Bascettis Italian Grille

Enjoyed a delicious 5-​course dinner at the smartly appointed Bascetti’s Italian Grill. Dinner began with an app of spiced olives/​garlic/​artichoke, served w greens and nicely contrasting garlic crisps. This was followed by a very rich and delicious she-​crab bisque, accompanied by a fresh half-​loaf of Italian bread and butter. An excellent Caesar salad was next, very flavorful and garnished w croutons and anchovies. For entrée, spouse ordered roast pork tenderloin, cooked beautifully to medium rare, and served over wonderful tasting mashed-​potatoes and accompanied by grilled asparagus. My entrée was delectably seasoned eggplant saltimbocca, served over al-​dente pappardelle in a scrumptious tomato ragu. This was all enjoyed with a bottle of Benvolio Pinot Grigio. Portions are generous; we brought home our desserts (bread pudding), as well as portions of our Caesar salads and the eggplant saltimbocca. Our server, Laura, was very efficient and accommodating and her friendly demeanor added to our enjoyment of the evening.

We came in for dinner on a Monday night. The place is small but nice. They were short staffed so the service was a bit slow but I expect it would be great any other night. The food was good and on the smaller side portion wise but the pricing was fair. I’d probably go back.

I highly suggest you do not go to this restaurant.

Great dinner. Very nice service. We weren’t in a hurry and they let us enjoy out appetizers before ordering dinner. Never felt rushed and John did a great job of being attentive without hovering. The beet and goat cheese salad was yummy — everyone enjoyed it. I had the Caesar salad — a little more dressing than I prefer but I think most people would enjoy it. The house salads were well done. All of our meals were very nice but the hands-​down winner was the linguini in red clam sauce. Can’t wait to order the next time I’m here.

We have been going to this restaurant since it opened and the one thing I can say is that it is not consistent. The fire grilled Caesar Salad used to be amazing but last night it was tasteless. The service is fine but if you want flavor in your food this is not the spot for you.

What a nice surprise! This was an awesome little restaurant tucked in a weird mini-​mall but who cares. The food and service were top notch. The Zupa de Mare was as good as any I’ve had anywhere. The service was spot on. If I ever go back to Florida this will be a sure stop for me again

Just by chance we stopped in for dinner on on our way home from work. What a pleasant surprise! The décor is very relaxing and when the waitress gave us a huge menu we got our first surprise. The menu is backlit (kind of like an iPad) but just to hi light the items on the menu and make it easier to read. We ordered just the basics, spaghetti and meatballs. After Preston took our order, he came back and told us we could have the same dinner, with an appetizer for basically the same price. Most places would not do that. Then the food started. The appetizer we got were steamed mussels. Excellent. Then soup or salad, we chose the homemade chicken soup, excellent again, and the hard crusted bread with a dried tomato spread, wonderful. Then the entre’. A huge portion of linguine and sauce with a huge homemade meatball. I read the other reviews, they must have been in a different restaurant. We will definitely be back! And Preston was right on the ball!

I love this place and the family environment it offers. My favorite is the mussels in red sauce. I live their specials today I had the wahoo fish which was fresh and grilled to perfection. Last time they had osso bucco here it was the best I ever had. It fell off the bone. Preston the bartender is better than paying for a comedy show and pours a mean drink. They always remember you when you are a return customer and take care of you!

I went to this neighborhood restaurant with low expectations but was totally amazed at how good the food was. My husband and I ordered the the Frutti de Mare (seafood over linguini). We asked the waiter if the marinara sauce could be Fra diavlo. We eat out a lot and this is our favorite dish. It was wonderful. The bread was good but the salad was ordinary and over dressed with not very good dressing. The service was good and the waiter was very friendly. We went with another couple and they enjoyed their meals as well– clams over linguini and pasta carbonara .
Definitely will go back

The restaurant looks happy and cute on the outside and it’s dark, comfortable, and romantic on the inside (and much larger than it looks like it would be).
I ordered Chicken Parmesan and was very happy with it. Thick breaded chicken breasts that were flavorful and tender with a great marina sauce over linguine. I don’t think the linguine was made in house which is always a little disappointing to me but acceptable. The side salad with balsamic was nothing special — typical lettuce mix and overdressed. The bread was very good although the red sauce served with it (still not sure what it was — tomato? red pepper?) was kind of bland. The BF ordered Rosemary Lamb Chops and they were perfectly prepared. The sides accompanying the lamb were a little disappointing — red potato chunks were not really seasoned and the squash mix was pretty but nothing special. The chocolate cake was amazing — dense and gooey with lots of layers of frosting (side note — not made in house though).
We were with a large group and the waiter did a great job. The meal was at a slow pace but it was fine given the large group.
We will try again and hopefully upgrade the rating — I want to give this place an amazing review because I love family owned restaurants :)

Not only does Bescettis provide wonderful mouth watering food (stop by on a Thursday night for their $ 5 pasta bowl and you will be delighted), but the service has a style of it’s own. My girlfriend and I stopped in months ago to meet some friends. We sat at the bar and found Preston (the bartender) to be amazing! He will make you laugh, keep you on your toes and you will leave there wanting to return… and we did. Since that night we have gone almost every week. The food and the service has made this one spot we cannot stop going to. They have specials on their flat breads on Wednesdays and a tapas menu on Tuesday. I’ve never had a problem there (although I will admit we always sit in the bar area) and the environment has been so warm and open that my girlfriend will go even when I’m out of town. It’s a must see in Dunedin!

I am kind of sad to give this star rating. It wasn’t that the food was poor… but the service brought down our experience significantly.
We dined at Bascettis on a weeknight, so there really shouldn’t have been much of an issue. It wasn’t crowded, but there were a number of tables filled in the dining room. My husband and I made our order right away, but when it was all said and done, it took almost 3 hours for us to get through our meal. We waited over 30 minutes between our appetizer and main course. Happy hour was going on when we first sat down, and we both ordered a glass of wine (which was advertised as 2 for 1). We got through our first glass before the end of happy hour, but our waiter was nowhere to be seen. We figured we had a second glass coming, so we didn’t worry. But then we were informed that apparently our glass was a «double pour»…and now it was past happy hour so we couldn’t order another one at that price. It irked me that he had conveniently disappeared for quite a while, so there was no way we would have been able to even order a second glass.
I also have to note that a few other diners walked in the door as we were eating… one group had to awkwardly stand at the front for at least 5 – 10 minutes before anyone greeted and sat them.
Again, the food wasn’t bad whatsoever! It was actually pretty good… but unfortunately I don’t think we will be back to this restaurant since it doesn’t seem like the service is up to par.

Stopped by here using a Living Social coupon. First the service, Chris our waiter had only been here a couple of weeks, but he was phenomenal. This is the kind of service that I wish I received at every restaurant. Our coupon was for a 3 course meal with a shared appetizer. We chose the Gamberi Pancetta for an appetizer (shrimp wrapped in pancetta) and it was excellent. Next choice was a house salad or soup of the day. The house salad was a standard salad but the house dressing definitely bumped up the taste. Soup of the day was beef barley and it was very good. Our entrees were Vodka sauce pasta with shrimp and crab and Rosemary Rack of Lamb and potatoes. Both were excellent and I really recommend the rack of lamb. For dessert we had a home made tiramisu that was awesome. My only complaint is the temperature of the red wine served. The first glass I thought I was drinking hot grape tea. After I told Chris the next glass was like drinking cold grape tea. After telling Chris again about the temperature the bartender came to the table and fixed the problem on his end. I am definitely going back.

Foods lousy. I gave this place a try for Thanksgiving, 2012. We walked in to a dining room and bar that was more or less elegant. The tables and settings were as good as you will find anywhere around here. It was a bit too dark. The server was perfect. Couldn’t be better. Everything was great until the turkey dinner arrived. My first bite was full of grizzle. The plate was mostly trimmings, thank God. The small amount of turkey was all some sort of grizzly connective tissue. My mother took one bite and pushed her dish away. Same deal. All grizzle. Actually, she was smart because I felt a bit sick after dinner.
I told the server that it was pretty awful. She apologized and came back with some story that the manager was adjusting the bill. He or she never came to the table. The adjustment was eight bucks on a forty dollar bill. Eight bucks? Money and no visit from the manager aside, what nerve and disrespect serving up such a mess on that important day.
Spotlight on the server. Couldn’t have been better or tried harder. I did leave the server a generous tip, but, there are a ton of restaurants around here. My recommendation is to find another place or bring your Tums or Rolaids.
So there it is. My first restaurant review.

This restaurant is owned by Jimmy, who is the proprietor of Spoto’s Steak Joint down the street. We are regulars and big fans of Spoto’s, so we decided to give the new place a try and were not disappointed!
I was very surprised about the poor references regarding the service in the first two reviews. Every time we have been to Spoto’s the service was above and beyond and this experience was not any different.
We normally choose to eat at the bar and Darren, the bartender was fabulous! He was attentive, accommodating and his usual professional self. We enjoyed the house red wine, a smooth, fruity, full bodied Italian Montepulciano which was a very good value. We chose the veal parmigiana and it was just delicious! The marinara sauce was excellent, the veal was lightly breaded and smothered with mozzarella that melted in our mouths. The entrée was served with angel hair pasta and a crisp fresh salad. The portion was ample enough to split.
The atmosphere is intimate, cozy and upscale. We can’t wait to go back and try the other entrees!

This restaurant is new. I saw it on my way home from work and decided to give it a try. The restaurant that previously occupied this space was a pretty dingy breakfast type diner. I pulled up and parked right in front, the windows are blacked out so you can’t get a glimpse inside first. I slowly opened up the front door, so I could get a peek before entering. I was immediately spotted, so I decided to make the full entry. I was kind of surprised, totally, I mean TOTALLY remodeled, black and cherry colored furniture, white table clothes, full bar, and nicer china and flatware. I decided to stay even though it looked like it might cost more than I wanted to spend for a Tuesday dinner.
I really don’t like giving a restaurant a bad review, so I am going to try and be nice.
I was greeted by a server who genuinely seemed disappointed that I decided to stay (after looking at the menu). I ordered a glass of wine (decent wine list), a brand I usually drink, it was very warm, about 80 degrees warm. While sitting and waiting for my wine, I noticed the pendant lights over each booth had fluorescent bulbs in the, casting a day-​glow bright white. This is very unflattering light for food, complexions and glass ware. These are utilitarian light bulbs better suited for a laundry room or a bus stop.
I ordered the shrimp appetizer, it was very tasty. Followed by a house salad, I did not like dressing, but my dining partner loved it. My entrée was Chicken Marsala, a safe thing to order, and I have to say it was probably the best I ever had.
I had dessert and coffee. Coffee was delicious but I honestly can’t remember the dessert.
By the time I was finished with my dinner, I could not wait to get out of there. Between the light bulb and our unfriendly server I had an overwhelming feeling of being unwelcome.
The restaurant was pretty full when I left, around 7:00
As for the name of the place, Bascetti’s, I find it as embarrassing to say as the name of the ill-​fated restaurant on US-​19 named, Psghetti’s.