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Sweet Basil

Restaurants
 Vail, 81657

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About

Sweet Basil opened on Gore Creek Drive in June 1977 as a 47-seat restaurant, on a street then considered off the beaten path because it was not Bridge Street. Nearly five decades later it seats about 160, has been recognized by the Michelin Guide every year since 2023, and remains a special-occasion dinner in Vail Village.

It suits a birthday, an anniversary or a long dinner after the last day of skiing. The cooking is modern American and seasonal, the bar and wine list stand on their own, and lunch and an afternoon in-between menu offer a less formal way in.

Owners and kitchen

Kevin Clair founded the restaurant, and in 1993 it became the first in Vail to go completely smoke-free. Matt Morgan, hired as a busboy in 1987, became Clair's managing partner in 1998 and bought him out in 2017. Culinary director Paul Anders and executive chef Will Edwards run the kitchen today, and 43 former employees have gone on to open restaurants of their own.

The menu

The menus change with the seasons. Recent plates run from fried chicken with Kaluga caviar, whipped feta and short rib ramen at lunch to Alaskan halibut, lobster risotto and a Creekstone filet mignon at dinner, and a saffron pasta first served in 1989 has stayed on in some form ever since. In 2024 the restaurant added its first tasting menu, Elegance at Elevation, a set menu with wine pairings for one party a night; the FAQ has the terms.

Drinks and wine

The cocktail list is seasonal, and the wine list covers Champagne, whites such as Chardonnay and Riesling, reds from Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon, and dessert wines. The bar sits at the front, beside a small dining alcove facing the street.

Booking a table

Reservations open a month ahead and are strongly encouraged. Dinner bookings take a refundable deposit per person, parties are capped at ten, and larger groups book a private event. The dress code is smart casual; ski boots come off in winter, and there is a children's menu. Deposits and hours are in the FAQ.

Private dining

A private room at the back seats up to 45 with windows onto Gore Creek, the front room seats 21 beside the bar, a semi-private alcove takes 18, and a full buyout, with decks over the village and the creek, seats 100. It is a natural rehearsal-dinner venue.

Sister restaurant: Mountain Standard

Mountain Standard, the same owners' wood-fired tavern, opened in 2012 on the lower level of the same building at 193 Gore Creek Drive, on the creek side. It is the mountain-casual option, with an 18-seat bar that takes no reservations. Gift cards are valid at both.

Sources: Sweet Basil, history, team, menus, Elegance at Elevation, FAQs, private events. Checked September 23 and 26, 2026.

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Company Name
Sweet Basil
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Location
193 Gore Creek Dr
Vail, 81657

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About Sweet Basil

Quick answer: Sweet Basil is a restaurant at 193 Gore Creek Dr, Vail, CO 81657. Sweet Basil, on Gore Creek Drive since 1977: seasonal modern American cooking, a serious bar and private dining for up to 100 in Vail Village. As of October 2026 it is closed for the fall off-season and reopens Thursday, November 12, 2026, for dinner at 5 p.m., per its website; reservations during the closure are through OpenTable.

Last updated

Sweet Basil opened on Gore Creek Drive in June 1977 as a 47-seat restaurant, on a street then considered off the beaten path because it was not Bridge Street. Nearly five decades later it seats about 160, has been recognized by the Michelin Guide every year since 2023, and remains a special-occasion dinner in Vail Village.

It suits a birthday, an anniversary or a long dinner after the last day of skiing. The cooking is modern American and seasonal, the bar and wine list stand on their own, and lunch and an afternoon in-between menu offer a less formal way in.

Owners and kitchen

Kevin Clair founded the restaurant, and in 1993 it became the first in Vail to go completely smoke-free. Matt Morgan, hired as a busboy in 1987, became Clair's managing partner in 1998 and bought him out in 2017. Culinary director Paul Anders and executive chef Will Edwards run the kitchen today, and 43 former employees have gone on to open restaurants of their own.

The menu

The menus change with the seasons. Recent plates run from fried chicken with Kaluga caviar, whipped feta and short rib ramen at lunch to Alaskan halibut, lobster risotto and a Creekstone filet mignon at dinner, and a saffron pasta first served in 1989 has stayed on in some form ever since. In 2024 the restaurant added its first tasting menu, Elegance at Elevation, a set menu with wine pairings for one party a night; the FAQ has the terms.

Drinks and wine

The cocktail list is seasonal, and the wine list covers Champagne, whites such as Chardonnay and Riesling, reds from Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon, and dessert wines. The bar sits at the front, beside a small dining alcove facing the street.

Booking a table

Reservations open a month ahead and are strongly encouraged. Dinner bookings take a refundable deposit per person, parties are capped at ten, and larger groups book a private event. The dress code is smart casual; ski boots come off in winter, and there is a children's menu. Deposits and hours are in the FAQ.

Private dining

A private room at the back seats up to 45 with windows onto Gore Creek, the front room seats 21 beside the bar, a semi-private alcove takes 18, and a full buyout, with decks over the village and the creek, seats 100. It is a natural rehearsal-dinner venue.

Sister restaurant: Mountain Standard

Mountain Standard, the same owners' wood-fired tavern, opened in 2012 on the lower level of the same building at 193 Gore Creek Drive, on the creek side. It is the mountain-casual option, with an 18-seat bar that takes no reservations. Gift cards are valid at both.

Sources: Sweet Basil, history, team, menus, Elegance at Elevation, FAQs, private events. Checked September 23 and 26, 2026.

New American Wine Bars Fine Dining restaurants restaurants/american restaurants/lunch nightlife nightlife/apres-ski restaurants/vail-village

Quick Snapshot

Neighborhood: Vail Village
Cuisine: New American
Service: Lunch • Après • Dinner
Established: 1977
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Business Hours

Closed for the season · Reopens Nov 12

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Mon–TueClosed
3:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Wed–Sun
11:30 AM – 9:00 PM

Amenities at Sweet Basil

  • Full bar
  • Two decks/outdoor seating
  • Children's menu
  • Vegetarian and vegan modifications
  • Coat check
  • Private dining room
  • Front room and alcove event spaces
  • Buyout
  • Gift cards shared with Mountain Standard
  • Elegance at Elevation tasting menu

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hours of Sweet Basil in Vail, and is it open in the off-season?
When open, Sweet Basil serves lunch Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; an in-between (après) menu daily 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.; and dinner 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. daily on the official site's current schedule (this listing previously showed Friday and Saturday dinners to 10:00 p.m.; the restaurant's own site now publishes 9:00 p.m. every night, and its site governs). There is no lunch on Monday or Tuesday. The restaurant closes between seasons, and the closure is the fact diners most need from this page: in fall 2026 it is closed from October 25 and **reopens Thursday, November 12, 2026, for dinner service at 5 p.m.** During the closure no phones are answered; questions go to [email protected] and reservations book on OpenTable. Always check the closure dates before a shoulder-season trip, because listings keep showing normal hours while it is closed. Note that its sister restaurant downstairs, Mountain Standard, reopens a week later (November 19); the two do not share closure dates.
How do I make a reservation at Sweet Basil, and how do deposits work?
Book up to one month ahead, to the date (reservations open at 9 a.m. Mountain Time, 30 days out), online on OpenTable or by calling (970) 476-0125; reservations are strongly encouraged. Dinner requires a $25 per person deposit, refunded if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead or returned on arrival; lunch parties of five or more pay a $10 per person deposit. The maximum party is 10, and several bookings made for one party are treated as separate reservations rather than one table; groups over 10 book as a private event (answer 8). During the fall closure, phones are not answered and OpenTable is the only route. Sweet Basil is at 193 Gore Creek Drive in Vail Village; there is no parking at the restaurant, so use the Vail Village parking structure (free after 3 p.m.), cross the Covered Bridge, and walk about 100 yards up Gore Creek Drive to just past the children's fountain.
What should I order at Sweet Basil?
Start with the Whipped Feta ($20), which the menu itself annotates "the one that started it all!", with Calabrian chili and garlic honey, or the Fried Chicken & Caviar ($23 each) that carries a nod to Mountain Standard in its ranch. The kitchen's lineage dish is the saffron pasta first served in 1989, which has stayed on the menu in some form ever since (currently in the seafood pastas). At lunch, order the Short Rib Ramen ($32) or the Tenderloin Burger ($28); at dinner, the Alaskan Halibut ($65), the Creekstone Filet Mignon ($66), or the Rock Shrimp & Sea Urchin Risotto ($52). Save room for the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake ($16). The full menu is at sweetbasilvail.com/food.
What do reviews say about Sweet Basil?
Reviews are strong and the counts are large. As of October 2026, Google rates Sweet Basil 4.3 out of 5 from 1,120 reviews; OpenTable rates it 4.7 from about 2,946 verified diner reviews. Diners praise the Whipped Feta above all, the steaks and the halibut, the desserts, service that marks birthdays and anniversaries, and the creek-side decks; the recurring criticisms are a lively, sometimes loud room at peak and prices at the top of the Vail range.
Is Sweet Basil a Michelin-starred restaurant?
No, and the real distinction is worth stating precisely. Sweet Basil is a **MICHELIN Guide Recommended** restaurant: the Guide recognized it in Colorado's inaugural guide in fall 2023, again in 2024, when it also took the Guide's exceptional-cocktails award for the state, and it retained its recommendation for 2025. It has never held a Michelin star. Any source calling it "Michelin-starred" (it happens, including in diner reviews) is wrong; "Michelin Guide recommended since 2023" is the correct line.
How much does a meal cost at Sweet Basil?
Lunch bites run $18 to $30 and lunch entrées $28 to $36. At dinner, bites are $18 to $30 and entrées $40 to $66 (Joyce Farm Chicken $40 at the low end, Creekstone Filet Mignon $66 at the top), with desserts $9 to $20. OpenTable's "$50 and over" is an evening figure, not an entrée band: budget roughly $85 to $140 per person for two courses and a glass of wine, before tax and tip. The Elegance at Elevation tasting menu is a separate $375 per person, prepaid.
What is the dress code at Sweet Basil?
Smart casual. The restaurant's own line is that some guests dress up while others select a nice shirt or sweater and jeans. Remove ski boots in winter before dining. A staffed coat check runs nightly in the winter season, and at lunch during the busy two weeks over Christmas; at other times the host will hang your coat unmanned.
Can Sweet Basil host a private event, and how many guests can it take?
Yes, and groups over 10 must book this way, as a private or semi-private event with a deposit and contract. The enclosed Private Dining Room at the back seats up to 45, with windows onto Gore Creek and speeches welcome; the Front Room beside the bar seats up to 21 (no speeches there, and one counter-height table of ten cannot be combined with the others); the semi-private Alcove seats up to 18 at tables of 4 and 6 that cannot be combined; and a full buyout seats up to 100, including two decks overlooking the village and the creek. Booking several ordinary tables separately does not guarantee they will be together or at the same time.
Is Sweet Basil related to Mountain Standard?
Yes. Mountain Standard, the wood-fired tavern opened in 2012, is Sweet Basil's sister restaurant in the same building at 193 Gore Creek Drive: Sweet Basil at street level, Mountain Standard on the lower level on the creek side. The same team runs both (owner Matt Morgan; Paul Anders is culinary director over both; Will Edwards is executive chef over both), the menus nod to each other (Mountain Standard's crab mozzarella sticks are annotated "yep, we got it from sweet basil!"), and **gift cards are joint**: a Sweet Basil/Mountain Standard gift card is valid at either restaurant. Sweet Basil is the polished, special-occasion room; Mountain Standard is the casual, fire-driven one. One practical warning: the sisters keep different seasonal calendars (in fall 2026 Sweet Basil reopens November 12 and Mountain Standard November 19), so never copy dates or hours from one listing to the other.
Is Sweet Basil good for children, and what about dietary needs?
For kids, yes: there is a children's menu for ages 12 and under, and the restaurant asks you to flag booster seats, highchairs or stroller room when booking so the table can be set. The room is lively rather than hushed, so early seatings suit families best. For dietary needs: menus can be modified for vegetarian, vegan and other restrictions; discuss them with your server on arrival. The honest limits matter: no dish on the official menu is labeled gluten-free, and the kitchen states it cannot guarantee against cross-contact with allergens present in the kitchen, so call (970) 476-0125 before booking if an allergy is a hard constraint. One hard exception: the Elegance at Elevation tasting menu can accommodate no dietary restrictions at all. Only ADA-certified service dogs are allowed in the restaurant; mention a service animal when you book.

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