Sweet Basil California Eatery

This was our first time at Sweet Basil and we loved it. The staff is very friendly, attentive and the food was excellent. We had the Harvest Salad, Sally Pasta and Gorgonzola stuffed Filet Mignon. The wine selection was excellent too. I really recommend these dishes, they were excellent. Also, the mashed potatoes are the best I've ever had. For chocolate lovers their chocolate lasagna was delicious. We heard the naan sandwiches are great. Will try those next time. This is my new favorite restaurant. We will be back again and again.

Awesome restaurant delicious food gorgeous couple that on the place

Just a wonderful restaurant, and addition to El Paseo

Tried calling to see if they took reservations ... gentleman answered then put the phone down. I hung up after about 10 minutes and tried calling back for another hour and it went straight to voicemail .... :)

Drove over anyway and they were able to seat us outside. Service was friendly and prompt.

The "grilled" artichoke was waterlogged (and only had grill marks on the stem) and sizzling shrimp was overcooked. The lemon butter with the artichoke was a congealed butter island surrounded by a moat of lemon juice (no emulsion) ... no good. Garlic aioli was good. My husband's prime rib naan sandwich had overcooked meat and not enough cheese or horseradish, but the naan bread and jus were nice.

As a long time desert resident this is a go to for us..
sally is a such an amazing host, servers are so warm and friendly but without great food we wouldn't come back year after year..
Can't go wrong with any item but the sally pasta dish is one I have. Lobster lasagna is also really great.
Enjoy !!!

As so many dining establishments are outrageously expensive, we were looking for a less expensive restaurant that still has excellent food, which we found to be the case at Sweet Basil. I had the flank steak with the small Caesar salad. Both were excellent. Steak was cooked as requested and the servicing portion was very good. The customer service was also excellent.

We were planning to have lunch inside a Palm Desert mall on our way back from the Living Desert and Zoo. Restaurants in the mall were 20-30 minutes wait, so we opted for Sweet Basil just outside the mall's parking lot.

The food here reminds me of California fusion
with some Asian, Italian, and American influences. Note many entrees are offered after 5pm. For lunch, you pretty much choose between salads, pasta and naanwiches, which is like Italian Panini except even flatter with toasted naan.

We liked the grilled chicken naanwich the best, though the pork tenderloin wasn't bad. We got both with a side of their excellent orzo salad.

For my son, we got salmon penne pasta. Salmon was grilled perfectly and moist and soft. However. the penne seemed undercooked and far from al dente - closer to rubbery!

A good place for a quick, lighter lunch. I found the naanwiches creative and tasty.

Sweet Basil was great. I called and made a reservation, they had a cancellation we're able to get us in a little earlier. We sat outside in their cute little patio and had the best service. Dinner was great, dessert was too. I ordered the steak and was cooked perfectly. We had the bread pudding for dessert.

Hot French dip and the chicken curry with this beautiful woman. The food is always amazing here and it's such a beautiful day for a walk down el paseo after. Thank you Sally

The food was excellent the service was great and the ambiance was very nice. It was my first time there and it was great looking forward to going again soon.

I just had to try the caessr salad with anchovy. It was delicious. Maybe the best I ever had. The French Dip sandwich was Devine. The meat was tender and delicious. The wait staff were friendly and knowledgeable. I really liked this place.

Sweet Basil has great curb appeal and a prime location. Near to shopping and a parking garage, it's a good choice for out of town visitors like us. We were seated outside per our request and greeted with a smile. Server offered suggestions, which we took: crispy chickpeas and lobster cakes. Both were yum! My entree salad was underwhelming, the blackened salmon was well seasoned and cooked as I requested, but the greens were mostly stems, avo was browning and the whole thing overdressed for my taste. Two word review: get chickpeas.