Sweet Basil, Needham

It's a small size, which makes for a nice atmosphere. The food portions are very filling and the pasta is actually cooked correctly. The entree's are all between $15-20. There is a $5 corking fee for bringing your own wine. This place is really good.

Although the seating space in this restaurant is minimal, the menu options and portions are anything but! This place is little, and I mean really little. Either go as soon as dinner begins (5:00) or prepare to wait for a table. My coworker and I were lucky enough to get the last table when we arrived at about 5:20. The menu has a full selection of soups, appetizers and salads. The sweet corn soup sounded delightful, but I opted against it so I could pig out on the phenomenal crusty bread with house pesto sauce spread all over it. I could have made a meal out of that. Then flip over the menu for a wide selection of entrees, everything from chicken parmigiana and chicken scallopini to bolognese with meat, sausage and mushrooms to seafood fra diavlo. We both got the latter, and we weren't disappointed. It was an enormous amount of food -- easily two full meals worth. I would have liked to see a dessert menu, but they appeared not to have one. When you go, be sure to bring cash -- they don't take any credit cards -- as well as your own beer or wine. Needham is a dry town.