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    Basil Box

    3.8 (197 reviews)

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    BASIL BOX ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Classy
    Casual
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Basil Box

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    Gabriel S.

    This is an Asian wok fry concept. Had rice noodles with lemongrass corn, lemongrass chicken, tamarind sauce & carrots. It was pretty tasty.

    Noodle soup bowl about the size of a drink
    Michael L.

    I generally enjoy the bowls. Noticed they were offering some noodle soup options and decided to give those a try. Really small portions. They use really small shrimps for their tom yum soup. Felt more like a $10 appetizer that didn't fill you up. Might work if you're a really light eater, but would recommend just getting a regular bowl and then spreading it across two meals or something.

    Jennifer W.

    I love basil box may not be your thing if you want large portions. Great as a light meal that leaves you feeling healthy and energized. I always get steak, one of the curry sauces, pickled veggies, variations of the other toppings, and the mango ginger ale soda.

    Tofu basil box with noodles
    Shaan A.

    Mmm basil box...so good, so filling, so....healthy? (Well it can be depending on what you get). Immediately upon walking in you see the take-out style kitchen where veggies and meats are being prepared in the back and a plethora of cooked foods are ready for you to choose. The restaurant ambience is great - very contemporary and clean. You start with your base with choices like salad, rice (jasmine or brown), or noodles. Then you choose your veggies (choose 2), protein (tofu, chicken, or beef), sauce (varying levels of spice), and finally toppings (like crushed peanuts, shallots, peppercorn etc). Opted for a noodle tofu bowl with Penang curry (the spiciest sauce which in my opinion wasn't too bad - though I did need to buy a water). It was so delicious. And very generous serving sizes. I was amazed at how fresh and healthy the food was. Despite being filling it felt light and easy on the stomach. And I love the options for vegetarians! I suppose it's more on the pricey side for a lunch spot, but you may have leftovers for dinner/lunch the next day. I'll definitely be back though just maybe not as often as I'd like. Still deserves 5 stars imo.

    Menu
    Marie D.

    This food was so fresh! We loved our food. Great service too. Ordered tofu pad thai and vegan Curry tofu. Both I would eat again in a heartbeat.

    Janey T.

    The first thing I notice are that the servers are very responsive when you walk in, knowing that people seem to always be in a hurry in the area. The good thing is there's an option between getting your order quickly to leave, or eating in, unlike a lot of other takeout shops that are super tiny. I was taken aback by how modern the design was. Ceiling to floor windows. Very clean. I got so comfortable here to the point of spending around 2.5 hours eating then digesting and lounging around. There were high chairs near the front, couches closer to the wall, and carseats closer to the back. It reminds me of an upscale cafeteria with an assembly line where your box can be made, similar to Chipotle in concept, Freshii in nature of the ingredients with a Thai & Viet twist. The box I built had Base: chilled rice noodles Veggies (2): lemongrass corn, sauteed peppers Protein (1): lemongrass chicken Sauce: tangy tamarind sauce Toppings (unlimited): pickled veggies,crispy shallots, roasted sesame seeds, fresh herbs, sriracha spice pumpkin seeds, fresh thai chilies (I almost died from the spiciness omg..) I was really happy with my creation! I loved the taste of the sesame seeds and the sesame oil in the noodles with the rest of the components in the box. I wish the taste of the lemongrass was a little more prominent but it still was really good! Be prepared to spend over $10 though. It seems like a hefty price for one meal, but if I wasn't keen on finishing it up because it was so delicious, it would've been smarter for me to split it into 2 meals. I really like the mango gingerale and mango coconut rice parfait! After having some time to sit down, I felt really energized from the hearty wholesome meal, but my tongue took awhile to settle down (I don't think I'll challenge myself to chillies anymore). However it was a cold day, and I think the chilies healed me from a possible cold! Knowing that there wasn't any guarantee, I did bloat just a little bit after the meal (the inflamed kind of bloating from a peanut allergy), but had no stomach ache. If you have a more severe allergy to peanuts, I don't think it's worth the risk, since a lot of the items contain it! I kind of want to come back despite my allergy because it's really worth it for the taste (like when you're lactose intolerant but still eat icecream). I love healthy foods like these and the options are so unique!

    Passion fruit and lychee soda $3.75.
    Jennifer P.

    My husband and I had dinner here recently and overall it was pretty good. Staff were super nice and greeted us right away. They asked if we had been there before and we said no, so they explained how things worked. Basically, you choose a base, a protein, 2 vegetables, unlimited toppings and a sauce. The price depends on which protein you choose. I got salad as my base, five-spice beef as my protein, bell peppers and sweet potatoes as my vegetables and for my toppings I got pickled carrots and daikon, Sriracha-spiced pumpkin seeds, fried shallots, and crushed peanuts. I got the tamarind sauce on the side. My bowl was $9.49. I really enjoyed my meal. The ingredients were fresh and blended together well. I'm glad I got the dressing on side, otherwise it would have been way too wet and soggy. I used less than a fourth of what they gave me. The sauces are really watery, but somehow full of flavour! My husband got brown rice, spicy shrimp, bell peppers, lemongrass corn and same toppings as me, minus the shallots. He got the sweet chili heat sauce. His bowl was also $9.49. He liked his meal, but felt it was too spicy, since both his protein and sauce were spicy. We shared a passion fruit lychee soda $3.75. I felt this was overpriced. It didn't have a strong passion fruit or lychee flavour to it. It's made with syrup (I saw them make it). The place is big with a lot of seating. It's very clean as well. Overall, the food was excellent and service was nice. Basil Box is a good option for a quick, inexpensive yet healthy option.

    Nora S.

    Got the shrimp pad thai for lunch as I work from home & I liked it. Good quick option for work lunches or whenever you want a filling meal that's healthy and quick!

    Lemongrass chicken on a salad base with a Penang curry sauce (4.5/5)
    Jasmine L.

    I love these healthy customizable 'fast' food joints. Basil box is no exception! I made a lemongrass chicken box with a salad base. The vegetable ingredients are crisp and fresh, while the lemongrass chicken was well-seasoned. The Penang curry sauce is deliciously flavourful with some heat.

    The take out bag
    Jared R.

    An interesting concept that is tailored to the area. A very well lit, modern space devoted to a "healthy" take on Vietnamese food. You choose either rice or noodles then the protien, the veg and the sauce. I got the shrimp with noddle, edame and sweet potato and medium spice Pros: Edame and Shrimp were quite good and the sauce packed a punch Cons: sweet potato was a bit odd tasting. So we could get into a whole debate about authenticity , especially when there is a Ginger Vietnamese place literally next door, but that misses the point, Basil Box is perfectly fine If you want Faux-Pho. Haha. Couldn't resist, I don't think they offer Pho. Bottom line, it's not really Vietnamese, it's not really Healthy but it's pretty tasty.

    Ian C.

    Basil Box offers fresh, healthy, and delicious VietThai meal that is completely customized to your own pallet. The entire menu is gluten-free and the container is made in a sugarcane fibre material, in which is compostable!!! I always go for the lemongrass corn, sweet potatoes, sweet chili lime sauce, and pickled veggies.

    Rachel L.

    A build-your-own type of restaurant. A choice between noodles or rice for the base, with other choices for protein, toppings, seasoning, and sauce. I recommend the peanut sauce for a mild option. The sweet chili sauce is great for those that want a kick but don't want to be too spicy. There is only one size at roughly $12 a box, which is a little bit over priced for me, but the portion is surprisingly very filling despite it's size. It's a nice place to sit and catch up with friends as it is a seat-yourself restaurant.

    Nadia A.

    Taste good. A nice healthier fast food option. I got half chicken half beef with peanut sauce. The beef and chicken tasted it wasn't too Chewy was just right the peanut sauce however I thought could have been stronger didn't taste it that much

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    3 years ago

    Very quick and was pleasantly surprised. I think it was a tad expensive for what it was, but overall I enjoyed it for a quick lunch.

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    Page 1 of 5

    Basil Box Reviews in Other Languages

    Pho Hung - Bun bo hue

    Pho Hung

    3.2(530 reviews)
    1.5 kmChinatown, Kensington Market, Downtown Core
    $

    I visited on a Friday night at 6:20 PM, and there were plenty of tables available. I had been…read moredebating whether to try this restaurant for a while, and while I'm glad I did, I'll still be going to my favourite Vietnamese spot down the street, Anh Dao. I ordered the bun bo hue, pho, and spring rolls. The bun bo hue tasted more like a spicy pho broth, and the pho reminded me of the broth at the Michelin recommended restaurant on Ossington. Overall, the bun bo hue and spring rolls were just okay, nothing special. The pho was good if you're looking for something simple. They also put a large piece of beef tendon in the pho, which I loved! One thing I didn't like was that the owner seemed to be rushing us to order, which felt a bit off putting. I'd come back for the pho and spring rolls, but I'm not sure about the other dishes.

    This place is always clean, and the food always arrives fast. The staff are very friendly, and the…read morequality of the food has al ways been consistent. This really is soul food when you're feeling sick. My one quarrel with this place is the extremely small wide of their "large soup bowls" this is just terrible. I wish they would just go back to a regular large bowl of soup. This is the smallest "large" pho soup size I've had just about anywhere I've been. Honestly amazing place, but the portion of the soup really really irks me. Also the fried spring rolls are a must try! Incredible every single time.

    Photos
    Pho Hung - Inside

    Inside

    Pho Hung - Bun Bo Hue

    Bun Bo Hue

    Pho Hung - Mmm.. mm. Mmmm...

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    Mmm.. mm. Mmmm...

    Kim Vietnamese Restaurant

    Kim Vietnamese Restaurant

    3.9(55 reviews)
    1.6 kmChinatown, Kensington Market
    $

    They have 5 types of dry noodles with pork tossed with sauce, which is super hard to find as a dish…read more(even if you look for similar dishes in Singaporean, Malaysian, Thai and Cambodian cuisines). The dry noodle dishes under the green column use egg noodles & those under the brown use rice noodles but the toppings & sauce are the same. The most pricey rice noodles are Japanese but otherwise the difference is width. Got the thin egg noodle version in large. It's recommended to add pickled garlic & red vinegar. The soup was pretty tasty with a natural sweetness, 2 springy half fishballs & a large, very fresh shrimp. The sauce was basically oyster sauce but pickled garlic, red vinegar, hoi sin & chili sauce were available to add complexity. The noodles weren't wet but were not dry either. Large was a very big bowl it came with minced pork, thin sliced pork beansprouts & greens. The pickled garlic was good. Also got a shrimp fritter on the side for $2.50. It was big with one tiny shrimp. The juxtaposition was comical but it was cheap. It was not warm but the fritter was crispy & tasty. Unfortunately the shrimp itself was dry & brittle. Service was good, especially for an Asian place.

    How do I keep forgetting this place? They have been around forever, and I mean literally forever…read more Perhaps I overlooked because they don't fall into the usual perception of Viet food, but it's definitely genuinely and authentically, Viet! Right down to the non-white washed clientele. I'd always prefer to dine where the "locals" dine, and being in a multicultural city like Toronto, it's difficult to fine a hidden gem that hasn't been invaded by foreigners (I'm laughing inside because I'm not Viet and am disliking myself for being that invader; however, I can pass for a Viet if I just point to the table I want and the menu item I'd like ). So, please keep this place to yourself as I would hate to line up the next time I come.

    Photos
    Kim Vietnamese Restaurant
    Kim Vietnamese Restaurant
    Kim Vietnamese Restaurant

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    Basil Box - vietnamese - Updated August 2026

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