Basquiat — Restaurant in Matera

No recommendation for this restaurant!

The good thing: the food is not bad, but the service and the chef, both are overstrained.

I give a recap of our evening: the chef herself is taking orders (not a problem itself but I’ll come to that point later), there were two young waitresses, one of them could not open a winebottle (imagine: this is happening in Italy). The vino de casa is good, we enjoyed it. As appetizer we had the crapiata: good dish, served in a bread, nothing to call out. Then the chaos began. We waited almost an hour for our for our primi: spaghetti alla giuannin and spaghetti alla carbonara. Instead of the pasta we got served two empty plates (I think they should have been served for the main dish instead) and the side dish: grilled vegetables (we ordered the grilled vegetables as side dish to the main dish/Secondi). Then the empty plates got put away by the waitress and the first portion of spaghetti was served. 15 minutes later, the second portion of spaghetti was served (same Problem on the other tables). The chef came to the dining room and apologized, but only to the Italian guests, not to us. Sorry but this is really disrespectful. Then we waited again too long for the main dish: lamb with baked potatoes. It was served on a hot, sizzling plate. The problem: the meat and the potatoes were not hot. At least they got a little more warm, as it laid some minutes on the hot plate. Taste was good but not outstanding. The overstrained waitresses did not asked for another bottle of water or even cafe or dolce after the Secondi piatti. After waiting for the bill, we went to the chef to explain our situation and give feedback. She apologized, but did not offer us anything to outweigh the mistakes. Her excuse was, that she is alone in the kitchen and it’s hard to get a good staff in these times. I unterstand that, but it is not an excuse!! The other explanation was: all the guests come at the same time, so it’s not possible to serve every dish in a proper time. They really should change the concept/menu/placing of the guests, because it’s not acceptable, that guests on the same table got their dishes served at different time, if they do not eat the same dish. And I‘m wondering, why is the chef herself taking the order, if she is alone in the kitchen? Our recommendation for the chef: reduce the amount of tables/guests or change the Timing, when your guests arrive, because this is not the way to treat your guests. We are really...

Overall, we had a good dining experience. The food quality and the friendliness of the staff were excellent, but be aware that the waiting times were unexpectedly long. We truly appreciated that one particularly nice lady apologized several times for the delays, which helped manage our expectations. The Stars of the Meal • The Steak (Secondi): This was absolutely superb! The steak was wonderfully tender and had a perfect level of salt. It was a great portion size, and the accompanying vegetables and potatoes were also perfectly cooked. • Carbonara (Primi - pictured): This dish (which was served in a generous, "humongous" portion) was great. While it wasn't as creamy as I'm typically used to, the cooking and seasoning were spot-on. I found the spice level high, almost resembling the Pasta all'Assassina. My only small critique is that there was an excess of rendered fat visible at the bottom of the plate, which could be reduced next time. Despite that, I would definitely order this dish again. Other Dishes • Pasta with Olives and Paprika (Pictured): My sister's pasta (likely the spaghetti in the silver bowl) was good overall, but it didn't stand out when compared to the magnificent steak and my fiery Carbonara. • Orecchiette with Pesto (Pictured): My mother had the pasta with pesto (the green dish with the large slice of bread). The pasta itself was good, but the large piece of bread on the side felt unnecessary. Summary and Recommendation Despite the significant issue with the waiting times—which the restaurant needs to improve—the quality of the main courses and the kindness of the staff made this a worthwhile visit. I would come again specifically for the fantastic steak and the...

I’m Italian but I’m gonna write this review in English as I hope every tourist will stay away from this place. The worst food I had in my own country: Cardoncelli mushroom : thanx god the mushroom where nice and meaty because the chef has done everything to ruin it. Fried olives: imagine a mix of flavours between Petrus liquor and the stinkiest sock u ever come across everything served nice and hot. Spaghetti Carbonara: basically scrambled eggs served with overcook spaghetti and some water on the bottom the dish (find picture attached), I NEVER tasted something as disgusting. Tagliata steak: the only positive note, meat was tasty and somehow properly cooked, served on a super hot plate. Better u eat it fast or it will become rubber in a matter of minutes. Primitivo wine: decent jolly red wine. Im ashamed a Chef that put his face in the front page of the menù can serve such terrible food in his own city. Said that the front of house staff was very attentive and did what in their power to make us feel good and at...