"Far before nearly every hip neighborhood had multiple ambitious Italian restaurants, there was Basta Pasta. Opened in 1990 near Union Square, the restaurant bridged the cuisines of Japan and Italy, with pasta as the primary objective. It’s still open and thriving today, with compelling classics like a mildly sweet spaghetti riddled with fish roe and shiso and a gently spicy tomato-based tagliolini dish piled with soft crab meat. The space is unusual: Walk through the kitchen to get to dining room, where huge, emotionally wrenching paintings hang over simple white tablecloth-covered tables. It feels like a restaurant of a different era." - Eater Staff
