Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine Reviews

It was getting late after we checked into our B&B, and we chose this restaurant because it was close by. We are certainly glad we did. The restaurant is on the top floor of an old house (their bar is on the bottom floor), and we were lucky that we got there about 1/2 hour or so from closing. The menu offered a wide number of choices. We are very familiar with Thai cuisine, and were very pleased with our choices. The specialty cocktails from the bar were an added treat. Service was quick and very friendly, and the food was delicious. Cost was very reasonable.

I have passed by the purple & green sign many times as I have driven down Broadway. I finally stopped in the other night. This building is a two story building and this restaurant is located upstairs so don’t confuse it with the Thai place downstairs on street level. Inside is small. If it had 15 - 25 people seated it would be crowded. I had the sweet/spicy basil & it was very good. Even though the place is small, it appeared clean & the young lady helping us was very quiet but also helpful & friendly .

Wonderful food but the parking is not so good. I’m not sure it’s handicap accessible either. Strange house turned into two restaurants. We climbed the stairs to the top and were surprised they offered out door seating. Very charming patio seating on a non rainy day. The food was very fresh and tasty! It was worth the effort if you like Thai.

This is where we go for Thai food. Over the last ten years, the quality hasn't varied- always excellent. And you can get some serious heat in your dinner if you want it.

My coworkers and I frequently visit for lunch, and have always had a good experience. Service is friendly, the food is delicious, and sitting on the outdoor patio during the summer is lovely! There are grape vines that cover the whole patio in the backyard, which makes it a nice hidden spot in the city. I always enjoy the combination lunch platters.

Sweet Basil offers a huge selection of authentic Thai and pan Asian influenced preparations. Overall I had a good impression of this restaurant that has a very friendly staff and very welcoming dining rooms. The restaurant is cozy and pleasant with an air of making one feel relaxed and comfortable. The food, in spite of the big selections varies in consistency of quality, at least in the dishes tried in the two occasions I ate there. Thai grilled eggplant #55 was delicious and a beautiful plated presentation. Whole grilled Asian eggplants covered in a delicious sauce with tofu and broccoli. A wonderful vegetarian option. Their fresh rolls are some of the best I have had with tender wraps and fresh crisp vegetarian filling. The spicy sweet basil with tofu was disappointing because the tofu strips were over fried which made them tough and rubbery. The other vegetables were good and the sauce flavorful. The House special curry is delicious with a creamy peanut curry sauce. Also tried were selections from their other "street Food" restaurant which is located on the first floor of the building which uses the second floor for Sweet Basil. The trout with noodles was tasty in flavor, but the trout was many strips of thing skinless fish that was tough. It was either because it was frozen or I thought dried trout that was reconstituted. Not something I would try again. The fresh rolls with a spicy Thai sauce, were basically the same rolls as on the Sweet Basil menu, but instead of peanut sauce, it came with a fiery hot Thai chile pepper sauce. The sauce was too hot for my taste and I had to ask for a spring of peanut sauce, Actually, I ended up using a little bit of the hot sauce combined with the peanut sauce and it was very good with just enough heat. One important thing to note is that the spice level of heat at Sweet Basil is not typically what one would get at other Thai restaurants. Medium hot is "very hot". The waitress during my second visit warned me of this as well as other reviewers before I first went there. Overall, a very good dining experience with satisfying food. A nice touch and a signature food item at Sett Basil is that they present rice in the shape of a large star on a separate plate. The bottom half of the star is white rice and the top half is black or "forbidden rice".

I've been going to Sweet Basil every month or so since I moved to Portland because it's nearby and has some great thai food. Their menu is extensive and we haven't had a bad meal yet. The presentation can be very nice too - they bring out a combination of black and white rice in the shape of a star or moon sometimes. At some point, they put in a stage and hired some drag queens and/or transvestites to work nights and weekends and while they're on, a few times an hour they'll get on stage for an impromptu song and dance number. It's pretty entertaining, but not over the top, and it doesn't effect the service at all - just another hidden gem in Portland.

Coming from Asia, I am very familiar with Asian cuisine, particularly Thai which happens to be one of my Favourite cuisines. Being a well healed foodie I can pretty much rate a good restaurant when i first stand at the entrance. Sweet Basil was one of these restaurants. Although the location is on the main road Broadway, using the gps always helps a lot. Parking is only on the main road and side street. When I first looked at the outside of the restaurant it looked like a simple, raised somewhat Thai archicture building brought in from Bangok. Simple non descript building, but nice. Walking up a flight of stairs you meet the entrance to this house really. The interior ambience again reminded me of what you will see in a typical Thai house. Clean, nearly decorated with naturally, some Thai posters and artifacts. Cosy would be a better description. Seating is not cramp, generous table spaces for privacy and I think I heard traditional Thai music . The restaurant certainly does not appear touristy, if you know what I mean. We met a Thai lady hostess, very polite and welcoming. I noticed that there were only 2 serving staff, the other a well groomed guy with a pony tail hairdo.Both All color co- ordinated dressed in Black. They pay attention to details I noticed. So with the menu. Looking at a menu is the 2nd critical test of the authenticity of the cuisine. It had all the recognizable dishes and we were ready to order when we saw The desert "mongo and sticky rice". Now that is as traditionally Thai as Hot Dogs or Burger. We ordered the Tom yam seafood soup for 3, the French long bean Fried, a pad Thai noodle and a green chicken curry. Don't we all visit the restroom at least once when at the restaurant. Personally, the cleanliness and presentation in the restroom tells me a bit more about the kitchen. Need I say more. This restroom was very clean and tidy. Food was served in unpretentious cutlery, simple white non chipped cutlery. The colors of the dishes were very good and yes, it's authentic Thai cooking. The potions were good and the ingredients Eg chicken, seafood were generous. The Thai green curry could have looked greener rather than pale creamy white and that is because of the quality of the coconut milk used. But the floors were there. My favourite dish, the Tom Yam soup which is the real test to Thai cooking. One unique serving was the black glutenous rice with white rice. It comes with the Thai chicken curry. Good textures. So we had the filled and there was no room for the mongo and sticky rice, what a pity. But, we were very happy to have tasted authentic Thai cuisine at Sweet Basil in Portland. And the great meal cost just a little under $50. Read about our other food experiences and for Sweet Basil in Portland, my recommendation. Wished I had met the owner!...RonSIM...Vancouver BC

very good Thai food!

Good happy hour in the bar.

My boyfriend and I went for the happy hour for the lower prices and were very impressed with the selections, quantity and quality! We love all the waiters too who add charm to the place! It is small, cute and authentic, you wont be disappointed. We live in San Francisco and regularly visit this place, it is worth it.

Wonderfully fresh veggies, chock full of excellent texture and flavor and the Peanut Sauce has a great balance of flavor and spice. I want more...

OK Thai, but with so many choices in NE PDX, why settle for OK?

We had a yearning for Thai food while in Portland so we did a little searching online and saw Sweet Basil Thai in the Hollywood District. Found it fairly easily and walked in to an empty front of house on a Saturday evening. Greeted by staff with smiles and was asked if we wanted to sit on the patio. We responded with a "Yes" and were lead to a wonderful outside oasis at the back of the restaurant (now it makes sense that no one was in the front). We enjoyed a warm summer evening under a grape arbor with a few other restaurant guests. Very romantic. Ordered drinks and food. Both arrived before we knew it. Dove in and couldn't stop. Large portions and oh so good! Now we're no Thai food experts but we've had our share. And this was some of the best we've had on a wonderful patio at a very reasonable price. For us, it doesn't get much better than this. Highly recommended.

Tried to take my daughter out for a special homecoming lunch today using a pre purchased Amazon.com voucher. Arrived to be told we could only use the voucher in the bar, and only after 5:00pm. Voucher clearly states " Sweet Basil/ Basil Bar", not just Basil Bar. Just read reviews for Basil Bar, which say inappropriate for children, so I guess we won't be going back. Made for a very disappointing family outing.

Friend says, not a real Thai... i don't know...

My family just got dinner delivered fromSweet Thai Basil. It came 20 minutes faster than quoted and the servings were massive. We'd order half as much next time to avoid wasting it. The flavours were excellent, the meat tender and the spice perfect. If I lived in Portland, I'd eat here weekly.

Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine offers excellent food and service. The Roast Duck Red Curry, Pad Thai, Avocado Larb Salad, Sweet Chicken Wings, Fried Cod Fish with Mango Salad, Prawns with Broccoli, and Mango Sticky Rice were all delicious. Highly recommend this restaurant for a delightful dining experience!

Now I'm a fan! The House Special Curry comes with a choice of meat or seafood. We ordered "medium" spicy, although our tab said our dish was "mild." It was borderline too hot, but wonderful in its peanutie sauce. We're light eaters, so shared the curry, and it was plenty with appetizers (wraps) to go with it. Lovely service.

We slipped into a doorway that we thought was Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine restaurant, but later found out we were in its Basil Bar beneath the actual restaurant. It is dimly lit with dark colored walls, black lights, and a few small tables in a cramped, narrow space. BUT the waitress/bartender on duty that night was fabulous - not over friendly, just right - and so efficient! The flavors in the dishes we selected were as expected but we ordered it hotter than we are used to, but nothing lots of cold water couldn't set right. We had yellow curry and a pumpkin (think kabocha type) stir-fry - the curry was great with its potatoes and bits of chicken, and the pumpkin stir-fry had lots of vegetables, albeit tiny slivers of pumpkin. We ate the dishes family style and each got a dish of jasmine rice (white, decorated with black - in a star pattern). I would have liked to see the true dining area upstairs but we didn't realize our mistake until we had ordered our food. The waitress/bartender didn't direct us upstairs in the first place (tipoff should have been that neither of us partook of the Happy Hour specials that were extended for the entire Sunday evening) - so ambiance could have been better (the room looks nothing like the photos on their website that says it was renovated with a grand reopening in October 2014) but the food was good enough. I'd give 5 stars to the waitress' hustle!

We tried a few take out dishes and enjoyed for a couple of days on a long road trip. Food and service was great.

We used to love this place, but haven't been back in years after moving across town. Today we were seriously disappointed. We ordered the Chicken Pad Thai, an old favorite, but it was bland, lacking in spice, few vegetables, and not tasty. The fresh wrap appetizer was mostly tofu, and the peanut sauce tasted like thick diluted peanut butter. The House Special curry was too sweet and lacking flavor. I tried to order online, but the payment portion of the site wasn't working using two different browsers. Parking is always difficult here, and this time was no exception. All of these issues combined resulted in this review, and we don't plan to return. Very disappointed!

Very good Thai food. Kid friendly staff. It's a quite a popular place. We ordered 1/2 of the dishes non-spice and 1/2 of the dish 'wild'. They are alll good!

The couple before us placed a takeout order and received their food in 20 min. We were seated but didn't even get our drink order taken in 25 min. We walked out and no staff could be seen to tell them we were leaving. Seems to be a good place for take out, at least they get served. Maybe they should convert to a food cart?

Sweet Basil Thai makes delicious food and their portions are unreal. Their prices are very reasonable for the quality and the sheer quantity of food. However, that has all been said before. The main reason I decided to post a review today is they now offer online ordering. Ordering online from Sweet Basil was so easy and my order came in no time at all. I only wish that I lived Portland, so I could eat here more often.

The large lunch combinations are delicious meals to share, and so inexpensive. It may be just a little out of the way, but is certainly worth walking a couple of blocks. Having been in Thailand, the flavors at Sweet Basil are quite authentic.

The food was pretty tasty except for the satay. It tasted odd. Also, beware that their food is VERY VERY hot. We asked for medium heat and it was scorching hot. It was so hot I could hardly taste it after a few bites--and I like hot food. The service is ok, could be more attentive. Prices were reasonable. Overall, it was ok.

great little find

I've dined there multiple times and the place has gone from good to bad and I hope it doesn't go any worse. Food is overpriced and not that great but I have to say that meals are very big. It's a good thing to go there during a happy hour since the. One can get some value from it. Otherwise it's overrated. Some cheesy burlesque entertainment there :)

I met two friends here on my first night in town We had the mixed appetizer platter and each had different meals. All were exceptional. Service was great as well.

I absolutely love this place. I've tried quite a few items on the menu. The food is always fantastic and the staff is great. During the warmer weather there is outdoor seating available. The seating inside is close together in a smaller space, but absolutely worth the trip.

Order the house special curry with chicken. Tasty! A lovely outdoor patio when the weather is good. Unfortunately, parking is absolutely awful. Good luck there!

I've eaten here several times and I always find something unusual and good and on the menu. They serve forbidden rice here as well as aromatic rice, which is wonderful.

My Thai wife and I have been enjoying this place for some time. Excellent choice of authentic cooking although I avoid some of my wife's choices which she orders at top of the heat scale. Attractive dining room with outside dining in back during good weather. Service always polite and efficient. Good place to move away from pad thai and experience delicious choices from the extensive menu. Cocktails good at Basil' Bar.

Love their outdoor patio. I had pad thai with chicken. Was very good BUT the medium is now very hot. I overheard the waitress telling the next table that medium is hot - I've ordered medium here many times before and it was never this hot. maybe I'm getting sensitive! Lobster dish was only ok (my partner had). Fresh wrapped are really tasty especially with the peanut sauce.

We stop by any chance we get when traveling through Portland. Today was up to the excellence of previous stops.

First we shared the green papaya salad. The flavors were perfectly combined. Absolutely delicious. My entree was the green curry chicken, mild. It was perfect! All veggies cooked to perfection. My dish was accompanied with jasmine rice, topped with forbidden rice. Also cooked perfectly. Thai food lovers delight!

One of the most interesting Thai menus I've run across, and it's all been good.

Went with friends. Ordered off the lunch menu. Some of us had combination plates while I ordered the pad kee mao. My spouse reported that her comination plate (C4) was very good, and the others thoroughly enjoyed their plates. The pad kee mao was also very good. Be sure to ask for the "heat" you want The restaurant was in an old house configured as a restaurant. Casual atmosphere, comfortable seating at tables. Since we started right after opening, it was quiet but it picked up as the time went on. All of us needed take out boxes. Will go again for sure.

Went out of my way on an out of town trip to visit this resaurant with my Restaurant.com $25. coupon in hand that was advertised on restaurant.com for this establishment. Drove 5 miles to the restaurant from downtown portland, set down, decided what to order and after 15 minutes waiting on service was told the coupon was not valid until next week even though it was advertised online. What should they have done? Honored the coupon that is what!!

We are lunch here, and loved sitting on the back patio under the grape vines. What a relaxing and fun atmosphere. The service was very good, and lunch combo portions were large. Would recommend for an inexpensive quality meal.

Went for dinner without reservations. No wait. A small house with different roods for groups. Menu had more choices than we expected at a Thai Restaurant. Four people had four different dishes and a plate of appetizer and it was all really good food. Thoroughly enjoyed the food, but there was a very loud party in the next room, and it was difficult to hold our own conversations. Would return to eat and ask for a quieter location.

I was in town for business and met a friend here for lunch. The space is fun, the service fast and friendly, and the food was excellent. Prices reasonable too. The spice level is authentic so be realistic about what you can tolerate when ordering! My friend was disappointed that the outdoor dining area was closed but I found the dining area we sat in to be comfortable and pleasant. It's in a fun section of NE Portland too, which made it nice for a walk and some shopping after lunch.

**written via notes taken day-of experience All right, so if you are 'in and out' of Portland in just a couple of days, you may not pick up on this: Portland is a "be who you are, any time of day, any day of the week, any time of year" place. That means no dress codes in virtually all restaurants - Sweet Basil Thai, included. Behavioral codes are lax and often include people eating, while using a 'not-so-smart phone' and/or laptop, or, believe it or not sometimes both! Saw this here, as well. Location is why I chose to eat here, mainly. Sweet Basil Thai is along a 77 bus which was nearby lodging I ended up finding. Thai food is something that meets my budget and dietary choices, as well. Sweet Basil Thai is located in the upper part of a two story building. I have no idea if the place is accessible to those who have mobility requirements. I didn't notice a ramp, but that doesn't mean one is not available in the back? You may desire to call if this applies to you. When I ate, I came in for lunch on a weekday. To be honest, I was disappointed right off the bat. The tables were crammed next to each other; I had no room to put a couple bags that were with me underneath the table. I did not notice a coat rack, but maybe it was hiding?. Crammed tables meant I could hear the conversations of people on both sides - just blah blah blah. The middle aged woman, who appeared to be French was to the left. She and the man with she was with were both drinking, and the woman appeared to be drunk right smack in the afternoon. She was kind of antsy and it made me feel antsy with her squibbling around in the chair. I couldn't help but notice she kept picking food out of her teeth with her fingers - a grown woman? Use a toothpick. The person to my right, actually was quiet. But, he was on his i-phone the entire time. He had silverware in one hand, and was eating with his mobile 'not so-smart-phone in the other hand.' For a SIT DOWN restaurant, that's really unacceptable. I can't believe I was sandwiched between these people. Urgh. The next thing I noticed is when I was just cracking my neck - surveillance cameras! Right in the corner. After that I felt really apprehensive about staying, but I had already ordered. The price was average for lunch. I ordered a special with the lunch menu. When I was waiting for my meal, this group of maybe 3 folks just PLOPPED on in. All very casually dressed. One 'woman' was wearing full on running gear. Her shirt wasn't well-fit and she kept pushing it to cover her sports bra - THE WHOLE TIME. This was to my catty corner. It was difficult to ignore these people (who sounded American loud), because they were just BLAH BLAH BLAH the whole time. No peace and quiet, so thanks a lot! When the order arrived, It appeared all the specifications I noted to the server were met - i.e. if you desire no fish sauce - it worked out for me. The tofu in my dish was cooked pretty darn well, with the sides browned, but the middle soft. So medium style. Some of the best tofu I've had in a Thai dish. Generous portions of tofu in the dish. The server was impersonal, and I felt like a mannequin would do a better job. Female, maybe early 30s. She looked to be Thai. I wasn't looking for a fake friendly, but no one offered any dessert suggestion (maybe they don't have it?). Homemade coconut ice cream is an indulgence I enjoy when the opportunity presents itself. It would have been nice to be directed away from the loud people to the right, and the drone to the left, and the "blah blah blah suppppper hyper coffee-addict loud Americans (?)" The other option, however, would be to be in the room across the way. Over there, was a man with a laptop typing about. Sheesh! Overall, I felt rushed to be in and out. I had anxiety the whole time due to the crammed space and cameras watching me eat. *rolls eyes* I didn't really enjoy the meal. When I went to the loo just prior to checking out - guess what? I look up - MORE surveillance cameras!! I mean, it's NOT THAT NICE of a place.The cameras were positioned really strangely and I thought, "does the owner stare at women's butt's all day, or what?" Is that really necessary? The *priceless* decor inside I cannot comment on, because I have never spent much time studying Thai culture to the depth of knowing if the decor was authentic. But, it did appear to be authentic. Still, is it really worth that much protection? The *only* think I can think of is that due to Portland's heroin problem (found out by talking with some folks), everyone in town is hyper-vigilant? But seriously? Why watch me go literally in and then out of your loo? Why? It's truly unnecessary. The one plus is that this place was NOT kid friendly. At least when I was there! So, that was a nice relief. Overall, just too much anxiety to be comfortable and eat. : / Oh, and almost forgot the kicker - was literally after I exited the place, via the only door, some hyper-coffee addict Portlander (middle aged, white male) literally slammed the door INTO me on my way out. THANKS FOR NOTHING.

The place is nice seemed a bit quite , lots of people got takeout there coming in and out right by where you sit . The food was average nothing that really stood out in flavor . We ordered Spicy friend rice and it had no spice , when I asked the server why it had no spice he said he requested for us that way . I guess he assumed white people don’t eat spicy . Most of the food was bland , I didn’t have anything that stood out in flavor .

We ordered two veggie dishes for takeout. They were tasty. The ingredients were fresh. It was a nice meal.

On Saturday 10/20/2012, tow family groups of 2 and 3 had dinner here. Lucky for us that they were able to seat us right away. The Fried Wantons were very good! Great to have with our beers! My wife ordered Pa Nang Chicken with mild seasoning. It's hard to judge the level of spice here as this was my first time there. The mild tone of spice was a little weak for us. Better to be safe than sorry! The serving of rice was interesting as the white rice had the star shapped black rice on top. I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai also mild and it was very mild. But again if it's your first visit here, better play it on the mild side. When we are back in the area, we would be willing to return for dinner.

I highly recommend this spot in the Portland Hollywood district (which is a great area to just walk around and enjoy). We met friends on a weeknight around 5:30, and had the place mostly to ourselves. The tables are neatly arranged with a touch of elegance nicer than most local Thai restaurants. We stated with salad rolls and spring rolls - both veg, and both excellent. I had the house curry with chicken, and when asked how spicy I said medium - and was warned that medium for them is considered by many customers to be very spicy! So they suggested "mild-plus" - and the spice level was perfect, the house curry taste was outstanding. My wife had the grilled eggplant (mild) and enjoyed it very much. The visual presentation of the meals was carefully and pleasantly arranged, unlike many Thai restaurants. Even the side dish of rice was arranged in a star shape, with white rice underneath an accent of black rice on top. The drink menu had area several very good quality Portland draft micro-brews, and for $4.50 each they were a good deal (come for the food and enjoy the beer!)

Good food, and a nice back deck for outdoor summer dining.

Nestled in a house with such charm and character we enjoy often. Good food. Great service and fabulous environment. Good prices too