Yummy and spacious! We got seated on their second level overlooking the downstairs level and it was beautiful! Food was delicious! Drinks were pretty pricey but yummy and creative. Despite being on the second level seating, service was very quick and friendly, giving us helpful suggestions. read more

See all

The food is phenomenal. Especially for vegetarians, they make great modifications for us!!!! My favorite was the roti curry appetizer and the pumpkin curry, Also the drinks are phenomens - lychee drinks were GOOOOOD. Def come here! It looked like a upscale warehouse with brick walls and an industrial vibe. The service was super friendly and they accommodated all our requests to substitute items since I am vegan! I came with a large group and they were able to seat us on a thursday night. We had a great time! read more

Basil Canteen - Drunken noodles Pad Ke Mao Roti Parata - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

Service and were awesome. Our server, Juju, was extremely helpful and excellent hospitality! Will be back! read more

See all

Excellent, excellent, excellent!!! I've found my go-to Thai spot. Can't wait to come back. You must give this place a shot!! read more

See all

Came here after realizing that Rintaro isn't the kind of place you walk into without a reservation. There was no line at Basil Canteen, so we were seated right away. Service was fast, and the waiter answered my questions about recommendations very politely and knowledgeably. The drinks were unique and flavorful, especially their take on a Manhattan which had kaffir lime. The veg options were super tasty. Enjoyed the green vegetable curry and the eggplant with fried tofu dish. I was afraid the eggplant with fried tofu would be Chinese-style (more garlicky), which wasn't what I was in the mood for, but actually it was basil-y and hit the spot! Enjoyed the music and ambience, too! Check it out! Not too pricey, either! read more

See all

Cute ambiance and I generally liked everything we got but I'm positively obsessed with the duck pineapple red curry!

Food ok. Service rude. I was having low blood a sugar and wanted to order before the rest of my party arrived and they would not allow me to. read more

My last two run ends at this place has NOT been good. I loved this place and attended it often for work lunch with colleagues. Unfortunately this last time was the icing on the cake. I didn't even eat the food I ordered asked them to take it off the menu since they were not able to get it right. Well done means well done. Slapping more sauce over undercooked meat to be deceptive is wild. Definitely disappointed and won't be going back. read more

This review is long delayed, but Basil Canteen is my favorite Thai place in the city -- at one point I was here at least six times in four months! The staff is always patient (there was one time I went with friends and we ordered drinks and literally every item on the happy hour menu, and they just laughed at us), the food always hits, and the cocktails are always yummy :-) My personal favorite on the menu is the kao soi, the roti + green curry, and the lychee martini. Honorable mentions include the taro fries, garlic green beans, the corn fritters, and the drunken beef (best spicy!!). At some point during covid, they were offering free thai teas with pickup--they even gave us two because they know I was ordering for both my roommate and myself (because we came so often)! I've been out of town and haven't been in a while, but I'm excited to return :-) read more

See all

Really, really solid Thai place! I went with two of my friends for happy hour and we ordered all ten !!!! of their happy hour appetizers (only $5 each !) along with their kang kiow wan roti and a couple drinks. The roti was definitely my favorite dish! The green curry and vegetables really balanced each other. I think I could have eaten an entire one by myself. The appetizers were also pretty good. My three favorites were garlicky green beans which were super flavorful and not too oily, crispy vegetable rolls, and Thai spiced corn fritters which paired well with the peanut cucumber sauce it came with. Overall, v good food and honestly quite a lot of food for how much we spent! Would definitely come back to try their main dishes sometime. read more

Basil Canteen - Green Beans, Fresh Rolls with Shrimp & Vegetables, Crispy Vegetable Rolls, and Thai Spiced Corn Fritters - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

Basil Canteen has hosted a Birthday party for a friend of us. It is a really nice place form the inside and has also a good cocktail list, which for a restaurant is rare and really appreciated. The menu has a small selection of great dishes, all with a little spin. I liked the menu, we had the dishes served family style so everyone could eat a it from all the flavors. Ill have to say that everything was tasty ( my favorite sauce was the one for the duck with Onions and a dark brown soy sauce, my favorite protein was the crispy chicken (comes with green beans). Yes, when you read this you might wonder why I would put it that way. Well it is cause I was not very convinced with the dish I ordered in the beginning. And don't get me wrong - I had the green curry chicken, and if you never had Thai food and like chicken you will love it! All is technically well made.) But if you had such a lot of Thai places in town around you, as we do - ill can honestly say it can't compete. But mixing the dishes up was so yummy! And that is based on that what they serve is tasty and good. It might just be a bit different than the regular Thai. I also had a side of the cucumber salat which was gold and perfect and the chicken popcorns with the delicious dipping sauce also very, very tasty and perfect! I was absolute not fan of the so much anticipated Cornfritters, one spice was overpowering the corn, which for itself normally should left alone! That all said service was great, fast, a great table in a beautiful restaurant with good food. One star is going away, for the dishes not standing out alone (at least for me). PS Sorry we had to make so many picture of the birthday group that my film role on my iPhone was empty, I should have brought another role of good old Kodak film :) read more

Definitely caters to an American palate. Below are a few dishes. Overall - dishes were tasty, but would have loved to see a little adventure in the menu. read more

See all

The cashew chicken is AMAZING , the rice is amazing, and the customer service is amazing

Food was fresh and delicious. The atmosphere was nice. Staff were attentive and quick. I would return.

The pandemic has really put a damper on social activities and venturing out to try new places. So glad we stumbled upon this little gem last weekend! If you didn't know it was there, you would not find it. It's in an old industrial brick building and the entrance at the corner of 11th/Folsom is barely recognizable. Food was absolutely amazing, and you must get the fresh roti! Oh my goodness, fantastic! Our party ordered the lemon grass chicken, mango shrimp, and tofu curry veggie (something or other; I'm not the vegetarian). We also ordered the green papaya salad with sweet chili lime/peanut sauce for the table to share. The service was also prompt and extremely friendly. They definitely made us feel welcome. We are definitely going back read more

See all

What a wonderful Thai place! I'm somewhat picky about Thai food. It can get complicated. Flavors can crash and get messy and therefore taste funky. Basil Canteen did a great job making foods that complimented each other. My favorite was the shrimp and mushroom lemongrass soup. It was tangy and spicy but nothing that couldn't be handled. I was a huge fan of the grilled chicken skewers with the peanut sauce. The smell of the chicken was the true taste of BBQ. Two big thumbs up!!! read more

See all

I suppose I am used to amazing summer rolls filled with mint and more veg. These were so basic and flavorless.

We came for a group lunch and they had long table set up for us with a preset family-style menu with 5 main dishes and 2 appetizers. They had a good amount of vegan/vegetarian selections as well for those who have dietary restrictions. The dishes were all very good - we even had 2 different tofu dishes, stir-fried with different vegetables that came out with very different tastes, which was good as I thought they might've been overly similar. The prawns (kang kua goong) was amazing, a little bit spicy from the red curry sauce, but deliciousss! Skirt steak (praram rong song) was also on par, the chicken curry, while still good, ended up being the most normal of the dishes. Our appetizers included spring rolls and roti - both were delicious. There's also a hearty selection of cocktails/wine/beers as well as non-alcoholic selections, including coffee. You can get your thai tea (or coffee) with coconut milk instead of regular milk too, just ask for it! All in all, really enjoyed the food, the service to take drink orders and serve the small plates of peanuts while we were waiting was just a tad slow at the beginning, but still enjoyed the meal! read more

We lucked out and discovered this place on the first night that they re-opened the indoor dining room. We were the only customers dining inside, so we felt COVID-safe and had the friendly waiter's attention all to ourselves. We started dinner with the Green Papaya Salad (Papaya Pok Pok), Popcorn Chicken, and Garlicky Green Beans appetizer (Tua Kiow). For the mains, we went with Rack of Lamb Curry, Pumpkin Tamarind Red Curry Shrimp (Kang Kua Goong), and Basil Minced Chicken (Gai Gra Prao) with a fried egg added on top. Without exception, the presentation was elegant and the flavors were delightful. By the end of dinner, our plates were licked clean (literally, in my case) and there were no to-go boxes required! The restaurant claims to serve "Bankok-style" fare. I've never been to Thailand [#bucketlist], so I don't know what "authentic" is, but the flavors struck me as catering to the American palette: a little on the sweet and not very spicy. I'm not complaining--they know their audience--however, I do wish we'd tried the Lemongrass Red Curry Salmon (Choo Chee) instead of the Shrimp, only because the pineapple chunks made the already-sweet curry sauce a little TOO sweet for my tastes. All in all, we had a wonderful experience. The service was super and the food surpassed our expectations. Thanks, Basil Canteen! read more

Basil Canteen - Outdoor dining available - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Tasty food and good service + friendly staff I had asked to make my dish spicy but they forgot to make it spicy the first time, and second time it wasn't that spicy Good atmosphere read more

We went for an early dinner. Besides our table there were only three other tables of guests. We decided to order a few appetizers of simple fried dishes. We placed our order for the main course at the same time, along with a round of iced tea. As we were enjoying our appetizers the restaurant slowly filled until all tables were busy. Literally everyone in the restaurant got served their food, except us. After an hour of waiting I decided to approach the waitress at her station, because she avoided us and our empty glasses. She was of course busy, because not only was everyone else served, but they were handing out a lot of take out orders. She then decided to get loud with me and lie and gaslight me that our food would be right out. It took longer because we had appetizers, apparently deep frying some tofu delays your dinner by over an hour, according to the waitress. She simply forgot to put in our order, but started to get loud and snippy with me when I asked her about it. After another 30 minutes and fifteen (!!!) more take our orders, yes I counted, our table finally got served. Except my curry, which took an additional 15 minutes. At least I got to eat while the rest of my party sat with empty plates and glasses, because we were not served more $7 ice teas or even water. The waitress the slams the bill into the table, without any comment or any words at all. The food was not as good as usual, because it was very rushed. I used to live this place, but the staff is a mess and should not be serving anyone! We used to come here frequently, but not anymore. What a mess. Such rude service for overpriced food and drink is unacceptable. Not even a sorry or an acknowledgment for their mistake. There are several other Thai restaurants in the neighborhood, I suggest you go elsewhere. We definitely will! Just nasty! read more

My favorite Thai restaurant in SF! People that work here are very nice! Pad Makeur Yao (eggplant and tofu) and salmon curry are my favorite dish but everything they serve here tastes so good! I usually get full before dessert but their FBI with coconut ice cream is a must to have :) Highly recommended!! read more

See all

Very good Thai food. I ordered the Pad See Ew with chicken and it was great. Nicely cooked and great tasting flavor. Also got Chicken Satay for appetizers + peanut butter sauce, it was delicious. Service was great and the interior vibe is also welcoming, cozy, and comfy. I would definitely come back another time. read more

Basil Canteen - Brussel sprout salad - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

I've gotten takeout from this place a few times now, and the food's always been super fresh and delicious! The employees have always been very friendly, too. I've gotten a few different rice and noodle dishes, and they've always been great. The portions are pretty small for the price though, so if you're just looking for a Thai food fix, I think there are other nearby places you can get the same dishes for a bit cheaper. But you definitely get quality food here for the price! read more

Basil Canteen - two takeout containers of food and a bowl of soup - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

Stopped by here for a happy hour before a show at The Oasis and it was just perfect. Good discounts on cocktails and small plates and they were all delicious. The spring rolls were super refreshing with mint leaves inside and the fritters were crispy and flavourful! All of the sauces were amazing. I wanted more of each one! read more

Quite tasty & spicy Thai food! The shrimp soup and pad thai were both great (and quite large portions) and the Thai iced tea was also tasty.

Came here for a birthday celebration on a Friday night. Seating was easy and they were not very crowded. They have a large space with an upstairs and a downstairs, which was nice, and plenty of wooden tables. We started with a round of appetizers (all priced ~$8.50): the crispy pork wontons were my favorite, and tasted better than most restaurant gyoza appetizers. The popcorn chicken was good as well - very crispy and fried. The taro chips I thought were too thick and chewy. My partner and I shared the pad thai ($13) and the Chinese broccoli with wok-fried crispy pork belly ($14). Both were delicious. The pad thai in particular was one of the better ones that I have had - just the right amount of sweet and savory. The pork belly was good as well, slightly spicy and garlicky, but the ratio of veggies to meat could have been better. For dessert we had the fried banana with coconut ice cream (delicious) and the mango with sticky rice (equally delicious) (both $7.50). The staff were kind enough to light candles in the desserts and sing happy birthday. Overall a little pricey for Thai food but given that it's SF, to be expected. The food was very good. read more

See all

I came here for lunch with a few coworkers and I enjoyed my meal! I ordered the kao soi, which is a noodle dish in coconut curry with crispy noodles, pickled mustard greens, and grilled skirt steak. I really loved it! The curry was flavorful and thick, and stuck to the noodles. The steak was cooked well. And I loved the pickled mustard greens as a contrasting taste to the sweet curry. The portion size was pretty large, and they gave a lot of steak, but I ended up paying $19 for my lunch, which is kinda steep. If they had a lunch menu with smaller items, that'd be great! read more

Basil Canteen - Kao Soi Neur - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

Awesome place for happy hour with great thai appetizers! We ordered the chicken skewers, taro fries, and tapioca balls. All of them were were good especially the tapioca ball. The wrap had a good chewy texture and the filling was a little on the sweet side with peanuts, with no meat. Drinks specials were decent, they have a good variety of cocktails for $7 each and Thai draft beer for $4 each. Would definitely come back to this place for the tapioca balls! read more

See all

First time trying Basil Canteen and it was good. The tapioca dumplings have a interesting texture but have a good filling of pork/nuts. The Japanese eggplant and tofu was good as well. There wasn't much tofu but that's fine. There is an upstairs area but seemed like they were seating everyone downstairs. Decent amount of seating downstairs with a full bar. If you're looking for soups and curries this isn't the place but I heard their sister restaurant have them Service was pretty good with any requests. read more

I loved the dishes here. They're a bit different than the regular Thai places. It's a super cute restaurant in a fun neighborhood. Food: Roti with beef curry - unique and delicious Eggplant with tofu - very good Thai ice cream with coffee - delicious Thai ice tea with roti - delicious read more

A satisfying, hearty meal! Basil Canteen is in a historical, industrial brick building located on the edge of the Mission District. The sign on near the door is pretty small and it honestly doesn't look like a restaurant from the outside so I accidentally walked passed it. I love how they utilized the space. The brick walls and large windows paired beautifully with the wooden tables. We had made a reservation for lunch but the place didn't look too busy when we arrived. Their lunch menu had a good variety of noodle, vegetable, and meat dishes! Most dishes were around $14 to $15. [ Pak Pad Pong Gari ] I was craving some veggies so I went with this vegetable dish! It came with sautéed eggplant, squash, broccoli, asparagus, and jalepeno. The 'ponggari' curry essence was very subtle but gave the veggies a kick of spiciness. I believe the curry also gave the vegetables a greener color. The vegetables were cooked until they were on the softer side, except the asparagus was a little tough. The jasmine rice was aromatic and made the meal pretty filling. read more

The food is a little pricey, but I still enjoyed the quality of my dish. I ordered the Kao Soi from the lunch menu ($16). They put dry egg noodles on top of a curry mixture with beef. Immersed are more egg noodles. The egg noodles add contrasting texture to the dish, and the spiced curry is great! read more

Basil Canteen - Kao soi (egg noodles in a curry with beef). There are dry noodles on the top and soupy noodles immersed in the curry soup. - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

This place is on my very short list of lunch spots and their food never disappoints my palette. I have a few items that I rotate that always make my taste-buds happy. 1) kao man gai tod - the fried chicken is done properly, good taste on the meat of the chicken itself and a very very crispy skin with a delightful sweet dipping sauce. It comes with a very satisfying papaya salad that has the right amount of heat sweetness and fish sauce. Last but definitely not the least is the star of the whole order - the coconut rice... something so simple yet completely finishes the whole plate making this option my top favorite dish to order. 2) kao soi neur - this is my 2nd favorite option. Their curry gravy hits my curry points and they don't skimp on any of the fixings. The noodles are great and the pickle bits you get are a nice surprise in every few bites. They prepare the steak not to be too tough and makes the dish much easier to consume without needing too many utensils. Overall - if you like your curry and your noods -- this is the dish for you! 3) pad se ew - they have one of the best pad se ew that i've ordered. Their noodles are never dry and super tasty with a little smokiness to them. You can't go wrong ordering this for the rice noodle lovers out there. 4) gai gra prao - this sounds so basic but sometimes - simple dishes are all you need! Ground chicken sauteed and flavored with fish sauce, basil and garnished with bell peppers and green eggplants accompanied with rice -- yup -- seems basic but -- I'm always satisfied and have left over whenever I order this. I haven't been much of a yelp review writer - but only recently have I become much more passionate about sharing to a forum that I rely so much on - I used to be just a reader and so this is my first review and check in for Basil Canteen... But I've for sure visited them more 20x in the past 7 years of working in the area. The only reason I knocked one star is because -- it is for sure a luxury lunch to eat here because of the price point consistently slowly rising from $13 plates to $15/$18 per order. Another reason I knocked a star is because - they are not fast service or fast food. One time I came and they were slammed or understaffed -- and I came at 11:50am -- didn't get my food until 12:50pm and only had 5 minutes to scarf down my food. I was really upset --- I think that they need to double up on their staff or kitchen and have everything really prepped because lunch hour is a very busy time at this spot. Other than that - I'd recommend all those dishes and this place -- for lunch -- for dinner or for happy hour! They always serve good tasting food! read more

Basil Canteen - gai gra prao - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Man, I have to say for a restaurant that has great food, the service definitely needs some work! I came with a party of 5 and when we received our bill, a service fee of 18% was tacked onto our bill! This sounds relatively reasonable, but the service was terrible they also taxed us for the tip! What kind of business does this? It's a bit disappointing cause the quality of the food itself was great. I ordered the Pad Thai and also the Panang ribs to share with a friend. The portions were a bit small but I let that slide due to the quality and richness of the good. Once we got that bill though...man...will not be coming back. read more

Basil Canteen - Panang Ribs - Thai Near Me - San Francisco, California

Just ordered delivery from here and after I took my first bite, I immediately regretted trying a new Thai place. Definitely the worst Thai food I've had in the city. The two dishes we ordered had literally 0 flavor like they seemed like NO seasoning was even used. read more

Yummy! Stumbled across this place after a street fair in SOMA. Really good food. I recommend and will be coming back! read more

Came in a group of 9 and we were seated upstairs. It's not very loud up there so good for conversations. Ordered the kang kiow wan roti as an appetizer. It comes with 4 pieces of roti and skirt steak with a side of green curry for dipping, perfect for sharing between 4 people. For the entree, I ordered the kao soi neur per my friend's recommendation. Grilled skirt steak & egg noodles in lime-coconut curry was perfectly flavored and not too salty. This dish was extremely filling because the noodles soak up all the curry and it's a lot of food. Reminded me of a dish I really enjoyed in Thailand and tasted just as authentic. read more

See all

Solid spot! Delicious, friendly, great experience all the time. Would definitely recommend them

This is one of my favorite Thai places in San Francisco, mostly because the curry roti (in the appetizer section) is SO good. Like I actively think about the curry roti at least three times a week. As soon as I arrive in SF, this is the first place I make my sister take me. :-] The pad ke mao (drunken noodles for those who are uncultured hehe just kidding) is beyond good, albeit slightly on the sweet side. Would highly recommend. My sister got the skirt steak salad, which was also pretty good, and her boyfriend ordered a pork dish that I can't remember the name of. It was also pretty good, but if you don't have a lot of buckeroos to spend, I would definitely recommend just ordering the curry roti + the pad ke mao. I am so happy that my sister is still willing to pay for my food even though I've already graduated, because I was also able to get dessert! The fried banana + young coconut ice cream, is so refreshing and the perfect dessert. Thanks for a wonderful meal, Basil Canteen :-) read more

See all