Basta Trattoria

A few friends of mine love this place. So I decided to check it out for the first time. Small kitchen and dining area. We ordered the polenta and calamari as soon as we sat down. The food came out rather quick and delicious. The calamari was in a spicy, warm marinara sauce. Polenta was textured perfectly, topped with fresh grana padano cheese, so was warm and flavorful. Bread is served at the table as well, which was great for dipping the bread into the polenta.
For my entrée, I ordered the penne alla vodka with pork sausage. My friend ordered it with chicken. The pork sausage gave the sauce great flavor. I wish I had room for dessert. I will certainly go back here next time I visit New Haven!

Such a great restaurant! The Pasta Alla Vodka was to die for and the best I’ve ever had. My friend ordered the meatballs and loved them just as much. I wish this place was in my home town; I’d be there everyday! :)

We’re in New Haven for five days because my son is graduating on Tuesday and we’ve made reservations to eat at Basta every single night. Is this extreme? Probably. My wife and I are foodies and nothing beats their linguine with clam sauce. Sometimes, we run into Claire, the owner who is gracious and community minded. The place isn’t large so we always make reservations. If you don’t have the tiramasu for dessert, it will be your loss. A six star dining experience!

NEVER AGAIN. Bad customer service. I was seated outside of Claire’s (same owners) with an awful experience resulting in a lunch without a drink to accompany. I came here to order Coffee for my meal. The waitress told me I could not be served a beverage without ordering food and since I was eating Claire’s food I had to order a drink from Claire’s too. Ridiculous!
I emailed the owners with no reply.
They don’t care about customer service then I don’t care to return.

It’s pretty much a monopoly in Italian food in downtown New Haven, which is why it’s always packed (plus the place is tiny and can only accommodate maybe twenty people at a time), so make sure to get a reservation!
Food is quite mediocre. It was good two years ago when I was there for the first time, but it’s gotten downhill from there.
The portions are HUGE especially for appetizers, so I recommend sharing food with your company. It is pretty expensive, considering the really mediocre quality of food.

If you are looking for organic and local Italian food, Basta is consistently a great choice for date night. The wine selection is good, but the number of tables are limited, so make sure you reserve a spot!

I rate Basta higher than Tarry Lodge for Italian food. Perhaps that’s comparing apples to oranges, as I realize many people compare Basta to Goodfellas, but I can only speak about these two as I’ve never been to Goodfellas.
My friend and I went to Basta the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving to indulge ourselves before holiday began, and boy, did we indulge! We ordered the award-​winning meatballs ($ 16) to start, which we thought initially was kind of expensive for an appetizer, but then realized why when it came out. There were 2 GIANT meatballs staring at us in the face. Not only was it huge, but it was really appetizing and filling, too. Quite frankly, we were almost done with our dinner by the time we got through the meatballs.
For entrees, I had the linguine pesto con gamberi ($ 26), which was a delicious linguine with butternut squash and garlic basil pesto. My friend had the linguine calabrese, which is linguine with a fish of the day (salmon that day) ($ 24). All were really tasty and full of flavour.
I’d come back to Basta any day given its convenient downtown location, authentic Italian flavours and enormous servings. Would make a reservation because the space is really small, so beware weekends.

Never been here before, first time, make reservations early it’s worth it. Have the meatballs. Pork and beef were both the bomb. Service is perfect. make reservations, because when it’s showtime they don’t have room. Save this little secret.

Our favorite Italian place in New Haven! We love the polenta and the penne alla vodka. Everything is fresh and homemade, really good pasta!

Today is my birthday so we decided to celebrate my day at Basta, which is a first visit for us. We frequently eat at Claire’s Corner Copia when we visit New Haven, which is located right next door and is also owned by Claire. We were promptly seated on arrival as we had a 7 PM reservation. The staff was incredibly friendly and it was not stuffy like so many restaurants. I despise stuffy and I felt right at home. The restaurant’s décor is beautifully Italian with a Greco style mural painted on the walls and ceiling. We were not rushed in and out of the restaurant and we were there for almost two hours. I hate having food quickly slapped on the table then getting the boot out the door. The staff at Basta timed all the courses perfectly.
The meal started with the bread and I must say it was the best bread I have ever had! I learned a staff member prepared this bread from scratch, and it is an Italian bread that is moist and yeasty with a delightful crust! Served with this bread is a herbed scented olive oil. I spooned generous amounts over this perfectly delightful bread and ate it right down! Oh my, I could easily eat more of this bread right now! My husband and I shared an entrée salad that was part of tonight’s special. It was spring mix greens with fig, golden raisins, sliced Apple, creamy goat cheese dressed with an exquisite dressing. This salad was delicious and perfect, easily one of the best salads we have ever had! My husband had for his entrée the Italian Sunday Dinner, which was penne with San Marzano sauce topped with a large meatball, Italian sausage, and a rolled breaded eggplant with the softest ricotta ever! He loved it… I loved it as he shared a taste of his meal with me. I had the Farfelle Funghi with shrimp, and it was fantastic! This dish was served with Farfelle pasta and the mushroom sauce had small cubes of prosciutto included in it with an excellent Marsala cream sauce. The shrimp was grilled which I have never had before and it had the smokey taste from the grill. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it! Dessert! My husband had the Chocolate Coconut Bites and it was out of this world! It consisted of two large triangles of deep, dark chocolate covered with a mound of sweet, moist coconut. My generous husband shared bites of this outstanding dessert with me and I loved it! I had the Tiramisu and I must say it was the best Tiramisu I have ever had! I learned the same staff member who prepared the bread prepared this dessert! This Tiramisu was substantial and had some weight to it, was sweet but not overly sweet, and was delicious! I like Tiramisu but usually when I order it at other restaurants it is so light and filled with air it can be eaten in two bites. I do not consider this to be good Tiramisu… air whipped… a trick to cut cost and cheat the customer. This is the real thing, the Tiramisu your Italian grandmother would prepare. I highly recommend it… I highly recommend everything we ate!
I did not tell the staff it was my birthday until afterwards when thanking them for making my day feel special. When they learned it was my birthday, they sent me home with a slice of Claire’s Lithuanian Coffee Cake. This was extremely generous of them and it was the perfect end to a perfect day. Of course when I got home, I ate this cake too and this cake was delicious also! I really am thin, I truly am. Tomorrow, back to my Fitbit but it was a glorious meal and worth every calorie. Basta is our new favorite restaurant and we certainly will be visiting them again. Thank you Basta for my day and making it feel special. YOU are special!

Went here on a romantic date. very helpful staff. make sure to get a reservation as the dining room can fill up quickly. She had egglant parmesan, which, if you’re a fan of eggplant was good. I had a very light summer-​y pasta that I very much enjoyed. Modest prices and modest wine list. Overall, Basta made for an enjoyable evening. I’ll be going back soon!

I came here with my family and the food was not great. It wasn’t bad but it wasnt great and I waited FOREVER for my prawn. The actual restaurant was pretty nice but it just wasn’t great for the price. The waitress forgot about us and she didn’t take our order until we flagged her over. Not a good experience, especially after a long car ride.
$$

Adequate. The food is good, but I’ve never been wowed by anything. I’ve consistently had good servers but it seems a little bit understaffed — two cooks for 10+ tables and a very expansive menu tends to slow things down and occasionally the food seems a bit thrown together. Aside from the recent times I’ve been, I came here about 3 years ago when they had a more limited menu and it was memorably better. I think they might be spreading themselves too thin.
To their credit, it is quite authentic. Their best dishes are those that are «real» Italian food (featuring shellfish, tomatoes, etc.) rather than your typical chicken parm and caesar salad.

It’s ok. We prefer Goodfellas, not that Goodfellas is awesome. Even better, Bin 100 in Milford. I could understand some people really liking this place though. They do things reasonably well here, and the portions are large. Their cooking just didn’t quite do it for us, but there’s personal preferences involved in deciding that.
The meatball appetizer is quite good. Though beware many dishes here with red sauce have an unwelcome «bite» to them in the back of your throat because of the spicing they use. It’s not too strong, but it’s unwelcome. I’m overall unimpressed with the sauce… it doesn’t have a lot of depth or strength or complexity, but it does have that unwelcome «bite».
All the portion sizes here are quite large I think, particularly the appetizers. Nothing here is small sized.
We had the chicken scallopini and the chicken parmesan entrees. They used good meat, and the dishes were prepared pretty well.
The chairs are pretty uncomfortable. Wooden chairs with no padding.
A lot of tables in a fairly small space, so it got pretty loud, even though it wasn’t a busy night.

This place is a staple of the community and has a solid menu with consistent preparation.

I brought my mom here last week and she totally loved the resultant, the environment is cozy while classy. And it was pleasant to talk to people work there. I ordered the Sicilian calamari, the salad, and pasta with Marzaro tomato sauce. And of course their signature meatball! Although I haven’t got the exact pasta my mom loves, but they are so nice to offer extra cheeses to make the taste more creamy and yummy. Definitely come back!

I’ve only been here once, and it was enough to give it the top rating.
My friend and I came on a weekday evening craving some good Italian. We both ordered a glass of red vino (or three) and shared an arugula salad for an appetizer, the dressing was perfect — not too soggy, not to dry, and extremely simple — great first bite. Of course bread with a side of EVOO and balsamic was served — warm and delicious. She order the penne vodka and I ordered the linguini clams. Ugh, words cannot describe how good my dish was, I mean, they brought over the plate and I literally could not see the pasta there was a heaping mound of littlenecks on top, who couldn’t love that.
The ambience is pretty intimate; my friend and I felt it was the right setting to catch up on old times for a couple hours (the wine went quickly). This definitely won’t be the last time I dine here. Absolutely satiating.

My girlfriend and I decided to give Basta Trattoria a try on Thursday November 13, 2014. It is interesting to note two weeks ago we were in Skappo Wine Bar and the experiences were very similar. Both places are small and intimate. Tables are close together. I did not take a picture of Skappo but I did here for Basta.
There is only one shared bathroom here labeled women/​men. I found it very clean. I did take a picture of the plant which added to the ambiance.
We both ordered red wines and we were happy. The bread with olive oil came out. I did like the bread better here compared to Skappo. I liked that they had a spoon for the olive oil which Skappo did not provide.
I ordered the Melanzane Alla Parmigiana. It is described on their menu as «Thin cutlets of eggplant, breaded and pan fried in canola oil, layered with locally produced, hand packed ricotta cheese enveloped in our basil-​scented marinara sauce, finished with locally produced melted mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese then roasted in our brick oven. It was $ 18 and I liked it.
My girlfriend ordered Penne Fagioli. It is described on their menu as «Organic white beans, roasted garlic and parsley, with white wine, tossed with penne pasta and our local or organic summer greens of the day.» This was also $ 18 and she liked it.
The service here was great. The woman who took our order was enthusiastic. The young woman who kept giving us water was also kind. This was a fine dining experience.
We just have some minor criticisms. We could not connect to the WiFi. There is only one bathroom. We sat next to the door which was cold. Our waitress did warn us that it would be cold but the view of New Haven by the door looked the best.
I know in this review I compared Basta to Skappo. They are both very similar and I don’t think you can go wrong with both of them. I personally liked Skappo just a little bit better. I liked how Skappo had two bathrooms. I loved how the owner of Skappo came out and introduced herself to us. I gave Skappo 5 stars. I am giving Basta 4.2 stars. It is an excellent place.

I know there are a ton of decent Italian restaurants in New Haven but I think that Basta has a niche. I personally think the Wooster Square tourist traps are a bit overrated and enjoy the small, personal feel of Basta. It’s in a great location and has very high quality and consistent Italian food. It’s classy yet comfortable and I’ve very much enjoyed every meal I’ve had there.

Basta is one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the New Haven area, and I say that as someone who grew up eating and learning to cook specialties prepared by my Italian mother. It’s great for a nice night out or when I’m entertaining people with less than adventurous palates (e.g., my grandparents). It’s a small, cozy space, so reservations are often useful.
The meatballs, Sicilian calamari, and polenta appetizers are excellent. Overly sweet tomato sauce is grounds for instant blackballing in my book, but Basta’s sauce is flavorful, well-​seasoned, and has just a hint of sweetness from the San Marzanos. I’ve never been disappointed with my choice of entrée, whether I end up going for fish, meat, or a pasta. I’d highly recommend the Branzino Amalfi, Bistecca Fungetti, and Linguine Calabrese.
Their wine list has lots of options in the $ 30−40/bottle range and features some great, heavy Italian reds that complement the food well. I’m by no means an expert on Italian wines but the servers have never led me astray when asked for recommendations.