Elaine was amazing at the bar and her recommendations were spot on!! Great food, great atmosphere and grate drinks!!!

This place was a cute little find in Lawrence. There is little parking, you'll mainly have to rely on street parking or a back lot. You order your food at the register and then pick where you would like to sit. It's not a huge place, so when your food is ready they'll walk it out to you. They have sandwich, soup, entree and appetizer options. I got the Parmesan chicken sandwich, it was huge! And their soup of the day which was good as well. My friend got the spaghetti & meatballs. However, I do have to say that the soup was a little too salty and my friend said the spaghetti & meatballs was way too salty (she was unable to finish it for this reason). They also have a small bar so alcoholic drinks are available to you if you choose. When your done eating, they bring the check out to you (you don't have to go back to the register). All in all, parking was extremely limited (so know to look for parking spots along the way) and food was just a little too salty. But cozy atmosphere and comfort Italian food options. read more

The Basil Leaf Cafe - Parmesan chicken sandwich with soup of the day - Italian Near Me - Lawrence, Kansas

Over the top great !!! Food amazing! Ambiance super. Our waitress Kristen... whom I am certain we embarrassed about how great she is... was the best! We can't wait to come again! read more

$18 shrimp Alfredo tasted like paste. No flavor just a starchy thick mess. No cheese grated on top. Order caprese salad but they had no fresh mozzarella. House salad for $10 was small and bland. We were seated by the kitchen door and bathrooms. It was not pleasant. Will not go back! read more

So delicious We enjoyed one of the best meals ever last evening. The salmon was perfect, meaty, smoky with seasoned roasted potatoes. The veg side was crisp and fresh, definitely not after thought. My husband chose a basil cream pasta with artichokes tomato mushroom and chicken. The couple bites he shared was so, so good. We found the perfect wine pairing, a Pinot Grigio and the best lemon ginger cocktail. I mentioned to my husband the time we ate at Lydia's in KC and spent a fortune. Basil Leaf is much more tastier, the cost perfect for the great meal and atmosphere. Totally recommend read more

The interior decor is pretty nice, and I can imagine how good it looks at night with their wine glass light shades on; alas we stopped in for lunch at around noon on a Friday. There was a KU basketball game on so I'm assuming everyone was at a bar instead, leaving no waiting time for seating. I had the lobster sauce fettuccine from their lunch menu: TL;DR it was over-seasoned to the point where all I could really taste was salt. To be frank, it's like it came out of a can and then had salt added on top of it. The bread stick was delicious, but damn...I can only remember how salty my entree was. The pasta itself was cooked alright, but it's a shame that it was lathered in that irrecoverable sauce. On a brighter note, my cousins that were with me all enjoyed their meals; and looking at the other reviews, maybe I was just unlucky? In any case, I recommend approaching anything with lobster sauce on it with caution. Order water, because you'll probably need it. read more

The Basil Leaf Cafe - The fettucine in lobster sauce - Italian Near Me - Lawrence, Kansas

What a great night! Perfect service and environment and delicious meal and drinks! The dim lighting and cozy booths made for a relaxing night after a long day of work. Our server Emily hit all the check points and gave us the best recommendations. Will most definitely be returning! read more

Service here was terrible, the waitress brought us the wrong drinks(ordered coke and got root beer), dropped our food off and forgot about us, I know she wasn't busy because we could see her just talking to her friend at the bar while we were sitting there with empty drinks and nothing on our plate, she at most had two other tables. The food was amazing I've never had anything like it but if you want to have a drink with your meal I'd go somewhere else, I tell people if you want amazing food just order from here for takeout because you'll be very disappointed in the service read more

The food and service was stellar!! Our server, Elaine, so kindly kept refilling my water and gave wonderful recommendations. The cheesecake with strawberries and chocolate is phenomenal! read more

Elayne was the best bartender!!! She was super sweet and fun to talk to. I would definitely suggest coming here again!

Bartender was great. Food was great. Liked the old location on 9th better. Lemon chicken is what to get

Tried to switch a reservation for four to six and they said no thanks so I have no idea. Went to 715 instead. That was great!!!

The food was great but the server was drunk asssss fuckkkk. Provided great entertainment while we ate our lunch. Will definitely be back

Excellent food, great drinks, fun atmosphere! All In downtown Lawrence Kansas! Highly recommend

Here in Lawrence for work and decided to check this place out. Wow I had ordered a Garden Salad with my meal. All of a sudden the server brings out what looks like a work of art. I thought to myself if this is what they do for a salad, I can only imagine what they'll do for the entree. I ordered the Chicken Cavitelli. U can't describe in words how good this looked and tasted. Flavor explosions in my mouth. When I was half way done, I started to eat slower so I could savor the taste. If you're in Lawrence, you must come here. Talk about chefs who take pride in their cooking. Yum, yum, yum. I wish I could have given them more than five stars. read more

Had a great time here at Basil Leaf. Great drinks and great food. Our server, Elaine, was incredibly personable and helpful.

This was such a welcome change after being stuck in a conference all day. The environment is cozy and inviting with friendly staff. I loved my chicken and waffles and my cocktail was perfect. If you are in Lawrence, I highly recommend! read more

I have NEVER been treated as poorly as our group was treated on September 9, 2023 by Dana, General Manager. We made a reservation for a larger group to celebrate a bridal shower. As we were paying our checks she began to take everything away from us even though several of us were finishing our wine. She told us that there was a one hour and 45 minute limit to dining, however, this was never explained to us (we even called several days ahead and spoke to a manager to help make the reservation for our group). I explained to her that I was still waiting for my debit card to be returned to me. She told us we needed to leave the table and finish our transactions at the host counter. I told her that she was one of the rudest people I have ever dealt with and I also told her that her actions were unprofessional. She continued to smile and say "thank you" with an extremely condescending tone. As we were walking out the door, our server told me that we had $68.00 of unclaimed food that we needed to pay. I went ahead and paid to avoid any more embarrassment. After comparing our tickets outside, we went back and requested a refund for the $68.00. Dana then refunded my money as they double charged us for several items and created the extra ticket. I am upset and saddened that we chose your establishment to celebrate such a special event. Dana, you should be ashamed and embarrassed by your attitude and actions. I hope you have the day you deserve. read more

What I love about the Basil Leaf Cafe is that it's just a solid non pretentious Italian place that is not trying too hard and doesn't have damn TVs all over the place. Great place to take a date and enjoy a not-to-noisy good Italian meal. Good simple wine selection, not a million to choose from. The place is small so make reservations or get their early on a weekend. We'll be back when needing Italian in Larryville. read more

They apparently don't have a stove with more than one burner. Our 4th door dasher just dumped the order (placed more than 90 minutes ago). I don't care if it is made with angel's tears and love I will not ever be ordering from here again. And o by the way, you can't call and talk through the issue because they set the phone to no response. Horrible horrible business owners. After the last experience we had it took us til now to try again. Mistake. One that won't be made again. I'd eat Chef Boyardee ravioli before I'd spend one red cent here. And I will make sure I speak poorly of the place every single chance I get! read more

My favorite spot for Italian!!! My husband and I love the atmosphere and the menu at The Basil Leaf.

Dropped down a star because they no longer serve their amazing Basil Leaf Burgers. Hanks n Sullys next door serve it now, but it doesn't have the same taste or impact :( But their other options are delicious. I had their Chicken & Waffles recently and enjoyed that very much. Cool bartenders and polite service read more

GREAT FOOD. DOESNT look like much walking past, we thought it was completely empty. But we were wrong! So many people went before the KANSAS game and it was amazing! Great atmosphere and great service. There was one waitress in there doing all the seating, bussing, and taking orders. She was killer read more

I have had this place bookmarked for way too long and so glad I finally stepped away from Mass St and tried Basil Leaf out. The place is small and quaint and fills up fast so get there early. Tons of energy in the place and great vibes. Service was outstanding, we never went without drinks or filled water glasses. The wine and beer list is small but a great variety of options at a crazy great price. The do not have draft beer but they pour it in a cold glass. We started with the Arancini, I have never had it before so I can't say if it was "right" but it was delicious. Crispy on the outside with rice, diced red pepper and pork sausage inside. Five of the huge balls lay on top of marinara sauce laced with Alfredo sauce. The marinara sauce is clean and fresh tasting. Then we moved on to the grilled Romaine salad. This is probably one of the best salads I have had. It was warm and had banana peppers, purple onion, roasted grape tomatoes, bell pepper, a pesto mix and ranch drizzled over it. Everything was cut very thin and paired perfectly together. I had the roasted chicken gnocchi as my entree. Let me say, portions are HUGE. I saw many different entrees as we ate and nothing is small here, you will not leave hungry. I don't think they make any of their pastas, I understand it is a timely process but it would be great if they offered a couple homemade pastas, especially the gnocchi. However, it was still fabulous. The chicken was roasted and cut small mingled with bell peppers and onions. The sauce was buttery. A very rich dish but light at the same time with all of the fresh ingredients. A breadstick was on the side, it was good but wish they would take advantage of Wheatfields and do a local bread rather than store bought. The show stopper was my husband's meatloaf with the fried option for an up charge, I highly recommend trying it once this way. It was massive, two huge pieces of meatloaf. They use pork, bison and beef. So flavorful. They serve it with a green bean, bell pepper mix and some of the best creamy mashed potatoes. Just a little bit of brown gravy is drizzled over top. If you are a gravy person I would ask for a side but I thought the amount was perfect to not drown out the flavors. The desserts looks great but no way we had room. They do a homemade cheesecake that changes daily. Last night was caramel bourbon. Love how original they are. Highly recommend this place and excited to try their newest restaurant next door, Sully and Hanks. read more

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The best restaurant in Lawrence everyone was so nice and I got the best service ever plus the food is so good I've tried most of the menu items and all of them are great read more

My favorite place to eat when visiting Lawrence. The food is always fresh and delicious. It's a small place but perfect for a date night. And we have always had very friendly and accommodating service. read more

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Be careful when you eat here, gave a 20% cash tip on my meal and when I checked my bank statement I found that they added an additional 10 dollars on my card. On the night we were there the service wasn't that good but having been a server I gave a good tip and then was taken advantage of. I have tried to take care of it thru the cafe twice but each time have been given the run around. read more

While we love to eat Italian, we cannot really go to many places because our son has horrible allergy issues. So we are mostly stuck with Olive Garden. However, last Saturday we went to Lawrence, and on a friend's recommendation decided to try our Basil Leaf Cafe. It was the best Italian we have had in a long, long time. The food was amazing, I ordered a spicy sea food penne and my son had a kid meatballs and spaghetti while hubby had a sandwich. All the food was personally and tasted yumm!!! Also the kitchen was in full view so we could actually see what food is being cooked. The decor is beautiful and they give mason jars for water, I loved that. This is truly a gem in Lawrence, do not miss it. read more

The food is fresh and delicious, they have a good wine selection, we've always had great service. We drive from out of town to eat there!

I tried the new location because they did a great job making it look good on Instagram. Sadly, our dinner was absolutely horrible. I never leave bad reviews, but I could only eat a few bites of everything we ordered. The worst quality ingredients at high prices. The tomatoes used in the caprese were tasteless and pale like what you might get on a subway sandwich (and we are right in the peak of tomato season). It also had no salt or seasoning and no olive oil from what I could tell. The Caesar salad was so bad, I couldn't eat it. The dressing was not housemade - definitely a very cheap bottled dressing. My husband got a ribeye that cost $32 - a horrible cut of meat that was way over seasoned. It was accompanied by the worst risotto I've ever seen - undercooked Arborio rice that had maybe mayonnaise and scallions on it? Zero flavor, which was a hilarious contrast to the violent taste of my basil chicken that had an entire jar of pre-minced garlic in it and diced chicken with a texture so bad I had to spit it out. And there was a stray green bell pepper in that pasta. In short - absolutely worst meal I've ever paid for, especially at this price. read more

I hadn't been here since shortly after it opened at the 9th street location, but went last night for my birthday. We ended up coming in super early (5pm) and it was a bit of a ghost town, but our waitress was very kind and welcoming! The whole experience was phenomenal, the service was well timed and friendly and the food was blow your mind incredible. The shrimp arribiata and the Mac and cheese are my favorite! The portions are insane, so despite my rather large appetite, I had more than enough leftover to take home. Can't wait to bring more friends in! P.s. If you are afraid of the "spicy" description of the shrimp arribiata, you can always ask for them to hold the red pepper flakes and it's still delicious! read more

I had been meaning to try this famous gas station pasta joint for awhile now. Basil Leaf has since relocated, but no worries, I told myself - I'll just be able to more objectively enjoy the food now. Unfortunately, this didn't turn out to be such a good thing for Basil Leaf. The cajun penne was extremely heavy on seasoning and I found myself thirsty and reeking of garlic powder the rest of the night. The dish seemed pretty disparate to me; instead of extracting all the flavors from the sausage, chicken, and shrimp it felt like each component was cooked separately and tossed together at the end. The andouille sausage, by the way, is not your standard andouille and has a soft hot-dog-like consistency. Soft meat seems to be a theme here, because the meatballs in the spaghetti and meatballs were just too tender (too many bread crumbs?) so if you like your meatballs meat-y, don't go for this dish. I know, I'm slamming Basil Leaf pretty hard. I admit that overall both dishes were okay; however, they reminded me more of quick weeknight crockpot dinners rather than restaurant food. When I dine out, I want an experience that I can't get at home. The up sides? For the price ($10-$12 for pastas) you can get at least 2 meals (probably 3 if you have a smaller appetite) so it's a bang for your buck. The breadsticks were my favorite part of the meal - soft, chewy, with just enough seasoning - mmm. I'd come back for these if nothing else! I have a hunch that Basil Leaf Cafe became highly regarded because it used to be "that cool hole-in-the-wall pasta joint in a gas station." But now that it's been stripped down to its essentials, I found it didn't hold up that well. If I want home style cooking, I'll make a trip to the farmer's market and whip myself up a fresh pasta that's not weighed down by heavy seasoning. Oh - but I may be back for the breadsticks. read more

Poor, poor Basil Leaf. They didn't know what they were in for when they announced they would be moving to the former Joe's Bakery location on 9th. I think they pictured a quiet opening with their dedicated gas station regulars. What they were met with, though, was not too dissimilar to the groups camping out before the Hanson concert last week -- but with more people. I finally had the chance to visit their fancy new location last night. It was 8 PM on a Monday, and the restaurant was at about 80% capacity. They have some bar seating, but we sat at a table in a corner. They only charge a $5 corking fee, so you can pick up a bottle at Jensen's next door and BYOW. Or you can just call ahead and get your food to go. And then eat it on the curb out front because when you have good food that close, how can you wait until you get home to eat it?! The service is lovely, the atmosphere is so, so, so pretty, but the food. The food, you guys. The best dang Italian food you can find this side of the Atlantic. I didn't have to wait very long because I came on a less popular night, but even on a busy night? Totally worth the wait. read more

Ate dinner there last night. The place was packed, but everyone on the staff seemed relaxed and happy to be working there. Food was great, portions were huge, costs were very reasonable. This is a great spot for date night, but plan accordingly -- it's very busy! Try the burnt sugar bacon rum cocktail. UNREAL. read more

First, The Basil Leaf Cafe has some of the best Italian food in Lawrence and I enjoy several of their dishes - notably the Cordon Bleu Tortellini, which is quirky comfort Italian that hits the spot. However, it's now twice that Basil Leaf has made a mistake with our carryout orders, and twice the owner or head chef has thrown a visible tantrum when we have pointed out the mistake to his staff. I understand mistakes happen, and I like the food, but making the customer feel like he or she is putting you out is not the way to incur repeat business. This happened Saturday, and I commend the hostess and the bar manager for fixing the mistake. Hopefully they did not incur the same icy stare and glare I received from the kitchen, and hopefully they weren't the victim of a similar owner tantrum like I saw, as he stormed back into the open-air kitchen and loudly threw the mistaken dish into the trash. I left feeling bad for those employees. I'm not the only person on yelp to express disappointment in the service that accompanies some of the best cuisine in Lawrence. Once is a mistake. Twice is a coincidence. Several of us is a trend. Good luck, Basil Leaf. read more

Fan-freaking-tastic food. Sure, everything in the restaurant isn't perfect (rum bacon cocktail was unreasonably sweet and where's the espresso machine?), but the kitchen packs one hell of a wallop. Unreasonably good cooking, pairing, and flavor palette. Wow. This is the kind of place you must try if you come to Lawrence. No reservations, but the wait on an early Saturday night was bearable. And absolutely worth it. Friendly staff. read more

Everytime I go here, I leave with exceeded expectations. I'll tell you why this place is awesome. 1)ambiance; this place has a cool rustic decor and although small, when you sit down to eat, you feel like your getting a good eating experience. (Personally I like a small place, I feel like I can have a conversation without yelling). 2) service; the service is exceptional, friendly and outgoing. Never have felt awkward or neglected. Everyone there has the attitude that they actually want to be there. 3) quality/quantity; the quality of the food here is amazing along with generous amounts of food to boot. I have been to this restaurant over 15 times and not once have I ever encountered any problems with the food served. Now for the recommendations! Appetizers! Definitely hit up the bruschetta (the balsamic dressing they serve is godly) If you're in for lunch, definitely hit up the meatball grinder...it's ridiculously tasty As for the pastas; mac n cheese is fulfilling and creamy Traditional spaghetti and meatballs is just how grandma use to make Cajun penne is spicy and delicious! Even the basil leaf burger is amazing, the seasoning is just right in my opinion... Did I mention they have a rotating lineup of cheese cakes?! SO GOOOODDDDD overall, I will continue to give this place my hard earned cash, and I won't even feel guilty spending $60 dollars for a dinner of two, because it's JUST THAT DAMN GOOD! read more

the best italian spot in lawrence. never can be disappointed with anything on the menu - food and drinks wise!

The bruschetta appetizer is extremely good. And so is the salad. The destruction lasagna is also excellent. Very cool vibe in the restaurant just a nice place to go. New on my list of favorite restaurants in Lawrence. read more

We got there about 730 Friday night and the place was packed so we decided to do take out. We order chicken cor don blue and tortellini wow how delicious! My daughter order fettuccine and she loved it. I would will be back to the basil leaf next time we are in town. read more