Basilico Ristorante Italiano

Good food, decent service, but no spirits available. I don’t drink wine/​beer very often, so it was limited.
Pasta was very good.

Well that was a real treat. Mussels and clams followed by tomato bisque, followed by asparagus ravioli. Thumbs up to the chef and wait staff. Oh yes, crime brûlée was good also.

Stumbled upon this place by accident while shopping at Compass Rose nearby. It was pretty deserted when we first went in which made me a little nervous but I guess we got there early because before our meal was over it was packed. Service was great, food was out of this world. I could care less if the owner talked to me like another reviewer complained about. I was too busy stuffing really good food in my mouth and couldn’t have talked anyway. A must return visit. Don’t bring little kids, it’s an intimate place and it ruins dinner for the rest of us grown ups.

Always wary of trying Italian when not in big cities, but this place delivered. Excellent food and service.

This establishment embodies the true Italian love and respect for food. Not only in the offerings themselves, but in the atmosphere and presentation. The staff, many of whom are from Italy, present your selections in such detail that you end up feeling as if you’re eating the story of a specific region. The ingredients are impeccable, and their attention to food sensitivities is the best I’ve found — they will even ask if any guest has food sensitivities they should know about as you make your reservation, and their gluten-​free menu is available online.
All of the dishes we have tried are hearty and delicious, presented beautifully. (I just finished some wonderful pasta as breakfast this morning.) But what I was particularly impressed by was the attention to detail in the service: the wine decanter, the way the server brought appetizer plates with a napkin over his hand, so that they could be picked up to set down without touching them. Combined with the beautiful dark wood décor and the soft lighting, I began to feel as if I were attending some kind of religious ceremony, as though we had all come together to properly worship food.
It was a perfect choice for our whole family to celebrate my mum-in-law’s birthday, but we’ve been there on dates as well, and you can imagine how romantic such an immersion into the senses can be. You just have to resist the temptation to eat so much that it puts you to sleep too early.
Unfortunately, the shops around this lovely restaurant (a convenience store, etc.) might fool the eye into thinking that it’s not as lovely as it actually is. Just come inside and you can forget about all of that immediately.

This fantastic restaurant exceeded my expectations, and then some! A friend recommended this place to me because they have a great gluten free menu. So glad I took her advice, because they not only offer a wonderful array of gluten free foods, they also went out of their way to accommodate my dairy allergy. My date and I shared four courses and wine — they start with bread served with a yummy bean spread, which is almost like an Italian hummus. Then, we had the GF calamari fritti, an old favorite of mine which I haven’t been able to enjoy in a long time. We also each had a cup of a soup special, which was one of the best soups I’ve ever had! They even offered to make me a cup without any cream or cheese since everything there is legitimately cooked to order — amazing! I had the GF gnocchi and wild boar, and my date had the pork belly. Both entrees were delicious and large enough for us both to have leftovers to take home! Overall, amazing experience and wonderful food, and I will definitely make a point of it to go back and recommend the place to other friends.

Ambience is cozy and intimate. Service is excellent. All food is on the very salty or very sweet side. How can you make braised pork shoulder so sweet? Granted, it is made with apricot, but seriously, it taste like candied meat. Prices are on the expensive side (unless you get a salad or soup).

Very good food and service. If you have preferences please make them known, a relatively authentic Italian experience.

Well, I had to unlike their facebook page the other night, but not without a fair review. I have been to this establishment twice now. The first time was in 2011(?) or so. The second and last time was the evening of 11÷10÷15. LOVE the ambiance and the jazz playing. Loved the wine and the staff. I actually really had an excellent experience until the main course was served (and that is why I am giving you one more star… up from two to a three). We had a party of three ladies without reservations on a Tuesday night. Wednesday was a holiday, Veterans Day, so I will treat the evening like a busy Friday night. When we arrived there was maybe three other folks in the restaurant. As the time went on, the place filled up quickly. We started off with an order of Funghi di Stagione off the appetizer menu, as well as an order of Calamari Fritti. These both were AMAZING!!! The Funghi di Stagione was so delicious I would recommend it to anyone who loves mushrooms. A very pleasant sauté with a creamy sauce served with crostini bread. The BEST! Now, before I go on to the negative part of the dining experience, I want to say that it IS POSSIBLE the restaurant was not expecting this sort of a dinner rush, perhaps a staff called out sick which lead to the poor quality (in my opinion) main course. SOMETIMES there is a good reason, but that didn’t change the price at the end of the meal and I sincerely did not feel the main course was worth the list price. One of the main meals was Strozzapreti alla Norcina. I feel bad saying this you guys, but I am being honest here. It looked like and tasted like hamburger helper. There was no garnish, just a visually-​boring plate of noodles, sauce and what looked and tasted like hamburger, even though the menu called for pork. It was good, for sure. But NOT $ 19 good. To me, if you are going to have higher prices, you are held to a higher standard. Perhaps I am not a connoisseur, but I know what is appealing to my eyes and palate. We also ordered Ravioli di Agnello. I could taste the gaminess in the meat, and it was quite a pleasant dish. Both dishes were served lukewarm, I have to add. I felt they had been sitting for a while, perhaps, and we did let our waiter know that we were late for a presentation down the street. After that we did get our main course… but I suspect it had sat for a while. Again, they may have been short staffed. Back to the Ravioli di Agnello. Again, no garnish. No presentation, very boring looking. It has red sauce and it wasn’t too bad, but I noticed the raviolis seemed harder on the perimeter. My sister said perhaps they were made to be that way but I didn’t care for it. I like soft pasta. And a $ 22 dish… again, higher expectations that were not met. You guys obviously have a good thing going and I would never tell anyone not to go to your establishment. I am guessing we caught you all on a bad night and at a bad time. Really was disappointed overall and I base that on the price. If I had bought a $ 5 and $ 7 dinner, I would not have complained. But it bothered me enough to go out of my way to let you know of my lessened experience. The first time I had come to your establishment, the food and every single thing about your place was absolutely amazing. Thanks for reading.
As a P. S. another point to make was that, as we waited for my sister to arrive, my friend and I were introduced, by whom I believe is the owner, to the specials menu. The owner did not look at me and talked almost the entire time to my friend instead of talking to us both. I kept this to myself and then she brought it up later, at which time I shared how I felt awkward as well with this. Perhaps I made him nervous or he felt my friend was paying for dinner. I actually bought her dinner and this is just something I wanted to point out as maybe room for improvement when speaking with your customers. I had put my horns away for the evening and did not mean to frighten anyone. I hope my feedback helps things become better for the future.

I dream of the food from here, Even the simplicity of the white bean paste served with the warm french bread is exceptional. The pasta is epic. Super tender. Nice, clean sauces with authentic ingredients. The bison short ribs are incredible, as is the lamb which I generally never enjoy. Good service, unhurried and attentive. Everyone should go here.

The food is not as great as I remembered 5 years ago. The food lacked flavor and was overpriced. The service was average but the wine list was good. I wonder if they have a different chef now, because the food was not as delicious as it used to be. Sorry, I wish I could give a better rating because we loved it in the past.

Completely blown away by Basilico. I went there for the first time the other night, and was completely astounded by the service (gracious, super professional), atmosphere, and most of all the GF menu options. The food was incredible.
Thank you Basilico– especially for tending well to your GF customers.

Overall such a great experience, thank you Basilico staff!
Came here with the fam to celebrate my parents’ birthdays and couldn’t be happier with tonight. The staff was super friendly, extremely helpful, and impressively knowledgeable about the menu and wine options. The food was delicious and hearty, and came with complimentary bread.
You guys made this an awesome experience, one which I hope to have again.

Great find thanks to my staff who suggested it. The Staff was awesome and were so accommodating since I have food allergies. I practically created my own dish because the waiter (male staff) provided me with the different options which weren’t listed on the menu. I ordered gluten-​free gnocchi with beef, olives and a red wine based/​butter sauce which was amazing. He also suggested a great wine which paired nicely with this dish.
There wasn’t a wait to be seated and wait staff were attentive and friendly. I would find a reason to come back down just for sheer desire to eat at this place again. Since we were here on a Wednesday night, we had no problem with street parking.
You should come here for their gluten-​free pasta options and service. They also provided gluten-​free bread (with dairy or no dairy) and hummus.

Great service and delicious food! The waiters were very welcoming and knowledgeable on the menu items. Definitely recommend!

The pasta was incredible. Like WOW. My fiancée and I both ordered pasta and I feel like you can’t go wrong. We went a while back so I can’t recall exactly what we ordered, but I can recall how my mouth was watering the rest of the night. I love that the staff speaks some italian. Great ambiance too.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the tiramisu — I like mine more flavorful alcohol/​coffee soaked, but the texture was good.

Holy mother of Italian food this place is delicious.
Nestled in the heart of downtown Olympia, this little restaurant is a hidden gem. I’ve walked past it several times and never really realized that it was there. My mom suggested that my boyfriend and I try it with her, before she and my step dad left on a trip. So we made reservations (which we learned was a good move by the way) and checked it out on a Saturday night.
Once you walk in, the dim lighting and all-​wood and Italian art on the walls brings you to a whole ‘nother world. We were seating immediately and got some wine and appetizers going. Our waiter was not only literally from Italy, but he was super friendly, funny, and helpful in answering our questions about the wines and food.
We each ordered our main dishes and ended up talking to another waitress (my mom has a knack of making friends with everyone) who came to Oly from Portugal. Such a cool collection of employees here.
And the FOOD. Holy cow it’s amazing. I can’t even describe it, but everything we had was amazing. The pasta is apparently made in house and it’s just perfection. The wine our waiter suggested paired great with our dishes, and we polished off the meal with this insane tiramisu. My parents and I have both been to Italy on separate occasions and agreed that the food was authentic and just as amazing as the food there.
This place is pretty pricey but maaaaan is it worth it. I’d highly suggest it to anyone visiting Olympia or just in need of a good date place. You’ll walk out full and blown away.

I went to this place on a date so luckily I did not have to pay for my meal. Thank God! This place is overpriced, and with the 5 raviolis on my plate, I felt the pricing was a little much. Don’t get me wrong, it was yummy, and I loved the flavors. I had raviolis with apple cider sauce, hazel nuts and apple slices. It was delicious. Just for the two of us our bill was around 80 dollars.

We stopped here on a trip from Portland to Seattle for dinner. Giving the restaurant the full benefit of the doubt, it was the night after Christmas and I have to assume based on the quality of the food that the regular chef was on vacation.
The staff was very nice. We had two young children with us and they didn’t bat an eye even though it definitely felt like an upscale vibe. The bread and garbanzo dip was nice and we ordered a cheese and meat plate that was good.
But I have to say that the $ 25 risotto was the worst meal I have ever been served in a restaurant. It sat under a heat lamp and had the consistency of glue. It was visually very unappealing. The flavor itself was also not very good. My mother in law’s lasagne was a mushy mess and my husband had seafood that was just fair. This is a fairly expensive restaurant with great reviews. I have to assume we came here on a very off night.

We came here for a special birthday dinner. The food was so yummy!
I had a ravioli dish while the hubby opted for the braised bison. I loved my dinner but that bison had me wishing I didn’t go vegetarian that night!
We started with the most tender calamari ever, and enjoyed a meat and cheese platter with some of the most delightful cheeses I have had in a long time. My favorite one had a hint of cinnamon.
Our server suggested some pairings that topped off the experience.
Dessert and coffee were the perfect ending treat.
The atmosphere and parking left a little bit to be desired but the food and service make up for it. Be prepared for a hefty bill, this is one of the top Oly dinner spots for a reason. No lame Anthony’s menu here. This is the real deal.
If you want to impress a date or show your wife you remembered your anniversary, take her here!