Basil India — Restaurant in St. Louis

THE FOOD IS FIVE STAR FOOD ALL THE WAY. I don’t remember the names of the dishes we had but it impressed us beyond far beyond our expectations. The only reason I didn’t rate it Five Stars now is because aesthetics and service.

Atmosphere can either make an experience or break an experience. Basil India lacks the atmosphere it’s good deserves. Boring blank walls need to be kicked up a notch —- and skip a mural, as suggested by our waiter, and go classic India —- or put a modern twist on the decor and add black and white photos of India. Whatever they decide to do, anything (almost) will be an improvement. The lighting could not have been worse. Too bright, not directed — it created an uncomfortable experience. Dim the lighting. Much needed. Finally, the cafeteria style placement of the conventional, stark tables was too much to not notice. Horrible. Lazily placed with no thought to the privacy of its guests, something seriously needs to done about this. The food deserves white linen coverings and please add a centerpiece onto the tables to give some intimacy. Oh, and the bar. Why is it even there? To display beers? Try something else with that space. In other words, they are located in very trendy neighborhood with clientele who can support them, and will, but from the street view, it looks like they don’t care

We are going to give this place another try. But atmosphere to many is half...

Yay! South Grand gets an Indian (and Asian fusion) restaurant! And one that is savor-every-bite delicious. The servers were super nice and happy to help, and the chef/owner came out and said hi and was super great as well. It's obvious that he cares that everyone walks away with a great experience.

But the real star was the food. I honestly have never had something with quite the texture of their flash fried corn cake - I have no idea how the chef managed to get them out of the fryer in one piece they were so delicate, definitely worth experiencing. I also ordered a Thai Tea which was also delicious, good enough to beat many Thai restaurants I've been to.

Then I had the Paneer Tikka Masala and my wife had the Butter Paneer. I know, usually just your default go-to choices when you can't figure out what to order, but in this case they made them something truly special. Not overly spicy (probably for the best with the average US palatte) but super flavorful and with paneer so fresh you could swear they were making it there and squeezing it dry when you walked in.

We don't always get desert, but because the rest of the meal was so scrumptious we went ahead and ordered some Gulab Jamun as well. And it did not disappoint. Home made, and not overly sweet like some places, definitely a great treat.

Oh and all for a reasonable price as well. We will definitely be regulars, and you should...

I strongly advise potential customers to take heed of these warnings. If you're considering dining at here, be cautious about the treatment you might receive from the management. A restaurant's success relies not only on the quality of its food but also on the courtesy and professionalism of its staff. Unfortunately, in this case, the latter was sorely lacking.

I ordered takeout at this establishment on 11/10/23 and unfortunately the food was not up to par, our attempt at providing constructive feedback was met with disrespect and utter disregard for customer satisfaction.

The manager, whose behavior was shockingly unprofessional, continuously over-talked and refused to let us express our concerns about the quality of the food. It was disheartening to feel unheard and dismissed as customers. To make matters worse, the manager took it upon himself to put his finger in our faces, which is completely unacceptable.

It's disconcerting to note that my experience is not an isolated incident. Several reviews highlight similar encounters with the management, emphasizing a concerning pattern of disrespectful behavior. It's clear that customer satisfaction is not a priority for the...