Sweet Basil — Restaurant in Southern Pines

Usually Sweet Basil is my go to lunch spot in Southern Pines. I’ve had longer wait times, but am at least addressed by staff and had my order taken. I brought a new customer in today after talking up how good the sandwiches were all day. We were told to pick a table, which we did. After ten minutes of sitting there waiting (in view of the hostess area), the wait staff passing us multiple times, we still had not had even our drink order taken. Unfortunately, we walked out and went to another establishment in the area for lunch. No one spoke to us on the way out or tried at the time to take our order or apologize for the delay. There were multiple tables still open, and it did not seem as if the kitchen was backed up for any reason. The staff just stood at the hostess area talking or...

Being small doesn't hurt Sweet Basil one single bit. Despite the somewhat limited dining space, SB gave me a sandwich that was overflowing with flavor, from a menu that was short but refined. As anyone from a small town could tell you, there's a warm familiarity - a personality - in the little things. Sweet Basil captured that personality, but didn't let it consume their identity or compromise their quality. They took the best parts of small-town dining and mixed it with the ingredients of a big-name restaurant to produce just the right amount of everything I needed or expected.

I couldn't rate them higher, and I'm looking forward to making this little diner a big part of any future trips...

First Visit - Not a great experience for older mom-daughter lunch. All the sandwiches are in the price range of $14.95 with the only choice for the side is FF or greens. I am accustomed to places that offer a cup of soup as a side choice, but not here. It’s an extra $5.99. That was my biggest disappointment as I did not want FF or greens. The Chicken Napa sandwich on in-house Tuscan bread was OK but hard to eat with the crusty outside. I think the upcharge for soup as a side is outrageous and the sandwiches are a bit pricey as well. The food was not note worthy and prices too much for lunch menu with limited choice of sides. I don’t recommend and do not...