Basta Pasta
741 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
585.442.4599
Basta Pasta is one of those places you’re really not sure how the whole experience will turn out. On a Friday afternoon at 12:30, the place was completely empty. It’s a small, homey restaurant brightly painted with approximately 10 tables. We walked in and were promptly greeted and told to sit anywhere. While we sat, I noticed that there were some areas that could benefit from a quick cleaning. That’s the bad thing about window ledges – you tend to forget they collect stuff.
The one benefit of being the only one in the restaurant is fabulous service. We were delivered our ice teas (that had an excellent tropical flavor) immediately and when we were ready to order, there was no waiting at all!
Like many Italian restaurants, we received bread and salads with our meal. I was a bit disappointed with the bread, as it was just regular sliced Italian bread you would use for a sandwich. I really like restaurants that are taking the bread and making it interesting. The salads were good, but covered in black olives. Yuck. Pushed aside, the salad was still edible with a nice Italian dressing.
I ordered the Chicken Parmesan ($10.95), mostly because my mother will be visiting soon, this will be near our new neighborhood, and no matter where we go, if Chicken Parm is on the menu, that is probably her choice for the meal. The chicken was excellent, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I also enjoyed the freshly made pasta – a nice change from the usual linguine out-of –the-box you get at many other places. The sauce was a bit bland for me, but I do notice that many restaurants cater to the general public and keep the spices down.
My dining partner ordered the Pasta Italia ($9.95). The pasta dish was homemade linguini, topped with spinach, cherry tomatoes and tossed in oil. The portions were extremely large and we both couldn’t get through half of it.
Overall, I think Basta Pasta is a nice little place to visit. While it might not have knocked my socks off, it was an enjoyable meal.
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