- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Thai Basil
Category: Restaurants Thai Thai [Edit]
1070 Major Mackenzie Dr ESte F103
Richmond Hill, ON L4S 1P3
(905) 780-8788
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
14 reviews for Thai Basil
14 reviews in English
-
Review from Rabsters L.
1/16/2012 1 photo
Thay are okay, first time for me to try thai food
-
Review from Jennifer L.
Markham, ON
5/14/2012
Known for holding holiday/event specials, this intimate restaurant has a classy atmosphere, but what could seem date-worthy is actually offset by the families it attracts. If not the families, then the noise level. Still, lovely decorum which I know they put a lot into.
Service was good. Pad thai was bland as hell. While it's nothing spectacular, the menu offers a lot of variety and thai dishes. -
Review from Kaptain Kornflakes Q.
Thornhill, ON
3/26/2012
The food is good overall, and the lunch menu is good value. Most meals are average compared to other Thai joints in the area, but do not order the Pad Thai. It is bland, and really rather tasteless. However, there is a large menu with lots to choose from.
Nice atmosphere, and service is quite good. Prices are reasonable. A decent place for lunch or dinner. -
Review from Gracie C.
Maple, ON
1/9/2012 4 photos
Went there for dinner tonight. The food is pretty good.
I LOVE the Thai BBQ pork! It's tender pork grilled in Thai style, served with pickled vegetables and homemade spicy BBQ sauce.
I LOVE it! The pork is so tender!!! It is super super delicious with the homemade spicy BBQ sauce.
I also tried the Pad Thai and Pad Woon Sen. They were okay, strong tomato sauce. I don't think authentic tho..
I also tried the Thai cold roll for starter. It is rice paper wrapping vermicelli, shredded carrots, cucumbers, green onions, basil and mint leaves. It has a really strong taste of mint leaves. I personally didn't really like the cold roll because of the strong taste of mint leaves...But if you are a fan of mint leaves, you probably will like this.Listed in: Food: Thai
-
Review from Edwin A.
Ok when I first stepped inside. My first instinct was to grab an umbrella. lol
The waterfall in the front entrance wayyy too loud -- it's intrusive to the dining experience. It was as if there's a rainstorm happening.
I looked around the place and there was practically no one in the restaurant at the time about 2pm. So it is the waterfall causing a higher than normal ambient noise. And is probably the reason why Darren S commented about this place being so loud. People have to raise their voices to talk over this thing.
Anyways I got seated and proceeded to peruse the menu.
I decided and ordered a dish and a drink.
"Mussa-mun" Curry Beef Brisket
Beef brisket simmered in Thai curry paste with potatoes, peanuts and onions
Coconut Milk Shake
And 1 steamed rice as my beef brisket didn't come with rice.
Here my take;
the Mussa-mun was indeed a thick, rich , and warm red Thai curry paste, but it's an extremely salty dish with a wickedness of fish sauce that requires a serious liberal tongue brushing afterwards. What it needs imho is some serious dilution.
The peanuts and perhaps the potatoes were roasted before simmering in the pot. Nice touch and they tasted good.
The one saving item I ordered was the Coconut Milk Shake drink. It provided a nice cooling alternative to the rich salty curry. I would come back here just for the drink.
So being here once and based on what I ordered.. It was okay.
Later when I got home to finish writing this review I browsed their website and noticed that there is a lunch menu!?! Thanks a lot for not presenting it.
I wish they would have been more forthright with it.. Now I think they were just being greedy and gave me the dinner menu to order from. Hmm.. -
Review from Darren S.
Markham, ON
7/18/2011
I really, really, really want to give this place a four-star. But there is one serious, crippling flaw here: the noise level rivals that of Congee Wong. I only wished I was joking.
First, the good. It's close to where I live. Wait, let's try something less self-centred this time. It's in a plaza that's close to the highway and has plenty of parking. The decor is very nice and Thai-like (uh....from as much as I can tell), and you could tell the owners put in a lot of effort to recreate as authentic a Thai experience as they can.
The food is also very good. While not approaching the sheer deliciousness of Linda (see my other review), the curries are still very lovely and tasty, and their spice levels are not lacking whatsoever. Now that I think of it, describing Thai Basil as a poor man's Linda is probably the best description of its food. Solidly good, but not mouthwateringly delicious. To be fair, its price point is also around 1-2 dollars less per dish than Linda as well.
Finally, what prevented me from giving this restaurant the four stars that it would otherwise obtain is the noise level. For some reason, the fountain that they place in the front of the restaurant has water that's running down way too fast, the result is that the water splashes loudly and provides a far from tranquil effect that I'm sure it was intended to convey.
Not only is the water loud (never thought I'd hear myself say those words), but for some reason sound bounces all over the place in this restaurant. It's quite jarring to see a beautifully decorated restaurant, with good food, but with a noise level usually reserved for hardcore Cantonese restaurants. This is not good. On the flip side, you can always come when it's not crowded, i.e. slightly off-peak hours. That should solve this problem in a hurry.
I would recommend their panang curry (very good) and their pineapple fried rice (large and very good). I've been told the pad thai is of the ketchupy variety, so I'm gonna stay away from that one methinks.
Overall, I would recommend people who live in the area to visit this place. I don't think it warrants a special visit for those who live out of the way, but it is a nice little restaurant that tries hard. One word of caution is that, when the restaurant is anywhere around 75% capacity (or more), forget trying to have a date there. -
Review from Brian S.
Richmond Hill, ON
2/5/2012
We went a couple weeks ago to Thai Basil for a dinner. That was our first visit and we decided to order dishes staff suggested as most popular. I had Pad Thai and some squid appetizer. Unfortunately, Pad Thai was completely bland and absolutely tasteless. I love Thai food but this joint really didn't impressed me at all. Prices are quite decent therefore it all balances out.
-
Review from Nina S.
Richmond Hill, ON
6/25/2011 2 photos
I go here with my family and its suitable for us with 3 small kids to enjoy a lovely and elegant dinner. With some jazz music on the backgroud it becomes a classy and relaxing setting. Its also great for group or business dining and peers would be highly impressed.
Dinner is usually busy and why wouldn't it. Fabulous interior that practically captivates me. The soothing waterfalls at the door is a calm retreat from a very busy day; the cozy hues and warm glow of reds, browns, and gold whet the appetite alongwith the sweet, spicy, and citrus aroma that fill the room; the satin like shimmer of lime green leather seats plus hard wood floors suggest elegance with impeccable taste; the exotic and calming appeal of Buddha with its head carved at every wall; and the etched aquamarine glass wall refreshes the senses.
The menu is amazing. Numerous yet enough excellent choices. I cook Thai food myself and I can say they prepare theirs with love. The down side may be on its authenticity being tame on the chillies and spices and also on the stronger aroma of citrus herbs. But the rich, bold, and playful flavours are positively satisfying. Not all Thai food, though. Some items are Malaysian or Chinese or Vietnamese - wearing a Thai hat - just a note.
I look at each item carefully reading the ingredients and I'm glad that they have "peanuts" underlined clearly. Its a major concern for my little boy, you see, so I thought how keen these people are with good customer sense.
Main dishes range from $9-15. But I'll log back in for a more detailed review on their food which are becoming more interesting as of this writing. For now I leave you with: great food and wonderful experience at Thai Basil. -
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
1/19/2011 7 photos
Thai Basil, Sweet Basil, Thai Basil Kitchen... Sometimes I really confused which one I been to.. which one I hate... which one I would recommend...
Thai Basil is another new Thai restaurant that opened up right across from Restoran Malaysia, hint if there is a hour line up at Restoran Malaysia maybe you can just hop over and try Thai Basil instead.
Thai Basil suppose to be a second location from the successful location down at the Annex http://www.yelp.ca/biz...
Lunch Special starting from $6.95 is from everyday till 5 pm which is great for late lunch.
If you ask me if the food is authentic Thai... from my few visit to Thailand and my experience of Thai food, I have to say no...
What is lacking then?? The spice and the herbs and the freshness of Thai cuisine that's what it is lacking...
Pad Thai with Chicken Lunch Combo ($7.95)
- Tom Yum Soup that comes with the lunch combo is one of the better one I have in Toronto... thick, with hint of coriander and mushed tomato... tons of chili pepper flakes inside and is really rich in taste... definitely not the water down version or the ones from the supermarket's Tom Yum paste
- Spring Roll was quite good... has a lot of flavours and nice and crispy
- Pad Thai, on the other hand, was not up to par. Too much sauce makes it really soggy and oily... and it is not as good as the photos definitely not as good! The taste is really one dimension and on the salty side. The Chicken though is white meat was tough and dry...
Services was not too bad...efficient but you have the feeling that the waitresses wish they are somewhere else.. somewhere nice and warm where people bring them drinks instead of the other way around!
They accepts Visa and Mastercard! -
Review from Erwin M.
6/3/2011
Apparently this is the second branch of the more known Thai Basil located in Bloor. I had to try this place out with the couple of Dine.TO awards posted at the front drawing me in. I've never gone to the original but have to say I'm quite impressed with what I have been served here so far.
I'm in no position to say how authentic the food is but I can definitely taste the Thai ingredients in it, like palm sugar instead of sugar, the lime leaves, the lemongrass, galangal, where I cannot say the same for other restaurants I've tried. Servings size is more than satisfactory and they don't skimp on the ingredients. Mango salad is mostly mango (not extenders as I've seen many times elsewhere), a lot of coconut cream over milk, (therefore sauces are very thick) etc.
This is only place in I've tried in my lifetime where I actually appreciated a bowl of tom yum. Never liked that stuff but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. According to my wife it was almost exactly like what she had in Bangkok albeit this one was not as hot (and yes it was hot).
Overall, excellent food so far, I have yet to be disappointed. -
Review from Baby E.
1/5/2012 5 Check-ins Here
Coconut fried rice was a first and pretty good. Really nice decor and service
-
Review from Carol C.
8/30/2011
having eaten at a fair share of thai restaurants, this was one of the nicest thai restaurants i have been at- the decor is quite impressive, restrooms were clean!
the food was great- no complaints, very reasonable prices as well- definitely worth every penny!
reasons for not giving it 5 stars: noise level- on the loud side, due to the size of the restaurant (on the smallish side), because of that it was also a little cramped inside. but don't let these factors defer you from trying this place out! -
Review from Laurie G.
North York, ON
6/5/2011
This location has a nice decor and a good lunch menu. Lunch specials come with a spring roll (that comes piping hot) and a soup (which is amazing). I ordered the pad thai, but wasn't that impressed with it. The green curry, which my friend ordered, was great; it had the right amount of spice to it
-
Review from Yohanna I.
Richmond Hill, ON
9/8/2011
Food is amazing! The decor is very nice and the staff is very friendly. Love this place!
