SO GOOD. I'm so happy I stopped in with my best friends for a "girls brunch". We brought prosecco for mimosas and were ready to go. We shared a delicious "app" of wild berry pancakes which was a great start. We each ordered a variety of egg dishes ( and also was sure to share with each other). I'm honestly not the biggest fan of eggs or breakfast but my meal was AMAZING. I will definitely be returning soon, and bringing others with me. read more

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WOW! Sweet Basil's Cafe is a hidden gem! I placed my pick up order online, and opted for them to bring it to my car. It took them about 15 minutes to prepare my food which was impressive since they were very busy. If you place your order online, call them when you're in the parking lot and they will bring it out to you. The food was all good! The pancakes were fluffy and buttery just like I like them! The omelette, potatoes, sausage and bacon were all absolutely delicious and made fresh. There's lots of options to choose from on the menu! I stuck to the basics this time, but next time I'm going all in! I've never been inside of the restaurant so I'm not sure what the set up is. I do plan on visiting them again soon because I definitely enjoyed my to-go order. I was digging the whole vibe of their outside set up, so I'm sure inside is even better! Sweet Basil's is located right across the street from the Livingston ShopRite. read more

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Wow! My colleague picked Sweet Basil Cafe and I am so glad she did. It looks like a small restaurant from the outside but don't let that detract you. Waiting inside is a cute and cozy restaurant with an awesome staff ready to take care of you as if you were at their house. I think at some point during the dinner service my pillows were fluffed up. Just kidding but not quite to far from the truth. Our server was beyond friendly. He was so kind and so patient with our table as we had a galore of accommodations. He took copious notes and assured us that all requests would be granted. The water glasses were constantly being refilled and when our plates arrived they were very generous with the portions. The plate presentation was superbe and every dish was hot. As Goldilocks would say, "Just right!" My vegan pasta dish was tasty and had a rich balance of oregano and basil. My daughter's burger was gigantic. Actually, as I recall the pickle spear was slightly bigger than the burger. My colleague and her son had stunning plates that oozed deliciousness. We asked about dessert and we politely declined as there was absolutely no space to be had. Several to-go containers were requested and we left moments after their closing. Sweet Basils is a local restaurant that hits all the right notes. If you're in the area and especially if you're a vegetarian or vegan, stop by and get your sweet on. read more

***4 1/2 stars*** Sweet Basil's has the best pancakes I've ever had. Full stop. I've been here now three or four times, and I have yet to try anything else on the menu because I keep falling in love with different pancakes. Why mess with perfection? I came here most recently with a chum for Sunday brunch. Sweet Basil's does not take reservations so depending on the customer traffic, you might end up schlepping over to Livingston to encounter an hour wait, or you could get seated immediately - an exciting mystery! We decided to chance it though, deciding that the nippy weather combined with a recent snowstorm would mean that a lot of potential brunchers had given up on doing anything for the rest of the weekend and had resigned themselves to drinking on their couches. We were correct and ushered to a table upon entering. I can't say that this place has a ton of personality - in hindsight, I don't recall anything unique about the interior, and it's pretty much just a big room with a lot of tables. It's also in an awkwardly located strip mall with limited parking and a lot of traffic nearby. At least one other time I had to park in a completely different parking lot, so this is a place that would certainly benefit from a standalone location if circumstances permit in the future, especially given how popular it is. I ordered a lavender vanilla latte to start off, and honestly wouldn't do it again. I didn't taste any flavoring, and the latte was foamier/heavier than I'd like - it bordered on cappuccino. On the way home I actually stopped at Cedar Beans in Cedar Grove to get another, far superior lavender latte. Next time I'll just opt for a normal coffee and keep my expectations in check. On prior occasions, I've usually had the banana/pecan pancakes, which are delicious and provide enough calories to avoid requiring sustenance again for at least 12 hours. This time around, I went on the specials menu and decided on the wildberry mascarpone pancakes. They were heavenly - the wildberry sauce/compote that's used perfectly complements the other topping ingredients, which include tart and sweet berries, along with some oats. I saw a number of references to these specific pancakes in prior reviews, so I'm a little mystified that they'd keep this on the specials menu and not just make it a permanent brunch fixture. (Maybe wildberries aren't accessible for chunks of the year?) I also ordered sides of scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast, which were perfectly fine. The eggs were slightly above average, moist without being runny. They accomplished what they needed to do. My chum spent a solid portion of the meal glaring enviously at my plate. She ordered the southwest breakfast wrap and enjoyed it, giving it a four out of five rating, but part of me strongly suspects that her rating was affected by her strong feelings of regret over not having ordered my pancakes. The service was solid - I don't recall an instance during the meal where we had any noticeable delays. They were very busy when we were there (several larger dining parties showed up about five minutes after we did, so our timing was magnificent) so our interactions with the waitstaff were pretty pro forma - no one had time for too many pleasantries, which was fine/understandable. Strong recommend on almost all fronts, but the pancakes are unquestionably the star of the show. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Wildberry mascarpone pancakes. - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

I went to Sweet basil Cafe just by chance. It was very crowded and busy. I'm assuming it's a crowd favorite based on the amount of people pouring in. There was a parking lot available that's shared with other spaces and there's street parking as well. There is some outdoor seating. The menu features brunch and lunch options. I had the chicken quesadilla which was a special for today. It wasn't a fan of how much cheese was used but it was good overall. I had an Arnold palmer to drink but it didn't have that much flavor. My mother had the grilled chicken sandwich and spoke highly of it's execution. My server was buzzing all over so I didn't really get a chance to assess his hospitality. But like I said I went when it was extremely busy so I didn't mind. Overall it's pretty clean and they're pretty quick and efficient. I'll be back to try their brunch read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Chicken quesadilla and Arnold palmer - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

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Went for dinner and was impressed. Great food. Great service. Great prices. Everything came out quick and tasted fresh and delicious. Portion sizes were much larger than expected. Nice to see some restaurants are not ripping off customers like alot do these days. Also, the menu is clearly marked with vegetarian and many gluten free options. Atmosphere is a nice casual open floor plan. As an added bonus it is BYOB. read more

I was seated very quickly. The staff was very pleasant and attentive. My beverage came out less than 5 minutes after ordering with my food not far behind. It was absolutely DELICIOUS. I will definitely be back. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Vegan Tofu Sausage Scramble - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

Great breakfast and brunch cafe. Pancakes are a must order. I had the chocolate chip pancakes. Absolutely outstanding! Completely worth the detour traveling back to NYC from PA. Their coffee is excellent as well! Huge menu to satisfy everyone in your party! Service was quick and friendly. Our group of three was seated immediately on a Sunday around noon despite being almost full. Three single occupancy restrooms. Restrooms were spacious including one that was handicap accessible; this one also included a baby changing table. Very family friendly! read more

Food is very good. So grateful for the gluten free options. Place just needs a fresh coat of paint. The walls by the floor are filthy. Go for the food. Just don't look at the walls. read more

Have eaten here twice before. Love the banana pecan French toast but I say hold the bananas. Sweet servers who take the time to make sure you get exactly what you want, even if you can't decide, lol. On the weekend the place gets packed which means it's quite popular. Their salads look fantastic. Will try that next. Today gonna try the wild berry pancakes. Nice open space and people just enjoying their brunch. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Wildberry Pancakes - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

Almost afraid to brag, cause it's always so busy. But amazing food. Every single item is always amazing.

The food is pretty good, I prefer the French toast. Service is also pretty good. Not a standout spot by most means

Oh yum! Love that we found a new breakfast spot. My husband and I both had omelettes and everything was super fresh. Service was great. Can get busy if you come after 10:30am. If you're gluten free, the toast was not good. Maybe skip that and just go for fruit or potatoes but note the potatoes are cooked in cross contaminated oil so if you have celiac, don't get those. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Sante fe omelette with gluten free toast - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

Came here on a Sunday for brunch. Wow, what a menu! It was hard to decide sweet vs savory, but I couldn't pass up the churro French toast special. If you're a churro fan, this is a must order. No need for syrup, this was perfectly sweet with the cinnamon sugar coating. Minus one star because it took forever to get my iced latte and my friend never even received her hot coffee. read more

Got w ceaser wrap. It was ok. Fries were better. It was packed so i would try something else next time

Wonderful brunch spot in Livingston. The poached pear french toast is so delicious. Chicken and waffles is my other go to.

Amazing place for brunch! Vegan friendly! Staff was super welcoming and nice. No wait time. Definitely coming back read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Amazing brunch spot! Loved how Vegan friendly this place is! I ordered Mexican tofu scramble and it was delicious! Definitely coming back. - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

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Was good. Ambiance nice. Food good. Was chaotic and service wasn't great. Nothing to write home about.

This is one of my favorite local breakfast/lunch places. Their sweet breakfast options are TO DIE FOR. If you're ready for the most beautiful heart attack in the morning, try their poached pear vanilla bean French toast. This is on their regular menu and is always amazing. The Wildberry mascarpone pancakes are also fantastic but they are usually listed on the specials menu. Their savory breakfast options aren't my favorite but they do the job. Their sandwiches are also solid and filling. My go to is the chicken, bacon, avocado sandwich. read more

Wonderful service and excellent gluten free food. Highly recommend this restaurant for any occasion.

Modern American Bistro BYO serving primarily brunch & lunch meals Price Range Family Friendly: YES, this restaurant has the perfect amount of noise between the bustling kitchen, chatting patrons and background music so there's no need to worry about your kids disturbing or being too loud. Food: Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch Menu Drinks: BYO What we ordered: Snickers Latte (recommendation of the waitress and was amazing) Avocado Toast, kids grilled cheese, kids chocolate chip pancakes, and an order of banana pecan pancakes to go for Zach. The food was great and shoutout to the banana pecan pancakes which were FABULOUS. Our Experience: This place was recommended to us by one of my girlfriends and just happened to be 7 minutes from where Zach is staying so we checked it out on the way home. While the ambiance and food were great, hands down the best part of the experience was the staff. They were warm and kind and all kept coming up to the table and interacting with the boys. The kindest gentleman (Im so upset I didn't get his name) helped me carry my to go bag and one of my sons to the car! I cannot speak highly enough about their service. Will go back?: Yes! This place will absolutely be somewhere we go again when exploring Essex county! read more

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Came here on a Saturday during towards the end of the brunch hours aka lunch ish. The service was ok while they were slow on Napkins and things we were seated quickly, the food was good ( the chocolate chip pancakes and the ahi tuna salad were awesome) the fresh juices were great and the coffee while it could have been stronger did come with free refills. Even the restrooms were fairly clean. Honestly this place really was a great choice. Im sad to say I didn't take any pictures. read more

Pouched Pear French toast....this is so good that I could eat it everyday. I had this dish at Sweet Basil years ago, and have always longed for coming back here again to eat the French toast. It was as good as it used to be. My sister had the club sandwich with noodles. The portion is huge. Service was good. The restaurant was very busy when we were there today at around 12:30. We were lucky to find parking. Parking could be an issue because the parking lot is not too big. read more

I love the brunch here, but absolutely hate the parking situation. If you're here especially on a Sunday, an plan for a peak brunch time - you'll absolutely struggle to find a spot, as this place has very limited parking, periodT. If you're lucky enough to get a spot and make it in, do know that there are not many brunch spots in Linvingston - so it can be a bit crowded, or just try your luck after 1 pm. I really enjoyed their wild berry mascarpone pancakes as well as their banana rum pecan pancakes, every time i almost always order a side of bacon for the table. Also a popular dish there (unpictured) is the chicken and waffles which is a pretty hearty dish. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - banana pecan pancakes - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

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Wanted to finally socialize again. Met up with family here on a Saturday. They were busy but organized. The place was packed with a line of waiting people. I guess we were not the only ones. I ordered the burger with fries but they have a extensive menu. Service was slow but it was full of customers and understandable. Staff were masked. Food was well made. Burger was not dry or over cooked. Fries were also done well. Overall it was a good experience. Will still take some time to get back to being comfortable again. Well done Sweet Basil. Recommended! read more

I haven't been to this place in a while and I didn't remember much of my last experience, so was looking forward to going again. When I arrived I had trouble finding parking. They do have valet but I didn't want to so I had to search. Keep in mind there is no street parking, but I finally found something. I walked in and was greeted by the owner. He even came over several times to check on us. I ordered lentil soup for a appetizer and it was bland. I had to add a lot of salt to get the taste right. I also ordered the roasted vegetable tacos and orzo salad. The tacos were good but the salad I had to had some dressing for taste. The good things are it was clean and the owner and server were nice. The bad was the parking and the blandness of some of the food I ate. read more

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This place is consistently great -- go with a group of friends, because you're going to look at the expansive menu and want to share a bunch of things. Their pancakes are soooo fluffy and delicious (and the specialty ones aren't overwhelming sweet, like you might think), and their omelets are huge. Bonus: free iced coffee refills! You don't see that often. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Two omelets with side salads, a tuna burger, & pancakes - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

FOOD: I always order their salads here. It's so refreshing. Sometimes I give in to the burgers as well. The portions are large and I always pick fries for my sides. SERVICE: quick and easy ordering. AMBIANCE: There's mostly indoor seating and some outdoor seating near the street side. The inside is nice, great for small and big groups. Went there to catch up with a colleague and ended up sitting there with food for 2 hours. PARKING: Its in a small plaza with limited parking. You'll have to loop or wait if the lot is full. Turning back into the lot may be difficult bc it on a small busy street with lots of oncoming cars. read more

Food was very good and place was large. Staff was also friendly. I had breakfast and will definitely be returning.

Solid cafe in Livingston. Easy enough parking in the lot although it can get busy. Had coffee which was fine not great. Had the southwest breakfast burrito which was very good with just a little bit of heat. Very good crispy hash browns on the side. Give them a try! read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

Our server was very nice and the environment was inviting. Ordered the Wild Berry pancakes which were good! I'm very glad it was not sickeningly sweet! I wasn't wowed by the sauce, but I wanted to compliment the pancake itself, it tasted great and wasn't overly eggy as many other places. You could tell they were fried in butter which I loved! Tiramisu latte was not my fave, tasted chemically sweet probably due to the syrup, gave it an artificial taste! read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Iced Tiramisu Latte - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

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This place was very underwhelming. I didn't take pictures because I got caught up talking with friends. The food was just not good. We got in around 3 to be told we should order soon because dinner menu will be out soon. I really came in anticipating they offer brunch lunch and dinner since they didn't specify timings on their website. But anyway we waited for dinner menu anyway. We got chicken Murphy, some chicken with a ridiculous amount of balsamic glaze, steak and frites my friend enjoyed. And also some salmon with risotto (again, not good) way too buttery...not flavorful. The chicken Murphy is not chicken Murphy, they definitely catered to people who don't have palatable tastebuds. I will definitely not be back. read more

Food was really good. The poached pear pancakes were exceptional. Western omelette was good. Overall friendly service. The ambiance is a little chaotic for a Sunday morning which is to be expected for brunch. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Poached Pear Vanilla Bean French Toast - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

I talked about this brunch for weeks. The food was so good. I do wish the place was bigger because it gets very busy on the weekends but wait wasn't too long. They have lots of specials and different options. Highly recommend read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Chocolate Chip Pancakes - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey

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Everyone really enjoyed it and I was to go back as soon as I can. People here were soooo nice. Really recommend this place and the snickers latte was my favorite, actually tasted like it. Both hot and iced were good read more

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I really loved this spot! I wish they can be a bigger space so they can serve more people, but the food is great and the staff does a great job at making sure they're being attentive to everyone. This place has an option for everyone whether you have a sweet tooth or are more into savory. I wish I weren't so full so that I could try the desserts! read more

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Went here on a Sunday afternoon for brunch. Incredible menu, great service, and fair prices. My wife had a Farmers Skillet and I had the Humus Avocado toast. Both were fantastic and we look forward to going back. Definitely a hit. read more

Weekday lunch. It was busy despite it being a weekday- which is always a good sign! Even though they were short staffed the service was on point. We were seated quickly, food came out fast and we had frequent check in with multiple servers. The menu is huge and has something for everyone. The pancakes are AMAZING - Tiramisu, wild berry with mascarpone (delicious) were all a hit! Huevos Rancheros and chicken cheesesteak was great as well. The portions were huge, the food was delicious and everyone was friendly. Will definitely be back and highly recommend ! read more

Huge menu. Been there many times with friends and family and everyone enjoyed what they ordered. Service is friendly but when they are busy, can be a little slow. Frustrating but understandable. Decor is fine. It's clean and basic. Atmosphere won't wow you but it won't turn you off either. Bottom line is the food is excellent. Recommended. If you could give higher than 4 stars without giving 5 stars, I would. read more

Nice local spot for brunch and lunch. They make great sandwiches. Really liked their chicken, bacon, avocado sandwich and the bonus side of pesto pasta. Big portion so was able to stretch into 2 lunches or you could share. Hub liked the chicken cutlet sandwich which was buttermilk fried chicken with mozzarella and pesto. Ordering was easy and quick. read more

Sweet Basil's Cafe - Chicken, Bacon & Avocado with side of pesto pasta - New American Near Me - Livingston, New Jersey