Basil Thai — Restaurant in La Quinta

Finally, an authentic Thai restaurant in La Quinta!

We saw news about this opening up recently and we live nearby - finally got to eat here on the weekend.

But I'm not here to talk about competitors. I'm here to talk about a fabulous new restaurant in LQ - in the cove/old town area. Basil Thai! It sits between a Chinese and Mexican restaurant in a small space. I think it has a total of 4 or 5 booths and 4 bar stools to sit in. Framed photograph/posters are mounted along the walls depicting scenes from Thailand. I've never been, but my partner had and loved the atmosphere. Fixtures are new.

Business was super slow and the place had one server and at least one person cooking, so we were surprised at how fast the food came out after ordering. We order the basic Pad Thai and Panang Curry with chicken. We also had a cup of Tom Ka Kai. Later the server brought out some sauces (one home made) to add, after my partner asked for it. The home made one was HOT but very yummy. Actually, ALL the dishes were delicious and my partner's quest for the taste of Thailand as she had it in Chang Mai years ago, was fulfilled. Both of us were really happy we ate here.

We ordered from the lunch menu which is cheaper than the regular menu. (Lunch average cost was $13.99 a dish) Portion size is about what we expected. Not too big, but not too small either. We still ended up being stuffed. Rice will do that to you.

I love the location and hope they become busy enough to stay there. We plan to visit at least once a month as a treat to ourselves and slowly eat our way through the...

Went here for dinner with a party of 6 and was heavily surprised! We ordered a variety of dishes, as half of our party was vegetarian we tried some of their plant-based staples such as Pad Thai with tofu and Yellow Curry. Needless to say all the food ordered was excellent! I ordered a Thai Iced Tea to go with my meal and it was truly excellent.

The showstopper and happy ending to the night was the desserts, we ordered coconut ice cream, fried banana, and mango sticky rice pudding. The quality and sweetness of each was simply spectacular, especially the fried banana. There was a slight miscommunication when the bill came as their QR code payment system had apparently stopped functioning and we were required to pay a second time with a credit card. With a little more transparency and customer interaction this confusion...

Update..5.5.2023. I have to say this is a memorable dining experience. After this place is trying to open for over 2 years during that pandemic, this family puts out tasty pan asian dishes that are Thai and Vietnamese infused. I definitely recommend sit down meals here. Take out really anywhere loses its texture and the care that's put into each dish. As you can see from the food we ordered, it was so well prepared and delicious. The owners take pride in serving you personally and coming to visit your table. The wait staff is service oriented. I definitely recommend you ask them for their favorite dishes or do like we did and try a little bit of everything. The ambience is modern and clean. Belly up to the well stocked bar. Great drinks! You might have to wait a little bit if the restaurant is full, but it's...