Thai Basil

Excellent food! I love the home made curry here!

Good lunch specia...

Good lunch special, comes with spring roll and tom yum soup! Interesting hot 'tea' drinks.

Let's Talk Lunch

I ordered the chicken pad thai lunch special - ordered it spicy, didnt come that way, so I didnt get what I asked for (came in a three compartment styrofoam container). The pad thai sauce has better flavour than most on Bloor W , an ample portion altogether, okay on the chicken, not big on tofu in my pad thai either but it was okay. The soup container was half full of the soup that comes with the lunch special - did I mention it was half full? The broth was great, I do admit, with some sort of green and two halfs of one mushroom, not big on substance but big one flavour (spicy). The vegetable spring roll is large but not a lot of flavour comes with it. The salad was just iceburg lettuce, nothing else. Overall with a few changes I would go back, a few small changes would make this a great lunch menu/deal (cooked spice options perhaps 1 to 5, a full soup container, or smaller container thats full, better spiced/flavoured spring roll, bit of shaved carrot in the salad, add some colour and interest, maybe a few bits of cucumber - great for when customers order their pad thai spicy - 5).

I first tried this restaurant because I had dined...

I first tried this restaurant because I had dined at the same location before it was Thai Basil. I noticed that the interior was the same except for a few added Asian flourishes: textured paper hang in fat strips scrolling down the walls; Thai wooden sculptures are perched in nooks. .not fancy but adequate..I'm glad they kept the glass-walled front which allows light in from outside and is good for people watching. And I am happy my curiosity brought me back in. As I have been to Thailand and lived there for periods of time, I am always on a quest for authentic Thai food when I return to Toronto. Well, Thai Basil certainly fits the bill! I make sure to eat there on a regular basis, usually satisfying cravings for my favourite dishes, and they have remained consistent. I always order the deep-fried boneless fish fillets done "Crispy Basil On Soft-Shell Crab" style. The crab dish is on the menu but I request that they prepare it in exactly the same way with fish instead. This dish is excellent and I could eat it all the time! It's made with chili, garlic, red pepper and topped with crispy basil. For a vegetable side, I love ordering the "Tung Choi (water spinach) or Green Beans Malaysian-Style" which is stir-fried with onion, shrimp paste and chili paste. The Grilled Black Cod is listed as a 'starter' on the menu, but could be eaten as a 'main'. It is served with soy sauce and their homemade garlic, chili, seafood sauce. They also make very good 'typical' Thai dishes such as Garlic Chili Tofu; Pad Thais; Tom Yum soups; Green Papaya Salad and their different types of Curries are always made with a choice of either chicken, beef, pork or mixed vegetables. In my opinion, the Panang Curry is the best. It's a spicy, thick curry cooked with Kaffir lime leaves, red pepper, red chili and coconut milk. Their wine list isn't too extensive but they have okay choices listed like the Louis Latour Chardonnay, Yellow Tail Shiraz and Chianti Ruffino. Their house wine is the Concho Y Toro Frontera from Chile, which is offered in red or white and in a 6oz., 8oz. glass or half-litre. But I prefer to drink their non-alcoholic beverages when I dine. The Iced Lemongrass tastes great and claims to "combat bad mood; goes well with spicy food" and the Coconut Tea is different, creamy and comforting. The servers do their job adequately but aren't incredibly friendly. And the place may need re-decorating soon just to freshen the place up a bit...it has been a while now since Thai Basil took over; plus with the restaurant doing brisk business, I imagine they could afford a re-do. Oh, I didn't mention the Lunch Specials...pretty good selection of dishes that include soup, crispy spring roll AND salad; are better-priced and available every day, even weekends...you'll just have to try Thai Basil for yourself!