The food was some of the best thai/laotian food I've ever had. The green papaya salad (larb) was very refreshing and doused in fish sauce. The grilled chicken dish and duck inside the curry were both very tender. All the flavors were very strong and the spice levels were perfect. The restaurant decor was eye catching (lots of gold and plants). Food came out quick and our waiter was very helpful at answering questions. read more

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This place is definitely a bang for your buck! Quality Thai food for a very reasonable price and big portions. Three dishes for two people and we were stuffed and had plenty of leftovers. My only regret was we didn't have room for the fried ice cream, which is also a huge portion. Make sure to either make a reservation or arrive early because it will be packed. The staff is super no frills and efficient. But I don't expect overly friendly service at an Asian establishment. The atmosphere is lively and a bit rowdy, possibly because right outside is the hotel bar area. It's also good for big groups. Would definitely come back if I'm in Sydney again. read more

Holy Basil - Duck curry - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

delicious food, excellent service & the best ambiance. The restaurant's decorated very tastefully, perfect for a Thai & Laos style. Will visit again! read more

In a city where Thai (in this case Thai/Laos) restaurants are a dime a dozen Holy Basil is a stand out. I've had quite a few dishes here over the years and have come to expect rich flavours, good sized meals, great value and a lively atmosphere without any pretentiousness. The menu has so many dishes it may be hard to decide what to try however my favourites are the delicious soft shell crab and the green curry which is generous and thick. After reading other reviews I'll be trying the fried ice cream next time! Unassumingly located at the back of the Shark Bar the restaurant area is spacious and tastefully decorated. We had to wait for a table on a Friday night which was fine (I'm not surprised the word has gotten out about this place). I did notice that most people in the actual Shark Bar area were also eating. read more

Holy Basil - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Nice Thai restaurant at the Shark hotel. Despite some reviews saying this place is a little tricky to find, it's actually pretty visible once you're actually in the Shark hotel - located just next to the bar area. When in doubt, follow the smell. The food is quite nice, better than average and comes in generous portions for a decent price. You can often judge a Thai place by their basic Thai fried rice, and Holy Basil does the job quite well. The penang curry was a little too sweet for my taste, especially compared to most other places, but it was still good. The service was prompt, if a little perfunctory. Dishes were just put on the other side of the table without care for where they go. Given that it was just a few minutes after opening and that the waitresses were happily chatting away, a little more care and attention would've been welcome. All things aside, Holy Basil is a nice place that can also cater for large groups with its enormous centre benches, while having plenty of comfy booth seating too. If you ever get bored, just count the Buddhas - it'll keep you occupied for quite some time. ;) read more

Holy Basil - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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Excellent!! Went out for a celebratory dinner while in Sydney and loved Holy Basil. The entrance off Liverpool wasn't obvious (it's up a flight of stairs and past another lounge), but was worth the extra effort to find. Service was fast and attentive. Prices were very reasonable given the downtown location and quality of the food! Spring rolls, chicken skewers, and panang curry were all delicious - wish I had room for more! read more

Holy Basil - Panang curry - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Holy ........basil. Laotian food was on Food Safari and I saw a restaurant that is fully twenty seconds from work that I had never even heard of. Had to go. Its in the Shark Hotel, last time I went there was years ago - when there was actually a shark in the middle of the place. Pretty cruel I thought, especially when I heard it was about the third one cos they kept dying. Sorry, got distracted again. This place is good, I had a seafood Vermicelli salad. Not knock your socks off but good. Pretty straightforward herbs and leaves, and no holy basil? Shortgrain, Phamish and Spice I Am could teach these guys about finding Herbs and flavours that kick a dish up a notch. But its well worth trying and its good value. read more

Holy Basil - Holy Mutha of Basil - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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The staff here are super friendly! The food is amazing and such a wide range of selection all at a very competitive price. The laksa is amazing. Will defiantly be returning! read more

Holy Basil - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

So good my husband and I visited twice on our honeymoon trip in Sydney. We got the: 1. soft shell crab - very flavorful and crispy 2. panang chicken curry - you have to buy rice separately. 3. Roast pork belly in Chili & garlic sauce - so yummy 4. fried ice cream - just get it. you wont regret it. even if you're full. get it. Their portions are big. It is located inside the shark hotel. Definitely worth it. We had a short wait each time. it gets pretty busy. read more

Waited an extra 20 mins for our table, but considering it's a Friday and we had a booking for 20 people, it was understandable. Spring rolls - pretty average, the main flavour we found was cabbage. I'd avoid it in the future. Satay chicken sticks - were really juicy and tender with a great amount of satay sauce. Pork belly in garlic sauce - crunchy, crispy yet soft. Beans were really crunchy. One of our favourites of the night Soft shell crab - crunchy, salty, light batter. It was a generous serve and probably our favourite dish of the night. Duck curry - succulent & tender duck, creamy sauce, pretty nice overall. read more

Holy Basil - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Does anyone come here and not get the fried ice cream? Always leave room for fried ice cream! Other dishes are also done well here! I like how you can choose to increase or lower the chilli scale. The smoothies...try a lychee and strawberry! Oh, be sure to bring enough cash though, they have a 2% surcharge for eftpos, visa and MasterCard, and 3% for amex. read more

Only came here for dessert but would come again for the full experience. Had the fried ice cream that comes in a large portion, toasted coconut & peanut side, & overall doesn't feel fried nor heavy; sticky rice with mango, & sticky rice with durian. The sticky brice with durian can be skipped, even for a durian lover like myself. Durian didn't taste that fresh. Would have been better if it was cold to have a hot/cold mix. Very pricey desserts at $14-17 each but worth it for the serving size. Each plate is good to share between 2 people. Decor is on par, & the kitchen is open so everyone can see what the pros are doing behind the counter. Lovely lanterns & upscale feel. Good for groups & a dinner date. Would not guess this place is as nice as it is front the street. read more

Decent pad thai and panang curry. Awful grilled beef - the meat was rubbery and tasted off. The fried ice cream filo was out-of-this-world delicious. If I come here again it will probably just be for the fried ice cream. read more

The best Thai food in Sydney! Excellent service and the food is SUPER SUPER TASTY!!! Everything here is just delicious!!! I live in the USA now but every time I visit home, this is one spot I come to, especially for their fried ice cream !! MOST AMAZING DESSERT! read more

If you can't find the restaurant, walk up the Shark Hotel and keep going until you see it at the end of the bar! Weird placement aside, Holy Basil is an outstanding hotel, serving Thai and Laotian food. The Laos sausages were extremely yum and the durian smoothie was ace. The Thai salad was perfect too. Wait staff were a bit absent but it didn't detract from the food at all. read more

Came here for dinner one night with friends. The Thai food was really nice, and great for sharing. The service was not great, as they gave us a table that was too small and cramped for our group and we had to combine a couple together ourselves. However, this restaurant has great value as you can have a good meal at a relatively low price. read more

The holy basil rice was delish and my friend got egg rolls and chicken which she said were good too..now the fried ice cream was the absolute final highlight of the meal...it was absolutely delicious. Service and price both were good! read more

Holy Basil - Holy basil rice - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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I had the WORST experience I have ever had with any restaurant, period. Don't risk coming here, they might ruin your date, family dinner or friendship outing. As a foodie, I have never been so outraged by a restaurant before. The food did not come out particularly fast and we waited almost an hour for most of the food to arrive. But, the worst thing was that two dishes that we had ordered NEVER CAME. I know that this mistake happens often at most restaurants where the waiter forgot/misheard but at Holy Basil, the waitress mislead us into thinking that we did not order those two dishes, so we ordered them again because THEY NEVER CAME. Usually this is no problem. BUT when we finished the meal and were presented with the bill, Holy Basil had doubled up on our order, charging us for the original two dishes that never arrived PLUS the two same ones that did - charging us an extra $35. Again, this is a common issue that can be fixed easily with most restaurants, but the waitress then tried to change her story saying that she meant that all the dishes for our table have already come out. The manager then started (practically) accusing us of lying, being dodgy, suspicious and trying to "get free food" from them. She kept insisting that her chefs would never make any mistake and if they crossed something off from the order, it must mean that they sent the food out to the table, hence we MUST be wrong. She called it suspicious and dodgy that we didn't realise that we had been overcharged, BUT HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW UNTIL WE GET THE BILL?!. It was the worst experience and completely ruined the night for our group (we had caught up for the first time after almost 6 months!) - I had to argue with them for over an hour, them insisting that they are right and we must have "forgotten" that we ate the dish (which is utterly impossible and all 10 of us have eyes and brains) or simply lied to try to get free food. It was utterly humiliating and insulting. They called it "unfair" that we did not want to pay for the food THAT WE NEVER RECEIVED. Well I'm pretty sure that it's more unfair for us, this is practically stealing from customers. They refused to look at CCTV or even consider the possibility that one of their staff made an honest mistake. I'm 100% sure that all staff are prone to making an honest mistake here and there (i've worked in restaurants and takeout before), it's a part of life but to be accused of lying and being dishonest was utterly shocking and unbelievable. I would never ever go there again, and I would never recommend this place - don't risk ruining your night. The food is not even that good, far too salty and the fried ice-cream is pretty average for fried ice-cream. Most Thai restaurants make it to that level read more

Great Thai food and my favourite is the duck stir fry which is very sweet. The vegetables are not cut well so you will be dealing with large pieces. The pork belly was not so nice and they don't include many pieces. It had a funny flavour - some spice which I didn't like. The pad kee mao was ok but slightly spicy and the pad Thai was ok but very thin noodles and not a lot of vegetables. The deep fried ice cream is very nice with coconut and syrup. They sing a song and make a lot of noise for birthdays so be warned if you don't like noise. They have a water feature which leaks water so be careful. read more

Holy Basil - Deep Fried Ice Cream - Thai Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Great food, great atmosphere. My go to place. Tried a lot of places nothing comes close to Holy Basil. I just Love Love Love this place! Deep fried ice cream is to die for. I've brought friends here and they also love it and bring their friends and family too. read more

The food was really delicious. The reason for only 4 out of 5 stars had to do with witnessing the cooks(?) in the open kitchen eating while while preparing food. One person, who appeared to be mopping up without gloved hands, on 5 occasions in the space of 5 minutes put something in his mouth from the prep area. Also, one cook with gloved hands ate something from the same area, both using hands to mouth - no utensils. I stopped watching at that point. Granted, I couldn't see their set up, but it did not inspire confidence in sanitation watching them eat while possibly handling food for patrons. Despite that, we would return. read more

Poor service and ok food. When seated, it took several minutes to have our drink order taken and the waitress acted as if she didn't want to take our order and was annoyed when we asked to see a drink menu that was provided to every other table surrounding us. She did not return and another waitress was sent to service the table. I would recommend one of the other nearby restaurants that will provide you with good service. read more

The fried ice cream is unbelievable delicious!!!

Came here by recommendations from a lot of people who around CBD. With the awesome cold weather we have been having in Sydney, pardon my craving for some spicy food! So I go with the Vegetarian Pad Thai and asked for it to be spicy. They messed the dish pretty bad, it was as if someone had boiled noodles and mixed it in some chilli sauce and threw in a few vegetables. I understand if you can't customize orders, just say so. Hubby ordered the Holy Basil fried rice which was good. I don't think I would ever go back there again given a choice. read more

Lovely food. Highly recommended. The only knock against Holy Basil is that it's a bit expensive for what it is, but that's Sydney for you!

Great Thai food! Restaurant really used all the proper ingredients. Portions are quite large too - maybe even too large. But all in all good Thai food read more

Dinner at Holy Basil was the worst experience ever. The service was extremely dreadful, and I'll give you a couple examples of what I mean. The most significant issue was the overcharging of the bill! They didn't even get our order right and we were forced to pay extra for food they claimed we had ordered but hadn't - can you imagine a restaurant adding more things onto your bill and you needing to pay for food you didn't even eat?! When you try to discuss the issue with them, they are completely unreasonable, rude and utterly disregard anything you say. The waiters all spoke poor english so you have to ask for everything multiple times. For our group of 13, the waiter only gave us 1 jug of water enough for filling about 4 glasses, meaning we had to constantly ask for more water throughout dinner as they failed to refill it or give us more jugs. The service here will leave you feeling sick in your stomach, it doesn't even matter that the food is only average. Never coming here again, and if you want to have a good night, don't even consider this place - it's not even worthy of being called a restaurant. read more