This place is great! I love how fresh the ingredients are and generous the portions are. I would definitely recommend their pork with eggplant along with their pad kee mao. Some places cook the veggies INTO the dish and leaves you wondering if you're just eating one big glob. But not here! Veggies are added just minutes before the entree is done to retain its crunchiness and true flavor. :) Love it! Will have to come back from their lunch specials ! FYI -- this place is small and inconspicuous, but it's located right next to Omar's pizza. Inside is dim and industrial .. kinda makes me feel like I was back in some of the streets of Bangkok. read more

Ah, I love this place. It's a little hole-in-the-wall place, with some pretty tasty thai cuisine. I've had thai food at 3 other places, and this is still the best one, hands down. It's owned by a really nice family who always greets and smiles. I'm a person that sticks with what I like, so I always order the pad see eu. SOOO GOOOD. Always satisfies my thai food cravings. Oh, and be sure to order their thai tea because it's good. really good. I wish I was wayyy closer to Arcadia so I could get food from here all the time :( read more

I came here given the 4 star rating on yelp. We were so disappointed and will never be back. The dreary decor and mostly empty tables on a Saturday night should have tipped us off, but i trust Yelp so we still wanted to try it. The first thing I noticed was a strong Windex odor. Hmmm... not appetizing to say the least. My bench seat was hard, slanted upwards into my thighs, and uncomfortable. The server was friendly which earned them an extra star. Chicken Satay- way too salty. Pad-kra-prow shrimp was very salty also. The only edible item was the wonton noodle soup. We eat a lot of Thai and this could have easily been one of the worst tasting Thai restaurants we have been to. I'm home now and my mouth still has a horrendous salty aftertaste. Upon further investigation, another Yelper said this place USE TO BE good and apparently ownership changed... sigh... When ownership changes, yelp should delete all the old reviews so a 4 star review does not get handed to a 1 star new owner. If you want good Thai food, go to President Thai on Rosemead. read more

I like coming here for dinner. The staff is really friendly. They always have excellent suggestions and a really nice menu to pick from. Not your typical pad thai and fried rice kind of joint, but they have that too if you wanted. Just fyi, this review was written before the change of ownership in 2013. This will be updated if/when I try it again. read more

It's hard to find good Thai places in Arcadia.. because all of them are all so good! Well I found another one to add to the list! This little restaurant is tucked inside one of the business complex in Restaurant Row in Arcadia. This is family owned and can host probably not more than 50 people. Didn't get any wines but it must have been great since the table next to us had about 4 bottles opened! Service was very good. Our waiter refilled our water and kept coming back to ask us if we needed anything else! Wonton soup was also very good. The broth was savory and herby. The wonton was filled with juicy and tender beef. The yellow curry was served in a fairly large bowl. I would have preferred the sauce to be a little thicker but the flavor was definitely there. The eggplant was also very delicious. The eggplant was good pretty well, not too soft and not too tough. I would have asked for more spice. Overall the dinner was quite delicious and this place is definitely a contender for competing against other Thai places in the Arcadia/Rosemead area. read more

The food is delicious,for the price you're paying. They have a very affordable lunch special. The bathroom is clean what else can you ask for! I'm a sucker for a clean bathroom and good food! I had the cashew chicken. read more

I dont know where all these positive review came from. This is probably one of the worst thai food restaurants I have ever tried in LA. I ordered two very common dish 1. pad see u with chicken 2. basil stir fry with shrimp They were poorly cooked. The dish was also very stingy on chicken and shrimp - unlike the pictures showed. This restaurant is located in a big plaza with capital seafood and tokyo wako. read more

I ordered the drunken noodle, it was deep fried noodle terrible...also ordered the red curry ws tasteless. How can u stay in business and the waitress was too serious. read more

MR. KAI IS A MASTER! Don't be put off by the strip-center location or any of the negative reviews. This place is the real deal. All too often, Thai restaurants blast you with too much heat and grease, masking the many complex flavors present in Thai cooking. Not this place - they get it right. And, if you love heat, just tell them and they will turn it up for you. I highly recommend trying one of the curry dishes "mild" or "medium" and you will experience a flavor profile second to none. A word about their rice noodles: delicate and tender - no heavy bricks of sticky, greasy noodles here! Try the Drunken Noodles (pad kee mao) - this dish is seasoned to perfection. The pad thai is also delicious, of course. The crab rangoon and golden sack appetizers are both meticulously prepared to perfection. I can't wait to work my way through the rest of their menu. Thank you Mr. Kai, you are a master! (The restaurant is very clean and the staff are terrific!) read more

I'm sorry to say that despite the dated 4 or 5 star reviews on this place it is now a 1 or 2 star place. One other reviewer mentioned new ownership. I'll break it down quickly for you. Service: inattentive and insincere. Nice enough, I guess. Food: bland and not very traditional. I had medium-hot spiced green curry (national dish of Thailand) Price: 7 dollar lunch special and a bit on the higher side for dinner as far as thai food goes. Go somewhere else. read more

I've been coming here for the last 8 years and it's consistently excellent. It's one of those places you want everyone to go so it will stay in business forever, but don't want to tell anyone about because you dread one day going in and not being able to immediately get a table. It was probably 5-6 years ago (I moved away for a while) that the owner/hostess started greeting me by name and it wasn't long after I convinced my parents to try it that we all started getting hugs hello and goodbye. The family who own and run the place are just really sweet. But what prompted me to finally write a review? Over the summer I was looking for a place to have our rehearsal dinner. I think I checked out every "nice" restaurant in Pasadena, trying to find something that would appeal to a wide cross-section of people, and the budget kept going up and up because it was impossible to feed 21ish people for what we wanted to spend. Why is it that if a group of people walk into a restaurant they could easily eat and have a glass of wine for $25 each, but if you plan in advance to have that same group of people eat there, you can't do it for less than $50? Finally in desperation I said, "Let's go to Basil and see what they'll charge." They were so great - we told them what dishes we wanted off the regular menu, and how many of each, and that's exactly what they charged us for. No "per person" markup, no special "event menu." We brought in a few bottles of our own wine and paid their reasonable corkage fee (seriously, some of the restaurants had a corkage fee that's more than a decent bottle of wine!) and the whole thing cost a little over $400. I mean I really thought they undercharged us and had to look at the receipt again. That included so much food that people couldn't even eat dessert. And the best part? Their food is so accessible that EVERYBODY complimented us on it, even the people who don't like spice, aren't used to ethnic food, and had been nervous about eating Thai for the first time! read more

Revisited this place again the other night. Again, I came away unimpressed. The owners are friendly and all that, but my overall experience was lacking. I ordered a rice dish and asked for shrimp instead of the usual chicken beef or pork. It was an additional 2 dollar charge. For that additional 2 dollar charge I got 4 pieces of shrimp in the dish total. Really? Not only that, two of the shrimp hadn't been shelled properly and one of the pieces had feet still attached. That's just not acceptable to me. I also ordered the Tom Kha soup and that was alright. There are other Thai places in the area that are just better. Sorry Basil. read more

Awful.. Pad Thai had absolutely no flavor. My husband got yellow curry and it didn't even come with the rice. Never have I ever had to think to order white rice with curry! Save yourself and go to Spices which is less than a mile away. read more

My friends and I were supposed to go to the pizza place next door but when we got to the plaza, we spontaneously wanted to get thai food because it was less heavy. FOOD: We opted for the pad thai, panang salmon, pad-see-yew, and a chicken mixed vegetable dish. The pad thai is pretty good. The noodles are al dente. Lot's of flavor from the bean sprouts and the chicken. 5/5. The panang salmon is essentially red curry over a piece of salmon with some peas and bell pepper. The fish itself was a bit dry but the curry sauce over it is pretty good. My friend ended up putting the sauce over his bowl of rice- that's how good the sauce was 4/5. The pad-see-yew is a bit too sweet for my taste. Noodles are nicely cooked though. 3/5. The chicken mixed vegetable dish was the most disappointing. It was honestly just a mix of vegetables with chicken pieces in it. I could have made this at home. Not sure what was so "Thai" about this dish. 2/5. The Thai tea is good here. 4/5 Overall: 4/5 SERVICE: The service was good, granted we were only 1 of 2 parties in the restaurant at the time. The food came out pretty fast. The waitress was nice. Overall: 4/5 DECOR/AMBIANCE: A nice small restaurant in a plaza. Mostly small tables. Casual family restaurant. Nothing really stood out to me in terms of decor though. Overall: 3/5 read more

I love Pad Thai....and I have been disappointed by Pad Thai many many times so i surprised even myself when I ordered it today. I asked for it spicy....very spicy! The lovely waitress eyeballed me, as if deciding if I knew what I was asking for. I gave her the stare down and assured her I meant it :) When my meal came out - it looked delicious - fresh red cabbage and carrots accompanied the plate of noodles. She provided us with some additional sauces, and of course I added a bit more of their house hot sauce before delving in. To keep it short and sweet - the pad thai noodles were delicious. By far the best I've had in a long time. The service was friendly and quick, what more can you hope for! I have a feeling I will be headed here again before we head out of town! read more

I've only been here twice and only for the lunch buffet, but I love it! My boyfriend and I came here after class when we were craving authentic Thai food & what we both love about the buffet is that you basically get to try a little bit of everything that's on their menu! There's fried bananas, pad thai, stir fried vegetables, chicken curry, fried rice, fried chicken, soup, and more noodles. All that for about $6 a person! SUCH a great deal :) *Lunch buffet : 11:00am-2:00pm (it's either 2 or 3pm. I don't remember, but I'm PRETTTTTTY sure it's 2) I really wanna come here to try the rest of the items on their menu, especially for dinner! I looove Thai beef salads, so I can't wait to try it here! I also lovelovelove the ambiance of this restaurant! Feels so modern :) read more

I love Thai food! And I love basil! So we gave this place a try because of the 4-star Yelp rating . When we arrived (I think it was a Friday night), it was not crowded, so we were going to leave, but Yelp wins, so we stayed. Big mistake. =\ Service was good, but the food is not good, except the papaya salad was pretty good. I want to like this place because they're so nice, but I just don't like the taste. I took the Tom Yum soup home and improved it with more fish sauce. Tasted great afterwards. read more

Damnn this place is goood! I come here all the time when I want a party in my mouth! Haha I usually get pad thai with beef at level 3! The flavor is so amazing, each bite is unique and memorable from start to finish. Its family owned, and the people are so nice! The interior is trendy and tastefully done ( still confused how people eat at that one zig-zag table to the front tho lol) If you want great thai cuisine, service, and experience come here! You won't regret it! (I should get paid for this, dangg!) But seriously come here it's amazing!!!!! read more

Tried this restaurant for the first time this week (well first time since the old owners), with friends. So far, so good. The owner is very friendly and the food tasty and reasonable. I can recommend the Thai Boat Noodles (watch the spice factor, I asked for 3/5 but that was a bit much); and the Eggplant/Tofu dish (sorry didn't get the Thai name). read more

I've been here for lunch several times and I am never disappointed. I should try more dishes, but I love their Pad-see-eu with shrimp. I get it every time. Their Thai iced tea is good. Service is good, and the owner is also the main server. I've been here for dinner a couple of times as well. Glad to have a good Thai place so close to the office. read more

This is a great little Thai restaurant! I came in for an early dinner. The server was really helpful in suggesting dishes and explaining flavors. The chef came out and checked on me while I was enjoying my curry - not pushy at all, she just wanted to make sure her customers were happy! I was really pleased to find this place my last night in town - it's definitely on my list to revisit. read more

Got the lunch buffet on a Wednesday. We got there at about 11:15ish (buffet starts at 11) and we were the only customers for a good hour or so (had the food all to ourselves BWAHAHA ^o^) They had pad see ew, pad thai, some stir fried veggies, curry, fried chicken, fried rice, egg rolls, fried bananas, and a spicy veggie/ground meat dish.Everything was well...greasy. and after two plates, I called it quits. Tried every dish and it was just meh. the pad thai had too much of the tamarind flavoring to my liking. and they went cheap on the egg rolls. they only had two out. and when we asked for more, they took out two again... so I felt bad about gorging. didn't wanna get looked at like i'm a fattie :( the food was what you would expect usual thai food to taste like. not ahhhmazing but not disgusting either. i DID like the veggies and fried bananas though! and the lady was nice ^^ i don't know if i'll come back again so soon; it was my second time this time and the last time i went was a year ago... read more

Pad Thai looks like wet spaghetti noodles, has very little flavor. The portions are so tiny!The woman at the front wouldn't let my husband pay for the food with his credit card. "No cash, you no eat"???? How rude can you be?! I guess we will be going to on of the 30 other Thai places in the area from now on. Rude rude rude. The pad see ew was ok but the portion was too small for 8 dollars. read more

I've been going to this spot since the early/mid 90's, and it's always been great. I can't say I've ever had any bad experience here at all. They treat everyone like family. The chef/owner will cook what ever you want, pretty much, and they have good lunch buffets as well. I generally ask the chef what the special is (which isn't always listed), or order from the menu. I've never really seen it that busy (where I had to wait), aside from lunch time, which is when I usually get orders to-go. It's a cool lil' hole in the wall for couples or singletons, and they even reserve the place for (small) private parties, as we did once back in high school, although I'm not sure if they still do that or not. read more

The best Thai restaurant in Arcadia. Family owned, modern decor, intimate ambiance, delicious food. Get the gang massaman curry! read more

My family had recommended I take my girlfriend here for our first date, and I am extremely pleased with the service and food. There aren't many Thai restaurants that taste as good as this one, and I'm happy with the owners because they're extremely nice and helpful when ordering and throughout the entire service. read more

Compared to other Thai places I've visited, this place definitely rates an" Eek! Methinks not." I got the special of the day - Thai lettuce wraps with ground chicken. This is their lunch special so it has to be good right??!? Answer: no. While I did get mostly dark meat, which added good flavor and kept it from being dry, they served it with a wedge of watery iceberg. Yuckola. Also, the small bowl of meat mixture (the only adequate descriptor I can come up with) was not very flavorful and there were no veggies or anything else in the mix. It might have had mushrooms but that could also have been some of the fatty remnants of the thigh meat, not quite sure. Either way, the meal left me hungry for more. Literally hungry. I could have eaten some more considering the tiny portion of my lunch meal was 11 bucks. I definitely won't be back. read more

i love me some pad thai like any other l.a - ian. So like any other food snob, i get disappointed when I get some sub par food. How stoked was i to satisfy a craving. This place was my savior. Ive been looking for hole in the wall thai restaurants, and this was it. its small intimate, and delicious. i got the pad thai ( DUH of course) and the green curry. that shit was amaze balls. spicy and hot dang i love the coconut milk in it :) yum. so if youre in arcadia, go hit up this place. also minimum of $10 to use a credit card read more

We'd seen the front of the restaurant a few times since it's in the same strip mall complex as one of our favorite sushi places, but it wasn't a very big storefront and we weren't sure what kind of restaurant it was. Luckily, a friend had a great experience there, so I had decided to try it sometime, which ended up being about a month ago when the husband and I joined said friend and another friend there for dinner. This past weekend, the husband and I decided to venture back on our own. The menu is fairly extensive, and since I'm not as familiar with Thai food as I am some other Asian cuisines, I pretty much have to read all the descriptions to figure out what everything is, and there are so many good-sounding things on the menu that it's hard to narrow down what you actually want to order. The husband and I order family-style, so at least that means we can choose a few different things. I have been a HUGE fan of tom yum gai ever since I tried it for the first time because another friend mentioned it a lot. I think I most enjoy the lemon grass flavoring but also the mixture of spicy and other flavors. Like Chinese hot and sour soup, tom yum can be made with any number of variations in various restaurants. I ordered an individual bowl of the tom yum gai, which the husband and I shared. I did enjoy the flavoring of the soup, but it wasn't quite as lemony or spicy as I normally prefer, but I still liked it enough that I would order it again. They actually have a seafood version of the tom yum that I think I'll try next time. The husband and I also ordered an appetizer of fried wontons. We were surprised, though, that they weren't the kind we're used to seeing in Chinese restaurants. Go figure - they're different because it's a Thai restaurant! Yeah, I know, did I mention I'm still learning Thai food? The menu says that there is ground meat inside (pork, I think, but I can't remember for sure - it was either pork or beef), but there's actually just a tiny bit of meat inside. It mostly looks like a won ton wrapper square folded in half to form a triangle and deep fried. It's served accompanied by a sweet sauce that I've had before with egg rolls. The won tons were really crunchy and quite good, and I'd actually order it again, but next time, I'll know it's basically like having a meatless appetizer, though of course, it wouldn't work for actual vegetarians. For our entrees, we ordered a rice noodle dish which I don't remember the name of, but it was spicy and had an assortment of meats, including seafood, and we also ordered a meat dish (chicken, but you can have it as a beef dish as well) cooked with broccoli and garlic. I really enjoyed the noodle dish (I *really* like rice noodles, whether stir fried or in noodle soup - they just have a really great texture to them) because it was just so flavorful. The meat dish was also really good, with specks of cooked garlic that you could actually see - a good thing for two garlic fans. We did have an order of rice with our meal as well, but we ended up eating very little of it, so in the future, we might just skip the rice altogether, especially if we're getting a noodle dish. We actually ate so little of it that we were told we'd only be charged for a partial order. On our previous visit, we had ordered the pad thai - a staple of Thai cooking of course - and it was really good. We also had a beef dish called something like Crying Tiger which I remember really liking. We also had tastes of the dishes that our friends had ordered, but I have no memory of what they were - I just remember thinking they were really good. I think what I need to do is to get a paper version of the menu that I can keep and then just check off the items I've tried after each visit until I eventually make my way through the entire menu. The restaurant is fairly small, with maybe less than a dozen small tables. They also have this really long wavy table, kinda like a new-wave bar area. I'm not sure it would be conducive to having conversation with more than one other person, and my main issue would be that the seating is just round stools, with no backing, which I generally find to be very painful. The restaurant is family run, with the dad as the chef, mom as a hostess/server and their teenage son as the main server. They are all very nice and very helpful if you have questions about menu items. They were also very attentive about taking away empty plates and refilling our water glasses. One other thing is that with your check, you get coffee candy that I *really* like. I've decided that once they get to know me a little better, I'm going to actually work up the nerve to ask if it's available in stores, although I have never been in a Thai market, so I'd have to find one. I thought about asking this time, but I was worried that she'd just give me a handful, which I would appreciate but which isn't what I want - I want to be able to buy a bag of the stuff! read more

This Thai food is really good. It's unique... high quality preparation. It's not really "fusion" but probably pretty authentic. But something about the little twists they do with their food make the food extra good. If I were to offer an analogy... I think MOST Thai Food Restaurants are like CPK/Cheescake/Macaroni Grill level of flavors. Basil Thai is like the equisite local joint you'd find in San Francisco that uses fresh ingredients and have great, memorable flavors. For example, if you get the noodle dishes like Pad See Ew, they burn the noodles just a little bit to give it a slightly different flavor. The Beef Salad (I think #25) is served with like mango garnishes or strawberries or cantaloupes... whatever is fresh. Ultimately, it's my favorite Thai restaurant. It is family owned by a cute couple... and I like to support small businesses. The inside decor is kind of mid-century modern b/c the sister is an architect. I think it gives the restaurant character, but it feel impractical and maybe a little worn&torn. The only downside for me? You always come out smelling like the food from head to toe. read more

This is our local lunch stop. Not only do I love buffets but its always good. The price for lunch is great. I have been there for dinner too. Its fun to order something that you are not really sure about, but the owners Nina and Poky will help you in deciding what to get. If you show up more than once it is likely Nina will ask you for your name and remember the next time you come in. Once in a while Poky will make something special for us. He sits at our table (when time permits) and chats with us, like we are family. Its a small restaurant so if you are going for lunch especially on a Friday, get there early. I can't recommend any certain dish because I like all of them, so you are on your own. BTW, a lot of people tell me they don't like Thai food because its too spicy, but I don't think it is, and you can always get it made wil less spice. read more

One of my favorite local restaurants! The family that runs the restaurant are super nice people. Nina takes a real interest in the customers and even if we haven't been there in a while, remembers our names and what we like. Very comfortable, fun place. Have gone there for dinner by myself a few times and they are so warm and welcoming that it really didn't matter. I've loved everything I have eaten here, but my favorite is the pad kee mao. I've had this dish at other Thai restaurants but Basil makes it exactly as I like it. Good for small groups without calling ahead. read more

Left overs for lunch ? Nope. A refill on Thai Tea ? Absolutely, yes please. We tried the Pad Thai and a ground shrimp Omelette and for dessert Sticky Rice. Full tummy happy heart. Service was like being at home with a sweet caring attentive mom. The music is not blaring, the food is served on good time it's overall a great atmosphere. Definitely returning here again and again :) read more

So I gave this place a 5 star rating because of the following: I needed some food catered for my wedding rehearsal and spoke to the owner of the place. All I can say is this guy (named Pock) is a class act. Not only did he give me some decent prices for the food, but he was willing to go even lower on the prices because he wanted to make sure I was able to afford it since he knew a wedding was expensive. Pock also told me that he does it because he loves to help... just a great person in general. He also trusted me to come and pick up the food without any deposit on the same day. I had about 40 people at my wedding rehearsal and he delivered perfectly. I ordered only the pad thai and egg rolls. So I will review just the 2. Both were exceptionally authentic as I have tasted real thai food (I am half Thai). Very good. I was very happy with my meal. Check out the place and order whatever you feel... if those 2 dishes were any indication of how good it is, I'm sure the rest of the stuff on the menu is just as tasty. Great place... Great Business... Great Person. read more

Charge $0.5 per person for hot water and the cups are not even clean. Floor is very sticky. Food has no flavor, definitely not going back.

This place has really good, healthy and fresh food. Salmon Salad, yum yum.. a must if you are in the area.

When I am in the Pasadena/Arcadia Area I always make it a point to stop by Basil Thai Cooking Restaurant on Huntington Dr in Arcadia. The food is simply amazing and they will cook to how spicy you would like it I.E. spicy, medium spicy and ect. My favorite to order is the Pad Kee Mao which is a dish made of rice noodle that has shrimp and chicken in it. it is so good! And as a start up I usually order a cup of Tom Yum soup with chicken or shrimp which i highly recommend and just recently I ordered an appetizer of Golden Sacks which was creative and tasty that had in it ground chicken served with a sweet and sour sauce to dip it in. I also love the Thai Ice Tea which is very refreshing! You cannot go wrong with this restaurant and Kai who is the cook and owner along with his wife will take good care of you! Simply great Thai Food that you cannot go wrong with! read more

Been here couple times. Family business, very enthusiastic. Their food is delicious! Try their PAT KI MAO!!!!!! Absolutely the best thing you have ever tasted. The only down thing is their furniture. Table surface is oily. the restaurant looks like a sunken pirate ship. not the best design...:( read more

I am new to the area, after working late and traveling 40miles both ways over the 110 San Pedro Freeway I got to Basil's as they were closing. Instead of turning me away the owners graciously greeted and invited me inside. I was quickly treated to an excellent chicken glass noodle dish that totally hit the spot. After that excellent customer service, great food, immaculate and stylish dining area, the Basil family has a customer for life! I HIGHLY recommend Basil as a great place to dine! Sincerely, Appreciative and Happy Well Fed Client! read more

Goodness gracious!! I've never experienced thai food like this before! The curry was totally watered down and tasteless and it was a lot more vegetable than the chicken that was supposed to be in there. Granted, I should be eating more veggies, but really?!!! when I have to poke around for the chicken slivers and I think I score with a nice chunk and IT'S BAMBOO SHOOT! ...I'm not that happy. When I finally found a sliver of chicken, it was hard and chewed like it was stewing in the curry water for a long long time. I thought the place might be redeemed with the papaya salad, but I was wrong. For $8.50 I expect more than two sad, not so fresh shrimpies. There wasn't much shredded papaya which I guess was a good thing because it was so limp and soggy, I wasn't sure what to do with it. I was raised not to waste food, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it after the first couple of bites. I really hope they read some of these reviews so they can improve on what they're serving because they seem like nice people. p.s. the friend I had lunch with thinks two stars is misleading ... .she insisted that I only give it one star ...... and take her to in-n-out to make up for the experience read more