Basil & Thyme Italian Bistro

I had the pesto stuffed chicken and my date had chicken foursital with a marinera substitute. The marinera sauce was outstanding, homemade, and surprisingly good.

Some of the worst «Italian» food I’ve had. Even chain restaurants like olive garden is a step up from this place. Bread was cheap quality and tasted like it was on the verge of being stale. The Fontana cheese sauce in my pasta tasted like that powdered cheese from a box of Kraft Mac n cheese. The chicken was rubbery and completely devoid of any flavor. And the artichoke dip wasn’t very good either. Sorry to have to write such a bad review on the food, but just wanna be honest and warn others. On the plus side, the waiter was very nice which is why I’m giving 2 stars instead of 1.

Hidden gem– great food for the price! The mango sauce with Salmon and your choose of pasta with fresh veggies was unique and very good.

WOW… What a service and food. Thanks

Basil and Thyme is good for a quick, reasonable «Italian-​ish» meal rather than something more authentic (or even common Italian-​American).
The calamari had a distinctively Asian flavor to it, rather than any traditional Italian style. The chicken parm was apparently deep-​fried, and had sauce placed on it, rather than the more traditional pan-​frying then baking in the sauce and cheese. It wasn’t a bad meal, but tangent to the usual Italian experience.

The bacon in the spinach salad tasted rancid. The seafood cioppino and spaghetti with meatballs were fine. The staff were quite nice. Although the location is super convenient for me, I don’t think I will come again.

The food is delicious. My boyfriend introduced me to this place and I love it. Both times we went there was no one else in the restaurant. We had the whole place to ourselves. It’s a small place but still nice inside. I recommend anyone who loves Italian food to go stop by and eat here! Don’t do take out, I noticed some people who did come in did take out. Have a seat and enjoy the place!

No idea why this place always seems so empty. It’s no fine dining, but it hits the «casual italian comfort food» niche just right. Prices are reasonable, too, and the menu has some good variety. Been here twice so far and not disappointed either time. First time I got the Pork Chop Au Black Funghi and the pork was really tender and juicy. Second time I had the Chicken Farfalle Fontana which was really tasty with a rich cheesy sauce. My wife was impressed both times as well. I really have no complaints, and will be going back again. Maybe this place got a bad rap early on? Only other thing I can think is the location isn’t very good, being stuck in a tiny strip mall near an overpass between Newark and Fremont with no freeway access, which is unfortunate. That said, sometimes having a really quiet dinner is a bonus (and the service has always been friendly and nonintrusive).

We had dinner there tonight. It was a nice quiet dinner with nice service and good food. I had a Green Greek salad followed by the Spaghetti Carbonara with chicken. My husband had a Chicken Caesar salad followed by the Veal ala Funghi.

My husband and I have become regulars for dinner. The wait staff have come to know us and our favorite table. The food is fresh and delicious. The service is excellent. A favorite is the Chicken Marsala. Tonight we both had the Cream of Carrot soup which is always so delicious. My husband ordered the Salmon and Prawns in a Mango Sauce which is his favorite. The prices are reasonable. We love the fact that we never have to wait for a table.

5 stars for the customer service. The staff was super attentive. The wine list was also good (they give a generous pour too).
Unfortunately the food wasn’t that great. Why should I pay more for something that I can make myself at home?
I LOVE Italian food so maybe I’m too picky. The best thing on the menu was the minestrone soup.

Came here for lunch. The place was empty, but I figured I was early (11:30am). I’d ordered the lunch special, chicken marsala. Lunch came with bread (which was served warm) and with a bowl of minestrone soup — warm and pretty good. Perfect for a gloomy day.
Service was very courteous and inviting. I also don’t like to be rushed when eating, so it’s nice to know that the entrée was served right after I finished the soup. Pet peeve is when I’m ½ through my salad and the entrée shows up.
Chicken Marsala was ok — a little much on the salt, but good. The sauce a little heavy, but it’s marsala. Nice that the chicken was grilled before serving. Not bad and I’ll definitely be back.

A reasonably priced Italian restaurant that I’ve driven by often, and wouldn’t of known existed if it were not for the other Unilocal reviews.
We entered, and only one other table was occupied, and we were seated across from them. The walls were decked out with various sized Italian themed pictures and a mural. The lighting was just right. It would of been nice if the rose that each table had would of been real, but what was odd was that the napkins’ color alternated between white and maroon between tables.
Our drink order was taken as we were seated, and a basket of bread promptly brought. The bread was fresh, but I needed to ask for some butter to make it satisfying. That dip that came with it was too pungent. Our meal came with minestrone soup that was hearty and tasted homemade; some of the best I’ve ever eaten. I also ordered a side salad for only $ 2.00 more. It was crisp and fresh.
Unfortunately my main course of spaghetti with meatballs ($ 9.00) was mediocre. It was very plain, the sauce lacked flavor, and the noodles were slightly mushy. The meatballs were large and meaty though. My dining partner liked her halibut and prawns (15.00). It was tasty and cooked to perfection. The two waitresses on duty continuously checked on us if everything was OK.
Upon leaving we received a coupon for $ 10 off our next visit. That’s enough incentive to try Basil & Thyme Italian Bistro again.

It seems like their menu has changed drastically from when I last visited, so this review is serving more as a reminder to myself of what not to order.
My $ 15-​for-​$ 30 Groupon was used for lunch with an old friend, during which I had ordered a lemony pasta dish that was very watery and a bit too sour. Paired with rubbery spaghetti noodles, my meal was underwhelming. On the other hand, the service was spot on. Well, our waitress was a bit eager, but the attentiveness was appreciated.
I’m glad to see that things have improved :)

Simply the best (family friendly) restaurant in SF Bay Area!
Food is delicious, servers very friendly, music is pleasant and environment is beautiful. I love going back to this restaurant. I highly recommend this restaurant to all of my friends in bay area.

Short Story:
The most awesome Italian restaurant in all of the bay area! Woot!
Long Story:
I came here on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. I ordered the spinach ravioli and it came with a salad for $ 2 more. The ravioli was cooked to perfection and I had a special request to substitute the sauce for marinara. They were able to accommodate that easily. The salad was also extremely fresh and had a decent amount of vegetables. I’m a big fan of eating healthy and I would say that this is the place to go to. The service was fantastic and the décor and ambiance made for an open and relaxing setting.
Verdict:
I am going to line up for when they open tomorrow to go back! :)

My first experience here wasn’t the best. The server is awkward, there was no childrens menu. I decided to try the special, which was a steak. The meat was so gristly, it was basically inedible. No one else at the table had a problem though, it wasn’t spectacular either.
We returned once again, because we had a groupon deal… this time I tried to play it safe and order a pasta dish… it was fine until I found a piece of a METAL SCOURING BRUSH in my food… needless to say, very disappointing. They didn’t even offer to compensate, only sent over a free slice of dessert.
We will not be returning.

Ok so I gave into groupon and got the $ 15 for $ 30 deal. It was a nice little place and it had a nice decorated inside.
Service:
Their service was awesome. They were friendly, cheerful, polite, and professional. I didn’t feel rushed when ordering and I didn’t feel like they were annoyed at me when I kept drinking my water too fast and they ha to refill pretty often. But I must note that I never once had to ask them for a refill, they noticed every time my water was low. I loved that. Service was above standard.
Food:
Bread — I honestly wasn’t expecting much of from the bread after reading some of the Unilocal reviews. When it first came out and I took the first bite, I thought it was stale. But after a couple more bites it was really tasty and I loved it. Me and my friend ended up eating the whole basket.
Fish and crab cakes — this was pretty good. Although it was a unique combination that I haven’t really tried before. But it worked and the sauces that were serve with it was tasty ad well.
Vegetable Fettuccine — the menu said it was homemade fettuccine, but it neither looked or tasted like it. The sauce was just ok. I personally didn’t like their pastas.
I think their pasta dishes were not great at all. I was quite disappointed since our appetizers and bread were good. But the main dish was not worth it.
Overall:
I wouldn’t recommend this place for Italian food. Their service was great, but the dishes just didn’t match.

As much as I’d like to give this family-​owned establishment a great review for it’s food, the only thing that really stood out was its service. And unfortunately, service doesn’t count for much when the food is just meh.
We checked out Basil & Thyme Bistro after purchasing a recent Groupon for the place. The menu claims it’s a Tuscan style of preparation, but having just been to Italy earlier this year, I didn’t see any of that represented.
We ordered the following:
— Pecan Panir Salad: Since when is paneer an Italian ingredient? Random. I ordered it because the description looked tasty, but the paneer cheese was bland and had no flavor. Very plain, boring salad for $ 7, which could’ve had a lot of room for uniqueness in presentation.
— Eggplant Parmegiana: Again, bland. Lacking flavor. Very regular and plain mozzerella cheese topping. Good portion size and presentation.
— Whole Wheat Linguini alla Wild Italian Funghi: I saw no «wild italian funghi» in this veggie pasta. Instead I saw your regular white mushrooms mixed in with artichoke hearts from the bottle (!), carrots (!) and peas (!). Really?
The main pasta dishes all come with a side salad or a soup of the day (carrot, in this case). That was a nice touch. I had the carrot soup, which was okay.
The ingredients were the main thing completely off base in this place, and in my opinion, that either makes or breaks the quality of a particular dish. The veggies were overcooked, the cheeses not special, and the overall appeal of the entrees just meh.
Sorry guys, kick it up a a few notches!

The worst of the worst. I am disgusted and insulted. Never have I been so offended or angry because of a restaurant. Nothing here is fresh and no effort was put into the food. The atmosphere is awkward and dark with no music to uplift the ambiance. No wonder this place cut their business hours.
«Chef» Cruz either neglects to oversee his staff or is just a fake chef/​chef wannabe. Whoever runs this establishment doesn’t care about the food’s taste and freshness. The waitress was clueless and wrote «well done» on my ticket for the veal without asking me initially. When it arrived, the meat tasted like chalky leather. So, I returned the dish told her to re-​fire the veal to medium-​rare. She brought it back from the kitchen and said «here’s your veal cooked medium well.» HELLO? Does «rare» rhyme with «well?»
Chef Ramsay, please intervene and show this place how food is supposed to be cooked and prepared. This place needs a spot on Kitchen Nightmare. Yes, the food is THAT bad.
If you come here, expect :
Fishy, old seafood
Overcooked, unseasoned meat
Soggy and bland calamari
Crabless crab cakes that contain fillers of potato, carrots, celery. To make it worse, it was deep fried rather than pan fried. I paid crab cake price for potato cakes.
How can any restaurant screw up the simplest appetizers-​crab cake and calamari? Even I can cook better and I’m no chef wannabe. Save yourself some money and an uncomfortable experience by going elsewhere. I am being as honest as I possibly can. There are plenty of great Italian restaurants in the Bay Area. Chef Cruz, do you take pride in serving garbage to your customers and hiring idiotic servers?