We actually stop here every couple months for dependably good pad Thai and friendly service. Tonight we are headed home from vacation and decided to grab an order to take home. My mouth is watering already. We like spice level three and always appreciate the crunch of the cabbage, carrots and peanuts. The place is clean (notice their really high health department rating) so even if it isn't beautiful we think it is just fine. read more

Food was delicious, staff was very friendly and the atmosphere was quiet and nice. Highly recommend if you are looking for authentic Thai food nearby read more

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Now that we aren't under Covid-specific precautions, I'm more of a regular at this location. The hours of operation are no longer a problem Instead, there is usually a crowd of people picking up orders to go when I get there. I can listen to the soft music in the background while I wait for the crowd to clear so I can be seated. They clear out quickly enough. I decided to try something new this time so I asked the waitress what's popular. She suggested the mango delight stir-fry, and I think I have a new favorite. read more

Cool Basil - Mango delight stir fry. - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

By far the best Koi Kai in Des Moines. The food was fresh and service was fantastic. My husband had the Cracked Black Pepper Chicken and loved it. We live near by but normally run to Thai Flavors on the east side of town. With the lunch price of $8.95 we will stop traveling for Thai and frequent here more often. read more

Traveling with family and trying to find a place that everyone wants to stop at can be tricky at times. Cool Basil offers Asian fusion with dishes inspired by Japanese, Chinese, and Thai cuisine. So sushi, curries, and fried rice dishes. Great, everyone is happy. This place is in a strip mall but offers plenty of seating. There is a sushi station in the middle with seating all around the counter forming a U - shape. The kids liked sitting at the station and watching their sushi being rolled and made. We also tried their fried rice and some Thai noodle dishes like Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. All the dishes were fresh, tasty and satisfying. The sushi fish was very fresh and of good quality. Portion vs. price was very accommodating, we even took some of the noodle dishes home for another meal. My family also liked the addition of Thai fortune cookies, another interesting variation from traditional strip mall Asian restaurants. read more

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Another great spot to enjoy some wonderfully prepared Asian flavors. I ordered chicken fried my favored chicken fried rice and pork egg rolls that did not disappoint my palate. The wait staff was quick, friendly and informative when asking questions related to the tasty flavor. The total environment was full of cheer alerting all that everyone seemed to be enjoying their selective choices as if in food heaven! read more

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This is always a 3.5 for me. It is good and great when we are in this area. Husband enjoys yellow curry with 6 SPCA's. I did not think it was bit. Had the cool basil roll and added tuna. While small, I liked it. Chicken egg rolls are good but I have had better. read more

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This was my first time at the Altoona location. I believe they have the same menu as Clive, but the restaurant has a way more casual vibe being in the strip mall and is smaller in size. Our server was attentive and helpful today. I had the Honey chicken and it had good flavor and the chicken had perfect texture. I always recommend adding some spice to the dish as well. Reasonably priced. read more

Cool Basil - Cripsy Honey Chicken/Rice - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Fantastic food, service and vibes! Love this place for the sushi and kitchen items. Can not go wrong!

Great find for dinner on our way through town! Large menu, friendly service, and quick food. We ordered lo Mein, sesame chicken, pad see ew, and drunken noodles. All were hot and super tasty! Way better ambience than you would expect from a strip mall. We would definitely eat here more if we lived in town. The only reason I didn't give 5 starts is because there was a little wear and tear on finishes in the restaurant, but seriously this was a great little find! We will stop here again when traveling through. read more

I visited this location because I love Cool Basil in the Clive area. There was a sign on the door of this Altoona location saying the name is now Thai Basil but that the owners were the same. Our server was awesome. She greeted us as we arrived and was attentive and really good at her job. The small tom yum seafood soup was stuffed with seafood and tasted great...although my small soup cup looked like the exact same size as the medium soup cup my boyfriend got. That was weird. The basil chicken dish we got had very chewy meat...and some pieces looked and tasted like they may of been something other than chicken. Tough and almost like pork? The cucumber salad was fresh, but the ice tea was tasteless. Almost like water. But the memory I am left with is the splattered sauces and food all over the walls and the gunk all over the spouts of the soy sauces on our table and our menus were sticky on parts. If this place did a good cleaning we may try again. read more

Cool Basil - Walls need wiped down - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

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I go to Cool Basil to get the curry and it never disappoints. Service is typically very good and I can never complain after leaving because I'm too full! read more

This restaurant is under new owners! For years I would get food at Cool Basil Altoona under the previous owners and the food was OK but they never got the spice right. This time we ordered - I got 4 Papaya Salad, 5 Larb and my goodness, delicious! There were fresh chilies like you would expect for these dishes. The shrimp in a blanket was a pleasant addition! My husband got the Pad See Ew and normally when we get take out, the noodle dishes are very dry (even from the best places). The noodles were not dry at all, had the perfect amount of heat, and were overall delicious. If you're in the area I definitely recommend giving Cool Basil another shot if you've been disappointed in the past! read more

Cool Basil - Larb, papaya salad - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Yummy food! Nice staff and the service was in a timely matter! We will come back for sure

Stopped in on a Saturday for an early dinner. Service was kind and attentive. Food was great- had the Tom Ka Kai and drunken noodles, both with chicken. The soup was amazing! The noodles were good. Definitely worth another visit. read more

Cool Basil - Drunken noodles - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

This is by far my favorite Thai food in central Iowa. The drunken noodle (with chicken, level 2 spice) is incredible. Excellent combination of noodles, chicken, and veggies. Noticeably more sauce than their competition, consistently too. I have only ever ordered carry out, and it is always ready in 10-15 minutes. Service is always top-notch and fast. Strongly recommend Cool Basil (Altoona). read more

Cool Basil - Drunken Noodle (Carry Out) - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Went for an early lunch and were the first people In for the day. Serve was prompt and very helpful. Kept our drinks filled and checked in on us often. Food arrived and was great temperature and flavor. Everyone in our party enjoyed their meals. We will definitely go back soon. read more

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Always good food, and a comfortable dining area. We were greeted served in a timely manner.

I really wanted this to be good, not many options in this area. It's been awhile since my last experience here. This time reminds me of why. Ordered carry out and had a few issues. Ordered yakisoba spice 1, green curry tofu, spice 4 with added chicken. I think they reversed the spice. Yakisoba was too hot for person who ordered, green curry had no spice. Added chicken was missing (they adjusted bill, staff super). Spicy tuna roll was warm, couldn't eat. Crab Rangoon, wasn't bad. Overall flavors were good, just missing accuracy. read more

Cool Basil is under new ownership- a father- son team and it's a huge improvement!!! The food is delicious, prices are average for the area. The wait is a little long - it's never ready on time for take out, but then you get to talk to the staff, and they're wonderful. After years of avoiding this place, I'm glad that it's back up and running! I haven't eaten inside yet, but it looks really nice and the tables are always busy. read more

the previous reviews seem to be rating another Cool Basil in Altoona. The one we love is in West Des Moines. Food is always wonderful and service is great! If you are rating the other one, please use their website. not sure how they can have the same name since they aren't even "related"!! read more

Ok so I normally don't rate places that I haven't gone to several times. This place is an interesting duck. It's Asian Fusion. The service was awesome and attentive. The place is nicely decorated. So the food to describe it is like Chinese, Japanese, Thai mix and yes in that order. I gave them 4 stars because I cannot say that they are consistently good. I love their fortune rolls. I hate fortune cookies but those rolls were good. read more

We hadn't been there in a few years but heard they were under new management so decided to give them another try - glad we did! We ordered the crab rangoon - 10/10, crispy & nicely browned, the filling was delicious, plenty of crab, cream cheese filling and scallions. The dipping sauce was sweet with a little heat. The steamed pot stickers were wonderful, delicate and light, sprinkled with scallions, chili flakes, shredded cabbage, bell peppers -10/10. The chicken satay skewers (4) were huge and very good, came with toast, cucumber/onions, peanut sauce - 8/10. My husband had the seafood madness special with scallops, crab, mussels and shrimp - 9/10, he loved it. I asked for sweet & sour crispy chicken. She asked my spice level and I said zero, I may have liked it better had I upped the level. It tasted a little fishy to me but my husband said it's the best he's ever had. Servings are huge and for 3 full appetizers, a beer, and 2 entrees, the bill was only $68! Definitely good food and prices, we'll be back. read more

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I went to this place a few years ago and it wasn't anything remarkable then, so I was a bit hesitant to meet a friend here last night. He had fond memories of the pumpkin curry, and I decided it was worth trying it again. We started off with the appetizer sampler, which is served with 3 sauces. The most notable selections were the shrimp in cone shaped wrappers. The spring rolls, rangoon, potstickers and pork appetizers were all very good and all three of those sauces worked well with any of the appetizers. There was also fried tofu, probably my least favorite. My partner in crime ordered the pumpkin curry at spice level 4(on 1-6 scale). He had me try the sauce and there was a nice strong taste of peanut with moderately high spice level. I ordered the beef pad Thai in "mild" spice level, but it seemed, to me, that it was spicier than his dish. I will order it with no spice next time, if I order that. Mild is a one star level. I wonder if the waiter heard me say "five" instead of "mild". We will definitely be coming back to this Altoona "Cool Basil" restaurant. We had friendly, helpful staff waiting on us. Clean place. Lot parking. Moderate prices(considering inflation, this place is average price). Easy to find, in the strip mall across from Walmart and two doors down from the "Monterey" Mexican restaurant. I'm glad I went back. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5- NoScreamingKids. CyHawkApproved. read more

As always, I am a skeptic of any asian restaurant that tries to do more than just one type of cuisine. I believe there should be a focus on food and honestly- thai, chinese and japanese are not closely related in terms of flavor. They pretty much have rice in common. So theres that.. All in all, my experience at Cool Basil was a good one. Clean, modern design, yet not so fancy that I felt weird walking in with tshirt and shorts. I did have a sushi craving and decided to give them a chance although it has all the red flags of a mediocre sushi place (thai and chinese on the menu). The american style sushi I ordered was great. Fresh ingredients, and fish tasted fresh also. I didnt order nigiri though I love it---just wasn't brave enough to try it there. Much safer to order an american styled roll. The drunken noodles and padthai were fine-no complaints there either and it beats me cooking it myself on a lazy day. The dessert was a good too, although when in thailand i loved the condensed milk drizzle on top of the mango with sticky rice-i recommend they add that on! I would def come here again. Its a certain contender in the des moines area for thai and surprisingly, sushi! read more

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What a disappointment! Received only part of my order and they blamed it on Grub Hub. Doubt they last long, I won't be going back for sure. Food not so good either. read more

Wanted to check out this location because it it not affiliated with the Clive location. So curiosity had me. We arrived about 5:30 and there was lots of seating available. It was a Thursday night the weekend before Christmas and the world was a buzz. However the interior was calm and quiet. My friend and I were seated in a booth and helped immediately. We took a moment to review the menu which had as many options as expected. I ordered the Pad Thai and my friend got the snow Peas and chicken. When we ordered the waitress had commented that they had gotten new spices and thought that it was spicier than normal, so we were careful on the hotness we picked. After the food came we both commented there was barely any spice so we should have cranked up the volume. As we enjoyed our meal and huge group of people came in. The two people out on the floor jumped into action and arranged a bunch of tables to accommodate their size. I think everything went really well and don't have any problems and think if I was closer to this location I would stop by more often. read more

Cool Basil - Paid thai - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Went to Cool Basil for the first time today with my girlfriend. Our server was very friendly and personable. The food was delicious, and came out quickly. Will be going back! read more

Basil beef fried rice is amazing. Sushi is good. Love the atmosphere. Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Great and quick service. Cool basil has delicious sushi and even better crab rangoon. I think cool basil should get more attention.

This review is only in reference to the one located in Altoona Iowa. The other location in West Des Moines is very good. The Altoona location is a case of salmonella waiting to happen. read more

We loved this place when it opened years ago. Sadly, just had a mediocre meal there, poorly served. The waitress took our drink and appetizer order - I ordered an Alaska roll and a bottle of Tsingtao, with which the waitress in the Asian restaurant was apparently unfamiliar so I pointed it out on the menu. My wife ordered crab rangoon. Understanding fresh sushi takes time, we expected both appetizers to be served together and settled down to wait with our waters. The waitress dropped off her crab rangoon within minutes. She took our entree order and toddled off. There was plenty to share, so we shared them while watching the sushi chef do his thing from our table. A few minutes later he rang his little bell, washed and dried his hands and walked back and out of sight. We watched our waitress pick up the product and walk it to another table. We tried unsuccessfully to flag down our waitress when a different one arrived with my entree, no roll, no beer, and without my wife's entree. "Miss," my wife said, "he had an Alaska roll APPETIZER coming," pointing at my prematurely served entree. "He's still making it," she said, just as the sushi chef reappeared and began making my roll. Just then my wife's entree appeared looking not entirely unlike the teriyaki chicken she'd ordered. It was tasteless. The scallop part of my szechuan shrimp and scallop was mush. Other then that, the entree was tasty. And then my Alaska roll arrived as if it driven all the way. "Miss," I said. "Could I get a beer, please?" "What kind?" "Tsingtao," I said. "Like he ordered," my wife said. Not cool, Basil. read more

I don't know what the deal with this place is but I have received phone calls from this place in the middle of the night. I do not live anywhere near this place (multiple states away) and they have not reason to have my phone number. When I googled the number I found the same thing is happening to other people. Shady. Very shady. read more

If you're looking for authentic asian cuisine in the Altoona area, this is the place! Fabulous food, very large menu, and great service. I came here a number of times while in the area for work, and I was always impressed. Highly recommended! read more

Great food and great service! There were five people in our party, we each ordered something different, and we all loved our meals! We remarked how we had never seen a restaurant serve multiple types of Oriental food, but like I said, each meal of our five was wonderful. read more

First time at the Altoona Cool Basil. Dining room was clean, staff was as attentive as needed. Our table ordered crab rangoon, eel roll, crab meat salad, Thai basil stir fry with pork, bbq fried rice, broccoli stir fry with chicken and a salmon roll. Everyone was very happy with the flavors. Everything fresh and hot and came out of the kitchen as it was prepared. I would recommend it. read more

Nice place, good service. I wish I had ordered the pad Thai because that looked good! I had fried spring rolls: nothing to write home about. And the thom Kai soup which was pretty good but very sweet. All three people we were with loved what they got. Big parking lot, too. Convenient location. read more

Ordered the Pad Thai and Crab Rangoon's for takeout. Got a level 2 for spice and it was really good. I really enjoyed my food. Upon picking up my food, the atmosphere was nice and the employee was also very sweet. I think the food would be even better if I chose to dine-in. Would definitely eat here again. read more

Pretty good food, like the little restaurant. Like how you can adjust the spice levels and the amount of different options you have.

Ordered carry out. Food delivered in a timely manner. Food was only average.....warm only! This establishment is hard to figure out......very good at times and then quality of food suffers. read more