Decided to check out a new Thai restaurant in Greenville South Carolina. I know what I usually get at Thai restaurants, but I wanted to try something a little different.

My friend and I went to Basil in downtown Greenville SC.

We arrived at the restaurant about 5:30pm. The ambience was nice. We decided to sit outside because it was a lovely Saturday evening. There were people dining, but it was still early, so there wasn’t a crowd. By the time we left, the place was packed.

I started with appetizers. Instead of the traditional crab Rangoon (which is a wonton wrapper stuffed with cream cheese, seasonings, imitation crab meat, fried), this was stuffed with ground, chicken, shrimp, and cream cheese, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Rating: 4/5 – this was tasty, but I was not used to the ground chicken so the texture threw me off. if you like ground chicken, you will love this appetizer, but I probably wouldn’t buy it again.

I ordered the Pad Woo Sen with chicken. This dish was the cellophane noodles along with egg, Napa, cabbage, bean sprouts, snow peas, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Rating:4/5 – The flavors were well executed, the chicken and veggies were cooked well, and the sauce was tasty. I inadvertently ordered it hot on the spicy level and it was enough heat that I could tell it was there, but not so overpowering that my mouth was on fire. I did add some of my leftover sweet-and-sour sauce to have a little sweet, to balance out the heat. My only complaint would be that I felt like there were not enough noodles.

My friend ordered the pad Thai.

Rating: 3/5 – she said her meal was OK. In her opinion, the shrimp was undercooked and so she everything but that. they did forget to top her plate with peanuts, but provided them after and she sprinkled on herself. she said overall the dish was underwhelming and she probably wouldn’t get that again, but is open to try other dishes on the menu.

Of course, I had to order something from the bar and I got the lychee martini.

Rating: 5/5 – this was so good. It was very strong and sweet. Definitely packs of punch if you are not expecting it. I would not advise drinking these on an empty stomach because you will be falling down! However, it was a nice compliment to my meal, and very refreshing.

TOW FINAL COMMENTS: I am conflicted on how I feel about this restaurant, because the execution of the flavors as described were on point. The waitstaff were friendly and very accommodating. However, the dishes were not what I was looking for. If you like Thai food, but want it a little bit Americanized, this is the place for you. and come with your wallet full because this is definitely a $$$ restaurant .

Price per person

• Entree only $30-40
• Entree + drinks $40-50
• Entree + drinks + appetizer $60+