Basso

Basso was another new restaurant pick for my birthday since so many of my friends had gone there and checked it out already. I was excited to see the Cheshire Hotel turn around recently and they have had to employ valet parking even during the week due to all the new interest.

You immediately go down into the basement and the brightest areas are the kitchen area and the bar. There are a few TVs over the bar but they’re not loud or distracting, but with the high ceilings, there is plenty of crowd noise. Definitely a bar atmosphere but certainly a little nicer.

I was blown away by the beer and wine selection. The waiter was kind enough to talk us through a lot of it. I was thrilled to see one of my favorites, La Chouffe (Belgian), and my friend had several stouts to choose from! Hehe

The dinner menu was quite lengthy as well, way better than a typical bar, and we decided to try something from each section except for the pizza. We started with the Lobster Arancini since I love seafood and it was like a lobster risotto ball, although you really couldn’t taste the seafood bits that much.

I also split the Potato Gnocchi, which was very mild, and a little different texture than I’ve had elsewhere. I think I would try something from the grill instead next time. We did enjoy the Roasted Cauliflower even though it was a small serving. Those you could order for yourself and don’t need to split.

The waiter was kind enough to bring us gelato as my birthday dessert and it was everyone’s favorite, salty caramel. Of course it needed a generous squeeze of chocolate sauce on top to make it just right.

Even though it was noisy, I really enjoyed the lively atmosphere and lengthy drink menu.

Resources:

Basso = http://www.basso-stl.com