Bakersfield, Ca restaurants

[ACE1]

We will be traveling through Bakersfield next weekend and would like restaurant recommendations for dinner. We have stopped there before and know how busy it can be this time of year. We thought if we could make reservations before arriving it might make the evening a little easier after a long day on the road. Any suggestions?

 

[ricoba]

I don't know if you're looking for something fancy or what, but the Buck Owens Crystal Palace in Bakersfield is a good memorial to all things Buck Owens and country music.

We ate there one time, it happened to be Sunday buffet brunch, nothing to write home about, but the ambiance was kind of Grand Ole' Opry comes to Bakersfield.

 

[Barbeque]

My home town.
Ok It depends on what you want
I have put my top 5 in order.


Urichios Trattatoria. Italian downtown fairly reasonable Great seabass or diver scallops, My wife likes the pasta too. Call for reservations We like to eat in the wine room.
Uricchio's Trattoria
1400 17th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301

(661) 326-8870

Wool Growers Probably the best Basque Restaurant in Bakersfield. The Lamb Chops and steaks rock, so does the ox tail or the halibut Don't forget to eat some pickled tongue. In a rougher neighborhood but us locals don't mind it.

The Crystal Palace may have entertainment and the food is good steaks etc. It was founded by the late Buck Owens from Hee Haw among other country western entertainment. Sometimes they have bands there we have seen Dwight Yokum and Brad Paisley among others in the past.

Outback Steakhouse our old standby not too far from home and generally consistently good. But it is still a chain.

Toyoko Garden Teppan and Sushi It is good. Kind of a Benihana type place.

If you have any wants or preferences let me know and I will try to answer them but these fit us.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Wool Growers Probably the best Basque Restaurant in Bakersfield. The Lamb Chops and steaks rock, so does the ox tail or the halibut Don't forget to eat some pickled tongue. In a rougher neighborhood but us locals don't mind it.

I'm glad you replied Barbecue. That saved me the effort of trying to remember the name of Wool Growers. I believe that's the place I was thinking of. Correction: Pyrenees Cafe is the place I ate at.

In the days when I traveled through the San Joaquin Valley regularly Pyrenees was my favorite stop in Bakersfield. Pyrenees is only a couple of blocks from Wool Growers. Great food for not very much money.

As I recall, they opened the doors about 6 pm, seated everyone family style, then started bringing the food and taking orders. There was a menu for main course; the sides were served family style. People would start gathering in the bar about an hour before they opened; many were regulars and that was part of the social life.

Pyrenees wasn't a place where you called up and made a reservation for two at 7 pm. First time I went I called ahead for a reservation and they laughed at me.

That was all about 20 years ago, so things could be quite different now.

 

[Barbeque]

Pyrenees is still good but not as good as it used to be
Wool growers has gotten better over the years. (It is the best Basque in Bakersfield) I am self employed but the company I contract through had our Christmas party there Saturday night
The meal was excellent. The place was packed no recession there.
Wool Growers is order off the menu and not family style.
I believe at dinner Pyrenees is family style and so is Noriegas. Narduccis is down in the same area too and is order off the menu but I guess is a cross between Basque and Italian.

 

[UWSurfer]

Know that we just had a cold winter storm come through the area with another forecasted over the next couple of days which has the major roads between LA and Bakersfield closed today. You should check the weather and monitor the road conditions before planning on heading out that way.

 

[ACE1]

Thank you everyone for your ideas. I think we will be able to make a great choice from your suggestions. We are heading up to Benicia where we are both from so Bakersfield is a good place for us to stop our first day out. Our son and his fiance will be traveling with us so we need to make the trip a little more fun then usual. Hopefully the weather will be ok by Saturday, it has been snowing here for a day, Prescott, AZ. Hate to drive in the fog when we run into it in the valley. Happy Holidays!