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“Wonderful Thai Food with great service!”
Review of Thai Sweet Basil

Thai Sweet Basil
Ranked #550 of 2,885 Restaurants in Tampa
Cuisines: Thai
More restaurant details
Restaurant details
Good for: Romantic
Dining options: Reservations
Description: Thai Sweet Basil belies its strip-mall location by offering guests a marvelously sophisticated dining experience in terms of venue, food and service. The décor is upscale and contemporary, while the food is meticulously prepared and artistically presented. Add to that professional service that is as it should be - hospitable yet unobtrusive - and you've got the recipe for a lunch or dinner fit for the King of Siam. Favorite appetizers include the Crab Rangoon and marvelous TBS rendition of Summer Rolls. Meanwhile, among the most popular main courses are the Duck Curry, Pad Thai and Pad See Ew. And for dessert, the Fried Bananas with coconut ice cream win hands down.
Reviewed 11 February 2017

It was one of those Friday nights when I didn't feel like cooking, so we decided to go out. We couldn't decide what we wanted, so finally decided to to try a Thai place we had not been to before. We both love Thai food!

We were seated immediately, they seemed happy to see us... and we were soon brought some hot Jasmine tea, and ice water... while we were looking through the extensive menu.

It was hard to decide what to eat here too, with so many delicious options. I opted for the Chili Grouper (Deep Fried Grouper filet in a Thai sweet chili sauce) and I ordered it HOT on the spice level, one level below Thai hot! ;) I also ordered a cup of the Tom Kha Gai, one of my favorite soups in the entire world.

Girlfriend ordered the Panang Curry Salmon, medium hot.

We sat and chatted for a bit, and the delivered my soup. It was very tasty, nice portions of mushrooms and chicken... and really had a excellent flavor, especially after I dumped a large spoon of ground chili into it... as it lacked any spicy heat at all. It was also barely warm... as in temperature, but it was edible. It disappeared quickly!

The restaurant is nicely laid out... with some fairly intimate booths on one side, and a number of tables on the other side. Decor is nice... pretty much standard fare for a nice Thai place. It was quiet, we could talk... and were really enjoying ourselves.

Then all of the sudden... Loud music started coming from somewhere... really, really HEAVY on the BASS! We could barely hear each other talk now. Other diners were complaining also. I was hoping it was just a car outside for a moment... but alas, that was not the case. It was the Peruvian restaurant next door, Costanera!

They brought our main courses.... and we ate them. They were delicious... wonderfully prepared, pretty to look at, and with wonder aromas. My grouper was crispy... and hot , and sweet, and yummy.... so good. My girlfriend said her Panang Salmon was excellent also. The food here is really good......

But....

That DAMN music! I started getting a headache... and was just having a hard time enjoying the food. Not Thai Sweet Basils fault either... it was Costanera, next door. Live band on Friday nights... and they crank the music and the BASS to the max. Thin walls here too, apparently.

Thai Sweet Basil... I love you! But you will never see me on a weekend night, which means you are a lot less likely to see me, period. Food is really good, Service was excellent, but the obnoxious next door neighbor... I will have to pass!

I did go next door and asked to speak to a manager... and I was told to wait 10 or 15 minutes, he was too busy to come talk to me...

So if you want great Thai food, Thai Sweet Basil is the place... but you may want to get it to go if it is on the weekend! :(

Date of visit: February 2017
Thank Charlie G
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (60)
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19 - 23 of 60 reviews

Reviewed 29 November 2016 via mobile

Yum, this was such an enjoyable lunch. Each meal came with a bowl of chicken and rice soup and 2 small spring rolls. It was really good. I ordered chicken pad prig khing. So good. The green beans were just the perfect amount of crunchy. The spice was right on too. My friends ordered pork fried rice (yummy and even good the next day as leftovers cold) and cashew nut chicken (very nice mild flavor). Everything was great. Service was great too. Can't wait until I visit again.

Date of visit: November 2016
Thank Jessica F
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 1 October 2016

Shared a birthday dinner with my bestie. The service was attentive and the food was served promptly. Wonderful flavors in the traditional Thai dishes. The restaurant has a quiet, ambient atmosphere and the flavor of the food had depth and character. I look forward to a return visit.

Date of visit: July 2016
Thank Julia S
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 5 July 2016

Visited after reading the great reviews, so disappointed even the rice was stale or re-cooked something just not right. The veggies were mostly celery and green peppers no broccoli to be found or mushrooms and the carrots were awful. There were three of us chicken, tofu and shrimp lunch dishes. The chicken and shrimp seemed fine but the tofu had a weird taste like it was left uncovered in a fridge. I wanted to like this place so much never again. The atmosphere was lacking and only one server made this a forgetful experience, do yourself a favor and skip this place. Bangkok Sushi we are on our way .....

Date of visit: July 2016
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
1  Thank lifeisaj0urney
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 15 June 2016 via mobile

I had red curry with chicken and it was wonderful! Hubby had Pad Thai with pork and loved it. We will be back. Very friendly staff, too!

Date of visit: May 2016
1  Thank AUBURNJILL
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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