Sweet Basil

We have come several times. It’s pretty consistent. The food is very, very good but the service is generally awful. The waitresses are always sweet but horribly slow. They also always seem frazzled. We usually end up missing something that was ordered.

We have tried this restaurant several times. The food is good and the portions are generous. The service however, is seriously lacking. More often than not, servers do not know the menu, make mistakes, and are slow to serve. We have taken friends there for dinner and have been embarrassed for making the recommendation. We believe in giving restaurants a chance to improve but it seems they just don’t care.

Been here several times for lunch and think it’s a pleasant place. My review is similar to lots of other people who think the food is good, but the service is lacking. Recently had a fried haddock sandwich with fries and coleslaw. The fish and the fries were tasty. The cole slaw, however, was the complete opposite: one of the WORST things ever put in front of me! I’ve never had anything that bad in any other restaurant. It tasted old, musty and was clearly about to spoil. Inexcusable.
I’ve never seen a manager (or at least someone who acts like a manager) here, and the service suffers as a result. The atmosphere is of a place without a steady hand at the helm. It’s difficult to get a server to acknowledge you after entering; once they do, they seem surprised to see a guest there, are unsure as to where to seat you, how to offer menu suggestions, to carry on any conversation, etc. Dining here is an odd experience, due solely to the limited people skills I encounter at Sweet Basil.
To sum it up: the food is pretty good; the service needs to be improved.

My wife and a friend had tried this place on a whim and said it was decent, and seeing as there isn’t too much to eat in the Tully/​Marietta area, we decided to give it a shot one night too.
My wife warned me beforehand that the service wasn’t great. We walked in and the place was packed. We were told it’d probably be a half hour wait, since they had a limited amount of tables because they had a 20 person party reserved, and it’s a small place as it is, so we sat and waited. We were sat after about an hour, and the tables they had reserved for this big party sat empty from the time we walked in until the time we left, two and a half hours later, while tons of customers either waited to be sat at the front, or walked out because the wait was too long. Two and a half hours, these tables sat there empty while plenty of customers could’ve been sat and waited on in that time.
Our server was very nice but seemed very overwhelmed and seemed confused by things other co-​workers were saying to her. Seems like a lot of miscommunication goes on. My wife ordered fried fish, while I got a burger and fries and we split an order of wings.
The food was very good. My wife loved her fish, and my burger was very tasty. Their fries were really good too. My wife and I are wing snobs, but we very much enjoyed theirs. Everything was freshly made, and came out surprisingly fast. We expected a longer wait for food after the wait to be seated, but the kitchen worked quickly. My wife’s side of mashed potatoes was ice cold and she had to send them back to be reheated, but other than that, the food was great. Our server was very apologetic and seemed annoyed with the kitchen sending out cold food.
Overall, the food is good, but the service seems mismanaged and could use some work. Based on the food, we’d give it another try, but we’d make reservations beforehand, and would encourage anyone else to do the same.

Spent two hours waiting for my order. By the time the first dinner appeared half the party had to leave. One person never got his order, never got the coffee he asked for. It was not a pleasant evening waiting for service to initially appear, and drink orders to finally arrive — took several trips to get it close to right, and then another hour and a quarter waiting for food to appear. No offer of bread, no refills on wine or anything else. I don’t plan on going back. Had the diner been open on Sunday night, we would all have been home in bed by the time the first dinner arrived at the Sweet Basil.

Had one of the specials tonight and it was delicious. Baked sole with tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and basil. This should go on the menu or be a regular special. It was fresh and light, very good! My husband loves the calzones, he gets them almost every visit. Tonight was no different and he was so happy with it. Service was good our server was friendly.

The food has always been delicious. Portions seem inadequate relative to the price. $ 15-​$ 20 meals for a small town restaurant. No drinks, one appetizer, two dinners = $ 50 not including tip. Side of vegetables costs $ 3 and it was literally 5 broccoli crowns. No option to swap out the salad. And no vegetables available during lunch hour.

The food is good to very good but the Hostess and service needs serious work. We used to go a couple times a month now its once every couple months. If it wasn’t for the food we wouldn’t go back. Staff changes a lot and the people working are never happy especially the Hostess. Last night she was really rude and berated a couple waitresses in front on customers. Unprofessional.

We love this place. My wife always gets the Carmalized Pecan Salad. For me I always evaluate the specials of the day. We’ve never been disappointed.

I’ve only been once with coworkers. Everyone enjoyed their meal but the service was subpar. The beer list was quite good but comes by the bottle. The menu had a surprising number of cuisine options but mostly relied on crowd pleaders. Great option considering the area. The asparagus was spot on!

This us a favorite place to come. A nice drive from Syracuse, especially in the Fall. Food is always good. Lots of choices. Asparagus is offered as a side which is a rare treat. Gluten Free pizza was good and reasonably priced. Restaurant is most always busy, thus the dining room is quite noisy. Our server Amanda got a workout last visit keeping many tables happy. But, she did a great job. Try Sweet Basil, if you are in the area. And, then treat yourself to ice cream at one of two ice cream shops nearby.

A recent night two dinners one fair, one bad, some of the worst service ever, out of many items. Front of house a mess ! A ship without a captain !!!

I’m the type of person who would rather cook at home because most restaurants are not as good as home cookin’, this place impressed me.

Good sandwiches and pleasant atmosphere. Casual lunch with wholesome ingredients. friendly staff.

I came here Thursday after skiing with a buddy of mine. We were seated and we weren’t even greeted by a server after about 25 min. I tried to get the attention of the staff several times and even made eye contact with a server but it was like we were invisible! I have no idea how good the food is, but the service was terrible. After being there for almost half an hour, I walked out without even having a glass of water. I will not be coming back, and I suggest you don’t bother.

I have eaten here a few times the food is pretty good for the price the staff is usually super friendly except for today we went there for lunch the 1 and 3 year olds were served last! And our waitress which was a older lady was rude and acted like we were bothering her when asked for anything we got up charged a dollar for a side of ranch dressing and another dollar for a side of tarter sauce which if we knew we were being charged that for a side of dressing I could have gone without… My sister got a salad instead of a wrap she ordered and not so much as a I’m sorry for messing up your order… It wasn’t even that busy being a waitress myself I was pretty disappointed in the service… We have always liked sweet basil and meet there for lunch It was very disappointing that we got such bad service for a place we have always talked highly of…

Great little café. Good homemade food and excellent service.

Service is lack luster. Had to ask server to introduce herself.
Charged me a dollar for extra marinara. What are you McDonald’s?
Food is generic and over priced. Of all my visits there have been major flaws with the main entrée protein preparation.
Alcoholic beverages are cheeper down the street.
I would rather make my own wings and pizza… At least then I KNOW it will be delicious and for the right price.
Elm street is better. I would not send my family here, or friends. Go to happy China, at least they smile. I won’t ever go back again, I’m done wasting my money.

Doesn’t Sweet Basil sound like it should be a Thai resto?
Well it’s not, but what it IS, is a quaint and cozy restaurant that serves Americana food. Burgers, pizzas, steaks, fried seafood platters, etc.
Reasonable pricing and a decent wine/​beer list.
The service is stellar here and the servers are so friendly!
The food is wonderfully prepared and tastes great. The portion sizes are beyond generous. I’m talking HUGE!
So make sure to come here hungry!

We stopped by here on our way back to NYC from Buffalo. We did a random restaurant search and stumbled into this little town and quaint restaurant.
The restaurant is in an old red house looking building. The inside is okay, not as cute or cozy as I was hoping — just functional.
I have to admit that I actually thought it was going to be a Thai food restaurant. On the west coast anything called «Sweet Basil» would be a Thai food. This is an Italian/​pizza place that also has a small bar area.
We came by on a Sunday when their menu is more limited so I am not sure we got a full flavor of the place. We didn’t want pizza so we got pasta, sandwiches, and salads. The food was pretty darn bland. The meatball sub tasted exactly the same as the baked penne.
But there were lots of locals there so maybe the pizza is good. It did look pretty inviting…
Nothing to go out of your way for, but they have a great beer selection.