awesome thai!. there are a lot of good reviews on yelp regarding this place and i have to concur. we stopped for lunch on a saturday afternoon based on these reviews and it was well worth it.
location: the basil leaf is located not far off of i-40 in the haines mall area. it's in a new multi-building shopping center with the main door facing away from the street so pay attention to the site's omni-sign. on our visit, the traffic made it a bit of an effort to get to traveling west on i-40.
food: they have separate lunch and dinner menus as well as separate lunch and dinner sushi menus. (although there is a sign on the door that states they do not serve sushi on mondays). the core of the lunch menu is approximately a dozen dishes consisting of a couple of curries (red and green), a fried rice choice or two with the rest being pad variations. they break the protein additions into 1) chicken, pork, tofu or vegetable ($7.95), 2) beef ($8.95), 3) shrimp ($9.95) and 4) seafood combo ($11.95). each of the main dishes comes with a very good, tasty and super-fresh spring roll.
they also have a full bar and we added a glass of sauvignon blanc and a thai beer to the tab for about $11 total.
i ordered the pad kee mao (drunken noodle) w/tofu and my chica ordered the ubiquitous pad thai w/chicken. we also ordered a sushi roll and two pieces of unagi (saltwater eel). i'm always a little leery with my expectations when i eat sushi at restaurants that don't have it as their core focus but this was very, very good sushi. both the roll and the unagi were delicious and impressively sized portions.
my pad kee mao was excellent! one of my favorite thai dishes i've had in a long while (and we eat a lot of thai). the noodles were cooked perfectly as were the vegetables (chili, carrots, onions, broccoli, bell peppers and basil leaves). i couldn't stop shoving it in my face! the portion size was definitely large (both dishes were large enough for two meals and we had doggie boxes leftover). the one critique i have is that the menu lists it as "hot" and it wasn't close to hot in my opinion. however, the table is served with four sauces including to chili ones that allow you to spicy it up.
my girlfriend is a pad thai fiend. she enjoyed her dish but probably not as much i enjoyed mine. the basil leaf makes their pad thai with a little sweetness included. we've had this version before but i know she prefers a less sweet recipe. regardless, she had no complaints about the quality of the food though in the future i think she'd go with a different pad choice. overall, this is some of the best thai i've ever had and definitely the best i've found in the triad. 5 stars for excellent food!
service: our service was stellar. i didn't ask so i can't swear by it but i think the staff is basically all family, including the kitchen. our "main" waitress was very friendly and polite but we had 3 or 4 others help us as well and they were wonderful too. during our visit, there were probably 6 or 7 parties seated with one being an 8 or 10 top but service never suffered. 5 stars for on the spot service.
value: i can only speak to the lunch menu prices but i think the prices are fine - especially the thai items. the sushi may not be as competitive as some but the quality and quantity are there. our entire meal was $50 before tip and i'd pay it again. 4 stars for value.
atmosphere: besides being new (and feeling new and shiny) i like what they have done with the décor. it's light and airy with high ceilings. the general theme is asian but not the over-the-top style that has become so common. the table spacing allows plenty of room to have your own conversations without having to compete with your neighbors. 4 stars for atmosphere.
overall, we both really like the basil leaf and wish it was closer to greensboro. that being said, i'm sure we'll drive over just to eat here again. i strongly recommend this place if you are looking for quality thai food in the triad.
food: 10/10; service: 10/10; value: 7/10; atmosphere: 9/10