Basil’s Restaurant & Tapas Bar

The ambiance, service and food was fantastic. I had the lamb burger with a side Greek salad. The lamb had great flavor and was cooked to perfection!

We have been patrons of this restaurant for more years than I can count, and I would have always given a solid 4 stars but our Christmas dinner was beyond disappointing. We had no idea we couldn’t order from the regular menu until we arrived, and the entrees we had (scallops, ribeye, grouper) were completely flavorless and yes, overpriced. The service was terribly slow and we were told there were 3 servers for the 200 reservations that evening as an excuse. We never received bread as promised (several times), and none of the servers knew much about the new menu. We had out of town guests with us and were completely embarrassed. It will be a long time before we go back, and certainly not with guests or on a holiday. This restaurant was just not equipped to handle the situation.

We made reservations here for an early Christmas dinner, 6pm. Luckily we arrived right before all the chaos. It took us about 5 – 10 minutes to be seated, and another 5 minutes to get our menus.
We were bummed when we found out that they were only offering some appetizers, salads and entrees. No tapas at a tapas restaurant): So we were forced to order from the pricey entrée menu.
I ordered the lamb shank that came with whipped potatoes and green beans. My dish, however, didn’t come with green beans. Instead, it came with whipped potatoes in a very salty broth. Did they forget my green beans? Aside from that, the lamb was tender and fall-​off-​the-​bone while the whipped potatoes were excellent.
I tasted the kale salad, and that was very good, but there was a hair on the bottom of the plate. The waitress was nice enough to bring us a replacement salad.
Also, someone at my table ordered a traditional caesar salad, but we never received the salad. It wasn’t on our check, so I’m assuming the waitress didn’t hear him order it???
I had a taste of the mussels appetizer, and those were fine, but their mussels are extremely small, about the size of a quarter or smaller. There was also a lot of grit.
It took awhile for our entrees, and the food runner obviously had no clue where anything went because he took our dish to other tables multiple times before he realized it was ours. We also mentioned that we didn’t receive our caesar salad, but he was so flustered, so he sort of ran off.
I felt really bad for them because we knew they were understaffed and overwhelmed, so I didn’t want to give them less stars. There was also only one valet employee, and he was completely overwhelmed.
Would I return again? Probably not, but the food was tasty.

Went here for Christmas dinner. First impression Chaotic! Unbearably loud guitarist at the entrance, no place to wait till seated and to top it all, no one cared to even greet or acknowledge arriving guests (except the valet). It’s a restaurant where you can see it’s trying to be too classy and pretend fancy and failing miserably. We had to wait for at least 10 minutes in front of the blaring speakers before we were shown to a table. The menu was unbelievably overpriced for no reason whatsoever. Food was, in Joey’s words, ABYSMAL. There were lot of people since only few places are open on Christmas. But why would the restaurant take reservations if they’re understaffed. Why would they take reservations till 9:30 if you don’t want to serve your guests properly. That music was so loud, every guest had to speak loud in order to have conversation. So if you enter the room from outside, all you can hear is loud, chaotic conversations with blaring sounds of guitar (calling it music is insulting music). I saw the waiter looking at us and turning away at least 5 times if not more before they came to talk to us. This restaurant failed at even pretending to be fancy. I mean if I want to spend 30 $ on a single entrée, not to mention appetizers, drinks and desserts separate (and you’re obviously not going to go alone), I’d expect some service within half hour of after you’ve seated us. Would highly recommend NOT going here.

Went here for dinner on Christmas day (not one hour ago). Had a reservation for 2 at 9pm; reached around 5 minutes late. The place was packed but there were definitely at least a couple of empty tables in sight. Nobody greeted us when we walked in (except the valet). We stood there for close to 10 minutes in front of the musician. Staff walked past us, one asked if we were waiting for a table, but nobody did anything. Finally a lady came by and showed us to a corner table, after passing a snarky comment, something along the lines of «Oh you had a reservation for 9pm? I was going to call you, why did you even bother showing up? I’m only kidding *fake laugh*». A minute later a man brought silverware, and apparently that was it for us. We waited till about 9:30, no one so much as even brought us water or said one word to us. People all around us were getting served, but we were being blatantly ignored. Finally we got up and left; again nobody said a word to us, in spite of seeing us leave.
I mean, what the actual f?! We were polite throughout and not that late to begin with. For a place that is supposedly «fancy» to treat its guests this way is downright unacceptable. If you didn’t want to serve us because we were late or whatever, have the decency to say so and turn us away at the door, not dish out this passive aggressive bs. I don’t know if they were being racist or what, I can’t believe any restaurant would act this way. On Christmas day no less. Luckily we managed to get a last minute reservation at another restaurant but this put a big damper on the holiday for us. I’ve lived in Atlanta for over a year, but this is the first time I’ve been treated this way. Depressing and horrible, wish I could give this place a lower rating, it is a disgrace to Atlanta :/

Excellent experience beautiful restaurant great drinks great food great company!!! This is a true ATL experience!!! Love it!

Love! From start to finish we had an awesome experience. The ambiance was great — inside modern decorations with impressive art work and outside — their BEAUTIFUL deck! I suggest sitting on the deck and enjoying a beautiful Atlanta evening!
The service was OUTSTANDING. Heather was our server and she was so attentive and sweet. The owner was also around and kept checking on our table which made us feel well taken care of.
The food was delicious. The mushroom flatbread, mussels, homemade hummus, ahi tuna, pasta, and scallops were all so enjoyable. Great flavored and beautiful presentation.
I highly suggest!

WOW – just WOW!
Our meal from start to finish was FANTASTIC! A wonderful, low-​key romantic DELICIOUS experience.
Our evening started at the newly renovated bar w/​ruby red martini and a vodka mule. Sexy. Could’ve been at a bar in a foreign country…
We were next seated on the gorgeous deck (more romance;)) We had calamari, mussels and Greek salad to share – all fresh and full of flavor. We both ordered loupe de mer w/​salad – AMAZING! Food was fresh and ‘clean’ (meaning no heavy sauces to cover taste of food) Delectable and healthy.
For dessert: decaf espresso and flourless chocolate cake – sooo GOOOD!
Everyone was great – helpful, friendly, fun & professional.
Cannot wait to ccme back!

Excellent! I have to start off by saying that this place definitely was well worth the visit. I stumbled across Basil’s as I was trying to find a cute little place in Buckhead to have dinner! Well low and behold I clicked on Basils and knew immediately that I had to reserve a spot to check it out! Upon arrival I noticed that there was complimentary valet! Yes! First point! Once I walked in I was pleasantly pleased to see how the layout they have set up on the patio. Since I booked my reservation on
I was awarded my 1,000 dining points! #winning. Service was beyond great! I have to shout out Matt for being so courteous and helpful with creating such a memorable first dining experience here! We ordered some margaritas and even though they were out of my favorite patron they had an amazing substitute! No appetizers were ordered however they brought out some great pita bread and another little dish that I posted. The entrees we choose were the stuffed chicken breast and the lamb burger! DELICIOUS! Both entrees were cooked to perfection and we had no need for a to-​go box! I couldn’t even save none for later if I tried! All in all I would say I will most definitely be returning on my next trip to Atlanta! Kudos to Basil’s !

Food is divine! Fish is fresh! The ambiance is very warm and inviting. Great for romantic dinners or gatherings with friends and family.

We ordered the mezze, Kibbeh, and I got the mixed grill for dinner. It was SO GOOD. All the food was fresh, the service was great, and the patio is perfect on a nice evening. If you get the mixed grill, ask for a side of the yogurt sauce, it complements it perfectly! I would recommend this place over and over again :)

Nice restaurant. They have complimentary valet which is nice on a street that doesn’t have much room for parking. The atmosphere is very nice. The patio is very large and cool due to the amount of trees and very large umbrellas. It is also not very busy during lunch time it seems so it’s nice to got to a nice restaurant without being surrounded from people. The menu is not attractive at all and makes it hard to look through to decide what you want. Our waiter was very kind and very attentive. We were brought a complimentary appetizer of the, «house pizza». It was not good at all. When my food came out, I had a smile on my face because the food looked great. I quickly dug in and was very impressed. My dish was excellent! I also tried some of the other food at the table (fish tacos and some tomato pasta dish) and thought those were good as well. Overall, friendly staff, good food, and decent prices. Would recommend.

I eat a lot of Mediterranean food, it is my favorite cuisine. No doubt Basil’s is the best Mediterranean restaurant in the city! My first visit, I ordered the smoked salmon flatbread and it was delicious! The salmon was moist, the sauce was just right, and the flatbread was light and crunchy. The appetizer was so amazing I decided to pay a visit my next lunchtime. During my latest visit I got the Mediterranean Platter. It included the pita bread, hummus, tabouleh, marinated chicken, falafel, and jasmine rice. It was so yummy I ate as I drove back to the office
I’m looking forward to trying other menu entrees!

Basil’s is one of those restaurants whose prices are too expensive for the taste of the food.
Mediterranean chicken — chicken was tender, sauce was good, but not awesome. Confusing blend of sun-​dried tomato, black olives, and goat cheese.

Hi Kim K, I’m just seeing your response. I first heard about your restaurant from a friend she had a ladies brunch here a few years ago and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to try the dinner. I tell everyone at work about your restaurant and have brought my family. :-)

Had our rehearsal dinner there years ago and really enjoyed the food, setting and service. Glad to see its still going strong!

Absolutely spectacular every time. Very friendly and attentive. Joseph the owner makes sure you are comfortable. The food is exquisite. You must try this place…
Thanks Basil for a fantastic evening.

Came for dinner and thought this place was ok service wise, but a few things were frustrating.
— my wine had lots of tiny pieces of corkscrew floating in it
— on the scallop dinner entrée, I got three small scallops on the plate, which is absolutely absurd given the price
— parking is very difficult and not a lot of spaces. The spaces that are there are narrow and on a hilly slope. I was very concerned leaving my car there.
— the entrees were simply not that good. The grits were worse than average, scallops were ok and hummus wasn’t that great either.
— the menu had a number of prices that were simply scratched out with a new price printed over. Seriously guys, is it that much effort to reprint a menu when you are changing the price?
Overall, would not return here.

8÷26÷13 Lunch.
At one time living just a few blocks from Basil’s this was a place for dinning on a regular basis. After moving a few times I return once in awhile hoping it still tastes as good and maybe find new things on the menu.
On the last visit the new waitress (2 days old) tried to be as helpful as possible while the kitchen & owner/​manager was screwing both of us on service. After asking several questions of which she would have to get answers too I settled on the Pecan crusted Grouper this was to come with couscous and a mango marmalade. We changed the sauce to a butter, caper, lemon not being a fan of sweets on meat, fish or fowl.
Several minutes later she reappears and informs me that they are out of couscous then settled on jasmine rice & snow peas as sides & she disappears. Time passes another waitress is leaving and saw me looking around I asked for «bread and forks» as there were non in front of me. At this time the owner/​manager was only feet away lecturing an employee about drinking while he was going on a two day trip out of town when he was drinking a bottle of wine himself.
A bit later lunch comes out and looks *Good* the complimentary pizza bread was dropped off just after (Skip it plain bread would be a better choice.) The fish was tasty but after a couple of bites noticed there was «no crust» and asked the waitress about it, after investigating she was told because the sauce was changed the kitchen took it upon itself to change the preparation of the fish altogether thanks for «cluing me in.» The poor girl was trying so hard I felt bad for her she offered to change it and chose to keep the fish the way it was.
While finishing lunch I ordered a «Hot Mezza» to go (several different appetizers), when I opened the box found whom ever «packed this» had crammed everything into one box NOTHING was recognizable and was covered in a white sauce that should have been put on the side, this was sent back.
Payment — Well I was going to use the Scout Mob deal, when given the bill stated this the waitress didn’t know how to use it, she talked to the owner/​manager (who kept using her as a messenger) he said that it was only good for «lunch on Saturdays and Sundays» then finally came to the table himself. After reading that the deal does not state this he seemed to be getting agitated I was ready to pay and leave, (he chose not to take payment) after offering again to pay with card in hand & standing at the bar he moved his wine then stated that he «was buying my lunch today and was going to call Scout Mob.»
O.K., time to tip and go.
I’ve been a customer since the 90’s and this is the first and only time drama has been a side dish to a meal at Basil’s but if it happens again trust me it will be my last.

Basil’s is quite good for a low key dinner — especially if you the weather’s good enough to lounge outside on the patio. That’s the only way I’ve experienced it every time I’ve gone, and in my opinion it’s the only way. Since this place is tucked away off Pharr Rd, it’s well shielded from the busy traffic whizzing by on Piedmont, and is surrounded by nice, lush landscaping. A natural oasis in the middle of urban Buckhead.
It’s not the largest space by far — the last time I was there, my party of three was seated next to a family dinner of about 8 and while we dined another large party came and milled around with drinks before enough tables opened up to be pulled together for them.
I agree with some of the other Unilocalers, that the service isn’t the most attentive, but it also isn’t horrible — just sort of middle of the road. It didn’t really detract from my personal experience though.
One thing I enjoyed was the tiny pizza-​type appetizer brought to our table instead of the traditional bread basket. I don’t know what kind of tomato sauce or oil was drizzled on top, but it was great. We asked for another helping without much embarrassment before our entrees arrived. Every time I’ve gone I’ve only gotten one thing: Spanish paella. It’s almost a given that when it’s on the menu, I’ll be ordering it. And it hasn’t disappointed — creamy rice, well cooked chicken and sausage with a hint of heat and saffron I can taste.
Parking’s not too bad around the restaurant either. You can find street parking sometimes or if there’s none to be had, backtracking to the parking lot next door is always an option. The walk to the restaurant is a short walk from there.
Like I said in the beginning, it’s more casual and laid back, but if you’re in the mood for that with some good Mediterranean food — go for it.