Buddakan

Just had an amazing experience at Buddakan! The food was so good and Beau's service so smooth that we did not even realize that NYC experienced an earthquake while we were there! We were even congratulated for surviving the experience.

Will dine there every trip to NYC from now on!

One of the best dining everyplace I've had in Manhattan.

The ambiance is beautiful with theatrical lighting and a grand, dramatic dining hall. Smaller private rooms are off to the rides with cozy corners for smaller parties.

The food is spectacular! Delicious quality and unique Asian fusion. Excellent quality, taste and so much to pick from.

The service was excellent and have returned several times. This place is great for an intimate date or a special celebration.

This is my second time at Buddakan and the ambiance is always so fancy and beautiful. I love being able to see the center of the restaurant that has all the lights. It's super dark in this restaurant however, it gives it a really romantic feel for a special occasion. The first time I came here, I had to wait a while even though we had a reservation. This most recent time I didn't have to wait long.

There are a lot of drink options to choose from and everything looks really pretty. They offer a menu with Asian options, I really enjoyed the tea ribs. The noodles tasted a little too similar to a typical Singaporean Rice Noodle however everything tasted really good.

This is my second time at Buddkan in Manhattan, this time I had some dinner.
The bar is NOT a place to eat at, there is no leg room under the bar to put your knees and the bar stools are incredibly uncomfortable.. which tells me this is the spot people wait for a table, but still - not comfortable whatsoever.
The staff is very knowledgeable of what is gluten free and vegan. I had the Wild Mushroom Chow Fun and it was DELICIOUS!!! I could eat it everyday of my life.
The place is very dark and sexy inside. Great for a first date or anniversary date.
Although I saw many business partner dinners happening while there both times.
I would definitely come back but likely eat at a table next time - womp womp.
The cocktail menu is fabulous and the cocktails even better!

Order: tasting Menu #3

Pros: the food was amazing! There was a lot of food to taste and share. The food was seasoned well on most dishes and they accommodated all allergies. The vibe was amazing with the dim light. Service was mad quick to! They had the food coming out for our party of 6.

Cons: n/a

Upon first entrance, the restaurant was quite which was very interesting. How were as we were entering the downstairs dining areas, the tall ceilings of the building really exacerbated the grandiose vibe of the restaurant!

Our party had a variety of food options with very delicious taste to them. My favorite was the pepper steak and duck salad. Both paid an homage to the traditional Chinese dish but had an interesting twist to it! the chicken dumpling was also really delicious and flavorful but the edamame dumpling was interesting. The filling was a puréed mixture which I was so surprised by.

The service was quick and nice and the servers were accommodating to the variety of dietary restrictions that we had at our party.

Overall, it was a really good experience!

Very good and crowd...The food was good and service was OKnit was very very busy.The only issue was the bathrooms were all trashed and toliet was full.Thats why I didn't give it 5 stars.Get a full time bathroom attendant to solve the problem and more powerful toliet

I had been looking forward to come back here, but this time the service was highly disappointing. It took us a long time to get seated, to order drinks, to order food, and for the food to come. When our mains came, only 1 out of the 2 plates made it. We had to wait another 7 mins for the 2nd plate to come, and couldnt find our server. By the time we started to eat it, the beef was already cold and overall the meal was not that enjoyable. We were there for more than 3 hours. Other than that, the appetizers were tasty and the ambiance is beautiful.

The food here was good, but the front desk service was absolutely horrible!! it was my friend's birthday, and we called in twice ahead of time to make sure that we would be able to get the seating at the main table, when we first walked in, they led us to one of the back tables in which we told them that we literally called in twice about the main seating area. Then they proceeded to make us wait for 45 minutes, with horrible attitude from the front desk. Additionally, there was a candle at each of the tables that continue to melt onto the floor, and a lot of people were slipping on it, which is a hazard and so dangerous for everyone walking by. Our waitress, however, was very sweet and nice and the food was pretty good. The environment is super dark and really hard to see where you are going or eating.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I was fortunate enough to be treated to dinner here at Buddakan on Columbia University's dime and it was really good for the most part!

Right when walking in to the restaurant, you'll notice that it's SO dark inside lol. There's a complimentary coat check at the front desk which is really convenient. While you're waiting to be seated there's like a bar/lounge area. Then when you get to your table it's still dark as hell lol, but guess that's the vibe they're going for. When you use the bathrooms here, it's so hilarious, it's even hella dark inside the stalls lol with the black toilets too.

About the food, I generally enjoyed the appetizers more than the entrees. The Cantonese spring rolls and tuna tartare spring rolls were amazing and the edamame and general tso's dumplings were also great! The only stand out dish among the entrees was the sweet and crispy jumbo shrimp. I also am confused on their black pepper beef dish; the description said it includes crispy bird's nest, but it was unclear to me and my friends whether it was actual bird's nest (swallow spit) or just regular batter fried in a way to make it decorative. Dessert was fine, I liked the three little tarts better than the mochi doughnuts.

Concluding thoughts: cool place for young locals to eat. If you're coming to NYC on vacay, I don't think this spot was so spectacular that it warrants a visit on your limited time here. This is not a restaurant to bring your older Asian parents lol they will complain about the darkness and loud music. Also unclear if this restaurant is disability friendly because we had to use stairs to go from the bar/lounge down to the floor where all the tables were. Maybe they do have an elevator and it was just too damn dark to see it lol