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Bastone
Categories: Restaurants French Food Breweries Restaurants Belgian French, Breweries, Belgian [Edit]
419 S Main StRoyal Oak, MI 48068
Neighborhood: Downtown Royal Oak
(248) 544-6250
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 2 am
Sun 12 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Trendy, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
129 reviews for Bastone
Review Highlights
"highlights include the potato leek soup and pomme frites."
(in 9 reviews)
"Foodwise, Bastone's Pomme Frites are excellent."
(in 14 reviews)
"Dubbel Vision beer is my flavorite (see what I did there."
(in 5 reviews)
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129 reviews in English
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Review from Denise Z.
Ypsilanti, MI
10/23/2011
We ate here for lunch and I had the steak tips with mushrooms and onions in a beer sauce - delicious! It came with "stoemp", which is basically mashed potatoes with garlic, carrots, and greens mixed in.
My husband had the tuna nicoise salad - he said that the tuna had no taste. He should have gotten the steak. He also thought that the pomme frittes were soggy, but I didn't mind them. You can choose from a bunch of different mayo sauces to go with your fries, which is neat.
Seemed like they didn't have enough wait staff. We waited a long time to get our bill settled, and we had a 2 yr old who was more than ready to leave... -
Review from Hymae W.
12/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
I thought I liked all stouts until i had Bastones breakfast stout. It was so bad i couldn't finish it. I typically LOVE breakfast stouts but this places' tasted like i was chewing on coffee beans. I thought i would try their double so that i could get the taste of the stout out of my mouth but it was also terrible.
I love beers, escpiecally stouts but I hated beer after going here. -
Review from John K.
Utica, MI
10/18/2011
the service & the quality of the food has gone down hill from the past.
i was very dissapointed on my last visit with a buddy of mine that visited from ny. the filet mignon was flavorless. i usually use no steak sauce but i had to pour a whole bottle of A1 sauce and tobasco sauce.
i'm glad the beer still tasted good.
therefor bastone i will only come for your beer -
Review from Lisa M.
Royal Oak, MI
2/5/2012
I've come here a few times with various people and I've always enjoyed each visit. I've come for just drinks and also for appetizers. While I've never ordered a full meal here, all of the appetizers I've tried have been great - I've especially loved the soft pretzels and the mushroom pizza. While I'm no beer expert, I've liked all the ones that I've tried as well.
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Review from Harmony F.
Dexter, MI
1/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
Service was mediocre but the appetizers we had were tasty and the beers were quite good. Highly recommend the Pomme Frites--we had ours with the roasted garlic and brewmaster's mustard mayo options, both were delicious. Had a sampler to try all of the beers and took home a Growler of the IPA. Good stuff! Would definitely go back.
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Review from Maria C.
10/11/2011
I really enjoyed our dinner here. I brought a team of ~7 and it was overall enjoyable. The service was attentive (without being cloyingly so) and the cocktails as well as the beer were really good.
When I travel, I have to be careful of the diet. A little fried calamari goes a long way when it comes to the fat and calorie hit, especially with the omg delicious dipping sauces that they bring for the fries which are equally nomnomnom and pile that on top of a couple of mixed drink and....anyway, they have a delicious salad with tuna and I don't feel deprived.
I am developing a certain fondness for Detroit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not leaving SF to move here (though I do believe that your happiness comes from who you are more than where you live) but this area has a certain something and Bastone is a concentration of that. And I like it. -
Review from Tarik M.
Royal Oak Charter Township, MI
1/23/2012
I first went here 2 years ago and thought it was really good. I've gone back twice since then, and each time I've been disappointed. Not much of a drinker, but if you are, you'd probably enjoy their beer selection. The pomme frites were a little soggy. My hangar steak was a little tough and tasted like an inferior cut of meat. The caramel apple pie I had for dessert was pretty good, though. I hope this place rebounds!
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Review from Randi B.
Roseville, MI
12/7/2011
We were out for my husband's birthday, and had planned to go to the Cuban place next door. On a whim we went to Bastone instead. It was great. The calamari was good, as were the pomme frites. My husband enjoyed his steak, but I didn't enjoy the fish and chips. I liked that they had a kid's menu, but I wouldn't want to take a child here on a weekend evening, but for a Sunday afternoon it works. We tried three different beers, all of which we liked.
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Review from Jonny P.
6/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Went here the afternoon following my b-day party (I was feelin' kinda meh) & may be a bit critical...
We were seated promptly but the booth had a HUGE rip in the seat cushion (come on GM you know you've gotta patch that!)
Our server was pleasant and attentive...
I was in a mood to split so we ordered up:
1 Cup of the potato leek soup
1 Order of the Mustard Glazed Pork Loin
1 Forestiere Pizza
I'm kinda of on the fence about the meal, the soup was very good but everything else was just kinda blah. I really wanted to like the pizza but it really didn't impress. The pork was prepared (grill wise) very well but it still lacked flavour (spice, passion!?!?).
I used to LIVE @ the Hopleaf in Chicago & really expected more out of Bastone. It may have been my mood too so I'll re-visit & update in the future...
(Wait it was MY B-Day, 3.5 Stars!) -
Review from goodfood g.
Troy, MI
11/25/2011
OMG I've never had macaroni and cheese like this in MY LIFE!! The top is crumbly and the cheese doesn't hit you like a ton of bricks. The cheese is subtle and not too sharp, yet creamy and CRAZY good. I see why it's its own meal! The fried artichoke hearts are okay, not the most interesting. I am going back here to try EVERYTHING else on the menu.
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Review from Molly M.
Pasadena, CA
Here's the deal. This is a lunch place, not a dinner place. It's the same menu, but a totally different restaurant. I love the steak salad, which is a little different: steak, potatoes, greens, and herb butter. You let it all melt together rather than use a dressing. Love, love, love it. But, get it before 4:00, because once the sun sets, the B Team comes in for work. I don't know what's going on with this place, but during the day you get very consistent food and attentive waiters, but at night you sometimes get outrageous clock watchers. I have dined here at least eight times. Be forewarned.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/27/2011
Since we are living in a hotel for six months, we basically go out to eat at least twice a week.… Read more »
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Review from Faith K.
Utica, MI
11/21/2011
Great food - love the soft pretzels and cheese fondue app! Even my non cheese loving friend thought it was awesome. Had the pork loin - yummy and a good sized serving, took home leftovers. House salad was great and enjoyed the blonde beer. Only complaint was the bartender and hostess who answered the phone. I called before and asked about reservations, was told I could make one, then was transferred twice and then was told I couldn't make one. Was frustrated with how complicated they made it to get a simple question answered.
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Review from Renée R.
Royal Oak, MI
6/12/2011
My boyfriend and I come here once a month, as this is our favorite place to eat in downtown Royal Oak. However, this review is for the experience I had last night with a bachelorette party.
I made the reservation for 10 people a couple days in advance. When we arrived on time (ok, 3 minutes late, I was with 10 girls after all), our tables weren't ready. The restaurant was still fairly empty at 6 but our tables hadn't been pushed together or set. Bad omen? Nope, it was the only thing that went wrong the whole meal. (For the record, I had requested two of the 'picnic' tables be pushed together rather than having us all at a huge10-person round table...it was the right decision, much easier to hear people).
I asked our server for separate checks right away to save us a major headache at the end of the meal, and I fully anticipated a no or at least some visible displeasure, but she said 'of course!' with a smile. She was wonderful the entire time and I regret not catching her name, but she was a 40ish brunette with glasses.
Many of my friends are beer drinkers and got the 6-beer sampler, which is only $7 for 6 six-ounce pours. It was a fantastic deal for them. They have perhaps 20 wines to choose from, so not too extensive but it IS a brewery, and what they have is good and reasonably priced.
The star of the night was the food, which is why I chose this place for a large group - someone could spend $9 on a burger or pizza, or $20+ on a nice steak dinner if they wanted. Everyone loved what they ordered. I got my standby, which is the portabella burger, which is simply one (or two) marinated portabella mushrooms with boursin cheese in a delicious bun (yes, even the bun is great, similar to focaccia) The fries here are excellent and are served with your choice of assorted mayonnaise. We ran out of time for dessert before our show, but I highly recommend the profiterole from the 'two-bite dessert' menu. It's unreal how big and delicious this thing is for $1.50. Yep, one dollar and fifty cents, and you could easily split it with someone. -
Review from Lexie D.
4/30/2011
Three and a half stars, but I'm not in the mood to round up.
The perks:
The house brews are tasty and well-described on their menu. My friend and I, while waiting for a larger party, managed to sample the Triple, the Dubbel, and their witbier. I liked the Dubbel the best, though enjoyed the 10oz snifter of Triple - tasted like alcoholic bananas. Prices were reasonable enough to encourage experimentation, and the bar sells $7 sampler trays of all house brews.
The waitstaff was attentive, warm, and professional, and handled my 6-person party with finesse.
The food was reasonably priced - perhaps I'm accustomed to DC prices? I was more concerned about chatting with friends than actually eating, though, so I hardly remember what I ate. A friend and I split an appetizer and a flatbread pizza, and with four beers between us, the bill was just shy of $40 before tip.
The downsides:
Our reservation was for 8, but I arrived early to inform the hostess we would only be six. Debating between two tables, the hostess decided a huge 10-top in the middle of the dining room would be appropriate. I couldn't have a conversation with everybody at the table, and because the room was loud, I shouted all evening. Unpleasant.
Bathrooms were tiny - it became uncomfortably crowded with more than two individuals in the room at once.
I don't remember my food - it couldn't have been fantastic, I love eating.
A solid option for Royal Oak, but not my fave restaurant evah. -
Review from Lynn H.
3/30/2011
I was here the other day with my extended family for dinner. We had reservations and were seated promptly, but we weren't served until my dad complained to the hostess that no one had come by. Bad start to the meal...
When she arrived, our waitress was friendly, but extremely soft-spoken. She took our drink orders and arrived back with our drinks quickly. 5 of us had ordered red wine - 5 different varieties, and she appeared to get everything straight, but in actuality, mixed up the Cab with the Merlot. Another ding.
After the first couple issues, though, service was fine for the remainder of dinner.
The food was good. I ordered the hangar steak salad on the advice of my sister-in-law and it was tasty and filling. Everyone else agreed that their dishes were good.
We skipped dessert and just went for some coffee, which was fresh and strong.
Leaving the restaurant we experienced another small hiccup as the valet service took an inordinate amount of time to get our cars.
Not the best, not the worst. Probably won't visit here again unless someone else chooses it. -
Review from Melanie H.
Royal Oak, MI
3/13/2011
You know, I used to LOVE Bastone and I still think the food is good, but over the past few months, the service has been just terrible. Often there is no host at the front and you're forced to either wait or try to find someone. And the days that the host is prompt, you're almost sure to wait for your server.
Today, we actually walked out because we waited at our seat for roughly 5 minutes for anyone to even acknowledge us. No one did, so another restaurant got our money today.
Bummed. -
Review from Sean G.
Ferndale, MI
Updated - 6/20/2011
Oh, Bastone...let me count the ways in which you continue to baffle me! My last review was justifiably harsh. You've gone down the tubes! Fortunately for you I gave you another shot a couple of Fridays ago. Some friends and I were going out for beers. I had recommended Dragonmead because really...it's a beer destination. The friends thought you'd be a better fit because of your food selection and relative closeness to where we live. I reluctantly agreed.
First off I ordered one of your seasonal beers - the Hefeweizen. This was a mistake. Hindsight is 20/20 and I should have sent it back after the first couple of sips. I should note that earlier in the week I drank a bottle of Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier and it was a beautiful mouthful of delicious bananas, clove, vanilla and citrus. Absolutely amazing given the fact that it made the trip to my fridge from Germany!
Your Hefeweizen, despite being brewed 10 minutes from my house completely fell flat. I don't even know what it was supposed to taste like, but it mostly tasted like water. Literally. Like it has been cut with water.
My buddy ordered some of your pretzels, and you know what? They were really good. But honestly...it's hard to fuck up bread and salt. The dipping cheese that came with was also good and very strong tasting. So nice and strong that my weak ass beer wasn't doing a good job of cutting into that nice cheesy flavour. So, I pounded it down with a grimace and immediately ordered an IPA and hoped you'd get this one right.
Thankfully you did. The hops somewhat overpowered the malt, but that's not completely unexpected in an IPA. I just prefer more balance. Thankfully for you though after my horrible experience with your hefeweizen the bitter hops were a welcome splash of flavour to my palate and went fantastically with the cheese and pretzels.
Later on I ordered another IPA and a ham and cheese (why did you stop calling it Paris Ham & Cheese? I liked that!) and it was good.
My buddy ordered the calamari. I don't know what he thought of it, but I see you're still using the cheaper, less tasty calamari steaks. For shame.
Waitress was very pleasant and helpful. It was her 3rd day!2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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1/19/2010
This is an update of my previous review.
My wife and I went to Bastone a few days ago and although I… Read more »
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Review from Diane F.
Royal Oak, MI
5/11/2011
My fiance and I went there for my birthday dinner after realizing it was 8 pm and we hadn't left the house. We wanted a casual place where we could relax and get a later dinner and drinks. We just moved to RO and are leery about the better than you attitude some of the local business take so we were reserved about going in to a new place for by bday but we do want to get to know our new city and hate chain restaurants so by fate we ended up here.
When we first arrived there was a slight hiccup with seating. It was not busy at all and there were many tables available on the "restaurant' side but the hostess did not want to seat us over there because she had just sat 2 other tables and it would be too much for the waiter. Ok- strange but we are understanding people so she asked if we would sit in a booth on the "bar" side. It's still a booth as opposed to sitting at the bar but the bartender is your waiter. We were fine with that. However there ended up being a jerk at the bar who went on all night talking about how many prostitutes he had slept with. I know they have no control over this but our seating location is the only reason I gave them 4 stars instead of 5. Also the booths and tables moved around so when someone else was sitting at the both that bumped up to ours anytime they moved ours got moved or bumped as well.
We thought it was going to start out bad as the bartender came over right away as soon as we sat but had a glass of wine and told us he would deliver it and get right back to us. He did come back right away and was very cool to us the rest of the night so he was redeemed for being hurried to start with.
We love breweries and trying new beer so we immediately ordered the 9 beer sampler, one for each of us. The bartender told us they were really big and it was about 3 pints total each and suggested we share, I thought was a nice warning but we both went for it. After it came he wasn't kidding, the sampler portions were very generous and it was a nice way to try and enjoy their beer. The beers are good and all have some kind of character and flavor which was a nice surprise. They have a nice selection of casual beer that should suit a variety of pallets. Their Belgian styles were the stand outs however with our favorites being the Dubbel Vision and Nectar des Dieux Triple.
We got the artichoke fritters for an appetizer and both enjoyed them. They have a ticker batter so if you are OK with that you will like them and are served with a nice flavored aioli. For food I ordered pasta, Chicken and Orecchiette and my fiance ordered the Forestiere Pizza. The pasta was good but the pizza blew us away. If you like a thin crust style pizza it was great. Good combinations of flavors and textures like a thin crust pizza should have. We actually ended up ordering another pizza the Roasted Garlic and took my pasta home because the pizza was so good. They for sure have their own take on it so you have to be open minded but we thought it worked as was great.
After it was all said and done we were pleased with the service, food and beer. -
Review from Brandon R.
Birmingham, MI
5/23/2011
Pretty good food. Huge place. Odd seating, the booths are not comfortable to be honest.
I had the lobster mac/n cheese. Read = almost as good as Capital Grille's.
Overall, I'd probably go elsewhere, but changing it up now and then made this place a solid 2nd option. -
Review from Seoung L.
Great 1st impression!
Went there for lunch and everything was right on point. Ordered the Mac & Cheese, Brewery Steak Sandwich, and Pomme Frites. It all tasted great. But the big added bonus is that we told the waitress that we will be sharing everything when we ordered. Well she divided everything for us. The little thing like that makes me a happy customer.
The food was excellent. Pomme Frites could be little crispier on the outside but the flavor was very good. The brewery Steak sandwich isn't really sandwich but steak strips over a bed of has brown style potatoes. This meal was very good and steak made to order. Mac & Cheese was very tasty as well.
Thinking this is a brewery, I always imagined it to be more like a bar but surprisingly, it feels like a low lit dining area for the upscale type of restaurant.
Overall, a great place to dine. -
Review from Heidi M.
Updated - 5/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
I'm still a fan although I was pretty disappointed in my dining experience there on Mother's Day. Yeah it was Mother's Day, but no they were not packed. There was no wait and empty tables which is not typically the case there on any given Friday or Saturday night. So no excuse for it being Mother's Day.
The service was lackluster and both of our dinners were dry and overcooked. Fortunately it still had some pretty good flavor.
Their Witface beer is still delicious!!!! Can I just say that their condiments rule!!! Basil Mayo on my fries and Blue Cheese Butter on my steak, yes please!!!!!!!!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/27/2011
yummy yummy in my tummy! being belgian myself, i can't resist my urges for french fries and beer. if… Read more »
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Review from Meredith F.
Farmington, MI
1/11/2011
A few friends and I decided to check this place out for a birthday celebration. The food is fantastic, and the beer is wonderful as well.
My favorite were their twice battered french fries. They were amazing! And the mayonnaise dips complimented the fries perfectly. I decided to try a steak sandwich, made with potato pancakes instead of bread. For me, that is fairly adventurous, and I wasn't the least bit disappointed.
I got to try four beers and four desserts because my friends and I each ordered something different. I was very happy with everything I tried. Though the food was a tad pricey, I would definitely come back again for a special occasion. -
Review from Chris C.
Detroit, MI
10/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Bastone is decent: not great but not bad. I was more impressed with our service. The waitress, mary, took good care of our party of 10. They were accommodating to our tardiness, even with a full house. Mary mistakenly gave me the no starch water zooi , but i'm not really a send it back kinda guy and it turned out to be pretty good. And the beer sampler was on point.
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Review from Kim D.
Warren, MI
10/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Around two years ago Bastone used to be one of my favorite restaurants. Somehow the food has gone downhill and everything I order is completely disappointing. The descriptions on the menu always sound incredible but the actual food never impresses me. Not even the frites come to the table crispy...soggy and greasy instead.
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Review from Henry B.
2/8/2011
Was here last night with Jacqueline S.
-Ordered the Snack Board which is a wood board of cheeses, meats, olives, nuts, and breads. Minus the olives, nuts and breads and asked for extra meat and cheese. It was delicious.
-Booth seat back was angled weird. It leaned toward us.
-Potato Leek soup is the bomb.
-Dubbel Vision beer is my flavorite (see what I did there?).
-If you want to try all the beers, they have an 8-beer sampler for $9. -
Review from Donna L.
Detroit, MI
7/26/2011
Excellent food, atmosphere and service (Rachel)!!! Our bread baskets were straight from the oven and food hot We all enjoyed ourselves!
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Review from Ginger P.
Rochester, MI
3/20/2011
I've been intrigued by the menu here, have attempted to dine twice... once with a friend, once by myself.. Needless to say, I walked out before even being greeted. Even upon leaving and mentioning to the hostess I was leaving for never being greeted, she just said.. "OH."
Ya, oh well! Twice I've been there and barely been greeted by people with NO sense of urgency or competency.
It's unfortunate..It looks like a cool place.. I work in the service industry and have high standards, if I wanted bad service, I'd go to a mom and pop place that I know has good food. I'll never go back, or mention it to my friends again.
should be ZERO stars -
Review from Maria B.
3/22/2011
This place has a great bustling atmosphere on the weekends, the only problem is the food is too commercialized.
What i mean is they probably serve reheated & prepackaged dishes, where the only fresh items are the brewed beers and fries. Not impressed with Bastone : / -
Review from Don K.
Beverly Hills, MI
8/30/2010
Bastone's wait staff is in dire need of training as they have a limited understanding of customers' expectations from such service providers.
My wife and I went here for the second time this summer, figuring the previous mediocre service and frozen tasting pizza was just an anomaly on a random Wednesday. Our second, and final, visit to Bastone was considerably more irritating.
Our waitress took our drink order, which consisted of a glass of wine and a beer; we requested two waters as well. The drinks came with out the water. We requested the water 2 more times, so the struggling 6th year community college student brings only one glass of water for my wife. Asked her for a another glass of water and a second glass of wine when ordering the pizza. Neither the water nor wine ever came. We ate the mediocre pizza, rationing the one glass of water between as if we were lost in the desert for 40 years, again. After ten more minutes, we canceled the wine and asked for the check, which of course, took forever because the soon to be assistant night manager of the Meijer deli-counter thought that waiting on three more tables before seeking math help to remove the wine from the bill demonstrated her commitment to efficiency.
I had to go to the Bar to pay the bill because I was pretty certain that I wouldn't see my change as the waitress would most likely get lost on her way back from the register. While I usually tip 18%, I kept the tip to $.15, which was probably just beyond her mathematical abilities (i.e. can't count to two glasses of water); she probably thought it was a lot of money for the limited amount of service she provided, I probably over tipped. One thing is certain, somewhere there is a village missing its idiot.
If you like mediocre pizza and poor service, you will love Bastone. -
Review from Catherine M.
Newark, DE
11/14/2010 2 photos
Bastone is probably the sleeper in the category to win "best brewery" in Michigan. Heaps of beer awards. My dad and I went specifically for the beer, we had to sample them all. The dubble vision and the nectar des dieux triple were the favs.
The food was unbelievably good. Like the best food I have eaten in Michigan good. Now, say what you want, but living in Lansing has deprived my taste buds, of anything even remotely resembling food at this point. The fact that it isn't industrial is remarkable.
The portions were huge. The price of food was priced wonderfully considering the quality. And look into their $1.50 "two bite" desserts. We got two profiteroles, thinking they were the size you would see in France. Holy crap they were bigger than my fist!
Go. And go again. And then maybe have a chat with the jolly Englishman, he was friendly, chatty, and super knowledgeable about beers.
Now only if I lived closer.... -
Review from Jason S.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
7/24/2010 1 Check-in Here
Don't believe the haters; Bastone is a pretty decent restaurant. The menu is fairly varied, but the focus is on "gourmet" burgers.
I tried the Hawaiian burger, topped with fresh mozzarella slices, BBQ sauce, pineapple, ham and spinach. The burger wasn't too sweet, but still has great flavor.
Bastone also had a killer Michigan salad, which I highly recommend. Lastly, it's worth mentioning that Bastone serves fresh warm bread and whipped chive butter.
Good eats for sure. Give it a shot and leave your own review! -
Review from Kim L.
Grosse Pointe, MI
7/29/2011
Stopped in on a hot afternoon after shopping in R.O. It was relatively empty because it was late for lunch but early for dinner - however we were starving so in we went. My friend & I both ordered the hanger steak between potato pancakes which included bacon & mixed greens. The sandwich came with pomme frites and we opted for the garlic mayo (good choice). We ordered our steak med-med rare & they delivered. It was tender & juicy, the potato pancakes were delicious as were the fries. Being smaller females we were full after eating only half our meals. We boxed up the rest and they made great leftovers for my son that evening. Would have loved to try the beer choices - but alas I was driving and I'm a lightweight. Would definitely return.
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Review from F U.
Royal Oak, MI
7/27/2011
Are u kidding me ???? New menu ???? Right ...... Snack board = I'm board.... Sent the Gorden's food service mussels back .... Sucks ......for me this is as close to barbaric as is gets .....embarrassing
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Review from Jessica S.
Detroit, MI
5/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
Bastone? I think we need to start seeing other people.
What happened to the place I fell in love with? The place with speedy service and some of the most delicious calamari I have ever tasted? What happened to decent portions for reasonable prices? The place I dragged every out-of-town guest to for atleast an appetizer and a pint of ale?
Seemingly, the flavor of the week is bland, less plentiful in quantity and now you're charging me more for it. And what in the world happened to the calamari??? And the mac and cheese? Devastating. We used to be so close...
Perhaps we've just grown apart. If it's truly meant to be, maybe we'll be reunited down the road. I'm just so sad to see how you've let yourself go. -
Review from Debbie L.
Farmington, MI
7/26/2011 1 photo
First we had an excellent Server, Rachel. Next.... excellent food, and a great environment! I love the decor too. Nine of us met at Bastone and had a great time! The homemade beer that was served at our table was rated "the best"!!!!!
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Review from Lisa R.
Grand Rapids, MI
7/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
This is nothing Belgian or inspired about the food. Their pomme frites are NOT pomme frites: Bastone's "version" is shoestring potatoes that are NOT "100% fresh" but obviously frozen from a bag. The fries were cut far too thin and were limp and tasteless. Pomme frites are hearty fries that have been 2x fried - I have no idea what the hell Bastone thinks they are shilling but these are not pomme frites.
The garlic mayo was uninspired. I left almost all of my portion on my plate.
Having spent considerable amount of time in Belgium with my husband on our honeymoon, we ate our weight in pomme frites from street vendors on a daily basis. How truly disappointing to get back home, discover a "Belgian restaurant" only to see that it's been gringofied and or the chef is utterly and horribly confused.
Another example: our Au Poivre sauce for our steaks contained mushrooms. Um, no? Even the waitress was confused when she brought our plates out. And perhaps that was part of the problem - instead of giving us fresh plates of "pomme frites" with the steak, instead they nuked it while they re-did the steaks. Gross. Also, the Au Poivre sauce was made from a powder not from scratch.
So we ordered: 2 fillet with pomme frites and Au Poivre sauce, cooked medium. After scraping off the Au Poivre sauce and ditching the fries, the steaks were good. Meat was tender and cooked properly (medium-medium rare). My husband and another friend ordered Caesar salads and they said those were tasty.
The beer: My friend and I both ordered the six flight and apparently you can swap out the standard on top with seasonals if you so choose. I swapped out the pilsner for a seasonal and the waitress seemed overly confused and insisting that I could only get six unless I wanted to go with the seven. When I told her, again, that I was swapping out the pilsner for one of the seasonals, again, she argued with me that would be a 7 flight not a 6. So then I said, can I swap out one of the regular beers in the flight for a seasonal? She said yes and I said, okay, I want to swap out the pilsner for the seasonal. I kept rewording this a few times before she figured out that I wanted to swap out a pilsner for the seasonal.
I'm getting beyond frustrated of places that claim to a specific type of cooking and either having eaten that type of food extensively or having been to the region the food is from, going to the restaurants and discovering it is NO WHERE NEAR what they claim it to be. If you've been to Belgium, this place will disappoint you and make you cry.
And if this is the same owners who own Cafe Habana: Who ever told you to go into the food business with your "concept style food bars" should have been taken out back and shot. -
Review from Dil F.
5/27/2010
stellar bar w/ pub seating, house brews, delicious food in pricey/small portions.
It's shocking to see how all over the map the responses have been to Bastone. Despite all my rancor and poopoo'ing of the Royal Oak dining scene which I still think is atrocious and which I avoid whenever possible, I had an exceptionally good time at Bastone the other night. Because I tend to insist that my suburban friends come down into the city to drink, once in a while I relent and head north to be "fair". My friend suggested Bastone for its house beers. I'd never heard of it so I had no objections. When I arrived, I noticed the valet parking which always signifies to me badness... driving by the valet and paying the meter UNTIL 10pm (wtf royal oak?) was also an early sign of displeasure... so I went into the restaurant with a skeptical frame of mind.
So wrong I was to doubt! The bar area is great! Superb, in fact, are the pub-style seating booths. Loved it! Wished there was something like it in Detroit. The server, who looked like quite the swashbuckler (you'll know him if you see him), was also exceptionally A+... kudos to him. The beers (i had a Seasonal Hefe and their Pilsner) were stupendous! Robust flavors, good mid-level carbonation, an ideal head - rich and sustaining. My god how had I not heard of this place before?
After the first beer, I decided to eye the menu, and it snared me in. I went with the potato leek soup and a small garden salad. The soup was incredibly delicious, thick texture, sweet and savory, topped with real bacon bits (so, no veg friendly). It was excellent. The salad was a mixture of baby greens very lightly dressed in oil and topped with diced beets and chopped walnuts. Another really simply combined dish with great flavor. I impulsively finished with a "shot" of white and dark chocolate mouse. Very rich chocolate flavors, though the texture was a little granular, not to my liking.
My only serious complaint was the size of the soup. While the $5 garden salad seemed perfectly sized, not extravagant nor petite, about the size you'd make yourself at home, the $5 potato-leek soup was shockingly small. It was served in a cup that was larger than an espresso cup but smaller than a tea cup... kind of comically small, even by cup of soup standards. Very kindly, the server brought out some bread and butter by request, so that helped fill in the equation, but the delicious soup could have been bigger.
Maybe because I went in to Bastone with the expectation of DRINKING at the bar, and not sitting down to dine, did I find it so pleasantly surprising. Keep that in mind. Without a doubt, this is a great place to grab some really intelligent craft beers at reasonable prices, and sit in a fantastic space while conversing. I'd be a regular if I lived in the suburbs. -
Review from Steven G.
Royal Oak, MI
7/23/2011
Entrees very good, nice selection of brewed beer, server attentive and food arrived in a timely fashion. Hostesses need to work on the proper greeting of patrons. They also need to learn the skill of managing dining room seating. When we arrived we were told it would be a 30 minute wait. After 45 minutes and seeing several tables never filled I went up and asked and was told they were being held for reservations. After a few minutes we were seated. Some tables for 4 remained unoccupied during the whole time we were eating our dinner.
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Review from Sandra B.
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
7/2/2010
Bastone is a Belgian (inspired) pub with yummy hamburgers. The first time I ever went to Bastone, I was with one of my favorite people and strolling through Royal Oak after a long day of work. She said she really needed a cocktail and I was just looking for a nice glass of wine and a light dinner. I suggested Bastone because I have been wanting to try this place for a while now.
We got to our seats and began scanning the menu deciding what to order. Our plans changed ... no wine, no cocktail, no light dinner. The burgers seemed too good - especially considering you can sort of design your own burger with a wonderful variety of toppings. If you order a burger, you order a beer - that's our rule! I had gruyere and truffles on my burger, and my friend had bleu cheese and bacon on hers (as she ordered her bacon, she acted like she was committing a crime). The truth is that these burgers were criminal - huge and delicious.
We ordered a couple different house brews - can't remember exactly what, but I really enjoyed all of them. You can order a sampler if you can't decide what to order. I have always loved the concept of a sampler platter of beer - whoever thought of that is a genius! -
Review from B C.
Warren, MI
5/12/2010
I love their appetizers!! The soft pretzels and dip is amazing! I crave it from time to time which keeps bringing me back. My friend and I frequent this place for the appetizers and beer alone. (The beer is awesome, too, by the way!) The mac and cheese is one of my favorite dishes from here, as well.
The only thing I might dislike is that it is always cold in there, but maybe it's just me. And the prices on the entrees are a tad bit high for me and my budget. All in all, I will keep going back, because I do enjoy this place!
