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    Sweet Basil Cafe

    4.3 (110 reviews)

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    Kristen H.

    Was excited to try sweet basil as friends had recently recommended it. The interior is cute although a mix between somebody's living room and dining room... Did love the basil green color used as accents everywhere. Service was friendly although not fast Not overly impressed with the food - the curry of the day ended up being too spicy to eat and the Korean tofu stew tasted a lot like hot spicy boiled water not much depth of flavor. The kids though too many veggies in the lo mein noodles - Seems like possibly frozen mixed vegetables made for food service not necessarily Asian vegetables and in pieces that were too large to eat in a single bite.

    Okonomiyaki! Yes please more thank you.
    Jen P.

    Sweet Basil on Main St in Victor - hello! Open for roughly 9 months, we had never heard of this place until cousins suggested it one night when we were looking for a place with a kitchen open past 8 pm in the area. The interior seems small when you peek in the front windows, but there is lots of seating spread across 2 rooms. The menu, described as pan-Asian, highlights dishes from Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. A great variety of styles of dishes, noodles and rice, gluten-free/allergen friendly, interesting street-food appetizers and delicious and different dipping sauces were listed, and since we were hungry we ordered a bunch of dishes to share. We started with the fresh spring rolls, which were smaller and more plain than in other local places, but ingredients were fresh and crisp, and they were served with 4 awesome dipping sauces, including a creamy peanut sauce, a spicy fish sauce, a gingery-curry-ish sauce and sweet/sour sauce. The sauces were outstanding and really show the skill of the chef in creating delicious combos of herbs and spices. We also ordered the okonomiyaki, which is something we have rarely found on Japanese menus in Rochester. It's basically a pancake made with yam flour, usually including some cabbage or veggies and bacon or pork, topped with dried fish flakes and sauces. This was served pre-cut into 8 slices, definitely big enough for sharing, but could also be a main course for one. It was piping hot when it arrived, and the steam made the bonito fish flakes sprinkled on top wiggle, which can seem like the dish is moving, but I've come to appreciate that from eating this in Asia, as a sign of it being fresh out of the pan. The flavor, consistency and combo of bull-dog sauce and kewpie mayo were perfect. We really loved it. We then ordered main dishes. I had a build-a-bowl-style rice dish with stir fried veggies and a fried egg on top, served with a variety of sauces. There was a good portion of rice, good amount and variety of veggies, and the sauces - I asked to try 3 and they complied - all amazing, and in my opinion, necessary in order to jazz up what is generally just an ordinary dish. My one cousin had their Jambong, which is a spicy seafood noodle soup which we have enjoyed in other Korean restaurants. This version had a slightly thinner, less pepper-pasty broth that was still full of flavor. It included mussels, scallops, and shrimp, plus a good volume of udon noodles (but interestingly no fish or squid). It was very spicy but not unbearable. My cousin ate every last drop. My other cousin had the pad thai, a comfort dish that she orders everywhere and wanted to compare to her faves. This one used different noodles than usual, but was piled high with fresh bean sprouts and crushed peanuts, and was very flavorful. She ate the whole thing too! My hubby had ramen with their miso broth and pork. It came served with a good amount of pork, a whole soft boiled egg cut in half (no up charge!), and bok choy. The broth was really good as were the noodles, though we couldn't tell if they were fresh made noodles or not. The only 'complaint' was that my hubby would have liked a little more veg in the soup. On top of all of the awesome food, our server was fantastic - enthusiastic about the menu, able to describe dishes and make recommendations, attentive (though the restaurant was not that busy at that hour), and very friendly. We had a great first experience and can't wait to go back!

    kathiew
    Jenna L.

    owner is very kind, best pho i've ever had! the place is also very cute inside. got take out and it was still hot when we got home!

    Inside
    Arvid Y.

    I'm so glad Sweet Basil Cafe opened up. I desperately needed a pho spot closer to our new home in Bushnell's Basin. While Victor is still 10 minutes away, it's still the closest option and beats driving out to Lyell avenue to satisfy my pho craving. Their beef pho is solid. Very meaty and somewhat fatty if you get the brisket that accompanies it. It's quite good. I think the broth might be missing some of the subtlety of the Lyell Ave pho restaurants, but it's also more robust and meaty. I'd rank their pho above SEA. My wife wasn't super impressed with her soontofu soup, but it still looked better than anything available in the East Rochester area. I've also tried their Pork Bahn Mi which had good flavors and was huge portion-wise. However the bread was bit too hard and it was also a bit too buttery. All-in-all I'm a tough critic of their non-pho dishes thus far, but their pho is excellent. The portions are huge and pricing is fair. I've found the service to be friendly. Take-out has been a bit on the slow side, but they are a newer restaurant so I'm sure they'll work out the kinks. Overall Sweet Basil Cafe is a wonderful addition to the Rochester (and especially Victor) food scene.

    Green shrimp curry (Weekly Curry Special)
    Livy C.

    Very nice place! We had the whole place to ourselves, the food was excellent! I got the red curry with veggies and it was delicious! (Highly recommend that dish) and my mother got the green curry with shrimp. Our waiter was very kind! Highly recommended this place!! 10/10!!!

    Cambodian Special
    Electronic M.

    Speachless as I enjoy my 1st Cambodian dish that to say delicious would be an understatement. Flavor combinations with fresh ingrediants are absolutely amazing. Definitely recommend!

    Christina L.

    Amazing Asian food on the way to Connecticut from Niagara Falls. I was a bit weary as i've had lots of good Asian food in my lifetime and it had so many different types of Asian cuisines on the menu. I questioned if the chef could really master so many different types of Asian dishes, but boy was I wrong. wow the pho tasted absolutely perfect and it was exactly what I wanted. It definitely hit the spot. My fiancé got the Cambodian curry noodles which were also delicious! So glad we made a detour to grab dinner in Rochester. The hostess/waitress does it all and was super friendly. If you're in the area, I highly recommend stopping by! The only thing it's missing is bubble tea

    Okonomiyaki, very very delicious!
    Yen P.

    I headed for Sweet Basil when I saw they had okonomiyaki! The restaurant is on the main strip of Victor. The inside is very spacious and clean. It is also cutely decorated and I felt comfortable with the distance between all the tables. Looks like they do a lot of takeout business though. Service was a bit slow despite us being the only people in the restaurant for awhile. Our water was not refilled at all during the dinner and it look us a long time to get our food (somewhere around 40 minutes). We got the okonomiyaki, the bun thit nuong (vermicelli rice noodle with pork), and the pad thai. The okonomiyaki was a great start to our meal! It was thick but still crunchy! The flavors melded together very well and I loved the savory-ness of the whole dish. The onions especially were so full of flavor and the fatty mayo on top really complimented everything else. The portion was great too! The pad thai is not what we expected but maybe we got the wrong sauce...? I was confused when we were asked to pick a sauce in the first place. My boyfriend picked the soy sauce but maybe we should have gotten the fish? At any rate it was definitely different but still very flavorful and delicious. I'm not Thai and I've never been to Thailand so I can't say it's authentic or not. I had the vermicelli rice noodle with pork. If you expect an authentic vietnamese bun thit nuong then you will be disappointed. The sauce was fine, a little on the sweeter side. The pork had nice char but it was very very dry. And it was given to me as a whole slice...I had to ask for a knife and fork to cut it up. It was ok to eat, I just wouldn't say it's authentic. Overall, we would go back for the okonomiyaki for sure and maybe try some of their new menu items!

    Vegetable and shrimp spring rolls
    Nader A.

    Sweet Basil Cafe has one talented chef there! I have been there 3 times and have tried a few different dishes: beef pho, chicken porridge, red curry, ginger stir fry with pork, spring rolls (both with vegetables and with shrimp), basil fried rice ... no, I didn't eat all that myself, we shared! Every dish was delicious and extraordinary. Even their tea is enjoyable. Beyond just jasmine tea, every night, they make a different tea. It's a family run restaurant. The food is authentic. The service is friendly and knowledge-based. Prices are reasonable. Highly recommended.

    Miso Ramen Special
    Coco M.

    The sweetest people and delicious food! After traveling and working in Asia I am always seeking authentic food. Any kind will do--Thai, Cambodian, Nepalese, Indian, Vietname, Chinese, Japanese as long as it is legit I'm all in. Sweet Basil has a mix of Thai, Cambodian and Vietnamese and I will be back again, again, and again.

    Pad Thai Beef

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    Incredible couple with exciting and different cuisine. This is a gem. Please stop and you will come back.

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    Great excellent food takes time to cook. 1 1/2 hour. Plan for it. Worth it!! Small eating area. That's all right though.

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    Ask the Community - Sweet Basil Cafe

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    I've been to Roc Pho Shop a couple times now and find it enjoyable... had it been around during my…read moredays at RIT, I'm sure I would have been there regularly. Unsurprisingly, I originally visited to try the pho itself. While the pho is served with a plate of Thai basil, hoisin, siracha, sprouts and lime to add flavor, I'm still somewhat regularly disappointed in the lack of umami flavor in the broth itself. It lacks some depth. There are also times when my broth wasn't quite as hot as I would have wanted. Generally, the pho is fine... but there are better options around Henrietta and Rochester. Just something to keep in mind. I've had a variety of other dishes as well, and the pork banh mi is another that could use some improvement. In the couple times that I've had it, it seems to be very dry. I want a scrumptious banh mi with plenty of pickled veggies and a flavorful pork... but that isn't what I've experienced here. It's served with a broth on the side, and that's fine... but I want my flavor *IN* the sandwich... without having to use a broth as a substitute to add moisture to the meat or flavor to the sandwich. On a recent visit, I brought my mother. She ended up ordering the shrimp fried rice for her lunch, and, while the size was large (she ended up needing a takeout container to bring about half of it home), she found the dish to be lacking in flavor and components (noting that more vegetables might have been nice). During this visit, I also ordered the spicy cucumber salad for the first time... and also found *that* side lacking in flavor. There was an itsy bitsy amount of spice... but for something marked on the menu as spicy? It wasn't what I was expecting. Service was fine, and the overall ambience of the restaurant is inviting and clean. The entrance/exit can be a bit rough for cars that are a bit lower to the road... just something to be aware of.

    Doesn't seem to be a lot of pho joints in Roch. Found this place on Yelp of course. I sat…read moreoutside and had a bowl of brisket only pho. I was curious if it was going to have the sweeter broth. It is but just a hint of that sweet. We eat pho all over the country and have many Vietnamese friends. I typically use more basil than what they gave me but LOVED the peppers not your typical jalepeno gave it a perfect kick. The place is very clean. 2 nice bathrooms. Plenty of parking and close to interstate. My server was sweet and attentive. I'll be back before we leave in a few weeks to go back home to Tampa. Oh and they have booze!!!

    Sweet Basil Cafe - japanese - Updated May 2026

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