Basil's Restaurant & Pizzeria — Restaurant in North Carolina

Let me start off by saying that I’m not the type of customer that’s likely to complain at a restaurant and I’m even less likely to leave a review. But I feel compelled to warn any potential customers of this establishment in case they are of a particular breed of human that may have certain expectations from their chosen dining experience. Basil’s started off on the right foot when the waitress asked if we’d like lemon with our water (implying that there may be some acceptable preferential differentiation), after that, things started to go downhill.

I probably gave the owner the impression that I would be one of his typically compliant customers when, through his dining room security camera, he saw me discreetly dig the debris out of my water to avoid making our waitress feel uncomfortable at having to send it back. That expectation diminished though when we had the nerve to request the balsamic vinegar “on the side” instead of poured over each of the two dishes my wife and I ordered. Although we thought this was a simple request and one that was easily accommodated in the same way that “hold the mayo” or “may I please have some salt” would be, apparently the owner’s delicate sensibilities were seriously offended.

Most reasonable people, especially those concerned with the satisfaction of their paying customers, might think that omitting the final ingredient of a simple dish would not be that significant a request. When you order fries, does the chef insist on pre-applying his own amount of ketchup? As confused as we were when the waitress told us that the kitchen refused to modify their special dish, we decided to check the menu again and ordered a pizza with a side of pesto. The waitress returned and informed us that the side of pesto wasn’t possible. Not that they didn’t have pesto, just that they wouldn’t serve (sell) it as a side. At this point, we decided that this restaurant wasn’t for us and left after paying for our drinks and tipping the waitress for her service.

Apparently modifying the assembly of any of Basil’s dishes based on individual preference is taken as a serious insult. I find it hard to believe that a restaurant called “Basil’s” would consider requesting a side of pesto to be such an over-the-top move but if they reserve that for recipes, fine, just remember that the only reason we had to place a back-up order was because they refused to leave the balsamic vinegar off of our first order. We left a review, commenting on the “odd experience.” I wouldn’t have written a review of my own if not for the unprofessional manner in which the owner responded. Please remember, this owner considers “balsamic on the side, please” to be a pretentious demand for your “every whim and desire” to be met. Exploring some of his other replies to criticism reveals his general contempt for customers that find the Basil’s experience less than exemplary. Although we didn’t get to try any of the food, it appears as if customers who don’t enjoy a dish and dare leave a review about it are blamed for not ordering the right menu item.

There’s no way that a person as out of touch with common customer service has been the proprietor of a successful business for 23 years. What we witnessed by their ridiculously inflexible policies and even more so through a petulant reply to an honest critique was characteristic of a restaurant gasping it’s dying breath. If you decide to try this place, don’t ask for any alterations to their dishes but if you do, be prepared to ask the arrogant owner to hold...

My daughter graduated from East Carolina University last weekend and we brought a party of 12 there to celebrate at 4:30 PM. My son and his date were en route and were expected to be there within 15 minutes, so we asked to be seated to go ahead and get drinks and apps ordered to make it in time for the ceremony. The waitress denied this request and said it was their policy not to seat anyone until the entire party arrived as it created hardship for the cooks (?). As I looked around the empty restaurant I reassured her that we would only be ordering drinks and apps and by the time my son got there we would be able to order our entrées. She said she would check with the manager, and came back and said still no dice you can't be seated. This essentially left us stranded, as it was getting close to 5 o'clock rush time and the ceremony started at six. We made a few frantic phone calls and Atavola (on Red Banks) was more than happy to have our business and seated us promptly (they even made a make-shift seating arrangement to accommodate our party without my son's arrival!). We made it to the ceremony with only about a minute to spare!

What absolutely infuriates me is that we have supported this restaurant (Basil's) to the tune of thousands of dollars for many, many years (My wife is a realtor and we go out of our way to support local restaurants) and have sent many of our customers here. To jeopardize my daughter's graduation over the most nonsensical policy ever imagined, and send us frantically throughout the city at 5pm cost them $400 in revenue that night and a lifetime of support from our family and everyone else we plan on talking to. Never again will we EVER eat there, and plan on taking our future local...

Horrible experience! Let me start by saying that we never write reviews. So this is a rare occurrence. We frequently visit Basils and love the food! This past Friday, we had family visiting from out of town to attend a very special occasion with us. After weighing our options, I decided to take our family to Basil’s. I boosted about the food and great service that we have received in the past. Not this time though... The lady working at the host stand was extremely rude, not helpful and disrespectful. She was extremely unorganized and appeared to be overwhelmed. If the restaurant was super busy, this would be slightly more understandable but that wasn’t the case. She suggested that we sit outside with an approaching thunderstorm. We agreed and sit outside with hopes of beating the storm. Shortly after being seated outside, she came out and stated that she hoped it didn’t rain because she didn’t have anything inside for us and we would be out of luck. Well... we were out of luck because shortly after that the downpour arrived and like she stated there was nothing available (understandable) but she made no attempts to accommodate us inside and wouldn’t even offer to put us on a waiting list!! My mother had a 4 hour drive back to the Western part of the state and was unable to have dinner until after getting home. This was supposed to be a special occasion as we announced and viewed the ultrasound of our future baby. The only thoughts we have now is of the hateful lady at the host stand. Unfortunately, we will not be back. Too many other restaurants around that need the business and will not be rude to...