Sweet Basil Thai & Sushi — Restaurant in Crescent Springs

UPDATE: I decided to update my review after 8 years. It is now Spring of 2023 and this restaurant is still one of the top choices for me and my friends to eat and hang out at. You know how some restaurants get sloppy as the owners get disinterested over time? Not at this restaurant! Food is still absolutely great, if not better. I know it's technically a Thai restaurant but we come here for the best sushi in the whole Greater Cincinnati area, dishes are amazing, and the staff is very friendly and accommodating.

Old review: I have had nothing but great experience with Sweet Basil restaurant. At times the place can get quite busy, but the wait staff does an amazing job keeping up with the service. Sushi can be slow-ish at busy times, however it is MUCH faster than other restaurants rolling sushi during busy times. I have been dining at Sweet Basil for a while now and I can tell that their employees care about their work. This is reflected in seemingly low staff turnover as well as an excellent and friendly service.

Haven't tried any curries but the specialty stir-fried stuff, appetizers, duck and fish are pretty great. Sushi, I would say, is above average and definitely great for what is not primarily a Sushi restaurant. They have limited but some good beer selection, including my go-to IPA Sierra Nevada at a reasonable price. I doubt there's a restaurant that had no mishaps. Difference at Sweet basil is that in an unlikely event that they do stumble, they'll fix your problem quickly and respectfully.

Prices overall are very reasonable. Not the cheapest but moderate, but if you are looking for a cheap food you will only find at a buffet-style Asian restaurant than you might as well go elsewhere as Sweet Basil is not a low quality food joint and neither should they charge the bottom dollar.

As long as Sweet basil is consistently delivering on service, quality, and tasty foods we will keep...

Ugh, I don’t want to hurt a small business but my takeout order was not good. I ordered the summer rolls app and spicy eggplant entree. I didn’t have a great feeling initially when I saw fruit flies as I walked into the restaurant which made me doubt the cleanliness.

The shrimp in the summer rolls is supposed to be poached; the color was off which makes me believe it was undercooked. I ended up taking out all of the shrimp and pork. I probably should’ve just asked for a vegetarian version with tofu instead.

My entree was just ok. I didn’t realize the eggplant would be breaded and deep-fried, I guess I didn’t read the menu closely enough. I’ve never had eggplant dishes from Thai restaurants where it comes deep fried, but maybe the concept is different in KY than NY. I asked for 8/10 spice level and I would say it was more like 3/10. It wasn’t spicy at all. I could’ve asked for chili sauce or sriracha ahead of time but didn’t think about it.

Anyway, I woke up pretty ill and that lasted about half a day to run its course.

Dining in may yield a better experience. The restaurant was about 50-60% full at 8:30 on a weeknight, so locals must like it. Unfortunately, I had a...

Overall I had an ok experience here. A little on pricey side for the food you actually are getting and quality could use some improvement. The service and atmosphere was amazing. The appetizers were a little on the skimpy side could of been 3 each would have been better. For my entrée I got pad kee mao a favorite of mine because it is a wide noddle. I decided to get the seafood combination that comes with shrimp scallops & muscles. It just wasn’t enough seafood, especially for the price of 1850. I was better off taking my chances and just getting shrimp. Also, the wide noodle was very cut up. It was like getting bits of your food. Wouldn’t get again. The sticky rice and mango a favorite of mine as well was $8 which is already higher than I’ve experience at other other places, the mango was perfect but unfortunately, my sticky rice was hard at the corners. Definitely not worth the price .Overall, if I came back to this place, I would get appetizers and a house Chardonnay. I do hope the quality improves. It is a nice looking place and...