The Basin

We had a reservation and our table was ready when we showed up.
The busboy (man) clumsily plopped down bread and butter and water.
It took a while for the waiter to acknowledge us.
The salads were good but the waiter didn’t tell us that anchovies on the caesar salad were extra cost.
My husband had the Bowl of Soul which is like a cross between a soup and a ciappino. It was kind of the worst of both. Too much liquid to fish out the seafood. The shrimp still had the tails on them, requiring too much work and splashing to eat.
I had the steak with chimichurra sauce and fries and it was good.
I got a free dessert (lava cake) because it was my birthday. Nice touch.
Not horrible but nothing to rush back there for.

This place is great. Eat here.
Food: quite excellent. Their Trout entrée is fantastic, they also had a stellar Red Snapper special while I was there. The chefs cook fish correctly — the skin gets crisp and integrates well with the fish (not slimy/​chewy/​weird). Another popular dish with my group was their cauliflower appetizer — it was well spiced and had some unique flavors going on.
Ambiance: cool lighting. I really liked their large wooden tables and chairs. Looks upscale.
Service: fantastic. During the meal we were well taken care of. Our waiter (James) knew details, was happy to answer questions and gave good suggestions. Thanks guys, I’ll be back.

Great restaurant to enjoy if you’re looking for a classy and low key ambience. The waiter helped my mom and I choose a delicious meal and perfect bottle of wine. He split our meal on two plates and accommodated my lactose intolerance by switching out one side for another. The scallops are super rich and amazing!

After all these years, The Basin gets my attention the most. The wait staff is great, Sarah and Jason are phenomenal behind the bar and I’ve never had a meal that I didn’t rave about. My favorite is the handcut NY steak, an awesome piece of tender beef that will fill you up and then some. The fish is excellent and Andrew goes out of his way to ensure a fantastic dining experience from the wine choices to the cocktails to the phenomenal soups, appetizers, main courses and desserts. Keep up the good work!

2^nd time coming here. The server was super nice and knowledgeable. I call him professional. We started with croquettes, special flatbread and cauliflower starter which were all delicious. Portion was just right for 4 adult. Then for the main, we ordered red snapper with risotto, pork chop, scallop, and another fish dish. There were all nicely done. They have a nice patio area which has a big redwood in the center. Summertime must be nice to sit in the patio. They also have another private dining room for groups. The bar is nice if you just want to hang around for drink and food. Very casual but with a touch of elegant yet hip ambiance. The crowd is mixed from couples having a date night to family with kids.

Superb dinner for my friend’s birthday last night. We enjoyed over a dozen delicious dishes (beet salad, wedge salad, iberico ham, seared foie gras, clams, anchovies with extra virgin OO, duck, scallops, paella, New York steak, pork chops, freshly made pastas, desserts, etc. — haha). Every dish was sinful and delicious. But we especially liked the New York steak, iberico ham, and the freshly made pasta with mushrooms! Wow! I was too busy eating instead of taking more photos! Everything was made from scratch, from the breads to the pastas. Can’t get enough of the breads! Will definitely come back here often to try ALL their menu items.

Cucumber Martini — refreshing and a bit on the sour side
Foie Gras — special appetizer, so good! seared with apples
Duck Breast — tasty, juicy over some potatoes and veggies
NY Steak — crazy presentation, big piece, can’t finish!
Small venue, intimate, great service!

We were looking for a restaurant for a special occasion and wanted to try a new place. Jackpot! The service was excellent and the food was very good. The croquetas appetizer was just Ok but everything else was great! There are at least 3 or 4 other dishes we want to go back for. The bar looked good too. I am so glad we found this restaurant.

Had a superb experience here last monday 1−4−16. Foie gras as a starter, with apple, fried to perfection and melting on my tongue. Scallops as main course.

Had a nice dinner here with the wife on new years eve.
Lamb was cooked very well, although the beans that came with it was not my favorite.
My wife’s trout was close to perfection. She never eats the skin and she ate it all up and talked about how much she loved it.
The shrimp appetizer and drinks were also very good.
Top notch service, even though we were afraid that we might get forgotten being put in the side dining room, but we never had to wait for any requests.
Definitely will put on the list of restaurants to go back to.

My sweet hubby is usually the one who chooses the restaurant for most of our special dates, but for our Christmas dinner, I decided to give him a well-​deserved break and make the reservations myself.
In comes The Basin, a quaint, little restaurant located in downtown Saratoga. The downtown area is absolutely gorgeous, lit with strings of golden light spiraling around boutiques, coffee shops, and even the lamps and trees. It was a great spot for my hubby and I to walk around and enjoy each other’s company.
The Basin itself seems small, but once we sat down, we felt the size wasn’t actually as tight as we thought. The low, ambient lighting made for a very intimate setting, even though there were a lot of patrons dining in. We were immensely pleased with the warm and classy atmosphere.
Once seated, a waiter instantly filled our glasses with ice, cold water and offered a basket of dinner rolls with garlic butter (which tasted like cream cheese). Such quick service! Our waiter for the night, although very friendly and sweet, didn’t give us much of an introduction so we weren’t able to catch his name. In fact, when he came over, he just jumped right into taking our order without the usual happy greeting we were expecting at restaurants like these.
While the menu at The Basin is printed on a one-​sided piece of paper, it is CRAMMED with lots of choices. For our appetizer, we ordered the truffle fries and for our entrees, my hubby got the sea of scallops and I chose the bowl of soul.
The fries didn’t look too fancy when they were first brought out, and when tasted my hubby was quite disappointed with how «typical» they were. He even said it reminded him of fast-​food fries, just without the grease. But the house ketchup saved the whole dish for us. It was wonderfully tangy with just a hint of spicy undertones.
The bowl of fries was pretty big so we munched on those for a good 15 minutes before our entrees arrived. Presentation of both dishes were spot on. They were clean and simple, yet beautiful at the same time. My hubby greatly enjoyed his scallops, instantly voicing his content after just one bite of the soft scallops and creamy mash potatoes. He was served four large scallops and a big mound of potatoes that were flavored so well that he didn’t even realize the entrée came with gravy.
As for my bowl of soul, it was described as a seafood soup with a tomato base. I loved how deeply red the soup was, not to mention it was served in a large, hot ceramic bowl that kept my food warm all through the night. Filled with large shrimp and the fish of the day (sea bass) as well as chunks of tomato and quinoa, the soup was much more filling than I thought it would be. However while it was certainly delicious, I would have liked the flavors to have more depth. It just didn’t pack the punch I was expecting, especially when the entrée smelled so good.
By the time we were done, my hubby and I were too full to order dessert, even though we were both eyeing the chocolate bomb cake. Since we didn’t have the stomach room to order it then, we definitely need to go back and get it next time!
My hubby was very pleased with the restaurant I chose (whew!) and I’m quite happy with it as well. Even though he was more satisfied with his dish than I was with mine, I’m positive that the next time we visit The Basin, I’ll be just as blown away by the food as my hubby was.

Little disappointed overall OK. Food average: seared tuna not fresh, paella ok sausage burnt districting the dish, scallops good taste, pasta was good. Disappointed expected more. Service very polite but little on the flow side. Would go back but nothing to rave about

The Basin remains, after years of visiting before summer concerts at the winery, one of our all time favorite restaurants. It was here were were first introduced to jamon iberico and one of the creamiest burratas I have ever sampled.
Aside from the brilliance of the food, which is consistently strong, and always creative, I am struck by the tenure of the staff. Many if not all of the faces remain the same, which tells me that the management is good to its people.
We look forward to every visit knowing that we will find a stellar dining experience, be it a plump juicy breast of duck, a perfectly seared foie gras, or a light and fluffy slab of seasonal fresh fish.
I love this place. Can you tell?

Great ambience and outdoor seating. Felt very homey! Also great place for a date night.
They had PAELLA on the menu OMG I freaked out! I absolutely loved it. Its like a Spanish jambalaya for those who don’t know what it is.
Also tried their «Grilled Argentine BBQ Style Sirloin Steak». very delicious with my favorite chimichurri sauce!
Great cocktails and wine selection as well! I will be coming back.

I’m going to switch up my review style and start this with a con – because it’s my only one:
Leading up to our event date, communication was a bit spotty, which made us nervous.
That being said…
Everything was awesome. So. All good. We’re believers now!
My husband and I held our rehearsal dinner at this restaurant because it was 5 minutes from our venue, had good feedback from our friends and strong Unilocal reviews. We started things off on a good [and weird] note by stopping by The Basin to drop off a huge cake before our wedding rehearsal because we were trying to surprise his mom with it at dinner. We didn’t realize it wasn’t open yet, but one of their cooks was standing outside, saw me with a huge box looking frustrated, asked if it was the cake for the party at The Basin later, and took it for me anyway so it could be refrigerated. I wish I’d asked for his name, but I was too busy being a classy lady yelling «SCORE, THEY TOOK IT» after I thanked him. But that was awesome customer service.
We did have a few moments later of sheer fear where we laughed about how he could’ve just NOT taken it to The Basin… but he did. So it was fine. There wasn’t a random man eating our cake on the side of the street that night.
We met Andrew, who was super friendly and helpful, and he took us to our private room, which was beautiful. Our service was great, the food was amazing, and everyone had a great time. Everything was professionally and beautifully done and really made our rehearsal dinner an amazing night.
We are so glad that we picked this restaurant for such an important event! Thank you to Andrew and everyone at The Basin whose epic service and beautiful restaurant made our dinner a memorable one.

Our best friends suggested The Basin. A very nice place. We had outdoor seating which was lovely. The service was great. The food was good!!! We did bring our own wine.
I deleted one star only because the price of the food and the appearance of the establishment don’t go too well together. I will definitely be going back!

Easily made reservations a week in advanced for a large birthday celebration through the phone. They do have OpenTable reservations, but I was unable to make reservations for a party of 8 online.
Our table was ready by the time we arrived and The Basin had prepared special birthday menus for us. It was a really nice touch! The staff was very courteous and treated us well, however the food was not as impressive. Everything was a bit plain for me.
We started off with a couple drinks. I forgot what I ordered, but it was strong! Two thumbs up!
TRUFFLE FRIES — Probably my favorite thing we ordered. Perfectly cooked fries — Kind of reminded me of McDonald’s Fries in a good way! Didn’t really taste the truffle.
ARRABIATA PASTA — Not spicy at all, but the sauce was super fresh.
DUNGENESS CRAB CAPELLINI — Where was the crab? We felt like there were only little scraps of crab thrown in here!
SEA BASS (Special) — Fish was cooked well, but tasted so plain.
PAELLA (Entrée Size) — Definitely not like traditional paella. I was expecting this to be amazing which is why I asked for an entrée version, which was just two servings of the small plate. Unfortunately, it was very salty and the abundance of olives made this even more salty. I prefer traditional paella, where the rice really absorbs the liquids. In this case, I’m glad it didn’t because again it would have been terribly salty. The rice in this dish was packed in a circular crispy cake, which was kind of cool and added some texture, but ultimately not my cup of tea.
SCALLOPS OF THE SEA — This was pretty good. I only had a small bite, but I enjoyed this. Scallops were nicely cooked with a creamy sauce.
At the end of the meal we were all very stuffed and the birthday boy received a complimentary dessert: MOLTEN CHOCOLATE BOMB — I liked this. Big fan of chocolate lava cake over here!
Overall, we did have a good time and service was great, but the food lacked luster. Entrée prices were quite steep and I just expected great things from the food.

Had dinner here for the first time this past Wednesday evening with a group of 10.
First of all, the ambiance is very cozy and the staff is very nice. There is this semi indoor room with a massive tree growing in the middle of the room — very cool!
We had a limited custom menu for our group — so I’m not sure what the full menu looks like. Will need to return some time and hang out at the bar to find out!
I ordered a mixed greens salad and a pork tenderloin dish dusted with Cumin and sautéed figs and served with Lentils on the side.
The pork was very tender — I think it needed some additional seasoning — along the lines of something like a Cajun rub… The lentils were tender and tasty. The figs were really good.
One negative comment — I was sitting at a table facing the front window. In the late afternoon — the sun coming in through the windows is absolutely blinding. The shades they have are these very translucent things that do little to stop the sunlight from coming in. They offered to move my chair to the end of the table, I declined as I would be sticking out in the aisle. I sat with my hand over my eyes for about 20 minutes until the sun went down. They really should install something more substantial blinds-​wise in the front window!

We came in without a reservation on a weekday night and the place was packed. However, they still seated us on their indoor patio and turned on all the heaters for us, so no one was cold.
The food was delicious, and kudos to them from making most dishes from scratch. I have a garlic allergy, and I can’t normally find Italian restaurants that are able to accommodate that. Well, these guys were. Most of the cool pictures that are posted on Unilocal are sadly their daily specials, so don’t expect to be able to do your usual *points at the picture, I want this* kinda thing.

We were introduced to this place by a couple that knows the industry. So we know it’s going to be a good night!
We were a bit early for our 7:30 reservation and we decided to sit and wait at the bar. The bartender was immediately attentive. He even handed us the food menu as well. I like their bar. It feels like a warm embrace. Short and darkish. Very inviting at least to me. It made me want to cozy up to someone.
The inside of the restaurant is not that big. Just enough. There is an outside seating as well. The dark hues everywhere that is so sexy comforts you and relaxes your senses as you eat their well sourced ingredients.
I tried the the following starters: Paella Pequena $ 15, Pata Negra Jamon $ 25, Taste of Spain $ 16. From the Sustainable Sea list we tried the Wild Louisiana Gulf Prawns $ 14. Now this you gotta use a piece of bread to soak the sauce and enjoy it. It’s absolutely amazing!
For my entrée I had the One and Only McFarland Trout Filet. This is a crispy– skinned, boneless pink rainbow filet, thyme-​parsley – garlic-​shallots, served with Adrien’s sliced heirloom tomatoes, basil, maidon salt $ 29.
From their drinks menu I tried their Boulevardier cocktail simply because I love bourbon and its got Homestead Bourbon, Carpano Sweet Vermouth, Campari $ 13. Next time I’m going to try their 44^th and Broadway. It’s another bourbon based drink.
I love their appetizers. The standout for me were the prawns and negra jamon. I really admire the simple but very well thought out way they prepared my entrée. The trout was crispy in some areas but not dry. Very well seasoned and I will have this again in a heart beat! The heirloom tomatoes on the side– oh my!!!
We shared their bread pudding and it’s worth it in the end. Softly structured, with a little mountain of cream on the side. Not too sweet but just enough to leave you satisfied with the last part of your wonderful meal.
One thing we noticed– the population when we walked in were the older type. But as the night proceeded it quickly changed to a more comfortable age bracket. All is good. The staff were on point. From the hostess to the server. No complains!