Funny I forgot this place existed until it came up on Google search. I actually ate here awhile back with family, and the food was good. The owner/chef, however, is a complete jerk. During our experience, the server was so nice, and the food was different but delicious. Things went downhill at dessert time. One of the kids accidentally knocked over an empty wine glass (glasses were super thin) and it shattered into her cake. The server brought a new one (though the ice cream scoop was left off), and I thought we were all good. When bill arrived, we were charged for 2 pieces of cake. I asked the server and her response was “I had to charge you - the owner says it was your fault the glass broke.” Really?? We had a bill over $250 and you HAD to charge for a replacement slice of cake because of a small accident (which wouldn’t have happened btw if server had cleared empty glasses from table). Though we liked the place, we decided in that moment that we would NEVER give this man our business again, and we have held true to that. It’s not about the cost of cake, it was petty and ungrateful of the owner and speaks to the kind of man he is - not someone we want to support. When it came up in search, my gut response was a giant “no way”
Eglal N.
Last night we had a delectable dinner at Basil. The chilien sea bass jumped from the sea in my plate. The seasoning was perfect. The rice was cooked to perfection. The cuisine is light and tasty. My husband had the beef skewers which he enjoyed and he is very difficult to please. Desert got a high mark with the baklava and the chocolate bread pudding which you should not miss. The service was perfect. The ambiance was noisy and bubbly. We will definitely return to Basil for its excellent table.
JV Young
Another perfect dining experience.The food was amazing as usual, everyone loved what they ordered.From the appetizers to dessert, everything came out in a timely manner and was delicious. The entrees were perfectly seasoned, the recommended jeweled rice was fantastic and complimented each dish nicely. The eggplant and bbq chicken apps were prepared just right, not heavy but tasty.There was also the Chocolate Bread Pudding and Baklava that were amazing.Water glasses were constantly filled, and we brought our own wine which they uncorked for us.Pretty much ate everything.Always a great dining experience at this little gem of a restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baklava
Tc C.
$69. per fixed price Valentines day dinner, rack of lamb was delicious, veggy broccoli frozen errrr, better choice would have been Fresh Sautéed Broccoli Rabe. Small comfortable place asked to wait outside for reserved table No waiting area ,BYOB 1st time I have ever encountered this is pretty cool "I guess" , pleasant wait staff, felt a lil rushed ,( I'm aware it was a holiday) desert chocolate cake, good if you like chocolate cake no choices , coffee not included ,another $4 bucks ea. on to the $69. Compliments to manager/Owner my guest had an issue with her dinner, a NEW entree was prepared and served no questions asked. regretfully 3 stars .all this being said I did save at least $90 not having a bar bill,.
Jv Y.
Last night. Another perfect dining experience. The food was amazing as usual, everyone loved what they ordered. From the appetizers to dessert, everything came out in a timely manner and was delicious. Water glasses were constantly filled, and we brought our own wine which they uncorked for us. Pretty much ate everything. Always a great dining experience at this little gem of a restaurant.
William Smith
I can’t say enough about Basil in Saint James, our fourth time here and it keeps getting better. This time we went with another couple. We brought in wine and beer and from the minute we sat down it all was fantastic. We started with BBQ chicken flatbread and Shrimp Skewers which were flavorful and perfectly cooked. I had lamb chops in a mustard sauce,cooked medium rare with these small potatoes cooked to perfection and I don’t like potatoes and these are the exception. Our waitress was engaging and helped keep our table clear of the wine and beer . Basil is a small restaurant with just 11 tables inside but during the summer there are 12 more outside. So its very cozy inside bit the tables don’t feel to close. Great ambience. So much delicious food to choose from at Basil Something for everyone. Mediterranean style. I cleared my plate and wanted more . Basil a great date night location as well as couples.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Skewers with Sweet Chili Mango Sauce
Elizabeth M.
Went here a few nights ago with the family. This is my third time here, they still keep thriving. Service was absolutely excellent. Our waiter was very attentive. Ambiance is cozy. Food was very good. I was trying to be on the healthy side so I had the shrimp as my appetizer which was better than I expected it would be. For my entree I tried the sea bass. I didn't have any of the bread they put out in the beginning but my family devoured it. Overall was a great meal and I would certainly come back again.
mel s
This place exceeded my expectations. It is quaint and lovely. The food is incredible. I like the variety the menu and cannot wait to return. Even my leftovers were amazing. Also, the service was wonderful!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Skewers with Sweet Chili Mango Sauce, Appetizer, Baklava
Sarah
This was my first time here. I absolutely love it. The staff an owner are amazing. The food is fresh is fresh could be I love the fact that you can bring your own alcohol. I highly recommend this to anybody that’s looking for Great fresh food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Skewers with Sweet Chili Mango Sauce
Yimin Zhu
Lovely restaurant at Saint James main Street with backyard garden for outdoor dining.Recommendation: watermelon salad, honeyFood: Their watermelon salad is very astonishing. Sweet watermelon in a sour sauce with mild spicy and rich mint. Everything other than watermelon seems to be in the opposite direction of my expectation on watermelon. The mixture of them tastes like summer ;) I also ordered Zereshk Polo as main dish with saffron barberry rice. The topping of rice is sweet. It contains pistachio, some berry and onion. Personally the chicken is a bit salty for me and I feel like that is why the yogurt is here. The yogurt tastes quite refreshing. The honey is recommend because there was a bee working hard to collect the honey from my dessert plate LOLParking: Free street parking.
I tried Soltani at Basil. I quite liked it and it was so delicious definitely recommend it to you. The staff seemed nice and I had a good night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soltani
Faniz Eliasvand
Delicious food and amazing staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
john Schmaeling
Great food .Gluten free options. No alcohol, You can bring your own wine. They have a New England clam chowder that's pretty good.Try the pear and rice pudding dessert.Dietary restrictions: Gluten free optionsParking: Lunch time parked on street.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Koobideh, Strip Sirlion, Gluten-Free Bread with Tomatoes and Special Ingredients, Pear Glazed
Fatemeh Kakaei
I ordered Zereshk polo ba morgh but they served me Juje kebab! I told the waitress that this is not what I ordered but she said this is how the chicken comes with Zereshk polo in our menue, not knowing I’m Persian myself and I exactly know what that food is hahaha. The Persian food is not authentic btw and overpriced. I don’t recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Mary Hennessy
Basil has excellent food and it was very delicious. The service was very nice and kind and helpful. The atmosphere was nice ❤️
Funny I forgot this place existed until it came up on Google search. I actually ate here awhile back with family, and the food was good. The owner/chef, however, is a complete jerk. During our experience, the server was so nice, and the food was different but delicious. Things went downhill at dessert time. One of the kids accidentally knocked over an empty wine glass (glasses were super thin) and it shattered into her cake. The server brought a new one (though the ice cream scoop was left off), and I thought we were all good. When bill arrived, we were charged for 2 pieces of cake. I asked the server and her response was “I had to charge you - the owner says it was your fault the glass broke.” Really?? We had a bill over $250 and you HAD to charge for a replacement slice of cake because of a small accident (which wouldn’t have happened btw if server had cleared empty glasses from table). Though we liked the place, we decided in that moment that we would NEVER give this man our business again, and we have held true to that. It’s not about the cost of cake, it was petty and ungrateful of the owner and speaks to the kind of man he is - not someone we want to support. When it came up in search, my gut response was a giant “no way”
Last night we had a delectable dinner at Basil. The chilien sea bass jumped from the sea in my plate. The seasoning was perfect. The rice was cooked to perfection. The cuisine is light and tasty. My husband had the beef skewers which he enjoyed and he is very difficult to please. Desert got a high mark with the baklava and the chocolate bread pudding which you should not miss. The service was perfect. The ambiance was noisy and bubbly. We will definitely return to Basil for its excellent table.
Another perfect dining experience.The food was amazing as usual, everyone loved what they ordered.From the appetizers to dessert, everything came out in a timely manner and was delicious. The entrees were perfectly seasoned, the recommended jeweled rice was fantastic and complimented each dish nicely. The eggplant and bbq chicken apps were prepared just right, not heavy but tasty.There was also the Chocolate Bread Pudding and Baklava that were amazing.Water glasses were constantly filled, and we brought our own wine which they uncorked for us.Pretty much ate everything.Always a great dining experience at this little gem of a restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baklava
$69. per fixed price Valentines day dinner, rack of lamb was delicious, veggy broccoli frozen errrr, better choice would have been Fresh Sautéed Broccoli Rabe. Small comfortable place asked to wait outside for reserved table No waiting area ,BYOB 1st time I have ever encountered this is pretty cool "I guess" , pleasant wait staff, felt a lil rushed ,( I'm aware it was a holiday) desert chocolate cake, good if you like chocolate cake no choices , coffee not included ,another $4 bucks ea. on to the $69. Compliments to manager/Owner my guest had an issue with her dinner, a NEW entree was prepared and served no questions asked. regretfully 3 stars .all this being said I did save at least $90 not having a bar bill,.
Last night. Another perfect dining experience. The food was amazing as usual, everyone loved what they ordered. From the appetizers to dessert, everything came out in a timely manner and was delicious. Water glasses were constantly filled, and we brought our own wine which they uncorked for us. Pretty much ate everything. Always a great dining experience at this little gem of a restaurant.
I can’t say enough about Basil in Saint James, our fourth time here and it keeps getting better. This time we went with another couple. We brought in wine and beer and from the minute we sat down it all was fantastic. We started with BBQ chicken flatbread and Shrimp Skewers which were flavorful and perfectly cooked. I had lamb chops in a mustard sauce,cooked medium rare with these small potatoes cooked to perfection and I don’t like potatoes and these are the exception. Our waitress was engaging and helped keep our table clear of the wine and beer . Basil is a small restaurant with just 11 tables inside but during the summer there are 12 more outside. So its very cozy inside bit the tables don’t feel to close. Great ambience. So much delicious food to choose from at Basil Something for everyone. Mediterranean style. I cleared my plate and wanted more . Basil a great date night location as well as couples.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Skewers with Sweet Chili Mango Sauce
Went here a few nights ago with the family. This is my third time here, they still keep thriving. Service was absolutely excellent. Our waiter was very attentive. Ambiance is cozy. Food was very good. I was trying to be on the healthy side so I had the shrimp as my appetizer which was better than I expected it would be. For my entree I tried the sea bass. I didn't have any of the bread they put out in the beginning but my family devoured it. Overall was a great meal and I would certainly come back again.
This place exceeded my expectations. It is quaint and lovely. The food is incredible. I like the variety the menu and cannot wait to return. Even my leftovers were amazing. Also, the service was wonderful!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Skewers with Sweet Chili Mango Sauce, Appetizer, Baklava
This was my first time here. I absolutely love it. The staff an owner are amazing. The food is fresh is fresh could be I love the fact that you can bring your own alcohol. I highly recommend this to anybody that’s looking for Great fresh food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Skewers with Sweet Chili Mango Sauce
Lovely restaurant at Saint James main Street with backyard garden for outdoor dining.Recommendation: watermelon salad, honeyFood: Their watermelon salad is very astonishing. Sweet watermelon in a sour sauce with mild spicy and rich mint. Everything other than watermelon seems to be in the opposite direction of my expectation on watermelon. The mixture of them tastes like summer ;) I also ordered Zereshk Polo as main dish with saffron barberry rice. The topping of rice is sweet. It contains pistachio, some berry and onion. Personally the chicken is a bit salty for me and I feel like that is why the yogurt is here. The yogurt tastes quite refreshing. The honey is recommend because there was a bee working hard to collect the honey from my dessert plate LOLParking: Free street parking.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I tried Soltani at Basil. I quite liked it and it was so delicious definitely recommend it to you. The staff seemed nice and I had a good night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soltani
Delicious food and amazing staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food .Gluten free options. No alcohol, You can bring your own wine. They have a New England clam chowder that's pretty good.Try the pear and rice pudding dessert.Dietary restrictions: Gluten free optionsParking: Lunch time parked on street.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Koobideh, Strip Sirlion, Gluten-Free Bread with Tomatoes and Special Ingredients, Pear Glazed
I ordered Zereshk polo ba morgh but they served me Juje kebab! I told the waitress that this is not what I ordered but she said this is how the chicken comes with Zereshk polo in our menue, not knowing I’m Persian myself and I exactly know what that food is hahaha. The Persian food is not authentic btw and overpriced. I don’t recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Basil has excellent food and it was very delicious. The service was very nice and kind and helpful. The atmosphere was nice ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5