REGULAR VISITS

THE BASIN RESTAURANT & BAR 

The Basin (Loughborough), where do I start? I visit this restaurant at least once a week, sometimes twice, sometimes three times. Being only 10 minutes from my house and about 30 seconds away from my gym, its difficult to avoid.The menu is mixed with Thai, such as green curry and Japanese, with sushi and ramen. The great thing about The Basin is that unlike many restaurants local to me, it actually serves dim sum all day. The food is consistent, well presented and I am yet to have a bad experience there. The prawn toast is a must try! Best ever! Once you've tried the prawn toast there it is difficult to enjoy it anywhere else. I've left some recommendations at the bottom of the page of dishes I recommend, as there are simply too many to describe. The ones I've listed are some of the best on the menu.

It has a very relaxed vibe, sometimes I rock up in my gym kit and other times dressed up in heels for a special occasion. The Basin can be whatever you want it to be and and often you see people there on special occasions as well as a students having a quick, casual lunch. I always order a vast amount of food there, especially starters to share and yet my bill never comes to a huge amount. 

 The main down side of The Basin for me, is sometimes the service can be very slow and you can sit waiting for your bill for over 15 minutes. Although I must add, they've recently had some new staff and it is slowly improving. Another thing I think The Basin should consider, is special offers such as student discount or even a loyalty card, since I visit so regularly it would be great for customers like me to receive some sort of benefit/appreciation. Another gripe is that you are charged extra for things such as making your food spicier which always irritates me slightly because it does seem like an unnecessary charge to pour a drizzle of chilli oil onto my food. Finally, I think The Basin could work on their cocktails, I have tried a few and the word I would use to describe them is, interesting.

Anyway, I'll round it up and say - the menu is vast and there is something for everyone, the vibe is relaxed, service needs improvement BUT the food is always consistent and really bloody tasty!

My Recommendations -

Starters - Prawn Toast, Negima Yakitori, Chicken Spring Rolls, Prawn & Pork Steamed Dumplings, Ebi Katsu Sushi, Chai Sui Buns. 

Mains - The Basin Special with Crispy Noodles, Prawn Pad Thai and Beef Black Bean Ho Fun Noodles.