Buddha’s Belly

Great atmosphere, good for kids not quiet not super loud. The hostess at the front seemed polite but wasn’t very friendly. The server however was very nice soft spoken but nice. I had the spicy Korean pork belly ramen and was very surprised. I’ve been to many ramen places and the broth was delicious. It was like a thick tasty tonkatsu broth. The pork belly was delicious it was deep fried then sliced so it retained its flavor with a nice texture to compliment the broth and noodles. I also had the spicy peanut noodles. This would have been a great dish but the sauce was too overpowering. All i could taste was coconut sauce. They pot a nice amount of shrimp in the dish but i couldn’t enjoy the flavor of the shrimp or the noodles. All i could taste was the sauce. All in all i give it four out of five because of the hostess and the spicy noodle dish. Oh and portions aren’t huge like most other places its enough to get you satiated but not too full. Again if you like ramen try their spicy Korean pork belly ramen. Definitely recommend it

I ordered the duck tacos and I loved their corn salsa that comes out with it. The price is fair and from 5−7pm they have happy hour.

Ginger fried rice, that’s what I love. I highly recommend it. Scallops, beef and chicken with fried rice and the addition of ginger (pink) peppered thoroughly gives a nice kick.
I used to frequent the location on Beverly which has closed, so as much as I despise the Third Street Promenade, this is a good choice in a sea of bad tastes, yes tastes plural, rather than your average consumer fare.
The wait staff have always been kind, the service is quite fast and the prices are fair.

I think I expected more from this place so got disappointed. Restaurent was nice, clean n peaceful. I was raving for spicy food from few days. In menu I saw «spicy peanut noodle» I thaught it must b spicy n ordered it but geeze it was sweet. I was like what the heck r u kidding me? If u say this food spicy then how would b ur mild food? But other dishes r good tho I can’t complain for them. N cherry on top, one lady enter into the restaurant n start to stare our food n pointed n ask the waiter for the same dish for several times. She came to our table in every few minute n stare our food gosh that feeling was horrible. P. S. m not going to that place again

Happy hour-​goer on a Sunday afternoon (3 — 7 PM). Everything on HH menu is $ 6, which includes pork gyoza, seaweed salad, simple sushi rolls, and cocktails.
We only had time to try two cocktails, the Asian pear martini and Blackberry Mojito — both were well-​balanced, light, and nicely Asian-​flavor-​influenced. Seaweed (wakame) salad and shrimp tempura roll were both solid choices, and a steal at $ 6 a dish.
The only negative is that the interior is quite dark, even with bright sunlight outside, and is cold enough to feel a little uncomfortable.

Food was just ok – we had the Chicken Lettuce Cups, Orange Chicken, and Thai Green Curry. The Lettuce Cups were tasty, everything else tasted overly processed. Slowest service ever…15 mins to get our drink order, after flagging down a server. The rest of the experience was similar… slow and inattentive.

One word. Awesome! It’s Tuesday early evening. Not too busy (it’s early yet). Needed a bite and a drink after a day at the pier with my crazy niece and nephew.
Had: Singapore Seafood Noodles. Flat noodles with shrimp and scallops, and yellow curry (just a hint, it’s not a curry dish). It’s similar to pad Thai without the peanuts. It was outstanding! I almost licked the bowl. Also had the Har Gow (shrimp dumplings), also great. Service was excellent. Bartender was great! (Good job Coral!) Taking care of business even tho she was cursed with a warm keg of Sapporo, she did a great job and didn’t skip a beat, took great care of me. Had a good selection to choose from in the area for a quick meal and I think I made the right decision. Add the interesting conversations eavesdropped from the group of «real housewives of Santa Monica» next to me and it was a great early dinner. Can’t wait to come back.

Buddha’s Belly is definitely my Monday Curry routine. Ever since a coworker of mine introduced me to the place I been going almost every Monday ever since. My boyfriend surprised me for lunch and it was on Monday so straight to Buddha’s Belly we went.
I always get their Japanese Vegan Curry — it’s a brown curry that is well seasoned and balanced. It has greens beans, corn, tofu and broccoli, served with brown rice on the side and scallions I believe.
I usually order and pick up now and they’re always timely and polite when I walk in.
The great thing I love about their curry is it doesn’t smell, like smell bad and overpowering. I eat this at my desk and I’m the first desk you see (and smell) off of the elevator and it just smells purely delicious and has such a soothing aroma.
Oh smiles from me and belly :)

My wife and I stopped by to try out the Pad Thai and the Tom Yom Koon Ramen.
The Pad Thai was average, a bit small with lots of peanuts though. The noodle texture was perfect, chewy but not over cooked.
The Tom Yom Koon Ramen had a perfect broth. Sour enough yet a good hint of spicy. It could have used a bit more veggies, as it was just tomatoes and a few mushrooms. Tons of shrimp though. In my opinion the Ramen should be left to be paired with Japanese broths like Miso and Shoyu. This dish would have been amazing if they used rice noodles instead. A nice try with the twist but it didn’t work for me.
We did come in during happy hour (3 – 7 everyday), had their Edamame for half price. Everything else was sushi which I wasn’t expecting to have at a Thai place.
Lastly along with many other reviews, service was slow. We sat down for a good 10 mins before anyone talked to us. We finished for a good 15 – 20 mins before anyone stopped to offer a dessert menu.
Most likely won’t be coming back anytime soon.

On the plus side, they have a decent happy hour menu that’s $ 5 across the board. It goes from 3 – 7 pm daily, so the best bet is on the weekends.
The shrimp tempura and spicy tuna rolls on the HH menu are fairly small and 6 pieces each, but it’s Santa Monica… and $ 5… the sweet potato fries are pretty good though!
The best deal on the HH menu is the alcohol. You can get any of their signature cocktails for $ 5 (normally $ 12) and they’re not that skimpy on the alcohol.
I was a bit hungrier and ordered the Ahi Tuna Burger off the regular menu and was thoroughly disappointed. I was under the impression that I would get a seared ahi tuna steak in the burger, but it fell far short of that. It was instead a ground up spicy ahi patty that was combined with bits of corn and other things. THOROUGHLY disappointing. At least they didn’t cheap out on the avocado.

Located at the corner of 2^nd and Broadway.
We actually walked in because we saw their happy hour sign on the sidewalk as we left the 3^rd St. Promenade, so we decided to give them a try. Btw, everything on the happy hour menu is $ 5.
We ordered the Shrimp Tempura Roll. The roll is kinda small, but I guess understandable because it’s happy hour. However, the shrimp was a pretty decent size and very good. I’m used to pretty big shrimp tempura rolls, but the quality of this one was above average.
I also got a Sapporo (on draft). Very refreshing and VERY cold, just how I like it.
Great place off the Promenade. Wish I was hungrier so I can try more of their food. Next time.

We were in the mood for Asian, particularly coconut soup. Given this place had 3.5 average, we decided to give it a chance and the benefit of the doubt. Passing by weekly, this place always has the tables full, so something has to be good. Something. I will make this simple and short–
Korean steak– not tender but tasty
Thai Peanut Noodles– wouldn’t touch it if it was my last meal alive
Coconut soup– pretty delicious and satisfying
Chicken lettuce wraps– pale in comparison to pf changs
Thai salad– not bad but I wouldn’t choose it again.
If we ever return, it will be for soup only and it will be takeout as the service here is lacking. Server didn’t check on us until we were finished.

Buddha’s Belly strikes me as a local, relatively vegetarian-​friendly alternative to the P.F. Chang’s monster. They have a solid happy hour menu (everything on it is $ 5), and the food here is decent. Nothing was mind-​blowing though.
I came here for dinner once, and would recommend the Spicy Peanut Noodles I had. The ramen my sister ordered was meh — I suspect they came straight out of a package.
Underwhelming ramen aside, the interior of the restaurant is pretty — and its convenient location makes it a nice place to meet up for lunch in Santa Monica.

Sorry to be harsh, but this place was not good at all. Don’t even want to make a long review because this place was not worth it. Went here tonight and ordered their «spicy» peanut noodles since it was highlighted on the menu along with other items in different sections. I’m guessing it was one of their «signature» dishes.
This dish SUCKED! Super heavy peanut sauce, didn’t taste an ounce of spice, and it was just plain boring. Paying SM prices for a noodle dish at $ 12, I was greatly disappointed! A friend in our group got a fish dish with rice. Actually, I should correct myself there, she got a rice dish w a baby slice of fish for $ 19! I swear, must’ve been at least two scoops of rice and this mini filet.
Don’t come here. I rarely hit up spots that I’ve never been to before that have a certain yellow star rating w a lot of reviews, but it was close by. Guess that was our fault. Maybe HH would be a better look, but don’t order this! The service was fine.

Casual Asian Fusion, low-​cost fun get-​together spot with friends, especially with the 3 – 7 p.m. $ 5 Happy Hour of sushi, small bites and drinks. It’s nothing exciting, pleasant enough tastes but humdrum; the drinks are a steal though. I do appreciate the waiters and staff who are very quick-​witted, responsive and friendly — they all seem like good people who enjoy being there. Good, dim ambient lighting and cushy booths and chairs in red Shanghai-​like tones. #life-​as-​I-​know-​it

My review is for happy hour on a Monday evening.
Went with my coworkers for a mini girls day out. We dropped by for some drinks and snacks. It wasn’t crowded at all. Our waitress was fantastic and service was quick! All specialty drinks are $ 5 during happy hour and we pigged out on their snack menu.
$ 4 for a california roll, spicy tuna roll or tempura roll.
$ 1 for spicy or salted edemame! TIP… get the edemame SPICY! It’s very good!
Drinks were good! Enjoyed the lychee martini and zen garden!
Will be back again!

**DELIVERY REVIEW**
This is the reason why I miss the eclectic vibrance of the Bay Area asian restaurants… because of this… is NOT Asian food.
This is the friend’s GO TO delivery food… for when they don’t want to cook or «craving» Asian food…
The first time I ate at their house with this… I thought they were high for saying it was good and since we were new… I didn’t want to disagree… but gosh darnit… enough is enough and true friends tell each other the truth and I did…
The «chilled» vietnamese rolls… yes, I get that the word chilled is in there but it doesn’t need to come REALLY cold! Veggie fried rice: um did you forget to season the rice? It might as well be steamed veggie rice?! Crispy chicken katsu: oh dear… Asian fusion at its worst!
I don’t know if the friends continue to order here when I’m not around… but I really need to take them to a real Asian place… anything other than having «fusion» next to it!
So if you’re craving Asian, this is NOT the place. Walk away, don’t dial… just, don’t, do it! Really… NOT WORTH it.

Après y êtres retourner une seconde fois un samedi soir en plein Rush, je confirme que ce restaurant est très bien, accueil agréable, service rapide, plats de bonne qualité, prix très correctes.

I visited this restaurant again recently (my last visit was over two years ago, in Jan 2011) and I have to say that I am still feeling «meh» about it. I visited with a friend in late July. Though the menu has quite a few choices and blends in different Asian flavors together pretty well, I still think the food I ordered (the chicken Pad Thai — go me for being original, but I wanted to stick to the tried and true since I couldn’t afford to get food poisoning at the time) was meh. It was not as good as Pad Thai dishes I’ve had elsewhere, and the portions were not entirely satisfying. I did, however, enjoy the side pickled cucumber salad that came with it.
Service was mediocre as well, as our waitress barely made eye contact with me and completely ignored me when refilling waters. Something just seemed off about the situation.
Still, it’s a nice trendy place in Santa Monica, and conveniently located right next to the promenade, so I wouldn’t be completely averse to visiting again in the future.

3.5 stars.
First of all, the place is a little deceiving from the outside. I thought it would be much larger but, in reality, there is a small bar area and minimal seating. Once the restaurant becomes full, it does feel cramped — my back was up against another patron’s. The lighting is also very dim, which adds to the ambience but can be a little uncomfortable once the sun sets.
Second of all, service is pretty slow. It took us a while to get seated because they had run out of menus (even though the restaurant was only half full at this point…) It also took an extremely long time for us to get the check at the end of the meal, for the waitress to pick up our check and give us change, and for my water to be filled throughout the night. In fact, we were charged for an item that we never ordered so this complicated things as well.
With that being said, the menu here is hit or miss. My friend and I ordered lychee coolers, the volcano combo with curry chicken and spicy tuna appetizer, and the pad thai and ginger fried rice for our entrees. This was topped off with green tea/​matcha tiramisu. The lychee cooler beverage is essentially club soda/​seltzer water with lychee flavoring… refreshing, but way overpriced at $ 4. The volcano combo was very meh. It came out lukewarm, which confused me – I think it would have been better off either steaming hot or just cold. The rice cakes underneath the curry chicken and tuna toppings tasted a little stale, and the toppings themselves lacked any other flavor besides spicy. Would not order again.
As for the entrees, this was one of the better pad thais I’ve tasted. The portion size is huge, justifying the $ 9/​$ 10 price tag. I also really appreciated that you didn’t have to choose between meats — you get tofu, chicken, AND shrimp all in the same dish. The noodles are chewy and the overall dish is seasoned well. My friend’s ginger fried rice was also yummy, but you may want to ask them to hold back on the ginger. She asked for the pink ginger to be omitted completely, but the flavor was still overwhelming. There is a hearty amount of shrimp included though.
The green tea tiramisu was definitely a redeeming factor in this meal. The ladyfingers were soft and fluffy, and the cream wasn’t overpowering or too rich. The matcha sauce provided a perfect balance to the sweetness. Definitely big enough to share between multiple people.
All in all, it was just an average meal but still probably one of the better options for Asian fare in the area.

On apprécie vraiment ce resto, chaque fois qu’on est à L.A. on y va car leur cuisine est délicieuse et le service est au top.

Great Happy Hour! Daily, 3−6pm! My summer drink is a Moscow Mule and Budda’s Belly has a GREAT one for $ 4.00 during Happy Hour!
We started with our drinks, and then ordered a dish from their regular menu, Ahi Tuna with wontons and Pad Thai (sorry no photo of the pad thai)
YUMMMM! We were full! Next time you are on the 3^rd St. Promenade or the Santa Monica Place and it’s 3pm, walk over to Budda’s Belly! Ashley makes the best Moscow Mule!