Thai Basil Restaurant

Came here for a casual dinner. Nothing really special in this place, but relative to other thai places in Ithaca, this is not a bad choice and the food can be delicious.
Food — 4
The vegetable tempura was good. Spring rolls were a bit bland, but the sauce made up for the blandness. Entrees were very good. I had some noodles and my partner had veggies in garlic sauce. Both of us liked our dishes. Sticky rise with mango while not quite like in Thailand was pretty good.
Service — 5
Friendly and timely.
Atmosphere — 2
First, the place didn’t smell very well when we walked in. That’s not very appetizing. The music sounded more Japanese and was a bit annoying (we were sitting relatively close to the speakers). Chairs were a bit dirty looking. Overall, the place would use a bit of care and updating.
Value — 3
Prices hare relatively reasonable. They have a few more expensive dishes that i probably would not get here. The regular thai dishes are reasonably priced ($ 10 – 14).

I thought the food was just ok, not very spicy (I asked specifically for a spicy recommendation) and I actually didn’t think it was very authentic

First time visiting Thai Basil in Ithaca (usually go to a different one, but based on honest reviews from my fellow Unilocalers we wanted to try somewhere different). Glad we did, as it was an excellent experience! Finally some authentic Thai food! I am a HUGE lover of Thai food, and living in Corning you have to drive to Ithaca or Rochester for good authentic Thai food. I’m just not a big fan of the Thai food served at the «Asian Fusion» places locally — it’s not bad in a pinch, but in no way compares to the Thai cuisine elsewhere.
The restaurant is not large, but a nice combination of booths and tables, and a pleasant atmosphere. We were greeted right away and sat at a booth.
BEVERAGES: FYI– There is NO alcohol here (the front of the menu said BYOB?). We did not know this before we came, and I had been looking forward to a Singha beer, but we were fine with it as I was more excited for the food! I did order a Thai Iced Tea, which if you’ve never had one you should try it at least once in your life. I love Thai iced tea — it’s a strongly brewed Ceylon tea sweetened with sugar, poured over ice, and topped (usually) with sweetened condensed milk before serving.
APPETIZERS: We had Thai fried spring rolls which were delicious, and the Chicken Satay which was marinated and cooked perfectly. The cucumber and peanut sauces delicious.
SOUP: I ordered the Tom Kha soup with tofu and vegetables (can get with meat also) which is one of my favorites. It was creamy and flavorful and tasty, with nice chunks of mushroom, tofu… etc. Excellent!
ENTREES: 2 of us had the Red Curry ordered extra spicy. Wow! It packed a serious punch! If you don’t like super hot just order it regular. We’re hot and spicy food fans, so we loved it. Flavor was superb, portion was very adequate. Chicken, Fresh string beans, red pepper.etc. Hubby had Nam Prik Pow with beef. He took one bite and was immediately sold. Nice spicy kick and the flavor was amazing! Daughter order chicken Pad Thai and she said it was one of the best she’d had, and she was definitely a fan. The presentations were beautiful, the portions were plenty and the flavors of the dishes met and even exceeded our expectations.
The service was very good, friendly and attentive. Always made sure our water glasses were filled, plates cleared, and check was promptly received when we were done. I have no complaints with our experience at Thai Basil. Wish they had a liquor license but that certainly would never stop me from visiting there again.

Totally worth a visit! Dishes are so full of flavor! Drunken noodles and panang curry were great!

Delicious meal of larb and chicken green curry, both flavorful and a nice level of heat. Service was friendly and efficient.

So glad we found this spot for dinner!
Flavors were great! Mild still has a little kick to it.

The Thai Basil chicken was unbelievable. A perfect balance of spice and flavor, fresh vegetables, and a big cone of rice. The lunch special was $ 8 and I would have gladly paid $ 15. If you find yourself craving Thai, this is the place to go!

WE went here for dinner. It’s a cool spot in Ithica. I recommend the dumpling appetizer! Superb!
My wife got pad Thai, which she said was great. I had the Red Drum 3 Rod. Basically a fish with veg and rice. It was so good! Sauce was outstanding. Highly recommend.

Another Thai restaurant in Ithaca (i.e. You can’t go wrong with coming here, but it’s nothing terribly noteworthy /​special)

Excellent flavor and attentive service. We had wonton soup, red curry with beef and drunken noodle. All were delicious, however, the ingredients of the two dishes were too similar. Next time I will order a different entrée to make it more interesting.

I was craving for an authentic Thai food and what better dish to have than the most popular Thai steet-​food Basil Pork. I ordered a lunch special Thai Basil Pork (Kra Prow) and made a special request for an authentic one. I also added a Thai-​style fried egg, which is normally served with Kra Prow in Thailand.
The food was delicious. The spicy ground pork meat infused with aromatic Thai basil and the crispy, over-​easy fried egg really reminded me of the food I had back in Thailand. I personally recommend this dish to everyone who wants to try an authentic Thai food.
Overall, delicious food, nice presentation, great experience. The servers were also really welcoming and service-​minded. Best Thai restaurant in Ithaca, in my opinion.

We went for a late lunch and it was incredible to say the least. The service was quick, even though we ate at an awkward hour.
We wanted boba tea, but when we found out that they didn’t serve it there, we settled for Thai tea and were not disappointed.
I ate the crispy duck curry that was on the specials menu, the spiciness scale goes from 1 – 10 and the 5 that I ordered left my mouth tingling, but my eyes not quite watering.

Just excellent. I had the Thai curry, and Pad kee Mao. On the spice scale, be warned that medium is 2. The food wasn’t too oily, and some of the more unique (and harder/​expensive to source) ingredients were used.
The ambience is okay, and the staff was friendly.

Amazing food! What a treat! The duck red curry is so good. Try the lobster pad thai and the NY Basil steak. Exquisite royal hot and spicy soup!

Got the Chicken with Oyster Sauce after checking out Ithaca Commons.
Wasn’t too busy and the service was amenable.
Dish was done very well with good plating. The rice came in a unique conical tower.
They nailed the portion size for me (as I eat a lot). Others might end up with leftovers (which is by no means a bad thing) or desire to share.

Thai Basil is one of THE best Thai restaurants I have ever been to. Food, service, presentation — everything was excellent!
The Thai Iced Tea was delicious. It was just the right amount of sweetness after I stirred in the cream on top. I liked that their Thai Iced Tea is not the typical bright orange color you see in many restaurants. My only quip is that the straw was a little too short for the tall glass it came in.
The shrimp pineapple red curry I got was the most wonderful blend of flavors. Just the right amount of spicy, and it had generous amounts of shrimp. I highly recommend it. My friend loved his chicken with oyster sauce.
Super fast service!

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Thai restaurant that truly is authentic and doesn’t just say it without backing it up with taste. I’m skeptical on finding a good Thai place with somewhat authentic food, it’s not easy, especially in this area.
So so happy I found this place!
Any Thai restaurant with Som Tum on the menu is already on the right track for me. If you like spicy and fresh «salad» this is something you MUST order. It’s a spicy papaya salad with shrimp and it is one of my favorite dishes in Thailand. It taste like when I was visiting there so WOO HOO.
I ordered Pad See Eew and yay yay yay! It tastes amazing! It is perfect like I was back home and had my mom cooking or I was in Thailand getting street food. If you don’t like spicy and you enjoy sweeter tasting, this is the dish for you. It’s sweet flat noodles with tofu (or meat), Chinese broccoli, and all sorts of yummy flavor. Others ordered the Pineapple curry and could taste the hint of pineapple with the medium spice (which is hot) and another friend ordered the Red Curry. All great meals.
Tons of seating and nice staff. They’re actually Thai, they speak Thai! It’s a miracle to find it up here but now I know where to go. Thanks for making great food.

I normally get the Pad Thai when I visit but this time I tried the duck salad. It was really good and have a bit of a kick to it. We also tries the spring rolls they were ok nothing special. Service was great as usual.

I have to admit my first thought when passing by this place was «Great, just what Ithaca needs, another Thai restaurant!»
Pros: The pad see ew was nicely caramelized and piping hot (even after delivery). They also used real Chinese broccoli, instead of the american broccoli found in many Thai restaurants. I ordered the larb (thai meat salad) as an appetizer and the flavor of the dressing was deliciously tart and salty. Delivery was super fast, food was here 25 minutes after placing the order.
Cons: They used a Styrofoam takeout container (that did not have an air tight seal) to deliver the saucy larb dish and therefore the container spilled liquid everywhere. What a mess, about 80% of the dressing initially on my salad ended up all over the inside of the plastic takeout bag and about 10% remained in the container … where did the other 10% end up? While of course, it was soaked up by the napkins at the bottom of the bag, rendering the napkins utterly useless for cleaning up the juices that I would inevitably spill all over my lap upon opening the bag.
The Pad See Ew was not quite salty enough for my taste, and the larb wasn’t quite spicy enough, but these things are personal preference. The larb portion was small, especially for the large container is was sloshing around in. The food was tasty enough to give them a second chance, but god I hope they don’t use those Styrofoam containers for curries … the last thing I want to order is massaman flavored sweatpants, yikes!
All in all, another decent addition to Ithaca’s already crowded Thai Dining scene.

Now under new management/​owners — still very nice.
We stepped into Thai Basil and noticed it has been re-​decorated. The new décor is much more cohesive and appropriate for a nice sit-​down restaurant.
The man working said the restaurant is under new ownership. It was their first or second day open. He was understandably eager to make our visit a good one, reassuring us every step of the way that everything would be even better than before, and happy to answer any questions. The waitress was very attentive with water — something I always appreciate.
The menu is set up well for vegetarian options. In fact, nearly everything can be ordered vegetarian (tofu and vegetables).
I got massaman curry with tofu and vegetables. The vegetables turned out to be everything imaginable — it was great.
My dining companion loved her stir fry.
I’m sure I will be returning. You should check it out.