Sweet Basil Restaurant Review - One of Vail's Most Popular Restaurants

Visiting the Famous Sweet Basil Restaurant in Vail, Colorado

Location

You will find Sweet Basil on Gore Creek Drive in Vail Village. Vail Village is the main hub of the famous Vail Colorado town. It’s where the top restaurants are, the massive ski resort, and name-brand shopping stores.

Type of Restaurant

Sweet Basil is a fine dining restaurant, putting a spin on contemporary American dishes with a fusion. Established over 40 years ago, Sweet Basil Restaurant remains supreme in the competitive Vail restaurant market. You will find it on the top restaurant lists in Vail on any travel review website. Being a concierge, I always recommend it to my guests.

The restaurant is a little dated and has an odd layout. The décor and aesthetics could use an update. Instead of using fake flower arrangements, real flowers would be more fitting for an upscale restaurant.

The first thing that catches your eye when walking to your table, is their lit-up wall of wines. The cellar is full of hand-picked wines. This is a great photo background. I suggest taking your pictures before dinner… whether you prefer dressed-up sophisticated photos or all dressed-up wine drunk with cheesy smile photos.

Sweet Basil Dinner Menu

Sweet Basil has a small but mighty dinner menu. It is easy to navigate with three simple sections; Bites, Plates, Desserts. The Bites section has a handful of fusion dishes like whipped feta, 24 HR Beef Cheek Bao, and Bourbon Foie Gras Gateaux. Mixing American small plates with Greek, Asian, and French cuisines. It is a unique menu with one-of-a-kind options, making this restaurant exquisite.

Sweet Basil Wine List

Ask for the full wine menu, a binder will be brought to your table with their full wine list. There are options for wine by the glass, wine by the half bottle, and wine by the bottle. It is broken down by region and type of varietal. There are tons of options on the wine by the bottle and I believe it is always the best way to go, great wine for your dollar is much better spent plus there are endless options. You can also drink it at your leisure.

What I Ordered

Wine: Grochau Cellars ‘Bjornson’ Gamay, Willamette Valley, 2017

The Gamay Noir was earthy and fruity with a light body. I love trying to pick out the base notes of any new wines I try before looking at the back of the bottle. I was spot on with the black current but missed the raspberry. It was a great pairing to my salmon entre.

Main Course: Slow Cooked Salmon

I thoroughly enjoyed this dish not just because of the full flavor but for how unique it was. I have never had anything like it! The poached salmon was sous vide to perfection. There was a delicious crispy perimeter with a soft, delicate inside. The potstickers caught my attention when reading the menu. This is where the fusion happens; contemporary American meets Chinese cuisine. The potstickers were perfectly al-dente and filled full of shrimp and pork.

This dish was accompanied by kohlrabi and shaver turnips. Both added a great texture to the dish with a fresh crunch. The best part of this dish was the broth at the bottom of the bowl. It was full of flavor, warm, and comforting on a snowy night. If you are like me and think the best part of a bowl of cereal is the flavored milk at the end, then you will enjoy this broth. All the flavors have marinated together into one big liquid hug. I wanted to two-hand the bowl and tip it back!