Monday night was my first experience w/your lovely restaurant. I was not disappointed. The waitress we had was so accommodating, had great customer service. We were apparently her "third" table. She was great w/us and my granddaughter. Several times she checked on us and asked how she could get anything for the "little one." I look forward to becoming a "regular" and spreading the word, and the word is "delicious." Rebecca

June 2, 2010
My folks were visiting from California and I took them to the Basil Tree for lunch. We loved the food, ambiance and service! My folks will be telling their friends back home about the delicious, and unique italian food!

It is small, but they did take a reservation. I was worried about earlier reviews, but this night the service was friendly and knowledgeable. The food was very good, all of it tasting very fresh and authentic. I overheard another table ask about a specific dish. The server courteously told them nothing like it was on the menu. They then asked about preparing a dish a special way. The server went to the back, consulted with the chef, and came back saying he would prepare the dish as asked. This impressed me as professional.

This place is amazing. And the food is as good as it gets in Italy. If you haven't been there make sure you check it out.

THEY NEED TO START TAKING RESERVATIONS AND NOT OVER BOOK, THE HOSTESS AND OWNER VERY RUDE. NEED MORE PARKING OR EMPLOYEES NOT PARKING IN FRONT OF THE PLACE.

I have dined at the Basil Tree on 4 occasions now, twice with the family, once entertaining out of town business associates and once with 40 people for a sales meeting. I have been extremely pleased with the food quality and the service has been good as well. My business associates from the NE and who generally make fun of the food choices in the area (fried chicken strips and pizza!)were very impressed with the menu and food.
From my experience I would recommned the Basil Tree, a little bit of Chicago in our own back yard.

My husband and I had stopped in on a saturday night before meeting close friends out for drinks. We were very excited to have a nice dinner, just the two of us, without our children. These opportunites don't come around very often, so we were very excited to make our night special. We were both wearing nice jeans and nice tops. I was wearing heals and jewelry. My husband was wearing a button down shirt. We walked in the front door and was immediately greeted. The host walked up to us, looked us up and down, then proceeded to tell us (in VERY snooty voice) "it will be a long wait, we are very busy." Never stating exactly how long. I felt that he was trying to discourage us from staying because we weren't dressed in our "sunday best". Maybe it was the fact that we were wearing jeans. It's not like they had holes in them or looked like we had been playing in the mud. As someone that has managed a restraunt for several years, I was completely and utterly shocked. How dare you act as if you are better than someone else. Maybe you should sit down and let me serve you a piece of humble pie. I will NEVER go back and I will tell all my friends, family members and co-workers about my degrading experience. This is still a small town and reputation is key. Good luck to this restraunt, it's going to need it.

Basil Tree Ristorante was suggested to me by my neighbor and after eating there I can see why. The atmosphere is Old World ambiance, the food was superb, and the host/wait staff were some of the best I've ever met! We were graciously and warmly welcomed by the host and our server was very friendly, making the entire visit more personal. The lunch buffet wasn't too large, but the food was amazing and so tasty, they didn't need to have many items. I will be a return and frequent customer!

After seeing some of the negative comments, I was a bit nervous on my first visit to the Basil Tree. However, it was wonderful. The food & service were great. It was a bit pricey but it was worth it for a special occassion. We will definitely go back.

Six of us had dinner there last night and I found my selection to be very boring and the shrimp were tough. My plate had no taste and no color. Others in party were more satisfied with their meals but all in all it was way too expensive for what we got. I don't mind paying a hefty price if the food is excellent but this was not the case. And it is so noisy there that talking to each other was almost impossible. You had to get into each others face to be heard. Waitress was not happy that we wanted seperate checks but gave us them anyway. One check to divide three ways? Now why would that be? That does not work well when everyone these days pays with a credit card. I guess this will be our one and only trip there.

Loved the meals I've had at Basil Tree. And the service was excellent. Very nice people who genuinely care about how good the meal is and how happy the patrons are.

A friend and I dined here for the first time. The food was fantastic! The soup comes with the meal. A salad is available for an additional cost. I would suggest making the salad standard. While our waitress was pleasant, she was not knowledgeable about the menu, various types of pasta, or wine suggestions. Hopefully this will improve as it is a great restaurant. We were told they don't take reservations which is unfortunate for those of us who live out of town.

I was in town for a reunion. I was very pleased with the food and the service. However I do agree with a previous reviewer that you should get a salad instead of soup, with your meal. Otherwise cudos!!

I visited Basil Tree when it first opened and I agree with some of the reviews that the service needed improvement. However,the food was extraordinary.

I revisited Basil tree last evening and the service was first rate and the food was even better. My parents both immigrated from Italy and my mother cooked all of our meals. I have been exposed to "homemade" Italian food and this is as close as it comes.

I hope that this restaurant survives because it deserves to.

The food is some of the best I have ever tasted... Every entree is homemade with the exception of a few which because the restaurant is new they are waiting for the equipment to make it from scratch... but the service left much to be desired. The waiters were trying so hard it hurt to watch... though I must say it seemed that the manager was being very hard on the staff. Micromanaging would be the correct word. I will return again, but only for the food.

A great addition to Dixon. The food is very good and atmosphere is the same. The only complaint is I had to purchase the side salad "extra" for $5. Soup is included, but I would much rather have salad before a meal than "filling" soup. We've eaten there a couple times and had a nice experience.

My husband and I had dinner there last night - a Wednesday night and we arrived early- 430p. Only 3 tables were occupied and we waited about 10 minutes to have a server come to the table. He never told us about the specials, which we overhead other servers telling other tables about after we had ordered. The menu doesnt really explain what comes with your entree, and the server didnt know how to pronounce the soup or many of the entrees. He came back several times to ask questions, which is ok - at least he wanted to get it right but it was showing us how new to serving he was.
We were very happy with the atmosphere and the Food was fabulous. We will go back after they have a chance to train the servers a little better!

I had the lunch buffet on two occasions and have been thrilled with the quality, service, and value. One reviewer had a complaint--as you'll always get in the restaurant business--but this operation is performing better than most. I hope to continue to patronize the Basil Tree for years to come.

After reading a review about the service received at the restaurant, I must remind people that this restaurant is open barely a month.

Anyone knows that it takes a few months to get the "kinks" out with servers being truly comfortable with the menu and the restaurant itself learning how to adjust to the area's customers and lifestyles.

Give it a couple of months and then make your judgements.

We visited the restaurant on a Saturday evening, I must say....make reservations! I'm happy to say they are doing good, thus the need for reservations! The atmosphere was great, everyone was friendly. While waiting they would serve us appetizers to hold us over, we only had to wait 20 minutes for a table.

One of the biggest downfalls I'd say is the size of the dinning room, it was a bit crammed. I actually had my elbow bumped a few times while taking bites.

The food was great, and reasonably priced! The servers were always there for us, and well mannered! The owner is friendly and sets the tone for a true Italian restaurant.