Sweet Basil Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Town of Victor

TLDR: Delicious Cambodian food at reasonable prices with good service in a lovely location.

Review: my wife and I love going to the movies at the nearby theater, but we always struggled to find a good non-chain "ethnic" restaurant to eat at nearby. I'm so very glad we found this place last night.

The location is lovely, right in the middle of Victor's cute little downtown. Inside is clean and welcoming. The hostess/server/owner Clarissa brings you right into the intimate venue with tasteful but simple decorations. It smells like heaven and you can hear kids playing in the back room, a sure sign that the Asian food is going to be delicious.

According to the restauranteur, they have been slowly moving from a pan-asian menu to a Cambodian menu for the three years they've been open and switched menus completely in December. Gone is the pad thai and in are the cherished family recipes of the cook and co-owner passed on for generations.

We got the papaya salad and chicken wings with fish sauce to start and they were insanely tasty. We got a spice level of 4 on the salad and it was just right. Enough to make these seasoned spice eaters' noses run a bit without being over bearing. The chicken wings were perfectly crispy yet juicy inside and I'd put them up against even the tastiest of Korean fried chicken.

For the main dishes, my wife got the equivalent of Cambodian pho (Cambodian food is similar to Vietnamese) that came with anis infused beef broth I could happily drown in, and copious panoply of meat chunks. The bowl was huge and not even the two of us could finish it off. I got the beef lemon grass stir fry which was excellently seasoned and the beef was cooked divinely. My wife ended up stealing a third of my meal because it tasted so good.

The only downside was that the food was a little slow to come out, so factor that in if time is an issue, but we found the food to be well worth the wait. We will definitely be back and I can't wait to further explore the menu of this gem of a family...

I would highly recommend Sweet Basil Cafe to anyone looking for a casual environment and delicious food. Clarissa (as another reviewer said: co-owner/hostess/waitress extraordinaire) is wonderful. She is always attentive to her customers, ensures the tables and establishment are clean, and brings out food promptly. I’ve seen families, teenage friends, and single adults all happily indulge in their meals here; the environment is perfect for anyone.

I’ve eaten here with numerous friends in the past 2 years, and everyone agrees: the food is incredible. I’m a vegetarian, so my options are often limited when I go out to eat, but I’ve never had a problem here. Many of their dishes can be made vegetarian, with options of vegetables and tofu for add-ons (in my experience, most other restaurants solely offer vegetables). The food always tastes very fresh, and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve tried.

There is a parking lot behind the building, as well as street-side parking out front. The restaurant offers takeout services so patrons can eat at home if they wish. The food is always packaged nicely, so I don’t need to worry about spillage in the car — they even go as far as to package the noodles and broth separately so the food will not be soggy upon returning home.

Overall, the owners pour their souls into their restaurant, and from a customer perspective, it shows! I’m a college student who lives out of state, and this place is always my #1 stop when I’m home on break. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for delicious food at affordable prices — no place in this area measures up to...

My experience was not great. Arrived around 630 on a Friday night. There were only 2-3 other tables taken at the time. The staff is very friendly but not experienced. Took an hour for food to arrive. The fryer was down and they were out of brisket. The spring rolls came out half an hour before anything else. The kimchi jeon was burnt, like black. The rice bowl ordered was supposed to be only veg, there was tofu on it....it was also black and burnt on the outside. My friend who has been there before said her pho was not as good as it normally is, it also had some tripe in it which was not ordered. The soonduboo I had ordered was all spicy heat and no flavor and guess what, the pork was burnt. I’m not sure if this was just a bad night or what but I think possibly the owner was cooking and also trying to manage the floor. That’s how restaurants fail. Chefs need to cook. Owners need to run the business. Managers run the floor and wait staff do customer service. We were not comped or apologized for the long wait. I didn’t want to make a fuss or offend my friend because she has been many times and likes the place. I will not be coming back or...