Carolina Forest Gets a New Kind of Seafood Restaurant — and the Owner Caught the Fish Herself
SeaBasil Thai & Seafood opens on River Oaks Drive, blending Gulf Stream catches with Thai cooking under a restaurateur who has spent years building toward exactly this concept.
SeaBasil Thai & Seafood, located at 4036 River Oaks Drive in Myrtle Beach’s Carolina Forest area, began serving customers in mid-February. A formal grand opening celebration is scheduled for March 27, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce at 4 p.m. and a public event with live music and signature cocktails running from 5 p.m. to midnight. A liquor license was secured this week, clearing the way for the full bar program to debut at the event.
The restaurant is owned by Laddawan Fox, a Myrtle Beach resident with a long track record in the local restaurant industry. Fox’s previous ventures include King Kong Sushi, which she operated in both Carolina Forest and at Broadway at the Beach, followed by Thai Elephants and Thai Elephants II in the Charleston area, and most recently Thai Cuisine in downtown Myrtle Beach, which she has owned for several years.
What distinguishes SeaBasil from the region’s considerable inventory of seafood and Thai restaurants is Fox’s direct involvement in sourcing. She owns a fishing boat and regularly makes runs to the Gulf Stream off the Grand Strand coast, trolling for tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo and cobia, bottom fishing for black sea bass, snapper and grouper, and crabbing and flounder gigging in Murrells Inlet. The restaurant’s name, a contraction of sea and basil, reflects the concept at its simplest.
A Location Fox Has Watched for Two Decades
The River Oaks Drive corridor was not a spontaneous choice. Fox said she has monitored development in that part of Carolina Forest for many years, having recognized early on that the area would grow into a significant commercial and residential hub. The strip mall now housing SeaBasil was built around 2008, and the space has been home to Asian restaurants since then, most recently Hana Teppanyaki House. An earlier tenant held an exclusive agreement with the property owner for Asian food concepts, a condition that shaped the space’s restaurant history for more than a decade.
Fox said that when she drove past International Drive years ago and saw mostly undeveloped land, she already anticipated what the area would become. When the right space opened up, she moved on it.
Full Interior Renovation
Fox oversaw a comprehensive renovation of the space before opening. The entire interior was rebuilt with the exception of the floor. The bar, furniture, kitchen equipment and decor are all new, with the construction and design work handled cooperatively by New Wave Renovations and McKeithan Design Studio, a Tennessee-based firm.
| Address | 4036 River Oaks Drive, Carolina Forest, Myrtle Beach, SC (Village Forest plaza) |
| Grand Opening | March 27 — Ribbon cutting 4 p.m., celebration 5 p.m. to midnight |
| Mon – Thu | 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. |
| Fri – Sat | 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. |
| Happy Hour | 4 – 6:30 p.m. daily |
| Owner | Laddawan Fox |
The Menu
SeaBasil’s menu runs across both sides of its dual identity. On the seafood side, the kitchen works with scallops, shrimp, clams, mahi mahi, salmon and flounder, along with filet mignon and New York strip steaks. Fusion dishes include a Basil Mixed Seafood plate — shrimp, scallops and clams stir-fried with sweet chili sauce, garlic, bell peppers, onions, basil and a house sauce, served with rice — and seafood with drunken noodles.
The traditional Thai side of the menu includes duck and stir-fried basil, appetizers, soups, hibachi plates, fried rice, larb, papaya salad and a traditional salad. Desserts include coconut custard. A kids’ menu is also available, along with lunch combo specials and daily happy hour pricing from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Cocktails and Beverages
The bar program features specialty cocktails with Thailand-inspired names and themes. A standout is a modified Old Fashioned built with whisky, charcoal powder, lemon juice, house-made ginger and simple syrup, finished tableside with a flaming orange peel on the rim. The beverage list also includes wines, hot and cold sakes, bottled beers, High Rise THC-infused fruit seltzers, bubble teas and additional tea options.
SeaBasil Thai & Seafood is open now at 4036 River Oaks Drive in the Village Forest plaza in Carolina Forest. The grand opening celebration takes place March 27, beginning with the Chamber ribbon-cutting at 4 p.m.