Basta On the River

More like SHASTA on the river! My milk tasted like rumpus… … … …

My husband and I had been given a groupon to Basta. We were excited to get out for the night and try somewhere new. We walked into an empty restaurant– they had opened at 4:30 we arrived at 5. They had thier stage inside under construction with the worker still there. The resturant was dark and worn looking. Almost a half an hr later another couple arrived also with a groupon. which worried us that they were dead besides 2 groupon customers. our server was very nice– she was the reason I gave one star. Our salad was brought in dishes, so it appears they have taken that advice. We ordered cheese bread which was also ok. My husband ordered spaghetti and meatballs for $ 14 and I ordered penne with alfredo and chicken with extra sauce for $ 17. My husband said his meatballs were burnt and grilled looking and tasted horrible. My dish was good except for the chicken. The alfredo sauce was very good although I did not get the extra that I ordered. The chicken I was served was rotisserie pulled apart chicken– a lot of dark meat. I ate my pasta and left the chicken. we also did not have any parmesan on the table which I had to ask for (hello you are in an Italian restaurant paying $ 15 – 20 a dish, cheese should be a given) I am not sure if it was husband and wife serving but the lady avoided us and finally said something to the man who then walked up to our table (for the first time) and offered to box my chicken, instead of asking if there was a problem. Last off we had to pay on her tablet and leave tip which was awkward. For those prices and the quality of the food I would not recommend this place to anyone. I would suggest firing your cook as it appears from all of the reviews he cant cook to save his life.

Let us start with the good:
Wine was decent
Beer was standard
The not so good:
We thought we’d give Basta a try since we had a groupon. The most entertaining part of the evening was trying to anticipate the next comically bad part of the meal.
We started with an order of two waters to accompany our wine and beer. One water was provided, but only after reminding our server, the other never arrived. For food, we kicked things off with an order of «loaded» garlic bread. We asked what loaded meant, we were told «some kind of Italian meats or whatever we have on hand.»
The «loaded» garlic bread was clearly frozen before being microwaved and topped with a smattering of bad pepperoni and sausage (?). We had fun trying to figure out if it was Totino’s, Elio’s or Tombstone. Oh, and it came with a side of cold marinara sauce. Not room temperature. Cold.
Next, I had the chicken riggies. While resembling rigatoni noodles in a pink sauce, my pasta actually tasted like it was quickly rinsed with taco sauce. The chicken? What chicken! There were three small slivers of chicken mixed in this madness. Two slices of stale bread accompanied my meal.
My dining partner took a chance and ordered one of the specials of the night — «stuffed rigatoni in a chipotle pesto sauce». We received burnt tortellini served with a dusting of dry spices clinging to a thin film of olive (?) oil. It was pretty cool how the chef at Basta made sure all of burnt tortellini were served burnt side down. Clever! This was also served with the same stale bread.
We would have said something but our server never came back!
Sadly, I will not be returning until another establishment replaces this poor excuse for a restaurant.

Amazing atmosphere. Good service. Food is great twist on classic Italian home cooking. The music alone will make me come back. Unique place for a date. Love this restaurant.

I really wanted to like Bastas. First off, Ashley our waitress worked really hard to keep up on all of her tables, but with her and just one other waiter on, she was overwhelmed. We sat inside, which was OK until someone left the light on in the bathroom and we had a full view of the toilet. Ashley did end up turning off the light, but apparently no one has heard of a self closing door.
For food we got cheesy garlic bread as an appetizer, which was ok. For entries we got lasagna and the ceasar salad with chicken. The chicken on the ceasar salad was served cold. Both were OK and why the review is 2 stars. But this is the first time I have ever had a side salad and my lasagna served on the same plate. In conclusion, unless they expand the menu, get more help and improve what they already serve, we won’t be back.

In all fairness we ate here a few months ago so things could be different now. But our experience was not great and I hope my review can help Bastas become great!
The outdoor atmosphere is awesome. The live music is nice, the service was good and drinks were cold, but thats the end of the praise.
The bar was out of almost every beer on their menu that we asked for. Repeatedly. Our Server was very nice but not well equipped to do her job. (There was no salad dressing to go with salad? No bread for entrees? No options for diners with common food allergies?) The food was terrible. From what I can remember the menu was very very limited and basic stuff like pizza or lasagna. However, when we sat at the outside bar initially we were offered a taste of the «special» which was very unique and sounded good and looked beautiful. Maybe a calamari dish or something … Anyways, it was inedible. It also wasn’t on the menu or offered again. Back to dinner; I got the lasagna and it was terrible. Flavorless. Also I only orders it bc It was one of maybe 3 options and disagreed with me the least. (Pasta, Lasagna or Pizza — in July. Outside.) Anyways, It was probably frozen and was still cold when I got it. My husband got the pizza which was also depressing. The meal wasn’t cheap especially when it seemed like they bought frozen food at tops, reheated it and sold it to us for 40% more.
I want them to do well bc the location needs a good restaurant or bar to round out BVille cuisine.
The last thing BVille needs is another Italian restaurant. But if you insist on making it Italian, please make it memorable. Please Re-​evaluate the menu and recipes. Kick it up a notch and offer something unique.
We will stop in for a beer and see if things have changed for this great location and potentially promising new restaurant.

Small plates, food cold, sent back, came back just warm. Chicken Riggies with one tiny piece of chicken. This too was pointed out to the waiter who gave the impression of not caring. No effort to try to rectify. Emailed owner with complaints and no reply. All dishes have a simple piece white bread separating the meal from the salad. Dressing and meal cause bread to get soggy and dressing oozes into meal. Will not be going back. Ever.

Worst food ever made me a calzon with breakfast sausage joke 12 dollar sausage sandwich size of hot dog 9 dollars then came pepperoni pizza soggy and all black on bottom waitress for got drinks no serving utilities for salad no salt or pepper gave second chance next visit was same forgot about burgers some frozen patty cook to death l wouldn’t eat here as gun point owners should try eating own food
To see how it tastes and visit other restaurant to see what they are offering

the atmosphere is wonderful. it was a gorgeous night with arty lenin and gary frenay playing. the service was nonexistent. the food was sub par. my husband ordered the chicken riggis which were bland and had virtually no chicken. i ordered an italian sausage sandwich which was undercooked and boring. the wine that was on the menu they didn’t have and twice I ordered a vodka and tonic and received a glass of tonic water. this is our third and last try at this place. They have only a handful of items on the menu. I would think they would take care to make them well.

We went on a weeknight for drinks and maybe dinner. The atmosphere was okay… There a quite a few tables outside with a bar, and a small brick stage for music… The inside is not some place I’d want to be right now– it just looked small and sad, and with the doors open to the patio there were lots of flies. The only time we saw service was when we ordered a bottle of wine– they brought out the bottle and whiskey glasses (no wine glasses?!) but the server never came back– we honestly could’ve left without paying. (We didn’t, but I’m just saying) We didn’t stay for dinner, the menu is limited and we weren’t in the mood for the options listed. The menus were paper and covered in crusty food… Maybe print new menus? Also the ladies bathroom could use a sign, lol you just know it’s the ladies room because it’s the other door next to the one labeled mens.
Even for a week night this seemed like the ‘it’ place to be with all the locals hanging around the outside bar. I’m still intrigued by this place and will try dinner her at some point.

The menu is enhanced now & they will even bring you all of their Mohegan Manor Menu & Club Sushi menu item !!! Really personal service. They’ve really stepped up their Live Music… Likely the best in the East & in Baldwinsville now.

Well, it’s been awhile since I have walked out of a restaurant feeling «taken», but my experience here was less than satisfactory. I decided to take my wife here on a nice summer evening since they had open mike night for musicians. We knew it was going to be an interesting meal as soon as we walked in the door (a virtual door since this was outside).
We seated ourself at a table, and a waitress brought us our utensils (a fork and knife wrapped up in a napkin). Now I know this restaurant had only been open for six weeks, but the menu was printed on a piece of paper the size of a large bookmark. This was their «temp» menu. There were less than a dozen items on the menu. If you can’t come up with a real menu in six weeks, I would question how serious they are at running a restaurant. They had 2 pasta dishes, penne a la marina and penne a la vodka. I ordered the marinara, and my wife the vodka.
Now these pasta dishes were $ 16. That’s kinda high for this market and to demand that price either the atmosphere has to be great, the service has to be a wonderful, or the food better knock your socks off. None of those attributes were present here. There was nothing on the table for the whole meal, no salt/​pepper, grated cheese… Nothing! Out came a bowl of pasta, no salad, no bread, no nothing. The marinara was some chunks of tomato and pink water. I would insert one tang of my fork into a penne and lift it up to drain out the tasteless water and then eat it. SIXTEEN BUCKS FOR THIS?
They don’t serve wine by the glass, so my wife had to get a half bottle (375 ml) for $ 17. That was probably the most reasonably priced item we had since the wine was a name brand
All in all two bowls of pasta, a coke, and a half bottle of wine was $ 65 with tax and tip. I could have gone to either Santangelos or Joeys and gotten a full (and better) meal for about the same price.
NEVER AGAIN!