Basta

Had a great first time dinning at Basta, the service was really great and all the staff was super attentive and friendly. The burrata app with the sourdough is a MUST. That was my favorite part of the meal. Also got the pepperoni pizza (which in my opinion had a tad too much sauce and not enough honey), a pasta dish and 2 desserts. Overall we will be back to try more items on the menu! I really love how the flour is all locally milled by the restaurant group, so cool!

Started with a cocktail which was hard not to finish immediately, so refreshing and a good mix of strong and not too sweet and citrus. I didn’t want to get pizza, but after seeing all the other pizza photos, obviously had to get the pizza. Did not disappoint! The pesto tagliatelle was delicious, didn’t want it to end. Feels like they change up their menu every so often, hope they put mussels back on and I will be back for those.

Went to Basta last night with my SO. We enjoyed it very much. It is comparable to Tavernetta and is deserving of its Bib Gourmand! We started with the Burrata and the Shishito peppers. The burrata was creamy, soft, and came atop a bed of sweet heirloom tomato jam? Coulis? It was very tasty and paired well with the mild flavor of the burrata, but the star was definitely their sourdough. Crispy, flake, soft, and airy. The bread was magnificent and perfectly complimented the burrata and tomato. The shishito peppers were well seasoned, maybe a bit overcooked as they were mushier than expected, but the charring and seasoning were on point. For our mains, we shared the Lasagna and half chicken. The lasagna was creamy, cheesy, and the sausage was herby and flavored well. The bechamel was also very creamy. The half chicken was exceptional for the crispy skin, however it was definitely a bit overcooked as the breast was a bit dry and rubbery. This was resolved by eating the chicken with the rice polenta and sauce on the plate. The green were seasoned well. To finish this already massive meal, we got the chocolate Budino which was reminiscent of a pot du creme. It was thick, creamy, smooth and the cinnamon works really well with dark chocolate. Overall, we enjoyed our meal here, loved most everything and will likely be back at least to try the market pizza!

The caesar salad, the pizza, and the half chicken were stellar. The chicken was some of the best we’ve ever had. The piada bread was delicious. The crudo was beautifully presented, but lacked the depth of flavor we hoped for. The oysters were so-so. The grated horseradish had one large, ungrated chunk in there that I had to pull from my mouth, which I wasn't expecting. The smoked olives were a delight with a taste that none of us had experienced before. Excellent. My cocktail was also beautiful, but I wasn't a huge fan of the taste and it was skimpy. The chicken liver mousse was excellent, though the accompanying focaccia was not outstanding. I didn't try the pasta, but was told it was "pretty good" by my dining companion. The lemon ricotta cake was disappointing. It was overly cake-y and just tasted kind of mealy or something.

Update 11/4/2023: Adjusted my review! Came back yesterday and the drink sizes were more normal! Also I mentioned it to the bartender and she made the astute observation that I could have just come to her directly when the drink was too small to begin with, and she was right on with that feedback. The food and service of this place is great! I got the Caesar’s salad and the buratta . Both were out of this world. The Caesar’s had the perfect blend of lemony and salty and the Parmesan was shaved into super fine strands of cheesy snow. The burrata was served with a ball of fresh baked pizza bread from their wood oven and was amazing as well. It had whole chunks of garlic and cherry tomatoes and I couldn’t stop eating it even though I was stuffed. Why only four stars? My only complaint was that the drinks were criminally small. For 16 bucks I got maybe a 1 or 2 ounce cocktail occupied by a giant cube apparently designed to make the cocktail appear non-fraudulent. It was delicious but I just couldn’t get over the cheapness. I’ve included a picture of my drink after I had just the tiniest sip. You can see even with that massive cube the drink is only 1/4 full. Management - fix that and you have an unforgettable (in a good way) experience.