Basil Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant

Food is awesome, service is sub par. Maybe a cultural difference, who knows. Despite that, combination clay pot is usually my go to and it is delicious. Best Vietnamese place in town. Lot of drinks and deserts on the menu I will be trying in the future.

This by far my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in town. The staff is friendly, but service can be spotty during the lunch rush. The claypots are unbelievably delicious. And the shrimp egg rolls are to die for. I’d give the 5 stars, but I’d like the service to be a bit better.

This is my new favorite Vietnamese restaurant in town, giving 4 stars only to encourage consistency in food and slight improvement in service.
Basil Leaf was the 1^st Vietnamese place I tried when I moved here 4 years ago, after a couple visits I wasn’t impressed so I sort of wrote it off and forgot about it untill recently it popped up on my fellow Unilocal friends’ check-​ins…
Definitely try the combination clay pot (#50 on menu) if you have not. It’s enough for 2 to share with an appetizer and both satisfied. Sometimes when the kitchen is busy, food quality could be different. I personally do not like burnt stuff, but hey maybe someone Will like charred Sticky rice and sausage?!
My dinner guest always makes up the missing Star for sure! I will come back to cure my cravings for more than Vietnamese food.

This is the best Vietnamese restaurant in town. The vegetarian spring rolls are to die for. The peanut sauce is the best I have had anywhere. Love, love, love this restaurant!

Best Vietnamese restaurant in town. Everything I’ve had here is delicious. The staff are very friendly.

I eat a lot of phở. This restaurant was clean, friendly and for a Saturday was very busy! The phở comes in a variety of protein choices. I had shrimp and my mom had chicken. The broth had a great flavor. It was mild but good. The condiments (basil, sprouts, lime and jalapenos) all were very fresh! I also liked the fact there were 3 bowl sizes. I had the regular and my mom had the small. I think next time I will have the small if I can’t take the test home. All in all a great experience. I will be back!

This review is based solely off their desserts.
Coconut cake was an overly microwaved piece of rubber. Could not cut into it as it was seriously just rubberized green stuff cannot describe what it was a decent of.
Their sticky rice pudding with sliced mango was void any type is sugar or sweetener other than the fresh mango. We advised our server of this and it took quite a bit of trying to get her to understand what we were saying. The 2^nd bowl of this was not much better.
Stick to the regular menu items because from my experience the desserts are not worth the struggle

Wow this might be my new favorite! I enjoyed lunch with a friend and gauging from the crowd I’m not the only one loving Basil Leaf.
I did the pad Thai with beef and all the extras. I thought for sure I’d never be able to eat the whole thing, I was wrong. I ate every bite. Seriously one of the nicest plates of food I’d had in a long time. really nice balance of flavored and texture with the peanuts and crisp bean sprouts. I saw lots of other dishes come out that looked intriguing as well! I really can’t wait to go back.
Service was efficient! It may be due to the lunch service and we were in and out in an hour flat so no issues with getting back to work. We were very appreciative.
I think this is a great option for lunch or dinner and for anyone whom loves Asian foods. Kids seems to be welcome and enjoying the noodle dishes.

I was introduced to Basil Leaf by two of my managers. Now if it’s my choice for a small group lunch I eagerly beg for Basil Leaf.
I was told to try the clay pots and that’s all I’ve tried. I want to get out of my comfort zone but they are so good!!! Why fix what’s not broken right!!! The combo with pork, chicken and shrimp is heaven. Beware it arrives HOT so no matter how delicious it looks be patience allow it to cool. Then dive in!
They do tend to get busy so arrive for an early lunch. To go — ask for a Vietnamese Coffee. Your inner coffee cravings will thank you and it’ll make the afternoon that much better.

This pace is amazing.
I was never one to like Vietnamese food but I’m hooked now.
A variety of dishes from Phở to rice dishes.
You are bound to find something that will water your mouth

My friends like to come here for the large portions of phó! They have amazing spring rolls with peanut sauce. The chicken curry has the perfect blend of spices! The Thai tea is nice! The service is good, never have issues. Great place!

After going to almost 10 different Vietnamese restaurants, this is by the far my favorite place. It’s a quaint little stop with great tasting food, simple as that. Their egg rolls are very tasty, as was their papaya salad and grilled pork banh mi sandwich. However, above all else was the combination claypot fried rice with medium spice. It’s honestly one of my favorite meals over had since moving here last year. I will definitely be frequenting this place!

I stumbled into this place one afternoon when I was famished and wonton soup sounded good. The wonton soup WAS good — thin-​walled, flavorful wontons with lots of other garnishes like bok choy and sprouts and pork to add to the savory broth. One of my favorite wonton soups in ABQ.
After that, I’ve been back a few more times, and mostly ordered the claypot rice bowls (upon recommendation from other Unilocal reviews). It’s a good sign that the restaurant is just as busy at 2pm as they are at 11am for lunch. The rice bowls have delicious veg and well-​seasoned meats, and they are piping hot. The mango with sticky rice makes an excellent sweet note to end the meal (if two rice dishes in one meal is not too much for you!).
The staff are accommodating and my food is fresh and cooked to order, no matter when I want to dine: two thumbs up!

There are literally SO many Viet restaurants in ABQ. & I’m positive that I’ve tried almost every single one of them.
W/​that being said, Basil Leaf is one of my top picks! I usually get the Phở Tai from here & it’s been my usual every time I come here w/​my friend.
The staff here is great, the food is good, the atmosphere is casual, & sometimes the noise level is a little too much.
Besides ordering the phở, I also recommend the rice in the claypot dish — it’s pretty great!

The Phở soup is very delicious and reasonably priced. We were greeted right away and seated to a table. I order spring rolls for appetizer and the phở soup with meatballs and steak I totally for got what my husband got but he devoured it so it must-​have been very delicious because he never finishes his food and also a picky person. The shakes are also delicious I got mango and he got strawberry. I also love the ginger tea, the lady said I can buy it separately and take home so I will definitely be back to get some to take home.

Where have you been all of my life, clay pot rice? This might be a bit… okay, a lot… of an exaggeration by the clay pot rice at Basil Leaf is life changing. I have had my fair share of Vietnamese cuisine but tend to stick to phở, banh mi and bun bowls. Never has a clay pot crossed my path until I ordered it at Basil Leaf.
While the clay pot is exceptional, the other dishes I have ordered are pretty standard.

I’m sorry I couldn’t give this place such high accolades. I must be spoiled here in Colorado with the phở and Vietnamese restaurants we have. I ordered the Hu Tieu, my friend ordered the Banh Xeo and my dad ordered the Bun Dac Biet.
My noodle soup did not have much of a flavor at all, normally at other restaurants they throw in fried onions and garlic. I did have to add a lot of sauces to make it tastier, it was a lot of Sriracha, Chili paste, and limes.
For my friend’s dish, she did compliment the crunchyness of the crêpe shell, the way it’s supposed to be. Since it was pretty big, she was only able to eat half of it.
Lastly, for my dad’s, the vermicelli noodle bowl, it was probably the best out of three of us. The flavors of the meats were very good and the sauce (nuoc mam) was not over-​powering but still pretty good. They do give big portions, and the Bun Dac Biet would be my recommendation. However, if you’re new to Vietnamese food, I’d recommend getting a rice plate to start yourself off.
Otherwise, service was good and it has a great atmosphere. But the two of three dishes were not the best of the best, so I have to give this place the rating I gave it.

Had the pork chops and Jasmine rice asking with iced coffee and boba. The coffee is strung with a sweet undertaste and bonds fresh with good chewiness. The pork chops were great, loved it. Also the Jasmine rice is really good with the sauce served on the side.
Husband got the combination plate and seemed to enjoy the whole thing, though he said he loved the sausage specifically.
The salad was nice and fresh and the cucumbers very good.
Definitely coming back.

A quaint spot, very clean, but very cramped.
Food was pretty good, but nothing to wow about.
My beef and tripe was pretty good. Beef was tender.
My wife’s chicken noodles though was dry– chicken was over done and flavorless.
Up side was the egg rolls and spring rolls– very very delicious.

Came here after I got done work and figure to give this place a try for a banh xeo. Also known as a vietnamese crêpe. My expectations were in the middle for this place because if you lived California you know vietnamese food is top notch over there.
About the restaurant is just ok. Service is ok. Vietnamese coffee is ok, not strong enough in my opinion. Menu items were a tad expensive. The food tasted bland and not flavorful enough. Seemed like they rushed to make the food. Asking for more food items such as mint leaves came on a TINY plate! Lol
Overall it wasn’t satisfying and won’t be coming back.