Sonya:
"Basta means "enough" in Italian which reflects the restaurant's passion for creating magnificent flavors from simple, local, seasonal foods."
I definitely found this quote to be true, this hidden gem is truly worth a visit. Basta is located on Arapahoe Avenue, my boyfriend and I struggled a bit to find the restaurant because it is tucked away in an apartment complex. However, once we arrived we were greeted pleasantly by the staff and the cozy, inviting atmosphere of Basta.
We started off with beverages; the drinks list consisted of a large variety of craft beers, wine and cocktails. I ordered the Oregon Tart which was delicious! It is a tequila, lime and orange mixed drink. My only complaint was that it was a little small. My boyfriend ordered one of the craft beers (can't remember which one it was), it was different than anything either of us had ever tried and was very fun for both of us to experiment with! After drinks we started with the Oyster West Coast (pictured above), they were served on ice and came with some great sauces. Basta does not focus on seafood so I wasn't sure what to expect, the oysters were good but not fantastic. They were just a little bland for my liking. For the main course we ordered the Arugula pizza and it was absolutely delicious! The pizza is what this restaurant is know for and it was definitely the highlight of our meal. Basta has a wood-fired oven that they make their pizzas in, this oven creates an amazing smoky flavor on the handmade crust. The pizza was cooked perfectly with the perfect amount of sauce, cheese, arugula and prosciutto. The crust was soft but not too doughy.
Overall the meal was absolutely amazing. I would definitely recommend Basta to anyone that loves a good wood-fired pizza, the price of Basta is medium/high so if you are trying to save money forgo the drinks and appetizers and go straight for the pizza!
I definitely found this quote to be true, this hidden gem is truly worth a visit. Basta is located on Arapahoe Avenue, my boyfriend and I struggled a bit to find the restaurant because it is tucked away in an apartment complex. However, once we arrived we were greeted pleasantly by the staff and the cozy, inviting atmosphere of Basta.
We started off with beverages; the drinks list consisted of a large variety of craft beers, wine and cocktails. I ordered the Oregon Tart which was delicious! It is a tequila, lime and orange mixed drink. My only complaint was that it was a little small. My boyfriend ordered one of the craft beers (can't remember which one it was), it was different than anything either of us had ever tried and was very fun for both of us to experiment with! After drinks we started with the Oyster West Coast (pictured above), they were served on ice and came with some great sauces. Basta does not focus on seafood so I wasn't sure what to expect, the oysters were good but not fantastic. They were just a little bland for my liking. For the main course we ordered the Arugula pizza and it was absolutely delicious! The pizza is what this restaurant is know for and it was definitely the highlight of our meal. Basta has a wood-fired oven that they make their pizzas in, this oven creates an amazing smoky flavor on the handmade crust. The pizza was cooked perfectly with the perfect amount of sauce, cheese, arugula and prosciutto. The crust was soft but not too doughy.
Overall the meal was absolutely amazing. I would definitely recommend Basta to anyone that loves a good wood-fired pizza, the price of Basta is medium/high so if you are trying to save money forgo the drinks and appetizers and go straight for the pizza!
Brigitte:
My parents and brother came into town for the weekend and I wanted to take them somewhere new and delicious. My mom is all about the atmosphere of the restaurant so when we drove up to the restaurant, located in between an apartment complex as Sonya mentioned, my mom was very skeptical. However, we took our chances and entered into this cozy little restaurant. We were automatically greeted by a friendly host and seated immediately.
My family loves to share food and try all the different things on the menu so we ordered a bunch of different dishes and shared. We ordered all three of the salads on the menu and all three were simply delicious. You could tell that all the ingredients were fresh and crisp. We then ordered the Winter pizza which was a seasonal item on their menu. The pizza was cooked to perfection, the crust was perfectly crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside. Just how I like it. My brother being a meat lover ordered the slow-cooked short ribs with a side of smoked mashed potatoes. The smoked mashed potatoes were unlike anything we've ever had. Everything was so good that we just could not resist having the desert so we ordered the doughnuts which consisted of weiser farm potato and goat cheese with a side of chantilly cream and a scoop of the campfire vanilla and burnt caramel and salt ice cream. AMAZING.
The food was so good that my family became friends with one of the head chefs. We asked how they got that smokey flavor in all of their foods and they let us in on their little secret. There are no stoves, everything is cooked in their wood fired oven. They use imported wood to get that smokey flavor in their smoked balsamic and smoked mashed potatoes, they even go as far as putting the burnt wood into the food itself, straining out the ashes at the end.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to any foodie looking for a cozy atmosphere and great food!
Visit Basta online: http://bastaboulder.com
My family loves to share food and try all the different things on the menu so we ordered a bunch of different dishes and shared. We ordered all three of the salads on the menu and all three were simply delicious. You could tell that all the ingredients were fresh and crisp. We then ordered the Winter pizza which was a seasonal item on their menu. The pizza was cooked to perfection, the crust was perfectly crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside. Just how I like it. My brother being a meat lover ordered the slow-cooked short ribs with a side of smoked mashed potatoes. The smoked mashed potatoes were unlike anything we've ever had. Everything was so good that we just could not resist having the desert so we ordered the doughnuts which consisted of weiser farm potato and goat cheese with a side of chantilly cream and a scoop of the campfire vanilla and burnt caramel and salt ice cream. AMAZING.
The food was so good that my family became friends with one of the head chefs. We asked how they got that smokey flavor in all of their foods and they let us in on their little secret. There are no stoves, everything is cooked in their wood fired oven. They use imported wood to get that smokey flavor in their smoked balsamic and smoked mashed potatoes, they even go as far as putting the burnt wood into the food itself, straining out the ashes at the end.
I would highly recommend this restaurant to any foodie looking for a cozy atmosphere and great food!
Visit Basta online: http://bastaboulder.com