Louis’ Basque Corner

Wonderful food in every way, right down to the house wine and cheese. Great service with friendly people that seem to enjoy their work and engaging the customers. Reasonable price. I will return every time I’m in Reno.

Ok im gonna say this straight up. This place has some of the best tongue I have had in my life. I love the texture and the taste of it, they just do absolutely heavenly things to it to make it taste so god-​like. I went there about 2 weeks ago and I was greeted by a long time friend and he introduced the tongue to me. I cannot thank him enough for it. I brought some home in a carry-​out box and fed the remaining tongue (and testicle) to my dog, Jebadiah, he seemed to just absolutely adore these things. ⁵⁄₅ –IGN definitely has the best lickers in town.

Pretty cool place. Came here for a bachelor party for dinner, had some picons and can say they were quite good. Food is great, worth checking out for something different and a good night out with some friends. Had the steak and it was pretty decent, can’t complain really.

The service is terrible, food ok a little cold a little rushed. We had a party of 20 a couple of us late and they kept asking about them because they wanted to give seats away. Didn’t feel like «family style» felt like cafeteria at hospital and my rude sister was hostess.

Louis’ is the third Basque restaurant I’ve eaten at since I moved to Reno in 91.
It’s one of those places, that if you’re not familiar eating at, you pass by without knowing how good it is.
WARNING: This is a Basque restaurant. Being a Basque restaurant, you sit at long tables with people you may not know! Even if they are kin, you still may not know them!
If you’re not used to that, you should experience it, at least once in your life. It’s not bad. It’s unusual, but it’s not bad.
When food comes to the table, it can be shared with everyone at the table. Unless you get something like the shrimp or the Beef Brochette. Those are one serving items.
PARKING:
There is parking, immediately to the east of the restaurant. It’s shared with The Depot. Extra parking is down the ally, just north of Louis’ and The Depot.
When you walk in, walk toward the back of the restaurant along the bar. A sign will state, «Please Wait to be Seated.»
Most likely, you will be seated at a table with other people, or other people will join you.
Most meals come with wine or soft drink. The Picon punch should be tried and I will next time I go. I was there for lunch with my work buddies, so I abstained.
I got something strange. Not the oxtail, but the tongue.
It was good. Surprisingly! It wouldn’t be my first choice the next time I come, but it was tender, not chewy and not some strange texture. Though, you could tell by the slices, it was tongue! It was served, with what I think is a Basque BBQ type of homemade chunky sauce that had peppers and all types of tantalizing spices. This dish should be shared since I found the sauce and meat too rich in flavor to eat it all in one sitting. But boy oh boy, it made for a great lunch the next day!
Wait until the fries come! They are served HOT and crunchy!
Drawbacks:
The only thing that I was disappointed with was the salad. It wasn’t fresh. It was rusty around the edges and didn’t have the cool crisp crunch I was hoping for.
For $ 16 for lunch, that salad should have been top notch.
— — — — —
Bottom Line
Yes, I would like to go back there again. The price, at $ 16 for lunch isn’t the cheapest, but you’re not going to go away hungry, unless you don’t like what you ordered.
The salad, disappointing
The meal, good
The service, good
The people we sat next too, good
The parking, decent

I was so disappointed! I was very excited to try Louis basque especially after reading a lot of good reviews. The bread was stale, the pre-​dinner was mediocre at best. My husband’s steak was cold by the time we finally got the steak sauce. To give you an idea how bland and tasteless my dinner was it is the first time I threw away more than half of a filet mignon. Save your money and choose a different place to eat.

Amazing food, great prices and I am digging the «family style» seating and way they serve their food. Went there with a group of seven and I have absolutely nothing to complain about. If you come here just be ready to share your table and be up close and personal with other people, and make sure you try one of their Picon punches.

See my review for the restaurant, not sure why there are two Unilocal pages for it, but none the less it’s a great bar as well. Service is fast and very friendly. Merlin was a very customer orientes bar tender and was constantly making sure all those at the bar were taken care of, additionally, the food menu is excellent (again see the restaurant write up) and the owner is a nice guy. If youre in the area id definitely swing by, I always do.

This review is for the bar upstairs only. Upon us getting here for a night of Picons we realized downstairs was jammed pack, so we headed to the upstairs bar! Remember in mean girls when Cady says something along the lines of walking into a room full of people who had been talking badly about her? That’s what it felt like. The only people upstairs were friends of the bartenders (minus 2 people) and it felt like we were impeding on their own little party. Whatever, we sat down knowing we would get Picons. One of the bartenders walked over to us, took our order and made the drinks quickly. If it ended there this rating would be much higher and my experience a positive one here. Two of the bartenders decided to wrestle each other (like full on on the ground wrestling). My boyfriend thought it was funny, I thought it was weird but I moved on, acted like I saw nothing. Then all the bartenders decided to put tobacco dips in their mouths. Even I didn’t care too much about this until one bartender opened the trash behind the bar infront of where we were sitting and hawked a dip lugee into the trash. The other bartenders had the decency to spit their dips into a plastic cup (yuck, still). All seemed to use the trash infront of us to throw away their tobacco spit cups which was lovely.
Frankly, the drink is the only reason why I would ever come back here.

The other night my husband I decided to do Valentine’s Day dinner early, (beating the three hour waits and all) and took our saved up dinner cash to Louis’ Basque Corner, my favorite Basque restaurant around…
Now I’m no newbie here, I’ve had their delicate lamb and Ox before… therefore I called ahead to make sure they had what I wanted and they did, Ox Tail. Upon entering the bar area and making our way through to the dining area, we were greeted by our waiter who remembered us! Even the chef stopped to talk to us and was excited that we had come back.
…I love that! How they truly care about their patrons, down to the wait staff…
And even better, they remembered that the last time I was there I wanted Rabbit but they had none at the time…(because, I always bring up that their restaurant was featured on Food Network’s Diners Drive-​ins and Dives wth Guy, and Guy had Rabbit!) Chef seemed excited to run back and make my rabbit and oxtails! We were sat with a father and his daughter from out of town who seemed intrigued by the fact that I was ordering food that was not on their immediate menu but asked me what I had gotten after everyone ordered…
«Ox tail! It’s so good here!»
«Is that on the menu?»
«Not always! I called ahead and asked!»
This made for awesome local food conversation.
The illustrious rabbit, which up until this point had evaded me, was available! So of course I ordered it, and my hubby ordered the prawns, but what is dinner at Louis’ Basque without Ox Tails… not on the menu always… but AMAZING when they are available. I offered some to our table mates who actually really loved it! We all made good conversation while we ate which is another aspect of Basque I really enjoy.
Our waiter brought us wine and I ordered the Basque favorite Picon Punch… strong and delicious! By the end of all this great soup, salad, beans and entrees, the only room I had left was for cheese! They offer some very nice cheese as an end to the shared meal (or ice cream) but with the wine the cheese was perfect! All in all an A++ in my books.

Whoa… what? I haven’t reviewed Louis’??? This is a staple for us whenever we return to Reno. I can’t give anything less than 5 stars because no other experience has ever come close to this restaurant for us. The service is usually good, company is good and the food is always good. The drinks are killer and really the best part of the experience to round it all out. We’ve had some great stories come out of this place and I can’t say that about too many other restaurants… like ever. Come with an open mind, open heart, and open tummy and you’ll have a great time.

I would consider myself a foodie; eating is my hobby after all. So I was kind of surprised when I heard about Basque food. I knew of the Basque region in Europe, but didn’t know that there was a distinct genre of food, and a number of Basque restaurants in CA, NV, and other regions. After visiting family in Reno last year (my millionth trip) they mentioned Basque food like everyone knows what it is. I admit, I came back home to LA and did an extensive Google search. When I went back this Thanksgiving, I decided I had to try it.
I made a reservation for nine people, two of which were children, at Louis’ Basque Corner. Apparently, Basque restaurants are generally family style. They put us at a table for ten and asked that we leave one seat at the end open if a solo diner came in. Luckily, we did not end up sharing our table. The hostess and all the servers were very nice though.
I tried my cousin’s husband’s Picon Punch, a classic Basque cocktail. After reading the ingredients (Amaro liquor, soda water, grenadine, lemon, and brandy), I didn’t think I would want to order one of my own. It’s definitely an acquired taste that I have not acquired.
All dinners are served in the traditional Basque family style which includes soup of the day, French bread, Basque beans, salad, French fries, first course, main entrée, dessert, and a glass of house wine.
The soup of the day was a vegetable soup. I think it was my favorite part of the meal. It was very tasty. The French fries were also pretty good. Our first course was chicken and rice, that was alright. Dessert was vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.
For my main entrée, I chose the shrimp special. The cream caper sauce was tasty. The shrimp were large, but they had a wired chlorine flavor. I would not get it again.
A couple other family members ordered the Roast Leg of Lamb — a generous portion served in its own sauce. They served the two portions together. I’m not a huge lamb fan, but it was alright.
Now that I have had my first Basque meal, I can say that I can do without it. It’s not bad, it’s just not my cup of tea. I think I much rather prefer to go to a buffet in Reno.

There’s no place to do family style like Louis’. I’ve been to Louis’ on two occasions. The first was a rowdy Halloween party. We were lucky enough to have food catered. My friends and I gorged on the sausage and french fries, it was a great night.
On the second occasion, I was there for a friend’s birthday. I really enjoyed the setup. Where Louis’ really shines is their amazing entrees. Everyone got separate dishes, but we all ended up sharing. The oxtail was so bomb! It was absolutely delicious and so hearty. I would also eat the lamb shank, beef tongue, and sweetbreads again! The side dishes, salad, bread, and soup were all underwhelming.
Looking forward to more visits. Thank you Louis’ for introducing me to the amazing deliciousness of Basque food!

Great meal to finish an amazing Sunday with my best friend and girlfriend Danielle! Tonight we had the family style dinner. We had many courses (i.e., bread, salad, beans, OX TAIL, 12oz New York steak, and ice cream to top it off!

The last time I’d been to this restaurant must have been 20+ years ago. This is a reasonably priced restaurant that serves good hardy food. A meat lovers dream. Dinner and lunch is served family style. Long tables you share with others. If you don’t like sharing with others bring your own crowd. Today we were 11 women.
Each got to order their own entrée. Leg of lamb was ordered by 2 people so it was served on a single platter to share. Anything that came in a casserole was served individually
You start your meal the following items, served family style: baskets of bread, a carafe of wine, bowls hot soup, beans (assume this is a Basque thing), and salad. Then comes your entrée with platters of French fries for the table. This is a lot of food. All this is served for lunch at a flat rate of $ 16/​per person. Not sure what the dinner price is
There is a separate bar menu where you can order sandwiches or burgers. But we were too many and the don’t take bar reservations.
Can’t say anything bad about the place. It’s been a Reno institution for years. They have a parking lot, but not so big. It’s right next door to The Depot. Too much food for me on a regular basis.

Last June, we were hiking the Ruby Crest Trail southeast of Elko, NV and we were going through an unusually steep and overgrown portion of the trail on the third day. There were these well placed pile of rocks and carvings on the aspen «Thank God I’m going home — Eduardo from Portugal — 1936» was one of the carvings. A nude woman was another carving. We were hiking through a sheepherder’s camp that was about 70 to 80 years old. It was a Basque sheepherder’s camp. And I thought of this place…
The Basque was one of the many very distinct ethnicities that arrived in Nevada over the last 200 years and consequently their cuisine landed here as well. You get to experience a multi-​course, farm type of meal, and the seating arrangement is family style (this is my only gripe — yes, that’s right, I prefer not to eat across the table from a total stranger). The supporting courses of the meal are actually kind of standard fare — start with a salad, then a soup, then a chicken/​rice dish, then a bean/​linguiça dish, then your main course (this is where they get creative — and they have some good stuff online for you at this point — I recommend the sweetbreads in the wine sauce). There is table wine waiting for you out on the table to add on top of the high alcohol content drinks you already had out at the bar before you were seated. Good times!
I recommend that you try Basque dining here at least once. Enjoy!

When I’m in town, I make a point to visit.
It has a nice look and a great vibe. Consistency can be an issue.
Sometimes they have a Lamb Dip Sandwich available and sometimes not, Sometimes they have a problem with you eating dinner at the bar and sometimes not.
Sometimes the owner is behind the bar and sometimes you wish he was not!
The chalk board menu on the wall displays what’s available and is easily erasable… if not!

Louis’s Basque Corner, like any other Basque restaurant I’ve been to, offers an experience. And it’s sort of hilarious.
The food is mediocre – not bad, just not particularly great – but it’s worth coming for the experience. Dinner is a whole production. A series of prix fixe dishes, served family style. Really straight-​forward stuff… bread, green salad, french fries, a roast, pasta. Not sure what qualifies any of these items as Basque – maybe it’s just the combination and service style? Whatever it is, give it a try, at least once.
Service is friendly, and you’ll be seated an communal tables, which is fun, especially if you’re dining alone.
Highly recommend coming early for happy hour and some Picon punch (Amer Picon, which is a bitter orange liquer, brandy, grenadine, and soda) at the bar. They’re stronger than you think, so watch out. If you’re looking for something else to drink, head elsewhere. But if you’re in the mood for Picon punch (or if you’ve never tried it), check it out! Super tasty, and a Basque specialty, apparently.

I saw this place on triple D a long time ago and had it bookmarked to try at some point. Now that I live out here, I had to make the trek to try some Basque food. With the recommendations from a few co-​workers, I ended up eating dinner here and fell in love with the place.
All of the tables are communal… you never know who you’re going to meet. Shoot, we ended up sharing a picot with our neighbors and heading over to davidson’s right after!
The picot… what kind of crazy concoction is that!!! One and done. That’s all I can say about that. If you plan on drinking more than one, be prepared to have a ride home or have one of your friend’s record you the rest of the evening. Crazy stuff.
Ok, the food. Wow. Talk about feeding an army. You get a bunch of items with your meal… Salad, soup, beans, bread, an appetizer, your main course, french fries, and a carafe of wine. Everything, and I mean everything, was delicious.
Our first course that evening was the beef tongue… my first time… and it won’t be my last. What melt in your mouth deliciousness… great flavors… fantastically cooked. Amazing. For our entrees, we ordered the pork lomo and leg of lamb. The leg of lamb was the winner winner. Super tender… falling off the bone… yum. The pork lomo was just average to me… Next time, I think I’d skip out on it and order something else. It’s not that it was terrible… but it was basically just a pork chop with some tomato sauce on it. Lamb and tongue… that’s the way to go.
Service was fantastic. On top of things for our entire meal… relatively worth the price. One of my favorite places in Reno thus far.

My boyfriend and I moved to Reno about two months ago. We obviously wanted to try the food in town and saw Louis was featured on Triple D and wanted to give it a try. Totally different type of dining, and completely awesome!
This is family style seating. Basically, you are seated with others at a table of 8 – 10. If you have a large party, it definitely isn’t as fun because you’ll most likely take up the table yourselves. I have come with just my boyfriend but also my parents. When the boy and I came, we sat with an older couple from Cali that owned a Winery and a lawyer from Cali. We had a fantastic time and the conversation was flowing almost as much as the drinks (they wouldn’t stop buying wine!). The second time, when we came with my parents, the group sitting next to us didn’t want to talk with us, which was a bummer. Their loss!
We have always come for dinner and do the «family style» dining. I think it’s about $ 25 a person but you get complementary wine, soup, appetizer, bread, salad, beans, fries, your entrée, and dessert! That’s a pretty great meal. I really liked the barley soup they served the first time I was here. Type of beans and salad don’t change. Unfortunately, I don’t think you get to choose your appetizer or soup, but that kind of makes it fun! We had a chicken pepper mixture the first time we came, then beef tongue the second. I definitely can say without a doubt I would have NEVER ordered tongue on my own free will… but it’s, dare I say? YUMMMY! I have tried the sweetbreads as well as the lamb chops and they are both delicious. I always go with the ice cream for dessert and it doesn’t disappoint.
This place is fabulous. It is a unique way of dining and it gives you an excuse to talk with and meet new people and enjoy different food. The servers also dress up which is fun too!