t.m. Basil

I stopped by here with family to look for some Asian food to eat while at the Oakbrook Center. We stumbled upon this place and it looked clean and nice enough. They have done an excellent job with the décor. The food though, was not up to par with the environment. It’s almost like opening a candy wrapped in pretty packaging, only to be severely disappointed by what’s inside. I usually don’t give this low of a review, but I feel like this place may have earned it. We ordered Tom yum soup, which turned out bland and hardly sour (which is what it’s known for). It tasted like chicken broth with pepper paste mixed in. Next was the «spicy flat noodle, «which was tasteless and sautéed with Roma tomatoes (who does that?!) which, by the way, made the dish watery and unappetizing. The last dish was the ground chicken salad, which was sloppily prepared and tasted like Italian dressing with boiled chicken. None of the dishes tasted authentic, and when we asked about the authenticity of the dishes (before we ordered), they said that some may not be, because they are a «fusion restaurant.» Unfortunately for them, this is a case when the term «fusion» means taking liberties with the recipes — aka winging it. Not to kick it while it’s down, but the service was not great. We waited 15 minutes before someone came to greet us (with few customers around yes, we should have taken that as a red flag). The server seems annoyed to begin with. Also, he didn’t speak a word to us unless we excruciatingly pulled an answer from him. My parents are super sweet people too. Seriously. Anyways, please do yourself a favor and skip this pretty little restaurant in Oakbrook center. If you don’t, you’ll have a lot of leftovers after the meal, which in our case, wasn’t a good thing.

Stopped in TM Basil for an early Sunday lunch with my family. I have fond memories of this place when it used to be basi Thai. The first thing I noticed was that it has been completely renovated with a nice clean modern feel. It is a bit dark inside with the black ceiling, dark brown tables and chairs and dark laminate floors. The owner greeted us promptly and sat us in the bar area because we needed a table with a high chair for our daughter. They aren’t too kid friendly since they don’t have basic crayons to color for kids to keep pre occupied. The first negative thing was it took forever to take our order and it wasn’t very busy. The server was also very unenthusiastic and had a little attitude. I was hoping the food would be a redeeming factor.
We ordered the fresh spring roll as an appetizer along with the pineapple fried ride and beef pad see ew. Pretty basic standard Thai dishes. The spring roll was extremely underwhelming and lack in flavor and freshness. The fried rice was decent but a little too wet for my tastes. The noodles were way too sweet.
Overall this place disappoints. Probably will not come back.

Shockingly bad. Spring rolls were in flabby, doughy wrapper. Tom yum soup was watery and had absolutely no lemongrass flavor. Chicken salad contained brown lettuce and tasted solely of vinegar. Cashew chicken tasted only of soy sauce. Not a Thai flavor in the entire meal. Avoid!

I have to be honest, this place is better than it used be. The décor is really nice and I like the modern vibe/​ambiance they created. Sitting is kind of uncomfortable for me since there is no back rest. I’ll try asking them for a regular chair or something next time I go.

In all fairness to t.m. Basil, my friends and I ordered ½ wrong for what we truly wanted for lunch, and were disappointed not in the taste or the execution of what we ate, but in what we ordered. For 4 of us, we tried the pad Thai with chicken which we absolutely loved; the stir fried mixed vegetables which were unusually fresh and flavorful and accompanied by perfectly prepared brown rice. Very prettily plated with portions more than ample for 1, we were more than pleased. It’s the 2 chicken dishes, the «tower» and the Thai crispy chicken that was so underwhelming at the table and even drier (if that’s possible) and more rubbery at home as a leftover. The juxtaposition between the dishes was crazy, as the rice dishes were so good, yet the 2 chicken entrees were disappointing to a fault. Between superflat, dry, almost flavorless chicken breast strips, the accompanied cold «salad» like contraption and sauce/​dressing of the tower was way too weird; while the seemingly same chicken breast, only whole on the plate, had another spicier sauce on the side with lime. None of us were able to stomach chicken that resembled the consistency and color of sandpaper, and it didn’t get any better as a leftover. Dry is dry and doesn’t change by the day.
I will be back to try one of the other Thai favorites rice and noodle variety of dishes we enjoyed during this visit and can rely on.

I remember back when this place was Basai Thai. The menu I believe is the same now with it being TM Basil but the inside is completely renovated. I believe this is a good thing. With the new ownership I am uncertain if that meant the staff is all new as I wasn’t there for about two years (when I came back it was rebranded), however I did notice at least back then as Basai Thai that the service was a bit better. Overall though I cannot say it’s bad, the service when it comes to the host/​hostess is great, as is with the food runners and the ones that refill our glasses, but the waitresses often seem pretty dismissive the number of times my colleagues or girlfriend and I have gone there. That’s what prevents my 5-​star rating. I haven’t had the said-​issue of forcing to tip high as that wouldn’t happen unless on my own accord.
Hoping this place will stay around — it has potential.

wanted so much to like this place… love Thai food, but the best in Chicago are so far.
This one… Service awful… food worse.
Waitress prodded us to order, figured she must be getting off shift. My food came first, later my husband got his. Rice was awful, gummy.
They do give you a lot of food… too bad you can’t get it down.
Waitress then disappeared… had to hunt her down for a check.
Off my list…

t.m. Basil used to be Baisi Thai (the best thai restaurant in the Chicago suburbs) before the owners decided to move. This restaurant opened up pretty recently and I decided to give it a shot, praying it would be as good as Baisi Thai but expecting disappointment. I was not disappointed in terms of t.m. Basil not meeting my expectations for disappointment. In other words it was no good. I ordered food for pickup (a questionable decision to begin with) and was supremely disappointed to find one of my entrees missing entirely. I called the restaurant and was met with indifference from the person on the phone and was offered neither a refund for the missing item nor something extra to make up for me having to drive all the way back to the Oak Brook mall. Kind of a let down to be honest. Chalking up the missing entrée ordeal to confusion and my own mistake of not checking my food I headed back home dying of hunger but still hopeful that the food would be the saving grace. The crab rangoons were soggy and greasy and not at all what I want from a crab rangoon. The red and green curries were lacking any kind of punch flavor wise and the chicken was overcooked. t.m. Basil succeeded in filling my stomach with food that was mostly edible but failed miserably in the taste, service and enjoyment departments. I probably won’t be eating here again but I think a second look could be warranted. Not sure why but I’m a forgiving person for the most part. RIP Baisi Thai.

Where to begin ?
A hostess who was agitated to begin with and made faces when we asked for a better table. It was like we tortured her to do her job. Extremely poor attitude.
Barely edible food. It was hands down the worst Thai I ever had.
And then as other Unilocalers reported the forcing to give a big tip. I was expecting they’d understand why I didn’t tip with the bad service and food. But it appears they just WANTED me to Unilocal this.

We went there today. Everything was fine, food was great, the place was clean. But the drama started after we paid the bill. Our waitress came up to us and charged us why we tipped her low. She called her manager. Even the manager charged us why we tipped her less. I asked if there was any rule to tip a certain amount. The whole scenario made us all mad and humiliated. Go there if you have a lot of money to give away as tip. Otherwise they will come and demand an explanation.
Never again!

I have been here numerous times. Overall it’s pretty good. I’ve had the sweet and sour chicken which is good but I wish they would give you the option to upgrade to fried rice versus just getting white rice. The beef chop suey is decent and the spring rolls were pretty good. It’s nice this place reopened in Oak Brook because there aren’t any other places like this around.

Gotta say, I was quite impressed with what I thought would be an Americanized Thai restaurant. We came in and sat down immediately on a Sunday night, as it wasn’t crowded at all, they have a full bar and the décor is quite nice and modern. The waitress was wearing a Beer Chang shirt so I immediately said, get me one of those! It’s Thailand’s version of Bud or Miller, so whenever I see it, I must order it.
As for the meal, there were 6 of us so we decided to go family style so we could try a little bit of everything. We ordered the Red Curry with pork (pork is not on the menu but you can ask for it!), Basil Chicken, Panang Curry, Pad Se-​ew with beef, Papaya Salad, and Nom Tok Beef and maybe something else I’m missing as well. We wanted to order the Kow Soy due to my dear memories of it from having some in Northern Thailand years ago. The waitress said that it’s quite the americanized version of it and it wouldn’t taste the same so we shouldn’t order it. Then I suggested the Red Curry over basil fried rice since I read the rave reviews about it here on Unilocal,again, she said not to order it since it’s not as good as the regular red curry. Instead she suggested the Basil Chicken that it was much better and more authentic. So you know what, we went with her suggestions, I mean she would know best right?
Once we got the food, everything, except for the Nom Tok beef was delicious! the Nom Tok beef was pretty modernized with the plating of it, which meant the serving was quite small. The flavors also weren’t there for it either. The basil chicken was really good, but the curries were the stand outs of the night, absolutely delicious! I was quite impressed with the food, I was expecting them to be the watered down versions of themselves, but not at all.
Overall, we had a great time here at TM Basil, everyone enjoyed the food and left with our bellies full. Service was on point and even steered us away from dishes that wouldn’t be as pleasing to us as others would be. Friends have already started discussing coming back to this place in the future as well, so I guess we will be back again!

Good, unique food.
Potstickers — much better than standard potstickers. Nice dough, not overly greasy, and the soy sauce had good seasonings
Tm basil thai crispy chicken — delicious. The lime garlic sauce is addicting. I’ll definitely order it again.
Waitress was very friendly and helpful.

Couple of must order dishes: lemongrass chicken wings, red curry over basil fried rice and Thai iced tea.
Highly recommended to stop by after a long day shopping!
Oh ! Did I mention great service from Jay!

I have been searching for a good Thai place in the area and I think I have found it. The atmosphere is very modern and open and the staff is very friendly and helpful. This place is well-​staffed and you have multiple wait staff coming by to clear plates, refill water and check if you need anything additional. I sometimes find that ordering some dishes at Thai places can be difficult because you don’t want to butcher the name of the dish — our waittress helped us to pronounce the names properly and even gave us some pronunciation tips!
I ordered the Pad Thai and was surprised that they brought me a separate tray with chili sauce (a necessity for me) along with extra peanuts (this was a first) as well. This was a minor addition, but saves me from having to ask for it. I just felt like they get it. We also tried the Pad See Lew and a curry dish and I found both of those to be more enjoyable than the Pad Thai. I tried the Thai iced tea and it hit the spot. I was hoping that they would have a selection of bubble teas, I think that this would be a great addition.
I thought the pricing was spot on for what you get — I even had some leftovers to take home, which I greatly appreciated the next day!

Was super sad when they closed. So glad they just re-​did the place! Looks great! Taste GREAT! Prices are great! I am defiantly going to be here on almost every lunch break!

Been here twice in one week and I’m looking forward to more trips in the future!
First Night: My husband and I headed in here one Saturday evening while shopping at the Oakbrook mall and hunger was overcoming us. We decided on this place hoping it would be delicious and hoping our toddler would have the same love affair with Thai food as us. We walked in and it is newly renovated and looks pretty modern (FYI, this is my first time here so I can’t compare to what this place was before). One thing that struck me was how clean everything looked… already looking good in my book.
Our waitress was so nice and seemed like a seasoned waitress since she didn’t need to write down our order and everything came our perfect. Wish I got her name to give her a Unilocal shout out, alas I did not.
Well, I ordered based on the photos I saw on the Unilocal app of their menu items. We started with the pot stickers and my daughter devoured them. I mean, I really didn’t get more than a bite in… so I guess they were good! I got the Red Curry with Basil Fried Rice, Tom Ka Gai soup, and a Thai Iced Tea. The hubs go the Pad Thai and a Thai Iced Coffee. The soup was okay, I probably wouldn’t get it again since it just wasn’t my taste — I mainly ordered it because my daughter usually loves any kind of soup, however she was too busy bogarting the pot stickers to notice soup! And then I get to my heaven on a plate… the red curry over basil fried rice. YUM. Delish. Scrumptious. I also tried my husband’s Pad Thai and I gotta say it wasn’t my fave. It was okay but maybe it needed more sauce. Alas it wasn’t my dish so I can’t say much off of a bite or two of his plate.
Now at this point you may be thinking we ordered a ton of food! Yes, we did. Christmas shopping is a workout in it’s own and we worked up an appetite so maybe our eyes were larger than our tummies. We definitely had food to take home. The portions are more family style than individual sizes. So plan accordingly.
Second Night: I had been thinking of my red curry all week when Lo & Behold! A groupon! So we bought it and went back last night — this was more of a date night since we got a babysitter.
We got our same waitress as the previous weekend and she was friendly as ever. I tried a different curry dish with veggies and white rice and my husband got the Pad See-​ew and we tried the crab rangoon. Loved the rangoon, apparently they make it in house and you can tell because the taste was spot on and the stuffing was plentiful — I definitely recommend. The Pad See-​ew was soooo much better than the Pad Thai so if you usually go for that I would recommend this dish instead. Since we didn’t have the little one in tow we were able to take in more of the restaurant and people watch. It is definitely a great mix of people who came here including dates, shoppers, and families alike.
Overall the atmosphere is great. It was busy but not over crowded both times we went. They seem to be pretty kid friendly and the staff were great. They also seem to have a party space in the way back so it might be a good place for a group party. I guess they are going to be putting bubble teas on the menu soon too.
I think I found my new go-​to Thai place!

Y’know how when your favorite cancelled show comes back or is «rebooted» and it’s just not the same as it used to be, and just… isn’t good? Well, that’s how I feel about t.m. Basil. Sadly, this place was just one bummer after another.
My experience started a few weeks ago when I got a message from Ming C., who is the new owner. He pm’d me and told me that Baisi Thai was reopening with new a new name and most of the same food. Was this tacky, or was he trying to be helpful? I can’t decide. There’s a jaded part of me that figures he was just out to get another review, but perhaps not. Maybe this was just his way of trying to get former customers to come back. It didn’t matter tho, because I already knew that it was reopening and already planned to visit.
See, my wife and I had a long standing love affair with Basai Thai. We had our first date there, before we realized we were dating; tho neither of us is sure if that was 16 or 17 years ago and… well…math is hard.
So we decided to stop in tonight to celebrate the fact that our fridge was empty. Er, I mean to celebrate that she’d gotten released from her walking boot after ankle surgery.
They repainted and redecorated and let me just say, they did a REALLY nice job. The place is gorgeous, and it’s totally the kind of place I’d like to hang out. But sadly, a hot looking place does not always make a good place.
Our waitress was incredibly nice. The kind of person you actually want to be friends with. Warm and friendly. But those are not the qualities of a good waitress. Those are just the qualities of people I want to spend my time with. Much like the décor.
Things started out well. We ordered an order of potstickers and the boneless lemongrass chicken wings. Two of our favorite Baisi Thai appetizers were missing from the new menu, but whatever. We found something new to try in the boneless wings.
The potstickers came out before our drinks, and considering the big deal the waitress made about how long the wings would take, we figured we’d get our drinks first, but she went to get them after the potstickers arrived. The taste was pretty good, but they were a bit heavy on the ginger. They definitely had a thicker dough than the old place, but the flavor wasn’t bad.
The lemongrass chicken wings came out a few minutes later and they were absolutely delicious. If I ever come back (which isn’t very likely) I’ll be sure to order these, because yes they are definitely tasty, and the serving size was much larger than we expected.
About two sips into my wife’s soda, our waitress came back to refill it. Something seemed odd about that. It was as if she was checking off all the things a waitress was supposed to do in her head, but she had them all in the wrong order.
Things soured quickly when our pad thai came out. Basai Thai pad thai was the pad thai against which we held all others. And sadly, the new place just does not hold up. There was absolutely no flavor. Nothing. It was bland and tasteless as could be, which seemed incredibly strange because the color looked right, and that had to come from something. You don’t just get fluorescent orange noodles in the wild (I’m guessing).
We didn’t see the waitress again until we were finished eating. About half of the entrees were left on our plates, but that was okay because we were stuffed. We’d filled up on the appetizers. Our drinks sat empty throughout most of the meal, and we never got offered refills for the rest of our stay. Eventually the bus boy just took the glasses away because even he probably figured it was a lost cause.
Upon her return, she (the waitress, not the busboy — tho if a girl wants to be a busboy who am I to assign gender roles?) asked how everything was, and I flat out told her that the pad thai simply wasn’t good, and didn’t taste like it used to. She seemed surprised, but genuinely cared about the fact and told the manager. She offered to have them remake it, but neither of us were interested.
She came back a few minutes later and told us the manager was upset and was having the cooks make us another order to take home.
Um. Why? Yuck?
«You say you didn’t like your food? Well here’s MORE of it to take home. Oh, and by the way, you have to wait another 20 minutes for it.»
Gee. Thanks.
Most places wouldn’t charge you for something if you said it was bad, but that wasn’t happening here, I guess.
So we waited, and the manager (I guess?) dropped a bag off at our table 15 or so minutes later and walked away. He didn’t say anything about it, just left it.
Then our waitress brought us another table’s check and disappeared for another 8 minutes or so until she realized her mistake and came back with the correct check, which by the way, did have the charges for pad thai.
So we left feeling disappointed. Baisi Thai was always a very special place for us, but I just don’t think we’re ever going to feel the same way about t.m. Basil.

So first, some tips on finding the place! Oak Brook mall scares me a little, but I find that if you park your car near the Sears, walk through their southern pathway, pass the ATM and go down the stairs, its right there. So yes, tucked away, but once you find it, it’s totally worth it!
We always try 4 staples whenever trying a new Thai place:
1. Satay — came nicely grilled with an amazing peanut sauce
2. Crab Rangoon — $ 5 for 4 pieces seems like a lot, but their portions are crazy big, so you get your money’s worth. dipping sauce has some kick.
3. Chicken Pad Thai — really good flavor and my husband says it’s one of the best he’s tried in the suburbs
4. Chicken Pad-​See-​Ew — also good flavor, nice veggies and my fave thai comfort food.
They also have wine and beer — limited, but good selection. i had a nice light malbec that went great with the dinner.
Service was really nice. Space is huge, so really good for lunch or dinner groups.
can’t wait to come back to try their other dishes!

Wow! What can I say, the new owners gone all out with renovations. The big sign out front is a big attraction, its like a beacon of light within Oakbrook Mall.
Inside I was greeted by a very nice and good looking hostess standing behind this vast lobster tank. Its a eye catcher! Take a look at the yummy lobsters.
While being taken to my seat I notice the hugely renovated bar area with a ton of TVs and sports on. To me that’s a huge hit and I can’t wait to come here with my buds to chill later on.
After being seated, the waitress was prompt asking if I’ve been here before and what I wanted to drink. I told her I was a long time customer and I hope Thai ice coffee is still around, thankfully it is! The best Thai ice coffee anywhere in Chicago.
Later I order the basil chicken wings for appetizer and orange chicken for dinner. I know what your thinking, why would you order Chinese food at a Thai restaurant? Well that’s what I was in the mood for and let me tell you, it was one of the best tasting orange chicken I ever had.
Towards the end of the meal, I asked the waitress where the bathroom is and she pointed me towards the back of the restaurant. I go down this long hall way and noticed a room marked «kids room». I couldn’t believe how nice that room was. I can see kids having real fun in there while parents dine. Next time I go out with my wife, I will be sure to mention this to her.
Overall I was greatly pleased with the new renovations and glad to see the food and drinks have not changed and still is 5 star worthy.