Best Thai food cash only small inside only husband and wife working very sweet people incredibly fresh and lots of fresh ingredients have never had a bad dish love the eggplant dish and dumplings go here you will not be disappointed closed Wednesday and sometimes early call first read more

Thai Basil.... the hidden gem in the charming Capitola village. Definitely the best Thai food in town. If I'm dining in I love to sit outside on the patio and people watch. I usually start with their delicious fresh spring rolls and sa-tay chicken with and a nice carafe of sake. For my main course I always get the see-ew noodles with tofu, extra veggies and a side of peanut sauce to pour all over noodles. I'm getting hungry writing this!! You can also order take out which is equally as delicious. The hours are a little all over the place so make sure to call ahead of time see if they're open ! All in all great service , phenomenal food and a delightful atmosphere! read more

The food was ok. The red curry was kinda thick and the laap sauce was too sweet. Also the only option of meat I had was chicken. :( The service was attentive BUT felt very rushy. The place was charming. We got sat next to the window. read more

I am a vegetarian and I totally love this place... okay, it has a few downsides, but the food is not one of them, imho! I love, love, love the lunch specials, and dinner specials. Coconut soup, yellow or green curries, fresh spring rolls are all delightful, fresh and perfectly prepared, for my taste. Other than Bangkok West ( a totally different experience) this is my fav. in this area. It has always has fast service, and is perfect for that lunch break or quick dinner. My service has always been quite quick and great! The downsides... well, the ambiance could use a little help... it's drafty by the door, and small and you CAN see the products over on the shelves, plus you have to walk through the kitchen to use the little bathroom.. but for that nice fresh food and low prices, I'll put up with it all. Aaaannddd, yes, the owner lady is none too friendly but luckily I have had no run ins with her... just your basic service... and I generally don't look to restaurant staff for personal interaction anyway! read more

Before Thai Basil I was never a big fan of Thai food. Then my girlfriend and I tried this place! We fell in love with it! The food is Great! I recommend the Spicy Noodle! We go there at least once a week now. Thai Basil is by far the best Thai food restaurant I have ever been to! I would defiantly recommend Thai basil to anyone, which I have already started! I love that its a family owned small restaurant. The Waitress is super nice as well as the cook and the rest of the guys there. Ive read some of these other reviews and the one about the service got me pissed! We have been there when it has been busy, its hard to run 9 to 10 tables at once on your own. Would like you to try that and not get stressed out. Being the only waitress she does an amazing job! Thai Basil! You are wonderful, don't change! read more

Got the see-ew noodles with vegetarian mock and palm juice. I had never had palm juice before and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted like clear, liquidized tamale corn (in the best way possible) and you should definitely try it. The noodle dish was a 10/10; the mock was delicious and so was everything else. They will ask you to give a number 1-5 on how much spice you want in your dish. I don't like spicy food, but I wanted a little heat, so I got a 2. A 2 is quite hot (would be considered spicy by almost everyone) and I didn't mind but others in my party asked to get their '2' diluted. The food was excellent but watch out for the spice of that bothers you. read more

Great food if a little on the spicy side even with a smaller grade (1 to 5 which the ask when you order). We always order there when we spend the day on the beach. read more

I have been eating here since 2004, best Thai food and service in town.

I want to give this place 5 stars for the food and fast, good service! BUT if I could I'd give this place a -1 Star for ONLY ACCEPTING CASH and another -1 Star for the worst location to find parking. read more

Wow...I have never had such a terrible experience in a restaurant..ever. First off -Cash only (even though it says they accept card) -No outdoor seating -No takeout -No manners I came to this place after it was recommended by a friend. We get told from the beginning no takeout and no cash. We stayed because we drove to capitola and were hungry. While we wait for our food, 2 people walk in and out with food. We then asked if we could get our food to go and were declined. We sit back down and the waitress insists that the restaurant is not a fast food place and that if we wanted our food, we would have to wait. AGAIN, we tell her we are okay with this. Literally 5 minutes later she comes up to us and says that she cannot process our order (after having waited 30 min). Her reasoning? "This isn't a fast food place, we cannot work with pressure, and we simply cannot serve your party. You people should just leave and there is the door." I am still in shock. The waitress was rude, racist, and simply the worst. Please refrain from ever coming here. There is literally another thai place down the street. This was a terrible first and last experience. I AM NEVER COMING BACK. read more

Had been really looking forward to trying Thai Basil after reading their reviews on Yelp. We had a great experience from start to finish! We went for the lunch specials which come with a cup of the soup of the day. The soup of the day was a simple flavorful broth with vegetables, but the perfect start to our meal on a cool day. Next we had some veggie spring rolls (fresh- not fried) they were good, but we probably would not get them again, as we have had better elsewhere in town. Hubby went for the double chicken pad thai...with large noodles in place of the thin noodles...he LOVED it...THE BEST pad thai he has ever had & that is all he ever orders when we go to Thai food...for his whole life. I went for the mussamun curry with vegetables and it was absolutely delicious. The coconut peanut curry sauce was awesome and the mix of vegetables was nice. I loved the accent of pineapple and cashews. The service was prompt and polite...We will definitely come back here often! read more

Thai Basil - Newly renovated interior - Thai Near Me - Capitola, California

This restaurant automatically ads a 15% gratuity for takeout and doesn't tell you. When you go to pay, if you select 15% tip you're actually paying 30%. read more

Been going here for years and years now. My favorite Thai restaurant in all of Santa Cruz for spicy Pad thai and everything else. A lovely, welcoming and honest couple run the place, sometimes maybe the grandma or another pitch in, but with the economy its just mostly just them now. They work hard to bring you authentic thai food, even if its only them trying to cook/serve/clean on a busy night. (be good to them, its literally like they are making food for EVERYONE out of a tiny home kitchen and they are human, its a mom n pop place not a corporate chain). It feels like home yet with some awesome tropical aquariums they also take care with. When you eat here, you get more than just food, you get nourished and treated like family. read more

Thai Basil is one of Capitola best gems. The food is phenomenal and the staff are amazing. I have seen people complain about their child policy. I have a 7 year old who has lived in the village since she was 2 and we have never had any issues. If your kids behave like maniacs and you have no command over them then either get your food to go or just go to macdonalds. We will keep coming here for as long as we live. Please note: they are often closed when their sign says open. Just call and see if they are open before coming to the village and save yourself any disappointment. read more

The food was very good! You can tell it's authentic Thai food ! The staff was very nice as well. I think it was a family run business, but not sure. I will definitely be coming back ! read more

I don't rate restaurants based on ambience, it's the quality of the food I care about. Thai Basil is a very small husband and wife run restaurant that blew me away. We only had three dishes; fresh spring roll, spicy noodles(pad kee mow) and vegetable green curry(with sticky rice). All three were done right and I even ordered another spicy noodle to go. After 2 days of sitting in my frig I reheated it in the microwave and it was delicious! My girlfriend spent 2 years in Thailand and loved it too. Keep up the good work and for sure we'll be back! read more

This was my go to Thai place. Love the massamun curry and coconut milk thai iced tea. Best pad thai around, and really good calamari. Thai basil hot wok also wonderful. However, they recently stopped carrying real chicken and real duck, replacing these with "mock" chicken and duck. So vegans and vegetarians are probably happy but I'm really annoyed!! Y husband won't eat much seafood (shrimp, calamari and scallops they offer) and I won't eat fake protein, so I guess we will be driving to Real Thai Kitchen until they get real chicken and duck back on the menu. Closed Wednesdays, close at 6 on Sundays. read more

This place was just alright. The pad thai was really saucy for some reason. It wasn't a bad thing, but a little different than other places. Red curry was pretty good. Nothing amazing, and definitely not worth the 2 hours of horrendously rude service I witnessed and the 30 dollar parking ticket. All metered parking, watch out for the wheelchair cops, they ticket like hell. However, the service was ridiculous. One lady, who I assume was the owner, was doing practically everything and somehow being really inefficient at it. One guy came in to get some soup to go and was sitting there waiting for it for 20 minutes. Then, when he went to pay, he didn't know the credit card minimum was 10 dollars and the lady went kind of crazy. She was extremely snappy and rude. The customer seemed very embarrassed and asked to get another order of soup to bring his total up, but the owner told him he couldn't order it again! She literally told him that she was saving the soup for other customers (there was nobody else in there besides me and my friend). So the guy stood there awkwardly for what seemed like forever with the credit card in his hand. I was tempted to just give him the cash because I felt so bad. This is all while the lady is cooking behind the counter. She gets impatient and says "What you want? You just standing there?" My friend and I sat there wide-eyed and scared shitless to ask for the check. Don't get me wrong, I am used to snappy and rude middle aged asian women and I used to work at a Thai restaurant. But her attitude seriously scared me as a customer. Took maybe 45 minutes to finish our meal, but another 30-40 minutes just for her to notice to get us the check. Again, we were the only customers in there. If you can handle erratic and snappy service from a bipolar frowny asian woman, it might be worth it for you. read more

Easily the best Thai food in the greater Santa Cruz area. Ignore the 1 star reviews where people are complaining about not being kid friendly- they have plenty of signs on the windows notifying that crying kids aren't welcome. This is great for someone like me, who just wants to enjoy their meal and not be disturbed by screaming kids. Bottom line is the food is amazing, it's authentic and the service is exceptional. I can't enjoy Thai food anywhere else, it's always quality. read more

Not a family friendly restaurant, so if you have kids at all be sure to stay away. Would never give my business to a place that can't respect a family's right to dine out. read more

Tastey thai. Veggie basil a perfect blend of garlic and basil, I got level 2 chili. Just enough for a little tingle!

Quality of Service: 5/5 stars Quality of Food: 6/5 Stars Quality of Pricing: 5/5 Stars 11/10 do recommend. I go there once weekly, sometimes twice weekly, and have been ever since I started quite a few months back. QoS: It is a 100% family run business, meaning they're somewhat short staffed. The server, (I really need to learn her name) is a very caring woman. Very nice and courteous, never had an issue, never missed a thing. Never have had to ask for a refill. NOTE: They have numerous signs stating that it is a family restaurant with limited staff. Meaning: They may take longer to get to your order than most restaurants. You may wait longer to get your food, but it's well worth it. My suggestion, just go at a time when they aren't busy, and you'll get your food promptly. They make that very clear, and if you have a problem with that, it's your fault, not theirs. QoF: I get the Pork Fried Rice and my girlfriend gets the Tofu Pad Thai. Seasonings are off the chart delicious. The pork fried rice is the best dish I've ever had. It's a great size to where I can bareeely finish it, but it's soon delicious I can't stop. The Pad Thai is her favorite dish as well. (She's a Vegetarian with Celiacs, so decent food for a good price is very hard to find. And there are plenty of options here, the Tofu Pad Thai is just simply so wonderful she never gets anything else! The waitress always asks us if we want spice on a 0-5 scale. I don't like spice so I get 0, and my girlfriend gets a 1. The scale is legit, and they know how to handle their spices. I really appreciate that. Take the levels seriously. Both of us get the Thai Ice Tea which compliments their food wonderfully. Bonus!: If they're not busy, normally the waitress gives each of us this amazingly flavorful vegetable soup QoP: You get what you pay for. And a little extra. Both of our meals are around $10, which, for the QoP, is extremely generous. The food is well worth much more than that. We pay around $23 for our meals and two ice teas, which for a quality, healthy meal, is decent. (I always tip at least 20% because she's always been wonderful to us and the chef is incredible.) (The only drawback, which isn't large enough to drop a star is the fact that they're often not open during their posted hours. They are a family owned restaurant, and it's posted there that they are sometimes closed due to family matters, which is 100% understandable, it just sucks when we really want Thai food and no other Thai place is nearly as good! We hate when they're closed, but we completely understand, so it's not a big deal.) My girlfriend and I had been on the hunt for a favorite restaurant for a while. The Crepe Place was it for a long time, but about 5 months ago we decided to try Thai Basil. She read and 100% agreed with my synopsis. IT'S OUR FAVORITE NOW. read more

Thai tea here was pretty good, and surprisingly cheaper than what I get in Fresno. Owner who I'm assuming served me was very nice as well

I will say one thing - someone on here said that they ordered a "4" on the spicy scale and it wasn't hot enough. We unfortunately took that as an overall indicator of the spiciness here and ordered a 5. I've grown up with super spicy Indian food all my life and can handle the hottest of hot foods, but a five was WAY too hot for us. Still delicious though and very sweet waitress. read more

LOVE this restaurant! My wife and I had dinner there for the first time last night. We love Thai food and this is the best we've ever had! The service and prices are great too. The only negative is that it's cash only, but that's splitting hairs, especially since there are ATM machines close by. read more

The best Thai food you can have while shirtless, period! My wife and walked in from the beach for a quick bite and were treated to authentic, spicy goodness. Recommend Pad Thai (makes most Pad Thai seem hopelessly bland) and beef mussamun curry. Warning-spice level is for real so be careful ordering any dish more than level 3 spicy. Add a beer in a frosty mug and you have a perfect post-beach meal. The owners are awesome to everybody. read more

Awesome food. One of the best Thai restaurants I've been to. Ordered the Tom Kha, egg noodle with gravy, and yellow curry. All were very good. We got a 3 and 4 level of spice out of 5 which was good for us. Would definitely come back here if I'm in Capitola. read more

When I lived in SC, I loved coming here for lunch. During lunch time (12-2 or so) they have super good lunch deals. You get soup, rice, a spring roll w/ peanut sauce, and curry for under 10$. I was always a fan of the yellow curry with vegetables and no tofu. They are very versatile here and will listen to what you want. My friend who I would eat here with is a rasta and so his dietary restrictions are a bit more inhibiting than my own, but they always accommodated him nicely. The owners used to be moving around the small dining room and I can see why some people would be disturbed by that, but once you are used to it, they are very nice people and it becomes relatively endearing. I've never had anything here that I didn't like, so try it out and you won't be disappointed. read more

A refreshing change from Sabieng and the other places serving very americanized thai, this place is tiny inside with nice outdoor dining. Out of all the places around I felt like Thai Basil was the most flavorful as well as the most authentic in comparing it to my Thai godmother's home cooking. Go in and snag lunch for a reasonable price and you're almost assured to walk out with leftovers for dinner. Service was above average and the thai iced tea was better than most places. read more

My family has been going here every time we go to the beach since I was super tiny, so my review may be a little biased. This certainly isn't super authentic thai food, but the flavors are always fresh and clean. I love their panang curry and pineapple fried rice. The one thing I have not liked was the pad thai, but I'm picky when it comes to pad thai. I've never really had problems with the service like other reviewrs, but maybe I'm just not that sensitive. Anyway, it has my recommendation! read more

I forgot how much I like Thai food! I usually have bouts of being sick of lemon grass and being that it is in a lot of Thai soups I tend to shy away from going to Thai when suggested by others. Last night however, I was dreaming of hot rice with sweet, rich and spicy flavor combination that Thai food is. We headed to Thai Basil more for the location than anything else. It was date night, I had red hot lipstick on with a little black dress so we wanted a fun/romantic setting. We popped into Thai Basil and it was a dimly lit tiny restaurant with 4 small unadorned faux wooden tables and vinyl chairs. I was surprised at how tiny the place was! We luckily got a seat right away. At this point I was a bit aprehensive. Most restaurants in the village are absolutely horrible (with the exception of Stockton Bridge Grille and a few others), and the place was tiny with poor decor. For a prime spot in the village I was not impressed at the moment. We went on to order: Thai Iced Tea, Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad), Yellow Curry with pork, and Pad Thai. When you order they ask what spice level from 1-5. We said 4 and the salad came out. IT BURNED. My first bite and the seeds of the peppers burned like crazy, nose running, eyes watering. My mouth felt singed for almost 20 minutes. I literally, sat with ice cubes in my mouth and promptly asked that our other dishes be lowered to a 3. Other than that the papaya needed to marinate in the vinaigrette for a little while longer so that the fish sauce could seep into the papaya and the pieces wouldn't just taste and feel like the stem of a cabbage. The curry and Pad Thai were perfect. Served with sticky rice and we were enjoying our meal immensely. The Pad Thai was excellent with chicken and fried tofu. A Thai place that messes up Pad Thai would be a red flag, but they of course nailed it without issue. My Thai Iced tea was too sweet so I diluted with water and it was perfect. Overall, I've only been to three Thai places in SC county. Sabieng (currently rebuilding after a fire), Sasawdee (for the lunch buffet, very good) and a place on Ocean (can't remember the name but it wasn't bad) and this place. I'd say this place ranks with Sabieng for me. They were quite busy for a four table restaurant on a Weds night and the food was good once we figured out our spice level. The decor was a bit lacking, it was dark with an ikea bookshelf to cordon off a seating area, which I'm not sure why they don't convert into more seating as they needed it, and the fish tanks were pretty but wasted space. The tables could be classed up quite a bit with a simple table cloth. I only suggest this since judging by their modern designed plates they are trying to modernize their look a bit. Otherwise, the bottom line is their food is good and priced well and that's what matters. Sabieng still gets my first place though. For excellent dishes, appropriate portions of rice and a more relaxing atmosphere with comfy tables, light and decorations to elevate the dining experience. read more

Great Thai food spot! Their yellow curry was great, as were the spicy noodles. Very small place with only 6-8 tables. I was glad to have gotten their early as there were a lot of people waiting outside! There was only one waitress working on a Saturday night, though she was busy she was still attentive and polite.Great food was worth the wait! Get their early!!! read more

Really great service!!! Fast seating, got our drinks really fast, very nice owner/waitress. Food was good, kindof a smaller portion than expected, so knocked off a star, but service was the best i've experienced recently. Def recommend if you're in the Capitola area by the beach! read more

Received no service. Walked in with a couple of friends and there was an empty table where we almost sat down because the server ignored us. Eventually she seated us outside with no menus, waters, or place settings. After sitting there for almost twenty minutes with not seeing her once, we walked away. Food smelled great, but the service was terrible. read more

Diamond in the ruff! This place is amazing. Great food and fast service (well there were only three other patrons/tables dining that day); nonetheless, we live in San Francisco (my wife & kids) and the always ask to frequent this restaurant. read more

Great food. Our first visit here but can surely say that we will be coming here every time we are in Capitola. Thx for such a great service.

Food here is great. I get cravings and drive "over the hill" just to come for lunch. I would give them five stars except for they seem to have a problem opening on Sundays. First time they were 10 mins. late to open (they advertise noon opening). Then they said "give us 10 mins to get ready". So 20 mins. Late. We came another Sunday and at 12:30 no sign of them. Yesterday at 1:00 PM no sign. If you can't open on time don't change your friggin hours!!!! read more

Our server was extremely friendly and the food was amazing! My friend and I ordered the curry noodles and chicken see ew noodles and both were so good that we had to switch off so both of us could try each. If you're used to spicy food, the spice level is pretty average and a 3 was perfect for just enjoying the flavor of the food. Highly recommend this place! read more

Finally got to writing reviews of all my favorite places in Capitola. I love Thai food and so does my wife, and this restaurant doesn't dissapoint. Their Thai tea is the best. Some of my favorites are the curries and the Thom Ka soup. Pad Thai is excellent as well. We don't care for spicy food much so we appreciate them accommodating us and making our favorite dishes non spicy. read more

I really love this place. I am semi bias because I am staying right next door for a month but I did try 2 other thai restaurants in the area and this is a favorite. I've only gone during lunch time. they have a little sign that says something along the lines of "if you value your time, this restaurant might not be for you...we have a small kitchen and staff and it takes time to make great food". I knew this was my kind of place when I was greeted by a friendly smile and a sign like that. :) I had the padsee ew, yellow curry, and cashew nut dishes, some of my favorites. Their lunch special portions are large in my opinion especially for the area and the price (less than $10.00). The Thai iced tea is really good. Their customer service is amazing. They are so friendly. I remember I ordered some food and there was going to be a wait so I went back upstairs to work on some things. I came back a little early and had no problem waiting around but they asked if I wanted to try a little bowl of soup while I waited. It was delicious! Long review short. Good solid thai food with decent portions, reasonable prices and top notch customer service. If they are busy, be prepared to wait a little but it will be worth the wait! read more