Bad service, slow and the price kinda higher for this basic food with no authenticity.

In all honesty, I do know the manager of Basil Cafe, and he's a great guy, but I'm not reviewing the restaurant glowingly because he's my friend. I've eaten a lot of pho in my day, and Basil Cafe takes their pho very seriously. They do a slow boiling process that brings out all the tasty flavors. Not to mention, I don't know anyone else in Wisconsin offering a Vegan Pho, which was incredible. Simply put, Basil Cafe has the best pho in the Midwest, and better than pho's I've had in Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. My (completely impartial) dining companions (who had the Vietnamese Crepe & the Pad See Eew w/ beef) were raving about their food days after we left Appleton. Not only is the food top notch, the ambiance enticing, but I know first hand that Basil Cafe is dedicated to great customer service, and it shines through. read more

Terrible service. They put us in the back room and forgot about us for 30+ min. Then when they sat another table in the room, they took the new table's order first. At that point we walked out. read more

Wow! Eating here made me want to get on past reviews for Asian restaurants and take a way stars. This right here is how you do it! Spicy and flavorful food, fresh ingredients, and more. I had the lemongrass chicken and it was delicious. Next on my list when in Wisconsin are the curries and spring rolls. To bad I wasn't a little more hungry that night. read more

Everything was excellent. Pad Thai was great. Mango sticky rice desert was outstanding. Good service. The decor was redone by well from the former bar it was, Don't let if fool you. It's a MUST TRY read more

Today was my first experience, it will not be the last. While the exterior is unchanged from the Sammy's Pizza days,the interior is elegant, simple, and surprisingly spacious. We started with soups and of the two house Tom soups, I could not pick a favorite. Both were flavorful and had a perfect bland of lemongrass, herbs, and spices. The Salt and Pepper Prawns were gigantic and perfectly fried. The Spicy Basil with Seafood had huge mussels, shell-on shrimp, and delicate squid. The Thai chiles, basil, and onions were an ideal complement to the spicy broth. Then came dessert: sticky rice with mango. This is where my grasp of the English language fails me. I have no vocabulary words to describe how incredible this simple dessert was following the heat and spice of the main courses. 5 stars + and I will definitely be back to try some Pho and a Vietnamese Lemongrass dish! Kudos to the owners and staff, you are my new favorite close-to-home establishment!!! read more

NO SALT AND PEPPER NEEDED! Everything about this place was FANTASTIC! We couldn't have asked for better service or food! I had the green curry and I didn't share. Not even a smell. Its phenomenal food with affordable prices. DON'T LET THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING FOOL YOU! read more

Great gluten-free options. Love the Laab salad with chicken. Food quality is excellent. Waitstaff is excellent. My favorite restaurant in appleton. read more

My friends and I started with the shrimp Vietnamese spring rolls. They were delicious--with just the right amount of fresh basil and mint. The chicken satay was also tasty, if a bit overcooked. I had the shrimp pad thai for an entree and enjoyed it a lot--especially the roasted peanuts. Portions were generous and prices were very reasonable. I will definitely be back and look forward to trying many other dishes. read more

The restaurant itself is much larger than it appears! The parking on the other hand is very limited. As far as the food goes, I've never ordered something I didn't enjoy. I request Paula as my server because she provides incredible service, she is very knowledgeable, and is always full of suggestions! If there is a wait period, stick it out, it's totally worth a wait. read more

The Tom Yum was amazing, as good as anywhere I've had in the states. Very authentic, tasted like Thai food I had in Bangkok. Inside decor is beautiful as well. Great service too. read more

Greaaat Pho. That's all I really need to say. Every time we visit Appleton, we try to eat here. The service is great, the food is great, the atmosphere, and the decorating, even the bathrooms are great. Yep. As someone mentioned, the exterior; well, it's nothing to get too excited for and the parking kind of sucks but once you get in, that all disappears. I should say that if you do go on a Saturday night, they do get extremely busy and so I have noticed the food not being completely top notch but having eaten here many other times beside Saturday nights, I forgive that one incident. We used to go get Pho at this hole-in-the-wall authentic Vietnamese place on the East coast and could never find Pho that really compared. Well Basil cafe definitely compares. Yum! I could go back right now (if I were in Appleton). read more

Had the mixed vegetables in garlic sauce and vegetable egg rolls. It was quite good. The vegetables were fresh and perfectly cooked with the perfect level of spice. I've heard a lot of good things about Basil Cafe, but for me and my palette, Gingerootz remains my fav for Asian cuisine in the Fox Cities and Green Bay. read more

Always delicious and fresh! I love that the veggies are clearly chopped that day and aren't over-cooked. Best Thai food in town!

Great food, great service, great decor...well done Basil Cafe, next time I'm in the area, I'll be back for sure.

Don't let the exterior of the building fool you, this place is an Appleton gem. The service is terrific, the interior is lovely, there is plenty of seating (just try to get a table away from the front door in the winter), and a diverse selection of dishes. The shrimp crepe appetizer and the pho are two standouts, but I've enjoyed everything I've tried. read more

This place was AWESOME! I thought the environment of the restaurant was relaxing and nice. The food was also amazing, they gave us a FREE sample of their new Bubba Pudding (delicious). They can probably add more food to the menu, but as time goes on they will. But the staff are also very knowledgable on the food they serve and good customer service. Great place to meet friends and have a group gathering. read more

Slow service, not enough waiters/waitresses for a Friday. How many times do you need your water refilled before even eating? About 4 times. Food, had the pho.... Yuck. Broth was not good at all. Not to mention how slow the service was. 45 minutes to get our food and we only had 5 dishes. Asked for fish sauce and the waitress shakes her head and comes back with soy sauce? WTF?!?!? Fried noodles, talk about GREASY!!! I'll never go back. read more

Trendy dining room with excellent service and phenomenal food. Basil Thai Cafe is easily one of the best Asian restaurants I've experienced. The menu has options for nearly every preference and the food is carefully prepared. Flavor is bold and top notch. All in all, a must for dinner in Appleton. read more

This is hands down the best thai food i have ever had. Their coconut water and fried rice are phenomenal. The only downside is the inconsistent hours and random breaks that the restaurant takes although it is understandable because it is family owned. read more

Very disappointing food. We got the basil chicken and it was stale. We got rice rolls and they were flavorless. The only good part of the meal was the coconut infused water. read more

Recommended if you are in Appleton - stopped in during a visit for show choir and had an excellent meal - shrimp spring rolls and tofu veggie pad Thai - easily works for GF and vegetarian diners - water is infused with coconut which was a nice detail. Nice atmosphere and very short wait for not having reservations on a busy Friday night. read more

I was really leery of coming here, based on the outside appearance of the building. But don't let the outside for you. The inside is absolutely stunning. The wait staff were friendly and prompt. They came to the table just the right amount of times; not too many and yet we weren't neglected! I'm not too terribly much of an adventurous eater, but I really liked this place. Hopefully they will update how the outside looks so that many more people will drive by and want to stop. This is truly a hidden gem! read more

Good service, solid food, order what you know you will like as some entrees are very traditional and could be unfamiliar. Overall Cool place worth a visit read more

I've been to Basil Cafe more than a few times and have always had a great experience. The food is delicious, and the menu has quite a few options (tried the vegan pho yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it). The inside is warm and modern. Definitely one of the places on our list we take people who are visiting from out of town. read more

Just absolutely amazing, the food is fresh and well prepared and the staff is inviting and very friendly.

Don't bother. The food is horrible. If you don't mind having what is supposed to be an authentic Asian dish with frozen mixed vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, then perhaps this is your kind of restaurant. I am 100% Asian, raised on authentic Asian food. I assumed when I ordered a vegetable and noodle dish at Basil Café, I would be getting fresh Asian vegetables. And noodles. Instead, I got what I think Birds Eye foods calls their California mixed frozen veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, in a bland sauce, with perhaps one or two rice noodles. I am not joking. They looked like frozen veggies from a package. And not cooked through. The prices are too high for the food they serve. Many people in this town don't know what authentic Asian food should look like, taste like, or what authentic Asian components are. I imagine unsuspecting non-Asians probably love this place. But if you are looking for authentic Asian food, made with authentic Asian components, you will not find it a Basil Café. You are better off at Koreana, Asian Thai, or GingerRootz. read more

This is a pretty amazing Thai restaurant. Everything we had -- iced coffee, papaya salad, pad see ew, pho -- was delicious. The papaya salad is actually a little dangerous. They do not hold back on the chilies. It's good to see the old home town developing a diverse food culture. Would eat again! read more

Great service and an excellent noodle soup. Huge portions.

An authentic Vietnamese eatery in a very classy atmosphere.

The food here was very good with the exception of anything with "prawns" in the menu. I ordered the prawns which were actually 13-16 count shrimp. Other than that, food was excellent! read more

I always get the Pho, Som Tum, or Spicy Basil - I would try other dishes but I have a hard time passing up these favs.

Food is fantastic! Great service! They could use some dimmers....They only serve beer & wine.

On May 27, 2015 made a stop at the Basil Cafe. When I entered the restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised by the warm atmosphere. The inside of the building was updated with modern furniture and furnishings. Do not let the exterior fool you. During this visit, I decided to have the Chicken Pho Soup. The meal came with side of basil, jalapeños, bean sprouts, and two different sauces to spice up the soup. It was very tasty. I would have it again!! You will not be disappointed. read more

First time for pho and it was delicious! We also had the Vietnamese crepe, as suggested by our waitress, and also wonderful!! Highly recommend! read more

I ordered takeout from here, and ordering for my sister coming in from Seattle, she had some very specific requests that were off-menu. Basil Cafe accomodated EVERYTHING (adding pineapple to the fried rice, making some entrees vegan, etc). Everything was to our exact specifications and DELICIOUS! Basil veggie fried rice with pineapple. Ask for it. So yummy!~ read more

Always great food! Don't let the exterior of the building decieve you, it's a very nice restaurant.

Very good thai food... though the area does dictate a little bit of smoothing it out, it is the midwest after all. pho is extremely good, though not argyle street good. The atmosphere and service is nice and friendly. A good place to take a larger group of family or friends. For Appleton Wisconsin, it is good pho for a family read more

Delicious food! Spring rolls are the best I've had, Tom Yum was delicious and red curry was fantastic!! I think I found my spot to bring people visiting town!! read more

Wonderful food and service! I love this restaurant and will be going back very soon!