Press and Reviews

When it comes to pizza, it’s hard to top Sweet Basil in Westlake

“Not bad for an Irishman, eh?” says Dan Joyce, owner of Sweet Basil at 26235 Center Ridge Road in Westlake.

Indeed.

Joyce may come from Irish stock, but you would never know it tasting the pizza produced in the kitchen at his restaurant.

Joyce, an unbridled pizza enthusiast, was working in pharmaceuticals when he returned to the Cleveland area from the East Coast.

“I opened it (Sweet Basil) because you could call me a notorious pizza snob. No one was making pizza the way it was supposed to be, the old way,” Joyce said.

So he took the spaces of a former dry cleaner and karate studio, overhauled and combined them, and opened his boutique pizza parlor in February.

The restaurant has an airy feel. The kitchen is open and diners can watch the staff toss the house-made dough in the air to form the foundation of some noteworthy pies. The stainless steel hardware in the kitchen is spotless.

Joyce takes pride in his ingredients, too. He starts his sauce with crushed tomatoes, not tomato paste. He roasts all his veggies so they keep their flavor in the oven.

He also makes his own balsamic salad dressing using no less than 22 ingredients. It’s the only dressing on the menu, and it is a bold one at that.

“I do one thing, and I do it right,” Joyce says.

Indeed.

Sweet Basil’s menu has three categories: salads, calzones and pizzas.

There are two options for salad: a house salad ($4) and a create-your-own salad ($5, 75 cents per topping) with a selection of 20 toppings. The later option provides a starter salad for at least three people.
Calzones are $7, plus $1.50 for grilled chicken and $1 for each additional ingredient.

When it comes to pizza, diners can build their own or choose from 13 specialty pizzas. Pizzas are available as 12-inch or 18-inch pies. Joyce bakes all his pies on stones in deck ovens.

Diners who prefer to build their own pies can choose from about 28 toppings, depending on the season. The stand-byes are available as are more interesting options like eggplant and snow peas.
Build-your-own pies are $12 for an 18-inch and $8 for a 12-inch. Toppings are $2.25 and $1.50 respectively. Deep dish pizzas are available, too.

Specialty pizzas include the Neapolitan ($18/$12) with crushed tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, grated Romano and fresh mozzarella. The Special ($20/$15) comes with sausage, ground sirloin, bacon, onion, pepper, garlic, mushrooms, olives, Romano and mozzarella.

Joyce said one of the more popular options was the Queen Margarite ($18/$12). It comes with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, garlic, and sliced plum tomatoes. It’s understandable why. On a recent visit, the tomatoes on this pizza tasted like it was still peak tomato season, fresh and acidic and just delicious with the basic and garlic.

I was skeptical of the eggplant parmesan pizza ($18/$12) with tomato sauce, breaded eggplant and ricotta. This turned out to be a winner, though. While the crust was a little soft in the middle, the flavors were wonderful, so closely approximating real eggplant parmesan that it was a little startling at first.

Joyce continues to experiment. He is working on a gyro pizza and French onion pie, which is about to make it to the menu.

It should come as no surprise.

“I love pizza. I could eat it seven days a week. It never gets boring to me,” he said.