Quanto Basta: Italian Eatery & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Wilmington

This is an absolutely beautiful space, however, lacking in other desired qualities of a semi-upscale restaurant. My husband took me to QB for our 9th Wedding Anniversary upon my request as the photos were stunning and most of the reviews were positive. I love Italian food and it’s always my first go-to option. Reservations were easy to make online and we were sat right away when we arrived after having a drink next door at IronClad. The high ceilings, although a huge design trend, can make a quiet intimate dinner difficult. We started out inside but asked to move out to the terrace space in hopes of a quieter experience. I order the Nonna’s Baked Ziti and my husband ordered the Penne a la Vodka. Now, I’ve worked in lots of restaurants, 3 of which were Italian, so I have had my fair share of good and not-so-great Italian. Our picks at QB were safe as they are two dishes hard to mess up. We received our food in a timely manner considering it was a busy dinner shift, however our dishes had very little flavor. I wanted so badly to love this place but the food was very bland. By reading so many reviews prior I was mixed bc I saw so many positive reviews but an equal amount of negative reviews. I also noticed the owner of QB spends time reading these reviews and makes some pretty interesting replies. I am not here to tell people to not go here. I’m here to give my honest opinion and feedback. Please season your food accordingly. Maybe we caught it on an off night. Maybe the chef was overwhelmed, who knows! Additionally, when we asked for the check our server obliged but made the strangest comment. He said “oh yes, here it is, I knew it was yours because it’s the cheapest table I have.” I don’t know the real intention behind his comment but I took it as “ you guys are cheap and probably won’t tip me well, because your check is so small” This was very off putting to us as you should never judge what your tip might be according to the check. We are notoriously high tippers (25% of the check or more) because we were in the business ourselves and know “what’s up”. Anyway, I know this is a long review but I wanted to really give my impression and honest opinion. Honestly, it’s a simple fix, add more garlic, salt, and butter and teach your staff appropriate serving etiquette. I may or may not try QB again. Hopefully, this review is taken into consideration and flavor is added back to your dishes and the food will live up to the...

I'm not one to complain, as you can see from my prior reviews. I prefer to praise and promote. But unfortunately, this deserves attention.

I went here just tonight (3/29/22) for dinner. And despite having been before, loving the build-out, and living in Wilmington mere minutes from this restaurant, I will not be returning to Quanto Basta.

Quite simply, I was fleeced. Perhaps Quanto Basta meaning "as much as you like" also means, at least to them, as much as they'd like to charge.

Upon being looked at (can't call it greeted) by the male and female host/hostess who were clearly having bad days (I could elaborate but won't because it's not the point of this post), I ordered a Manhattan as a preferred pre-dinner beverage on a chilly evening in March. The drink was lovely, nothing super special but nice. Same as the food. However, upon getting the bill I shocked to see I was charged for $22 for this one single drink. Assuming this was a mistake, I asked the waiter who then, and only then, explained that because I ordered a Manhattan it's "their policy" to charge for a double.

My single cocktail was $22. Despite not requesting a particular brand of bourbon. Despite that the average cocktail is $14.55 (menu attached to confirm my math and my expectation of a "reasonable" charge for a cocktail). And despite my not being fairly notified in advance.

I lived in downtown Washington DC for 25 years and know the foodie scene well. And in 2019, traveled business-class (only sharing as a frame of reference for pricing out drinks) around the world visiting 21 countries my husband and our 2 kids. AND I have NEVER have EVER been surreptitiously, or even conspicuously, charged so much for one single cocktail.

The policy of charging a customer for a double despite not ordering one is a highly questionable practice. While I can afford a $22 drink should for some odd reason I want one, in this case tonight, I didn't, and didn't have the opportunity to decide otherwise. While the food was tasty enough to return (the Butterscotch dessert is quite something), I simply can't as a matter of principle. Maybe you can...and I'm not saying you shouldn't, but I am suggesting that you be careful...and maybe that you also check out PinPoint and Caprice (sit upstairs) - two of my favorite downtown restaurants that, come to think of it, I need to write reviews for. Cheers!

Update: I changed my review from 1 star to 3 stars. 1 star was bitter. 3...

Food and service were a disappointment. Atmosphere is the only thing worth giving a star which I would give three. Let's start with the service. The waiter while nice, was clueless. He was unable to name any burbons they had for an old fashioned but did assure me that they had "a lot" of bourbon to choose from. My son who was twelve asked about non alcoholic options and the most he could muster from memory was water, which he was holding in his hand and "coke products", of which he could name zero outside of coke. While I'm not asking the guy to name all coke products perhaps memorizing at least two would be helpful given his profession. Lastly for service when asking where the restrooms were he pointed in one direction but then looked in the opposite direction and said "go down that way,the kitchen is on the left, ya know the building is kind of a circle, so if you keep walking you'll find it" then proceeded to tell us the original use of the building from the 1920s. While it was interesting to hear the building used to service cars it would have been more helpful to know where the bathroom was or at least be pointed in the right direction. Started the night with an old fashioned which was too sweet, hummingbirds would have a hard time getting it down. The tagliatelle bolognese was a non issue as there was no sauce in or on the dish, so I'm not even sure I can comment if the sauce was good. I can state however it was not on the pasta I ate. When asking if the kitchen forgot it I was told it was a white wine bolignese.. the only white of that entire meal was the dish it came on. My wife ordered another pasta dish with pesto sauce. I can say that while the dish was green in nature it was otherwise devoid of all taste. The pasta itself was average pasta one might find at the supermarket. My son ordered the chicken parm which was good actually, largely in part due to the chicken rather than sauce or pasta.

After reading owner's review it appears his/her only response to various patron's bad expierences is to belittle , dimiss and to victim blame. Upon further review of other lower star reviews it appears a pattern of response from the owner has emerged. One of an infantile, immature and egotistical nature and one designed to prevent improvement. Let me be clear on the matter, I will never visit this...