Basque Boulangerie Cafe

Great coffee and pastry when you need it!
After a long drive from San Francisco one might need a caffeine boost before walking around the plaza to check out all the great shops and sites and such! Basque Boulangerie Café is just the place for one to get not only a caffeine boost, but also a good tasting piece of pastry, a sandwich, or more. If you get a seat outside, you’ll get to enjoy your munchies while watching the crowd go by around the plaza.
Psst! If you feel like something on the salty side, try their great Cheese Sticks.

We were visiting Sonoma and wanted a quick late breakfast/​early lunch before exploring the square. Basque is inexpensive and very delicious, which is a combination I’m fond of. I got the croque madame and two days later, was back to order it again. It’s a simple dish but they execute it perfectly. We also got a green tea latte (we shared — the cups are huge) which tasted vaguely of marshmallows and not much else, but it was still delicious. I got a «bronut,» and asked the worker why it was called that. She didn’t know. It was delicious, as expected, but messy to eat. Will definitely be back next time I’m in Sonoma.

Stopped in here twice during our visit to Sonoma. I think it’s a nice café to stop in if you need a quick bite to eat for breakfast/​lunch. The first time I had a breakfast panini, which is sizable and incredibly filling. For under $ 15 I got the panini and a vanilla latte, which is very inexpensive compared to a lot of other places.
The next time we got the Croque Monsieur which is really filling too, and really yummy. I enjoyed my meal both times we stopped in. We also got a matcha latte which tasted like marshmallows.

They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But I’ve never met a croissant I didn’t like.
Basque Boulangerie Café is located off the square. Convenient if you’re already near the square, not so convenient if you intend to find parking.
We came across this café on New Years Day when most everything else was closed. It was chilly as heck outside and a nice warm apple cider was something that begged to be drank. We walked in to a rather full café. Sweet treats and savory breads lined the cases. Being late in the afternoon they were a bit picked over, but still had plenty of things to choose from.
A pumpkin croissant called to me. And I answered. Buttery and flaky with a center of sweet pumpkin; it was an affair to remember.
The apple ciders left something to be desired. They needed a little extra something as they really just tasted like warm apple juice.
This café was just what was needed on this chilly New Years afternoon. I can only imagine the delectable treats available on an early morning.
Eskerrik asko!

I only had a latte from here, so that is the reason for 3 star.
It is always good to have a nice café in a neighborhood, where the locals can gather and relax while enjoying each other’s company. While we were in Sonoma Valley, we found this café with lots of locals and visitors, and fabulous looking sweets. And even during a weekday, it was very lively with locals and visitors, which was very good sign.
Since were full (unfortunately), we didn’t get to taste any of their desserts, but it all looked really great! And the prices looked very reasonable as well. I was especially curious about their Beehive Cake, it looked amazing!
I would like to go back for an afternoon dessert in the future, and try that beehive cake for sure! Read my full review of this café on my blog, foodlovergirl.

Busy Busy Busy Busy. It was so chaotic in Basque on a saturday morning earlier this year. The service obviously could not keep up with the pace and it took us a while to get our food, which consisted of coffee, an egg sandwich, and granola with fruit.
The only upside was that it was cheap. But it was so packed and chaotic in the restaurant that after 15 minutes of waiting (no lie) we hurried out into the mission square and enjoyed breakfast on a park bench.
Perhaps it’s typically not that busy, but the weekend morning crowds would scare me off from going back.

Basque Boulangerie is a tourist attraction. Its cuisine isn’t exactly Basque. Their vegetarian breakfast panini is… OK, and yes, the in-​house baked bread is the best part. They draw crowds, especially on weekend mornings. The service is uneven. They carry Taylor Maid Coffee out of Sebastopol (I got their Sonoma Blend, perfect for the drive ahead), which is great. Again, the bread&desserts are the highlight. I should’ve gone for a sugar high breakfast with their lemon bars, seasonal offerings&the Beehive. The place gets crowded pretty quickly. Plan accordingly.

Yum. Bread was SO good. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy, oh man. Had the breakfast roll, recommend.
Everyone was friendly, would come back again (and probably will)

Desserts: delish. Staff: very warm and friendly. Lattes: Why do I ever go to Starbucks? Overall, a sweet place to take the kids or meet a friend for wine, coffee or pastries.

Wonderful bread and sweets! The local secret is after the bars close around 2 in the morning, you can sneak around the side of Basque where the bakers will sell you fresh cheese sticks! Thankfully Basque sells to most large grocery chains making it easy to pick it up anywhere.

Fresh, fresh, fresh bread!!! Everything is delicious! Great place to grab a cup of coffee too.
You gotta drop by if you’re walking around the square.

This is what all bakeries should be like. Amazing variety, great coffee, attentive service and great prices. I am just sorry that we found this gem of a place on our last day in the Napa/​Sonoma area. But I’d recommend it to anyone. Especially their quiche do the day!

Oh My Goodness!!! This bakery is Awesome!!!
We ordered a lot of different things to try this place out. They have the best custard filled E-​Claire I have ever tasted!!! The bee hive cake was awesome! The cookies were really good too. And their cream puff was delicious! A place to definitely stop by.

Great place for a quick breakfast. The service is quick so don’t be discouraged by the long line.
I tried the Bee Hive slice and was afraid it would be too sweet but it was very light, fluffy and not to sweett. It was excellent. Their hot breakfast dishes were made quickly and were good as well.
Minus one star because I did not like that my clothes smelled greasy after leaving the place.

Sometimes you need to try something different. Starbucks starts to get old and you need to spice it up. Enter Basque Boulangerie. A casual walk up bakery and coffee shop in the middle of Sonoma Square.
This place was bustling at 8 am on Sunday morning and all the outdoor Parisian style tables were taken. The wait for coffee and baked goods was a few minutes, and totally worth it. I had an americano that was delicious and a chocolate walnut muffin. Both were rich and delicious and reasonably priced. My gal pals and I couldn’t find a place to sit together, but we just crossed the street into the park and found a lovely table where we enjoyed our spoils.
I didn’t get to try their beehive cake, but its just reason to come back.
Coffee is strong, staff is nice and prices are fair. Stop in if you’re in the area!

What a pleasant way to start the day. (Stopped in for breakfast)
Beautiful variety of pastries and fresh bread baked daily! Huge drink selection! Can’t wait to come back and try the Vanilla freeze with espresso!

I come here a lot to grab a bite to eat since I work close by, but if it wasn’t for the reason of being close and fast, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to come here. I always try to mix it up and try different things on the menu, but everything I’ve tried tastes like it’s not fresh and just slapped together. Not impressed.

My kid loves the croissants, so we really can’t go wrong with coming here early in the morning and grabbing her the pastry while us parents share a breakfast sandwich and enjoy some coffees.
There’s not enough seating in the café, but since we went early, there were no huge crowds so we found a table to fit all of us.

Ode to a bronut
Out of gentle hands
awakened
in the Pyrenees, love’s
destiny
in the Valley of the Moon,
bronut emerges,
layers lifted by one another
in delicate rings
pushed
into the heavens
by fruited crème,
eyes opened,
the essence of this
cathedral
revealed to us as
bronut.

Perhaps it was the high review from other Unilocalers that built up a very high expectation which often ends up being a bit of a disappointment.
We skipped the ‘regular’ continental breakfast offered at our hotel to visit this bakery since I am always in search of good breakfast pastries.
There was already a line when we got there around 7:20.
The croissant did not look like the ‘flakey’, French style that I was expecting so we ended up ordering the whole wheat croissant. The whole wheat croissant was actually quite good. It was not as flakey as the regular croissant but it had a nice taste.
We also ordered the Croque Madame which was so-​so. There wasn’t much cheese and definitely not much sauce to it. The egg was almost well done sandwiched between the toasts. The ham was a bit too salty.
The fruit bowl was a disappointment as it is just a regular fruit bowl with the typical fruit (melon, pineapple, strawberries) but the fruit pieces just weren’t that fresh.
It does seem to be a bustling busy café with lots of locals.
We might have to try other brunch establishment next time…