Buddakan
“Great food- particularly liked the carrot dumplings and the vegetable rice with coconut curry foam.”
“Buddakan rose to fame after its appearance in the first Sex and the City movie, but many have said that it has become overrated.”
“Then next to it there is the library room which consists of a bar and lounge area and of course tables to eat at.”
Buddakan
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Finally came here and loved it! Honestly my personal taste is more for small hole-in-the-wall kind of places with great food and this was not even close.. However it did offer some really great food. We had made a reservation which is highly recommended given how busy this place is and we were seated 15 minutes after the time of reservation. We were greeted by a really charming and knowledgeable waitress who happily answered all the questions we had.
For appetizers we got the
pork ribs (5/5)which are some of the best iv had- sticky sweet and falling off the bone.
The pork buns (5/5)were really nice too.
The edamame and wasabi dumplings(2/5) which we got were mushy and lacked good textures and were just not to my taste.
For the main course we ordered the crispy soft shell crab(5/5), which was my favorite dish if the night. We also got the
vegetable fried rice with coconut and pineapple foam(4/5)
Shrimp fried rice(5/5)
Lobster chow fun(5/5)
Fried monk fish(3/5)
Black cod(3/5)
Spare ribs (2/5)
Overall I really liked the vibe of the place and the basement was gorgeous- reminded me of the dinner scene from sex and the city. Great place to come with friends or to celebrate a special occassion.
When you're traveling on business with your colleagues, finding the perfect place to split tabs, is a HUGE challenge, especially; when you are in New York City!! Luckily, one of our colleagues is from NY and she knew right away that Buddakan is all about a great and memorable experience.
Their bar serves mean drinks located on the main floor! I had their SMOKE cocktails which had an infused spicy chipotle which was excellent. Love the spiciness and smoked flavor all in one. Located on the lower level is their HUMONGOUS communal table where our group of 18 enjoyed our excellent meal! I ordered their Tea Chicken with Choy Sum (Chinese green) and man…. my chicken was so tender and so crispy all in one that it literally, melted in my mouth. It was really that good. In fact, it's probably the best chicken prepared in TEA that I've had this year!! All of my colleagues meals were also excellent including their Lobster Egg Rolls, Crab dishes and fish. One cool treat on their menu is they serve "Dim Sum" dishes for dinner, "tapas" style and really, really good! Man… I will most definitely come back to Buddakan again when I am back to NY for work!
Until then, be kind to one another and Cheers! ~ :p
I've been here both for corporate events and with friends — always a solid choice. Love the decor and ambience. Extremely spacious. Great service as can be expected.
Consistently high quality and delicious food. Dishes I've particularly enjoyed include the cantonese spring rolls, chili rock shrimp, chili chicken, black cod, sweet and crispy jumbo shrimp and the lobster friend rice. In general, I feel like they are not too innovative, sticking with excelling at traditional fares with a few added kicks, which is totally okay given the mouthwatering results. I was pleasantly surprised at the cold udon noodles with sorbet though, which sounded so odd but actually turned out to mesh really well. Edamame dumplings are also very tasty and a great vegetarian choice.
Always a worthwhile experience.
Awesome atmosphere!!
The food, I thought was gonna be spectacular. And it was pretty good, I'll have to say. I didn't think that what we got was worth the numbering on the price though. Regardless, really good eats and worth checking it out. Dim sum for two, edemame dumplings were just a few of what I remember getting. The lamb chops were not cooked the way we requested and unfortunately some of it went uneaten. But the steak was unreal amazing! The sauce that came with it was perfect.
Years ago, Buddakan got some publicity when the movie Sex and the City used their main dining room to film the engagement party scene. Coincidentally, we got seated at the table used in that scene.
When you step inside, the main dining room is not visible, but when you get deeper inside, the view, it's spectacular–like the dining room in a palace. Absolutely stunning. The hostess tried to seat us on the 2nd floor, which is not part of the main dining room, but before we sat down, we asked about the possibility of getting seated at the King and Queen's table downstairs. She said yes, and sat us at the very end of this very long table which could probably seat 50 people, no joke. Huge, brilliant chandeliers.
I would have been happy just to *sit* in that environment, but then they gave us menus and we were ready to DINE in the castle!
Their menu is one of those kind that will make you want to order everything on it.
Here's what we were forced to narrow it down to:
EDAMAME DUMPLINGS (4/5) Everybody on Yelp raves about these. We had mixed reviews at the table. Some loved them, and some thought they were "interesting". I liked them and I def appreciate their uniqueness, but I would rather have a traditional dumpling with pork and green onion. There are other dumplings on the menu that were screaming my name. I wouldn't order these again, but you should try them just because they're unlike anything you've had.
YELLOWTAIL SASHIMI (5/5) This dish is very trendy now in restaurants that serve sushi. Nobu in LA does this dish, and maybe they are the ones that popularized it. Buddakan really does justice to this very simple dish. Quality of the fish was excellent and the soy sauce concoction was perfect. Tempted to order another round.
LOBSTER CHOW FUN (5/5) I'm not a Chow Fun guy–my daughter is. So I was naturally surprised to find it one of my favorite dishes of the night. The noodles were al dente, and it wasn't too saucy or too dry. The pieces of lobster were sweet and well dispersed throughout the dish.
TUNA TARTAR SPRING ROLLS (5/5) Tempted to order another round. I lived in Japan for 15 years and have been all over the earth, trying all kinds of food in Japanese and Asian fusion restaurants, and I've never encountered Spring Rolls of this variety. This is a must order.
LOBSTER EGG ROLLS (4/5) You get three pretty large egg rolls. The lobster didn't really come through. In fact, if I was blindfolded, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to distinguish that these were *lobster* egg rolls. That said, they were still pretty tasty. A bit one note, but still I liked them. After tasting them, I wished that I ordered the CANTONESE egg rolls. They were equally talked up on Yelp and the waiter also said they were great. Next time, CANTONESE for me.
SALT & PEPPER SEA BASS (5/5) Beautiful presentation with the head on, crispy and tender at the same time. Would order again.
ASIAN GREENS STIR-FRY (5/5) Perfect little ensemble of your favorite Chinese greens.
ASIAN BREAD PUDDING (4/5) Portion was undersized, but the taste was good. Definitely not enough to share.
CRYING CHOCOLATE (5/5) This was a molten chocolate cake, again small portion, but I loved both the cake and the chocolate inside.
HONG KONG DONUTS (5/5) Wow, what's not to love. Freshly fried donuts with dipping sauces.
You have to come to Buddakan for two reasons:
1. To see the decor, and experience the ambience of the inside.
(Request the main dining room at the huge table.)
2. To taste the food. There's some talent and expertise in the kitchen here and you have to experience it!
No exaggeration, Buddakan is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to.
Next visit to NYC will most definitely include a visit to Buddakan.
After having a less than favorable experience the manager assured me that I would be receiving a gift certificate for all the trouble.
Well over a year has past and several promises broken with still nothing ever received.
I was told the first time it must have been lost in the mail. Now 3x lost? Poor customer service and very poor follow up.
Looks like I'll be scratching this restaurant off my list.
If you're 1) A picky 2) critical (and cheap) Asian person like myself, save yourself the trouble and go eat at Chelsea market next door.
Buddakan had been on my Yelp bookmark for a while now, so I was thrilled when a friend agreed to venture here with me tonight. The service and decor did not disappoint in the least – Buddakan is probably one of the more grand and beautifully adorned restaurants I have been to. The server accidentally served us spring rolls that were meant to go to the table next to ours, but he gracefully caught his mistake and stated that they were "complementary," thus saving everyone the awkwardness.
But the food. Oh, the food. My friend and I ordered the shrimp toast and oxtail dumplings from the Dim Sum menu, along with the Soft Shell Crab dish from the Fish menu.
1) Shrimp Toast: It's literally just a slightly fried huge fish ball with a shrimp tail attached and halfway covered with sticky rice flour and sesame. Fish balls cost like $0.25 at a mart. Just saying.
2) Oxtail dumplings: the combination of the oxtail with apples, a cilantro-y herb and jalepenos was interesting and unique, but the dish was extremely, extremely salty. I unfortunately couldn't taste anything but soy sauce.
3) Soft Shell Crab: The crabs (there are 2) were actually quite meaty, but alas it was once again too salty. I liked the herb that came with it though.
By the time my friend and I reached home from the dinner, we were desperate for water because the dinner had been much too salty.
I can see why Buddakan is popular; it's gorgeous!! But I really can't see myself returning here even if someone paid me to come here:( I would rather go to Chinatown to eat better, tastier, cheaper food.
What a phenomenal restaurant – we stopped in Sunday night for dinner. They were booked in the restaurant so we sat in the bar. The dining room is dramatic and exquisitely appointed. We enjoyed the shrimp and lobster chow fun, Singapore chili king crab and Peking duck fried rice – we were really impressed with everything.
Only docked them a star for very average service – had to request a server after sitting at our table for 10 minutes – drinks weren't readily refilled.
Don't hesitate to consider Buddakan for a beautiful night out.