Basil Box

Being up the block, some of my coworkers advised me to check out the Columbia Tower food court during lunch. So I did. Came by here for lunch, food court is located in the atrium of the building, there’s 2 floors of food court selections so choose and choose wisely.
After making my rounds, I decided on Basil Box for lunch, they have daily lunch specials at a good price for about $ 8 or so, so I decided to get the Prik Khing Fried Rice. It was pretty good, green beans on the bottom of the box, plenty of curry fried rice, and a mound full of fried basil which is awesome! Your choice of chicken or beef. Definitely a filling lunch portion to consider taking a nap in a empty conference room when you get back to work.
Pretty good lunch spot, seems to be pretty popular among the other food stalls in the court. Will stop back by to try their noodles among other items. They do have a condiment section to jazz up or spice up your food, also bags to carry your to-​go box back to the office.

This was my go to Thai spot in Columbia Tower. I used to be able to order online, got a great portion size, and the food was good. Then they changed things. Now the pre-​make food, don’t have Pad See Ewe daily but instead on a special, the food isn’t as flavorful, and took away online ordering. Ultimately they went downhill and every time I go I’m disappointed. Recently I ordered chicken phad thai and there was no chicken in it. I get mad every time I go here.

This is my go to in the Columbia Tower. I have to highlight that they have significantly improved on getting their food out quickly. A few months ago it would take literally 20 minutes for your order if you didn’t call it in first, they have since revamped their menu, making quicker choices but overall any order in the last 2 months has been out in 5 – 10 minutes.
I really like the Green Curry and Tom Kah. Today I ordered something new, however I got something I wasn’t expecting. The Basil Box Salad really isn’t a «salad» if that’s what you are craving. It’s literally the lemongrass stir fry on a bed of coleslaw mix. I’m not sure why you’d put any more dressing on it since it was really soupy already. Not going to take their rating down because of it, however I probably wouldn’t order it again.
Clean, friendly, good food overall!

After reading reviews, I was kind of skeptical to try this place out but after walking around the Columbia Tower food court, I decided, why not? I will start off saying that this place is a little on the pricier side. I ordered the chicken red curry and Thai iced coffee. The service was great and the food came out in a timely manner (however, it is Thanksgiving Eve and the whole building is a bit of a ghost town compared to normal business days). I was a little disappointed that my red curry came in a regular take-​out container, compared to other Thai places that usually serves it in a soup container. –There was major spillage walking back to my office, but it wasn’t the end of the world– There was a lot of flavor in the curry and it was good. The Thai iced coffee is probably the worst I’ve had. I’m trying to figure out what I need to do to fix it as I’m typing and staring at this darn cup. For those two items, the bill came out to almost $ 13. I don’t think the food and drink was worth it so I’m not sure if I’ll be back.

Food is OK, I do enjoy the phad see ew, but service is consistently horrible. Always super slow during lunch rush if you order at the counter, never worth the wait. Online orders were ignored previously and food never prepared, not surprising they ditched the online order option. That leaves me to place phone orders. after waiting for 10 minutes listening to the host joke around with other staffers and take orders from customers occasionally i could only assume he answered my call and promptly forgot about me. Will encourage my colleagues to avoid in favor of much better options nearby.

Fantastic food and seemingly a lot healthier than other Asian lunch spots. Great portion (I eat a lot and I get full) for a fair price.
Ordering can be confusing since they switch menus sometimes, but it is serious food and is very underrated. Great service and food is delivered fast.
Make sure you stop here, highest quality food in the Columbia Tower food court.

I’m very sad to be writing this negative review, but I do so in hopes that this once great lunch spot will abandon it’s recent changes and return to turning out well-​crafted meals in the sea of fast junk food known as the Columbia Tower food court. In an effort to get the food out more quickly (very quickly) they have cut corners and destroyed the once high quality of their food, for example today I tried my former favorite lunch, Siracha Fried Rice with Chicken, extra spicy. It is now a sad version of its former self. The carrots are over cooked and mushy, the rice is surprisingly gooey in places, the broccoli is not only under-​cooked but cold and lacks any flavor from the dish, the chicken is strangely stringy and tastes as though it was cooked in a separate sauce than the rest of the dish, and the wonderful slightly charred onions that once graced the dish are nowhere to be found. Basil Box, please bring back the high quality made-​to-​order meals that you used to serve. I know from the former long lines at the register that I am not the only person willing to wait a few minutes for good food.

No more online ordering = massive fail. This place is too busy & too slow to wait in line and the date is too far beyond the 1990’s to place a call.
Also, my go to (cashew noodles) seems to no longer be on the regular menu — it’s only a daily special.
Two big losses for this semi-​regular = a lost customer for Basil Box.

I like the flavor and brown rice better than Thai Curry Simple… also less greasy. It was easy to order online at work and walk over! But, I get twice as much food at most Thai restaurants for the same price. The portion size is fine with me, since I normally try to take half home, but the price is way too high for the amount of food!

I eat here a couple times a week and really enjoy it. I have tried most of the thai restaurants near the Columbia Tower and this is my favorite. They have decent sized portions, good service, and it tastes great. It’s also easy to take it on the go, and I have never had to wait more that 10 – 15 minutes for my food.

Not a fan. On the plus side the food tastes pretty good and the staff is friendly, but on the down side it’s overpriced, the portions are small compared to other food places in the Columbia tower, and it takes a very long time to get your food after placing the order. I’ve been here a few times to be fair to them, but it’s always been the same. I like getting a lot of bang for my buck and I don’t like waiting upwards of 20 min for my food.

Despite the large number of places to eat in the Columbia Center, I eat at Basil Box 4 out of 5 times a week. They have a number of gluten-​free dishes available, a website that allows you to order online, and though it’s not the fastest service ever, they’re always incredibly friendly!
So far, my favorites have been the veggie delight stir fry (small-​ish portion compared to other dishes, but delicious and filling!), the tom kha (the soups are always so big that I can’t finish them — a little spicy for some of my friends, but it’s so, so tasty), the yellow curry (small portion, kind of like the stir fry, but the rice fills you up!), and the Basil Box Chicken Salad (not your typical salad, but incredibly yummy and the portion is huge!).
I’ve been eating here for months and have yet to have had a bad meal or poor service. So you caught them on an off-​day — don’t let that convince you not to give them another try. The food is so flavorful and well-​prepared! They’ve always been incredibly kind to me, so far as learning my name and helping me find the best gluten-​free options on the menu.

I walked up to counter and a gentleman standing at the register looking at his phone. I glanced at the menu made my decision then stepped a little closer to the counter. No acknowledgement of my presence. I gave him another minute before saying excuse me. He apologized for his distraction and took my order. It was another 20 minutes beyond that when my order was finally handed to me. The pot sticker was cold and the rest of the food was mediocre at best. Not worth the wait or the price.

Not as good as it used to be. As other reviewers have said, some days it is great, some days it isn’t. Prices on the High side. I have waited over half an hour and the line didn’t seem that long.

As another reviewer mentioned, this place is completely hit or miss. I’ve had excellent days and really bad days. For the price they are charging, it should be great everyday. I always get the Basil Box Chicken salad. On one occasion, they forgot the dressing (one of the best parts), one time they left all the spices off and I ordered 5 stars (really??). Sometimes it is super fresh (really fresh cabbage and vegetables), other times, it’s like the vegetables and cabbage have been sitting in dressing and oil for days, wilted and soggy. I won’t be back — I don’t like going to a place where you never know what you are going to get. It’s a shame, because when it is good — it’s really good.

Definitely above average food, but a 20 minute wait at a fast food place in Columbia tower? No thanks.

Rule #1 — I only eat at 3 places in Columbia Tower.
Rule #2 — Basil Box is one of those places.
Simple rules to live by my friend. I work a few blocks from Columbia Tower and again I say, I will never be so desperate as to spend each day there, searching for decent food to eat, and being disappointed by price and quality. For such a wide variation of food, I have been disappointed at almost every turn.
Basil Box was a nice surprise. A fairly recent addition to the Tower, it offers good food, at a fair price. They make the food fresh — it takes a long time. If you walk up, expect to wait, for a long time. Be warned. For me, I’d rather have fresh, good food than quick, crappy food any day. Basil Box is worth the wait.
In case you don’t have time, I recommend ordering online. It’s worked seamlessly for me — a convenient, quick, and reliable option for ordering my food. By the time I get there, it’s ready.
The ingredients are fresh! The exclamation mark is for the numerous establishments I’ve eaten at in the Tower that do not use fresh ingredients. The basil fried rice is by far my favorite. Basil in the rice, fresh veggies, and a hint of spice. Perfect for any work day!
The staff is also very friendly and efficient. You typically only see one person at the counter, but rest assured, there are more people in the back.
If you want to test out my Rule #1, go ahead. I’ve wasted TONS of money eating at Columbia Tower. I’m trying to save you a buck and some grief. Put Basil Box on your list.

This review is based on a one time stop, when I came here for lunch.
I think this is probably legit Thai, however, for the price it is not quite worth it. The only thing I tried here was the panang curry during lunch, with tofu. For $ 9, I better get some good size portion of curry. Unfortunately, it came in a to-​go bowl, and was only half filled with curry. The tofu was lacking, as there was barely any tofu in the bowl. There was probably 3x the amount of red and green bell peppers in the curry than there was tofu. There was also probably more basil than tofu in the curry. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a vegetarian/​vegan option, or else I would’ve taken it because for $ 9, I felt like I got robbed of my money.
The other thing, the curry was WAY too salty. I thought I was going to die of a salt/​fish sauce overdose. Don’t get me wrong, I love, absolutely LOVE fish sauce… but not so much where I had to find crackers in my purse to help my tongue out. I got back to the office and drank pretty much all my water in my water bottle. Mehhh.
The food does take a lot longer than the other places in the food court. I suppose that’s how you know it’s fresh and good quality. Overall, I will probably pass.

I was extremely pleased with my experience here, and the next time I want something a little nicer than usual for lunch, this is where I’ll come.
I used to work in the Columbia Tower, and this was the first time I’ve been back there for a while, so when I saw a new place I decided to try it out.
The first thing I noticed was that it looks very different from a typical to-​go food court establishment; the food is made in the back, and the front of the business is a classy looking curved counter, nice lighting, and tasteful wall décor. The cash registers look almost out of place.
The service was very friendly. It took about 7 — 10 minutes or so to receive my order; not long by restaurant standards, but a little longer than the typical lunchtime get-​it-​and-​go experience I’m used to. It’s a bit of an awkward place to wait for food, as you don’t really have any choice but to mull about the counter area until your order is ready.
The food comes in a brown paper carrying bag, which looks quite nice, but I thought was perhaps a little wasteful. I admit that it felt a lot classier than walking away with a cafeteria tray, but I just ended up tossing the bag right after eating. I almost felt like I should keep it and reuse it for something.
My curry was served in a plastic container, with rice in a separate clam-​box container. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was meant to eat it, so I ended up just pouring the curry straight into the rice box, which worked fine.
The quality and freshness of the food indicates that the wait was due to the fact that my lunch was definitely made fresh to order. I had the Panang Curry with Tofu, and it was frankly delicious. It was a generous but not enormous portion — enough that if it wasn’t so good, I probably wouldn’t have quite finished it. I’m definitely quite full, especially with the bubble tea I ordered for dessert!

My co-​workers had been buzzing about this new place in Columbia Tower, and I finally went yesterday for their zucchini and enoki mushroom «noodle» soup, it was delicious, with a subtle spicy heat that builds until the last bite, when you’re hunting out any last delicious zucchini tidbits like they’re actually carbilicious noodles. I am definitely going back soon. They don’t get the full five stars (yet) since it sounds like even though they got my no cilantro request right, my friend’s order has been missing a few ingredients the last couple times, so they could still improve on that. Otherwise, service was friendly and reasonably quick.