Holy Basil in Sydney, New South Wales

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Telephone:	+61 2 9283 8284
Website:	www.holybasil.com.au
Address:	Shark Hotel 127 Liverpool St, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000 Sydney
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:	640 ftSydney, Elizabeth Street nr Goulburn Street 650 ftMuseum 720 ftCrown Hotel
Categories:	Thai

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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations	Yes
Delivery	No
Take-out	Yes
Accepted Cards	Credit, Debit
Good for Kids	Yes
Good for Groups	Yes

Attire	Casual
Noise Level	Loud
Alcohol	Full Bar
Outdoor Seating	No
Has TV	No
Waiter Service	Yes

Today

Today	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm Closed now
Local time (Sydney)	00:17 Monday, 23 June 2025

Business hours

Monday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Tuesday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Wednesday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Thursday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Friday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Saturday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Sunday	12:00 pm – 3:00 pm 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Related places

Nearby

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La Lingua Language School

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Ogalo City

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Hanabi

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Yasaka Ramen

126 Liverpool St

Shark Hotel

127 Liverpool St

Caffe Cherry Beans

Shop 2 127 Liverpool St

9 reviews of Holy Basil

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Stephanie N.

Place rating: 3
Sydney, Australia

Great Thai food and my favourite is the duck stir fry which is very sweet. The vegetables are not cut well so you will be dealing with large pieces. The pork belly was not so nice and they don’t include many pieces. It had a funny flavour — some spice which I didn’t like. The pad kee mao was ok but slightly spicy and the pad Thai was ok but very thin noodles and not a lot of vegetables. The deep fried ice cream is very nice with coconut and syrup. They sing a song and make a lot of noise for birthdays so be warned if you don’t like noise. They have a water feature which leaks water so be careful.

Raph T.

Place rating: 5
Adelaide, Australia

If you can’t find the restaurant, walk up the Shark Hotel and keep going until you see it at the end of the bar!
Weird placement aside, Holy Basil is an outstanding hotel, serving Thai and Laotian food. The Laos sausages were extremely yum and the durian smoothie was ace. The Thai salad was perfect too.
Wait staff were a bit absent but it didn’t detract from the food at all.

Divya G.

Place rating: 3
Sydney, Australia

Came here by recommendations from a lot of people who around CBD. With the awesome cold weather we have been having in Sydney, pardon my craving for some spicy food! So I go with the Vegetarian Pad Thai and asked for it to be spicy. They messed the dish pretty bad, it was as if someone had boiled noodles and mixed it in some chilli sauce and threw in a few vegetables. I understand if you can’t customize orders, just say so. Hubby ordered the Holy Basil fried rice which was good. I don’t think I would ever go back there again given a choice.

Ben L.

Place rating: 5
Melbourne, Australia

haha I remember during my uni days going to the Shark Hotel for their cheap arse drinks, shark in the window and bouncy bouncers. How times have changed.
Holy Basil was absolutely amazing, who would have thought the Shark Hotel could house such a great place :) We had soup, BBQ, curry — all were fantastic and I was too busy stuffing my face to take photos (sorry Unilocalers, next time).
Recommended for a brilliant meal.
(I didn’t get the fried ice cream, dammit.)

Julie N.

Place rating: 5
Sydney, Australia

Only came here for dessert but would come again for the full experience. Had the fried ice cream that comes in a large portion, toasted coconut & peanut side, & overall doesn’t feel fried nor heavy; sticky rice with mango, & sticky rice with durian. The sticky brice with durian can be skipped, even for a durian lover like myself. Durian didn’t taste that fresh. Would have been better if it was cold to have a hot/cold mix. Very pricey desserts at $ 14 – 17 each but worth it for the serving size. Each plate is good to share between 2 people.
Décor is on par, & the kitchen is open so everyone can see what the pros are doing behind the counter. Lovely lanterns & upscale feel. Good for groups & a dinner date. Would not guess this place is as nice as it is front the street.

Ruby Y.

Place rating: 5
Sydney, Australia

Does anyone come here and not get the fried ice cream? Always leave room for fried ice cream! Other dishes are also done well here! I like how you can choose to increase or lower the chilli scale. The smoothies… try a lychee and strawberry!
Oh, be sure to bring enough cash though, they have a 2% surcharge for eftpos, visa and MasterCard, and 3% for amex.

Hieu N.

Place rating: 5
Sydney, Australia

The fried ice cream is unbelievable delicious!!!

Andrew O.

Place rating: 4
Australia

Holy …basil.
Laotian food was on Food Safari and I saw a restaurant that is fully twenty seconds from work that I had never even heard of. Had to go. Its in the Shark Hotel, last time I went there was years ago — when there was actually a shark in the middle of the place. Pretty cruel I thought, especially when I heard it was about the third one cos they kept dying.
Sorry, got distracted again.
This place is good, I had a seafood Vermicelli salad. Not knock your socks off but good. Pretty straightforward herbs and leaves, and no holy basil?
Shortgrain, Phamish and Spice I Am could teach these guys about finding Herbs and flavours that kick a dish up a notch. But its well worth trying and its good value.

Gertrude X.

Place rating: 4
Australia

Decent pad thai and panang curry.
Awful grilled beef — the meat was rubbery and tasted off.
The fried ice cream filo was out-of-this-world delicious. If I come here again it will probably just be for the fried ice cream.