Basil Café — Restaurant in Appleton

My bride and I visited Basil on an extremely cold night. While my bride has dined here before, this was a first for me. To spare you the agony of reading further, let me just say I am currently craving another Basil meal the day following and that is something I rarely experience. Basil's was exemplary.

We entered through what appeared to be a side door on the south side of the building where we parked. We were promptly greeted and seated in a nice corner of the rather expansive dining area. Shortly thereafter, our server, Chelsea, provided us with coconut infused water and took our beverage order. The water had just a hint of coconut providing a nice refreshing change. After our wine and Tiger beer was served, we both ordered the Pad Kee Mao. My bride ordered it with Shrimp and I ordered mine with Beef. I was tempted to order the brisket (found on the specials menu which I failed to capture), another favorite of Chelsea's.

The wide rice noodles were excellent. I was expecting a smaller noodle but these were an inch or more wide, interlaced with a thick, flavorful sauce and vegetables. The amount of beef was also more than I expected and provided a very appetizing experience.

Our dishes came with a spice level of 2 on a scale of 1 - 4. While I did not notice any heat on my dish, my wife thought hers was perfect for her level of tolerance. I was provided with a small dish of extra spices to add to my dish as I desired. I will likely order a level 4 next time.

We were comfortably full but I really wanted to experience more so we ordered dessert: Sticky rice with mangoes and a fried banana with Nutella. We enjoyed both but agreed we preferred the banana. The banana was wrapped in a pastry shell with Nutella, fried and sliced. It was delectable. The sticky rice was warm and sweet with freshly cut mango.

Our meals were $21 for the shrimp and $19 for the beef. The desserts were $7 each. Add in the wine and imported beer and our total bill came to $70. And I can't...

This place is a little pricier than other Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in the area. I ordered the pho when the restaurant first opened up and it wasn't that great. I remember it being very bland and they don't give you all the traditional toppings to enhance the flavor. It might have changed but I don't want to to risk trying it again. I wouldn't come here if you were looking for a good bowl of pho. Also, on their special menu they have bahn mi but they never serve it. I was only able to order it once when they first opened up. Not sure why they just don't take it off the menu.

It's the other dishes here that makes this place shine. The pad kee mao (drunken noodles) is the best in the area. It's flat wide rice noodles stir fried together with veggies, chili garlic sauce and other spices. It always comes out piping hot and has a nice grill smokey taste to it. Another dish that I love is the Vietnamese lemongrass pork chops. You get two sweet and salty caramelized pork chops along with a side of coconut water infused rice. Don't be scared to try out their other dishes though. These are just the two that my wife and I get every time we come here.

The beer selection is also pretty good. They have a wide assortment of beers from microbreweries, imports and domestics. I believe they change things up periodically as well. The price on their beer is also pretty good for a restaurant; ranging from $3 - $10. There is no tap and the beer comes from bottles or cans. They do however provide glasses that have been chilled for your...

This restaurant is a delightful surprise. Don't be fooled by its unassuming exterior, walking through the door transports you to a perfectly lit, comfortable and quiet atmosphere. Staff is well dressed, fresh-faced and very knowledgeable of their menu; very professional. The environment is impeccably clean and has an interesting show of culture. The meal that I had came hot and fresh from the kitchen in easily under 5 minutes, while giving the appearance of having been crafted by an experienced chef who takes pride in their work. The flavors were perfectly harmonious in and of themselves, and also balanced perfectly with the pairing of a signature cocktail ("The return of the Mack", something I wouldn't normally try, but was feeling adventurous which paid off) I found myself feeling a bit under-dressed when compared to my fellow guests, who while some chose casual, most trended toward dressing up a bit, nevertheless did not give the impression of any dress code or other expectation in that regard.

I'm very excited to have found this place, and will be back to see whether my second experience is consistent with my first. This is the perfect spot for a quiet dinner with close friends, or casual outing with a special...