Basil’s Italian Restaurant and Lounge

Today I had the most amazing Seared scallops and bow tie pasta. I’m truly in love with the service and atmosphere at Basil’s. Thank you Chef Richard.

My wife and I were returning home to Chicago from a trip to Charleston, SC when we stopped for the night in Corbin, KY. Not expecting to find a lot of choices for dinner we did a web search and found Basil’s. What an amazing find! Chef Richard treats everyone who comes in as if they were having dinner in his home with his family. Dishes are all scratch made and every one is delicious. Chef takes real pride in his cuisine and his establishment, especially the organization and cleanliness of his kitchen. Highly recommend the mama’s pasta, clams spaghetti and eggplant parmesan. This will be a permanent stop on our trips. Great job Chef.

Tonight I had my most favorite dish ever at Basil’s. Chef Richard greeted us after arriving at his restaurant. He asked in a very pleasant manner what we wanted for dinner. Forget looking at the menu, what do I really want! I stated that my most favorite dish was linguine or spaghetti with clam sauce, New York style. The Chef stated he could do that exactly as I had asked for. After a delicious made to order Caesar salad, my treat was presented to me in an impeccable fashion with a side of clam juice! It was fabulous. After 50 years of being a very picky fan of this dish, I told him it was in my top few ever in that category. Just so the readers know I am from the Chicago area, very demanding in my Italian cuisine, and the next time I am in this part of Southern Kentucky, I will make it a point to stay in Corbin and visit Basil’s restaurant again. You can’t go wrong with this dish or his offerings. My partner’s chicken parmigiana was also superior! Thanks Basil’s!

I’m bad at writing bad reviews. This is actually my first. I wanted to like this place based on the reviews and it’s small town local status. Sorry guys. It’s just not that good.
Came in with a coworker and there were two other tables there. This was at dinner time. It was juxtaposed by the Wrigley next door which was literally at capacity. This was probably my first warning sign but it was my first day in Corbin and I found this place on Unilocal so I was determined to try it. The service was slow and yet I never met this chef that supposedly comes to each table. Honestly most of the food did not taste made from scratch by a chef.
We started with the cheese sticks. The only description of them on the menu was «Served with Chef Richard’s own Marinara sauce.» That would be because that was probably the only thing made in house there (and even that’s questionable). The cheese sticks tasted like the standard ones you would buy out of a bag in the freezer section of your grocery store. For dinner I had the Combo Dish thinking I could try three things they’re known for. It came with spaghetti and meatballs, «stuffed shells», and «mama’s pasta.» I like to end on a good note so let’s start with the first two items. They were ok. Nothing special. The spaghetti sauce didn’t have any special flavor to it. Nothing that reminded me of great Italian food. The stuffed shell was literally a shell stuffed with Ricotta cheese. No special twist to it. Something I would make at home in 5 minutes with my children because they like to «cook with daddy.»
The one redeeming part of the entire meal was the mama’s pasta. This was 7.5÷10 good. If I was forced to come back here (which I won’t be) this is what I would go with. Lots of flavor and the pasta was well cooked. The one knock on it was that it was very oily. I love olive oil so I was good with that. I know that’s off-​putting for a lot of people though.
I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for the mama’s pasta this would have been a 2 star review. I don’t know of any other Italian restaurants in Corbin so if you’re in a pinch I guess this is your place. I can not recommend this place under any other circumstances.

Best meal ever!
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Basil’s and it’s better than I expected!
Love the steak and the mama’s pasta. We’ll definitely be back soon!

Service is terrible. I got shrimp bowtie pasta which came with 5 PIECES of shrimp with the tail still on. The sausage pieces (on the sausage and pepper fettuccine) were shaped like a bowl and tasted like a hotdog, the peppers were whole peppers cut in half, and the pasta was in a bowl of oil. The bread was too hard and dry to choke down. I don’t know what people are raving about, I’ve had better Italian food at Fazoli’s. I will never be back.

This was some of the best food I have had in a while the quality of ingredients and care put into it was amazing! I will definitely be back!

Yet another wonderful meal at Basil’s. I had Mama’s Pasta and started eating before I could get a picture but it was delicious. My son and wife both got Chef Richard’s bow tie pasta with shrimp and lobster cream sauce. The breadsticks in garlic butter were also very good. Chef Richard came out and checked on us several times. You will get a great meal and be treated right at Basil’s.

I am not sure what others are experiencing that are raving about this place. I had the catfish parmigiana with a side salad. My husband had spaghetti and meatballs. With tip, we spent $ 30 for lunch which is overpriced for me.
The parmigiana was decent since I love catfish. Definitely prefer catfish deep friend with out the tomato covering. Everything else tasted mediocre. The salad was only iceburg lettuce.
They need to be clear on their lunch menu about what is included on the specials. It was difficult to figure out and they charged extra for the drink which I thought might be included.

Great food! Great atmosphere! Great service! What more could you ask for… How about if the chef, Chef Richard, sat down at your table and chatted for awhile and then informed you about the items available that aren’t on the menu. Chef Richard also came out after we were done with our meal to ask if everything was satisfactory, I Informed him that everything was fantastic.

Awesome little spot in small town America here, I ordered the mamas pasta which was terrific. The service was excellent and the chef even made a trip to ask us how is dish was. You can tell this is a place that actually cares.

Was here yesterday and it was literally the best steak I’ve ever had in my life, mama’s pasta was amazing, my friend had fettuccine Alfredo and it was amazing. Chef Richard was awesome he made sure the food was amazing, we will definitely be back!

Just had dinner there. All of the reviews were mentioning the Mama’s Pasta so I tried it. I’m very glad I did.
husband had the Alfredo-​Awesone. Our waiter told me that I could get a half order of the pasta which was an excellent size pirtion. Chef Richard came out and told me how to make each recipe and then showed my husband how tob flip food in a pan. Yes, if you are in Corbin come and visit this place. Very comfortable just pleasant dinner.

Ate at Basil’s while waiting for the moonbow to make its appearance at Cumberland Falls. I ordered the Mama’s pasta and it was fabulous. My husband got the shrimp bowtie and loved it also. Wonderful atmosphere, highly recommend it!

Stopped in during a business trip in Corbin after seeing it on Unilocal.Was very surprised. Enjoyed Mama’s Pasta with sausage and a few drinks and Chianti. My business partner described a dish to Chef Richard and he created it on the spot.
It is very evident Chef Richard cares about his food and his customers.
I would recommend Basil’s as your first stop to anyone coming to Corbin.

Great little italian place with real homemade italian food. A little pricey but the ambiance makes up for it. Chef Richard comes to the table to talk to you about the food.

Had the spaghetti and meatballs and reminded me of a frozen banquet! Ravioli are frozen! How or why you call this an Italian restaurant is a slap in the face to Italians everywhere!

This meal was amazing. Would give a five star but our bill was a bit pricey, and service was a bit slow. We started with the calamari – delicious! It was perfectly cooked. Not chewy at all. I got the chef Richards Bowtie with shrimp in lobster sauce. This was some of the best pasta I have had in a long time! My husband had the chicken bowtie pasta. He said it was «good», (I think he is still sour about the bill). They’ve started selling alcohol, and I think this is where they jack the prices a bit. They have no draft beer, just bottled beer. The wine per glass is also pricey. Overall, very good dining experience. We we had the best seats in the house for watching the Christmas parade on main street. Excited for this new edition to downtown Corbin!

When you are seated, have your order taken and have the chef come out, ask to sit down and chat with you all in the first fifteen minutes of your visit, you know the place and the meal to come will both be special.
Chef Ricky and his staff relocated to this charming, open, airy space in March of this year, and plans are to keep renovating and growing. Booth seating, a full bar, and lounge areas at the front are all in the works.
The star of this little gem though, boss and staff both withstanding, was the excellent food. I had the bacon wrapped scallops to start, followed by Parmesan shrimp with pasta, and a wonderful little cannoli for desert. Everything was prepared rapidly and perfectly and I enjoyed every mouthful.
If you’re ever in Corbin, Kentucky, don’t miss this wonderful restaurant. It is well worth the time and money you’ll spend here.

This is a new location, the large open room looks recently completed fresh clean and spotless. More things that stand out– friendly prompt service, the night my wife and myself were there the chef stopped around among the tables adding some interesting dialog to our evening relative to his experiences. As someone that does a fair amount of cooking and specifically specializes in Pizza I felt compelled to try the Sicilian Pizza — Their’s is truly awesome better than my many years of homemade hand tossed crust, also tried bacon wrapped shrimp and homemade «Mamas Pasta», all very very good.
The freshness of the ingredients, combined with the obvious care taken in presentation made this meal a special one to remember for many years.