No Italian chefs or waiters, they speak more Spanish... the pasta with parmesan and prosciutto was so-so, overcooked pasta, the gnocchi were not homemade, the cesar salad arrived without anchovies and you had to pay extra to get some? ? In short, pass your turn.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Erin Hwang
It was my third time here, the food still good. But the service hasn’t been fully recovered from pandemic I guess. We wait almost an hour for our pasta, which is unexpected.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Nitsan Ben-Horin
This is a great restaurant, has been around forever, and with very unique food. I had the black pasta and Caesar salad which were both great. I would not listen to any of the negative comments, some people are overly critical and just like to gripe and don't care about doing damage. It has been around forever for a reason cause it's great restaurant and also very friendly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matthew Bloom
An absolutely special and unique restaurant. Service was top notch, and the food is my favorite pasta in New York City.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spaghetti Nero Ai Frutti Di Mare
Cordelia Rose
That was a desaster, I ordered a Cesar salad there was no parmesan and they put a whole cabbage on my plate I had to cut it myself and croutons were long... I don't recommend at all.
Klaus Steeg
Coming here since 25 years - consistently super good food. Aesthetic and tasteful and friendly atmosphereVegetarian options: Great vegetables and pastas and risotto ….
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nick W
We came here for my niece’s 11th birthday. We bought a cake with us to celebrate her birthday. We ordered some pastas and few appetizers, the food was so blend. We all don’t like it. All we can taste it s the salt. It was salty. The ONLY dish that we think is okay was the uni pasta. After the dinner I asked the waiter to bring out the cake, they said they will charge $6 each for our cake, I think it was ridiculous that they charge for cutting the cake for this kind of casual dining restaurant. Most restaurant don’t charge that anymore because of the economy. Anyway I asked the waiter if they can waived the fees, I can just order more dessert to make it up. The waiter asked the chef (or owner?) and they said no. My 11 years old niece was so disappointed that she cannot have her cake. Anyway I will not come back again. Good luck with your business.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Y G
I went there for their sea urchin pasta. It’s creamy and nice although I’d like to taste more sea urchin. It’s expensive so I understand. The restaurant has a nice ambient, staff is very friendly. Great service:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Pasta
Sarah Elliott
This was an okay pasta place. I think the novelty of having your pasta swished around in a gigantic circle of cheese may be the highlight here.We did see signage for a jazz night in the restaurant (in September) that looks like it may be nice.I had the pasta pomodoro, the beer spritz and an espresso martini (all over the place with drinks, I know). I did enjoy their cocktails. They were strong and tasted as I would expect/want them.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Catherine C.
one of my favorite restaurants in nyc. I love the open kitchen and how it's not a super formal nor casual vibe. The Uni pasta is a must as well as the lamb chop. Although the lamb chops have gotten smaller in size over the years haha.
FOOD - p good, good flavor. we were kinda forced to get the lunch prixe menu which comes w soup, pasta, tea/coffee, and gelato. soup - normal like egg drop soup, I hated how many chickpeas there were in it but other than that good for a cold day.Fish Roe Pasta - pretty good, generous amount of roe and good flavor. the spaghetti also has a good bounciness to it and not just dry and soft. mango gelato - a bit icy. PRICE - kinda $$ bc the better pastas u had to pay like $10 moreSERVICE - they were super empty so I felt like our server was super energetic at first but kinda gets in ur face but overall I appreciate the enthusiasm but I felt a bit awkAMBIANCE - feels kinda fancy but it was so empty lel
Adam C.
Unlike many NYC restaurants, you do not feel like you are being extorted to eat here. The portions are reasonable and this place has a very neighborhood feel. In fact, a cast of regular characters seem to meet at the bar. Service has always been efficient and the ambiance is cozy without being too loud. It's a great go to place especially if you like the Parmesan wheel.
Susan Folan
Decent food. Incredibly slow service. This wasn't the fault of our very obliging waiter but of the kitchen who took an hour to present a simple pasta dish. Wasn't even fresh spaghetti, so there's no excuse. The Burata was delicious, as was the polpo, but we waited almost a hours from start to finish for some shared dishes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Octopus
S D
Decent space with service but the food is mediocre for the price. It was our first time there and unfortunately our last.
I have never heard of Basta Pasta before, so I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that it was Japanese-italian, but even now I'm still not sure what that means. You wouldn't find your typical red sauce with spaghetti at this restaurant, but do expect to find pasta dishes with more reserved flavors. The food at Basta Pasta was pretty good; some dishes were gimmicky (e.g. the pasta served in the Parmesan cheese wheel), but the star of the show was the Bagna Cauda. That warm anchovy cream sauce was amazing, anything you dipped in that sauce was just bursting with umami. Aside from the Bagna Cauda, everything was decent. But with so many good Italian restaurants in nyc, it's pretty hard to make a standout pasta dish. The service was Basta Pasta was good, they constantly refilled our water and checked up on us. The waiters were super friendly and making jokes, so it's nice to see that at a nice restaurant. It definitely got crowded at the restaurant, but too crowded that you couldn't have a conversation. Overall, the experience at Basta Pasta wasn't bad. Will definitely come back again for the Bagna Cauda!
No Italian chefs or waiters, they speak more Spanish... the pasta with parmesan and prosciutto was so-so, overcooked pasta, the gnocchi were not homemade, the cesar salad arrived without anchovies and you had to pay extra to get some? ? In short, pass your turn.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
It was my third time here, the food still good. But the service hasn’t been fully recovered from pandemic I guess. We wait almost an hour for our pasta, which is unexpected.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
This is a great restaurant, has been around forever, and with very unique food. I had the black pasta and Caesar salad which were both great. I would not listen to any of the negative comments, some people are overly critical and just like to gripe and don't care about doing damage. It has been around forever for a reason cause it's great restaurant and also very friendly.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
An absolutely special and unique restaurant. Service was top notch, and the food is my favorite pasta in New York City.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spaghetti Nero Ai Frutti Di Mare
That was a desaster, I ordered a Cesar salad there was no parmesan and they put a whole cabbage on my plate I had to cut it myself and croutons were long... I don't recommend at all.
Coming here since 25 years - consistently super good food. Aesthetic and tasteful and friendly atmosphereVegetarian options: Great vegetables and pastas and risotto ….
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came here for my niece’s 11th birthday. We bought a cake with us to celebrate her birthday. We ordered some pastas and few appetizers, the food was so blend. We all don’t like it. All we can taste it s the salt. It was salty. The ONLY dish that we think is okay was the uni pasta. After the dinner I asked the waiter to bring out the cake, they said they will charge $6 each for our cake, I think it was ridiculous that they charge for cutting the cake for this kind of casual dining restaurant. Most restaurant don’t charge that anymore because of the economy. Anyway I asked the waiter if they can waived the fees, I can just order more dessert to make it up. The waiter asked the chef (or owner?) and they said no. My 11 years old niece was so disappointed that she cannot have her cake. Anyway I will not come back again. Good luck with your business.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
I went there for their sea urchin pasta. It’s creamy and nice although I’d like to taste more sea urchin. It’s expensive so I understand. The restaurant has a nice ambient, staff is very friendly. Great service:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Uni Pasta
This was an okay pasta place. I think the novelty of having your pasta swished around in a gigantic circle of cheese may be the highlight here.We did see signage for a jazz night in the restaurant (in September) that looks like it may be nice.I had the pasta pomodoro, the beer spritz and an espresso martini (all over the place with drinks, I know). I did enjoy their cocktails. They were strong and tasted as I would expect/want them.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
one of my favorite restaurants in nyc. I love the open kitchen and how it's not a super formal nor casual vibe. The Uni pasta is a must as well as the lamb chop. Although the lamb chops have gotten smaller in size over the years haha.
Restaurantji Recommends
FOOD - p good, good flavor. we were kinda forced to get the lunch prixe menu which comes w soup, pasta, tea/coffee, and gelato. soup - normal like egg drop soup, I hated how many chickpeas there were in it but other than that good for a cold day.Fish Roe Pasta - pretty good, generous amount of roe and good flavor. the spaghetti also has a good bounciness to it and not just dry and soft. mango gelato - a bit icy. PRICE - kinda $$ bc the better pastas u had to pay like $10 moreSERVICE - they were super empty so I felt like our server was super energetic at first but kinda gets in ur face but overall I appreciate the enthusiasm but I felt a bit awkAMBIANCE - feels kinda fancy but it was so empty lel
Unlike many NYC restaurants, you do not feel like you are being extorted to eat here. The portions are reasonable and this place has a very neighborhood feel. In fact, a cast of regular characters seem to meet at the bar. Service has always been efficient and the ambiance is cozy without being too loud. It's a great go to place especially if you like the Parmesan wheel.
Decent food. Incredibly slow service. This wasn't the fault of our very obliging waiter but of the kitchen who took an hour to present a simple pasta dish. Wasn't even fresh spaghetti, so there's no excuse. The Burata was delicious, as was the polpo, but we waited almost a hours from start to finish for some shared dishes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Octopus
Decent space with service but the food is mediocre for the price. It was our first time there and unfortunately our last.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Bread Basket, Risotto Primavera, Tiramisu Cake
I have never heard of Basta Pasta before, so I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that it was Japanese-italian, but even now I'm still not sure what that means. You wouldn't find your typical red sauce with spaghetti at this restaurant, but do expect to find pasta dishes with more reserved flavors. The food at Basta Pasta was pretty good; some dishes were gimmicky (e.g. the pasta served in the Parmesan cheese wheel), but the star of the show was the Bagna Cauda. That warm anchovy cream sauce was amazing, anything you dipped in that sauce was just bursting with umami. Aside from the Bagna Cauda, everything was decent. But with so many good Italian restaurants in nyc, it's pretty hard to make a standout pasta dish. The service was Basta Pasta was good, they constantly refilled our water and checked up on us. The waiters were super friendly and making jokes, so it's nice to see that at a nice restaurant. It definitely got crowded at the restaurant, but too crowded that you couldn't have a conversation. Overall, the experience at Basta Pasta wasn't bad. Will definitely come back again for the Bagna Cauda!