A hole in the wall!! Bigger than it looks. Lots of students - I think I was the oldest person eating there. Â Oh well. I ordered the garlic/ chicken/ onion/ mushroom (can't remover what it was called) dinner. It came with rice & was delicious! Â I can't wait to try some of their other items.
Review Source:I came in for lunch and got the Pad Kee Mao w/ extra veggies. Â It was pretty good, but I was disappointed in how spicy it was. Â Either they forgot my request for 4-pepper spiciness, or there's a mistake in what passes for spicy. Â I found the condiments on the side rather convenient, however, and just added a bunch of chili paste to my dish. Â It worked fine. Â I think customer relations could be improved a bit, and maybe a dollar could come off of some of the dishes. Â But it's okay.
Review Source:I must admit. Â I have a bias for this place. Â It saw me through many hungry days as a college student on campus. Â The Pad Thai is the perfect blend of sweet and spicy and the people that work there are always sweet and funny. Â If you are a family looking for a nice quiet meal in an uppity restaurant... then this is not the place for you. Â If you are looking for a quick bite at an awesome place, then look no further. Â This is the place for you
Review Source:Meh. I really don't like this place. The quality of food is poor. They over salt the dishes. And, the interior is covered in a layer of filth. Service is pretty quick, which is nice, but the food just isn't worth the visit, especially when Tasty Thai is down the street. I usually order the brown rice, which they charge extra for. The last time I was in there were pieces of uncooked rice in the mix...I about broke a tooth!
Review Source:two words - food poisoning
I was in town for a few days and ate here twice.
After checking out the menu at other Eugene thai places and finding prices well over $10 for basic thai food, I was glad to find Sweet Basil Express - the prices are around 7-8 dollars and the food was tasty. Â The atmosphere is nothing to write home about but sitting at the sidewalk tables on a hot day checking out the campus traffic was fun. Â
The second time I went back I noticed a few things that caused concern. Â Since customers bus their own tables, the tables had not been wiped down and there was food and grease on the table surfaces. Â I also used the restroom there and found it disgusting - the door is discolored from dirt and handprints, it looks like it's never been thoroughly cleaned. Â Lastly, it's one of those places where the silverware is self-service - you reach into a container of "clean" silverware and get your own. Â Â
A short while later I was hit with stomach cramps and abdominal pain like I've never experienced. Â I couldn't get out of bed. Â It lasted about 48 hours. Â Pretty sure Sweet Basil Express is the culprit.
This is one of the most reasonably priced Thai places in Eugene. Â I went recently and had the House Curry for lunch, it was very tasty after I added some Siracha. Â
It's an order at the counter set up, and they bring you your food, get your own utensils and bus your own food. Â The atmosphere is very casual.
"Express" in the name of the restaurant sorta kills it, but this is actually decent thai food. Don't let the name or the look throw you off. I'm not gonna lie, I like to eat well (1: I'm Asian, let's not forget that. We like good food. 2: I come from San Francisco... spoiled by abundance of rich foods)
If I remember, the dishes are about $7-8 each?
I got the green curry dish, and even though they said it's spicy, I was like whatever, ALL the green curry I've ever tried at a restaurant in the US has been nothing but mild at most. But holy shit, this one really takes the cake...........
My face was red as a beet and it looked super fat (I just looked like a fat boy who just got off the treadmill).
The space isn't so big, but it's good enough to eat with another person or small group.
The best part about this place is that you won't get a liquid poo experience afterwards. I think all of you would agree with me on this..
I am by no means a Thai food purist and am okay with the Americanization of it. All I want are rice noodles with a tasty sauce and Sweet Basil Express fits the bill. I love the drunken noodles and the phad thai is a good standby. If you're on campus it's a great place for a quick lunch.
Review Source:Previous reviews are right - it's an "express", the food is not meticulously arranged on your plate and seasoned with a complex blend of love and freshly chopped from the back garden herbs. I'm sorry, Eugene, but you are spoiled that way.
For the price, location, and quality of the food, you can't do better if you're a frequent campus-goer. The food is typical, with a few twists. If you don't mind your Asian food a tidbit amerincanized, go for the "oh my god" appy - they call it that for a reason.
The place is BUSY between twelve and one, which speaks for itself.
Dearest Mama Buks,
I think I might be in love...if anything infatuation. Â I went to this small thai place to eat and it was love at first bite. Â It's a little bigger than a hole in the wall, but it's definitely not spacious. Â It's good for a small group, but if it's anything more than 4 people we're sitting on different tables. Â And it's not really a dining place anyway, you have to bus your own tables. Â
But the food is AMAZING! Â I started off only eating the pad thai, then my friend got me hooked on the Pak Kee Mao. Â I know you're not one that likes 'ethnic food' but there is no way you wouldn't like this. Â They are noodle dishes with vegetables and your choice of me; chicken, shrimp, or beef. Â They flavor is mild, so it's nothing that would intimidate you...rather you'd want more. Â I especially like it because it's lighter than the greasy fast food in the area. Â The Fresh Wrapped is especially yummy and light, and the peanut sauce is finger-licking good!
I come here for dinner sometimes, but it's heard to beat the lunch price. Â It's a slightly smaller portion, but a couple bucks cheaper. Â FYI, they charge I think $0.25 for take-out. Â Don't worry ma, it's not marriage, just a daytime fling.
Yours Truly,
kaibemi buks
P.S. if you wanna go when you come visit, we'll probably walk there. Â It's not too far from campus but there's only meter parking, and trust me...you WILL get a parking ticket if you don't feed those damn meters.
The good is friendly wait staff, nice interior, prompt service. Â However, the food is more run-of-the-mill Thai. Â Nothing bad, mind you, but nothing rose above what you can get at about any decent standard Thai place in Oregon. Â Spoiled for life by Pok Pok in Portland. Â Don't mean to be a snob, but I have yet to find a great meal in Eugene, but I will keep trying. Â It's a lovely town that deserves better great, cutting edge dining options.
Review Source:I've been to Sweet Basil Express quite a few times. Â Every now and then I find myself in the campus area around the lunch hour, and I'm always up for some Thai food. Â I've sampled noodle dishes, rice dishes and, this afternoon tried a curry for the first time. Â This is the Thai offering in the area, and I invariably feel a little bit disappointed in myself for returning.
What is good about Sweet Basil Express? Â Well, I'd describe the "Express" part as extremely accurate. Â I don't believe I've ever waited for than 5 minutes for my food--and they are typically doing brisk business. Â The spice levels actually run hot--if you are used to 4 stars spicy in Eugene, start with 3. Â (Because they do okay spice-wise, I'll excuse them for the extreme lameness of calling 4 stars "Wild" and 5 stars "Extra Wild")
What is not so good about Sweet Basil Express? Â Well, the food. Â Outside of the spicy-ness, everything about it is somewhat bland. Â In the name of speed, dishes are thrown together without much care. Â You get your own utensils, napkins, drinks from a narrow, awkward space which, on a crowded day may be occupied by folks standing and waiting for their to-go. Â The seating area overall is designed for a quick in-and-out meal and isn't any place you'd want to linger with a friend or sit and read a book. Â
Essentially, Sweet Basil Express leaves me with the feeling that I've paid for a decent lunch and received fast food in return.  This afternoon they even charged me the dinner price at 1pm--I don't know what was up with that.  It definitely qualifies as one of the subpar Thai meals in Eugene.  I'm  hopeful that the process of writing this review will remind me to stay away next time I'm near campus and hungry--sometimes I just have to be patient when I get that Thai craving.
In Eugene for business and actually came across Sweet Basil Express here on yelp. I'm a big fan of thai food and it sounded great according to the reviews, but.... I was not impressed.
The lady took my order and it was quickly ready. I had ordered the chicken pad thai to go. By the time I got back to my hotel room with my food (5 minutes) and took it out of the bag, the to-go box was falling apart. The pad thai was heavy and was seeping through the box.
The pad thai was alright, good flavor and there was a lot of chicken. I liked how they did not mix all the bean sprouts into the noodle but instead just put them on the side. The noodles were a little too hard for me and that pretty much ruined it. I've definitely had better pad thai in my home sweet home city of L.A.
I have one thing to say to all the haters.. Get the Spicy Fried Rice, Beef with extra eggplant. Â This place is the best deal in Eugene hands down. Â You've gotta be kidding me. I go here once a week minimum and they never take too long. Don't listen to the haters..this place is top notch.
Review Source:It's fast, friendly, and flavorful. Â I'm not looking for authenticity here. Â Just read the description of the food and pick out what you like. Â I like watching the lady cook the food. Â I am somehow reassured of the freshness. Â I always order the Lovely Ginger dish. Â I remember I was drawn to it because I was feeling a little under the weather and thought --hey, this ginger dish might help. Â And wow, it did. Â I like the food here. Â It gets a little busy sometimes but the turn around is really quick. Â People usually just eat and take off. Â By the way, make sure not to confuse this place with the one on Pearl! Â I called in an order to Sweet Basil Express and my friend who was picking it up went to the one on Pearl! Â Make sure you know which is which! Â Express is slightly cheaper and more of a take out/ quickie place, while the nonexpress is fancier.
Review Source:Though it is not often that we review a campus restaurant, we thought that the subsidiary of the Sweet Basil restaurant was worth mentioning. As a group that has had the opportunity to dine at numerous fine Thai establishments throughout the Northwest, the subsidiary of Sweet Basil prepares a beef pad thai that is equivalent to that of our beloved Thai Tom near the University of Washington in Seattle. The noodles in the pad thai were cooked fairly well and the portions are definitely large enough for a satisfying lunch meal. In addition, the restaurant also provides a hefty side of bean sprouts and a wholesome share of beef. Again, the restaurant does not make the greatest beef pad thai that we have ever tasted, it is by far better than a majority of the Thai restaurants near campus.
Also, the atmosphere in the restaurant seems nice enough to stay and dine in, but a majority of students seem to just order takeout. There is also a few chairs and tables for outdoor seating, so if you have a bit of time, go on a sunny day and chill on the sidewalk with your lunch and do the Eugene thing and relax.
I like the food there although my Thai classmate said it was not real Thai food. She never went there. so I think it is a American Thai restaurant. At least one of my American classmates went there for lunch almost everyday.
The food is delicious, but the restaurant is too small to eat there. I think it is pretty cook that they have a open kitchen so you can see how they cook and monitor the process.
It is a little pricy but for me the amount of food is huge. I can't finish it for one meal. and it is pretty rich (at least for green curry), so i feel like it is hard to digest and you won't feel hungry for a long time.
During the lunch time, they are pretty busy. you may have to wait for a long line and it is hard to find a seat there. and you will run into your professors and classmates almost everytime.
Tom Yumm Noodle Soup is the best. Â If you have this soup be warned you won't want to order anything else. Â You'll have your spouse bring it home when you don't feel like cooking. Â This soup is on the noodle menu not the soup menu.
The fresh wraps are excellent. Â The house curry is fantastic. Â I haven't had anything here that I didn't like. Â Fresh food and fast service.
I've definitely had some four-star level experiences at Sweet Basil Express, but both the food and the service are really inconsistent.
Pros: the food is typically better than any other "Asian cuisine" in the campus area, the portions are generous, the prices are decent, and there's this one guy who works the cash register and sometimes, inexplicably, gives me free soda.
Cons: the service is sometimes infuriatingly slow for an "express" kind of restaurant, the food isn't always as good as it should be, and somehow the place manages to reach like 100 degrees inside if it happens to be more than 60 degrees outside.
So, I've gone here twice now. The first time was bad, and definitely marred my opinion of it. Still, I was willing to give it a second try, and that was a bit better. First, the restaurant. It's a quick eat place, with the assembly line style of food. They have a pretty good menu, and are quite accommodating to vegans. I almost always order pad thai when I go to a Thai restaurant, so I can't speak too much to the rest of the menu.
The restaurant itself is neat. I like the colors and decor, though it seems a little cramped with the wall separation and the soda dispenser setup. Overall however, nicely done.
The service was friendly, even during the lunch rush we happened upon the second time. They also took down a vegan order easily, which was a nice surprise.
Now, onto the food. The first time, it was terrible. My girlfriend and I had gone for some lunch while at Smith Family, and while we received it quickly...It just went downhill from there. The tofu wasn't fully cooked or seasoned, to say nothing of the noodles themselves, which were hard as rocks in places. So, after that experience, I was a little turned off by the place.
However, fate intertwined the Express and I once more, due to the crazy hours that some of the university restaurants post. After our fiasco at Maple Garden, our Rocky Horror group decided to give Sweet Basil a try. I was worried, but also very hungry, and as a result, desperate.
The second time around, the food took longer to arrive, and did so in two waves with a five minute break in between, but at least tasted much better. It was good, not fantabulously awesome, but definitely a step up from my last experience. As a result, I'm willing to give this place another run in the future.
Pros: Like most thai cuisine, great for vegans. Friendly service. Prices were pretty reasonable. Second time food was good.
Cons: First time food was inedible. Slow service.
Conclusion: First impressions are important, and mine was a limp handshake. However, they're worth a try, and I'd be willing to go there again.
I have been to Sweet Basil Express several times with friends and family, each time receiving a large plate overflowing with pad thai. Â With this restaurant so close to campus, it makes for an easy meal between classes. Â Not to mention, the prices are pretty low. I've never had to wait a long time to get my food, but I've heard from other people that the wait can be rather long during the regular lunch and dinner hours.
Overall: I love it and definitely recommend it!
it's a wonder that out of all my visits to Sweet Basil Express I never once went to it's mother restaurant, however I never needed to because the
Pad See Ew with tofu
was so excellent, I think I had it three times in one week once. Love/miss this spot.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND as far as near-campus places go. in the mood for something other than THe Glenwood? check it out.
Sitting in the storefront of the now departed "Hanna's", Sweet Basil Express has cleaned up the act of this typically funky corner of the University of Oregon food options. Now a weekly favorite of mine, their food is fresh and fast (if you time your meal right), with relatively friendly service. The word Express suggests fast food, but the quality and presentation suggests a sit down restaurant. It is true that you need to avoid the rush by getting their early, or eating a little later, because the peak rush means your meal will be anything but fast.
Counter order, food brought to your table.
This is a great place for lunch, although if it's too busy, you should go to something else nearby instead. I've never had to wait that long for my food, and it is consistently satisfying.
My favorites are the Cashew Gai and the Tom Kha soup (which is such a good deal at lunch, it's hard to forget about.)
The food quality is great, just like the downtown location. Service however, is sllloooww!
If you are working at the U of O, or Hospital, it's nice to patronize a local place in the neighborhood. But, when it takes almost your whole lunch hour to get a soup to go, you cross them off the list.
If you are in the area, I would suggest calling in an order to pick up.
Decent food, horrible service.
I wandered into Sweet Basil Express thinking that  "express" meant that the  menu and service would be streamlined and quick.  The menu is significantly smaller than that of SBE's mother restaurant, but most of the favorites are here: three types of curry, various noodle dishes and soups.
I placed my order at 11:31. I was especially happy that I managed to beat the lunch rush. There was only one customer ahead of me and there were three cooks in kitchen. Â I ordered soup and salad rolls ("Fresh Wrapped" in SB lingo). Â Since both of these items are already prepared, I figured it would be a simple matter of boxing up the food and sending me on my way. Â I was wrong.
For the first ten minutes after I ordered, no action at all was taken on my order. Â Two of the cooks lazily prepared someone's food while the third cook stood around. Â Finally, I saw my order being dished up. Â One problem--I ordered the food to go, but they clearly didn't read that part of the ticket. Â The lazy cook finally realized the problem, so they did some transferring of food from plates and bowls to boxes and I assumed that I would be out the door in a matter of moments. Â This is not what happened. Â The gentleman in front of me complained loudly that he had waited too long. The cashier just gave him a confused look and a shrug. Â Five minutes later, I watched the cashier give the disgruntled man MY order.
More time passed. New customers came in, ordered, got their food.
Finally, after a few minutes the cashier asked me what my order number  was.  He again looked very confused and returned to his place behind the register.  A couple of minutes later, I saw them begin to assemble my order.  The cooks and cashier (it apparently took all four of them to box up some soup and some salad rolls) took their time, frequently stopping to take new orders or to carry food out to the customers who were dining in.  Finally, after another five minutes or so I got my food. And the soup was cold. Big surprise.
Total time wasted? Â 30 minutes. Â This is supposed to be EXPRESS, people. Â I'd like to give them another chance, but my experience here was ridiculous. Â On the upside, once reheated the soup was quite good. But if I'm going to wait 30 minutes for food that's already prepared, I might as well just go get a Rachel Ray cookbook and make something fresh. Â
Only recommended if you have a lot of time to kill and aren't irritated by ineptitude.
My friends and I have been trying hard to remain patient while waiting for this to open up on campus since we read about it in the Daily Emerald. Â Well, I'm happy to report that Sweet Basil Express is open, ready for business, and also delicious!
I have yet to be to the Sweet Basil downtown, but from what I hear, this new one is significantly more casual and cheaper. Â Most things on the menu seemed to be about $6 for lunch and $8 for dinner. Â We got the cashew gai something (number 10 on the menu) and were quite pleased, although it wasn't as spicy as a friend had suggested.
The atmosphere is nice; fresh paint on the walls, various art, and what I hear is Sweet Basil's famous functional just stylish track lighting. Â One downside: the dining area looks like its trying to imitate sardines in a can. Â There you have virtually no privacy from the people at other tables and I'd bet it gets really noisy during busy times of the day.
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