Sweet Basil on Moody — Restaurant in Waltham

I went to Sweet Basil 🥬on Moody street in Waltham📍 with my parents this week.

This italian spot has some eclectic vibes with flowerful🌸 trees🌳 and vibrant paintings🖼️ on the wall.

To start this dinner, every table gets fresh bread🍞 and homemade pesto! This is simply amazing in my eyes. Who doesn't love pesto? The pesto is made without nuts too which is perfect for all those who may have a nut allergy.

For cocktails 🍹we got the "Let's be Clear" which was a sweeter tasting drink that had watermelon🍉 mezcal and tomato vermouth. We also got the handsome devil😈 drink which had bourbon and st germain. The perfect option for bourbon lovers! Finally, they were experimenting new cocktails and we tried their version of a mushroom🍄 negroni which was very interesting. Basically a negroni with an earthier after taste! Check out their cocktail list next time you go and see what they have in store.

Now for the entrees. We tried their handmade four cheese🧀 ravioli which was simply delicious 9/10. You can really tell they handmade the ravioli and tomato basil sauce🍅 as it was made very fresh.

The arugula and burrata salad 🥗was the perfect combination. This salad had toasted nuts, jicama slaw and a peach vinaigrette. You just cant go wrong with burrata it works with everything. (Warning⚠️ to the wise to be careful with the exploding burrata though lol!) I thought this was also a great shareable plate for the table 8/10.

I'm obsessed with the rosemary chicken with pancetta, tomatoes and asparagus over rigatoni pasta🍝 This was so filling even after two bites. But honestly you need to save room for this dish it is so good and a must get 9/10.

We also got their version of chicken🐔 parmesan. This came with mozzarella in a basil marinara sauce. I wish there was more sauce on this dish and maybe the chicken wasn't as juicy or tender as I would have liked 6/10.

The eggplant involtini was incredible and I'm not even a big eggplant person. This came with pesto ricotta, basil marinara sauce, and riccia pasta (I think thats my new favorite pasta shape!). If you are a cheese and eggplant lover you got to get this dish 9/10 (at least get it for the crazy cheese pull).

Last but not least, my personal favorite⭐ dish of the evening was of course their squash gnocchi. The squash gnocchi came with pickled onions, apples and a brandy cream sauce. I will be dreaming about this dish all fall season long 10/10.

You have to check out this spot if you are in Waltham (or in Needham as they have another location there!) And if you aren't local you can get a food delivery. On their grubhub delivery page you can buy a full pint of their pesto!

Food: 9/10 Ambiance:...

The Good - Pesto dip was delicious, decor good The Meh - The entrees we had (lamb shank, cioppino, braised chicken, beef ragout, Bolognese) - They tasted OK but they were all heavy and, yes by nature, various stew-type meals but there were no fresh elements on the plate- mostly pasta or polenta drowned in sauce/gravy. Pasta was not fresh, or particularly special, sauces were salty and fatty, and just lacked refinement or thought. And oddly Bolognese had cut up sausages in it --which was just weird. All in all - the dishes sounded great on paper but execution was lacking care, balance, and freshness. ? I don't mean to be harsh but these are aspects they can definitely improve on. One of the reviews mentioned a similarity to diner food, and It does give off that vibe but food was OK- tasty, you just could not eat much of it because it was too fatty and salty and honestly just put onto the plate (like you would plate food for yourself at home before heating it in the microwave) .

Entree Portions are large - more than enough to share between two people. Servers were nice and pleasant. Towards the end the staff bussing the tables were standing and passing plates between us blocking our way to get up an go which was just weird - they could have waited a couple of seconds for us to move- but it was like they did not see us. It was not a big deal - just weird and like the food - just lacking care and attention.

The Skips - We ordered three cocktails - two signature and one amaretto sour - skip the cocktails. The Sangria was decent but the penicillin and sex on watch city (I may have gotten this name wrong) was not really enjoyable- syrups they used were too strong , almost medicinal. Note: Parking around moody street is always tough- so be mentally...

I used to love Sweet Basil and would recommend it to everyone—until last summer, when I had one of the most uncomfortable and upsetting dining experiences I’ve ever had. I haven’t been back since.

I came in with my boyfriend and was treated with blatant disrespect by our blonde waitress from the moment we sat down. She was cold, dismissive, and clearly had a problem with me being there. While I was still eating, she brought out two fellow employees who stood nearby and just stared at me. No attempt to be subtle, no words—just standing and watching me eat, like I wasn’t welcome there. I was confused and honestly shocked.

At the end of the meal, she slammed the bill down on the table without saying a single word. Despite everything, I still tipped her 25%, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t acknowledge it, didn’t thank me—just continued to glare at me with what felt like hostility.

It wasn’t until a few days later, looking at a selfie I took that same day, that I realized I had been wearing my Palestine flag earrings. I can’t say for certain that’s why I was treated this way, but the signs are hard to ignore.

Even if someone disagrees with my views, I came in as a respectful, paying customer. I was polite, caused no issues, and tipped generously. And yet, I was made to feel targeted, judged, and deeply unwelcome.

Whether it was discrimination, bias, or just cruelty—it was unacceptable. Sweet Basil lost a loyal customer that day, and I will never be returning and spreading this info to...