Basilico Ristorante — Restaurant in Olympia

Horrible service. Made reservation, seated promptly, served wine, salad out promptly and terrible cheap white Walmart like banquet bread slices and tasteless spread.

Then sat for over an hour, no one stopped by, no water refills, no more wine - no contact - avoidance. We had a show and were down to. Half hour so I waved a waiter over and asked. Meal came 10 minutes later. Food was cool, we had to throw it down and run out the door. They charged an automatic 10%, I give /5% but not tonight. The frustration ruined the whole night. We drove 3 hours for this show. And dinner was so frustrating it was hard to recover.

After reading the owners comments I wish to add this commentary - I totally get things happen and your system going down was a bad situation. First, no one told use anyuthing was amuck until we were ther for an hour and we flagged you down to where is our food. It would have been helpful if we had been told upfront and we would have said - we need to be out of here by 7:45. We could tell something was not right - as patrons at the other tables were upset and frustrated waiting to get their bills. Once we saw what was going on - we felt terrible for the waitress staff - they had to bill out everything by hand. I can't believe a flor manager or someone, maybe call in hel[ - someone should have been tallying the bills so the waitress staff could take care of their regular duties. I would have had the folks sitting people or cleaning tables- helpng out or the Manager doing it. Since our reservation stated we had 1hr and 45 minutes at our table - we thought no need to tell you in advance we had to go at a certain time - because you are fli[[ping tables. If you think the 2 glasses of wine made u[ for this situation - you are wrong.; We got it and I threw mine down and my wife basically left most of it on the table - there was no enjoyment in chugging wine. We are sorry your system went down and your staff had to rally - communication is a key to understanding, properly managing a crisis is key to smoothing out the...

One of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had. We made a reservation on Sept 24 to celebrate my 30th birthday and my recently earned PhD. My husband put that in the reservation line, but no acknowledgement from the staff - totally fine. Special celebrations at restaurants are super common and we never expect anything. I’m sharing the occasion to demonstrate how absolutely awful this experience was.

The restaurant was clearly understaffed, as it took 30 minutes to get a glass of wine. It took over two hours to get our dinners and only 1 of 4 meals was edible. We enjoyed the rack of lamb, which was a special that night. I got the Strozzapreti alla Norcina, which was the worst pasta I’ve ever had. It was unbearably salty and void of any other flavor. I had three bites before I excused myself to go throw it up. My MIL and husband got the seafood stew, another special that night. Their meal had so much sand in it from improper cleaning that we wondered if it was safe to eat. (It was not, both my MIL and husband were sick the next day.) The entirety of our meal, we looked for our server to politely point out these issues but he was nowhere to be found.

There’s a reason this restaurant charges an automatic 10% gratuity and it’s because both the service and the food are a joke. Not only was our meal exorbitantly expensive, it was inedible and they ruined what was supposed to be a really lovely family celebration. Steer clear of Basilico at all costs, especially if you’re celebrating...

I honestly cannot remember a time when I enjoyed a meal so thoroughly, especially with my gluten allergies. Normally, eating out involves playing twenty questions with the server, and either still eating with hyper vigilance for any sign of a reaction, or resigning myself to a bowl of lettuce, maybe with a tomato if I'm very lucky. But not here, for not only is the main menu very clear about what is & isn't able to be served gluten-free, but so is the dessert menu, the vast majority of which I could enjoy. They even brought out gluten-free bread for me to eat at the table, one with my own dish of dipping oil. I cannot tell you if I've ever had that anywhere else, and as an added bonus, it was also delicious. Honestly, the whole meal was delicious, reminding me of my Nonna's family dinners from when I was little. Watching my husband'a eyes light up with revelation as he took his first bite of fresh pasta was a delight. But nothing prepared me for the dessert. Leave room for a bit, split the plate with someone, take a quick jog around the block if you have to, but do not skip the dessert, you'll only be doing yourself a disservice. I cannot recommend this place strongly enough, especially to anyone with a gluten-free diet or gluten allergies that still wants to enjoy their meal. Not just accept, or find to be 'good enough', but truly enjoy their meal. 10/10 will...