Thai Basil — Restaurant in Manchester

Average food presented well. We had the Tom Yum soup, large sized (my husband and I shared it), with shrimp only (it includes chicken on the menu), in a shrimp broth (supposedly) with thin noodles, etc. Described as "hot and sour". Their ratings for spicy: no star, very mild. 1 star a little spicy. 2 stars spicier, 3 stars getting hot, etc. The soup was rated 2 stars and should have had a some heat and that wonderful Thai, complex, sour flavor, but it tasted very bland. No taste of shrimp or the sea in the broth. Very large and plentiful shrimp, but again, bland. I ordered the "Signature Fresh Basil Rolls" (appetizer) and they were what I think of as summer rolls, with soft, rice paper wrappers, basil, carrot, cucumber, rice noodles and shrimp). Served with a very tasty spicy hoisin sauce on the side. I couldn't taste the shrimp OR the basil, which was odd since they are billed as "Signature Fresh BASIL Rolls". Quite bland and would have had no taste but for the hoisin sauce. I had the Mango Curry with Red Snapper (the other protein choices were salmon or shrimp, and since the soup and rolls had shrimp I was shrimped out). The Red Snapper was in bite sized pieces and had the skin on, which I personally don't like. I spent 5 minutes peeling the skin off and putting it on a plate for my husband, who thinks the skin is the best part. I'd asked the waitress if the snapper was de-boned and she said yes. I think the menu or the waitress should have mentioned the snapper was served with skin on. The curry, also rated 2 stars, was too spicy for me. It and the soup had completely different levels of heat. The curry sauce, aside from being too hot, had no complexity of flavor. It was listed as having "naturally sweet coconut milk", red curry with mango chunks, red bell pepper, basil leaves and baby carrots and was served with white rice. I never tasted any mango, coconut milk or basil flavors. There was one red pepper strip and I DID see and taste the baby carrots. Missing from this dish (again) was the complexity of sweet/sour, and clean, light flavors that are so indicative of Thai cuisine. Bland and too "hot" at the same time. My husband had the Nam Tok salad with 6 oz. Angus beef top sirloin, which he ordered medium rare. When the salad came the strips of beef were on top and it was apparent they were well done. It had red onion (too much, my husband took a lot of it out), chili (he didn't taste any heat), scallions, cilantro, lemongrass, mint (didn't detect the mint), roasted rice powder (no roasted taste at all) and lemon juice stop mixed greens. He said the salad was "average". I had the Thai iced coffee. It was watery and lacked that deep, strong coffee flavor with sweetness on top. Again, bland. The service is o.k. Not great, meaning not particularly efficient, but the servers themselves are pleasant. My husband and I were here from NJ, right across from NYC, and he is SE Asian. We BOTH know excellent Thai food and the tastes these dishes should have had. The prices are high (resort prices) and neither of us would eat there again. We'll gladly go back to NJ to our favorite Thai restaurant, which has complex, tasty food at a much better...

My experience and review of this restaurant are 100% truthful. I urge everyone to take the time to read about the absurd behavior of this business!

This place is outright deceiving customers.

First of all, when we placed our order, there was no indication anywhere that parties of more than 5 people would be charged a 20% service fee. This gratuity charge itself is an illegal practice. The business unapologetically charged this fee without informing customers, which is pure deception.

Secondly, when we received the bill, we were shocked to find that the total price had surged to $308. As shown in the third picture, the original price was $226.35, and even after adding tax, it should have been $248.98. However, the total was increased to $257.47. When we asked why, they said if we paid in cash, it would be $248.98, but if we paid by card, it would be $257.47. This is highly unreasonable. Even with taxes added, why would paying by card cost so much more? At the very least, they should explain clearly why the price differs.

The most outrageous part is that the gratuity charge was calculated on the $257.47 total, after tax and adding another 20% fee on top of that. You can judge for yourselves how ridiculous this practice is!

The most infuriating part is that the business made no sincere effort to explain or apologize. When we questioned the bill, the staff became visibly angry, snatched the original bill from us, tore it up, and slammed the menu onto the counter! Yes, slammed! Surveillance cameras can confirm the rude and unreasonable behavior of the staff. We are not exaggerating or slandering in the slightest.

We also noticed similar complaints in other reviews. Some even mentioned that takeout orders were charged an additional 10% gratuity, and when questioned, the business would shift the blame onto customers. This was our first time vacationing here, and we trusted the glowing reviews on Google, which turned out to be our biggest mistake! We have every reason to believe that the restaurant’s arrogance and rudeness have been enabled by well-meaning customers tolerating such behavior. The service attitude at this restaurant is appalling, and the charging practices are utterly outrageous!

In the end, we paid $290 in cash, which included an 18% tip of $40. From start to finish, we acted in full compliance with the law. The 18% tip was not given because of good service, but because we wanted to have the moral high ground and the patience to file a complaint with the BBB and the local government about this restaurant. Hopefully, this will help prevent other customers from being deceived by this...

Visited Vermont for the day and stopped by here for some tasty Thai food. Oh my gosh, this is definitely one of the best Thai restaurants I’ve been to. Was so pleasantly surprised by the explosion of authentic flavors in the:

PAPAYA SALAD The fresh, green papaya had such a crunchy bite to, holding true to the authenticity of Thai food. The best papaya salad I’ve ever had was in Chiang Mai, Thailand and I would say this is a close second. Which is saying a lot! The simplicity of ingredients is what makes a papaya salad so tasty, from the shredded carrots to crunchy green beans to the spicy Thai chilies and chopped peanuts. Every bite was tangy, crunchy, spicy and a party of flavors and textures in your mouth.

KEE MAO/DRUNKEN NOODLES This dish HANDS DOWN best drunken noodles I’ve had in the states and that’s saying so much. I am always on the hunt for some good drunken noodles and the search ends here. Oh my goodness, the noodles were perfectly cooked with just the right amount of bite to it. The veggies that were sautéed in went along great with the sauces that were tossed in, so freaking tasty. The spice level was PERFECT love a good medium-hot spice level. So flavorful and so incredibly satisfying.

PANANG CHICKEN CURRY A deliciously rich and creamy curry with so many flavor elements from the coconut base to red curry to layer of spices. Every bite was so tasty and the chicken was perfectly tender and well salted. Such a tasty Thai curry dish!

Service was so friendly and fast. Our food came out hot and fresh, the way every place should be! The food is truly next level here.

What a cute restaurant and busy location with so many fun shops around it! Will definitely come back here on my next trip...