The Basil Leaf Café

About The Basil Leaf Café

Located at 801 Massachusetts St in Lawrence, Kansas, The Basil Leaf Café is a restaurant. It is one of 251 places to eat and drink we list in Lawrence. Expect mid-range prices, around $20–30 per person.

The Basil Leaf Café is open 7 days a week, usually 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM.

The Basil Leaf Café's menu features 71 dishes and drinks across 7 sections, including Lunch Starters Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11-4, Lunch Plates Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11-4 (all pastas degla, Salads, Dinner Starters, and Dinner Plates (all pastas deglazed with wine & served with g. Listed prices range from $4.00 to $31.00, with a typical item around $12.00. Dishes worth a look include Garlic Bread, Gourmet Grilled Cheese, and Small House Salad.

You can visit for outdoor seating, kerbside pickup, delivery, takeaway, and dine-in. Visitors describe the atmosphere as casual, cosy, quiet, and romantic, and it is a good fit for groups, tourists, and university students. The place is family friendly. It is especially popular for lunch, dinner, and solo dining. Offerings include alcohol, beer, cocktails, coffee, and comfort food.

Accessibility features: wheelchair-accessible car park, wheelchair-accessible entrance, wheelchair-accessible seating, and wheelchair-accessible toilet. Payment methods accepted: credit cards, debit cards, and NFC mobile payments. Parking: free parking lot, paid street parking, and parking. Reservations are accepted; call (785) 856-0459 to book a table.

Quick facts

Category

Restaurant · Italian

Address

801 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044

Phone

(785) 856-0459

Price range

$20–30 per person

Hours

Open 7 days a week, usually 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Menu

71 items · $4.00–$31.00

Listing updated

May 2026 · Suggest an edit

How the hours compare

We compared The Basil Leaf Café’s weekday schedule with 5 other restaurants in Lawrence. On a typical weekday it opens at 11:00 AM, close to the local norm of 11:00 AM and closes at 9:00 PM, earlier than most (typical closing time: 9:30 PM).

In total it is open about 71 hours a week, 8 hours more than the local median of 63. 60% of restaurants in Lawrence open on Sundays, and The Basil Leaf Café is one of them.

Compared with 5 other restaurants in Lawrence that list their hours in our guide.

• Garlic Bread$10.00

  Wheatfield's Rosemary Focaccia, side marinara

• Gourmet Grilled Cheese$12.00

  Pecorino Mozzarella, Pickled Shallots, Brandied Pear Butter, on Great Harvest Sour Dough with choice of…

• Small House Salad$8.00

  local mixed greens, tomato, red onion, cucumber, radishes & choice of: balsamic vinaigrette / Italian…

• Garlic Bread$10.00

  WheatFields Rosemary Focaccia, side marinara

• Lasagna Bolognese$25.00

  Layers of herbed ricotta, Pork Bolognese, house marinara, mozzarella, parmesan

• Nerdy Cat Tiramisu$14.00

  Local Nerdy Cat Cold Brew & Amaro Montenegro soaked lady fingers, whipped mascarpone custard, cocoa powder…

• Chicken Strips & Fries$10.00

  with fries & side of ketchup

• Brussels Sprouts$12.00

  deep fried topped with Calabrian Chilis, Brie Cream & Pistachios

• Italian Salami Sandwich$13.00

  Finnochiona Salami, Smoked Provolone, Garlic Aioli, Olive Tapenade, Dressed Greens, on WheatFields Baguette…

• Large House Salad$13.00

  local mixed greens, tomato, red onion, cucumber, radishes & choice of: balsamic vinaigrette / Italian…

Typical prices for restaurants in Kansas

Based on 35 menus with 3,055 priced items from restaurants in Kansas, the median menu item costs $10.99, and half of all items are priced between $5.40 and $15.99.

At The Basil Leaf Café the median listed price is $12.00, close to the typical $10.99 for restaurants in Kansas.

Calculated from 35 menus in our guide. Prices vary by location and change over time.

Features & amenities

The neighborhood

Within a 10-minute walk (half a mile) of The Basil Leaf Café there are 57 other places to eat and drink in our guide, and 80 within one mile. By type, the places within a mile include Bars & Pubs (18), Cafes & Coffee (8), Bakeries & Desserts (7), and Mexican & Tex-Mex (7).

Competition is strong: 8 other restaurants are within a mile and 10 within three miles. The closest is Merchants, < 0.1 mi away.

28 places within a mile stay open until 10 PM or later on at least one night a week, so this is a good area for a late meal.

Nearest places of other kinds

• Burgers & Fast FoodThe Burger Stand at The Casbah< 0.1 mi
• ThaiZen Zero< 0.1 mi
• PizzaLimestone Pizza•Kitchen•Bar< 0.1 mi
• Bars & PubsThe Bottleneck< 0.1 mi
• Japanese & SushiWa Restaurant< 0.1 mi

No visitor reviews yet. Been to The Basil Leaf Café? Share your experience to help other diners.

More reviews on:GoogleTripadvisorYelp