Blue Basil Thai Cuisine

Best pumpkin car has ever had. come here with my son and they always make us feel at home and when he gets a little rambunctious.
their specials are truly unique.
Our New fav thai place…

This restaurant now has a new owner and the food quality has declined since my review last year. The Pad Kee Mao isn’t as flavorful, the portions got much smaller. My friend and I left hungry and disappointed.
They have a sushi bar now, but I’ve never tried any and don’t plan on getting sushi at a Thai restaurant!

I want to love this place, and I kind of do. The food is great, and service is good too. But, if you want gluten free– BEWARE.
Yes, I am one of those customers. But, let me say, I rarely eat out because of it.
It all started when I shopped too long, into lunch time, with my toddler & mom. We decided to take a chance and eat out, even if I always say I will never eat out because I always get glutened.
Well, we stumbled in here thinking I could order something super safe and all would be well. Well, to my pleasant surprise they had numerous items that were noted to be «Gluten Free». Most items, in fact. Awesome! I ordered a few things for my daughter and I, and asked to make sure they were in fact gluten free. The waitress assured me.
I am very, very sensitive. As is my daughter. I was so happy to see they had gluten free items, and hours later I could tell they were in fact careful– we hadn’t been glutened! I was so excited. Eating out is a real pain for us, literally.
Three days later we were late getting home so I suggested we go out, my husband knows eating out is risky but I told him of this great place that I went and didn’t get sick from. So we all drove the 30 minutes to Belmont to get Thai food. Halfway through our meal, of ALL gluten free items I started feeling it. I knew I had eaten gluten. My husband assured me that he also saw everything we ordered with the GF acronym next to it. The only thing I could think was the salt & pepper squid, since it is breaded. I asked the waitress and she said it was rice flour. I still felt sick, so when I was paying the bill I asked her again if she was sure NO gluten made it into our meal. She said «well the fried rice has soy sauce.» I told her it had a GF next to it, and she informed me that with the fried rice it is only gluten free if I request it. I told her that was absolutely ridiculous because nowhere on the menu does it say GF by request, it just says GF next to numerous items.
She apologized when I told her now we get to be sick for the next day and a half, including my poor 2 year old.
I know we should not eat out, but I really thought we’d found a place that was careful. I was wrong. Back to no more eating out.
That said, if you are NOT gluten intolerant then the food is really good. The fried rice with pineapple, salt & pepper squid, larb, green papaya salad, salad rolls and chicken satay are all really tasty. The salt & pepper squid was super good.
I won’t return, only because I have to be so careful. And they are not careful enough.
Yes, I am one of «those» people… and I am afraid most servers/​restaurants don’t take this quite serious enough. I am not doing this to be a hipster, or be cool, or be healthy. I eat this way because otherwise I feel like shit. So please, if you say Gluten Free on your menu… please be.

Went in for lunch. I guess they don’t have a lunch menu? We ordered off what seemed to be their dinner menu, which meant that you’re probably going to be paying at least $ 9 for lunch here.
We were told we could sit anywhere we would like and were brought water with ice and lemon right away. I ordered a Thai iced tea and we decided to split shrimp salad rolls and chicken Phad Thai, since there was no lunch specials offered.
The salad rolls with peanut sauce were delicious. The Phad Thai was pretty good as well. A little sweet but overall better than a lot of places I’ve had in Portland. I never received my Thai iced tea… guess she forgot? At the time we ordered there was only one other party in the restaurant, so I’m not sure what happened there.
Besides forgetting the tea, the service was attentive and the food came out quickly. You can easily get in and out of here on an hour lunch break.

So so sad. We loved this place and felt the salad rolls were the best we ever had, but we returned last week to find new owners serving truly substandard Thai. Never again.

Good pad se ew. Could have used some veggies in it but great service and fast for lunch. Salad was swimming in the dressing but for the price not bad. My fav in SE is still Tom Yum on Woodstock

I wish I could give Blue Basil a 5 star review as that was my initial intention the first few times we ate here, but we have experienced some issues over the last few months that have gone unaddressed by their management.
Quality of Food & Taste — 4
Inconsistency of Spiciness — 1
Customer Service — 1
We started eating here when they first opened in our neighborhood. We love quality Thai and they were one of the best we found within walking distance.
Unfortunately, over time we have experienced some very unusual inconsistency in how hot (spicy) they serve their food. I am not sure if this is a specific cook in the kitchen or generally across the board, but I always order food medium (3 on a scale 5). I have ordered from Blue Basil several meals and the amount of thai pepper in the meal has been between 2 and 5. One particular experience was so awful that I ended up getting violently sick from the spiciness after only a few bites. Don’t get me wrong, I love spicy food, but I prefer to taste the food, not burn my mouth and have it upset my stomach in the process.
We ordered a few weeks ago and my girlfriend requested the Shrimp Massaman Curry, mild. It was hotter than I would have preferred it. She ended up tossing it like we have with several other meals here.
I emailed them on May 23^rd about the issues we had experienced. Surprisingly, no response.
I will probably go here only for the fried rice because they don’t add any spice to it, but I can’t really recommend anything else at this point unless you request zero spice and add it in yourself.
I hope they will address this problem so that we can experience better meals and change my opinion on this restaurant.

Simply the best Phad Thai Chicken I have ever had, and I’ve had a lot. The other two people in my party were equally happy with their meal. The only drawbacks were that even though we were there for lunch on a Saturday, they wouldn’t give us the normal lunch specials and the Phad Thai didn’t come with rice like most other places give me.

Yep, this place is very cool. It has a welcoming and bright outlook with the right amount of casual to make you feel at home. And the food was out of this world good. We had the special ‘Pork SpareRib Tom Yum’ and Pad Ke Mao. The special was super good with fresh ingredients and a nice level of spice (I like it hot). I always order Pad Ke Mao at a new Thai place to do apples to apples comparison and this one is a winner. Great taste, ample spice, and nice fresh ingredients. I will be back to try more.

Only have been once but it was really really good. They have a lot of options, something for everyone.

Having started my drive looking for a different Thai place and not knowing that it is only open for dinner, I drove up the street to yet another Thai place that I haven’t tried yet.
After walking thru the door I was surprised on how nice the décor was. I thought to myself this is off to a good start.
After pursing the menu and not seeing Kao Soi on it, I asked if it could be made. The server told me no problem. Before that arrived I was served a nice starter salad. That is the first time that I have served that in a Thai restaurant. It was good.
Next up was one of my favorite Northern Thai foods. (Kao Soi) It was spot on. All in all, a great little place with excellent food and service.

I don’t speak Thai and can’t remember the name of my entrée, but it was really good. I ordered from the board on the wall. Ground pork and rice, with fennel. I asked for really spicy, and boy did they deliver. I have no complaints. Clean. Friendly. Nothing out of the ordinary, though. There must be a secret «Treatise on Thai» hidden in Portland somewhere, that all Thai eateries use. With an overpopulation of Thai, I think, it will be awhile before I come back. Nice for the neighborhood regulars.

Great salad rolls, consistently good food. The vegetables seem to be fresh and they have some great unique items on the menu.

I made a reservation for 10 of us to come here before checking out Peacock Lane a couple blocks up. I was pretty happy to see that Blue Basil serves both Thai AND sushi, but opted for just the Thai Food.
I ordered the Khao Soi, and it was tasty. Done right, it was served with a chicken drumstick, yummy yellow curry, and lots of veggies. I was a fan.
The only downside to this place is that when we got our food, it came out one by one. Granted, it’s better than it sitting under a heat lamp until it’s all ready (I mean, we DID have 10 people), so it’s not really that big of a complaint.
The service was good – they were extremely kind to us, and separated the checks without us even asking!

My first time to Blue Basil Thai and I will absolutely go back. After a friend repeatedly encouraged this place, I thought it was high time I experienced.
Let me preface by saying we are so spoiled in PDX with our amazing selection of Thai Food. What set this apart was the super quick service (I got take out — several orders, and it was ready in about 15 mins), friendly recommendations (without going overboard on the enthusiasm), and distinguishable taste.
I don’t know about you guys, but after a certain point you think «it’s Thai food, how can anyone mess that up». Trust me, it can happen. Luckily not the case here as even the salad rolls were stuffed to the brim and had a variety of contents beside just lettuce and tofu.
I had the green curry on the recommendation of the gal working there and the flavor had so much depth beyond just «spicy». I would have liked a bit more eggplant but there was certainly a ton of very well cooked tofu. Sometimes tofu dishes, it seems the protein is just plopped in without any thought of cooking it through. My boyfriend got the Pad Se Ew and was literally scraping his plate.
The space is very pretty and nicely kept inside. You don’t get that «wow, we’re stepping into a total dive» feeling. I don’t think many people know how good this place is yet as it wasn’t very crowded.
All in all, can’t wait to go back and make my way through the curries!

Good pad se ew and pad thai. They also have fresh coconuts as a drink option. A good atmosphere and good service too.

Delicious, perfectly seasoned and flavorful cuisine. When a restaurant sources only high-​quality, fresh ingredients, you can taste the difference. Thanks Unilocalers, for steering us yet again in the right direction in search of yet another good Thai restaurant in Portland. Blue Basil serves great cuisine in a clean and nicely decorated little spot on Belmont. We tried the shrimp panang curry and the BBQ pork ribs. They will accurately adjust the heat level to suit your palate and the service was attentive, yet unobtrusive.

Love this place! Great specials too. Fresh meats and veggies, super friendly staff. Take out is easy and fast. Highly recommended.
Thai iced coffee is TURBO!
I’m so happy something that I enjoy is in the space.

I ate here with my girlfriend wanting to try a new Thai restaurant in town. We have been to many places and had a lot of mixed experiences so we’re always wary when it comes to trying different spots.
The food was delicious, hot and spicy. I had the Pad Kee Mao and she had the Red Curry with a Papaya salad. Everything was very tasty and came out really quickly. The noodles in my dish were not goopy like a lot of places and that made me happy. The veggies were chunky and full of flavor. The salad was extra spicy which was refreshing as it prepared us for the hot meal.
The waitress was very friendly and took very good care of us. My girlfriend dropped a chopstick and she brought another one quickly. I can’t wait to come back and try another dish. The prices were inexpensive too for good portions.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this restaurant, as it has recently opened up in a space where a lot of businesses have come and gone.
There were no other patrons in the restaurant, but we live right down the street and thought we should give this new business a try.
I loved it! It far exceeded my expectations. I only wanted and expected decent, standard Thai, but this was exceptionally delicious Thai, better than most of the other places I’ve been to around town.
We decided to go with what we consider benchmarks for a Thai restaurant: the summer rolls, the pad thai, and some kind of curry. Just as a way to evaluate against other places in town.
The summer rolls were excellent: very big, with lots of fresh delicious veggies and perfectly cooked shrimp. The peanut sauce was soooo good, and they had these delicately carved veggie garnishes that looked like they took some time to prepare.
The panang curry came next, which I asked for 4-​star spicy (out of 5) and BOY was it spicy which is what i wanted! Some restaurants say spicy, but fail to deliver. I got what I asked for and it was delicious. I will say that some of the green beans were slightly undercooked, but I would rather have that than overcooked and we pretty much finished the plate. The shrimp was very fresh and again, cooked perfectly. I also requested brown rice instead of white, and still got white, but hey accidents happen, and it’s still rice, so I didn’t mind too much, at least not enough to send it back or alert the server.
Finally, the pad thai noodles with shrimp. So good! Very spicy as well, with lots of fresh ground peanut, green onion, fresh shrimp, lime, egg, etc. The noodles were an excellent texture and perfectly cooked. Excellent plate of pad thai, and very generous portion.
I hope this place gets a following and does well, it’s 2 blocks from our home and the people are very nice. Service was great! And lots of outdoor seating for these beautiful Portland days we’re having right now. We tied the dog up underneath the seat and had an awesome family dinner.
Give this place a try! I loved it.