THAI BASIL SUSHI II — Restaurant in Tuscaloosa

My fiance and I went to Surin for dinner for the first time yesterday and I was more than pleased with how great the staff and food was. I have SEVERE celiac disease and finding gluten free food at a restaurant where I dont have to worry about cross contamination is brutal. I had called all over Tuscaloosa looking for a sushi place that would be able to make a basic sushi roll gluten free and most places didnt even know what gluten free meant. I called Surin and the bartender answered the phone, immediately I knew I could trust their staff. He informed me that gloves, knives and sushi mats would be changed, stations washed down and plastic wrap would be put over the mats for extra precaution. He clearly knew what he was taking about when it came to gluten free food prep. When we got there the sushi chef, Reid, let us watch him make all my sushi and he was more than thorough cleaning his equipment. The sushi was presented beautifully and tasted delicious. I ordered two separate times during our dinner and both times he completely started from scratch with all his utensils and gloves. He told us he has been working at Surin for about 8 years and he knows how crucial it is to make sure food allergies are taken seriously. We will absolutely be back, and I can not thank the staff (especially Reid!) for being so accommodating...

I’ve been coming to Thai Basil Sushi II for years and it’s the most predictably delicious food in town. The atmosphere is perfect for locals, students, and visitors alike. The owners are wonderful, the kitchen staff are committed, and have never had anything but excellent service, delicious food, and great wine. Once you find what you really like, ask for the chili paste and crushed red pepper to heat up your dish to your liking. Thai food covers all the bases with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, and you can adjust any dish to your liking. The salads, soups, and all entrees are hot and made to order. I have never had a dish that I wouldn’t have again. The atmosphere is relaxed and it’s a great place to catch up with friends and introduce others to something they may have never tried. My friends are always saying, “How have I never had this before?!” and they happily return with me whenever they’re in town. Any negative reviews you read here are from people looking to have a bad experience. We all know people like that. Enjoy what these lovely people have to offer Tuscaloosa. They’ll do everything they can to make your experience the...

Are these other reviews real? The service is terrible and some training needs to be done on how to manage a restaurant when it's busy. Staff were running around like chickens with heads cut off. We spent 20 minutes waiting to add my party to the list to be seated and no one even so much as greeted us. People kept flowing in and cutting in line by going up to the bar to speak with the woman host who was doing everything but making eye contact with the growing line of people. Then after chasing her down and asking her to attend to the line of people behind us, I was told it would be 20 more minutes because there were "parties in front of us" when we were there the longest.

Honestly, I'm rating two stars because the food is just mediocre at best, and it's the only Thai place in town. We were once frequent customers — choosing to overlook entrees that sometimes had to be sent back to the kitchen because the cook wasn't right, overly thick curry, and stingy rice portions.The food isn't good enough to overlook this incident, and if I'm choosing to spend my hard earned money somewhere, it dang sure won't be where I'm made to...