Worst experience!
I went with my son to Birra et Basta on Saturday August 30, 2025 (in case Management wants to follow up with staff which they absolutely should). We arrive, were seated.
We were given French menus even though we clearly were speaking English and the waiter also speaking English to us. We had to call him back over to ask for an English menu.
We ordered appetizers: calamari which I thought would be a safe bet since it's supposed to be an Italian restaurant, and some fried zucchini things.
He brought the apps.. just the app dishes, we had to call him back over to ask for cutlery and side plates.
The calamari was overcooked, crunchy rubber (Not sure about the zucchini thing, I would have to refresh my memory on the actual menu details,but I am pretty sure it doesn't say it supposed to be soggy round lumps.. )
I kept my mouth shut and didn't complain which is absolutely unusual for me.
We ordered our mains, I ordered a salad and my son ordered veal.
After a while the waiter came and asked if that would be all, ready with charger in hand. I said um, we have not yet received our mains. He was very confused. He went away and after quite a while we finally received the mains..I suspect the order did not get to the kitchen. The cheese in my salad was soft and plopped. The salad itself was somewhat edible but limp and not enjoyable.
The only thing fine was my son's veal..however I am not sure if he just said that to make me feel better since I was so disappointed in the rest of the meal . I travelled very far to see him, more than an hour past Toronto, costing me $800 on the train, during some very difficult personal issues I very much needed this trip and his support. He knows how important this visit was for me since I see him only a few times a year. Anyway we ate, I left half of my main because it was soggy..and I paid, I spent $102.
Again the only reason I let it slide is because this particular date with my son meant so much to me and I didn't want to sour it complaining . (Even he was surprised that I didn't complain because I never let these things slide, in his younger days he worked in a kitchen pub and he knows what happens on a busy day back there so he always cringes when I complain. ) He admitted I would have been totally justified wth the $15 calamari at the very least.
I will be posting this review on all sites I can find, possibly Management can issue me some kind of gift card I can give to my son to put towards a future visit. If that is done I promise to update this and all reviews accordingly that the Management ensures customer service is followed up on.
I will be watching for a reply to a review site and I can be reached at 1tla65@gmail.com
Edit: 1. I changed email address and 2. Management has contacted me via email and I will be talking to him soon. read more