items. My salad was fresh and flavorful. My companion’s Croque Monsieur was the Bomb! And those truffle fries? Oh My!

My favorite restaurant in the area! We needed a restaurant like Basq in this area very badly. Nice atmosphere, white tablecloths, flowers and great friendly service. Several specials that are very inventive and different every day along with the regular menu which is not so long that you are thinking «how can the chef prepare so many things that well». Warm bread with olive oil, herbs and fresh garlic for dipping, terrific salads that come full or half size and they just got their liquor license, but will charge you a &10 corkage fee if you bring your own wine. Portions are very generous and prices are quite fair for this quality of food and preparation. Each time I have eaten here it’s been a wonderful dining experience.

Went with my daughter for lunch during a weekday. All dishes were beautiful and the service was awesome. My tea was always filled and chilled.
However, all the dishes had an overly sweet element… and quite unnecessarily, I might add. My daughter could not eat her wrap because of the sweet sauce. The salad dressing was extra sweet and its supposed to be house made. They apparently didn’t think sweet potatoes were sweet enough on their own, so they added something on top of those as well! Overall the experience was decent. But, I will not be returning.

Wonderful stop on our road trip through TN/​VA! Tried the truffle parm chips and they were fresh, delicious. Water came with cukes-​I LOVE that. My friends chicken cordon blue looked amazing, she loved it. My cajun chicken tacos were substantial and tasty. Sweet potato fries were not the best I’ve had but still ate them up. Also enjoyed the coffee! Friendly folks run this place, and atmosphere is chic/​classy. Would definitely recommend :)

With the departure of The Troutdale Dining Room, my group was prepared to drive to Johnson City or Abingdon to celebrate our reunion. Many of us are foodies, and hail from all over the country, so the usual cafes and restaurants of State Street, while wonderful in their own right, just were not what we were looking for. Then a friend tipped me off to the opening of Basq. As I knew several of the fabulous people who work there, I decided to make it our destination, even though they’d only been serving dinner for about a week. It was absolutely the best decision we could have made.
TJ took my reservation over the phone, from LA, and let me know in advance how the table would be set up for our party of 12, and that we were welcome to bring in our own wines and aperitifs. He was so gracious and accommodating!
We all arrived in semi-​formal attire, and the place looked spectacular. The atmosphere has a clean, modern, upscale bistro style vibe. Cucumber infused water and fresh baked bread graced the table. Our server (David, I believe?) was spot on the entire evening, even with our noisy group. He graciously opened our wines and properly poured them for our table. It was so refreshing to see this level of service on State St!
The food was something I feared I would never get to experience in my beloved Bristol. Truly upscale, truly creative, and truly delicious. Gone were the unnecessarily heaping portions of old stand-​by cuisine. These dishes were inspired and prepared with pride and expertise. We received some Charcuterie Plates from Chef Thomas Abel, beautifully and simply arranged on unique glass bottle plates. The foie was all it took to hook me! The Grilled Quail appetizer managed to be both decadent and delicate, and I had to stop myself from stealing my friend’s when I had finished mine. The Seared Diver Scallops with Potato Parsnip Purée were just flat out beautiful, both in presentation and in flavor. The scallops were cooked perfectly, and that in itself is a culinary triumph. We spent a good portion of dinner bartering with one another for tastes of everyone else’s entrees. I managed to bribe a friend for some of his Smoked Duck Breast in exchange for the smallest bite of a scallop — it was divine. At the end of entrees, everyone in my party was stuffed and over the moon with satisfaction. I was very full, but simply could not leave without dessert. I ordered the Strawberry Napoleon. The puff pastry was perfectly flaky and light, and the custard was indulgently creamy, without being overly sweet. I ended up having to share because it was impossible for the others to resist.
The Owners and Chef at Basq have managed to bring a very cosmopolitan vibe to Bristol, without being at all pretentious or over-​priced. The entire staff maintains the warmth and friendliness of small town living, but still brings elevated, high end professionalism to the dining experience. I am not only impressed with Basq, I am over the moon about it. Out here in LA, every «next big thing» thinks they have the recipe for success in the fine dining world, but they really could take a sharp lesson from Basq! Thank you for putting Bristol on the Foodie Map!

Superb food. Wonderful service. Hubby and I went for lunch. Had the fried artichoke hearts appetizer, roasted red pepper and tomato bisque soup, and veggie wrap.
They infuse their iced tea with fresh mint and orange and infuse their water with cucumber. Nice touch!

I rarely give 5 stars because, on Unilocal,it means «As good as it gets!» But in the case of Basq, in Bristol, TN, they earned it with this afternoon’s lunch. My girlfriend and I were enjoying a girl’s day with some shopping and lunch, when the saleswoman at one of the shops told us about Basq. We were up for something new and curious about the latest restaurant in this downtown location. We’re so glad we took her advice!
The menu isn’t extensive (which I like because menus like Macado’s are overwhelming — while their food is underwhelming), but it’s varied and well priced. They had a couple of specials, at least 3 salads, soups, sandwiches, and a dessert list with crème brûlée which I always have to have.
My friend had one of the «Flash in the pan» specials which was Bruschetta Pasta. It was wonderful! Well presented, fresh, delicious! I had the Cuban sandwich panini that came with sweet potato fries. Since I don’t care for sweet potatoes, our server (who was FABULOUS! Sorry I don’t remember his name!) offered to do the Basq house salad instead of the fries. We both had the house salad and I’ve never in my life had a «House Salad» that was this good. Freshness is the word here. Mixed salad greens tossed with the perfect amount of red wine vinaigrette and then topped with candied walnuts, red grapes, and blue cheese crumbles. Carefully and beautifully presented.
My Cuban sandwich had smoked pulled pork with gruyère cheese, pickles, pickled onion, with a whole grain honey dijon sauce. Perfect! The smoked pulled pork was perfect for this sandwich. It could be one of my favorite new lunch dishes.
We both had the crème brûlée, which was white chocolate and vanilla bean. I was hesitant about the white chocolate, so the server suggested I try a bit of my friend’s and order one if I liked it. I ordered one immediately.
The service could not have been more accommodating and friendly. He even asked if we’d like a tea «to go.» Thoughtful.
They’re going to start serving dinner three nights a week soon and until they get their liquor license, it will be b.y.o.b. These folks are smart and very, very good at what they do. I’m excited to have this place in Bristol and HIGHLY recommend it.