Matxain Etxea :: The Basque Restaurant in San Juan Bautista

Piles of Basque food, fun aren't so far away

Sheila Himmel
Published: Friday, June 13, 2003

Just what the poor economy ordered: a new Basque restaurant within driving distance of Silicon Valley. It's all you can eat, if you so desire, of hearty, meat-focused Basque home cooking. And now that Highway 101 has been widened at the horrible Highway 85 bottleneck, you can get to San Juan Bautista from downtown San Jose in 40 minutes.

In fact, it's a downright scenic drive to a scenic town for a fun, very filling eight-course dinner -- including wine and coffee -- for $17.85.

Until Matxain Etxea Basque restaurant opened six months ago, South Bay diners had to drive at least to South San Francisco or Los Baños for mountains of affordable Basque fare. Basque restaurants, sort of like the Olive Garden but with better food and real families running them, have long been a tradition in California. Recently, there have been fancier French and Spanish Basque specialists. Matxain Etxea is cut from the old mold, which stems from men's-only supper clubs in northern Spain's three semiautonomous Basque provinces.

American diners will immediately notice the language. At San Juan Bautista's Matxain Etxea, the menu shouts ``Ongi Etorri!'' It means, Welcome! You may also notice the letter X gets a lot of play.

Matxain Etxea (maht-CHINE et-CHAY-a) is the house of Matxain, the family that owns it. The Matxains are Veronica Pirl, who runs the front, and her brother Luis Matxain, the chef.

They can seat 60 people inside, and 40 on the patio and in the garden. Luis and Veronica's grandfather was French Basque, their grandmother from Spain. Their menu includes French, Spanish and Basque foods, as it did for 30 years at their family's first restaurant in Puebla, Mexico.

Most tables are set for eight. But a couple can have a fine time, too. You won't be put at a table with strangers.

Dinner begins with focaccia-type bread and pats of butter in foil wrap.

Each succeeding portion is enough for about twice the number in your party. And then you can ask for more.

A metal basin full of the soup of the day recently was a buttery onion soup in beef broth. The iceberg lettuce salad that followed was drenched in oil and vinegar was a little wilted.

After that, the deluge. Smoky dried beans with chorizo. A terrific sticky rice packed with shrimp, corn, carrots and chorizo. (Rice dishes are a little different every day.) Lamb stew with potatoes, red peppers, bay leaves and carrots. Ho-hum steak fries.

And that's just side dishes. New plates tell you when entrees are coming. Plates and cups, by the way, are semi-formal white china. Entree choices are pork chops, lamb chops, lamb shank, beef steak, chicken breast, salmon and the chef's specialty of the day -- all grilled in olive oil and garlic. Recently the special was sweetbreads, but often it's rabbit, oxtail or beef tongue.

We had pork chops, studded with rosemary and salmon. Both were tasty but dry.

The wine included with dinner is Gallo burgundy, a flavorful jug wine that's lighter than it sounds.

Desserts are in flux. We got cups of Good Humor strawberry ice cream. Sometimes there are bread puddings and rice puddings.

You don't have to have the whole family-style shebang. All the above can also be ordered à la carte. Also, Matxain Etxea offers sandwiches, children's meals and a number of hot and cold appetizers under the heading of Tapas and Pintxos. They include a potato tortilla, chorizo cooked with wine, seafood salad. Note the X in pintxos and guess that they are Basque tapas.

Matxain Etxea Basque Restaurant

206 Fourth St., near Washington Street, San Juan Bautista. (831) 623-4472

The Dish: Home-style Basque cooking, with French and Spanish touches, meat-focused. And lots of it.

Price range: Appetizers $1.85-$6.55. Sandwiches $7.50. Family-style lunch $9.50-$13.95. Family style dinner $17.85. Corkage free.

Details: Wine, beer, wine cocktails. Patio dining.

Pluses: Hearty stews and rice dishes. Affordable. Family-friendly.

Minuses: Salad, potatoes, dessert.

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays.

Restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously. The Mercury News pays for all meals.

Cross street:
Near Washington Street

Rating

Cuisine type
Homestyle, Intl misc., Spanish

Hours
W-Su 11am-9pm

Meals Served
Lunch
Dinner

Attire
Casual

Prices
Moderate - $15-20

Outdoor dining
Patio dining

Alcohol
Wine, beer, wine cocktails

Seating Capacity
100