Wow. Was just at the restaurant on 9/9/23 with a bridal shower and the manager Dana was so rude. We were waiting on checks when Dana came over and told us we need to get up and leave. When asked who told her to ask us that she said the manager. She is the manager so she absolutely portrayed herself falsely initially. We were never told we only had an hour and 45minutes for our table when it was booked. Have never had such terrible service and respect when it comes to a manager. Will never go back unless I hear that manager is gone. Felt extremely bad that staff were having to apologize for her. Staff were great except Dana. Honestly after that we shouldn't have even had to pay. read more

I'm writing this in hopes that the owners check yelp. Dayna (idk if that's her actual name but your blonde general manager that worked 9/9/23 at 7pm... horrible. As someone that's been in the service industry and managed high volume restaurants in Kansas and New York... you've got a manager (Dayna) who can't even handle a 70 person restaurant and has no business holding that title or getting a paycheck. Extremely unprofessional, and having her represent you as owners is hurting your business. Server, Nicky... (I'd hire her in a heartbeat if she was Plaza based) was unfortunately left apologizing for Daynas 6 year old outburst behavior. Your servers should NEVER have to apologize for their managers sucking at their job. Your cook and severs were a high point, but if you want a poster child for a crappy manager like seen on Restaurant Impossible .. you found your girl. After easily spending over $500 on our bill and calling ahead of times to confirm we could split checks... the MOMENT the checks were dropped Dayna went to our table, and started grabbing glasses. I haven't even mentioned that this was my bridal party, and we still had wine in our glasses. She told us we needed to get up before we had even paid. Bottom line, I'd start supervising your GM or start interviewing. PS Nicky, if you make enough in tips and this isn't typical... I get it if you stay. But I promise you, you can get hired at a super high end restaurant and double it + not have to put up with a crappy manager. You're wonderful and I'm so thankful you were our server tonight. Dayna, good luck. read more

No complaints about service. The food however was very disappointing. We will not be returning.

Are you kidding? This is Kansas? Charming small restaurant with a semi- Italian theme. Great cocktails, creative menu and TEXAS sized portions! Don't miss the Brussels sprouts appetizer with pork belly! Portions are sharing sized, so plan accordingly and be sure to save room for dessert! This place is the real deal! read more

See all

Was told to eat there - the food was ok but I thought expensive and the service was sort of awkward and not organized. I won't go back - smaller portions for price! read more

Ordered the Lasagna. It was cold. Sent it back. Everyone else was finished by the time it came back. Still not totally heated offered to comp dessert. The did comp the meal after all of us saying that was bs. They were going to give free dessert. On top of that it came with a side of Garlic Bread & they didn't bring that. Told them I wasn't trying to be an sob but come on read more

The food is as good as anything I've had in Europe or Asia. Nice happy hour with half price cocktails. Our order took awhile but was absolutely worth it. Parking is a bit difficult. Small dining area with maybe 10 tables, so reservations are a must. Servers are very knowledgeable about food prep and pairings. read more

My husband and I were excited to see that they had moved to a new location. The the new location is beautiful and we were hoping the food would be as good as it was at the past location. We were highly disappointed. My husband ordered the ravioli and they were hard and dry. It actually made him sick when he got home. I had the spaghetti and it wasn't anything better than store-bought sauce. we were very disappointed in the food as we were hoping the beautiful new location would continue on with a great food, but we were sadly disappointed. read more

Not worth the price charged for what we were served. The bruschetta was slightly burnt. The 7 layer lasagna tasted like someone dumped salt in the meat mix. The presentation was perfect but the quality and taste of the food was awful. The only thing that I was impressed with was the tiramisu. Also I had to ask to have my water glass refilled and then wait 5 minutes before it actually got refilled read more

The Basil Leaf Cafe - Italian Near Me - Lawrence, Kansas

See all

This place has gone downhill. Understaffed and inexperienced servers. Wednesday advertises 1/2 price select bottles of wine but none are actually half price - just a few bucks taken off the price. Dry meatballs and chicken. Nickled and dimed too - charged us $2 for a plate when I asked for an extra to share my salad with my spouse. read more

The decor and ambiance inside was nice, very old school with wood paneling and dark lighting, with a large beautiful bar. Staff was nice and our waitress was great. Unfortunately the food was pretty subpar especially for the price. Pesto pasta and chicken was ok but unremarkable. Mushroom risotto with shrimp tasted. Not like anything in particular, it just tasted. Was more like oatmeal and the shrimp were just barely cooked, maybe. And it had maybe one whole mushroom that had been sliced paper thin to the point it didn't stand out in any way. If the only flavor profile is the mushroom it needs to be prevalent and robust, not an afterthought. We were pressed for time so didn't ask for anything but seems like an over priced college town attempt at fine dining. read more

IF YOUR IN THE MOOD FOR BIGGG portion sizes of pasta I highly recommend this place because they will give you plenty and more!! The atmosphere is really rustic and woodsy with a cool idea of making the wine bottles into lights but overall had a great time with the food and would recommend, my only complaint was the lack of intent service and silverware lol our waiter seemed to be a bit all over the place! The desserts as well were quiteee tasty and I will be back to get some more I hope they do to go orders hahaha (and I found a piece a hair in my tiramisu but still ate it because of how tasty it was, and thats saying A LOT from me) as would recommend this does seem like a great place for dates but its a HEAVY meal I feel like it would be a better place for me at least to go for lunch. read more

See all

Food was amazing, the Caprese salad and garlic bread were great ways to start. The chicken pesto pasta was great as well. May our server was polite and attentive. The rest of the staff cheerful and kind. Will go back when back in Lawrence!! read more

Had dinner Saturday and the food and service were awesome! There was six of us and lots of sharing so everyone got to taste. We all agreed the Shrimp Scampi and bruschetta were the best we've ever had. Basil Chicken Cavatelli, Deconstructed lasagna, and cordon blu outstanding. Definitely will return next time we are in town. read more

Love love loveeee their shrimp fettuccini it's so yummy!!! We eat here at least once a week.

So delicious. The portions are huge, too. We love this place! The ambience is cozy and casual, but we go here for romantic dinners, too.

Yum!!!! And great service to boot recommend that you check this place out. A. A

I still like Basil Leaf but the past few times the food has been too salty and just not the same quality as pre-COVID times. We went recently for 1/2 price cocktails and it tasted like I was back in college drinking terrible vodka...I couldn't even drink it. The server never checked on us after the food first came out so I never had the chance to share this with her or even to get a water refill...Hopefully this is just the growing pains of getting restarted. read more

Very good food, nice selection. Every dish is just a little better than you think the best should be. Garlic bread done with real garlic, rosemary, Parmesan and olive oil on homemade bread strips. Wonderful Italian salad and 7 cheese Mac n cheese, add shrimp, lobster or chicken. Going back today for more. Mmmmm read more

Intimate setting that allows for private conversations and dining. The food and service are excellent.

We had an extremely great experience at The Basil Leaf Cafe! The service was ON POINT! We tried several dishes an were NOT DISAPPOINTED! The drinks were yummy and the atmosphere was amazing! read more

This is our go-to date night place!! The food is delicious and the servers are extremely attentive and polite. Our favorite dishes are the lasagna and the chicken tenders dish (trust me...it's SO good). read more

A perfect Italian place for Lawrence. Small, quaint, beautiful decor in a small hidden gem. The menu is perfectly sized with extremely fresh ingredients, and the drink menu is delicious too. Service was excellent and the staff is very knowledgeable. Highly recommended. read more

Food is OK. NO customer service. Called in an order, was told it would be an hour. Arrived one hour later - they had lost order. Showed them my phone to show I had indeed called it in - the girl did not know their phone number. Took 40 minutes for them to get order ready. No apology, no discount, and no expediting order. In additoin they were out of two of the entrees we originally wanted. Decent food does not guarantee restaurant success.Poor customer service guarantees the failure of any business read more

Basil leaf is very delicious and they aim to please. Just be sure to double check your order when leaving with it as the kitchen is so busy sometimes they'll make a mistake. They're always happy to rectify them though. Can't beat basil leaf for Spaghetti in LFK, Paisanos is a close close second though read more

The Basil Leaf Cafe - Fettuccini and meatballs!? I ordered Spaghetti! - Italian Near Me - Lawrence, Kansas

This is my first Yelp review. I felt I needed to share our experience. I used to like this restaurant but the last 2 times we tried to eat here, no one in the kitchen was wearing a mask while prepping food. We left both times and have not returned since. We thought the first incident was a one time thing. This blatant disregard for people's safety does not even deserve the one star rating. read more

Lemon Chicken Tenders are a favorite of mine. The ambience of this restaurant is perfect for intimate gatherings. Definitely recommended

We've been in Lawrence since just prior to the pandemic. Leaving the variety that was Houston was difficult. Searching for quality eats in Lawrence is an ongoing challenge. We had heard from a friend that the Basil Leaf Cafe was something we should try. We did that tonight and are disappointed with our choice. The Bruschetta were mediocre. The lasagna was not tasty. Too salty, no sweetness to the tomato sauce, drenched in Alfredo as well and did not at all taste home made. I commented to my husband that I would have preferred Stouffers. The search continues. read more

Love this place! There's not a lot of good Italian restaurants in Lawrnece and by far I really enjoy this spot! I was hesitant to try this place out for the first time because of other Italian places I've tried in town but I ended up enjoying this place! The staff there is very friendly and the interior is very cozy! The food always comes out hot and very yummy! I always enjoy the lasagna! It's to die for! read more

This is a good local place for Italian food. It isn't anything different from other places but the food is good and there is plenty of it. I like the coziness of the place and the services is great. This is a good option for Lawrence if this is what you are craving. read more

Weren't wearing masks in the kitchen. These guys have really tasty food I've always enjoyed it. But I read another review on here saying that the kitchen staff wasn't wearing masks. So I called before we ordered to ask if their kitchen staff wore masks. They said yes they would be. So we ordered. But when I walked in to pick up door neither of the guys in the kitchen were wearing masks. I will go back after coronavirus, but they don't seem to be taking this all seriously. read more

Went this past Saturday for dinner at 8:00. We began our meal with two appetizers, bruschetta and meatballs. When the bruschetta was delivered, we were told that the restaurant ran out of meatballs so our appetizer and subsequent ground meat and pork meals were unavailable. We were then told they were out of Salmon and bacon. This is an Italian restaurant; seriously? My daughter and I then ordered chicken parmigiana. Both my wife's meal and daughters arrived and the server told me mine is on the way. After 10 minutes the server returned and told me they forgot to make my meal but were making it immediately. The reason is that that kitchen was backed up. The restaurant was fairly empty so not sure what was going on. Anyway, we had high expectations based on reviews and were unfortunately disappointed. They did give us a gift card and our server did their best to make it right. A big kudos to the server for demonstrating leadership. I am thankful for that but the manager should have taken ownership and stopped by the table to apologize. read more

We've come several times hoping to enjoy the experience more but it never improved. We've had several wobbly tables, uninterested and bored staff, and surprisingly average meals. I came here alone over a year ago and had a fantastic experience that I wanted to share with the love of my life but we were both severely disappointed. I paused my review to do some research and learned that the management may have changed since my first visit. If that's the case I'm very sorry to hear that; we won't be coming back regardless. I would not recommend this Cafe to anyone unless you need to lighten $40 from your pocket and desperately crave Italian-inspired meals. read more

I would give negative stars if that was an option! Worst experience in a restaurant in my entire life! We had a reservation for a group of 12 (large groups ordering drinks, appetizers and entrees is going to take a while) and were at the table for 2 hours. As we are sitting there getting our checks the manager comes over and starts clearing the table and tells us we need to get up and leave now. She said there was an hour and 45 minute time limit, which we were not made aware of when making our reservation, and there was a table that had a reservation for our table at 8 (it was exactly 8) and that the group had been waiting for an hour for our table. Well if you show up at 7 for an 8:00 reservation you will definitely be waiting an hour! We were not lingering by any means, we were waiting for our checks and some of our group still had wine in their glasses. She said she didn't care, the server would cash us out at the host stand and we needed to leave. We were not given any type of warning that we were nearing our time limit (that we didn't even know we had) and she didn't come over and explain the situation nicely. She just said we needed to go. Her attitude was so unbelievably rude and unprofessional! I will NEVER EVER go back there and will be sure to tell anyone I know not to ever go there! Dana, you are a TERRIBLE General Manager!!!! read more

I'm sorry but we won't be returning... when guests enter the restaurant with a reservation and are greeted with" you have the table for an hour and 15 mins ,can you be done by then?" I realize the guest experience is NOT the focus here! So just be ready to order - eat fast - don't order a second drink and maybe you will have time for dessert and coffee.... If I wanted fast food I would have gone to McDonalds. Tacky tacky tacky Basil Leaf...bye bye read more

Made a reservation to celebrate a special event. Nothing on their website or Yelp or Google says they're closed. They also allowed the reservation. No one at the restaurant bothered to contact us to tell us they were closed for a move. We found out when we drove there and saw a handwritten note on the door. Luckily we were able to find another restaurant on a Saturday night. We didn't get a cancellation from OpenTable until 5:03 and our reservation was at 5:00. Unacceptable. read more

Huge portions and excellent service. Good food, but WAY too salty. Have them hold the salt, and it would be perfect.

Great food, great service from Elaine. The host was a bit confused about the availability of empty tables but Elaine made sure we were taken care of. read more

Food was very mediocre. All seemed to be prepared food that just warmed . Bartender unable to make decent martini. Server was very nice.

food is terrible! super bland, dishes were dirt, wait staff was the only reason there are any stars on my review