- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Pasta & Basta
Category: Restaurants Italian Italian [Edit]
896 Rue Sherbrooke OMontreal, QC H3A 1G3
(514) 288-7874
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
2 reviews for Pasta & Basta
2 reviews in English
-
Review from Francisca W.
8/25/2009 3 photos
was looking around on google maps or urbanspoon; saw a "pasta basta" and thought of the one from NYC. so made a piont of going there for lunch before strolling down ste. catherine.
should've done my research more carefully. shocked at how different it looked from what i had anticipated as i saw the storefront and its sign; it did not the least bit resemble the one i knew in nyc. should've known it's too good to be true that they have a branch/franchise. in montreal, no less!
stopped in front of the door, hesitant. hungry bf walked right in despite my disapproval (he said he didn't hear it), thinking it couldn't be that bad and, more importantly, it didn't seem like there were many other choices around.
walked in and was told by the boss-looking lady to sit wherever we wanted. sure, the place was nearly empty (it was 3pm; there was one other table that was finishing up). we sat down and were given menus. ordered a "bruschetta for 2" ($4.95) for appetizer, and told the waitress to give us another minute to decide on entree. she then went ahead and started cleaning tables and etc after putting in our order, not looking up once to realize that we were ready, until our bruschetta was out from the oven and onto our table.
bf picked the classic "spaghetti bolognese" for $9.95, thinking it couldn't go wrong. i asked about something called "fettucine alla gigi" (or the like) for $11.95 whose ingredients consisted of "pink sauce, mushroom, and capicollo", since i didn't know what "capicollo" was. waitress explained it was a kind of cured ham, like prosciutto. i liked how it sounded so i went ahead and ordered that.
turned out, bf's spaghetti bolognese was worse (much worse!) than what i put together at home, throwing all kinds of random things into the pot. their sauce was watery not only in terms of consistency, but color as well. looked like the meat was just cooked unmarinated and the heat wasn't turned up high enough so water was sipping out from the meat into the sauce, watering it down. (i just made that mistake making my homemade pasta sauce, so i know what i'm talking about.) the tomato puree/sauce in the dish added nothing to the taste nor texture. well, at least the pasta wasn't soggy or mushy, so i'd give them that much. but it's definitely nothing to remember by, either.
my fettucine looked a bit better, but i kid you not, that "capicollo" looked exactly like chopped up coldcut ham. i mean, the oscar-myer kind of coldcut ham! it looked NOTHING like the "capicollo" or "capicola" images that show up in google images (please, do a search yourself and compare to my pasta pictures)! at the time of eating, i might not know what capicollo should look like, but even "cured ham" does not fit the description to what i saw on my plate. while that dish was a bit too salty for pasta, i'm pretty sure that saltiness didn't come from that said "capicollo."
oh, yeah, and the tomato coulis on the bruschetta was completely tasteless. i've made better out of a http://allrecipes.com recipe, seriously. the bread was flavorful with butter and herbs. and it was crunchy, yet not the knock-your-teeth-off kind of hard. it was potentially a good garlic bread material, but sadly, not bruschetta.
it's one thing you try to be all fancy, using superior ingredients and failing. but it's a completely different thing when you put something on the menu then not honor it. you think we don't eat enough italian food to know what it's supposed to be like, so you're free to scam?? right, sorry, my bad, who cares about italian food in monteral? the people speak french here!
the waitress might have been on her second day of the job--if i "eavesdropped" correctly--but asking my bf and i if we wanted to pay "together or separately" is just a little too much. ok, i can excuse her for being young and clueless, and i certainly can pile that up and blame management as well for not training her properly. but after having to pay some $30 for such low quality food, would superior service really help?! so, yeah, we didn't bother. my bf said he overpaid for "chef boyardee-quality" food, i have to disagree. i think chef boyardee's canned ravioli tastes MUCH better! and probably less salty...
in their "defense", bf kept thinking their pizza and/or sandwich should be better, which, if true, should be what's been keeping this place in business at such premium location. that may be, but they have "pasta" in their name, so how about at least try to make the most basic pasta right???
from decor to furniture arrangement to service to food, this place should be the top nominee for gordon ramsey's "kitchen nightmare". the people there are not bad people, but the place just sucked! and then i came to write this review and found out that their name is actually "pasta & basta" instead of the "pasta basta" i know. guess i only have myself to blame. last words: do your research! -
Review from Michael E.
Montréal, QC
2/15/2010
I am a McGill student, so I am willing to try almost any restaurant that offers student discounts. Unfortunately, I will never be back here again.
The decor is absolutely horrendous. A coat rack in the main hallway, inconsistent place settings (some tables had salt and pepper shakers, some had mills instead of shakers, some had oil and vinegar bottles as well, others even had sugar...), out-of-place Montreal Canadiens trinkets...it really is a train wreck. Inexplicably, I didn't run away to the nearest Tim Horton's.
I ordered the lasagna, along with a small side salad so I could get some vegetables. The side salad was beyond pathetic. Lettuce, a half of a tomato slice (yes, you can get more tomato on a typical hamburger than what I got), and a bland vinaigrette. Thank goodness for the pepper, but unbelievable that they didn't offer any Parmesan. (I didn't ask, but isn't a Parmesan option nearly automatic? Not here, apparently.)
Onto the lasagna, which was not much better. The plate was too big, so the whole lasagna was swimming in tomato sauce, which in turn threatened to vaporize the white liquid that was supposed to be mozzarella. The ground beef was barely present, and overcooked. The only thing worse than the lasagna itself was its preparation and presentation. I saw the waiter place my food in the pizza oven before I received it. Wait, what? The chefs in the back didn't fully cook it for me? We need to place it in the pizza oven? Well, it must have been really hot, because the plate was shielded by a cold plate underneath. Can't melt the plastic tablecloth protector! Absolutely terrible, but for whatever reason, I stuck around for dessert.
Thinking it could not possibly get worse, I ordered the tiramisu after the lasagna. My waiter came out of the back instantly. He proceeded to place a wine glass in the microwave. My heart sank. Yep, I was served a microwaved tiramisu. But even the microwave disappointed me. Despite the "heating," my tiramisu was barely above room temperature around the edges, and ice cold in the center.
It is obvious that the owners and chef either cannot cook, or have no passion. Possibly both. This fateful night was the worst $25 I have ever spent feeding myself. This is a true kitchen nightmare, so Gordon Ramsay, come save this establishment!
