Sweet Basil feels like a new restaurant, but the menu favorites are back

Although Sweet Basil has been a popular Wichita restaurant since 1991, during our visit a couple of weeks after it reopened, it felt like we had walked into a whole new restaurant. Technically speaking, we had. More than a year ago, a fire heavily damaged the east-side institution, forcing owner Charli Singh to close and undertake a complete remodel.

It took longer than expected for Sweet Basil to renovate, but finally, in early May, it opened its doors to anxious regulars looking for their fix of Italian-inspired offerings.

The interior of the original Sweet Basil was dated and at times cramped. But not anymore. Gone are the mirrored walls and confined seating, and in their place is an open floor plan, with a full bar and a slick modern motif. The dining room seats about the same number of people as before, but additional space has been carved out for waiting, which is a nice addition. Soft lighting and a lack of windows allow the restaurant to keep some of the original’s romantic and intimate feel, which made it a popular date-night destination.

The menu remains mostly unchanged and features a well-balanced variety of mainly Italian-esque dishes, including lasagna, manicotti, eggplant Parmesan and linguine with clams. There is also a good selection of traditional steak, chicken and seafood options, as well as a burger, soups, salads and even a stir-fry dish.

On our visit, we started with fried calamari ($8.95), which proved to be rather impressive by Kansas seafood standards. Unlike the typical small rings of chewy calamari, Sweet Basil’s version used thick-cut strips that were surprisingly tender. Our 3-year-old son even approved of the dish, devouring his portion with an ample amount of cocktail sauce. The only complaint I had was that the menu stated that a pepper aioli was supposed to come with the appetizer, but we did not receive it.

For our dinner entrees, we ordered the Italian combo, the grilled Mediterranean chicken with relish and the child’s portion of linguine and meat sauce. The Italian combo featured a small portion of lasagna, chicken Alfredo and linguine with sausage and tomato sauce. The lasagna was excellent, stuffed with rich ricotta cheese and a flavorful tomato sauce. While I prefer my pasta and sauce to be tossed together before service, the linguine and sausage with tomato sauce was good, mainly because of the simple traditional sauce, which relied upon tender chunks of tomato and ample salt to enhance the pasta and sausage.

The chicken Alfredo was somewhat of a disappointment as the chicken was overcooked, and not even the creamy Alfredo sauce could help it out. The Mediterranean chicken was a good entree for those looking for something a bit lighter. Two decent portions of chicken breast were topped with a pepper and parsley relish that had a subtle sweet and tangy flavor. The dish also came with a serving of linguine with tomato sauce and chef’s vegetables, which is a fancy way to say old-school steamed vegetables.

Our son enjoyed his pasta, although most of it was taken home, as he had filled up on calamari and bread. Both of our entrees came with a house salad and Parmesan toast. Unfortunately, the basic garden salad is not quite on par with what used to be a very good house salad at Sweet Basil. It appears that an upgrade of $1.95 is needed to enjoy the salad that comes with pepperoncini, pepperoni, cheese and olives that many will remember from the old days. The Parmesan toast, with its crunchy layer of herbed cheese, is as good as always.

Nearly every entree at Sweet Basil comes with a salad and bread, making the meal a reasonable value for the price.

This story was originally published June 12, 2015 at 7:29 AM with the headline "Sweet Basil feels like a new restaurant, but the menu favorites are back."