Sweet Basil Restaurant

Reviews 4

KA

Karen Gornstein

The Owner Mike was the nastiest, rudest overly condescending pompous a## I ever spoke with in a restaurant. It was last Thursday evening, February 14th when my son gave me an unexpected reprieve for a couple of hours from my caregiving responsibilities of my loving husband. He has Alzheimer’s and is in the severe stage so I hardly ever have time to myself. It never entered my mind that it was Valentine’s day when I called a friend to see if she could join me, and I hit the jackpot, she could. Her husband was working late on a Valentine present for someone. So we went local to a place she and her husband eat at often off Midway. I had never been there but they said they went there often and the food was good. Got there and he just seated someone. There was no one else waiting. He came up a few minutes later and asked us if we had a reservation and we said no, he said nothing else and literally disappeared (we thought to get a table). Then another couple came in and he came back and asked them if they had a reservation, also a no, and he disappeared again. A table opened up right in front and wasn’t cleared yet so I sat in the chair because I am disabled and can’t stand for very long. Another couple came in and took two seats that opened at the bar. The table was cleaned off and Mike returned about 10 minutes later to the front and stared at us and the other couple and disappeared again. About 5 minutes later 2 or 3 couples came in that had reservations and he came back up front and sat them right away completely ignoring us and said nothing. 2 more couples came in and he sat them. Then another couple came in and asked if there was a wait to be seated and said nothing about a reservation and he sat them right away. Then he set the couple at the bar. The date of the couple waiting behind us finally hunted him down in the hall and I joined her to find out why we hadn’t been seated yet. We felt bad because we encouraged them to wait when the first got there. Mind you I’m sitting at an open table now for about 40 minutes. He never asked me to move or asked me why I was sitting. During this time the 2 other tables in the front both had to get Mike to hunt down their waiter for their bills because I only saw that waiter once when we first came in. Chaos is the only word that could describe what was going on in that restaurant. There was a girl waiting there when we first came in at the corner but she said she was there because she just walked out of another place she was working. She went to the ladies room and the next thing we saw was she was serving water and helping the waiters, so they must have hired her on the spot. She had those deer in the headlight eyes because it was so chaotic she was very confused. When we finally got hold of Mike he said he would not be seating us because we didn’t have reservations. The other girl and I were flabbergasted to say the least. He said it was Valentine’s Day and we should have had reservations. We asked why he didn’t bother telling us that an hour ago and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he was too busy. I told him I could not believe he could be that rude and my friend and I left and were seated at Saltgrass in less that 15 minutes. This man had no idea what he was doing. Obviously was way short staffed and thought the best was to deal with it was to just ignore you. Never got to taste the food. The decor looked extremely cramped so to squeeze every dime out of the place. I only put the food was good because my friend said it was, I NEVER tasted it, that should be an option on the review. It doesnt matter if it is good or not if you cant get a table to try it. Or that the Owner was so BAD at running it, would it be cold or hot? Thursday Im sure it would have been cold.

A

A Private User

Everything was fine until we received our bill. We were charged for a caesar salad and when I questioned the waitress about it, she went to the back and I could hear her manager (Im assuming he is the owner) getting upset that she was going to remove the $3.50 salad from our bill due to a misunderstanding. The manager came out to my table and made a scene with us regarding the salad price and our misunderstanding of the cost. I then agreed to pay for the salad, but then the manager went a step further by going to get a menu and pointing out to me in a deragatory manner that HIS menu was very clear on the pricing. I again said that I would be happy to pay for the salad but all this man cared about was proving that he was right. I felt that he was making a big deal out of nothing and frankly it ruined a perfectly good lunch. Bad move on his part. Because of his attitude and the way he belittled me on this issue, I will NOT return. There are plenty of italian restaurants to choose from. I am a consumer and I have a choice where I spend my money. I will not recommend this place to anyone else either. I am extremely sympathetic to anyone who works for him. I heard him giving our waitress the "third degree" as we were exiting the restaurant. I feel that it would have been in his best interest to suck up the $3.50 rather than go to the extreme he did in making his point.

TO

Todd Lindsey

I am a regular customer to this restaurant and I normally order takeout. In the last two weeks, Ive tried to order delivery from the Yelp website twice. The first time the order couldnt be delivered because it was too close (not past!) the delivery cutoff. The second time, I placed the order and my credit card was charged then I get a call saying there are no drivers for the delivery service and my order was cancelled. After the second delivery attempt, I called the restaurant to discuss why my delivery orders can never be placed. When I was explaining to the manager my issue, he interrupted me three times, saying over and over "we dont deliver." When I said I didnt appreciate being interrupted and I was a regular customer, his solution was to come to the restaurant and "if he recognized my face" Id get a free lunch. The he stated there are restaurants all over Dallas and I could go to one of those. Manager is RUDE and UNPROFESSIONAL. He blamed his customer for using Yelp to order. Seriously?? I just hope the owners of the restaurant are aware of this guy causing problems for their customers.

A

A Private User

Sweet Basil is the best kept secret in North Dallas. I drove by this place for 5 years before I finally went in. Now I have been going for over 9 years and have never had a bad meal. As far as I know they dont advertise at all, but each weekend they have a healthy crowd. The food is spectacular. When my wife and I go, one of us always tries the special...Halibut, salmon, tilapia, chicken, veal, always delicious. If you are looking for a quick snack with lots of taste and pizzaz, try the baby crab craws with a glass of chardonnay...FANTASTIC (get plenty of bread, the sauce is scrumptious). I just wish I could say more wonderful things about them. Great food, great service, and great people. I will see you there. 1/21/17 I still frequent this restaurant. It is a quality neighborhood Italian spot. I wish I could post more.