Holy Basil - Sydney

The food was delicious and the service was excellent. We were seated promptly and the atmosphere was wonderful. I was a little hesitant about sitting at a shared table at first, but it turned out to be a pleasant experience.

The food we had was very nice, however, the ambiance, decor and service were average. We ordered 2 mains meals and had finished one before the second arrived, even after we reminded the waitress. Then the wrong dish was listed on the bill (same price so it was no big deal). Dated decor in a noisy setting, however, I'd go again for the food. The rest I could do without.

My two buddies came earlier than me. We went to Holy Basil at Shark hotel. this place offered Laos/ Thai food. We ordered fishs, curry, vegie and dessert. we loved the foods. we came here often. 1.Fresh crispy snapper mango salad: fried big snapper and combined green apple salad instead of mango with dressing holy basil sauce. I asked put separately for fish and salad. I am still on my vegie months. well combined for fish and salad so crispy but the amount of fish getting lesser compared last time when we visited there. 2. Red curry: Beef combined spicy chili paste with garlic infused coconut milk, sweet basil and bean. the taste so nice and well presented. 3.Garlic and peppercorn: combined seasonal vegie with brocolli, mushroom, garlic and peppercorn sauce. however, there is no snow peas and the staff is not mentioned it but I can see they put snake beans instead of snow peas. 4.Holy Basil fried Ice cream: hot weather sometimes we need something cold so we ordered fried Ice cream wrapped by fried pastry outside and inside ice cream with caramel sauce, crunchy coconut and strawberry. we loved it but the caramel sauce is too sweet. atmosphere in holy basil nice and it will be great if the staff can be nice and smile when they are serving.

The staff at this restaurant are deceptive. They are not transparent about the extra charges that will be added to your bill when paying by card. They seem to use their lack of English as a way to hide this information. The woman who served me could not communicate in English, but was quick to accept payment. Their priority seems to be money. Anyone considering dining here should be aware of the type of service they will receive. The portion sizes are very small, and I would not recommend this restaurant. It is not about being racist, but it is not a good idea to have someone who cannot speak English as the main point of contact for your business.

Sitting inside the Shark Hotel in Sydney's World Square, this restaurant is set in a huge open space making up pool tables, the bar, the open kitchen and seating for at least 200 including on shared tables. Extensive Thai menu. Be warned ...mains are generous! We tried the pork belly in oyster sauce and the Thai rice with prawns. Between two.of us, we coukdnt finish it! Alcohol can be purchased from the bar making for very reasonable prices. Meals were also around $20-25. Outstanding food. Does get very noisy but worth it!