Basil & Garlic Bistro

These guys can cook for me anytime. I’m an executive chef myself, but on the weekends with the family I’m the pickiest person… Ever! I know cuz I could probably do it myself. But not like this, the family wanted Italian and we went there had a family sit down on the patio, pizza fantastic, stromboli… amazing. Italian sausage sub on home made bread seriously best I ever had. Shrimp pasta with arugula. wow. You guys set the bar high. I didn’t think an honest little operation like this existed in the area but wow. I wanted to keep the secret but that wouldn’t be fair to them. The owners so nice and charming.

It’s a good place for a pizza, the ambience is informal but in my opinion, it gets a bit noisy as the seating is cramped, it can be worked upon, the mushroom fritters were bland and lacked seasoning, the eggplant parm had nothing going for it but the four cheese lasagne was good, the pizza is generous…

It’s official: their pizza is so fresh that it keeps a week in the fridge!
And it wasn’t our willpower that kept it there that long. It was a wacky travel schedule.
I can’t believe it’s been over a year (9/​21/​14!) since our first visit to this casual little strip mall restaurant. I was ready to give the five stars then, but most certainly now, after our additional visits.
Pizza, calzones, sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes and do you want fries with that? Weird! But perfect because our first visit here had my husband craving fries and me wanting pizza. He and I were also growly (not just stomachs) but mentally over a pool pump debacle. Food cures everything?! Well, delicious food and good company goes goes a long way toward making a annoying circumstance a lot brighter and fondly memorable.
The owners are a delight. Nadine introduced herself and Claudio came over to say hello on our first visit. We got to talking about Europe, how those two met and so on… It’s always a treat to meet the owners and to hear the stories that make a place «the» place. Claudio also told us of his Sicilian heritage and how «Basil and Garlic’s» logo embodies it. Cool!
We have eaten heartily of: fresh bread, regular pizza, speciality pizza (El Diavlo), calzone, salad, and those fries. It’s BYOB. The outdoor patio is set-​up for those days when it’s not 110. What this resto lacks in «ambiance» (i.e. your date may find it on the «simple» side), it makes up for via heart and flavor. Generous portions, too. Don’t wait for a pool pump debacle, B&G is worth a visit all on its own.

Came for lunch during the week. Sat outside next to an Italian speaking family… Hmmm this has potential! We split a lovely small calzone, which we couldn’t finish, and a side salad.
Very low– key, family place in a little strip mall (everything is in a strip mall in Phoenix). I am PICKY PICKY with food and would absolutely eat here again. Good service and yummy food.

Was in a hurry and ran across this place after a quick Unilocal search. Service was fast and the pizza was outstanding! Excellent crust… NY authentic!

Enjoyed the onion rings and pizza. Amazing pepperoni, ham, olives and peppers. Would definitely return.

The food was great. It was strikingly fresh. As if the were pounding out the tomatoes just before we arrived to make the sauce. The only thing is location they are so far off the beaten path you have to be a, not only local but neighborhood local (or Unilocaler) to know about this place. Now that I think about it that is the only reason I haven’t been back. Fixing that soon, soon…

Tonight, I needed a calzone. After consulting my handy-​dandy Unilocal app, I was down to two nearby options: NYPD and Basil & Garlic Bistro. Since I’ve never been to Basil & Garlic, since it was very highly reviewed by other Unilocalers I’ve learned to trust, and since it has two of my very favorite ingredients right in its name, my conclusion was an obvious one.
Turns out, Basil & Garlic Bistro is less than two miles from where I live, so the trip was unexpectedly short and memorable. The storefront itself is unassuming and, unless you’re specifically on the hunt for it, very easy to miss. I’ve driven by the plaza it’s situated in dozens of times before without noticing its existence. (I’ll need to level up my observation skillz…)
Upon entering, I was immediately greeted and invited to sit anywhere. Looking around the small dining area, I realized I was the only one there. (It was a little after 3:30p on a Saturday afternoon — an admittedly inconspicuous in-​between time.) I was very ok with being alone to experience this lovely bistro for the very first time.
My server’s name was Ruth. She was a wonderfully sweet and polite girl with a pleasing sense of calm humor about her. I felt instantly at ease. Ruth was excited to tell me about the Chef’s Choices for the night, rattling off an impressive and detailed list of three distinct (and delicious-​sounding!) pasta options — enough to make any mouth drool from anticipation.
I remained stalwart in my plans to consume a calzone, however, and ordered mine with pepperoni in place of the usual ham, as well as an addition of house garlic. The calzone and stromboli both come in «small» and «large» sizes, but Ruth assured me that the «small» calzone would, in fact, be quite large, and likely more than enough food for me.
Taking her advice, I ordered the «small». Not long afterward, the food was served and Ruth was NOT kidding. The «small» calzone here is easily comparable to the «large» calzone at NYPD, if not just a smidge bigger. It also comes with a good-​sized tub of house-​made marinara, which is something I always look for, because I like to use a lot.
Judging simply from the smell of the calzone, I knew it was going to be delicious, and I was not the least bit disappointed. Very honestly, the Basil & Garlic Bistro calzone was one of the very best I’ve ever eaten. Not only that, I had nearly half left over to take home after eating my fill. Asking for a box, Ruth was quick to bring one and even boxed everything up for me!
When I gathered my things to leave, both Ruth and her coworker were on the phone taking orders, so I wasn’t able to wave goodbye as I would have liked, but one of the chef’s caught me leaving from all the way back in the kitchen and made a point of calling out a heartfelt, «Thank you — have a good night!» Such a small thing… But it actually meant a lot to me.
CONCLUSION
For a quiet, somewhat lonely, winter night, I could not have been any happier with my visit to Basil & Garlic Bistro. The setting is intimate and warm, the service was BEYOND exceptional, the food was spectacular, portions were significantly larger than expected, and prices were more than fair.
If you’ve never been to Basil & Garlic Bistro before, bookmark it! Make an excuse to come experience some wonderfully authentic Italian fare in a truly homestyle setting and be sure to tip well — the staff deserves it, many times over. If you’re bringing a larger group, I’d recommend calling ahead for reservations since space is somewhat limited.
A NOTE TO THE HOSTS
Basil & Garlic Team — THANK you for working so hard to provide such an inviting atmosphere. Ruth, thank YOU for being my friend for the night. Mr. Chef, thank you for catching me on my way out. You all made me feel right at home, and I couldn’t be more pleased, or more grateful. Keep up the good work, and I’ll do whatever I can to send more hungry folks your way!

YUM!
The homemade bread the sandwiches are served on is very good.
Loved the cannolis too.

My family goes here every single Saturday. They will cook anything to order and everything is fresh. I can not stress enough how much we love this place. The owners are phenomenal and extremely talented chefs. Our favorite local spot. They have a great menu selection, ranging from pizza to seafood.

My man Claudio did it! This food is top notch. The Pizza is the best I’ve had and I can say the same for everything else I’ve had here. If your looking for great quality Italian food than you have to go to Basil & Garlic Bistro!

We tried out this place because of the positive Unilocal ratings. And who doesn’t want to try out a new italian place? It was packed on Saturday night and for the life of me I didn’t think this was the kind of place that required reservations. Someone had told me it was a little, family owned hole-​in-​the-​wall that served good italian food. So we had to wait for a table for about 15 minutes – not too bad. It took a while to order because the place was really packed but we were quite patient. Ordered chicken parm with angel hair plus one combination chicken & eggplant with rigatoni. The server told us it would be a while so we were ready for a wait.
We were provided a basket with two small rolls and butter. They were really, really crispy & delicious. (I overheard someone at another table saying that they make their own bread.) We added olive oil to our dishes and dunked the rolls for a yummy experience. We were hoping they would bring more since a previous reviewer said that they keep the bread and water coming but such was not the case. We were too polite to ask for more and perhaps that was a mistake.
While waiting we noticed that people bring their own wines and get charged a small corkage fee. Good idea. Maybe next time. We chit chatted and chit chatted anxiously awaiting our food. Plates came and went but not our dishes. When the waitress said it would take a while, she wasn’t kidding. Alas, after one hour, (yes, one hour) our food arrived looking mighty beautiful. (too bad I didn’t take a photo). A mound of chicken with sauce and cheese alongside some beautiful looking pasta. Tasted the pasta first to try the sauce and it was great — not too sweet and not too vinegary – a nice fresh taste especially with the freshly chopped parsley on it. The chicken was thicker than most as it was not really a cutlet, but it was perfectly cooked with a crunchy outer crust. I was happy. Hubby was enjoying his as well and after such a long wait I was really relieved that he was loving his food. However, there is one issue that I have to bring up despite the loveliness of the food. Keep in mind that this is a small place with an open kitchen. Diners are literally a few feet away from the kitchen operation. The clanging of the clean dishes being stacked, the dropping of large utensils and the throwing of pots when cooks are not happy with each other is NOT a good thing. They have to figure out how to disagree in the kitchen without throwing pots and without certain words being used. We are very upbeat and flexible people, but it got to the point where we couldn’t really enjoy the meal because of the excessive kitchen noise. I’m not talking about diners having a good time who get louder and louder the more wine they drink. No, no. People enjoying their food and wine is to be expected. But what should be contained is the kitchen noise. There has to be a way of placing dishes whereby you don’t feel that every dish in the place has crashed to the floor.
Figure it out guys. Have your differences after the customers leave ’cause we really loved your food and want to come back.
Looking forward to our next meal with you with just a little less noise.
Thanks.

We LOVE this neighborhood place– the owners are adorable and the food is very good. The calzone with added ricotta is by far my favorite and there is plenty to take home. Sit on the patio now that the weather is nice!!!

This family owned business is my go to recommendation for anyone in the area. The pizza is absolutely delicious, and you can taste the freshness in each bite.
Today, we treated our selves to a half Basil & Garlic Pesto Pizza w/​half Diavola. I knew I was going to be in for a treat when I tried one of the peppers and bit into them. It was super moist, nicely grilled, and simply delicious. This is before I even dove into the pizza, and I was already happy.

With so many choices we decided to share the chef special which had a very nice presentation (see picture). The food was hot and the sauce was wonderful when mixed in with the cheese, mushrooms and onions. There was a $ 3 split plate fee. The also had BYOB so you can get a bottle of wine a couple of doors down to have with dinner.
There was a screaming upset child and not sure why the mom did not take them outside, but thank God they soon left and let us enjoy our meal and the cozy low light candle environment.
The staff was very friendly and made sure we had plenty of water and bread. It was a treat to have what tasted like filtered water.
We look forward to returning to try the pizza.

Recommended by a friend so we gave it a try for dinner on a week night. Loved the fresh made pizza crust and service, but not much else. The décor is sadly neglected, drab, and cluttered. We sat at a window table overlooking a dog run owned by the groomers next door. The window shade was stuck and could not be lowered, the window glass was cracked. Half way through dinner, a large dog came to the window and barked at us then proceeded to do his business a few steps away.
A very plain Caesar salad arrived with dressing on the side. Toss it yourself? Never saw that before! The calamari was tasty but chewy. The pizza crust was delicious but covered with an overload of bland toppings. We both think there is a great potential here, but for now, we will not recommend it.

Amazing food! This is our first time here and it was fantastic! Service is great too. Try the antipasto salad. Lasagna and chicken parmigiano, yes please!
We will definitely be back when we come back to AZ. The owner is from Sicily, everything was fantastic.

What’s with all of the hype? Basil & Garlic Bistro is an ok BYOB place in Scottsdale. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) who lived around us raved about the food. The fact that Basil & Garlic is BYOB is awesome! We own a ton of nice bottles of wine and love to bring it as opposed to paying twice as much for the same bottle at a nice restaurant.
The food is only okay. The pizzas are large and the crust seems to be a bit soggy from all of the toppings. I had this pizza at the restaurant one time & to-​go another, both with the same results. I’ve had better pizza — in the neighborhood you can try Fate, Il Bosco, or Pomo for much better pizza.
It was pretty empty both times that we went to Basil & Garlic — I’m not sure why everyone who reviews it notes that they had to wait. We had 0 wait and it seemed a bit weird that no one else was there.
Overall, the food is fine, but it doesn’t live up to all of the hype. Maybe try the pasta dishes instead of pizza.

We had a wonderful evening here last night after sitting outside in our heated car for forty minutes. LOL
Well as you might known, it’s been cool here in the valley lately. And, sitting outside for a table to free up wasn’t an option. Which BTW, I believe sums up nicely our thoughts of Basil & Garlic. Who would wait forty minutes in the cold, for a table unless it was something special?
And special it was, owner Nadine came over and welcomed us. She was sweet and warm, both to us and everyone in the restaurant. That was how the evening went and you can understand why so many people flock here.
We started with a salad with a home made Italian dressing for only $ 1.50. For dinner we ordered the Chicken Parmesan with Angel Hair for $ 15.95 (photo) with a side of Sausage ($ 2.85). The cutlets were huge and very flavorful. We also ordered the Lasagna for only $ 13.95. It too was huge and meal for two.
I cannot convey how wonderful the evening was and how pleased we were with the food and the warmth of our host. The food was Four Stars plus and the value over Five Stars. Our bill came to a very fair $ 36.75.
Enjoy! We look forward to our next visit.

Found this place on Unilocal and bookmarked it right away, I was very excited to try this place out today! As a vegetarian and a fairly healthy eater, pizza is my guiltiest food pleasure. I know my pizza. and the pizza here is absolutely delicious.
This is definitely a hole in the wall type place, kind of oddly placed in a neighborhood. The restaurant is very tiny, as other reviews said, nothing fancy décor-​wise. My boyfriend and I were the only two people at the restaurant, but we went at a weird time. The two people working there were very kind and welcoming to us, I was happy with the service.
I had a hard time deciding what to order because the menu is massive, I will have to come back and try out the eggplant parmesan sandwich. I followed my pizza-​loving gut and went for the individual size cheese pizza and added tomatoes as a topping. Beware: the individual size is huge. I usually eat a ton, and I wasn’t even able to get through half of this pizza. One great thing is that they make their own dough for the pizza and bread. The crust was incredible. My meal tasted very authentic, this is up there with some of the best pizza I have enjoyed in the state of Arizona.
The price is great too, got a ton of food for a very low price. Was probably the least expensive sit-​down meal my boyfriend and I have ever enjoyed together. We very rarely go to the same restaurant twice, but we are certainly adding this place to our very short list of restaurants to revisit!