Sweet Basil Restaurant

Nice little lunch spot. Located in a busy strip mall, parking is not an issue. The décor is sparse but pleasant. Honestly, don’t go for the ambiance, go for good Thai meal a descent price. Nothing too fancy, just good honest food prepared fresh.

Sweet Basil is a «Thai» restaurant.
By «Thai» I mean that it is technically «Thai» food, but you can tell that there’s a Chinese aspect to it.
I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. Before, I’d only have to come because my dad was good friends with the owner/​chef. Back then, I hadn’t really tried anything other than Chicken & Cashew for their lunch menu.
Today’s the first time I came on my own volition, and since I haven’t come here in awhile, there has been some changes… yet it looks like there hasn’t been any.
First off, the plaza did get a renovation, so the exterior may not be the same. After the renovation, the owner did not put up a sign for «Sweet Basil» as they said it costed too much to put up the sign. Funny, because his daughter goes to a private school.
Second, yes the plaza got a renovation. Inside? Not so much. Same kind of… almost «typical Chinese restaurant» vibe. Not super clean and looks worn out, but not exactly a terrible place.
Third, ever since knowing the owner when Sweet Basil first opened, the owner went through several chefs, so I know the taste has never been consistent. When the owner does cook himself; however, it actually merits a ⁵⁄₅ for the taste, especially at $ 8.50 a meal. I don’t know what’s the case now, but if you don’t get the owner, I can’t guarantee the taste.
TL;DR I gave it 4 stars because I feel like not having a «Sweet Basil» sign is kind of cheap and also the «décor» is pretty sub-​average. Not that I’m a bitch about those things, I pretty much only care about service and taste, which do make up for some of the short comings. Now I can’t say that I’ve tried ALL the items on the menu and they taste fantastic, but if you want a recommendation, I’d say the Chicken & Cashew or Chicken & Chili Fried Rice are great picks. The curry depends on the people though.
Oh and… I’m not a «small guy», so I tend to eat more during my meals. I’d say this is enough to be «full», but you’ll be hungry in about 2 hours.

Came here Saturday afternoon with a couple of friends, one of them suggested we come here because they loved the food so why not.
We asked the waitress why there wasn’t a sign out front, she said because they renovated the whole plaza and if they wanted a sign it would be about $ 500. Step it up construction workers give the people a sign.
They have a great lunch special where the meal is only $ 8.50 and it comes with a egg roll and rice (if it’s fried rice or a noodle dish then it won’t come with rice)
We all knew we couldn’t finish much so we ordered a couple items for all 6 of us to share.
The waitress suggested Pad Thai and it’s a rice noodle dish consisting of tofu, bean sprouts, egg, shrimp, and crushed peanuts. That dish was one of my favourites and I ate the most of that out of all my friends.
We ordered:
Pad Thai: Nice and a little sour which was from the vinegar. Shrimp nicely cooked all the way through, a little spicy as well which was delicious.
Beef with Thai Black Bean Sause: When you look at it it looks questionable but the beef is sooo good with the sause, it’s a little spicy which just adds to the flavour.
Panang Curry with Chicken: It’s a peanut curry and it’s not too overwhelmingly spicy, it’s very creamy and smooth. Tastes amazing over the rice.
Cashew Chicken: Ordering many nutty dishes! It’s like a stir fry dish. Very evenly cooked and not too heavy on the soy sause which is great.
Thai Chicken Chilli Fried Rice: A little salty, but very nice chilli flavour. Chicken moist, which is good because fried rice can dry out chicken.
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Service friendly, the waitress asked us if we wanted an extra spring roll because there were 6 of us and only 5 dishes with spring rolls. Free of charge as well. Chef came out to make a greeting and asked us if we needed anything else.
Delicious food, great service. It looks like nothing but the food is amazing!

I had to leave my son behind in the restaurant doing errands and when I came back my half-​eaten meal had been taken away.
When I told them I had not finished my meal, they generously and happily remade it for me without complaint. I liked how they handled that and I’ll certainly go back again. The food was delicious.

Depends what you’re looking for. For value and if you don’t care about a Thai chef not cooking here, then it’s probably a 3.
But for real Unilocalers, I’d drive 10 min. west to West Vancouver, just a few blocks past Park Royal and there’s a few, but I digress.
One star for actually being spacious, and clean. Even after a year or so, I’m not surprised that nothing’s changed.

I m giving them a generous 3star for fast & friendly service. Oh! & clean too.
My first time here although this place hv been here for a while.
Decided I will hv the chef’s special Thai Black Bean Fish Lunch $ 8.50. Came in a jiffy. Mind u, there was no one else here other than another couple with a baby in the corner.
Wayyyyyyyy! Too salty & sweet. Literally had to scrape the sauce off the fish & veggies. Even had to dip in water to wash off the sauce. Nothing to remind me anything of Thailand (basil missing???)
Probably will not get me to be back here anytime in the future.

I have been going here for years and they have the best green curry with chicken. The lettuce wraps are very tasty too. Fast service and good prices. They are a take out staple for me!

I have been to many Thai restaurants all up and down the west coast and this is – by far — the worst Thai food I have ever had. The chicken satay was coated in some sort of breading and was made up of fatty thigh pieces. The curry was watery and the chicken tasted boiled and mushy. Even the noodles were flavorless and sub-​par. Very disappointing. Will not be returning.

Best Thai food in north Vancouver. Yellow curry is outstanding. We take out from here all the time.

This place is my absolute favourite.
The chef is a very nice man and remembers my boyfriend and I when we come and makes a point to come and say Hello!
I have tried many things here but always go for the Panang Curry, the Thai Chili Fried Rice, Pork with Garlic sauce, and the Pad Thai. Everything we’ve had has been awesome but these are the favourites.
I couldn’t believe some of the reviews of this place — don’t let them deter you! Give it a shot, we did and we eat here every week.
P. S. You can also get delivery for a miniumum $ 20 purchase and a modest $ 2 delivery fee. (only after 5 pm though)

This place has great food, however the service is horrible. If it wasn’t the best Thai on the north Shore I would never go back.

I eat at Sweet Basil about once a week for lunch. Couldn’t be better for the price. 8 bucks for lunch and a ton of variety.
I love the curries and the chef is okay with substitutions as well.
Highly recommended neighborhood place!

OK so I was coming back from Squamish and had to go to the washroom at save-​on-​foods next door to Sweet Basil and I thought hmmm I love Thai so why not.
Well my god this was easily the worst food I have ever had, in terms of any food I have tried. It was not good enough to be pig slop, the food was slimy, tasteless and gross, like I said even pigs are too good for this crap. In the future I will never go to a thai place run by a chinese guy and his 12 year old daughter as the waitress. Luckily I told the chinese cook that his food was so disgusting and he gave me my money back. The chicken had an awful uncooked smell to it and the so called pad thai was slimy and tasteless, absolutely no spices or vegetables on it whatsoever.

This is not an authentic Thai restaurant. There is not a Thai cook in the kitchen or anyone from Thailand involved in the restaurant. I’m surprised they don’t have Chinese food on the menu instead of Thai. One word for it — disappointing.

Bleh.
That’s all I’ve got to say! Bleh!
The portions were large, the prices acceptable, and the food wasn’t entirely terrible but afterwards, felt seriously sick! So far, this is my least favourite Thai food in North Vancouver.

Came here based on a tip from Nelson C.
This restaurant is a bit difficult to find. It’s tucked away just W of the Save On Foods, in the back of the strip mall.
Parking is available directly in front.
The interior is a bit plain, but the yellow walls do remind one of the large golden Buddhas and temples you’d see throughout the country. The chairs and tables are quite fitting for the theme.
The restaurant has a lunch special menu. Some 30 items, all for just $ 8. All dishes include an egg roll.
L30 Red curry with beef — didn’t look like anything special at first glance, but the curry is very flavourful and not overwhelmingly spicy. Mixes well with the rice. Nice soft pieces of bamboo shoot.
L91 Chicken with chili fried rice — heavier on the soy sauce. As a result, it is a bit too salty. The chicken is well cooked without being dry (common mistake with fried rice).
This place is definitely on my radar next time I’m in the area. It is one of the better Thai restaurants in the Vancouver area, period. Recommended.

The food is good enough to eat without complaining, unless you have eaten at a proper Thai restaurant in recent memory, but the portions are very good, considering the costs. This is all you will need to know if you get it to go. If you eat in you will notice these things:
1…The hiphop is out of place and too loud. Also, it’s hiphop, it needs base to be enjoyed by it’s absent fans, something the $ 12 Sanyo on the counter pointed right at your head, has none of.
2…The toilet is sooo much dirtier than you first think. I saw the cook use it which might explain the filth on the lightswitch, but does not explain the mismatched tank lid which prevents flushing without some minor efforts on one’s part. Also, the seat, clean it properly!
3…In spite of never seeing more than 4 people in the place at any one given time, if you are not trying to get the waitresses attention, look around, because someone is.
4… It’s too close to a Walmart. I don’t want to be reminded of how my local economy was f’ed in the a formula designed to impovert its consumers, there-​by increasing it’s demand.

only okay… the eggplant was more broccoli than eggplant, sauce was good… pad thai was horrible — no peanuts, no cilantro, minimal tofu, flaorless shrimp… tasted tomato-​y — never had tomatoes in Thailand… but seems to be common in North Van… pineapple rice… can’t recommend. Curry was good, but a can of coconut milk and yellow curry and you can do it yourself. Nothing special. No fresh herbs anywhere. Was so hoping to find good Thai in N Van… I’ve now tried them all… an won’t go to any of them ever again. SO SAD.

Of all the Thai restaurants I’ve tried in Vancouver (and specifically North Vancouver), Sweet Basil is definitely top of the list.
I can’t recall what region or style of Thai they cook but it’s one that definitely suits my tastebuds. The curries are absolutely delicious (creamy savoury panang curry ftw!), I can’t get enough of their tom kha gai soup and the prices are completely reasonable. I would recommend going with their dinner combos (the boyfriend and I generally each get a combo for one as you can actually pick your entrée rather than being told what it’s going to be — you get a spring roll, chicken satay (mmm), coconut rice and a big bowl of whatever entrée takes your fancy.)
The service is generally friendly and pretty good, they’ve got a decent selection of Thai beer and the décor, while a bit dated, doesn’t detract from the experience. Plus, because they’re located in a strip mall right next to a Save-​On parking should never be an issue. Sweet Basil makes my tummy happy!

I can’t say how authentic the food here is, but I can say it is delicious. Savory curries and tasty lettuce wraps keep me coming back.
The service is always very friendly and the food is very affordable, as fairly priced as any Thai place I have been to.
The only possible downside to this place might be the décor and ambiance while dining in, but that’s not high on my list and I usually get take out, so Sweet Basil gets top marks.