Buddakan

Recommends

TardyKat

Joined 10 years ago

Nice large interior, creative Chinese food. Came here recently for the Asian Restauranat Week prixe fixe $45 menu. We had a choice of appetizer, entree, side and dessert.

For the appetizers, we chose the edamame dumpling (creamy edamame filling) and the Hoisin glazed Pork Belly served with steamed buns. Both were very good and I wished the portion sizes were a bit bigger. Each dish came in servings of threes.

Our entrees were the char siu pork and the Alaskan black cod. The pork dish is plenty of meat without any sides necessary as it rests on a bed of rice noodles. With the cod, you definitely need a side, while delicious, it wouldn't be filling on it's own.

For our sides, we chose the vegetable fried rice and minced pork lo mein. The fried rice came with a side of creamy coconut sauce. Very creative and made the fried rice taste different and familiar at the same time. The lo mein was a bit too sweet and the flavorings are like the char siu pork, so perhaps, it wasn't the wisest combination given our entree selections.

There were 2 desserts on the prixe-fixe menu so we got them both--banana and tangerine-lemon sorbet and chocolate black tea semifreddo. The sorbet was nothing to write home about. I think the lemongrass sauce the server poured over it table-side made everything melt faster. The Semifreddo was delicious! The combination of chocolate and black tea produced a very unique flavor.

I was a bit disapointed the desserts were not Chinese inspired as the restaurant is meant to be Chinese. Nonetheless, it was good and I would highly recommend this place.

Doesn't Recommend

justinad

Joined 5 years ago

nice decoration, food ok. heard about this place and my friend reco me to go there. i can get the same food in canal for 1/4 of their cost. the decor however is stunning. wait staff was nice and friendly

Recommends

tluxe

Joined 3 years ago

Pretty, great for groups. Went here for a friend's birthday dinner. She had no problem making a reservation for the main banquet table downstairs; however, due to part of our party being late we ultimately ended up at a different table. The food was decent and pricey (as expected) but the ambiance made up for it. The decor was gorgeous and the seating area was spacious. It was loud, but that made it comfortable for us to laugh and speak loudly if we wanted to. The downstairs is definitely not a quaint, quite place for a date however.

The cocktails were around $11-$13 each and delicious. I would recommend the charm cocktail if you like your drinks tart.

The only real downfall was the service. The waiter was extremely snooty CONSIDERING THEY ARE JUST A WAITER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD (the audacity of some people...). He was extremely slow, so slow in fact we canceled one of the dishes we ordered. Also, when I asked if they could decorate a dessert for the birthday girl, he muttered something rude about "seeing what he could do" and disappeared for upwards of 15 minutes. By this time we were done with our meal and so we canceled yet another dish.

Overall it would have been a pleasant night if we had a different waiter. I would definitely go again but only for dinner; the bar looked extremely crowded and not worth my time.

Recommends

Nradv

Joined 7 years ago

Well worth it!. Went with a large 14 people party--for a birthday. Service was very personal, not rushed, not oversold. This is a unique dining experience. Going back soon!

Doesn't Recommend

Marc F

Joined 4 years ago

Not worth it by a long shot. We recently had a large party at Buddakan and had an awful experience.

I'll start with the bill, which included hundreds of dollars worth of "mistakes." The items on our bill that were not bogus - were beyond crazy (we were charged an "event fee" for our dinner). This would have been OK, had we been in a private room, but our "event fee" got us a table with guests - yes we were charged a premium to sit at the same table with complete strangers!

The attitude we received from the manager was unacceptable. She wanted to know "what the big deal was" if we were charged for food no one ordered (I am being serious).

As for the food it was, at best, decent take out. Save your money and go to Chinatown!

Recommends

Roy Perez

Joined 4 years ago

Great Place. Great Food, Great atmosphere, Great Drinks, Great music.

The wait can be long. The staff is so busy that they are not the most attentive especially if you are going to settle for seating in the lounge area but the food is tasty and the drinks are great. This is a place where you go for the amazing NYC atmosphere with good friends who are not divas period and want good drinks, good food, and a great environment to have great convo.

Doesn't Recommend

rantipole

Joined 10 years ago

Great space, ho-hum food. For a multi-million dollar restaurant, you would think they would have spent more time focusing on, you know, the food? Mediocre faux-asian. The bartenders were sloppy as well, no craft at all.

Recommends

Katie30

Joined 4 years ago

Big pricey with a total scene. love the place. came here with a group and had to wait but not a terrible amount of time. the space is amazing the food was okay. but the bill was high. good for a special night out.

Recommends

JBlahnik

Joined 4 years ago

Amazing. The food was great, and the drinks were great.

What i loved most was the gorgeous atmosphere and the classy sophisticated vibe from the people there. The service was very good, our waiter was engaging. Great for dates or a night out with a group. Some dishes are a bit pricey but it's well worth the money.

Recommends

shert

Joined 6 years ago

Very kitschy cool. I've been here twice. Once to dine and once just for cocktails. The food is just good, nothing spectacular, but it's definately an event to go here. The atmosphere is very cool New York, fancy, night out on the town feel. Cocktails are tasty but a little pricey.