I thought I was going to hate Basil Box because of what I thought it was. Turns out it was exactly the opposite and I absolutely loved the food.
It's conveniently located along the very busy intersection of Queen and Spadina. They seem more of a lunch place but I actually had dinner here on a Friday night with some friends.
There is one washroom. Clean and nice seats with no music. It's a newly opened locations so it has that new feel to it still. I loved the bold bright Pink of the restaurant. The food photography adds depth to the restaurant...afterall you eat with your eyes first.
Their menu is electronically displayed with the selections of base, two vegetables, one protein, toppings and sauces. Then there is the drinks selection. I didn't particularly like that there is no suggestion in terms of paying first or ordering first. So what ends of happening is there is a long line blocking access to the washroom and it's in the middle of the seating area.
The cashier was very friendly with my order in explaining my choices and combinations. This is a BYOB type of deal as in build your own box. They use a non traditional type of container which is not styrofoam based with a clear lid. Napkins and the sort are to the side counter.
I ended up being so bloody full for $15 that evening because it was so much food. They have a combo deal with a $1 off the drinks if bought with a box. I was so impressed with their pineapple and rose water soda. It was delicious. Regular piece is $3.45. More rose water thank pineapple which was a good combination. Very refreshing to have on a hot day.
I first had short grain brown rice followed by roasted sweet potatoes which were cubes and so cute to look at. I also had edamame. I went with the lemongrass chicken which was so unbelievably flavourful. I loved that there were charred marks. It was about one cup. I had all the toppings which consisted of onions, hot peppers (holy moly those were hot), cilantro, carrots and radish which were shredded nicely and the likes. I opted for a peanut based sauce. It was not the best and I didn't particularly like the
Overall, these bold great Asian flavours won me over. I would definitely go here again. I loved what I ordered and I was so damn full at the end of the night.