Holy Basil Thai — Restaurant in Melbourne

They are doing a great job. With a reservation already made we were warmly welcomed and ushered to our wooden table for 4 with little delay, there is a wooden bench seat with cushions running along a polished concrete wall and 2 reasonably comfortable wooden chairs opposite. We are no sooner seated and browsing the menus when asked for drink orders and poured nice cold fresh water in sparkling clean glasses. Everything is fresh and clean, with only a number of small detail items that I noticed needing finishing off.

With a very high ceiling and polished concrete walls combined with plenty of glass area, it does seem to feel a bit cold. Of course it was a very cold, windy and wet night which didn't help and may well be fine on a more mild night. The abundance of smooth surfaces also seem to amplify the noise level, which can only be described as loud, loud enough we could not hear each other or service staff fairly regularly.

So, with drinks ordered it is on to the serious business of choosing what to eat. Our table consisted of 2 vegans, 1 veg or seafood is ok and me a seafood fan. We decided to share a starter each. I shared the scallop starter and it was served very quickly, looked very nicely presented and smelt delicious. Now, I don't mind a bit of hot chilly every now and again, but the other person is not comfortable with anything more than mild. I was disappointed for them hearing how hot it was, I know it wasn't being enjoyed, now for my half, yes the chilly is hotter than I would have liked, in fact it was that hot it killed any flavour I was hoping to enjoy from the scallop, disappointing. The vegans expressed how much they enjoyed their starter so thats great.

Now we move on to mains, Vegan Pad Thai, Vegan green curry, Vegetarian Pad Thai and Prawn Pad Thai. All the dishes came out timed fairly well, presented very well and smelling superb. The table goes silent as faces are filled and sounds like yum and delicious are emitted on a regular basis from all 4 participants in this orgy of food pleasure. Comments after devouring the meal included fresh, quality, quantity and delight with the only negative from Vegan Pad Thai who did not like having so many mushrooms as not a big fan of those.

The house red and white wine were pleasant enough and when it came time for deserts and coffee, the vegans shared a sticky rice pudding which they both enjoyed. Everyone enjoyed their various coffees with my only two comments being they came out slowly with a long time between each and mine was not hot enough. The flavour was very nice.

So, overall, a fantastic effort for night number 2, we will be back in the future for sure and I'm certain most of the little problems will be well ironed out in no time. It's a big two thumbs up from me.

I hope you have found my review...

Arrival & First Impressions: My wife and I arrived 10 minutes earlier than our booking. We were checked in via an electronic tab at the door and seated within 10 seconds. The restaurant has nice modern decor, very clean, and every table is spotless with place setting neatly organised. And all staff members (from floor to kitchen) was immaculately dressed.

The Staff: Our table was attended by Bella & Mod. We found both of them to be extremely efficient, attentive, and provided their service with a smile throughout our booking.

Drinks: The drinks menu clearly shows that they support producers from the Yarra Valley region. We ordered the Napoleone Apply Cider - which came in quite a generous glass and super chilled.

The Food: We ordered Myanmar Tea Leaf Salad - very unusual (but in a pleasant way), with plenty of crunch & pop in the texture, and savoury in flavour; Chargrilled Calamari - the calamari was almost marshmallow like in texture (super soft), served with naam jim sauce that was perfectly balanced with sweet/sour/savoury and a hint of heat; Crisp Barramundi Red Curry - crispy and fresh (not frozen) with the richest and creamy red curry; Jungle Beef Stir Fry - plenty of flavour and generous amounts of vegetables & beef; Sticky Date & Logan Pudding - what can I say... that "butterscotch sauce" OMG.

Summary: Overall, we thought Holy Basil Thai offered a very good dinning experience. Service, delivery of food (timing), quality & taste of food was very good. Everything was seamless.

What impressed me the most was that how well this restaurant is run - the floor staff and the kitchen staff performed like a well oiled machine. All the floor staff provided their service efficiently with a smile, and the kitchen staff was equally as efficient and very professional with each other. I personally take note of these things after dealing with the hospitality industry for almost 2 decades. Credit...

We've lived in Croydon Hills and Croydon North for almost 6 years and the only disappointing thing is we hadn't tried Holy Basil until very recently. A friend of mine recommended Holy Basil before Christmas last year and we finally tried it. My friend is fussy like my wife and I, so I expected the food to be good but what we experienced was beyond anything I could've imagined. Every mouthful was heavenly. My wife hates arancini balls and satay chicken. When she tried both dishes, which surprised me, she was blown away. To literally have the best Thai restaurant we have ever experienced around the corner is absolutely amazing. The only other disappointing thing is they're not open every day, which is obviously understandable. It is such a rarity for us to feel this way about food without going to a fine dining restaurant with a large bill. Do yourself a favour, go to their website, read their story, understand the context of who they are and what they're about then either eat in or takeaway and experience something very very special. We ordered the Crisp Rice Ball Salad, Chargrilled Satay Chicken, Chargrilled Strip Loin Steak, Duck Massaman Curry, Pad Thai Prawn, Thai Fried Rice - Chicken, Pad Siew - Vegetarian, Coconut Rice, Roti Bread and Garlic Naan. Everything was magnificent. Just my opinion, I think if The Age Good Food Guide tried their food, they'd make the Top 100. Anyway, try it for yourself and if you feel the same way, review them,...