Why it took me so long to finally come here, will forever be a mystery. Absolutely delicious. Initially I was throw off by the tight staircase you have to walk up to dine in at. We got up the first flight and gave our party number (2), they asked if we were okay to sit upstairs. We said sure, why not, especially as the first floor was decently crowded. We got upstairs and it was so serene and intimate, I couldn't have asked for a better seat. The view of Amherst center was beautiful. Perfect weather, blue skies...I digress! Our server, (who's name I wish I remembered!!) was incredibly helpful and offered recommendations to us as neither of us had been there before. We started with the breaded shrimp with marinara...YUM. If you're a shrimp fan, do yourself a favor and order this. Next came some complimentary bread and oil, which you can never go wrong with. Then entrees. The chicken verdicchio was mine and it was delicious. The mushrooms were tender, the artichoke hearts were a perfect addition. I tried my boyfriend's Alfredo and that too was delicious. Price was pretty decent as well, especially for what felt like a fancy place. $12 for the 7 shrimp, $26 for the Crazy Alfredo and $27 for the verdicchio. We packed up the leftovers and even the next day they were delicious. read more

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Appetizers, drinks & of course their bread basket with dipping oil were all delicious. Service was good! My dinner? Not good. I've never had a problem at Pasta E Basta with my favorite meal: Crazy Alfredo until this visit. I first got the wrong dinner and when they brought me the correct one, it was so over the top with black pepper I could not eat it!!! I did not ask for extra. Not sure if the cook was mad I returned the wrong dish or what. My friend had the same dish and his was perfect. Really disappointed. I should have sent it back. I suffered through a few bites and was done with it. read more

My family and I really wanted to love this restaurant. The restaurant itself is cozy and has a nice vibe. The staff were friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, the food was just mediocre. My daughter and I ordered the chicken broccoli Alfredo. My wife ordered a pasta dish with marinara and sautéed chicken. The portion sizes were good. The problem was with the "sautéed" chicken. On all 3 dishes the chicken was dry and didn't look or taste sautéed. We were disappointed. Maybe we went on an "off" night? On the bright side, my teenage son said the chicken parm was good! read more

Was not expecting much. Downstairs was empty, which for me is a red flag to RUN away!! But when we opened the door and heard the ruckus upstairs, all my worries went away! The warm bread and olive oil to start was on point!! Went with a penne with a marinara/mozz sauce oozing all over the joint! Soaking that happiness up with leftover bread basket. Very good, highly recommend. read more

Great food, waitress gave us extra bread and was very welcoming. Good atmosphere for formal or casual meals

I got a chicken broccoli alfredo, and it was great! One of the best Alfredo sauces i've had in my life. The chicken is very tender, and the service was amazing. This place is awesome! and ev read more

Pasta E Basta - Italian Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

Great service and food. Convenient location in Amherst. Friendly service. You have to be able to do stairs! Cozy and comfortable inside. Definitely recommended if you're in Amherst! read more

No frills, casual pasta spot in the heart of Amherst. Looks small but has multi floor seating and quick service. I strayed away from my tried and true fettuccini Alfredo and had a shrimp spaghetti this most recent din which was just ok. My partner liked his pesto. Appreciate the make your own pasta dish option. The stand out for me has always been the Foccacia served pre meal which is top notch. The portions are enormous! read more

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Fabulous meal tonight at Pasta! Tried the sweet and spicy cream sauce with breaded chicken! It was amazing! Husband had his usual of Lasagna. It's a drive to come from Sturbridge but we so love this place! Worth it!! Oh, and forgot to mention their bread - freshly made to dip in oil! Bruschetta was good, but a little mushy tonight with the tomatoes. PS get the Tiramasu! read more

Pasta E Basta - Sweet and spicy cream sauce with breaded chicken with penne! - Italian Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

The food was good I loved the flavor of the chicken parm, but the crazy alfredo was a bit too salty. I also liked the complementary bread and the bruschetta! The service was quick and kept us informed with the status of our foods. read more

The food here is amazing and the meatballs are perfection! Just a gentle suggestion-the salads are a bit skimpy and your dressings need a little work. I also suggest serving some bread with your meals. I know this restaurant is new and I really hope I succeeds-we live in the area and we really need some good restaurants! read more

The food was delicious and quick to serve, but the restaurant itself was pretty cramped and expensive. Overall a great restaurant for Amherst despite difficulty getting in. read more

Great quality food in a pleasant atmosphere close to the Amherst campus. They were very nice and accommodating to take our party of 10 on short notice. The breaded ravioli and Parmesan fries were delicious appetizers. There were many classic dishes to choose from, and I really enjoyed the chicken piccata while my husband loved the chicken Parmesan. The portions were generous and perfect for a group of hungry boys. We will definitely be back! read more

Waiters were very attentive and kind, the food was so yummy and it was the perfect blend of busyness and quiet ambience. I come here often to eat with my boyfriend, and it's always a great time! read more

Pasta E Basta - Arancini - Italian Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

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This is a great place, we often get take out. The Arancini app is very nice and the salads are fresh / tasty. Chicken parm passes the master's ;) test, she loves it! I get the lasagna or a bolognese pasta and am never disappointed. The place is usually busy, get a reservation. The staff is nice and always helpful. A good staple in Amherst. read more

Just wow, my boyfriend goes to umass and we came here while i was visiting for a date night and the food was phenomenal. the service was super quick and our waiter was great it made for a great date night. would highly recommend. read more

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Excellent food and service. A bit loud since all hard surfaces. Be prepared to hike up stairs.

I had heard good things about this place, but it actually exceeded my expectations. The pacing and service was great, and I think my favorite part was actually the free bread and oil(never had better oil at a restaurant). For apps we got bruschetta and toasted ravioli, both of which were amazing. I didn't have time to take a picture before everyone at the table was digging in. I ordered the gemelli pasta with vodka tomato cream sauce and it was perfect. Only small complaint would be I wish they gave you more napkins since the appetizers got our hands pretty oily. Nonetheless we all loved our food and would definitely go back with the reasonable prices of pasta e basta! read more

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Such a gem!! I've wanted to come here for years and finally made it tonight. Rowan was our waitress and she was on the ball and incredibly friendly. From the smell of yummy food when you walk in, to the tasty bread, appetizers are large and our meals were so so good! Drinks were a nice variety and reasonably priced. Can't wait to come here again. read more

The food is always really great here!! Also they have a wide range of food to choose from!! My favorite is their chicken franchise or piccata!! read more

Always a wonderful meal. Been coming here since my son was at UMass. Lasagna is delicious, but get it with an extra meatball (or two if you plan on leftovers as the portion is rather large). Bruschetta is so good, we continue to try to duplicate at home (without success). Never had a bad meal there. read more

The food tasted pretty good and they had big portions, but at the end of the day it's just pasta. Service was good too but keep note that the drinks are pricey. Though I went with friends this place has the perfect ambiance for a date night. read more

Pasta E Basta - Alfredo Pasta with breaded chicken - Italian Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

Update...went again just two weeks after first visit and can't say enough! Wait staff was lovely, food again great. Meal came out hot and delicious. Leftovers were great too! Original post: Lovely dinner, great service! Gluten free and vegetarian options too! Group of 3, none of us finished our dinner since portions are very generous. Reservations recommended. Restaurant is on 2nd & 3rd floors with window views available. Not sure if there is an elevator. read more

My favorite Italian spot out in Amherst! Their to-go food is just as good as when sitting upstairs at the dine-in portion of the restaurant. When dinning in, you can choose to sit upstairs in a cozy, welcoming, and somewhat romantic atmosphere, or you can sit downstairs in a very casual and laid back area. The service is fast in both seating areas and the staff I've encountered are friendly and attentive. Note: I believe you can only order alcohol in the upstairs dinning area. As for the best part..the food.. the Lobster Alla Marre is my favorite dish! The crazy Alfredo (spicy dish) is also very good. Their portions are great and I almost always have left overs to bring home. I am also happy about the dipping oil they serve with the bread. I should also mention that you can create your own dish there which is perfect for picky eaters. read more

I actually loved the food last I had it so I placed an online order, paid and drove all the way out to pick it up and low and behold the store was closed. You would think that the website would stop you from ordering or a prompt would come up telling you they were closed but no, I worked the longest shift and was SO EXCITED to get my food!! I spent all I had and when I got there not only was it closed but there was also a door dasher there trying to pick up an order someone else was able to place. Sadly I paid thru toast so I couldn't get a refund like I'm sure the door dash customer got. Still waiting for an answer. So hungry (hangry really) and disappointed that I spent my dinner money on a closed restaurant. Boooo read more

loved eating here! will come back again for sure!! bread and oil was amazing, loved the make your own pasta as well read more

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Been wanting to try this place for a while now and finally got here. Will definitely be going back again. It's a cool place with great food.

Had a great time at Pasta E Basta in Amherst for my friends birthday last week. This was my first time going, and I've heard such great things in the past about it. Even though they had limited staff, they made our experience great. I got the spinach ricotta manicotti which was good. My partner got the crazy Alfredo which came in a massive portion and was delicious. Would definitely return to this spot in the future. read more

Pasta E Basta - Spinach Ricotta Manicotti - Italian Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

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My mom and I had traveled for many ours before finding Pasta E Basta and we were so happy to find that it lived up to the hype. The food came out quick and it was absolutely delicious. My mom and I have celiac disease and everyone working at the restaurant was quick to make accommodations for us and help in any way possible. The gluten free pasta was wonderful! My mom had the chicken Marsala and she loved it as well! Definitely worth checking out! read more

Always have a nice time here. Good food & good service! Kick ass martinis! Go and have fun! read more

A casual upscale delight in Amherst. Food was excellent and huge serving. Service was attentive. Highly recommend and will go back every time we visit. read more

Came here with 2 friends and we all thoroughly enjoyed the service and our meals. The staff here were all very friendly and accommodating, and our waiter took good care of us. I ordered the chicken & broccoli Alfredo and it was honestly some of the best Alfredo I have ever had! Their Alfredo has small pieces of roasted tomatoes and I really think it added a special touch. The portion size was also very large, I had plenty of leftovers to take home. Would definitely come here again in the future. read more

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Great food, always -- even when doing take away. Awesome dessert too. Great size portions for the cost.

I heard that the food was good so I took my daughter and her friends to dinner after her hockey game. The pasta was slightly over cooked but the ragu sauce was good. Meatball was decent. Portions were good. The restaurant was busy- I don't think they had enough servers. It took a long time from getting our water and finally taking our order. I prefer johnnys pasta which is made fresh in house and johnnys had better service. read more

Good service and nice ambiance in a classic Italian American setting. We enjoyed the make your own pasta!

We ordered the crazy Alfredo and the chicken beneciano both with a side salad. Both reasonably priced. The bread is amazing. The beneciano is a lighter dish and overall pretty good if you're in the mood for a big meal but not having it be too heavy. The crazy Alfredo was amazing, the perfect amount of spicy for a pasta (if you're not good with spicy food I recommend not getting it) I personally added a bit more chill flakes cause I like it a little spicier. The reason why I gave this place 2 stars was I found a small black hair in my Alfredo, that can happen in a restaurant but how they reacted and the service is TERRIBLE. First of all it took forever to get their attention to alert them, mind you we went at 4pm during winter break we were the ONLY CUSTOMERS at this time. A different waitress asked what I would like done and I asked for them to remake it. It was getting pretty late so I wanted to tell them to have it to go instead, I couldn't do that since there was no staff to be seen. It was promptly made, but we had to ask for a box after I received my new dish. After waiting a long while we finally get to ask for the check, MOST PLACES REMOVE A DISH WITH HAIR, THIS PLACE DID NOT. Already being fed up, we still had a long wait for them to take the check. They got the stars for the pasta and bread. Do not go, unless you have all the time in the world. read more

Pasta E Basta - Italian Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

This is an update with not much new information. The service is Still great. We ordered many times during the deep pandemic. It's so nice to be eating inside. It's clean (as it always was) - everything is delicious, and it's nice to speak to one another and relax in a very good atmosphere. Food was great as usual. read more

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1. Great pizza, I really enjoyed my meal. 2. The upstairs area was really cool. 3. This is one of my top recommendations for a date night in the area. read more

We had dinner here with a group-- so lots of choices and everyone had a meal they enjoyed. We had bruschetta as an appetizer and most of the group had cocktails which they all enjoyed. I had the chicken Marsala which was excellent-- you will want to take it home as the portion was very generous. Others in our party had chicken piccata, eggplant parmigiana and the shrimp and broccoli pasta-- all were excellent. We had tiramsu and lemon cake for dessert-- wow! Service was excellent and friendly. The only thing to beware of is that the steps are steep and may be a problem for anyone with a disability. read more

I've ordered out from this place a few times. I have to give them credit for their alfredo. The sirloin strip alfredo was quite good, in my opinion. You would not expect steak to work with the peppers and mushrooms in the light alfredo sauce, but it does. However, I tried the Chicken Beneciano and it was positively DISGUSTING. They try to compensate for the fact that the dish is just a bland piece of chicken with some oily pasta by putting a billion capers in there as well. The result is an acidic mess of slop that made my stomach turn. I suppose it was not a good sign when I saw that my takeout bag had grease leaking through it. Either they had not bothered to package it properly, or there was so much grease in the dish that it quantum tunneled through the plastic container. I've tried a few other things here. The salads are pretty decent but nothing special. I once made the mistake of ordering the Bruschetta. It was $8 for TWO pieces of the bread they give out for free topped with some cheese and diced tomatoes. That has got to be a planned rip-off to make a little extra on the margins. Do not get the Bruschetta. It has unfortunately deterred me from trying any other appetizers. All of the staff I have interacted with have been quite pleasant, none of my criticisms are on them. In my opinion it has to be the management or the chefs cutting corners. Overall, there are simply too many negative surprises from this place to warrant me spending money there again. Two stars. read more