| Bastas has perhaps a more
authentic Italian menu and ambiance than any other
Italian restaurant in Portland and is one of my two
favorites (Riccardo's in Lake Oswego is the other.) The menu has minor seasonal
changes, occasionally suspending service of one or two of
my favorite dishes for a while, but it ultimately
returns.
As you enter Bastas, in a
refrigerated case to your left is usually shrimp,
calimari and garlic with olive oil...an Italian seafood
salad served virtually everywhere in Italy. From
there, you can sit in the restaurant or on the patio,
covered with a grape arbor.
The wine selection is
excellent, often featuring Panaretta by the glass.
Pasta dishes are always excellent, as are the soups and
the meat dishes. My only complaint is that the
Caesar salad has the white gloppy stuff which I distain
for dressing.
Service is usually good,
but from time to time, I've encountered a waitress with
an attitude. I try to let it not bother me too
much, because the rest of the experience is always
excellent.
Food: A. Service: A-B.
Parking: A. Attitude: A-C. Ambiance: A. Value: A.
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