We've driven by this place for years and stopped in tonight for the first time. The restaurant is…read morevery cute and clean. The service was quick, and friendly and we got a table for 3 immediately. The food was amazing. We got the pineapple fried rice, chicken satay, chicken pad Thai and Tom kha soup. Every dish that came we were even more impressed with than the last!! This will definitely be one of our go to restaurants moving forward!

We are visiting first time after re model and ownership change, interior is nicely done with great…read moreflooring to to ceiling, take a look at pictures with new prefix. We ordered Tom kha soup first and we forget to convey that we want to make it spicy, but later when we conveyed it was too late and they gave hot sauces to mix but, they don't taste great if you add spice later. As we had ordered a large size they brough it with a heating lamp to keep the soup warm till you finish. One mishap that happened was when I refilled my soup by leaning forward I toppled the whole thing becauce, the chair was not resting properly with all the legs, ruined the whole experience. But the service was good, they cleaned up and also replenished the soup. Soup itself was ok nothing elevated. Eggplant salad, which has Fried eggplant tossed in a flavorful Thai dressing, basil, cilantro, carrot, tomatoes, mushrooms, and crispy fried onions., eventhough we diligently ordered to be made spicy, they did not and latter brought some chopped thai chillies. But it did not help and not tasting great and the oily eggplants ruined the salad. Overall it was not great experience

I Really Love Thai Food and have eaten at most of the Thai restaurants in and around the Santa Cruz…read morearea and that's why I say that Thai Basil (in Capitola) is by far the Best Thai restaurant I've ever eaten at and is probably one of the Best restaurants in Santa Cruz, period! Sure there are good Thai restaurants in Santa Cruz but they are what you would expect at any decent Thai eatery...But Thai Basil Is So Much Better than those other Thai restaurants! Rather small and unassuming, Thai Basil takes the normal Thai dishes and bumps them up several notches, serving you cuisine that is different from what you've gotten used to, from other Thai places! All of their dishes are unique, as they are so delicious and fresh, tasting like you're eating at a Thai home, rather than a restaurant! And in a way, you are. Thai Basil is a Family Run business that serves family recipes, as opposed to traditional restaurant dishes. Each dish looks and tastes different from what you might expect. The sauces explode with flavors of fresh herbs, spices and freshness that only comes from a family's favorite home recipes, cooked and prepared traditionally! Thai Basil is so definitely a "family affair"! Mom & Dad prepare the meals, (from their own recipes) while their daughter and son wait on tables. The more I went to this cafe, it became obvious that this was becoming a Capitola favorite too! You will see many locals eating here, store owners, city workers and law enforcement officers, filling up on the amazing Thai family food! So, my recommendation is that you get over to Thai Basil and eat like you're part of the family!

My cousin and family were visiting from Jalisco Mexico. They never had Thai food, and were nervous…read morewhen I describe the dishes we were going to eat, but once they had the first bite all I hear was mm, mmmm, mm..they also really like the Thai tea. We sat out side cause we had our fur baby Hero in his stroller. It was so hot, but luckily we were able to get roller shades to keep cool. My daughter doesn't eat any meat and this restaurant had veggie dishes. The service was awesome, and the food was 10/10! This restaurant made it possible for my cousins family to now be open to trying new food dishes

Ambience is their top selling point. This review is for the lunch specials. Fast service, soup came…read moreout quickly. Food was good. Loved the fried rice.

We had an amazing lunch at Bangkok West. We visited while driving on the way from NorCal to LA…read more The interior of the restaurant and small garden are beautiful and transport you to Thailand. The service is warm and friendly and the food was all delicious. We started with the salad which had fresh shrimp and chicken, followed by the seafood coconut milk soup with perfect flavoring. We also got the pineapple fried rice, tofu pad see ew, salmon and duck - every dish had a generous amount of veggies and protein. If you love Thai food or want to try it out - this is definitely the place to go!

So worth the wait. I have lived in town for a couple years now, but I've been waiting for a special…read moreoccasion to justify this splurge, and I am so happy I made it before they moved out of Bad Animal! The food was amazing, the vibe was fun, and the service was friendly and hospitable :) Seriously, can't wait to go again (hopefully at the new location!). Got the fried tofu for an app ( it was so good!), and the clams and green curry shrimp for mains (also delicious!).

Best thai in santa cruz hands down. Happened to come by this place on yelp and I'm so glad we gave…read moreit a shot. I have a lot of experience cooking/eating thai food and the dishes here were both unique and authentic in flavor. This is a surprisingly sophisticated culinary experience to find in this city and I'll be back every time I visit! The bookstore ambience and natural wine bar definitely the cherry on top that makes this experience even more special. Try it-- you won't regret it.

This is just a placeholder until I sit down and write an actual review. If I don't do this I'll…read morenever write the review. This is the best Thai place I've ever been to and the service is amazing.

Had dinner here with my son…read more.. Pros- we were seated pretty fast. There's a parking lot, shared, but still a big lot. They didn't skimp on shrimp for the Phad Thai, 6 decent sized shrimp in the dish. Service was fine. Cons- food was ok. Curry was one color, sauce and ingredients... normally there's carrots in yellow curry, so it's not one dimension, not here. Yellow curry was, yellow! Taste wise, it was the best dish, but I missed the carrots. The grilled beef salad had extremely overcooked beef in it, that was a bummer. Will try other Thai places in Santa Cruz... don't believe we will come back.

Amazing great ambience. The food was super good. Definitely recommend going here. The service was…read moresuper good as well.

Tasty tom yum with shrimp! Also very good yellow curry. Everything tastes good and feels like local…read morethai food

The service is amazing here. Our server was sooo sweet and welcoming. We got the pad Thai with…read morecrispy chicken, the black mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream, mango salad, roti, yellow curry and some Thai tea drinks. EVERYTHING tasted SOOO good!! Definitely coming back here. The restaurant has some seats by a window that gives u a beach view.

We came to Capitola to celebrate a milestone and randomly chose this place. It was the best…read moredecision we made. The food is DELICIOUS, staff were attentive, and the ambiance is very friendly. We asked for recommendations on food and genuinely everything was as good as it looked. We had the Mango salad, Crispy Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, side of roti, and the Mango Sticky Rice. Everything tasted fresh and that it was made with love. Also they make delicious home made ice cream and it's dairy free! Upon talking with our server about the restaurant, she stated that they had been opened for about a year and that it was a family owned restaurant. With that being said if you like to support local businesses, this is your spot!

Tommy and Jason are both great. Food is consistently…read moredelicious, generous portions always arrive hot and quickly. Chicken quality is high in the kung pao chicken, tender and just the right amount of flour in the coating. Vegetables are also high quality (green beans with eggplant is my favorite). Hot & Sour soup is delicious with the new Chef. Jasmine rice - cup piled high with it, light and fluffy. Worth every penny. Highly recommend.

The clear broth noodle soup was the standout -- clean, well-balanced, and worth returning for on…read moreits own. Unfortunately the rest of the meal was uneven. The pork dumplings were disappointing: the meat filling was noticeably chewy, more like overworked filler than a well-rested pork mix. The beef wrap leaned too salty, overshadowing whatever char and tenderness the beef itself had going for it. Service is where the visit really lost points. When we mentioned the dumpling texture to a staff member, the response was a flat "I'll let the chef know" -- no offer to remake it, comp it, or even a real apology. Later, when we asked for scissors to cut noodles for our kids, the same staff member turned notably curt, claiming they didn't have any -- a strange gap for a noodle restaurant, and a sharp contrast to how warmly he'd just been chatting with the table next to us. Good food doesn't fully make up for feeling like an afterthought. I'd go back for the noodle soup, but I'd keep expectations modest on the rest -- both kitchen and front-of-house.