I went yesterday to the Redondo Beach pier to a place called A Basq Kitchen. It’s located at the North end close to Captain Kidd’s. They have kicked off paella week. I arrived to a full restaurant, which I thought was odd, considering that they had just opened and it was supposed to rain. 5PM on a Wednesday night is not the most happening part of the week, or so I thought. It turns out there was a project due for school on authentic Hispanic food in the South Bay. Given that A Basq Kitchen is literally one of only a handful of restaurants they can choose from, you can imagine the rush.
I have passed by many times this restaurant, plus the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce had one of their events at this location last year. The location is right next to the marina area where the boats are parked and patrons stroll the walkway taking in the scenery.
The staff is cordial and happy to be there. I met the chef and partner Michael Mazzotta. Michael is simply referred to as “chef”. He was nice enough to come out from the kitchen to meet me and share some thoughts and stories. He was genuinely interested in me and what I thought of the food he prepared.
I had the privilege of meeting Jessica Ibarra, she was going 100 miles an hour while making sure that everyone’s need were met. The customer service is second to none and it starts with Jessica. As I watch her work, she is both genuine and interested in her patrons. Her husband is also owner in the restaurant. He is the Executive Chef at Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes. If you put that on any resume, you will get a job anywhere.
A Basq Kitchen will celebrate their third year of being in business in May. The business was purchased it used to be a famous Russian bar, Gambrinus! When Bernard came here, the area reminded him of his home in Basque country and the San Sebastian area, a foodie destination renowned for its gastronomy and bar hopping tapas scene. They decided to buy the bar and turn it into a Basque restaurant where Bernard shows off his delicious family recipes. The name of the restaurant comes from It’s like A Basque Kitchen but they removed the “ue” because they didn’t want to be bound to being a traditional Basque restaurant. They wanted to be able to incorporate our own voice to create our own culture being here in California
This week A Basq Kitchen is celebrating paella week until March 25th. Paella is traditionally cooked over an open fire, so it’s a great outdoor dish. One of their specialties is txipirones which are squid cooked in its own ink
Happy hour specials $5 sangria, beer and wine and a lot of our menu items are full size but discounted 🙂 also great for brunch they have $10.75 bottomless mimosas and $12.75 bottomless sangria!
Visit A Basq Kitchen 136 International Boardwalk, Redondo Beach CA 90277
310-376-9215