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Basil Rice

3.6 (93 reviews)
InexpensiveAsian Fusion, Thai
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

Order Basil Rice Takeout or Delivery

Basil Rice Photos

BASIL RICE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Good for kids
Happy hour specials

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Recommended Reviews - Basil Rice

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Large shrimp, incredible curry, brown rice, vegetables.
Dick K.

Here now. I love their brown curry! It's over shrimp and brown rice a string beans. It's on Harvard st, across from Levine Chapel. Excellent excellent

Pad Thai
Della S.

Tried this place for the first time through delivery. I ordered a pad Thai ($9.45) with crispy chicken (+$1) and a Thai tea ($3.45). My food was still hot when it came, but the noodles were stuck together and kind of hard to pry apart. However that's pretty typical of rice noodles so I wasn't surprised. I'll be honest, I was a bit disappointed by my order. The menu describes the pad Thai as including egg, bean sprouts, scallions, tofu, sweet radish, peanuts, and meat. I really appreciated that the noodles were not oily, but they were a bit too sweet for me. Other than the sweetness, I thought the seasoning was well balanced. The noodles weren't overly salty or too sour. If they had cut back on the sweetener then the noodle flavor would have been perfect. The menu doesn't lie about having egg in the pad Thai-- every bite of noodles had bits of egg. But the other parts of the menu were a bit deceiving. The pad Thai had only ten bean sprouts, all of which were piled on the side of the container (as you can see in the picture). There were a few bits of scallions and a tiny sprinkle of crushed peanuts. I couldn't taste or see the tofu or the sweet radish. The restaurant packed the crispy chicken in a separate container to keep it crispy, which I'm grateful for. The chicken was extremely crispy. I could tell they fried the chicken for a long time because the meat itself was fried to the point that it was dry like jerky. I also felt that the chicken was underseasoned. The meat clearly wasn't marinated and the breading was bland. The Thai tea tasted like sugar water. It didn't have the distinctive Thai tea flavor. Would I order from here again? Most likely not, but if I was craving Asian flavors, too lazy to cook, and this was the only place open, then I'd be down for their pad Thai again (with a different protein).

S1. Chicken Coconut Soup
Jose B.

Reminiscent of a food court place with four types of asian cuisine vietnamese korean chinese and thai. The cooks central american so this is pretty much color by numbers cuisine so nothing too complex or layered here but better than a lot of take out chinese chicken coconut soup wa tasty a little thinned out but none the less beef lo mein was over simple and telling of the cook that made it and his lack of depth in the cuisine the korean styly wing are a very good value as the are huge and crispy and moist inside and 7 pieces for 7 bucks This is all I tried I might be back for the wings but their is way too many asian options in the area to go back for anything else and that my dear sirs and madame is my humble opinion. Thank you.

a fork in a slow cooker

I had ordered takeout from the restaurant which was drunken noodles and I found a bandaid at the bottom of the platter. I chewed on it thinking it was some sort of meat but it was a bandaid. They have to definitely do something about the cleanliness of the kitchen.

Crab Rangoon, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura appetizer, Veggie Roll, Thai Iced Tea, and Mango Fried rice!
Sarah W.

EDIT: After making my original 2 Star review (see below), I was contacted by the manager of the restaurant. She was very polite and apologetic and offered a free replacement of my order. The message was so sincere and lovely! I accepted the replacement and all of my previous complaints were fixed! Delicious food and ABSOLUTELY AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE! I am definitely going to be ordering from them again. Because of my second experience, I decided to edit my review (to be clear I was never asked to do this). This just goes to show how important customer service really is! (Second experience was 5 Stars, but I'm giving them a 4 only because I'm taking my last experience into consideration too.) ORIGINAL REVIEW (2 Stars): I ordered delivery and had a great experience over the phone and with the woman delivering my food. However, the chicken in my mango fried rice was close, but not fully cooked. Additionally, the shrimp and vegetable tempura was not crispy when it arrived. It had gotten too soggy by the time it got here. The chicken coconut curry soup was pretty good though. I also had a coupon for a free veggie roll but they didn't bring it with my order. Maybe eating in would be a better experience but I'm sorry I tipped so well for the quality of food I got.

Pad Thai Tray
Emily C.

There are tons of Thai restaurants in Boston but I decided to get food catered from here and I'm glad I did. The food was prepared on time and although kind of expensive, it was still good. I got their basil fried rice with chicken, drunken noodles with beef, and pad thai with chicken. The basil fried rice had only a slight kick of heat to it and tons of basil leaves which added lots of flavor. The drunken noodles was probably my favorite out of the three because the noodles were cooked perfectly and were flavored really well in the sauce. The pad thai seemed to lack a bit of flavor and was just alright. Also, the chicken was really dry but the beef was tender and definitely tasted better.

N6. Drunken Noodle Drunken Noodles Tray R4. Orange Chicken Orange Chicken Tray

There were literally STAPLES in our drunken noodles. TWO STAPLES! What the HECK is going on in this restaurant?!

A18. Crab Rangoon
Geraldine M.

it was good it wasn't the best thai food but it was good for a quick bite. they were very fast when it came to customer service and the lady was very nice. i got the pad thai and it was a bit oily but good

Orange chicken with rice
Stephanie B.

We love Thai food take out/delivery on nights we don't cook in my home. We'd ordered from Basil Rice in the past, and had positive memories of the food. Upon discovering that our go-to Thai restaurant was closed, Basil Rice was our back-up. I ordered the pad see ew with chicken, although I wish I'd ordered the drunken noodles as i wished it had that extra flavor (my go-to order is drunken noodles, with pad see ew as a close second- pretty much the same dish but pad see ew is not spicy). My boyfriend ordered the orange chicken with rice (more Chinese than Thai?) which looked like chicken katsu (now Japanese) served with an orange sauce. However, the chicken was good albeit different from what was expected. We also ordered summer rolls, or fresh shrimp rolls as they called them, which were fresh and good. The food was good, but seemed to be missing something that kept it from being amazing. We will order from them again, but will continue to mourn the loss of our go-to Thai place.

Papaya salad!
Loreen Y.

Walked in for lunch. Papaya salad generous in size and just right spice. Fresh and light. Shaved papaya on iceberg lettuce. A couple shrimp too. Also had the pork wonton soup. Oversized bowl of hot steamy soup with lots of wontons. Big enough to share or have as main course! I will be taking some home.

Spicy basil with chicken pad thai

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2 months ago

I come here for the lunch special. The chicken teriyaki is my favorite and I like that it comes with a crab rangoon.

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3 years ago

Solid value, quick service, solid food. Lot of bad Chinese food around here, but this ain't one.

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4 years ago

Good quick meal for hungry evening. Nice helpful staff. Fair price and good portions.

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8 years ago

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11 years ago

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Basil R.

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Ask the Community - Basil Rice

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I remember being recommended this restaurant by Andy from Sipping Room but didn't actually visit…read moreuntil months later when my brother took me. Tbh I don't think I would come here myself if I wasn't recommended to come or have someone tell me what's good. You have to order and pay at the counter first, deciding eat-in or takeout. Either way, you have to grab your own utensils and throw out your own trash. We ordered: tom yum soup noodles with seafood, beef tendon soup noodles, and sticky rice with banana Tom yum soup noodles was labelled with two chilis and I think that's the appropriate amount of heat for me. I like how it has heat without affecting my tastebuds or making me struggle to eat. My nose watered a little but it wasn't like a river. I did have to eat slower due to the heat but it didn't annoy me. The broth isn't overly salty or watery. I like how it's tart and spicy which really increased my appetite. I chose seafood honestly because this is Boston. It came with shrimp, fishballs, and calamari. The shrimp was my favorite part, fresh without being overcooked and rough. Fishballs weren't as chewy and was a bit fishy. Calamari was middle of road with some pieces more tender than others. Beef tendon soup noodles has more of an herbal soy sauce broth that's rich gelatinous (yes it solidifies when cold). The beef tendon and beef stew pieces were all tender and juicy. This is a great hearty option too especially when you're under the weather. It wasn't as outstanding as the tom yum broth to me. The noodles used in their soup is a thin rice noodle. I thought it would be the tough type that can withstand hot soups, but it ended up being soggier than I'd like. The tom yum pad thai also seems good. It smelled good when my brother was reheating his leftovers from a few days ago. Too bad I didn't try a bite. Sticky rice with banana is a banana wrapped in sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf. I like how the sticky rice stays soft inside the banana leaf. The banana seemed too sweet at first but it was a perfect way to balance my palate after I went through the spicy and tart tom yum broth.

I tried this restaurant years ago and was disappointed with the food. After seeing the high reviews…read morehere, I decided to give it another chance. Unfortunately, it was just as disappointing this time--a waste of money. The food lacked the distinctive spices and seasonings that make Thai cuisine so flavorful. The beef salad, consisted of just a few slices of beef that seemed steamed, with a sauce that looked and tasted like the peanut sauce served with the chicken satay. The green curry resembled a good Thai green curry in color only. The spicy and sour soup was neither spicy nor sour--just salty, with two shrimp. The chicken satay was the only edible item. It lacked a flavorful marinade, but at least it wasn't dry, and the peanut sauce made it bearable. I really wanted to enjoy this meal, but giving this restaurant a second chance only confirmed my first impression. It does not do Thai food justice.

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Nud Pob Thai Cuisine - Pad See You

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Basil Rice - asianfusion - Updated November 2026

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