The Basil Leaf Café

Went here last week and had the creamy basil chicken. My server grace was very nice and very informed of the menu will definitely be back

They replaced our tortellini with penne without asking or telling us. I guess they were out? This place used to be good. It just tasted salty. The service was also pretty bad but I don’t really care much about that as much as the food quality declining. The pasta should be about $12-$15 a plate for what they are providing.

I have now visited this place and dined there on two occasions, and have tried 6 of their pastas, plus two desserts, an appetizer, and a salad.

Let's start with the positives: BLC is a well-run restaurant with efficient and pleasant staff who work well together and who put a very positive face on the establishment. The location--in the former Round Corner Drugstore--is quite attractive, if a little prone to being noisy. Overall, this is a nice restaurant with a very nice atmosphere.

On the less-positive side, I have yet to try any of their dishes that has a bold, interesting, fascinating, or novel flavor. The best of them was the shrimp scampi, which was nice and buttery. The rest of the pasta dishes, however, were all rather bland and "blah." The penne abruzzi, which one would expect to be rather strong and bold, just had a tomatoey sauce. The cajun pasta was slightly peppery, but really was boring. Even the toasted raviolis and the caesar salad lacked any particular flavor. The dessert portions were quite small, to be honest, as well.

In sum, this is a restaurant with all of the promise in the world, and yet it falls a bit flat. I love the IDEA of this place, but really would like to see the chef be a bit more bold. As a customer in a higher-end restaurant, I would rather be offended than bored, and yet I was more than a bit bored with the food in BLC.

It was 4:45 pm. We walked in. Greeted with a smile but quickly turned snobbish when we said we didnt have a reservation. They said oh you're walkins. Was told we could wait till 730 to get in. The place was empty except 2 tables. We were so excited to try the new place. At the old location we were treated great and respectable. No where on google site or web page did it say need reservation. On google it said usually no wait. Lawrence doesnt have a good Italian and was looking forward to it. Not anymore. You lost this customer. 😔

This was our second attempt to eat at The Basil Leaf, the first time we didn’t realize they required reservations. The ambiance was cozy on a cold/rainy day and our waiter was cheerful and prompt. The food arrived quickly, mere minutes after the appetizer and salad. There wasn’t enough room on our two-person table. The food was just okay. Way too salty and at the same time flavorless. The bruschetta was disappointing. It didn’t have the usual zing of the balsamic vinegar reduction and they weren’t served with appetizer plates, so we ate them over paper napkins which felt strange at a nice restaurant. The house salad was served without any noticeable dressing and the basis was micro greens that were barely edible. I’d say we should try the Caesar salad next time, but I’m not so sure we’ll be back.

Made a reservation over a week ago!! My parents anniversary dinner. Called to check and make sure and they have no record of reservation. It’s Valentine’s Day so I understand making a reservation. That’s why I did it so early. The man I spoke to didn’t seem to care and only told me to call IF someone should not show up!!! I will never even try this restaurant! Definitely won’t put my parents through trying this restaurant! We all live in Lawrence. I will make sure to tell everyone I know to not even try! I read the yelp reviews… most were good but the ones that were awful were actually pretty recent! Should have known better!!!

This is an edit from a 5star review. This USED to be one of my favorite fine dining restaurants in Lawrence. After moving away a couple years ago and coming back I was so excited to eat at Basil again. Unfortunately, I was sincerely disappointed all around. The bar used to be kept immaculate, everything was always so organized and well stocked. This was not the case this time around. The cocktails were always on point and this time all I tasted in my mule was ginger beer and no love. The service was ALWAYS top notch and friendly, this was not at all the case this visit. We had rude, snobby, female servers that walked around ignoring us. We stayed for a couple hours and not once did they ask how the food was or if we wanted another drink. The food has always been fantastic. Instead, we received HALF the amount of calamari I would have a couple years ago and the bruschetta was less than impressive. I suggest getting your old staff back together- as they seemed to care a lot more about your restaurant than the two ladies running the show this last time around. So sad.

Very clean simple interior. The wait staff was helpful and attentive. Portions are huge! Not an over amount of entree menu choices but a wide mix of choices. I had the lasagna with a nice Sauvignon Blanc and my Bride of 44 years had the shrimp, tomato, and pasta dish. We would come back.

Amazing food! The Alfredo is sooo good, the breadsticks were also Delicious. Would highly recommend dining here while in Lawrence.

Our visit to Basil Leaf was our first. The cafe had been highly recommended to us. My husband and adult daughter and I went there for my birthday dinner. We are more of a bar and grill family, so this was an upgrade for a dining experience for us. We were immediately greeted and seated. All wait staff were pleasant and helpful…. Refilling our drinks, offering extra parm, etc. The food was outstanding and huge proportions. Leftovers in nice boxes for next day’s lunch or midnight snack. Delish, complimentary strawberry cheesecake, since it was my birthday. One small item of constructive criticism, which accounts for 4 stars instead of 5. The paper menus and the wine list were a bit shabby. One menu and the wine list had food/sauce stains on them. Rather unappealing and easily remedied. Hoping owners/management read their reviews. We will be return diners!