Cafe Basil

I usually come here for breakfast, as there isn’t many places near my office where I can get bagels. Bagels are normally decent, not the best, but decent enough. Being in NY, it’s a little more expensive than normal bagels, but that’s the reality of NYC. They have a lot of breakfast/​lunch options. Haven’t really had many of those and don’t plan to, but the breakfast is decent.

Usually come here for the salad with unlimited toppings (!!!) for lunch when I’m in midtown for work. My manager introduced me to this place and I’ve been coming here ever since. Their salads are really tasty and they have a good selection of ingredients. The small usually lasts me two meals. Couldn’t even imagine ordering a large!
Favorite combo: romaine lettuce + curry chicken + grapes, bell peppers, bleu cheese, corn, tomatoes, carrots, croutons + sesame (or carrot) ginger dressing

Very nicely laid out, looks clean, and the menu has great variety of options. I went here twice for breakfast and was very satisfied each time. Lots of bkfst choices, from traditional McMuffin-​type sandwiches to healthy egg white items, oatmeal, yogurt, etc.

At the suggestion of a colleague I ate here for lunch. I was feeling breakfast so I got a three egg omelet with the included three toppings, home fries, toast, and an iced coffee. It came to under $ 5 without the iced coffee but with it came to about $ 7. Not bad. The food was decent enough.

The empty café should have warned me that this wasn’t a good place. Ordered an omlet marked «$ 4.49.» Total was $ 6. $ 1 extra for breakfast after 11am, labeled in tiny letters below the register, and another $ 0.75 for cheese, in teeny tiny font under the giant $ 4.49. I had to ask twice for a plate. Wow. Also no bathroom.

Food pictures are fake. Ugliest breakfast I ever had. And unfriendly staff, too. Unclean tables and so on. I regret I was so hungry. Didn’t finish my meal though.

This place has fallen off. The salads are not the same anymore. The grilled chicken always seems to taste off and the tomatoes have a nasty after-​taste. I used to love this spot but the shift in food quality has made me not want to step in for lunch.

If you are looking for a wide variety of slightly unhealthy food options (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) that are fairly priced and served relatively quickly because no ever goes there… This is the place for you!!!
The place is super colorful inside it kinda freaked me out. There is construction/​remodeling being done on half of their store.
For breakfast I ordered the eggs bacon hash brown plate with a side of white toast. Only ended up eating the eggs and toast because the bacon and hash browns tasted like burnt rubber that was left outside for a week.
On a positive note. The cooks are very friendly and there red velvet muffins looked pretty tasty.

I wonder why mrs fields would want to associate this this place. Unreliable and pathetic customer service. Called before to verify hours open at 4:30pm. When they said open until 6pm, i arrived at 530pm and already closed. I would avoid this place at all costs.

The website said they close at 10PM, but when I arrived the last delivery person said that they’re closing at 8PM which was about the time I arrived. Unilocal says they close at 9:30PM. The multple contradictions makes me want to not attempt returning. Till then, the confusion brings in a 1 star review from me. Mind you, all I wanted were some cookies as the Ms. Field’s in Brooklyn Atlantic Terminal Mall no longer exists.

I only traveled to this location for its proximity to my office location. They have a decent variety of options ranging from your typical salad bar and sandwiches to some home cooked meals and a quinoa station.
I have only been there a few times, getting a bagel and some quinoa. The food was ok at best, however, the prices are a bit high for the quality and quantity of food you are receiving. I wouldn’t say to avoid Café Basil at all costs, but if your willing to explore more options, then go for it.

Like another Unilocaler, I too got sick from a salad. I know that bagged salads (which is most likely what they bulk order instead of fresh greens) are typically high risk for e-​coli and salmonella food poisoning, so I’m not sure if this is why I got sick or b/​c of food contamination on-​site at the restaurant. For this reason, I had to take away a star.
Everything else t hat I’ve ordered has been fresh, tasty and didn’t make me sick. And was also delivered in a timely manner.
The mashed potatoes are homemade and not too buttery or salty.
The Mrs. Fields cookies are always warm and fresh, and only cost $ 1.
I recently ordered a hamburger and it had a nice charbroiled flavor. I also like they don’t use thick buns.
Another item I would recommend is the plain bagel. They are very moist and tasty.
The grilled cheese is a hit or miss. Sometimes the bread and cheese tastes like an old leftover that they microwaved and other times it’s fresh.
I suspect they may be under new management b/​c the food quality and freshness has greatly improved these last few months.

I go here for breakfast every single day since I started working mid May. I started out by getting the bacon and egg on a roll for 2.99. I do not eat cheese so to have the price this low and not have to bother telling them no cheese is a huge plus in my book. I recently switched it up to the breakfast platter. I go with 2 eggs scrambled with bacon and hash browns. They cook the bacon just how I like it with little to no crisp. This platter is only $ 3.99. So far this is the best place I have been to with the best price. This will be my go to until I decide to start eating breakfast at home.

I got a pasta dish here for dinner. For the price you are getting some plain tasting pasta. It was really nothing special.
There was a good amount of pasta but I doubt the ingredients cost more than 2 dollars while I was charged 12 bucks. I don’t mind paying a premium when the food is good but this was not.
I am guessing this is one of those you place you go for convince rather than a good meal.

I give this place 4 stars for their salads. On the weekdays when I’m at work this is my go to lunch place. It’s easy on the wallet and the ingredients are fresh. One protein and pretty much unlimited toppings with bread and a choice of iced tea or lemonade… all for about $ 7! I get a corporate discount on top of that which is an added bonus. I haven’t really tried many of their other items so the 4 stars really just applies to the salad. Their other stuff can be terrible for all I know.

Every morning that I’ve walked by this place, I’ve been taken by their sign advertising a 99 cent breakfast sandwich of english muffin, egg, cheese and sausage. I’d go for it but the fat content is a bit high on that. Still, it looks like a great deal.
I did give the place a chance when I tried their egg and bacon sandwich. It’s a tad pricey — $ 2.99. Then a medium sized cup of tea ran me ~$ 1.59. I wouldn’t call the food «gourmet.» But it’s definitely a cut above going to a greasy food cart for breakfast. So I’d give the food 2 stars.
The extra star is for the excellent customer service I received. The guys at the grill are attentive, and the lady behind the cash register was very friendly and cheerful.

I’ve been coming here on and off for at least three years now. I have witnessed lots of changes; changes in set up, food options and management. In this past year, I have seen the staff take a turn for the worse. I used to come here for breakfast regularly. At least half of the time, I’d place my order, pay at the register, and wait. And wait some more. Often, the cashier would try to charge me twice for my order since she was on auto-​pilot and didn’t remember that I’d just paid my bill 2 minutes prior. More often than not, my food would not arrive, she’d have to scream the order down to the grill, where they’d make it on the spot, after I already waited. The order was then made erroneously, not as I’d ordered it (scrambled eggs when I asked for fried, etc).
I brought it to management’s attention the last time it happened and told them I would never return. The food itself is okay, not anything special and the only thing they really have going for them is the convenient location. They are going to continue to lose business if the staff doesn’t perk up and pay attention.

This place is kind of gross. I decided to come here for lunch because there was a pretty sweet groupon. $ 4 for $ 7. I figured, that I could get a decent sandwich and maybe a drink for that price. Well, think again. Decent is a luxury here and, it’s definitely missing.
Café Basil is a grimy spot in Midtown East. Here you can get salads, sandwiches, and other entrees. Supposedly they sell sushi, but when I was there the sushi section was filled with juice. Perhaps its a new drinkable form of sushi?
I ended up getting a chicken quesadilla because the sandwiches looked pretty nasty. The quesadilla was decently sized, but definintely not worth the $ 7 that I paid. To be fair, it seems the majority of the people coming here do come for the salads. I can’t imagine anyone messing up making salads, so in that sense, it shouldn’t be that bad. Even so, all the other stuff that they serve here is mediocre at best.
Even with a $ 4 Groupon, this place is not worth my money. The food was mediocre at best, and what makes it worse is that the staff is not friendly at all.

I got really sick after eating an unlimited salad bowl from here. Not sure if it’s because I was already sick with the stomach flu, but it made me not want to eat salad for a very long time, and I still don’t want salad.
BUT, besides that fact, I gave it 2 stars because its a great bang for your buck, and you can fill it with as many toppings as you want + a free lemonade/​tea. The small is very much so enough for 1 person, but I suppose if you’re absolutely famished then go for the large for $ 1 more. The grilled chicken was tasteless though — could’ve used some seasonings or something.
I would come here for something quick and just to fill you up, but don’t expect something fabulous.

Café Basil Gourmet is fairly forgettable. It’s yet another of those restaurants that has a bunch of stations and is busy around lunch. Most of these stations aren’t special. A pre-​made sandwich using Boar’s Head meat at one place is pretty similar to another place.
But what these guys started doing recently is changing their normal salad bar to what I like to call a CrAzY salad bar. Note the use of alternating caps to show how truly crazy this salad is. CrAzY salad is just another way of saying they have «unlimited toppings». But the salad guys don’t put very much of these toppings on your salad, so it’s important to get a lot of them. You do, but then you have a salad with a dozen different things on it. Which is good, tasty in its own way, and oh so CrAzY.
I hope they continue making these salads, for they are tasty. Today I kept tasting the avocado and shrimp, which was fantastic. More of that please.