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    Thai Basil Restaurant

    3.5 (607 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Seafood, Noodles
    Closed 12:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Thai Basil Restaurant Takeout or Delivery

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    THAI BASIL RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Thai Basil Restaurant

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    Christine G.

    Came for lunch and ordered the lunch special: chicken pad Thai with spring rolls. The spring rolls were served crispy and hot with a semi-sweet fish sauce. A regular portion comes with five pieces, so getting two as part of the lunch special felt like a pretty good deal. I asked for the chicken pad Thai to be spicy, and the dish definitely delivered. It hit that perfect level of heat where it tingles on the tongue and brings out a light sweat, while still being aromatic and appetizing. The portion was generous, and the rice noodles held the heat really well. It was more than I could finish in one sitting. Toward the end, once it cooled down, it did taste a bit on the sweet side, but overall it was still a very enjoyable pad Thai. Lemon water really balances out all the flavors, too. For a lunch special, this is such a great deal. I also love that it's owned by Thai people--it really adds to the authenticity. The wall décor featuring different spices, how they're used in Thai dishes, and their health benefits was a thoughtful touch that I really enjoyed.

    Indoors
    Karan L.

    So I came here on a Friday afternoon. I called ahead and asked if they have any lunch specials, which they do. Asking for recommendations I got the Panang Curry with Tofu. The service was incredibly patient over the phone despite my connection going in and out. The food was ready when I arrived 8 mins later. Amazing turn out time for take out. The restaurant was near empty when I arrived. It is underground so it doesn't get much sunlight. Lots of seating for parties or 2 or 4. It was quite quiet, and frankly a peaceful vibe for a quick lunch around 2pm. The lunch special comes with 2 small spring rolls and a dipping sauce which was absolutely delightful. I should have ordered more spring rolls in all honesty. As for the lunch curry. It came with white rice and you can change this to brown rice for a dollar extra. The curry used airpocket tofu so next time I am going to order chicken since it isn't my favorite. The curry itself was fantastic and there was plenty of rice to go with it. I fell in love with the taste of basil they added to the curry, pretty funny for the name Thai basil, but it was the best part of this dish. Great solid Thai place. Might be a bit overpriced but it is on newberry street so it is what you should expect. Will look forward to coming back and trying new things here next time I am in Boston.

    Phu-Ket Noodles (made with thin rice noodle due to supply shortage)
    Elias G.

    Nice spot on Newbury street, easy to walk past because it's in a basement. We got the treasure bags, siam fried rice, and Phu-ket noodles. The treasure bags were kinda fun, and tied together with lemongrass which was nice. The filling wasn't dry and went well with the sauce. The fried rice was pretty good too, and was quite sweet (it tasted like cane sugar); it was well fried though, without clumping, and seasoned well. My noodles came with thin pad thai-style rice noodles devise they didn't have any large flat ones, but i didn't mind that much. It was spicy, and was a ton of food for the price. I also got some tea, though it was not steeped well and tasted more like hot water. I would recommend everything else. Service was very friendly and accommodating. If you're in the area and want some Thai, I'd recommend.

    Tom Yum Noodle Soup
    Eric H.

    Great Thai spot nestled away on Newbury Street. The entrance might be hard to miss because you gotta walk downstairs from the street level but the restaurant itself is pretty nice and casual. Lots of servers were around so service was pretty fast if you were to wave someone down for help. The food was also great and classic with some tom yum noodle soup and beef pad thai. The Thai iced tea was a great refresher as well.

    Amina R.

    A co worker picked this spot. Food was ok nothing to cheer about. The ambiance was really nice and the location makes them a gem. The service was good but again nothing to fave about . I kept it simple with a fried rice plate. The rice was a little too soft for my liking but the flavor was good.

    Spicy Tofu lunch special with Singha
    Denice R.

    I was referred here by someone at Salon Monet after expressing my desire for a good Thai meal. The local is solid - I'm told the area is called Back Bay. So many shops, people watching, buzzing vibe, and great walk score. This place is popular with a diverse array of customers. And lots of solo eaters which felt very comfortable as a solo eater myself. I chose one of their lunch specials - Spicy Tofu - with spring rolls. I don't need to ask for additional chili here - the flavoring was perfect for me. The serving was perfect size for me, didn't leave me wanting or stuffed. Prices are reasonable as well. I really enjoyed this dining experience - one of my best in Boston.

    Bo Bun Hue
    Kyleigh D.

    Great food and quick service. The curry dip with scallion pancake/roti is a must-try. I think about it all the time!

    Drunken Noodle, Mango Avocado Salad
    Eva A.

    2.5* Ordered takeout. Didn't do my research, and the food didn't hit even though I was starving (you know how it is, anything is delicious when you're hungry- not in this case). Ordered drunken noodles with chicken. It had a lot of vegetables which I loved, but the dish lacked flavor and was very oily. Had to add my own garlic powder. Also got the mango avocado salad and it was quite disappointing, just avocado with one slice of tomato and a few chunks of hard mango on a bed of lettuce. Definitely not worth the $12. The peanut sauce also has a very strong, strange coconut flavor. Probably will not be ordering from here again, but if I do it will be something else.

    Veg pad Thai, chicken mango fried rice, tom yum soup
    Kelly H.

    This was in a really cool area of town, downstairs, which just seems cool on its own. My adult kid found this spot and I'm so glad. Staff were super helpful and patient as we tried to figure out what we wanted. Their Pad Thai was delish, as was the fried rice. The soup was just the right spicy in my lips and (although I avoided the mushrooms due to my texture issues) was absolutely delightful. They were happy to let us share, and to give us the to-go container and a bag for our little bit that was leftover.

    Thai Basil Fried Rice Lunch
    Jimmy N.

    Honestly, this was probably the best basil fried rice I ever had lol I ordered through GrubHub and had it delivered to our clinic in Chinatown. Everything came as requested. It came on time and well packaged. Just confused why restaurants sometimes don't give you utensils lol I even requested it on the app. But I can't penalize them for that and ruin this review. I requested my dish to be spicy. Most Thai places either don't read the request or they just don't do it. But Thai Basil, compliments to the chef. Mine was cooked with the perfect amount of spice. I was super impressed lol the rice was well fried. The amount of crispy chicken they gave me for this lunch menu item was generous. It also came with an egg omelette at no extra charge. This was ONLY $14.95. Highly recommend coming here. Will definitely order from here again!

    Pad Thai
    Adina S.

    I've been to Thai Basil in person before, but this time, I ordered it through a delivery app. From what I can recall, the service and ambiance were pretty nice. This is a great place to deliver from, too, as the food is nicely packaged and it came pretty quickly. The food was still hot, too! Everything I've tried from this place has been pretty delicious. For appetizers, we went with the Steamed Delight (dumplings) and Fresh Basil Rolls. Both were really tasty and hit the spot. If you're a fan of peanut sauce, definitely order some extra for the rolls. The Drunken Noodle was also really great and had a really nice flavor to it. It had just the right ratio of noodles to protein to vegetables. All in all, just what I needed for some Thai delivery!

    Pad Kee Mao w/Crispy Chicken - Comfort food - Delicious!
    Warren H.

    While Asian, and more specifically Thai, restaurants can sometimes be hard to run into, especially depending on the area that you're in, Boston has plenty of choices to pick from and I was lucky enough to have this place recommended to me by a fellow co-worker who frequents this restaurant quite a bit. Known for authentic Thai cuisine and some delicious Thai Iced Tea, I might add, I had the opportunity to visit this place and see what all the hype was about. Let's take a bite into, Thai Basil. The Place (4 out of 5) - Thai Basil is located in the Back Bay neighborhood and is within walking distance from a lot of places (i.e. hotels, office buildings, shopping, etc). The nature of the buildings can make this place a bit hard to find, but having it in your GPS will definitely help make sure you stop at the right place. As with most of the buildings in the area, you walk down a few flights of stairs to get to the entrance of Thai Basil. Nothing too special about the space, but what's there is clean, pleasant, and quaint. There's plenty of tables to accommodate for a lunch rush and space can be made for large parties. In general, it's a bit small so if you happen to come and the restaurant is full, it can feel a bit cramped, but definitely not deterring by any means. The Service (4.5 out of 5) - The service is exceptional! Everyone is really friendly and very respectful. I didn't have any issues and, from what I gather, is a family owned restaurant. They greeted me as I walked in and promptly showed me to an open table. The food came out on time and my drinks always stayed filled with the staff coming around asking if I needed anything else regularly. The Food (4 out of 5) - Right off the bat, the food was every bit as exceptional as I was led to believe! I had a few offerings starting with the crab rangoon. They were fried to perfection and crispy; the filling was sweet from the cream cheese and the dipping sauce added a perfect tangy/spicy profile to each bite. I definitely could've had another of these all to myself. For my main course, I went with the Pad Kee Mao w/Crispy Chicken. Talk about comfort food on a plate. This was the ultimate comfort food that you could get, imo. The flat noodles were filling, seasoned well and the chicken was super crispy, tender, and gave a nice contrast in texture to the saucy noodles. To drink, I had a thai iced tea, and let's be honest, you can never go wrong with thai iced tea at a Thai restaurant. Refreshing! Overall (4 out of 5) - All in all, Thai Basil will definitely satisfy your craving for Thai cuisine. If you ever find yourself in the Back Bay area and are wanting some delicious, home cooked, comforting meals, take a trip here! Looking forward to visiting the next time I'm back in town and trying the other things on the menu. In the meantime, thanks for the hospitality, Thai Basil!

    Menu photo as of 1/5/2023
    Allegra P.

    A mainstay of Newbury street for a reason, this place has a big menu and good food. I think the menu is a bit out of date by a dollar or two. I thought my crispy chicken pad Thai would be 13.95 but the bill was due for 14.95. please keep this in mind when looking at their menu photos. Be clear with your ordering. The order of which you say your words is important because so many menu items sound alike. I would recommend eating in there, it's cozy and the food is peak fresh. I saw a lot of food deliveries go out though, they might be serving more take out than in person diners. Crispy chicken pad Thai passes my high bar. Almost as good as Thai Garden in Noho and on par with Rod Dee Thai 2 in Fenway.

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    2 years ago

    Great food courteous service. Definitely recommend!! Have enjoyed Thai Basil for years.

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    3 years ago

    Such a hidden gem. Their cashew nut chicken and jasmine tea was divine. I will skip Pho Basil and head here from now on.

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    4 years ago

    The shrimp pad Thai was amazing!! Went to pick up and the lady was very nice, 10/10 recommend

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    The Daily Catch - The best meal I had in Boston. Get their world famous Lobster Frav Diavolo!

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    Saltie Girl - The World Is Your Oyster

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    Atlantic Fish - Seafood Fra Diavolo

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    4.2(3.3k reviews)
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    Came for the steak and lobster. Somehow left emotionally attached to the potato gratin…read more Let's get the important business out of the way: Filet: 9/10 Lobster tail: 7.5/10 Potato gratin: 10/10!!! Asparagus: 8/10 Bacon scallops: 6/10 Service: 9/10 Ambiance: 8/10 The bacon scallops started things off with a solid "eh, they're fine," which had me wondering where the night was headed. Turns out they were just the opening act, because everything after that was fantastic. The filet was cooked perfectly, tender, flavorful, and exactly what you want when you're paying steakhouse prices. The lobster tail was fresh and very good, although honestly, it ended up playing third wheel to the steak and potatoes. And those potatoes... GET. THE. POTATO. GRATIN. Seriously. I don't know what kind of buttery, cheesy sorcery was happening back there, but they were ridiculously good. Perfectly cooked, rich without being overwhelming, and easily my favorite thing on the table. I would have considered ordering a second one if I had any dignity left. I was in town for a conference and came here for an 8 p.m. dinner. Service was prompt, professional, and attentive, and the atmosphere hit that sweet spot of feeling upscale without making you feel like you need to whisper and discuss your investment portfolio. The steak and potato gratin alone earned the five stars. The lobster was basically a very tasty bonus. Highly recommended. And I cannot stress this enough: Order. The. Potatoes.

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