Thai Basil

Authentic Thai food. Excellent pad Thai. Thai basil entrée had nice flavor too. Friendly service.

Went here on Saturday night at 8:30, the dining room was full, we were seated right away with a reservation. Our server was very polite. I ordered the chicken teriyaki which was excellent. Also the vegetable fried rice was very good. Would recommend this place to anyone who likes Asian or Thai food.

Visit of Feb. 2016 — proved exceedingly good. The Wonton Soup is back up there on my list of must-​haves. The shrimp in green coconut sauce was spicy and delicious. The dish had 8 large perfectly cooked shrimps. My husband had an even spicier shrimp dish, which he loved.
Worth the price of admission.

*1 star for customer service.*
Having previously dined and taken out at Thai Basil, it is always a «go-​to» for dinner during ski season. It’s consistent, good Thai food. Yes, it’s overpriced for Thai, but since it is the only Thai place in town, it’s always packed even still.
Over the most recent holiday, on a weeknight no less, we decided to call for pick-​up for take-​out. 45 minutes, and 10 phone calls later, we were still calling and ring, ring, ring, no answer, time after time. Well, what else to do but get up and go there anyway? When I walked in, I waiting 5 minutes before even being greeted, before I was asked if I had a reservation. I immediately said, I tried calling but no one picks up the phone here. The response, «yeah, we don’t pick up the phone when we’re busy.» Excuse me?! How is one to make a reservation if you don’t answer the phone, I said. Afterwards, I said, we wanted to take-​out but no one answered to place an order. I was told, «we don’t do take out when we have a full house». WOW. I know Vermont, is slow, but get with the times, and get another staff member to at least answer the phone and greet customers.
Of course the place was packed and we could not get a table after all that. Luckily a couple got up from the bar, so we were able to snag a seat and dine there. Over the course of our meal, which was fine, I witnessed more phone calls ring, ring, ring and no one answer. I found this absolutely mind-​blowing, that a business doesn’t pick up their phone!
A few hiccups with our food order that were quickly corrected, we ate and left. Again, the food was good, just overpriced for what it is. I’d like to protest and say I won’t come back to Thai Basil, but as there aren’t a plethora of options in Manchester to dine at, I’m sure I’ll come back. I’ll hope for a better customer service experience.

Very frustrated with this restaurant. We called continuously for maybe an hour so we can pick up food, but no one picked up. We ended up sucking it up and going there ourselves. After standing in the front to be seated for a while someone finally came to help. Told us the place was packed because of reservations but considering they don’t pick up the phone we aren’t sure how they get reservations. They ended up seating us at the last 3 seats at the bar, whatever, we just wanted to eat at this point. The draft beer I wanted was tapped out also.
We ordered, got the steamed dumplings which were delicious. We ordered the steamed pot stickers which they messed up and gave us fried so we returned. For entrees I had the cashew nut beef stir fry but again they messed it up and gave me the wrong order so they had to fix it. It ended up quite good though so I would recommend it.
Overall, service was ¹⁄₅ but the food was about ⁴⁄₅.

Excellent place, MUST try! Gets extremely busy in the evening, make sure you call for reservations ahead and reach 10 min before your time. We had the Panang curry and the cashew vegetables in chili sauce. Both dishes were mouthwatering and scrumptious! Very authentic taste, and good service. Note that they state the portions are enough for one person only; don’t believe them, as two moderate eaters can easily share one dish. Kind of sad that I did not do back for lunch the next day before leaving Vermont

Nice food !
Love the Tam yam noodle soup
nice service.
We went for lunch, and really enjoyed everything!

My wife and I had dinner here and it was great. We shared a Fresh Basil Roll appetizer. My wife had the Vermicelli Noodle Salad for her dinner and I had the Spicy Basil Stir Fry with Chicken. The food was tasty and the presentation was excellent. We are owners of a Thai restaurant in our hometown so we have high standards. Thai Basil met our expectations.

One of worst experiences I had in a restaurant.
My friends and family told me the food was fine, but I couldn’t know as my meal never arrived. We reminded the server but still it never came. Mistakes happen, but what shocked me is that except for a «sorry» nothing happened. No manager came to speak to us, no compensation offered, no real regret. They thought it is perfectly fine to have me leave without eating. Terrible experience

Horrible service is an understatement. They were so late to serve the food that I had to cancel the order of entrée. I just paid for the drinks and had to leave. They did not even have the courtesy to apologize for the horrible service.
The worst service ever received in a restaurant.

Some friends and I stopped in for lunch while on vacation. The wait staff were super nice and the food was amazing. We sat outside on the street. The view of the Main Street is great as well.

Excellent food and service. Nice setting we would definitely come again. Nice change from burgers and pizza,

Hard Pass. After several attempts to let them get it right the experience just keeps falling flat. The food alone would be 4-​stars. The service of the wait staff would be 3-​stars, operationally 2-​stars. Then there is the bartender and his overall lack of ability to handle anything, 1-​star.
This place needs a hands on manager with some talent and the establishment of standards of service and procedures. Here’s a hint: when someone calls in a take out order remember to give it to the kitchen.
In short, find a manager, fire the bartender (who handles the take out orders over the phone).
Once thats done, ill try again… Not until

My wife liked her curry dish she got. I got Kang par. With squid. Should I have gotten squid on a Sunday evening in the green mountains of Vermont? Apparently not. It smelled immediately like it wasn’t real fresh. I ate it anyways (well…only a little…) It tasted good… although too fishy to be fresh squid. So I stopped eating it. I ate white rice and drank some beers which hit the spot.
It was decent tasting and spicy but ultimately I felt not so hot health wise. Not worth 85 bucks for dinner here, to have complications later. Which I did. My wife only tried a little and… so did she. So. Not at all worth the money sadly.

I would have given 2 stars but they charged more on my credit card than I signed for. I clearly remember putting in a tip so that the final total was a round number. When I checked my statement the next week, I noticed that it was about $ 2.xx higher than what I had put down. Now I know and acknowledge that my tip (16% for lunch) was a bit low, especially for a group of 9, but the food and the service were definitely below adequate. Was going to call my bank (on principle!) but ended up not as I decided my time was worth more than the $ 2.
As mentioned above. the food was sub-​mediocre. The tom yum soup was not your typical tom yum soup. It was more like sour and salty water with an aftertaste akin to throw-up…My friends have had better pad thai from take-​out Thai places in NYC, and my green curry noodles was the wrong type of noodle (never had vermicelli noodles in a thai curry noodle dish before). The only decent dish was the massaman curry that one of my buddies got, but the portion of rice that came with was minuscule.
The food took a very long time to come out — and it came out one dish at a time. By the time the last person got their food, the first person’s food wasn’t hot anymore. The only redeeming quality was the server’s attitude was great. He actually seemed like he liked his job and made us feel welcome to be there. The décor inside is nice and upscale, but it doesn’t make up for the quality of the food, and the overcharging of my CC.
Tldr; sub-​standard food, mediocre service, ***make sure you check your CC bill after to ensure they don’t overcharge you***

Good Thai food, somewhat over-​priced. Maybe because VT doesn’t have too many Thai places, the choice was made to make the dishes here very mild — thinking that people might not be used to spicy food? In any case, my friends and I tried the Chicken Pad Thai, Chicken Massaman Curry, and Spring Rolls. All tasted quite fresh, had a decent amount chicken (in the entrees), and were packed nice & hot, so they were still warm when we got home.
On the downside, the dishes were a little light on spice, and I don’t just mean the heat level, but the amount of sauce/​seasoning. Could have used a little more punch. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our meal. My feeling is that the food here, while good is over-​priced. If this was truly amazing That, okay, but if the prices don’t scare you off, you’ll probably enjoy your meal.

Really kind of a mediocre Thai place.
Lets start from the top — its a beautiful business. Nicely decorated, beautiful lighting — and kept really clean. Walking in, you think you’re in for a treat.
The thing is, the food was all … well okay. Some was bland, some was slightly better than okay. Nothing was terrible or even bad, but nothing was great either. Nothing creative (as the rather bland and predictable name would suggest).
My experience may have influenced my memory of the food: It was a very busy Saturday night. It seemed like every restaurant in town was booked up, but we did manage to get a 7:30 reservation here for a party of 6. When we arrive — on time to the minute — we noticed there were two large tables near the front. One was being cleared out and the other had a family that was taking there time finishing desert.
There was another couple talking to the hostess — who informed them they needed a reservation, but something might open up at the bar. She then asked if we had a reservation, I said «yes». And a group of 8 walked in. The hostess asked if they had a reservation, they said «yes» and were promptly seated at the recently vacated table.
I wasn’t annoyed yet — figuring the party of 8 could only fit at the table. But, after 10 minutes of waiting for the family, who had now finished eating and was just sitting around, I realized that both tables were the same size. Another 10 minutes goes by, and the table is still occupied. There are a 1001 tricks hosts use to move a table that is lingering — you can start clearing tables, you can ask repeatedly if they need anything, or you can frankly inform them that people are waiting for the table.
They started clearing stuff after a half hour of the family just sitting there, and it still took 15 minutes more for them to clear out.
So, as soon as the table empty and cleared — but not set– we encouraged one of the party members with a bad knee to sit down. We had been walking a lot that day, and it seemed like a good idea. We were very gruffly informed by a waiter «if you don’t sit down, we can set up faster»
Look — we’d been waiting 45 minutes past our reservation for a table, after for no apparent reason, a group that came in AFTER us was seated at a table that would have worked for us. No apologies were given — and now we’re trying to get someone with a bad knee a place to sit. Its not like there is a convenient place to stand anyway.
One member of the party pulled the waiter aside to tell him as much — and he got an «okay», and quickly detached himself to work on another table.
We should have given up after we were skipped — Pizza to go and games back at the house would have been much more pleasant.
So — yes, I understand that it was a crowded day and things go wrong. Its not there fault that table took so long to clear out. They could have tried to speed it up, and they sure as hell should have seated us at the free table when we came in, but ignoring that — waiting close to an hour after your reservation at least warrants having the fact that you just stood around for an hour acknowledged. If this happens AFTER you skipped us in line — you should be shocked we stuck around, and very appreciative.
My suggestion — there are many great places to find food in the area — go explore one of them. Or better yet — do go here, that way when I am in the area there might be one more table available elsewhere — cause I know I won’t be going back to Thai Basil.

It’s not terrible. It’s not the best Thai that I’ve had… but it’s OK.
Went there on a Sunday afternoon at around 2pm. The restaurant was quiet but I did notice that it’s very clean and quite nice. This is not a dive. The staff was super friendly, attentive and just plain nice.
The food? Really just OK. The drunken noodles dish was extremely salty and didn’t taste like other versions that I’ve had in better places (and in Thailand). The red curry was actually quite nice — had a perfect kick to it and a lovely coconut-​red-​curry umami-​thing happening. Not enough rice, though… it was a VERY small portion of rice for all of that curry sauce.
The steamed Thai dumplings were decent — they’re rather small and the appetizer only came with 4 dumplings.
I ordered tea… thinking it would be Thai tea… but they came out with a box of assorted teas to choose from (which was a little odd).
This is the most exotic fare you’ll find in Manchester… so have at it. I might go back again sometime when I’m in town.

Fine. It’s fine.
We had been here before with my in-​laws and baby, maybe 2 winters ago. We came last night with friends. Despite a reservation, we had to wait for the table to be prepared when we arrived. We were seated by the window and the floor was clearly slanted. No biggie, but definitely distracting throughout the meal. Our waiter was brusque and seemingly annoyed. He was a Caucasian male with glasses. I didn’t care for him at all. The food was solid. Started with spring rolls and had the tofu curry noodles. Both delicious. I wish the portions had been slightly larger. We found the prices to be very reasonable. I’m sure we will be back again during the season. This is about as exotic as you’ll get in this neck of the woods.

Very special Thai place here in Manchester. I frequent Thai restaurants wherever I travel, and this one deserves five stars. The service is attentive (albeit I was there late) and friendly. Full flavors in the Chicken Larb salad (beautiful) and the Spicy Thai Basil chicken stir fry with delicious multi-​toned brown rice. Never had brown rice quite like this. Wow! The extra Thai peppers on the side added an amazing kick. My stiff neck was mostly relieved while eating the ramped up food. Amazing what spice does for the body. The Crab Angel puffs were lightly fried with a delicious and generous crab and sweet cream cheese center. Amazing!!! The Thai iced tea was perfect. The building, the décor, and the lighting provide a great atmosphere. Very clean too. Ask for Shawn. Great waitor. Really cares.
I’ll be back.