Reviews & Ratings for The Basin

02/08/09

Best Resturant in San Jose area

by norcalrick at Citysearch

The Basinis is the best run, best food, best atmostphere and best service resturant in Saratoga. I have visited them on a number of different occassions and they have always beenoutstanding, Andrew , the owner, has greeted me almost everytime I have visited his establishment and he always comes to the table, as he does with all the tables, to find out if eveything is to our liking. I have been served by Todd on a few occassions and he is a true professional. He is a wakiing encyclopedia on foods, wines and spirits. If you want to have an outstand experience everytime The Basin is your best choice.

• Pros: THE BEST RETURANT IN SARATOGA
• Cons: I live 40 miles away

11/11/08

The Best in Saratoga

by pcraigdaniels at Citysearch

The Basin is consistently great - both the food and the service.

The owner Andrew keeps the place humming along.

06/08/08

Perfect food, imbeccable service, and gorgeous venue.

by acsmith67 at Citysearch

This past Saturday evening (6/7/08) I held a private 50th anniversary dinner for 23 in The Basin's warmly-lit private back room. I arranged the whole party from Los Angeles with owner Andrew whose kindness and attention to detail were evident from his emails. I told Andrew we would have 18, and at dinner time we had 5 extra people -- without hesitating, our main waiter Bruno snapped up another two tables, fit them into the room, and seated us without ever losing his smile or patience. Custom menus were printed for our party, delighting the guests of honor. The food reminded me of the authentic flavors of Spain I'd enjoyed only a year ago: Croquetas, jamon serrano, olives, warmed nuts, and Spanish cheese started our adventure. I had the cream-free carrot-ginger soup and a savory line-caught Sea Bass with perfect texture and lovely plating. The steaks ordered by some of the guests are the thickest I've ever seen, and I've been to Ruth Chris, folks. These were better. The Dungeoness crab pasta had a little kick, perfect with the red wine being served. Exacting standards of flavor from the chef were balanced for everyone all around -- a true symphony. The food arrived quickly, the wines were outstanding, and Andrew and Bruno's leadership of the team helping with our party made the evening a night to remember for the rest of our lives. Hats off to this unassuming five-star gem, worthy of a visit from the folks at Michelin.

• Pros: Psychic staff, passionate chefs, led by a great owner
• Cons: parking is tricky -- maybe a valet would help?

05/06/08

great little spot

by whalematch at Citysearch

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04/04/08

Best Saratoga Restuarant

by BrendaKashuba at Citysearch

This is our favorite Saratoga restaurant. The food and ambience is great and the owner, Andy, makes everyone feel like part of the family. It's sort of "Cheers" with great food and fun. It's quite small though so seating is really tough if you don't have a reservation. A lot of people go there before the Mountain Winery concerts so a later reservation might be a good idea.

05/18/07

Melt in your mouth mushroom pasta!

by romanee at Citysearch

I never used to be a fan of mushrooms until I experienced mushroom nirvana at The Basin. This dish (described as a signature dish) was chalk full of exotic, wild mushrooms such as chanterelles and morels, plesantly light cream sauce, and al dente rigatoni pasta. Our waitress was knowledgable and food savvy. She explained that the meat and produce come from organic and if possible sustainable local farms. The fish is rod and reel caught and they could even name the fishing boat that it came from! The beautiful skirt steak is hormone, chemical free and grass-fed. The owner greeted everyone that walked through the door, gave hugs to his well known guests as they left and shook the hands of the patrons he did not know. The restaurant was full of positve energy and was obviously a delightful local hang out spot for anyone looking for an epic glass of wine (or even better a bottle), a pint of beer or a good stiff martini.

• Pros: excellent food at even better prices
• Cons: I wish I didnt have to fly across country to visit the basin

03/22/07

not a great scene

by chrisfrank98 at Citysearch

went here tonight and was dissappointed in the crowd. The food was okay and the beer was good, but I like people watching and this place was dead on a wed night. Not a place for a great scene.

• Pros: good beer
• Cons: bad scene

01/28/07

The three main F's for dining; fun, fantastic, flavorful

by stevenvu at Citysearch

A group of my friends and I decided to dine one night due to a friends graduation. We weren't very knowlegeble about food or wine so we decided to search restaurants online and came around to The Basin. The main dining room was lit with a very soft lighting excluding the beautiful candles on the table. Andrew, who I believe to be the owner of the establishment was very generous by letting us have dinner without reservations. He mentioned that next time we come back reservations would be a good idea. The service was great, our server helped us paired our food with our wine and was extremely helpful with the descriptions of the food/wine. The pork chop was phenomenal. It wasn't dry at all! the bourbon whole seed mustard sauce was to die for.. thinking about it makes me want to come back for more. Overall, it was probably the finest dining experience I have ever came across. Thanks to the staff of the Basin and Andrew for a great time!

• Pros: variety of wine and overall staff
• Cons: the food is addictive!

10/10/06

Over priced, and over exaggerated

by hinafs at Citysearch

We went there based on several different recommendations, and were sorely disappointed. The service was good, the prices were high, and the quality of food was mediocre. The paella was one of the worst I have ever had, and the foie gras tasted horrible. We also had the chicken, again mediocre, the ahi tuna which was ok, and the lamb shank which was nothing to write home about. All in all, a very average restaurant, one would expect a lot more, just because of the quality of neighboring restaurants, if nothing else. Would not recommend, unless you have absolutely no other choice. Definitely not worth the price or the reputation

• Pros: Location, intimate setting
• Cons: Definitely not a "fun" atmosphere, overpriced, food quality average

08/18/06

Good food, extra effort

by Ripped2598 at Citysearch

We went to The Basin to celebrate finding out we were going to have our first baby. I made the reservation and we have a very good dinner. The service was good, steaks were very good and to top it all off they remembered I had just made a simple request to have a nice table as we were celebrating. At the end of dinner they made a nice gesture to us and my wife and I appreciated it. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

• Pros: service, special occassion dinners, food