Holy Basil Parramatta — Restaurant in Sydney

The worst and most horrible experience I have ever experienced and have ever encountered in my life. We made a phone call reservation at 7:50 for the same day we had called, and the person on the phone had confirmed the reservation with us for five people and told us to see us then. When we came early and they told us that we must wait for table, thats understandable and we happily waited till 7:50.

However the restaurant began to steeply decline in its service when we came back to dine at their restaurant. We arrived again at Holy Basil at 7:50, we had told them that we had a reservation for 7:50 for five people and they told us they did not have in the system, and then another staff member rudely mentioned they do not do phone bookings. But they literally accepted and confirmed our booking on the call?? Make that make sense. We even showed the number we called and they had confirmed that is the store's number. Anyways they had told us to wait in the walk-in line and made us wait for 20 minutes even though we had a book-in. We were still polite hoping the staff would return the energy towards us. There was no need to argue over something very trivial. Very important information to remember is that the restaurant is not busy, there were spare tables around us and no lines for any queues. If they had a delay or any issues with a rush or product making, we were near told about it.

We finally sat down and when we wanted to order, it had taken 10 - 20 minutes before someone finally came to take our orders after multiple waves to get the order-takers attention. We had ordered our food and drinks, the order-taking was smooth and we had no issues with it. However after this, the service becomes horrible at this point. For some reason, the food came before the drinks which we all thought it was strange and the food came at very strange intervals. We ordered six dishes and all came at different times which is fine however the restaurant was giving us food with long intervals between the next food arriving so by the time we finished all the meals, the sixth meal came. We ate our prior meals really slowly so it probably took a hour before the sixth meal finally arrived, no one asked for the meal to be this delayed. We must also mention that everything we asked or followed up, they either walked away from the table and left us answered. The food tasted nice but was ruined by the horrible service and definitely not worth the trouble you go through for it.

The drinks was even worse. All of them took around a hour to come, even when we asked multiple times, they said it would take two minutes. In fact it took 40 minutes after the order-taker mentioned that. 40 minutes for drinks? They conveniently came when my friend asked to cancel the order of drinks. The food was decent however these drinks were horrible. Equally as bad as the service.

This is hands-down the worst restaurant we have been to. Purely horrible. The worst service I have ever witnessed. Not worth it, it all was a giant headache. Do not ever bother...

While the food was quite nice, my family and I wouldn’t come again due to the atrocious service by the floor staff. We were seated in the outside area around 7:20pm.

After waiting for 15 minutes for a waiter to take our order we asked the front of house if they could get someone. She then said that she will get a waiter to take the order. However, no one came to take our order and we couldn’t even get the attention of any of the staff because no one was looking after the outside dining area. By this time it was 8pm and we were really disappointed about the service. Completely understand that it was a busy night though that doesn’t mean that a customer needs to wait over half an out to get served. We were about to leave until finally someone looked at us and took our order.

The food was quick to arrive, meaning the kitchen was not the problem at all. As I mentioned before the food was good. Although it doesn’t justify coming back to this place again.

The service problem didnt stop there. We had ordered dessert alongside the mains. They ended up bringing both the dessert and mains at the same time which is quite odd. The waiter said that they would keep the dessert inside the kitchen until we finished as it would melt. Which we were thankful for. She told my family to come grab her when we were ready for dessert. We said sure.

Once the mains were done it was such a difficulty again to get any of the waiters attention to bring the dessert out. After waiting again for over 15 minutes my father ended up having to go inside and ask the waiters if they could kindly get the dessert out.

We were being incredibly patient as it was a Friday night, however it was incredibly disappointing that the floor staff are so disorganised compared to the kitchen staff. I would highly suggest having zones that certain staff take care of to ensure all guests are served promptly. Guests inside the restaurant didn’t have that much problems, but we could see that anyone that was seated outside was forgotten and not taken care of as well. This is my observation and feedback, and in no means am I trying to say that your restaurant is bad, it just needs better...

Holy Basil Thai and Laos Restaurant 🌟🍜 (parramatta)

Holy Basil Thai and Laos Restaurant is an absolute gem! The ambience is fantastic, creating a perfect setting for a delightful dining experience. The food tastes incredible, with the perfect level of spice as ordered. Here’s a breakdown of our meal:

Appetizers:

• Sathya Chicken 🍗: Deliciously seasoned and cooked to perfection. A must-try starter! • Fish Cake 🐟: Average taste, not particularly memorable. Would recommend trying other appetizers instead. • Laoes Charcoal Chicken 🍖: The portion size was generous and made for a perfect entry to the meal.

Main Courses:

• Pork Belly in Chilli & Garlic Sauce 🐖🌶️: Absolutely awesome! The flavors were spot on, and the pork belly was tender and juicy. • Beef Masaman Curry 🥩🍛: Perfectly tender meat with rich, aromatic curry. A definite highlight of the meal. • Red Curry 🍛🌶️: Spicy and delicious, just as it should be. Full of flavor and a great choice for curry lovers. • Holy Basil Fried Rice 🍚🍃: Cooked to perfection with a wonderful blend of spices and ingredients. A fantastic accompaniment to the mains.

Dessert:

• Sticky Coconut Rice Pudding + Mango 🥭🍚: My favorite dessert! The sticky rice paired with the sweet mango and creamy coconut is a heavenly combination. A must-try to finish off your meal on a high note.

Overall, Holy Basil Thai and Laos Restaurant has become one of my favorite dining spots. The quality of food, coupled with the great ambience, makes it a top choice for anyone looking to enjoy authentic Thai and Laos cuisine. . . . . . #HolyBasilRestaurant #ThaiFood #LaosCuisine #Foodie #SpicyDelights #PorkBelly #MasamanCurry #RedCurry #FriedRice #StickyRicePudding #MangoDessert #FoodLovers #RestaurantReview #DeliciousEats #PerfectAmbience #MustTry

Highly recommend visiting this restaurant and experiencing the flavors for...