Basi Italia

Intimate, very good food, great service, ambience is great, dress is any way you want. perfect for before or after the theater and great for before or after the gallery hop! the food is really really really good! if you like intimate, quaint, off the beaten path, eclectic dining -this is the place to go! Highly recommended. just make sure you make reservations weeks in advance. Pros: food, atmosphere Cons: hard to park more

I can't believe that people are knocking this restaurant because it is small. This is by far the best italian in the city with an amazing atmosphere created solely because of the size of the restaurant, the service and the unbelievably good food. If you can't stand being inside ask for a seat on the terrace in the back outside which is a bit more spacious. The eggplant is AMAZING. The service is superb - our waitresses have never hurried us out of the restaurant whatsoever and we have, on more than one occasion, lingered over a bottle of wine with no mean looks or reasons to leave. You don't have to worry about parking b/c you just valet your car. We have made reservations on Wednesday for a Friday evening dinner. This is an amazing restaurant that deserves heaps of praise for creating a very unique dining experience. Pros: Taste, Atmosphere, Service more

I took my husband to Basi Italia for his birthday on the basis of a glowing Columbus Monthly review. After making a reservation weeks in advance we were seated right next to (as in the tables touched) another couple, I understand the restaurant is small but this was ridiculous. We started with prosciutto and melon. The ""prosciutto"" had a very smoky taste, which is strange considering real prosciutto should be cured, not smoked. Linguine in pesto with bay scallops and ""prosciutto"" was okay and the pasta was at least homemade, but turned out rather heavy and chewy. The duck special with cherries and star anise was completely overpowered by the sauce and far too sweet. Our table wobbled, drink refills took more than 10 minutes and the servers didn't seem to know we were there. This restaurant is over-hyped, over-priced and a great disappointment. We will not be going back. Cons: , Overpriced, Poor Service more

Sure, the place is cozy and parking is impossible. You may be able to get in without a reservation in the middle of the week, if you're lucky, phone in well in advance for any hope of a seat. But the food is excellent, and can be creative, such as beef medallions with truffle oil and citrus, and a tuna carpaccio appetizer that included sorbets of beef consomme' and of seafood...quite tasty! The menu changes constantly....Quality is consistenly high. The little gratis antipasto plate is a different touch, with pan rustica, caperberries and radishes and other little goodies. Desserts are splendid. The owners and staff are pleasant and friendly. This is definitely a splurge, but worth it. Pros: Quality, Ambience, Friendliness more

We made reservations at 6:00 for 6 weeks in advance. We arrived before 6:00, seated promptly. The waiter came to explain specials, said he wanted to get our orders quickly because he had another table at 7:30. We were not sure what he meant at first. We hoped it meant he was afraid we may miss out on specials, turned out, we were wrong. The food was okay, but just okay. The Caesar was different and enjoyable. The grouper on beets was creative, but I thought the beets were too strong for the grouper. It was difficult to enjoy dinner knowing we were being kicked out at 7:30. I would not recommend Basi, the restaurant is too small, they have too many tables, and they turn their tables too fast. The restaurant is loud, I could not hear anyone other than the people directly next to me. Cons: , turn tables too quick, parking more