Basil

My favorite place to go for a consistently good experience. The food NEVER disappoints– everything cooked to perfection and each plate is composed with care. Quality and taste are never compromised.
The staff is courteous and Pat always greets me with a smile and a warm word at the door– even when she’s crazed by trying to seat the lines stretching out the door. We love you Pat. And all the other staff too.

First off I’d like to say, every review posted below about how outrageous the customer service was, is one hundred percent accurate.
We came here on a Sunday night around 730 and we were a party of 6. They brought us to the back room (which was close to empty) to a table, but we asked the waiter if we can sit on a different table because it had couch seating, which he said was ok. About 8 minutes into the meal, a women named pat (was told she’s the owners sister) came over to our table and pointed at my wife (like she did something wrong in elementary school) and said can you come here for second. She made my wife get up and go outside, and interrogated her saying «who let you sit there?» «you aren’t allowed to be sitting there»
And continuously argued with my wife that she’s sitting on the wrong table.
My wife came back to the table and was so hurt and embarrassed. If a waiter made a mistake, take it up with the waiter, not with a customer that is sitting and trying to enjoy dinner.
I have never seen such disrespect in my life.
It’s very sad, because the food wasn’t bad, but it’s the customer service that’ll make you throw up.

Food is very good. The service is so so. The desert (chocolate cake) was horrible. We were asked to wait outside on a cold evening as we didn’t want to sit at the bar. We were also told that there was an extra $ 2 charge if we ask for additional condiments. Silly when we are spending close to $ 100 for dinner x2.

*This review was written a few years ago and apparently sat in my drafts. When i saw it again I immediately hit post because my annoyance with this place was still quite high.
I waited until my second trip to write a review I desperately wanted to be fair.
I can’t express to you the sorrow that envelops me to have to write this 1 star review. I want awesome restaurants in my neighborhood. It’s a joy when I see people doing construction and they AREN’T building a Chinese restaurant, nail salon, West Indian restaurant or liquor store. So I went to Basil excited, impressed by the look of the place and ready to make this my new go-​to spot when I didn’t feel like go-​ing anywhere far.
Then I actually dealt with the place.
The food is terribly overpriced. Even the food that I enjoyed I thought «Wow, really?» There are items on the menu that blow Manhattan prices out of the water. And its not like «This is a place that’s just so worth it.» It’s not. The food is okay. But they’re attempting something in the neighborhood that I haven’t seen yet so I would have still at least attempted dealing with my wallet BREAKING every time I went.
But then comes the service.
It’s not simply just bad service. It’s questionable service. What I mean by that is on BOTH occasions I dined at this establishment my waiter took forever to even take my order or bring food to the table – but people sitting NEXT to me, who had arrived after me had food and drinks before me. As I sit there confused and hungry people are dining and drinking and I sit there feeling terribly mistreated.
I’ll also note that that every time this happened it was the Othordox Jews that were served immediately and My table and I (Who happens to be Negro Shade

The food is delicious but the svc there is enough for me to never go back again. My baby was hysterical for food and the owner refused to give me some hot water which is literally free! What kind of depraved women turns away a desperate women trying to placate her infant. The ridiculous rules and regulations have got to stop. Eating there is too unpleasant. You won’t see me there again.

The food here is great. I come here for brunch about twice a week-​but not anymore… The management here is awful and flat out mean! My sister needed some hot water so that she could make a bottle for her infant and was told she could not have any and that she should go to the hotel next door. Why couldn’t they spare here any hot water? The espresso machine is 4 feet away dispensing some hot water to feed a baby would cost almost nothing and would take about 4 seconds to bring… I can’t come back here in good conscious anymore. I understand the need for order and policy to maintain a business but these pointless regulations make eating at Basil flat out unpleasant.

I came here for lunch. I will admit this is A LOT more than I usually pay for lunch. But I paid for what I thought was worth paying for. I got the Bianca-​ricotta, mozzarella, garlic confit purée, rosemary and oregano pizza for $ 18 which turned out to be a winner. The portion was huge. It was delicious. It doesn’t come with tomato sauce but the waitress gave me a side of it so I dipped the pizza in it. The crust was thin and delicate. It was covered in tons of cheese and was exploding in flavor. I loved it. I also got a Stawberry, Mint and Lemonade Smoothie for $ 6.A lover of smoothies I thought this would be worth it but honestly it was a little too minty for me. I passed on dessert because I wasn’t in the mood for donuts and didn’t want to pay $ 14.00 for what I really wanted which was a Chocolate mousse layer cake with caramel ice cream. It seemed like a little too much. I finished my lunch with a Latte for a little over $ 4 the waitress said with tax (she had the prices memorized). The staff was friendly and the restaurant clean. It was quiet when I first got there because there was no customers but as more people arrived it got more noisy and they played tranquil music. Definitely a nice but pricey place. One thing, the lunch menu is very limited. There wasn’t much of a selection. BTW you don’t have to worry about tipping they add a tip automatically 15%. I probably would have given her more but oh well. They give an option at the end to give an additional tip but when a restaurant already charges me a tip I don’t additionally tip that’s just me.

Late afternoon yesterday, we had the pleasure of stopping by Basil. While many eateries, in the kosher world, become too complacent as their quality declines, Basil still maintains their high standards.
I started my meal with an ice cold Weihenstephan Beer. Brewed in Germany since 1040, at the world’s oldest existing brewery, it is a golden-​yellow wheat beer, with its fine white foam, with aromas of cloves and a refreshing banana flavor. It is full bodied and with a smooth yeast taste. It paired superbly with the Wild Mushroom Pizza I shared with my companion (it comes with a delicious goat cheese, mozzarella and truffle oil) and the Garlic-​Truffle-​Mayo and Parmesan Fries I had. My companion opted for a Roasted Cauliflower with Gremolata Breadcrumbs side they had a «delicate buttery and lemony taste,» she said. She washed it all down with a 2011 Baron Herzog Chardonnay. She described it as having, «intense floral aromas which were followed by notes of fresh peach, pear and citrus with hints of toasty vanilla oak. Soft in texture and well-​balanced.»
We finished the meal with a selection of in-​house pastries, which included a melt in your mouth chocolate croissant, an apple turnover, a cinnamon danish and more; a great finish for a great meal! We shouldn’t have waited so long to come back…

Food was ok nothing more.
But the service was a jock
We ware 5 people one of the orders was a tuna sandwich that my wife could’ve eat coz it was really bad and nasty so we asked to change and they say sorry no can do and we must charge u for it any way. What kind of business are u running making your costumers not happy?
On top of it the all time there was a super high volume music that we could not hear each other
And a weird music like I am in an elevator any way my last fucking time in this shit place.
Not recommended

The service was good, the staff was friendly and the place was cute… however…
We ordered two pizzas.
One was the bianca $ 18 and worth every penny. So delicious. Surprisingly delicious.
One was the Anchovy and Egg $ 18. I love anchovy, love olives and love the idea of egg on a pizza.
The Anchovy and Egg pizza tasted like salt pizza. SALT pizza. We each choked down one slice and just couldn’t eat it. It was that bad.
The server asked if we wanted to wrap up the leftover pizza so I told him the one pizza tasted like salt and was not edible so we had no interest in taking it home but we would like the two bianca slices packed because it was delicious.
The waiter commented they have had complaints about the Anchovy pizza being too salty and took it away.
They offered us a free dessert. We declined. I expected the $ 18 for the salt pizza to be removed from our bill. NOPE. They have had complaints about this pizza in the past (and openly said so after our complaint) YET they still offer it for $ 18 on the menu and did NOT even give us a discount for serving inedible food.
Had we just gotten the bianca or if they had removed the charge for the salt pizza, I’d be giving this place a decent review… but they didn’t do the right thing.
Suggestion to business: REMOVE THE SALT PIZZA from the menu!
I won’t ever go back and advise you to skip it.

Four stars because the food is awesome.
Not five because;
Need to address the waitlist problem. People just standing around, too small a space. Tables are on top of eachother.

Avoid the Soto pizza! Literally, one of the most inedible things I’ve ever ordered. Also, waiter definitely never told us it would be a sweet pizza. That being said, never again :(
As per usual, the gnocchi and drinks were excellent.

Had to wait 45 min bc they don’t take reservations. The pizza was dry, dough was chewy, thin but not crispy. Portions were very small compared to what your paying. Place was so crowded and really cold. Had to wear my coat the whole time. I enjoyed the flourless chocolate cake very much. They did cater nicely to allergies which was a plus since I’m gluten free and dairy free.
Expect to wait and dish out a ton of money for not that much food. You really need to order a starter and a main to be full.

Great food! perfect service
the price is a bit high but the food is great
try the wild mushrooms pizza and the fries… they are GOOD

Horrible customer service. I went in needing to use the bathroom, and came out to a woman who began yelling at me as if I were a criminal.
I would understand that, if it were not for what happened after. After all, some places do not want you to use their bathroom, i get it. Yell at me as much as you want.
But what happened next really shocked me. The woman said to me «I only let you go in because you were religious». Only to discover, upon realizing that I did not have on a yarmulke, that I was not in fact religious. After that, the conversation took a decidedly nasty turn.
It disgusts me that this woman would treat her customers differently depending on their religious beliefs. I can only imagine what would have happened if a non-​jewish looking person had walked into her restaurant instead of me. (yes, i know she’s Catholic, it still doesn’t excuse her actions)
Shame on her. I can’t comment on the food, but I would hope you spend your money at a more tolerant establishment.

This was my second trip to basil. I had to give it another chance after my order blew it the first time. WARNING: I recommend highly against the pizza with the salmon lardons. They are too big for the pizza and the salmon taste blows your palate for anything else.
The truffle oil fries are divine… perfectly crispy and dusted with parmesan cheese and the truffle oil aioli that is an amazing compliment. The white pizzas are delicious, a great, crispy crust and plenty of toppings. We chose the pizza with the pears and blue cheese. The toppings were spread so that we were able to get everything in each bite. The pepperiness of the arugula was the perfect compliment. It was like eating pizza and a salad all at once, so it was «healthy.» The bianca was a well executed pizza, however, I did not care for the consistency of the rosemary among all of the other textures. maybe if it was stewed in the garlic confit to get a hint of the flavor rather than having the «leaves» scattered on the pizza, it would have a better effect.
This meal will be memorable for many great reasons. Even though they were about to close, they let us order and worked around us as we enjoyed our meal. I will visit again!

Basil is one of those restaurants I can dine at all day and never get sick of the food.
Chef Jose creates exceptional and artisanal pizzas that go above and beyond any pizza I’ve tasted. From the regular margherita pizza to the fermented soy black bean pizza.
The combining flavors are just phenomenal.
The small plate dishes i.e. the pecan crusted red snapper is to die for. The fish is cooked at a perfect temperature, crispy on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside. *drooling*
The breakfast menu has always been amazing. It’s my friday morning tradition spot. He recently added some seasonal dishes that are super amazing. — definitely worth the trip to Crown Heights.
Clara, is the sweetest manager I’ve met at a restaurant. She greets every patron with a huge smile and definitely tries to make sure every single person leaves satisfied.
I’d give this restaurant more than 5 stars if it were a thing.

The worst customer service this place is not recommended to any one
They should close this place down
They hired this new management Clara son that screams and kicks out people if he didn’t like them
I am shocked how he kicks people out WOW
Very disgusting

The food and service were impeccable. The flourless chocolate cake is beyond amazing, I love it!!! Will def be back and I’m not even kosher!

Pizza was tastey, fries were great & wine selection is slim but fitting. Artisan pizza is just over rated to me.
It’s a tad pricey for a simple lunch.
The space is beautiful and the ambiance is very relaxed even though it is not in the best neighborhood.