by Catherine M. on I am really impressed with this restaurant/bar. I got the delux burger which was very flavorful, although the bread was a little too dense. The sweet potato fries, served in a mini shopping cart, are awesome - a must have. They have a great selection of beer, including my favorite framboise lambic. The beer flights might be an interesting choice for my next visit. The decor is nice with soothing blue lighting. Be aware of the close sitting quarters. I wasn't sure about the communal counter in the middle of the restaurant, but it turned out to be pretty good. I was still able to have a decent conversation with my friend without feeling like someone else is listening to us or like I am intruding on another conversation. Overall, a great place that I will visit again. Especially since it is open late.
by Louie Liveoak on This place is pretty. Although hard to find if you're a newbie to this area (which I am). There aren't any "Buddha bar" signs around the entrance just two huge wooden doors with....you guess it, a buddha on it. We walk through this short tunnel with incense (thank god the air conditioning in this place made the smell less noticeable). The inside of the restaurant is enormous. There are buddha statues everywhere, and there's an entire wall with windows to a tank full of jellyfish (!!!). The ambiance was great -- although towards the end of our meal, the men (and one woman, poor girl) were getting pretty rowdy with their Buddha Bar drinks. The food came very quickly (surprisingly). I ordered the calimari, which was delicious at first (The sauce is fantastic and very limey), but gets a bit too salty after one too many bites. The lobster tempura sushi was definitely disappointing. Something that had so much potential just tasted like a big roll with imitation crab (confusing). The scallops (my all time favorite seafood), were good. I've had better, but the dish itself comes with about 8 of them and this really...interesting..bread pudding cake (I didn't finish that). The dessert was a great, but overpriced, chocolate cake. Overall, a good experience, although a bit overrated. Had i tried the drinks, this review may have been a bit different..
by Ronald Macke on I was here for an office party, so I really have no idea how much we spent, but I think it was a lot. Drinks are expensive here, no lie. The appetizers were the best part of the meal, the tiger shrimp in sweet chili cilantro sauce is really good. I think the best thing of the eveing. Then we had some plates of sushi and sashimi; it was all of excellent quality, and showed in the taste of each piece. I was rather disappointed with the entree's we had, the chicken was good, but the salmon and fillet were both rather lackluster. They were all cooked well but the flavor profiles were off. And I am sure they were not inexpensive either. deserts were also good, but at that point a lot of sensation in my mouth had left the building, but there were crme brle, chocolate cakes and something else. I really like chocolate, so I enjoyed it a decent amount. We sat in one of the booths to the left of the Buddha, the table is inset to the ground, which is fine for guys, but if there are ladies in the group with skirts, watch out! And the cushions kept getting pushed out, it seems like a serious design flaw. The service was also not that great, I am sure there was a fee discussed before hand so everyone was happy, but I order drinks no less than 5 times and got none. The day after I was happy that I was prematurely cut-off, but at the time I was not pleased. I would rather pay $$$$ and have fabulous food rather than pay $$$$ to be around alleged fabulous people. And you can barely see these fabulous people in the dark cavern. That is my thought at least. The space is cool in the light and I am glad I have been there, but that is enough for me. The restrooms here are pretty legit, they have several private stalls/rooms, and one huge ADA stall. At the sink you can see and hear into the other restroom, so be careful while talking in the bathroom. There is an attendant, so bring some $1's, be they ensure that everything is stocked. 4 Flushes
