I used to like this place, a lot.. Until we went there on Friday, February 14th. Few things that we noticed right away: the whole menu is changed and design updated. My only favorite item called Eggplant Delight with Duck is taken out of the menu, which I thought was probably one if my favorite Asian entrees from all the Chinese and Thai restaurants around Des Moines. So I was bummed. Okay, these guys were super busy that night because there were a lot of couples for Valentines day, I get it. But... On our table the soy sauce bottle was empty, so we had to ask a waiter for that plus chop sticks few times ... it took almost 40 minutes to get 3 sushi rolls because they only had 2 sushi chefs working which seemed weird at busy night like this, I'm pretty sure they usually have 4 chefs for sushi. Next: the food. I got salmon nigiri for myself and it was gross: the rice was warm, if you ever have a fresh fish in warm rice like this, it will make it taste fishy right away, it was awful. The same warm rice was used in the rolls with fresh fish which tasted horrible. Next, for entree I got their only duck dish in the menu, it came as a duck breast sliced in pieces on top of steamed broccoli and a side of rice. This is NOT the duck I have ordered few months ago at this place: it tasted like it was just taken out of the freezer and microwaved, very tough, very-very salty and basically didn't have the taste of duck as it was overpowered by saltiness and the fact it was an old cut of meat. I gave few if my pieces to my wife and the kids to try and they thought the same. Long story short, I have told my waiter that I am not satisfied with my dish and I do not want to finish it because it is unedible and it does not compare to the dish I have ordered few months ago. At the end she took my whole plate down to the kitchen and said that the manager said the best they can do is give us 10% off my duck dish... Wow, we told them we usually spend around 89-90 dollars in their place and this is so far the most disappointing dinner yet and they should really try harder to keep us happy. Also, why would she take my whole plate back and offer me only 10% off the whole dish? If I knew she would do that, I would have just boxed it to go... Anyways, we are not going to be back. The way they handled their dish is not right and they lost us as their customer in Altoona and we would suggest no one to go there and spend their money, I think they are going downhill from here, fast. When my wife was working as a waiter in Las Vegas restaurant, she had people giving her 25 cent tip just because she forgot to refill their cups with water, these guys need be trained for better customer service and stop makings crappy dishes. Our waiter should be thankful we gave her any tip. :/ I still feel like she just didn't want to refund me my meal because she would lose a good tip, well, he got a tip she deserved. read more

Had to give them one star to post but they get negative stars from me! NEVER again! I was eating my sushi and the second roll arrived... I had only eaten 2 pieces and had 3 left of the first when a COCKROACH crashed my quiet dinner for one!!! I would definitely ask and make sure they are Roach free before eating here! Also ask for proof (Health Dept papers). read more

Cool Basil - Bad focus, was not staying seated & was out of there as fast as my legs could take me. - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

Good food and service. Ate there twice and both times was great. Pad Thai and drunken noodles are on point for how they should be done and being able to pick the amount of spice is nice. read more

Great food and great atmosphere. Willing to try them again. I think only issue I had was that there was not much for a Vegan to choose from but my co worker loved there menu and he enjoyed his dish. I however was limited in what I can order. read more

I really enjoyed my experience at their Clive location, but I was pretty disappointed with this location. We came in late afternoon on a Sunday and it was very empty. We ordered the appetizer sampler and it was a combination of 5 different fried items, all were lacking in flavor and had this weird watery sauce to go with it. We ordered 4 sushi rolls and 2 entrees and it took about half an hour to get the food to our table... Our waiter was sitting in the back of the restaurant not really doing anything, and we ended up having a different waiter bring us the check and 2 boxes! That took him 10 minutes from the time we asked until the time he delivered the check and boxes, and the restaurant was completely empty! Chances of returning are pretty slim. read more

The Cool Basil in Altoona is a totally different restaurant than the one in Clive. I'm a regular at the Clive location and it's wonderful. I walked up to order food to go. The young woman was not friendly at all. I ordered a $13 sushi roll and panamg curry with extra veggies. I got a slim sushi roll with no sauce (what would normally be a $7 roll). The curry dish was so hot I could hardly eat it. It had only red peppers- ha! The rice container was about half full. Overall, it was a dud. I've been there before and it was much the same. I won't go again. read more

VERY VERY VERY GOOD! I was amazed at the size of the menu and usually am wary of that...as it signifies a restaurant can't find their niche... But the meal was awesome and everyone at the table with me was THRILLED with their choice! Try it out!! read more

Love Thai so had to stop by and check it out. Seated immediately. Friendly waiter. Ordered our meals and they were delivered quickly. The rangoons were average, nothing mind blowing. The chicken panang curry 5* was not spicy enough but we do love our food hot. It was great. There were a lot of peppers in it which made for a nice change from our other local Thai place. The rice was separate and average for rice. The chicken pad thai was good and fresh but again not hot enough. The staff were friendly and quick. They offered us to go containers because the meals were so big. Prices were average for thai. Considering the fresh ingredients that go into these meals it is a good value. My left overs were enough for another meal which really justifies the price. Would definitely return. And don't let the strip mall placement get to you. Once you are inside you would never know you were in a strip mall. Nicely decorated, clean. Nice bar area to sit at if you'd rather. The menu is large and offered way more than just thai. Chinese, such, etc.. Worth a stop. Try something new and local! WAY better than that junk at Mc'D's. read more

Cool Basil - Crab rangoons - Thai Near Me - Altoona, Iowa

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Definitely a favorite Asian flavor. Food is fresh, more authentic than other Asian restaurants, and you get a nice healthy serving. The restaurant is nice on the inside and has a very pleasant environment. I think the price is fair for the taste and the portion size. I don't nit pick the wait time or servers. If it's worth speaking of I will tell the manager. But a slow wait time once or twice isn't worth a bad review. However, it's been pleasant, efficient with very kind people every time I have gone! I visit at least 3 times a month. read more

Portions are SO SMALL for the price you pay at this place oh my gosh. Not kidding you it's a complete rip off and the food isnt even that good. Very VERY mediocre. Probably will not be going back to this place. read more

This place was pretty good. Ordered a veggie stir fry dish. They are just a little tad pricey for a place such as this in a strip mall, hence why I didn't give the full 5 stars. The food was really good though. Service was average. Nothing outstanding, but not bad either. read more

I've had take-out from here and it was just okay. I enjoyed it much better dining in. The basil chicken stir fry was fantastic! I didn't get any sushi this time but i could see it looked great when other people ordered. The atmosphere is warm and comfortable. read more

Here for lunch. Service great. Prompt and courteous. Appetizers came right away. Food excellent.

Its the first time I couldn't finish my Tom Yum. I love Thai hot and sour soup with a passion and I just couldn't do it... Maybe their love for fish sauce is what did it in for me or lack of spice when I asked for a 6 on a 1 to 6 scale. We also got the BBQ fried rice and it was a soggy texture that had a sweet BBQ sauce like flavor. The food really hit us in the stomach with distaste. They will definitely have to switch up the menu or cooking methods a bit to see us come back. The only semi-tasty think we got was the Chicken Satay, but I think it would be really hard to mess up chicken on a stick... Good Luck guys! Hope you find this review to change your methods. read more

The food was OK at best. The crab Rangoon were overcooked. There was little to no customer service.

They are trying to do way too many things. After talking with the waiter it became clear that the sauces are bought in and they all contain fish sauce and oyster sauce. The food did not taste good and I left not feeling well. read more

Best Thai in the area. The waitress had poor English, but we had no problems. Lunch is $8 for egg roll, soup, entree, and dessert. I can't think of a better place locally for lunch. read more

Food is great as is service. However, chicken or beef in all of the dishes is dry. Suggest they cook it fresh, if they don't already.

Good lunch specials that are a great value. The food I've had here has been great. Service isn't really the best, but if you're looking for solid Thai/Chinese/Japanese meal in the area, I'd definitely recommend this place. read more

Was craving some pho soup so I decided to stop in turns out they have a similar soup they call noodle soup still in that same big bowl couldn't even finish it all. But in all, great service, I enjoyed will be back if in the area. read more

We got to the restaurant about 45 mins after they opened. Upon being seated we were told we would have to wait for our menus because they didn't have enough to go around. We waited 10 mins to get our water and another 5 to get our menus. Once we knew what we wanted we passed our menus on to the table next to us that had been waiting even longer than us. There was one waitress on staff and she was awful. I had to waive her down just to come and take our order. We ordered our food and she interrupted us several times while we tried ordering. I waited 15 mins for my glass of wine. I ordered the Kua Kai (noodles) w/the seafood combination not too spicy. My husband ordered the Angry dish and asked for it to be extremely spicy. I don't like spicy food and when we got it I tasted it and realized I could eat it b/c there was hardly any spice to it. My dish on the other hand was just awful!!! The noodles were very chewy and my jaw hurt after a few bites. I didn't finish my meal b/c there was no point in being in pain just to eat. We had to go to the front to get out check b/c the waitress never came back to check on anything nor did the hostess ask how our meal was. We ended up giving the gift card we had to the table next to us as we will NOT be going back there again. After being open a few months, I would think more staff and more menus would be a really good idea. read more

Not impressed at all. The service was poor, waitress was rude and not very accommodating. Food was cold and very subpar. The one in West Des Moines is GREAT, this one not so much! Will never return again, gross! read more

My wife and my favorite Thai food resturant. Good service, good food, and good price. I would eat here if you like Thai food, you will not regret it! read more

Really good job of making a role I have never had with no rice . Clean , professional , and the sushi tasted great. Another great place to get sushi. I will come here again. Tables were clean. Had the game playing. read more

This is probably the go to restaurant for my wife and I. They have a great range of Asian dishes (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, curry) as well as some good sushi. Service has always been good and friendly. The only thing to look out for is the spice. I like spicy food, and they rate theirs on a scale from 1 to 6 (6 being the hottest). I usually get either a 4 or 5, and depending on who is cooking, sometimes 4 is plenty and other times a 5 is weak. You just never know. But overall a good restaurant, would gladly recommend! read more

Always great food, friendly service everytime I have been there! I am not a big sushi fan but like the Altoona Roll.

Slow service. No spice to the pad see ew at level 1 or level 2. Was disappointed. Food was very plain and bland.

Cool Basil Altoona continues to be a great Asian restaurant. I admit that I'm prejudiced as we're now pretty much 'regulars'.. Try the Herbal Crispy Catfish--my favorite! read more

Very poor service, very poor. I timed the staff and it took 18 minutes before they came to our table and the kicker is they were not that busy. I would not waste my time on subpar food and bad service. read more

The best Thai food available! Love their sushi as well. Cashew Chicken, Pad Thai, and Wok-charred chicken all delish! This restaurant is a must! read more

We've been to the Clive Cool Basil and loved it. This was completely different and inferior. We ordered a couple curries. They must have a big pot of uninspired coconut curry sauce on the stove. They just added some meat and almost different uncooked vegetables and serve it. Servers were pleasant, food was poor. Again, nothing like the Clive Cool Basil location, which is super. read more

We had a great meal. Chicken satay was yummy. Musamen curry and cashew chicken was fantastic. service was speedy. We Will be back!

This place sucks a door says open until 9 p.m. and they chased me out at 8:40 pm. We lived right across the street and we barely go there because they are so rude. read more

My husband and I really enjoy this place. The entrees are always fresh and very good. We love the crab rangoons! I think this restaurant is one of the best kept secrets in Altoona. They should advertise more. read more

First of all -- we L-O-V-E Cool Basil's other spots and Thai Flavors (their sister restaurant), but hadn't been to the Altoona joint before. Sad to say...but this place is FILTHY. Picked up to-go food, and if I hadn't already paid by the time I realized it, I'd have left. Just sitting in the entry chairs, looking around, I realized virtually EVERY surface was filthy. Crud in every corner of the floor, along the surfaces of the room divider...just crusty everywhere. Then a cockroach crossed the rug right in front of me...in broad daylight. I know restaurants have pest problems...but this just says they have TOO MANY bugs. They had little bug traps in plain sight scattered in corners. Again...BIG red flag of a BIG bug problem. The food was OK. Not as good as the other locations, to be fair. But it was fast and it was hot. Then just to top off the not-so-great vibe...she charged my card twice. I was standing right there, so I know she didn't literally slide the card twice. Which makes me feel like I'm getting scammed. When I called, I got a whole lot of chatter about waiting 3-5 days. Don't worry sister, Wells Fargo has got me covered. Grrrrrrr. Not going back. read more

My food was fine. Their customer service was horrid. They were understaffed to begin with. We sat for 20 minutes before we got our water. Then we ordered. 20 minutes the gal comes back to tell us that they are out of sushi ingredients and wasn't sure when the guy was coming back. I ordered something else when really that is why I can there to begin with. I could have left. Finally 20 minutes later our food arrives. It was ok. We wait again and ask for our check. No one had our check. Then we are told they are only taking cash because the machine is down. Seriously? Who carry's cash anymore. I walked up to the front and told them I had no cash but could write a check. He told me no. I told him I needed to run then to ATM and get cash. He said No because I may not come back (IN FRONT OF A WHOLE WAITING ROOM OF PEOPLE). I then asked him if I should go in the back and wash dishes. Finally he let us leave. We ran to the ATM and returned promptly to pay. When we walked in he acted like he had never seen us before. HOLY COW! This place is slow but I was treated like a criminal and my husband and I are both very highly educated people. Never going back. Done. read more