Buddha-Bar London

Here’s a classic case of food being overpriced for the quantity of food you get but it is well presented and located in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in London, Knightsbridge. The sushi rolls with mango sauce was the best of the savoury options that I tried and the chilli tofu dish was puny. However, the desserts were far better than the starters or mains, with the chocolate sesame bar and pandan pudding both being unique and hitting their mark.
Meanwhile the atmosphere is both laid back and trendy, dark and elegant yet simple. The service is attentive and they have a cloakroom and a long and decorated bar. Hence all in all, Buddha Bar seems like the kind of venue that would serve well as the location for a date or for taking someone you want to impress or have a fancy meeting with. Don’t expect much from the food itself but it at least looks the part.

Food was great.
However the reception was a bit questionable. We wanted to take a cocktail at the bar before dinner but we’re not able to do that in a quite empty bar and restaurant area. There was an offer about Happy hour 50% of for cocktails but it was impossible to utilize this offer. The reason was said to be a booked premesis.
We asked if we could get the discount at the dinner table but it was ignored !
We were also placed at an awkward table in an almost empty restaurant but requested a new better but not good.

Very trendy restaurant opposite some of London’s most exclusive real estate. Gorgeous interior and great cocktails. Sushi was just ok. The rolls were nice but nothing special. The service was also extremely slow and several staff members weren’t fluent in English making it a struggle to order. This is more of a place to be seen than enjoy a high end meal.

Great atmosphere. Considering it’s location I did expect a bit more to be honest. Drink were pricy but did taste good. Erm what else. Oh it was really busy took forever to be served but when we were eventually served staff were really friendly.

The Buddha-​Bar that existed at one time in the meat packing district NYC was the truth. This place is nothing but a commercial phony in a prime location next door to Mr. Chow. Basically picking up their slack, as a well seasoned New Yorker don’t wastr your time nor your money. #Cheers

I’m reviewing the bar. And now I sound like an alcoholic. Great.
Anyway, I was having a gruesome day and headed there for a quick drink, the place was quite nice but the staff at the door were are quite stiff, not a smile to be had, but I ignored them, dammit I needed that drink. I pressed on.
I ordered a glass of their own champagne which was very delicious, I was so surprised, very unique flavour. Nice surroundings and the bar staff were way more friendly. There was a hot guy winking really hard at me but sadly I had bigger issues. Maybe next time hot bartender!

Always buzzing! Great place for a friday afterwork!

My friend was looking for a place to go for her birthday. We saw a good deal on Bookatable — 3 courses and champagne for £25 but only available for up to 6 people. I have booked deals before where we wanted to book for more people and the restaurant is always accommodating, after explaining on the telephone, and we just book two tables and got seated together Unfortunately, Buddha Bar is not. Very disappointing. We were told it was not possible as it was a deal. It was extremely unwelcoming.
We were planning to have drinks at the bar until our scheduled time, but as we waited for the manager to decide whether we could sit together, we decided not to have drinks until we knew, and this took them 35 minutes!
Finally, we got the drinks menu to have a drink at the bar. When we were about to order, 10 minutes later, we asked if there were any happy hour and was told there was 2 for 1 on the cocktails, but the deal finished 6pm. but when we protested that we had been there before 6pm, the waiter went away and then came back and said they would honour it, so by the time the drinks came we had been at the bar for over an hour, and our table was now ready for us.
Some of our party did not order the cocktails or drinks, and asked for the champagne, while others who had ordered drinks and cocktails, said they would rather wait. But the instructions was misinterpreted, and no one got the champagne, until we asked again, after everyone finished their drinks.
The portion sizings were quite small, my starter was like a snack (4 tiny seafood dumplings), my main was like a starter, and my dessert was like a taster! It was almost hit and miss in relation to which dish tasted well. The chicken green curry was mediocre, lacking in any taste, the mussels were passable, the salmon was fine, but the beef udon was the better choice, actually tasting rather good, shame the dish was so small for a mains.
When the main courses arrived, we were asked if we wanted some rice with the salmon dish, as it was complimentary, we of course said yes, seeing the canapes size of the portion.
However, when the bill came, we were charged for it. The waiter misunderstood the meaning of complimentary, and it did not mean what we thought it meant.
We were also charge for some of the cocktails, which should have been happy hour prices. We also learnt later that happy hour was between 6pm and 7pm and it was for all drinks not just cocktails, so conflicting information was given by different servers.
Just before we left, the manager came and asked us for feedback, and then argued back without taking note or apologising. Very uncomfortable to be confronted in front of other diners.
The only good thing is they did make an effort to give my friend a macaroon with a candle on it for her birthday, which was really nice.
The ambiance is really lovely too, but the lighting is not good for reading the set menu which was in very small print, which seems like this offer was made begrudgingly, rather than as an opportunity to entice potential new customers to try the venue out. The waiters were friendly enough though, but the actual service from the Managers can be improved and the happy hour given more accurately, and not only after you ask for it!

Food was amazing and drinks were custom made for me because I use saki for my drinks. Great service. Will definitely come back whenever I’m in London again.

Good food, good cocktails. The cocktail I tried was bubble wap it was yummy and fruity. I ordered the Buddha bar special California roll they were the best from all the food we ordered I highly recommend it. Other than that their seafood dumplings were good, their chicken salad was okay, my friend ordered pad Thai he said that was okay too, i tried their chicken satay I didn’t like it too much. Overall I had fun id give the food a 4 cocktails + wine a 5.

Pricey. But posh. And quite good. I arrived a little late and went with the flow of ordering the evening’s set course menu.
Each of us was able to choose our own starter between two choices of tuna and salad, so I went with the former. Four slices of charred tuna with spicy sauce came out, and I savored every bit of it. The main was good but slightly underwhelming. Each bit was above average, but the lack of creativity made me feel like they just came up with this combo dish of different every-​day Japanese food. The dessert was amazing. The crème brûlée was particuarly exquisite with its right amount of sweetness and softness — possible the best one I’ve ever had.
Situated near Piccadilly Circus, Buddha Bar would definitely have a place on my list of «nice dine-​outs when visiting London.» Whether it’s truly a place of bang for your buck and of my potential patronage is less definite.

Found a great deal for Buddha Bar on Bookatable, which was a 3-​course set menu with a glass of champagne for 28 pounds. We had a reservation for 6pm, which is the latest they do the deal on Fridays, but most of my party came late and the staff didn’t make a fuss at all. The restaurant doesn’t really fill up until around 7:30pm. All we decided between were the two starters, tuna tataki and duck confit salad. I had the duck and it was fantastic, with big chunks of duck with an amazing sauce. For the mains, they gave us a sampler of bream, chicken, and tempura, and the bream was by far my favorite. The dessert was also a selection and the crème brûlée was the standout. This place is perfect for special occasions or just a nice treat, I would go even for just the décor!

I’m always cautious of 5 star reviews, but I was absolutely floored with every aspect of Buddha Bar London.
We arrived almost an hour early for our reservation and even so were promptly seated — the service levels here are outstanding! Servers are running like crazy and always keeping an eye open for guests that look like they have a question.
Food came out quickly and was absolutely perfect. Make sure to try the mango roll and the crunchy roll selection.

The interior design here is nice, but very dark with a very strange red lighting thing going on. I’d say its more suitable for a «hip» date rather than anything else.
The bar seemed busier than the restaurant itself, with many couples appearing to come here for a drink to start off an evening out. Understandable really since this place is pricey.
The food was ok. Nothing was disappointing but nothing was particularly impressive either.
The seafood used in the rainbow rolls were the best thing we ordered.
The crispy squid and rock shrimps were a bit too oily.
The black cod was good but then again was it worth the hefty price tag? Hmmm… not too sure about that.
The prices are the same as Zuma down the road but the standards are not as high.

The Cosmos are cloyingly sweet leaving a nasty sugar after taste — YUCK !!! I want another Chocolate Mint Martini from Locanda Locatelli

Très moyen… C’est le lieu typique du «voir et se faire voir», dans un quartier pseudo huppé.
On a failli nous refuser car apparemment les tables sont réservées pour ceux qui souhaitent y dîner alors que plein de gens n’y buvaient qu’un verre. Bref, le service n’est pas fou.
Concernant les cocktails, pas mauvais, mais pas exceptionnels non plus.
Je pense qu’à Londres l’ambiance pub est bien plus sympas pour aller s’enfermer au Buddha Bar (comme moi :/)

We went for lunch and I would say this is more of an evening venue. The dark colours and lush décor details probably come into their own at night.
Staff were pleasant and helpful. Clientele was mixed-​I couldn’t identify a particular group of people here. The place was less than ½ full, but it was mid week lunchtime.
Food is steeply priced, so our bento boxes seemed reasonable at the £27 mark. Food was perfectly fine, but wouldn’t be the only reason to return here. However the pandan pudding was good if you like coconut, banana, and a hint of pandan.

Buddha-​Bar is the definition of swanky and reminded me a lot of Tao or Buddakan. But £12.50 for an «Oh My Dog» drink? Oh my dog is right! It was super sweet and totally not worth it. Stick with the £6 glasses of wine! The nice bartender gave us the Wifi password so that’s worth another star at least!

So having been a huge fan of the Paris location in 2004 (when I was 19), and the NYC location (an unofficial buddha bar branch, since changed names) in 2008, I had really high hopes for this new london location (as the old one in embankment was not an officially affiliated location, per the buddha bar paris website), and 6 of us switched our dinner party reservations from little italy to buddha bar, as my boyfriend is also a huge fan (of the nyc one), and it was a going away of sorts.
Everyone else in our party had been to this location before, and suggested not going, but I assured them that there was a lounge/​nightclub aspect along with the restaurant, like both NYC and Paris, and when we made the reservation, the host assured my boyfriend that we would be able to go «upstairs» to the club after our dinner reservation (he asked him multiple times, receiving the same assurance). My friends were surprised, as they hadn’t heard about nor seen the club, but agreed to give it a go, especially since we spoke so highly of the other locations we’d visited. They also mentioned how zuma nearby has better food, and its ”just a restaurant,” at this buddha bar. I assuaged their fears by assuring them if it was a bad time, we’d have my boyfriend to blame (who insisted more adamantly than i to do BB), and regardless we’d have great company.
Now I’d seen photos online, so I knew the space wasn’t that spectacular when compared to the other buddha bars i’d visited, and it was more or less like any other restaurant… certainly no giant buddha like the others. We were given a fine table, not near the kitchen (as other reviews i’d read online complained about), and I certainly didn’t see any great crowd/​clientele during our visit (more an odd middle aged, diverse crowd… not that that’s bad, but none of this ”people watching” other reviews mention).
We all ordered cocktails, which took eternity to finally arrive, so we were quick to then order bottles of wine (50 pounds each, as one boyfriend in our party picked them out). One couple ordered a bunch of things to start, a sampling platter type thing, I ordered tuna tartare and seared tuna, boyfriend ordered the chicken salad and scallop rolls, another got scallops and cod, another got cod, and i forget what the main entrée the final two had… more or less all over the place (scallop rolls to be missed, while I liked my tartare enough, it had tortilla chip pieces throughout, of which I am not a fan, and the cod eaters had had the cod before and knew they were fans already).
The bloody mary was pretty good, and my friend who got the bubble wrap cocktail sans champagne loved it, the rest were simple rum and cokes, elderflower vodkas, etc. Unfortunately, this is where things took a turn for the worse (although again, the food was all over the place, so not necessarily a 5 star experience already).
All of a sudden, a bouncer type came over to our table, said that they were closing, and we needed to finish our drinks immediately and leave. Obviously, as the night was planned for dinner and dancing, we were all a bit taken aback. He returned again, basically rushing us out, forcing us to pay asap, and we were shocked that the place was legitimately done at midnight, despite being told that we could relocate to the «club» afterwards.
The total bill was 772 pounds, and needless to say, no one was too thrilled with my boyfriend and myself picking buddha bar for our night of dining and dancing. The sudden rushing you out, after spending quite a bit for not that much food in quantity (not that we expected large portions, of course), and being assured the night would involve dancing at the «club,» was pretty subpar customer service. My boyfriend and another of the guys actually nearly fought with the bouncer, it was so completely unexpected and rude. No «thank you for coming, but we need to close down,» just a basic get out. And bear in mind this isn’t a sloppy american group (not to say all americans are sloppy of course), but londoners, aussies (who live in london), all in cocktail dresses, heels, etc. None of us were drunk (unfortunately), although safe to say we were all extremely angry with the night’s conclusion, ultimately ending up heading home after being unable to think of a place we’d all want to go dancing (and would permit males in without any sort of cover).
I’m sad to say that after this buddha bar experience, my boyfriend who was so eager to try the parisian location (as he hasn’t yet been, and i’ve been almost a decade ago) in a couple weeks, has since cancelled that reservation.
**also, to note, as of the monday after our visit, their website still advertises a «DJ until 2:00 am late night Friday and Saturday** — NOT the case.

4 stars for the bar and people watching. 2.5 stars for the food.
A group of about 10 of us — all Americans — decided to check out Buddha Bar for dinner. The space itself is really nice and it is place to be seen. I especially liked the blue dragon by the staircase. The food itself was okay — nothing was stellar but nothing was terrible, either. However, for the price you’re paying for the food, I’d rather eat somewhere else and come here just for drinks.
The highlight of Buddha Bar is definitely the bar and people-​watching scene. The food on the menu is an after thought.

We’ve visited the Paris location twice and thus had high hopes for the newly opened London Buddha Bar. Unfortunately we were not thrilled with our experience.
The Food: The 5 Spice Chicken had good flavor but the chicken quality was questionable due to the fat content. The Wok Veggies and Tempura Shrimp Roll were tasty but skip the Asparagus appetizer — it was nothing to write home about.
The Ambiance: The restaurant wasn’t even 30% occupied and yet the hostess — who claimed she couldn’t find our reservation — gave us a hassle about being seated. And when we were finally seated it was downstairs in a corner by the staircase, this despite the restaurant’s main room being empty. The music could have been louder to help bring the vibe up to where the Paris branch is. The décor is beautiful.
The Service: Can’t complain. Everybody was friendly and helpful and happy.
The Bottom Line: Something is missing from this branch of Buddha Bar. Not sure what it is but it’s nowhere up to where the Paris location is. I doubt we’ll return when there are so many better restaurants in London.

We have tables reserved for New Years Eve. Can’t wait.
Last NYE was at Buddha Bar Paris. Hoping for a magical experience.