New Thai Restaurant in West Chester -- Sweet Basil

[spyturtle008]

Has anyone been? Drove by it earlier in the week just north of the PA-DE state line on 202, and it looks brand-spanking new. I'm especially interested to hear how veg-friendly their menu is; will hopefully be able to check it out soon, but meanwhile I thought I'd check with the area CH's.

[kiatsiri]

New Thai restaurant are Nooddi-Thai Chef are 2 places one is 10 W. Market St West Chester Pa 19382 [phone] and another one 364 Wilmington-West Chester Pike( Rt. 202 South) Glen Mills Pa 19342 [phone].....................................................................Yum Yum We been both places so goody......

[keby]

I really like noodi thai, try it at lunch most prices are under 10. The only so so thing was the pad thai, too sweet and saucey for my taste

[morisbelvins]

Absolutely AWFUL experience. Waited over an hour for food that was cold on the outside and hot on the inside (microwave??!) Waiter insisted it came right out of the wok. I'm writing this as I sit over piping hot chinese takeout that I ordered after leaving Sweet Basil and had with me in the car for 20 minutes before I opened it at home. And it's still piping hot. Why? BECAUSE IT CAME STRAIGHT OUT OF THE WOK.
The waiter tried to make up for it by bringing our table of four one piece of cheesecake (seriously?). Oh, and I had a mysterious baby crab in my order.....

Never. Again.

[leepinleemur]

Was this referring to noodi thai in west chester, morisbelvins?

[PWD]

I was disappointed - small menu and the food wasn't great. Definitely try the Green Papaya in WC and Chabaa Thai Bistro in Manayunk - both are good, Chabaa's particularly good.

[deltguy]

Try Noodi in Media (although their name may have changed) on State St. Thai is pretty delicious.

[clemntine]

i've eaten a lot of thai both in boston and in philly, and in my opinion, sweet basil is fantastic! i tried green papaya once and really didn't like it. it just didn't seem like high quality food or a high quality restaurant. but sweet basil is both. i've been there many times, and the food is consistently good, the wait staff is attentive and friendly and remembers my family, and the owner has come out of the kitchen on a number of occasions to check on our dining experience. so, i highly recommend sweet basil!

[Adorable Girlfriend]

Great review here:

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pb...

Thanks Clemntine -- I am a Bostonian and if it's half as good as Dok Bua or Rod Dee, I will be happy.

[samiaminde]

Hi
I know this is an old post, but I wanted to assure you Thai food is alive and well in Wimington. There is a wonderful place on Union Street called the Bangkok House. The gentlman who owns it closes it for a month either Oct or Nov though. His food is hand done to order and they have a nice wide variety. Also in Wilm on 202 where Pier One is: Jasmine. They are more "pan asian" a little bit of everything but they have edamame and they have wonderful thai soups. It is great to get lunch there and get a "bento box" they have japanese, chinese, vietnamese or thai very tasty!!

[ldidomenico]

I see all these posts from March. Has anyone tried lately?

[Geewillow]

Sweet Basil Thai Cuisine…. Bizarre and hostile behavior by hostess and owner.
We arrived at Sweet Basil in West Chester at 6 pm. The hostess explained that the only table available was reserved for a 7 pm seating, but if we could finish by then she could seat us. We said we were OK with this if the food came quickly. The hostess assured us that the kitchen would be able to prepare the food in time to meet her time constraints, adding, “We are very professional”. The last guest in our party did not receive his dinner until 6:45 pm.
At 7 pm sharp the hostess returned to our table and admonished us in a deliberately loud voice, that the party with the 7 pm reservation had arrived and we had to leave (not exactly “professional”). We advised her that we were finishing the last bites of food, and that it had just come a bit late. We hurriedly finished and had to ask the waiter for the check. I have never been so humiliated. But there was more to come.
As we were leaving the restaurant a rather high-strung man in a dirty apron accosted us at the front door. He said that he was the owner; the hostess told him that we made a gesture, and he will not tolerate that. We were dumbfounded and shocked at such unfounded accusation. At that point I feared for our safety because I did not know what bizarre behavior was to come next. We left quickly as though a deranged person had just accosted us in a dark alley.

Beware when you pay your check. The gratuity will have already been added to the total. How very convenient!!

[danbee1]

It's on the northbound side of 202 where the road is divided - just past the mr wizard car wash. Small strip mall on the right. I thought the food was good - not just reworked chinese. To each his own.

[FrancisdeR]

The other Vietnamese in the area with Pad Thai is Bamboo in Frazer. In my view a little tastier than Green Papaya, and a little cheaper, but not as nice a room. Great for vegetarians. And they have Pho all the time, not just weekends.

[spyturtle008]

Thanks! Green Papaya has been on my 'must try' list for a little while now; I'll have to make the trek sometime soon... And I hadn't heard of Bamboo, so thanks for that rec as well.

[spyturtle008]

I did try Sweet Basil this weekend, so I thought I'd write back with my impressions. It wasn't a bad experience, but I was disappointed. I've been lamenting the lack of good thai in the Wilmington area since I moved here several years ago, and the search continues... There wasn't a single veg entree option on the menu, so rather than quiz the waitress about what could and couldn't be made vegetarian (esp. tricky w/ thai food, given the fish oils, chicken stocks in curries, etc.) I went for the simplest & easiest dish to modify, and ordered the pad thai. It was okay, but not even a hint of spiciness. It was also $14, which to my mind is way overpriced. I wouldn't pay that much in the city; it seems especially overboard in a stripmall location (although the decor is nice & classy). (Another problem with modifying dishes is you end up paying for the shrimp / beef / whatever that you had removed.) I had a bowl of the vegetable soup as an appetizer and that was alright, although the broth was overly salty. Meat-eaters would have a better experience, I'm sure, but sadly, I won't be headed back.

[CindyJ]

Have you ever been to Green Papaya in Exton? It's described as "Vietnamese with a French flair" but they do have some Thai dishes such as Pad Thai on the menu. There's also a good selection of vegetarian dishes, and they're very accommodating when you ask them to make a meat or seafood dish vegetarian. The prices are reasonable, the food is very good and it's BYO. http://www.thegreenpapaya.net/

[pippy]

My family travels to Thailand often and we eat at many different Thai restaurants in the States. The Thai Orchid in Frazer, PA is excellent and you would love their Thai Eggplant dish (I ask them to prepare it without the chicken and it's awesome!). Another good place is a little farther from you, in Media. It is called Nadia Thai (formerly Nooddi). :)

[mwerkharder]

Yes, right before Bruster's. I've been several times already, once for lunch and once for dinner. Excellent food and anything can be made vegetarian on the menu. Drunken Noodles were very tasty, just spicy enough. Lemongrass soup is very good and the spring rolls are very good, not too greasy like they tend to be at most places. My mom got the fried rice and said it was the best she had had for some time, very tasty. Oh! Also had the crispy duck with tamarind sauce. Excellent! I will be back. Only complaint is the menu is kind of on the small side, but maybe they will expand as they go on...

[CindyJ]

Great recommendation! Thanks. Are they BYO?

[mwerkharder]

Yes, they are BYO...but they have a nice array of Thai teas & coffees.

[CindyJ]

I'm trying to picture where it might be -- I travel that route very often. Which side of the road is it on? Anywhere near Baxter's?

[spyturtle008]

Not familiar with Baxter's, sorry. It is on the right side of the road (east).

[CindyJ]

I meant Bruster's (I think) -- the ice cream place.

[spyturtle008]

Ah. Yes, I don't think it's all that far from Bruster's.

[leepinleemur]

Can you be any more specific? Is it in a shopping center or anything? Based on what you said I guess it is more chadds ford or something than really west chester?

[spyturtle008]

It is in what looks like a new shopping center. I'm not certain of the city -- it could be Chadd's Ford -- all I know is that it's just a few miles (if that) past the state line heading north on 202. I did a very quick google search and the only match I turned up was on someone's Myspace page, which mentioned that there was a new Thai restaurant in West Chester by the same name. I'm assuming it's one & the same.