Hot Basil Cafe

We were getting take out from here about 2 – 3 times a month. The red curry with prawn was perfect. My husband had the yellow curry and my daughter had the pad thai… we usually got a roti bread. The food always took 20 minutes to cook fresh… we never had a bad experience. We miss this place so much… we cannot find anything to match it. We hope they reopen soon ! We tried Plearn… just OK. Kacha… better than Plearn. Tried Do Sitt in Palos Verdes Mall… good seafood red curry but yellow curry made with fatty chicken and went down the waste disposal.
Come back Hot Basil ! We miss you !

THIS PLACE IS CLOSED DOWN. Which is great news… It was a confusing place that served below average food.
Time to try the new restaurant that took its place.

Hot Basil Café is closed. Rumor is that they hope to relocate in the near future to another, nearby location.

We came here on a whim, having passed so often. We were delighted that they had the unusual mix on the menu of Thai and Indian — both favorites. We settled for a traditional Thai dish. The service was a little unorganized, as if it was our server’s first week, and she apologized for the small delays we had. This wasn’t an issue as we seemed to be hitting a popular place at dinner hour on a weekend.
Much to my dismay, there was a VERY rude and arrogant man, 40-​ish, sitting alone not too far from us. that was putting unreasonable demands on the server, rudely throwing dishes across his table (literally) and making a spectacle of himself. This erratic and unruley behavior continued with the manager as well, who tried countless time to appease this jerk. All the time, the patron (which is a compliment not deserved) would say things like he’s never had such horrible food in his life, or how things are different than the last time he was there. He made a complete a** our of himself, and I came very close to throwing him out myself!
But what amazed me was that as the restaurant was getting busier and busier, they had the patience to put up with this guy. Personally, if it were my restaurant, I would have denied him service and ask him to leave. The manager’s patience was amazing, and I was intrigued with his professionalism.
All said, food was decent, and we’ll be back — hopefully without the company of unwanted guests!

It’s our first time to this place, we hiked Mt Diablo and were super hungry. We ordered their veggie samosas, which I’m pretty sure is a frozen store bought samosa. It was hard outside, uncooked inside and the veggies were not fresh. After we had the samosas, we weren’t too interested to order anything. Since we were hungry, we went ahead and ordered spicy basil thai noodles — the vegetables were again not fresh and the noodles was so dry. We waited 5 – 10 minutes for someone to help us with some sauce. spicy basil noodles vegetarian was $ 12, it had 3 tofu pieces, 3 carrots and some looks like leftover basil with noodles.
PS. The restroom was horrible and it was right next to the kitchen.

My boyfriend and I were getting his truck serviced and it was afternoon so we decided to try it out. We are very into Indian food and he is very skilled in Indian cooking.
First, we ordered a beer, glass of wine and samosas for an appetizer. The drinks took about 10 minutes to get there and then another 10 minutes after that the samosas arrived. There were only 4 other people there when we got there. As we waited more parties began to arrive and they got their food way before us.
The filling in the samosas was good but they were very dry and a dipping sauce was not offered. I thought it was strange that you could only order single items that came with either plain naan or rice which btw, was not basmati; If it was it was the shortest basmati I’ve ever seen. We are used to going to Indian restaurants where you can order a few items and it’s served family style. So we ordered two lunches. The Lamb vindaloo and paneer to share. We got one with rice an the other with naan and then ordered garlic naan.
It took another 15 minutes after we’d finished our samosas for the entrees to arrive. When it arrived the portions were very small. The Lamb and Palak Paneer came in 1 cup size bowls and there was about a cup of rice on a chipped plate. We asked the waitress for yoghurt as we normally get yoghurt with our meals elsewhere and she asked «Just plain yoghurt?» I was shocked! I’m like «yes please» and in my mind I’m thinking «What other flavors are you offering? Blueberry? Peach??»
I can say that the Palak Paneer was decent and the Naan was very good; but the Lamb vindaloo was pretty bad. We asked for extra spicy and they delivered on that but you could tell that they just put raw spice into the already made dish. That is a huge no no. The flavors were not allow to bloom and I felt like I had a mouth full of turmeric.
When we were finished we got the bill 35.00 + which I found a bit pricey for the amount of food we received considering at most, better places we pay less than that and end up taking food home. We took home the two pieces of the garlic naan and left the rest on the table.
I asked to use the bathroom before leaving because we were going across the street to Trader Joes and then had a little drive home. I was told where the bathroom was and after using it, went to flush the toilet and nothing. No sound, no water. I couldn’t believe they didn’t know that the toilet wasn’t working. I’m no plumber but I can tell you there was no water supply hooked up to that toilet. How embarrassing to have to leave an unflushed toilet and to no fault of my own. Had they said it wasn’t working I would have gladly used the one at the service station. Also they had the sandwich board things that advertise the dinner specials (that stands in the dining area) on the floor next to the unisex toilet. That’s a bit gross.
Needless to say, we will not be back and I will not recommend it to anyone.

I ate here with my boyfriend a few weeks ago, it was recommended to us and we figured we would give it a try-​glad we did!
Overall, the food was great. What made me take a liking to this place was that it combined 2 types of cuisine I really enjoy, all in one place (Thai and Indian). I am blanking on the name of it, but a stand-​out dish we ate was chicken with an amazing peanut sauce, off the Thai side of their menu. It was delicious. Their tandoori chicken was also good. Adding a star for the attentiveness of our waiter, it was close to their closing time but we never felt rushed, and always had our water glasses full. Will be returning.

Next time i’m craving Indian food but too tired to go anywhere far from home, I’ll just go to Trader Joe’s across from this place and get the frozen stuff. It’s guaranteed to be better than what this place comes up with.
I’ll echo keywords from recent reviews about this place:
— Inconsistent
— Not fresh
— Only «okay»
— Overpriced
— Small portions
I ordered garlic basil naan ($ 2.95) and palak paneer that came with rice ($ 10.95).
The naan came first and there was no basil whatsoever. I didn’t even realize it after a couple of bites. Tastey, but I’ve had this once before (over a year ago) and it’s much better with basil, so I notified my waiter. What came back later was undercooked garlic basil naan. The garlic was so raw, it irritated my tongue and the naan was undercooked that it was all wet and soft but the very edges. I forced myself to eat 2 pieces in disgust.
The palak paneer was so mediocre that I immediately regretted it and wished I had just spent $ 3 bucks to get the frozen stuff at TJ’s. Still, I forced myself to eat ALL of this small tasteless dish because the idea of completely wasting $ 11 didn’t sit well with me. This is another dish I had once before back in the fall of 2012 and it was stellar. And now??? I guess cooks must have changed.
Lastly, I’m pretty sure the palak paneer and the rice that was served to me were at least cooked way earlier in the day, or even a day or more ago! They didn’t even bother to warm it up before serving. They just threw freshly cut onions on top of the palak. Ugh.
When the waiter served me my bill, he asked about the naan, so I explained. He offered to take it off my bill ($ 2.95) – or so I think I heard – but when I got the bill it appears that he only took off $ 1.00. That was disappointing as well. I thought this courtesy he was going to give me was going to redeem this place, but it’s obvious the place is struggling and he didn’t do what most restaurants would have done – take it off the bill. (I’d like to point out that that’s something I have NEVER asked a waiter to do and probably allowed a restaurant to do once when the food was completely inedible for one reason or another.)
I’d give this place 1 star, but I think it’s deserving of 2 because of the good service and good Thai food I’ve eaten here in the past. Who knows, you might get lucky when you go one day…

Oh my. what happened to this place. I use to frequent years ago here for lunch during work and it was an epic fail today. We got seated and ordered the Thai ice coffee… first sip.blah. I had to return it and I am not the type of person who returns things, but it was awful. My friends Thai ice tea was awful too and was returned. it was watered down.
We got the Thai fried rice and the pad Thai… the Thai rice was mushy, blah. my friend couldn’t eat after a first few bites. The pad Thai noodles were inconsistent. some of the noodles were hard while others were okay. We also ordered the garlic naan and it tasted burnt. We left the table with half of it left. Not good not good at all.
Don’t think I will be back. When I was in my office I told my colleague and she said it got terrible a few years old. I wish it tasted as good a few years back.

Ordered the tandoori cubes of chicken breast and a keema naan without butter. Received keema naan with butter but it was replaced within 5 minutes by a butterless keema naan. The keema naan wad hot and tasted fresh, good keema naan. The boneless cubes of chicken breast were good, but not as flavorful as other versions I have tried. Almost a but on the dry side but without any outer cooking marks. If I had to guess, I would say the temperature was too low and the chicken was cooked too long.
Bathroom was clean and well equipped. They are also cinstantly keeping clean, very good sign.

I’ve been coming here for years and through two or three different owners. It definitely started as one of my favorite Indian & Thai places in the east bay. Since I first started going it’s definitely had it’s ups and downs. The last few times I’ve gone there I’ve had the same experience and it’s unfortunately making me lower my rating from the 5 stars I so desperately want to give it. The food is great as always, but some of the portions have gotten quite small while the prices have stayed the same or gone up.
Still, this is a great little place with a quaint décor and atmosphere. I know it’s won some awards and when you have the food it’s pretty obvious why. The tikka masala is great, as are the samosas, pad thai, and naan. The owner always seems to be there watching over everything or taking care of customers and that’s always a nice touch to see. I’ll still keep going because the food is worth it.

Nothing to agree with here! We arrived on a Monday night, and we see one waiter (possibly the manager/​owner) running back and forth to every table. Ignoring us standing next to the register. Poor guy, they need help. Once he finally notices, and instead of a nice ‘hello’ or a ‘welcome’, it’s directly ‘what would you like to order?’. OK, I know you’re busy, but opening with that line really just grinds my gears.
After we placed our order, he gave us a used table to sit and wait at. The waiter did a real nice gesture of brushing the rice off the table and onto the chair I’ll be sitting on. Flipped over the dirty table cloth and wah lah! Wow, cool, now let me just dust my chair!
What we ordered:
~ Thai Combination Plate For Two ($ 8.95):
Fried tofu — I can fry better tofu. Spring rolls and stuffed chicken wing — we had chicken skewers, and I’m not sure where the spring rolls went. Prawn rolls — blah, nasty!
~ Tom Kha Gai Soup ($ 6.95): Looks like the people behind us got the wrong soup order. I think our soup was mixed up with theirs because the lady sent it back. Then I saw him switch ours. The soup was probably the only thing tasty.
~ Basil Garlic Naan ($ 2.95): It was cool seeing the oven, but man that naan was super garlicy. Garlicy that the gf didn’t want any part of it.
~ Pad Thai ($ 10.95): Oh wait, sorry, they forgot to make this. BOOO!!!
Teeter tottering between two and one star, I just thought I’d be generous since I didn’t get ill. Sorry, we won’t be back any time soon!

Not sure what exactly is happening to this place… many latest reviews don’t speak well of this place, and I concur after a recent meal.
If anything, I would think they should be getting better. But in addition to all the issues that I have noticed prior, I realized that now they use stale, multiple times re-​used cooking oil in your curries. GROSS!
The curries have a strong rancid, re-​used cooking oil smell and taste to them.
I think the owner needs to pay REAL attention to the quality of the food he is serving at this point. I don’t see what the problem is in serving quality food, when the meals are definitely over-​charged! But then this seems to be the story of most Indian restaurants in the Walnut Creek area. Sad.

This is a small restaurant that serves two separate cuisines: Indian and Thai.
The Indian food is okay, I’ve had better before; especially in the local Concord area.
The place is small and kind of dingy looking and it’s slightly over priced!
With that being said I think this place has potential, however as it stands right now I probably won’t be going back.
FYI — Our waiter (some young teenager probably still in high school) told us to not worry about leaving a tip because the owner collects them all anyways (this is why I have rated it 2 stars, otherwise I would have gave this place a 3 stars rating.)

So this place serves both Thai and Indian dishes. Kind of an interesting concept, especially if you’re with a group of indecisive eaters. My friend and I were craving Indian so we stuck with that geographical region. Our sweet potato appetizer was good but far too large. Maybe if we were in a bigger group it would have been perfect but the two of us could barely finish half of it. I tried to order goat but they were out (despite their hand-​written sign explicitly stating it was a special) so I went with lamb. The lamb was ok but there weren’t many pieces swimming around in the excessive amount of sauce they gave me. My friend ordered chicken and it was probably the best thing we ordered. We also got a mint naan bread, which was good but I couldn’t taste the mint at all soooo yeahhh. Nothing really stood out to me as being something I would drive the far distance back for, and for the price I don’t think the food packs enough punch to be worth it.
Note: do not come here on a hot day. There’s no air conditioning and I felt like I was dining in a sauna.

We had high hopes for their fusion cuisine and were really interested for our first try, but our carry out didn’t turn out well.
One dish (Pad See Ew) was way to spicy and the ingredients tasted un-​fresh. The other dish (a curry) was too watery. If we had been dining in, we would have sent the food back.

Indian and Thai are two of my favorite types of food. While tooling around Concord with my babygirl, we found Hot Basil Café through the app while searching for Mediterranean of all things. The fact that they serve both Thai and Indian seemed like a natural fit for us.
The owner was very welcoming and allowed us to sit wherever we wanted. The GF picked the spot directly in front of the flatscreen so that she could watch her Niners stink it up on Monday Night Football…
I love the idea of being able to pick and choose from two or more different styles of cuisine in order to complete a meal. Unfortunately those places usually don’t do either one as well as a restaurant that focus on one type of cuisine. Hot Basil Café is no exception to that.
The Samosas we ordered were good enough, although not very distinctive. Then again, it’s hard not to make a decent Samosa. The Chana Masala was a bit bland, yet spicy. I’m not sure how they came about that combo of spicy yet, not very flavorful. The Green Curry with tofu was actually better which leads me to believe the woman that was cooking has a Thai background.
This seems like a place that can be a hit or miss depending on what you order. From my experience, the Thai dishes are a little stronger. In that case I may as well go to a Thai restaurant when I’m feeling Thai and and Indian place when I’m craving that. As it is, this looks like a typical Indian restaurant (with a few Italian decorating touches) that serves better Thai food than they do Indian.

Nice little place.
Besides the Groupon deal that I had purchased for this place recently, I had always been curious to check them out since discovering it years ago. So on a lunch break, I decided to swing on in and finally see how this place is.
Located off Treat and Oak grove rd, right across the street from the Trader Joe’s parking lot, this place is quite small, and could be easily mistaken for just a little coffee shop like place. It is still quite small inside though, its decorated quite nicely and there appears to be a decent amount of seating.
I was immediately greeted by a nice sharp young man and seated at a nice little table by the window.
Before coming in, I had briefly went over the menu and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to order. It was the Basil Chicken for $ 8.95 on the Lunch special. It is slices of chicken sauteed with chili and garlic sauce, onion, bell pepper and Thai basil. It comes with rice, however I opted out on the rice. I also decided to order a small bowl of Tom Kha Gai soup for $ 4.95. The Thai chicken soup consists of garlenga, coconut milk, lemon grass, mushroom, cilantro.
My Basil Chicken arrived within a decent amount of time looking quite healthy and delightful. Healthy and delightful it was! Light, flavorful and yet filling. The soup then arrived small in portion but not lacking in flavor by the least! This soup was slightly creamy, though nothing heavy, it was light, with a settle sweetness and just dancing with flavor! I could have had a large bowl of this alone, definitely a winner.
The total came to about $ 14.00 and some change however, I had gotten a $ 5.00 groupon for $ 10.00 worth of food and just ended up having to pay like 4 and a few bucks for tip.
Overall, I would not say this is a place I would go to regularly, however, I found the food to be quite delightful, flavorful and certainly quality, with the prices being quite reasonable. The place is small, though pleasant and well kept. I also found the service to be sharp and efficient.
I will be back someday again :)

Thai food??? Really? Are you kidding me? Really? Really…
I think this restaurant should just serve INDIAN and forget about Thai. Those two dishes don’t even match!!! Are you freakin’ kidding me???
I would not go back to this place at all. The food is horrible, the service is so slow and the portion is so tiny. I would rather go to a REAL THAI restaurant or INDIAN BUFFET to get my money’s worth.
Oh and one more IMPT NOTE! WE saw the cook in the back, smelling a piece of chicken before throwing it in the wok! Can you believe it??? The cook is checking whether the chicken is bad or still smells okay.
You are suppose to serve FRESH chicken for PETE’S SAKE or OUR OWN SAKE!!!
You got to be kidding me… NOT!!!

I am all about the buy one get one free, so my boyfriend and I tried this place last night using my coupon from the Entertainment Book. It’s not very impressive from the outside, but once you walk in, it smells REALLY good.
It was pretty jumping with eat-​in diners and people coming in for take out. I like the concept of a menu with Indian and Thai food.
Nothing on the Thai side of the menu was appealing to me last night so I got the Vegetable Curry with Naan. It was awesome-​just enough kick to the curry with really good brocolli, peppers, string beans and cauliflower. Plenty of leftovers.
Service was okay-​it took a while to get our menus and the water we got to drink was kind of warm and blech… but whatever, the food was amazing.
My boyfriend got the Thai Fried rice with chicken which he enjoyed. Excellent experience-​will go back without a coupon and recommend.