Il Basilico Trattoria Italiana

Bring back Pasta Blitz! This used to be our go to place that we recommended to all of our friends and relatives, when it first opened under the name Pasta Blitz. For years the excellent service by native Italian waiters and owners made it authentic and more convenient than little Italy. As the original waiters and seasoned waitress moved on and service declined the name was changed to Il Basilico and at the same time the prices went up markedly. Some of the items including some fresh grilled fish (i.e. yellow fin tuna) were taken off the menu and only salmon and shellfish remain as staples. The pasta dishes are still very good (especially the veal granchia and anything with the rose cream sauce), but not as flavorful or spiced as they were before. I do not see the owner cooking any longer and hope that she is ok. There were minimal upgrades to the strip mall restaurant decor, namely a new side entry door to minimize drafts. We were still freezing there last night and the temperature outside was 40 degrees F outside--should not be so cold inside. No longer is parmesan cheese found on the table. The final straw is that the coupons are very hard to read for anyone over 40 (tiny yellow print) so that 3 times we were unable to use our coupons--in the past their coupon was not limited to M-Th, expiration date is harder to read (we actually had a valid coupon in the car). So 3 times we were unable to use the $10 off $50 dinner coupons. My husband 's view is, don 't print coupons if it is so difficult to use them.

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The food is decent and the staff is friendly. But several issues made for a mediocre experience. The cold air from the front door made its way back to our table. The lights kept dimming and getting brighter, all throughout our dinner. The music kept going in and out and was staticky. The waiter neglected to offer us Parmesan cheese (at an Italian restaurant? . And of course, no liquor, but we knew that going in. This restaurant needs to get its act together on the little things to make it a destination.

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They had no knowledge of our reservation and there were parties behind us who also reserved tables that were not available. They had child seats that had no idea what to do. After we had set ourselves, we had to move as soon as our apps arrived, so that they could record a larger group. Not good.

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There were some confusion when we sat who our server was. That was finally fixed. I had the Ravioli Baltimora dressed ravioli with Klump Crab. The crab was tight and I honestly couldn't taste it. I think it's excessive because of the quality of food.

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We left the restaurant, they were unorganized and did not know how to deal with the reservation system.

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