Something has changed over the past half year or so. The meals still have similar flavors, but they seem somehow less rich and flavorful. The curries also seem to have less actual curry. The meat is less tender and moist. In particular, the duck is now fried/breaded, but not juicy and tender, and tge chicken is almost dry. We've been here several times in the past year and, sadly, each time had left us feeling just slightly disappointed. Still good, but not quite great anymore, at least to us. What happened? read more

Pho Basil - Pad thai with duck, probably, and their delicious crunchy fried pepper flakes in oil. - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Very affordable, but I found the food to be quite average. We came on a Monday afternoon of a snowy long weekend, and the place was packed. We were seated after a short wait, but the line got longer and longer as we ate. The space is super tiny, so don't expect to be seated quickly if you come during a peak meal-time. For an appetizer, we ordered the shrimp and pork summer rolls with peanut sauce, which were bland. Could barely taste the shrimp or pork, and most of the flavor came from the peanut sauce. For mains, we got the tom yum soup and dac biet pho. My tom yum soup was average - the flavor was okay, and it wasn't too spicy, but the tofu was sparse. My friend enjoyed the dak biet but didn't think it was amazing. Overall, the service was friendly, but the servers seemed like they were trying to rush us out at the end of our meal due to the increasing line of people waiting. Would probably not eat here again since there are many other restaurant options in the area. read more

Pho Basil - Dac biet - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Good food Amazing interior Great service Outstanding menu Good prices Fast and clean read more

Best Vietnamese food in Back Bay! This is one of my favorite places to grab food after class. The menu has lots of different options and the pho is always perfect during the cold months. My favorite dish is the chicken pad thai. The service is usually very fast too. The only downside is that there is always a wait because it's so popular and sometimes it can take 30+ minutes. Everything is fairly priced. It is also very conveniently located - right by Hynes Convention Center on the green line. If you want Vietnamese food, this is definitely the place to go! read more

I know it's called pho basil but I've never actually had their pho (friends say it's good though). I come here whenever I'm in town because of their delicious Thai dishes and generous portions. The place isn't too small but not big either. There's been a line every time I've come for dinner on the weekends but totally worth the wait. I wouldn't necessarily recommend driving here but there is street parking available if you're lucky. My go to are the drunken noodles with chicken but you can't go wrong with the pad see ew or grapow/Thai/basil fried rice. Just beware of that chili pepper warning on the menu because the spice is real here. I get my dishes mild and it's still pretty spicy (but in a good way). To start, our group got the fried calamari which was lightly battered and fried to order. It came with a sweet chili sauce and I especially liked the pickled jalapeños that came on the side. We decided to get the kao soi as well and I wish I had discovered it sooner because this has become my newest favorite dish. The Thai curry noodle comes with egg noodles hidden within the rich broth and is topped with crispy breaded chicken and fried noodles. The flavors and textures blended so well and was not too spicy. Overall, great place to grab food that's light on the wallet yet tasty and filling. read more

Pho Basil - Drunken noodles with chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

This place never disappoints! Even with the whole covid 19 situation and having to order my Pho for take out, the food was still absolutely delicious. The broth was super fresh and just simply delicious. read more

See all

Really good Vietnamese/thai food after ages! Tried the soft shell crab for the very first time and I was not disappointed! The basil fish (tilapia) was so fresh and cooked to perfection in a spicy sauce topped with fries basil leaves. All of this yummy food gulped down with some warm sake ...bliss! Fyi: they don't serve the sticky rice with mango in winters coz it's not the right season for sweet mangoes! Got another reason to come back here! read more

Pho Basil - Sweet chilli crab - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Love their basil and rice with fried crispy chicken . Every time I go I get it . Get you some !

Came here just for the Thai takeout so take my review with a grain of salt. I ordered tofu pad Thai and the tofu spring rolls (can't remember if that's what they were called here). Firstly, if you're looking for a huge amount of takeout this is the place to go! My pad Thai lasted for THREE meals it was some enormous. However, I probably wouldn't come back for the Thai here. The spring roll wrap was really thick and especially gummy. It only had plain tofu, iceberg lettuce, rice noodles, and one leaf of basil, so it was very basic and not flavorful. I also was not a fan of this version of peanut dipping sauce. The Pad Thai was decent but had no spice whatsoever, so if you're spice-sensitive you might love it. I might return here for the Vietnamese, which I've heard is great. read more

Pho Basil - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Pho Basil is a staple restaurant for me and many of my friends whenever we're craving pho or thai food. Their food never disappoints, with some of my favorites being the pho dac biet, gra pow fried rice, and drunken noodles. Before covid, they were always packed and I would usually need to wait at least 10 minutes to find a seat, which is a testament to how good their food is. Staff is pretty friendly and service is very satisfactory as well. read more

Pho Basil - Pho tai - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Pho was bland, lacking taste. Bun had mushy noodles, the veggies weren't fresh ( I had to pick out what was ok and toss out a lot), sauce was lacking in flavor. not great. won't order delivery from there again. read more

I've been ordering here for several years now, if you look at my last review this has always been one of my favorite places and I order from them at least once per month. Though when they stopped their own delivery and started delivering with ubereats and other apps, their service has gotten really bad. They almost rarely include any sauces now, ignoring any notes placed on the app - I even sometimes call after I place my order and still they continue ignore any requests - and today for the first time I was given beyond dirty utensils and hair inside the basil bag!!! And to be honest, I'm not going to bother calling them because their servers are beyond rude. They were always rude, I mainly went here for the food and didn't care for the service though now even that quality has gone down and I have no reason to be back here. read more

Pho Basil - Black long hair inside the bag! - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

This place is amazing! Crab Rangoon's are outrageous and dumpling were heaven! My dish was the most delicious! read more

Pho Basil - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I've overlooked this place over the years because it's tucked away in a very student-y part of town... so I mistakenly assumed it was of moderate quality. Recently, I popped in on the spur of the moment and discovered that the food was fantastic! Genuinely spicy, lighter than I'd expected and just overall wonderful. The service was fast and hospitable. I've now eaten here several weeks in a row, haha. read more

Great food. We were there for a late lunch on Sunday. We waited about 10 minutes for a table for 4. We had phở đặc biệt, phở tái, búng bỏ Huề and pad Thai. All 4 dishes were very good. Food came fast. read more

This restaurant could easily be a five-star the PHO was very good not the best I've ever had, but decent. My complaint was when asking a waitress what tendon was she said it was meat. So we tried it and it was fat. Really ruined the situation. read more

Food was good. Good but nothing so special. The place is small for the large crowd of people visiting the place, so the line can build up very quickly. I asked for a solo table and so asked to stand hidle even if some tables were available in the idea that a solo customer can't occupy a 4 people table. I tell you what, those 10 minutes after a 14 hour trip didn't look any fun! Nice place, hopefully they'll get better with their priorities read more

Pho Basil - Seafood madness - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The best Thai restaurant in the area. Pros: Curries Huge Portions MANGO STICKY RICE Cons: Always a wait and hard to get a large table Service can be spotty But did I mention they had Mango Sticky Rice? This is my absolute fav. fav dessert. Just come here and you won't be disappointed. read more

See all

We came here for pho but ended up ordering Thai food here instead. It's a Vietnamese/Thai restaurant with reasonably priced and giant portions. I ordered the drunken noodles with chicken and added the $2 combo which included salad, soup, dumpling, and fried veggie wrap. My cousin got the chicken rice plate. The drunken noodles was super flavorful and included a lot of fresh veggies such as carrots, green beans, and red peppers. It has a bit of spice to it if you enjoy a little spicy. It was a huge portion that I think would be enough for two people. The combo's soup turned out to be pho broth with a bit of rice noodles and green onions. The veggie wrap was a sort of mini samosas. During the lunch hour, it gets crowded and there was a small line forming when we were about to leave. Good thing we came right when it opened at 11:30 am. The restaurant is small but they managed to cram in a lot of tiny tables. Clean establishment and I like how they decorated the walls with picture frames but instead of pictures, they have flowers arranged inside of the frame. read more

Pho Basil - Chicken rice plate (top) and drunken noodles lunch combo (bottom) - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Over the past couple of years I've tried numerous Thai/Viet places here in Boston. Thai Basil is among the top of the restaurants that I've been to. I love there noodle and rice dishes. Whether you are getting pad Thai, drunken noodles, jungle curry or something I can't pronounce, I haven't had a bad meal here yet. The service however isn't up to the same standards as their food. I have on multiple occasions waited an excess of 45mins for food after ordering and the staff isn't attentive. Once, a friend of my had her phone stole from this place. Overall, this is one of the best places in Boston in terms of flavor, value and portions. And if it was on food alone, it would be easily 5 stars. read more

See all

The service was a bit slow, but the food was great! Started off with the curry dumplin, which was amazing ! The cucumber dressing on the side was so addictive. They should bottle it and sell it ! Also orders a Thai iced tea, it was deliciously made. We both ordered noodle dishes, and they came out perfectly. I recommend stopping by if you're in the area, great prices, yummy food. Just be weary of slow service. read more

Pho Basil - Yummy - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I dine in and order take-out from here consistently during the week and I've never had a bad experience. Personally, I prefer Pho Pasteur or Pho Le's pho over Pho Basil's. I feel like it's slightly smaller as well. On the other hand, the portions of the noodle and rice dishes when you dine-in are pretty sizeable and I've usually had to get 1/3 of it packed for home. The pad see you with crispy chicken is so outright satisfying that I could eat it for every meal for a week and not get tired of it. The noodles have just the right amount of char and chew on it and the chicken is moist and crispy. For a reasonable price of around $14-$15 including tip, this is a great value deal. This place does get busy, so plan accordingly! After one meal, you can see why. read more

Pho Basil - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

No better way to warm up on a Boston cold day. Their pho selection is great, and their plates are big and delicious. Quality food, and great quick service. read more

Such a small restaurant but such good food, no wonder the wait time is ridiculously long. Doesn't matter if it's lunch or dinner, it gets crowded. That's why I prefer take-out, order ahead and the food is ready when you pick-up. Also, very hard to find parking in this area. Food-wise, the curries are great but my absolute favorite is the tom yun fried rice. So. So. Good. read more

Every time. EVERY TIME. Everything is good. Pho. Com Chien. Thai curry. Can't go wrong. Biggest problem is the wait.

Such an amazing place for Vietnamese food. Just like the other reviews say, this place is totally worth it. Came in and waited about 15 minutes for a table. The place is a bit small, so better for smaller parties. I ordered the spring rolls and a Tai pho and everything was incredible. We asked for chicken in the spring rolls and the flavor really matched with the rest of the roll. The peanut sauce was so tasty and just the right texture. The pho itself was so delicious! The broth was the perfect amount of flavor, the noodles fresh, and there was a good amount of beef. The portion was also huge, so a great deal for the price! Overall such a good experience, made a good dinner choice~ read more

Pho Basil - Tai pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

Delicious! My favorite Thai restaurant in Boston! Great Pho Ga, curry dishes, and yummy appetizers!

Takeout pad Thai was only noodles I was very disappointed and wish there was more variety in my order.

Can't believe I didn't give this place a review despite it being my favorite pho restaurant in the city. Not much to say but that I am always satisfied after eating here, and it also has my family's stamp of approval. Wait is not that long unless it's the weekend during dinner hours. Get the shrimp fried rice if you can, the portion is big! read more

Sadly, I must lower my rating to two stars after a handful of more visits over the past year. First off, the wait times are usually awful and the staff doesn't do much to make the experience any better. I've been told it would take 15-20 minutes to get seated when it usually took 30-45. Try to avoid this place during peak hours or else you will probably have to wait half an hour minimum. Now that's not why I am leaving a bad review... really, it comes down to the food for me. I've ordered a lot of kinds of plates yet none have been really tasty. What really disappoints me is their pho. The soup doesn't taste nice, light, and fresh as I'd expect, it tastes thickened and unpure... This goes for pho and the other special noodle soups - bo kho, pho sate, bun bo hue.. etc. In addition, I usually order yellow egg noodles and it's almost always overdone! There is nothing worse than soggy noodles for me :(. Not to mention, getting extras always results in sadness... Extra meatballs = one or two extra whole meatballs! I've also had the curry and rice plates, which were pretty solid but nothing special. Onto the drinks... Their Vietnamese coffee can be quite good - you should tell them if you like it more bitter or sweet. The bubble tea is OK but the portion is small and the boba is sometimes hard. In a gist: OK: Fried rice and curry dishes, bubble tea, Vietnamese coffee, most appetizers Bad: Noodle soups, chili oil For unimpressive food and drinks, the prices are high. Cheap for the area? Yes, because Newbury is around the corner.. but not compared to that of other Vietnamese restaurants. And why did they have to go and get rid of the banh xeo?! At this point, I'd rather go to Beantown Pho or opt for another kind of food in the area. read more

My cousin lives in the Back Bay area and recommended we try this place. It's not a very big restaurant, so we did have to wait outside for a little. However, people don't usually linger here after eating their meals, so we didn't wait any longer than 10 minutes. The menu was very basic, but I loved that we could see the several dishes on the menu and also on Yelp. I was craving the drunken noodles, and I'm so glad I got the dish! It does have a little bit of a kick, but it was so good that I continued to eat it so my mouth wouldn't burn so much! The portion size was huge though, so I did take half of it home. I'd definitely come back on my next trip to Boston! read more

TLDR: big menu full of Vietnamese and Thai food and generous portions. We came around 9pm on a Monday and the restaurant was nearly full. Big selection of Vietnamese and Thai food with a menu that spans several pages. Service was attentive and gladly gave us chili oil in addition to the sriracha and hoisin. My pho broth was excellent with plenty of noodles and meat. Similarly the Thai style fried rice was huge and perfect with the chili oil sauce. It was definitely enough for leftovers and will be our meal today. Definitely give this place a shot. read more

So you want some Pho? You want some fresh veggies? Quick service? A more than adequate portion of protein? Actually tender and edible protein? I have found your Pho restaurant in the Back Bay Area of Boston... These are all of my upsides but I will also add that the place was turn tables around quickly and folks were filling the seat just as quickly... They were serving very Vietnamese dishes and hot and fast... I only waited for my Pho like 10min, if even that long... Now the down side... only one size bowl on the Pho so come hungry or you are leaving food on the table... The veggies were fresh and crunchy but mostly bean sprouts, some cilantro and lime wedges... so if you missing some jalapeño or anything else you may have to ask... I normally only rate a restaurant after I have been there at ;east twice but as this was a business trip and it was delicious, I had to post... By-the-by, I went to another Pho restaurant the next night, they are neck and neck... read more

Excellent first visit ! Food was fantastic. We will definitely be back soon to try other dishes. Great menu choices !

I think a place deserves 5 stars if I'm flying in from a different city and go out of my way to revisit. I came here specifically for the Kao Soi! Kao Soi here is delicious in my opinion. It contains crispy egg noodles and crispy chicken encased with a nice rich and flavorful curry broth! My second time here, my second time ordering that dish, my first time writing a review for this place. I do have to say that the parking is kind of a nightmare but not too too bad at non-rush hour times. You can park on the street or if you turn on Haviland street there's a parking garage that you can park at without having to drive around in circles trying to find a parking spot. Both times I've been lucky to find street parking so that must mean that people come and go quite often on the street. read more

See all

i would die for their pho tai i can eat it everyday and be happy i love you guys. servers are also always so sweet

Decent Viet joint right on Mass. Ave between Berkkee and NU. Had house bun (pork, shrimp, spring roll), but they were out of shrimp and refused to provide extra meat or roll to make up for it. otherwise a very good dish. Mango shake was okay but not real flavorful. Very busy but fast service. Good choice if you're in area. read more

Pho Basil - Mango shake with tapioca bubbles. - Vietnamese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This place still SLAPS!!!!! Since opening it has literally never let me down. Hands down the best restaurant in Boston. I love this place.

Three highlights: (+) gluten free menu, (+/-) large portions and (+) low prices. The lunch menu seems insane: if you were to get the combo (add $2), you get a small salad, a potsticker and a soup and some assorted sauces and extras. The issue is that the portions are already huge. I got the chicken pad Thai, and honestly the portion was about 3-5x too big. I can't imagine adding more food, even if it is just $2. Overall the pad Thai lacked any real substantive flavor. Sure it was fresh and delicious for what it was. No real complaint or praise. I appreciated the gluten free option here, but really regret not getting the Pho instead. read more

I just left and did enjoy the pho until I went to the bathroom and saw a rat. Mind you the waitress had just cleaned the bathroom, I know I was the next in . I informed them of what I saw and no one cared...it was like a typically day with a rat. DONT EAT HERE! read more