Basta
Italian restaurant · East Campus ·
Wood-fired pizzas, salumi, market-driven menu, creative cocktails
Wood-fired pizzas, salumi, market-driven menu, creative cocktails
"Opened in Boulder in 2010, Basta was Whitaker’s ember — his first wave as a scrappy, cerebral newcomer — and laid the groundwork for his culinary identity. That foundation was international, informed by hospitality studies and a formative stint on Procida where he fell in love with wood-fired cooking and the joy of feeding people simply and well, setting the stage for the ecosystem he would later build." - Katie Shapiro
"Receiving the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur in 2024, Kelly Whitaker’s got a reputation for breaking new culinary ground. Of all his projects, this is the coziest and most straightforward, centered around wood-fired pizzas, proteins, and veggies. Kick off with oysters and the chicken-liver mousse with mostarda and focaccia; move on to the OG Cart pizza with sausage and kale alongside roast chicken in white wine jus; and wash it all down with something fun and funky like a bottle of Lambrusco or a Manzanilla Sherry and tonic. (By day, sibling cafe and bakery Dry Storage around the corner awaits with breads and pastries made from heritage grains milled in house.)" - Ruth Tobias
"I note Basta is identified as the group's Boulder, Colorado Italian restaurant and part of the Id Est Hospitality collection." - Nicole Adlman
"Concrete floors, cream walls and an open kitchen with a wood-burning oven set an industrial-chic tone at Basta. Snag a spot at the bar and you'll have a front row seat to the culinary action, where family-style, contemporary Italian-American cooking is the name of the game. Start things off right with a shareable starter like burrata or the silky chicken liver mousse with peach mostarda that is sided by crusty bread from next-door sister bakery, Dry Storage. Definitely don't skip the smoked dark green olives—they're an unexpected delight. From there, entrees are satisfying, especially the half chicken. End on a sweet note with a plate of five beignet-style doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar and a dulce de leche Chantilly cream." - MICHELIN Guide
"Basta was his first baby. “It wasn’t in a great location,” he laughs, sharing a story about how the legendary critic Jonathan Gold was dining with him one night and told him so. “This is a guy who is known for finding out-of-the-way places and he said it,” jokes Whitaker. Location aside, Basta took off. The concept was simple, with quality ingredients and a wood-fired oven, but the neighborhood embraced it. Others, including MICHELIN, have also taken notice. (Basta earned aBib Gourmand distinction in the inaugural guide to Colorado.)" - Nancy DePalma