Got my ' Favorite Green Curry Eggplant Basil 4 Lunch via Doordash whom I've used for some years now w/their ' Courteous Dashers 'and Consistent, Punctual Service !!!! The ' Green Curry ' had ' Excellent Flavor & Ample Veggies. Tofu seemed Fresh & M3dium Soft. Tofu completes the Meal even without The Rice !!! Been ' in' too !!! Lovely Mystical Ambiace. Maybe just below Street Level opening read more

Pom our server is a delight. Cheerful and willing to help. She is so pleasant and polite. We did not like for anything. I ordered the drunken noodles and the And steak with cashew nut sauce. It was delicious and we made sure that we ordered Thai style and not the American flavors that have been upgraded on the menu. The dessert was a wonderful wonderful finish to this meal. Lots of deep fried bananas bright bananas floating in a drizzle of honey and a big dollap of coconut ice cream to join it. Delish. read more

See all

Chef's special green curry fried rice is AMAZING! I had green curry fried rice all the time but this is different. It comes with fried shrimp on the side which add some crunchy to the meal, the curry taste is not too strong but still there nicely. Also has a bun of fresh veggie and topped with fried egg (this is a cherry on top) Restaurant is homey style really the cute and relax. Recommend:) read more

See all

Friendly, attentive service. Food was delicious, good size portions and fresh! Mango sticky rice was amazing. Decent prices. Great ambiance!

Wow wow wow!! I ordered two delicious dishes the other evening - the coconut mushroom soup and the spicy eggplant and basil dish w chicken. Sweet Basil is leaps and bounds above the other Thai restaurants I've dined with in recent years. Their attention to detail is superb. The quality of the dishes are amazing. The staff take great pride in their restaurant and it is apparent the moment you step in the door. The setting is beautiful, the service is welcoming and gracious and the food is stellar. Sweet Basil has been on Solano Avenue in Berkeley for many, many years. There is a great reason for their longevity. A beautiful, delicious gem . Thank you so much for your care and pride in each dish read more

My family is vegetarian and their lunch specials are perfect for us; everything was tasty, the soup, the salad, the spring roll and the veggie meal option. Have not gone to their dinner service, but the lunch specials hit the spot for me and my kids. Added bonus, the owners are very nice. read more

Everything about this place is 5 stars - quality of food, taste, the staff, the ambiance and entire restaurant I would come here again, and again, and again read more

Always fresh and delicious. Tried the peanut sauce salad today with Vietnamese iced coffee, and I feel full, healthy and so satisfied! The staff is super sweet as well. read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Peanut Sauce Salad - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

** The following review reflects my delivery experience DURING the COVID-19 pandemic. ** Oh my, this is another one from Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine as I remember this long-running Thai spot from the early nineties when both the restaurant and I were probably a lot fresher-looking. Luckily, unlike me, Sweet Basil didn't taste like it went past its expiration date. To be totally honest, I had not been motivated to come back here pre-pandemic because there are a lot of dining options on Solano Avenue... But I was looking for something comforting for delivery for me and Jamie W., so here we are. We split two entree salads. The healthier option was the $18.50 Grilled Salmon Salad, which spotlighted a good-size grilled salmon filet over lettuce and featured fresh herbs, huge chunks of fresh mango, chili, and fresh lime juice (photo: https://bit.ly/2RIzsbb). Very tasty and yes, very fresh. Less fresh but no less tasty was the amusingly named $10.50 Peanut Sauce Salad with Chicken. Funny how they headlined the dressing over the fried tofu cubes and fried wonton shards much less the shredded fresh carrots which looked to be tossed in everything (photo: https://bit.ly/3n7kaIN). Just for a finishing touch, we ordered the $4.50 Steam Veggies which was basically a bowl of steamed cabbage with what appeared to be what was left of the carrot (photo: https://bit.ly/3alF9Cf). It was good to know Sweet Basil offered healthy options after all these years away. FOOD - 4 stars...salad options are good and healthy AMBIANCE - n/a...haven't been inside in ages SERVICE - 4 stars...quick delivery, well packaged TOTAL - 4 stars...old standby delivers in more ways than one RELATED - Strolling Solano? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2HvcTQH read more

See all

first off, everyone here was so nice! definitely all around amazing service. as for the food, all of their dishes were seasoned so well. it hit the sweet, sour, & spicy notes that thai food typically has. i especially enjoyed their pad thai bc their noodles were perfectly chewy & soaked up the sauce so nicely without becoming all mushy overtime. the appetizer platter was so aesthetically pleasing & the perfect dish to share if you're coming with friends. it had all of the different appetizers they offer on their menu, so you get to try everything! i loved the trio of dipping sauces that was included. they definitely don't skimp out on their protein supplements here. just look at all the crab layered on top of our crab fried rice! all of their dishes can be made vegetarian, but you can also supplement with beef, chicken, or shrimp at a minimal cost. highly, highly recommend! read more

See all

WOW!!! I have never. What an unbelievably rude woman works at the front counter!! Placed my pickup order Sunday night for pickup tonight (Monday 7pm) via delivery.com due to a $10 promo code delivery.com was offering. Arrived right at 7pm and politely gave my name to the woman at the counter. The woman returned a few minutes later saying they didn't have my order. I showed her the order on my phone so she could verify all my information. She asked which company I ordered from and told her (several times) it was delivery.com (all the while showing her the order on my phone). After a few minutes in the kitchen, the woman returned and said they don't use delivery.com and that I could place another order with her. I informed her that I already ordered (and paid) with delivery.com and didn't want to pay twice. She rudely said I have to call and cancel my order because they don't use delivery.com. I asked her to call instead since this was not my problem, and I was hoping it would get sorted out. She said no and walked off, leaving me to have to call delivery.com and explain the situation. Should change their name to, "Mean Basil Thai". read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Warmly greeted entering the restaurant for the first time since before covid. Vaguely remembering our favorite dishes with high hopes to find them again. We moved to this area in 1985, not sure when we found Sweet Basil, decades ago this was the only Thai on Solano Ave. We were not disappointed. Started with hot ginger tea, sweetened. Thom Yum and Noodle Soup (GF) Thai hot & sour lemongrass soup with prawns serve with Wide or Stick rice noodle. We stopped eating after a few servings, leaving a couple servings to take home. Very abundant and flavorful. The entree we came hoping to find met all our expectations Pra Ram Grilled choice of meats served over a bed of spinach topped with peanut sauce. We added beef and can not wait to come back for this again. Delicious and enough for several servings. Added sticky rice. Easy to find street parking. Lots of room for seating safely, continuous stream of take out orders during the couple hour we were there. On the way out the door notice the tiny pics of family. We delighted during our meal in the sounds from the kitchen of chef, our server and a young child. My first choice for Thai on Solano Ave. read more

Excellent friendly service great pad se ew and satay chicken lovely outdoor patio will be back!!!

The food is pretty good - not my favorite, but not bad. However, the woman who runs the register is downright mean. Everytime I pick up food, I remember how much I just don't like her attitude. She's rude and unfriendly and just should not be in customer service. And then after getting a large dose of her grumpyosity, I don't come back for a while and then forget about her. Then I come back and remember that I have to deal with her in order to get my food and tell myself I won't come back. But I keep forgetting! I just really prefer to get food that doesn't come with so much negativity. read more

Nina and I had intended to meet for lunch at Delirama but found them closed. I had misread the hours on their website, or else I had an old iteration of the website up. In any case they were closed on a Wednesday. We decided to walk across the street to Sweet Basil Thai. It has been decades since I was here. We were seated at a two top by the woman who also served as our server, and given menus. There was a large group seated nearby who were a bit noisy, but it was quieter after they left. We both ordered off the lunch menu. Their lunch specials cost $15.50 and included a crispy vegetable roll, a choice between tom yum or tom kha soup, salad, a main and rice. There is a $1 upcharge for brown rice. I like green curry best. It was marked as spicy so I asked our server whether it could be made mild. She told me it wasn't really that spicy, more like mild+, which is what I often order, so I decided to take a chance and order it, w/ pork, along w/ brown rice and tom kha soup. Nina ordered a dish w/ crispy chicken and green beans, w/ the same choices I made in soup and rice. We both ordered hot tea to drink. After a reasonable wait our food and drinks were brought to us. The lunch was served in a thali-like divided plate, the soup in one section, the salad in another, the rice in another and the main in another. The roll was perched in one of them. Each aspect of the meal was fresh and delicious. Nina gave me a taste of her chicken and green beans and they were very tasty. I mixed my rice w/ my curry, which was a little spicy, and it was perfect. The one gender neutral bathroom was very clean, w/ a lovely blue tile floor and low wainscotting of the same tile. We were both pleased w/ our lunches and would return. read more

This is my second time here. They have excellent service and the decor is beautiful. The music soft and soothing. Today I ordered Panang Curry and enjoyed every bite. The beef was tender, the veggies cooked perfectly, fresh and firm. I would've liked the spices to be more pronounced, but the flavor was still pretty good. I loved the Thai Iced Tea as well. Looking forward to next time. Thank you! read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Came here shortly after they opened for dinner on a Saturday and we had a good experience! Service could be a little lacking since there were only two hostesses, but even so I felt we were adequately waited on. I liked that their menu offered some things that I don't often see at other Thai restaurants. The Thai tacos were pretty good - I like the idea of roti as a tortilla! The green curry was mildly spicy and filling when eaten with rice. Personally I thought the chicken may have been slightly over cooked but not enough for me to care about it. I ordered the pad Thai with tofu and enjoyed it as well. It was a little sweet on its own, but we had the option to add more chili powder or sauce to all of our food so no big deal. Overall I like the ambience of this restaurant - it was small but clean and they had pleasant instrumental music in the background. There's a lot of restaurant competition in east bay, but I would choose this one for its pleasant ambience, menu options, and accessible location on Solano. You can easily go on a stroll to walk off your food afterward ;) read more

See all

Delicious and versatile, I keep ordering from Sweet Basil Thai because they're close, fast, and consistently yummy! The drivers are always friendly (not sure if they're staff related to the restaurant or just gig drivers), but whatever is the case, I appreciate it. read more

This is a cute, quaint little restaurant with an inviting atmosphere. The staff were exceptionally helpful and friendly during my visit. If there was ever a 'mean lady' others have mentioned, it seems she's either no longer there or has had a change of heart. Overall, five out of five for great service, delicious food, and a charming environment. read more

They have the best BBQ pork in the bay! Stoped here for quick lunch break wanted something that easy to eat and fill my tummy. I ordered BBQ pork with sticky rice. Bingo! I found my Moo ping (thai pork skewer) my favorite food that I love to have for my breakfast back in Thailand. The pork is super tender with a perfect amount of sweetness really complimented with warm strickt rice. I got Thai iced tea to drink and it got a strong tea flavor and again perfect sweetness. Server is nice and quick. recommended! read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cute ambiance, pretty plated food, amazing taste, the owner is so cute and sweet and the service was amazing!! Definitely recommend!!

I had the pleasure of eating at Sweet Basil. The owner is extremely sweet and always made sure that we were doing well. The environment was serene and welcoming. The food was plated beautifully and tasted even better. This was definitely one of the best thai places I have had in the area. Definitely try the lychee sweet tea it was so amazing but honestly you cant go wrong with any drink. I love the use of crab in the dishes if you were going to try anything I would definitely recommend the crab fried rice. Overall this was an amazing experience and it will most definitely become a go-to place whenever I am looking for a bite to eat read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

I hate to write this but the reason these behaviors continue is because they go unchecked. I hope the staff can take this feedback and do better. But of course, I won't be going back either way. Per usual, I placed my order ahead of my lunch break at 11:40am. Arrived at noon and figured I'd wait MAYBE ~10mins more? Upon arrival, I had to reconfirm my order... instead of looking it up, they asked me WHAT I ordered... I totally should've recognized that red flag but, moving on... I ended up waiting until 12:25pm on a Monday afternoon during lunch hour. (Figured out that they didn't even start my order until I got there- that's the reason they asked me to confirm) No sincere apology from the staff, just a, "oh yea, sorry!" The lack of communication and professionalism was disappointing. But wait, unfortunately there's more: So I ordered 3 Paupia egg rolls and added the satay tofu on the side. The tofu was uneatable so I only ended up eating the egg rolls. So much for my 30min lunch break. Happy Monday! read more

STAY AWAY. If I could give this place 0 stars I would. First of all this place gave me diarrhea and I have a stomach of steel. Second of all the server was rude and made me feel rushed. I ordered the crab fried rice and let me tell you the first thing I noticed was the wrinkly cucumber. Looked like they left it out for a whole week. The taste was mediocre at best for their ridiculous prices. I could've made it much better at home. The green curry was bland with no curry flavor and it was very watery. I almost threw up after a couple bites and I pulled out a long black HAIR out of my RICE. I didn't even bother to say anything because the whole place and people looked unsanitary. Before I left, I saw the waitress wipe her nose with her HAND right before going to serve food to someone. When they asked if I wanted a box, absolutely NOT. I will not be returning. read more

Great food and ambience (sat outside), and very friendly staff! They had delicious vegan and gluten free options for us. I had the zen yai noodles with tofu and shared the eggplant/tofu satay. Family enjoyed the pad see ew and the yellow curry. Mango sticky rice was fantastic. I'd go back tomorrow if I didn't live across the bay... Thank you, Sweet Basil! Sincerely, a very satisfied customer. read more

I gave this restaurant four stars with a proviso: I would only go at lunch. The last time I went for dinner the way it was abominable because they were busy filling DoorDash orders. But at lunch they are not as busy and the food is really quite good. And sometimes really excellent. read more

The food I ordered was okay, not great, thus the 3 star rating. I understand that COVID has presented a really hard environment for restaurants to thrive. It's difficult for them to produce the profit margins they need to stay afloat when they're limping their way through this pandemic. I'm noticing restaurants like Sweet Basil cutting their portion sizes, reducing the protein serving, as a means to save costs. It's a losing strategy. The food isn't getting more delicious. Quite the opposite, it's forgettable and barely acceptable. The portions at Sweet Basil were already small before Covid, and now they're getting even smaller. They're jacking up their prices. Loyal customers are being penalized for their frequent patronage. No thanks, I'm moving on. read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Tom kha gai (Thai coconut chicken soup) - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Love this place! I'm a huge fan of their pad lychee dish. Lately I've been ordering my food to go and they always do an excellent job wrapping everything up neatly so it doesn't spill in my car. The last time I went, I ordered a Thai iced tea with my food and they even wrapped it up to ensure it didn't spill. I also appreciate how quick they are! I've never had to wait more than 20 minutes to get my food from the moment I ordered it. Highly recommend! read more

Honestly - just go somewhere else - the woman the front is unfriendly and unhelpful and the owner is aggressive. There are plenty of great Thai restaurants around - I would choose any of them over this place. read more

Came here for lunch with my mother and a couple friends ready to eat some bomb thai food. Unfortunately this place didn't live up to our expectations. The service here was a-okay where they didn't refill our drinks when they could have and we had to wait halfway through our food to get a refill....even when we asked. The food here is a bit pricey where the soup was $9.50 when it tasted bland and I honestly thought that you could easily make it at home for a cheaper price. They do have outdoor and indoor seating, but their outdoor seating is limited and can't seat a big group. . . in fact it can't even seat a group of 4. When we needed our waiter, we couldn't find anyone to help us out that we just sat there and waited. Maybe they were upstairs or in the kitchen, but there was no one there to help us out when we needed it. read more

See all

This restaurant was AMAZING! 100% recommend, the server was the sweetest and the food was all so delicious. Especially the crab fried rice and the pad thai, if you are in the Berkeley area, this is a must try restaurant. read more

Stopped by for dinner and had a wonderful experience. The food was a delicious lighter version of typical American thai food. Service was excellent! read more

A really small little restaurant. I only ever saw one lady who was host, waitress, and seemed to maybe help in the back as well? Super nice, great service considering she was manning the entire restaurant full of people by herself. After 15 minutes of waiting for the appetizer, it took an additional 45 minutes for the main courses to come out. Chili sauce is provided on some tables, but not all and we had to ask to get some. However, not too impressed with the food! Some of the dishes were lukewarm/room temperature. We ordered: - Crab fried rice 3/5: the crab saved the dish. Not flavorful enough without it, but this dish was served hot at least. - Shrimp pad thai 2/5: not very flavorful and a little cold when we got it - Tom kha soup with chicken 2.5/5: comes in this tin circular container with a fire in the middle to keep it hot. The ladle was a little too big to properly scoop soup out, but the soup itself wasn't terrible. A little bland and watery. - Yellow curry chicken (comes with rice) 2/5: curry was watery and the pieces of potato took over the entire plate - Basil eggplant with tofu (comes with rice) 3/5: fried tofu didn't taste fresh and was cold, even though the pieces of eggplant were piping hot. Good flavor for the sauce though. I wouldn't come back if given the choice. But overall not a terrible spot if you're in the mood for Thai and you're in the area. read more

See all

Very much overpriced food although the food was delicious. Portion size is normal. Only came due to a Groupon deal that gave 50% off. Meal still came out to be a lil under $30 for two people (two dishes).. I would rate 3.5 however since the flavor of the food was good I'll round up haha. This little hole in the wall shop only has one waitress (yes one of those places) so you'd feel like such a bother just asking for some chili. read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Bamee pad delicious flavor - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

There's something very simple about this place that never quite pulled me off the street. I tried it once for lunch with three other people and we shared about 4 main dishes. All were tasty (and vegetarian, for those on the lookout). The desserts out-shined the food in my memory: great sticky rice and great fried bananas. Final verdict: I could go here again for lunch without thinking too hard about it. Or just go somewhere else, probably more exciting. read more

Last night our family of five had dinner at Sweet Basil Thai in Berkeley. The restaurant is small and intimate and the food was absolutely tasty and delicious! The service was fast and the food was served hot and with large portions. We will definitely return in the future! read more

Horrible service. Waited for 5 minutes just to get a Thai Iced Tea. I had to call out a few times to get somebody to help me. To make matters worse, there were customers eating and they were not being served or asked how things were during all this, like a normal restaurant. I finally went towards the back of the restaurant to make sure nothing bad was happening back there and when I saw someone, I asked politely if I may have a Thai Iced Tea to go. She all of a sudden yelled at me and said I cannot be back there and need to be outside. I told her I had been waiting for 5 minutes already. I paid for my thai tea and will not be back. Used to come here and they lost a customer, actually, customers...my family. Work on customer service here. Not only was I waiting to be helped, the other customers were just sitting there as well waiting for someone. read more

Pros: *Clean, peaceful, relaxing decor. *Simple yet representative menu so you aren't trying to choose between a thousand different options. *Great for vegetarians. Most items can be substituted with tofu if you don't eat meat. They also have plenty of dishes designed exclusively for vegetarians, not like some Chinese restaurants where you order a tofu dish and it has oyster sauce or some other meat sauce on the tofu. *Have a robust seafood selection for not much more expensive. *If you're only slightly hungry you can order a small plate and it's usually around $7 *Items are perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. *Good for kids. They give them crayons to color with. Cons: * They're a laidback place so if you're in a hurry then it's best to order food to-go in advance. They don't rush you to order and you do have to get their attention sometimes. It's usually pretty quiet. Generally you may have to be proactive letting them know that you've picked a dish and you're ready to order, or if you want the bill, etc. They don't breathe over your shoulder every two minutes. On this particular occasion I came on a Monday night and the place was pretty empty. I ordered the Chap Chye which was tofu with shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, and celery over a bed of glass noodles. The vegetables were cooked just right, not too soggy, maintaining all of their flavors, and the mushrooms were filling and "meaty", despite being meatless. 5 stars hands down! read more

Sweet Basil Thai - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great food and service. Staff are always accommodating and the food is always hot and delicious whether served at the restaurant or to go!! Highly recommended!! read more

Friends have raved about this place for years, so I thought I'd give it a try. Can't figure out what all the fuss is about. The restaurant was empty when we got there at noon, but the server ignored us for 10 minutes. I had the yellow curry (with chicken) lunch combo. The curry was good, correctly spiced, although very soupy. The rest of it - meh! The spring roll was tasteless, the hot & sour soup was somewhat sweet, the salad dressing was cloyingly sweet. My friend ordered a mild curry, but found it overly bland without much flavor. I love Thai food, but I won't be back to Sweet Basil. read more