Reviews of Buddakan (Restaurant)

Andrew Lee

Excellent food and atmosphere. Great night out. Dress business casual. You won't be disappointed.

Don Morocco

Lighting is way too low. Making it difficult to view the menu or even to see what you are eating for that matter. The maitre d was a little condescending toward our party. No let me be totally honest he was a lot condescending. Maybe he was having a bad day but we should never see or feel his day or his personal views of anyone or anything. This is a professional environment that claims fine dining and hospitality. We should have received this at every angle from start to finish.... For these alone it takes down the score/rating... Pricing isn't cheap nor should the hospitality or service... Just wasn't a pleasing outing to say the least

Brooke Davis

Celebrated my 40th there on Saturday with my aunt, who is more of a frequent guest than I am. Food was excellent. However, we felt like we were being completely rushed. We hadn't had our dim sum sampler for five minutes when someone came over to ask if we were finished (No, we hadn't even started it). They started to take our plates away even before I was finished. My aunt asked our waiter to wait to put our entrees in, that didn't happen. We had a 6:30 reservation and we had only been there a half an hour. The restaurant was full but there was a lull because a lot of people had left to make the Phillies game or the Queen concert. But it's not like the place is ever hurting for business and I felt like they were just trying to get us in and out as fast as possible. That's not why most people go out to eat on the weekends, it's a chance to relax and enjoy the food. Finally, my aunt did speak to a manager and she made sure we weren't bothered. They didn't charge us for the birthday treat they brought for me and were kind about the whole thing. But it was disappointing and unnecessary. This is a upscale restaurant chain that has been extremely successful over the years and is never hurting for business. There's no need to rush people through an expensive meal on a special occasion. Thank you.

Sari Fishman

Great food, although, I loved more the Buddakan in NY

Allison Monyei

The ambiance is beautiful but I felt like the staff was rushing our eating during lunch. However, the food was delicious.

Laura McCurry

Beautiful! Food is fantastic!

Lesya Kosovan

My friends and I decided to visit Buddakan during the restaurant week and I must say that we were extremely impressed. For $35 we got an appetizer, one full entree and a dessert. Everything was so good and we were surprised with the quality. Also they have amazing variety of alcohol beverages. Highly recommended!

Bruce Santos

Good food. Sure. But was it worth it? Definitely not. At certain price thresholds you expect to be wow'd. And that didn't happen for us... until the bill came.

Fay Johnston

Great tapas and fun cocktails. I loved the corner seat away from the crowd, it was nicer than I expected it to be. Perfect seat for a date night ;)

Liron Yer

We eat several of dishes, the food in general was nice. What keeps the food to be perfect, is the amount of sauces that eclipses the taste of the food

Lm Morris

It's a nice special Occasion for two or four but not for large groups only because of the extreme pricing and small portions. The decor and wait staff are all part of the attraction in addition to some but not all menu items.

sheldon klinger

I love this restaurant. The food is delicious and the service is always spot on. I definitely recommend visiting this place. The ambiance is lovely and the location is amazing. This is right down the street from the liberty bell. It is very close to various hotels.

E jackson

It has a dark ambience which i didnt mind. I ordered the chicken dumplings and seabass which was delicious! I didn't like the cheesecake but the donuts were good. I would definitely go back

Chote

Awesomeness!! Edamame dumplings were amaaaazing! Bass was out of this world. Finally know what all the hype is about. Yummy !!

Kurt S

Great atmosphere, almost like a night club. The food was excellent.

Elvin Ross

Our server, David, was very attentive and thoughtful. Buddakan has always been a go to spot for good food in a relaxed setting.

Joann Francis

The ambiance is def the main reason to go. The service was exceptional. It's also nice that they offer a separate vegetarian menu.

Emily Manns

We went here for a friend's birthday and I actually made myself feel sick because I couldn't stop eating. It was that good! The food was so amazing and easily shareable, and it just kept coming. I've never been so gluttonous. The best asian style food I've ever had!

pooja patel

Food, service and place perfect

Domonique Smith

Nice vibes I suggest the chicken and ginger dumplings and Chinese doughnuts amazing

Ashley Lynn

Very cool ambiance! All of their recipes are creative and beautifully prepared. The cocktails were fantastic and our bartender Pete made this a 5 star review! Super knowledgeable and welcoming, will definitely be returning!

Eric Rivera

Made reservations for dinner last Saturday. We walked up to a crowd of people to find out they didn't have power. Understandable that if you don't have power you can't provide a dining experience but to attempt a phone call 10 minutes before our scheduled reservation to warn us does not cut it. Overall not impressed with management's ability to provide optimal accommodations, coupon discount, or any real remorse for their lack of preparedness. We had to sit at the bar of Marimoto where the best complimentary item they had for our birthday celebrations were watermelon mouth cleansers. This entire experience has left a really bad taste in my mouth. Felt more like a number than a guest to a four to five star restaurant.

Tom Bauer

Simply outstanding service, food quality, presentation and atmosphere

Steve Hill

Cool fusion Asian restaurant. Service was great. Beef dish was a little sweet on the sauce and the meat was a little overcooked otherwise enjoyed the dinner.

Rajesh Mody

Totally impressed with the choices of cuisine and taste was far better than your other Chinese places. Definitely will go back - frequently. Service is top notch.

Arka Majumdar

Seared Sea Bass, omg is amazing! Try the Dragon tofu with sechuan sauce.

Chris Vivona

The food was great (we loved bao buns shrimp, dumplings lo mein, satay), the restaurant service was great... Valet parking was a different story... instead of asking if we were dining at the restaurant they decided to just tell us we couldn't park our car there. We pulled in to valet section to valet the car. Instead we parked around the corner in a lot for the same price as valet.

Ali Bahadur

Loved this place. The atmosphere and vibe was great. Needless to say the food was excellent. The sea bass was amazingly fresh and juicy. All appetizers we got were good too. Must try place in Philly.

Kostas Daniilidis

Amazing food. Everything. It is just too loud to have a conversation with more than two people.

Bruce Segal

Increased my rating to 5 stars. Here’s why. The quality of the food, presentation and service exceeded my expectations. Other fine dining restaurants could learn a thing or two from Buddakan. I had a superb customer service experience from my first call to reserve a table to my walk out the door. When the waiter cleared our dirty appetizer plates and silverware he replaced the dirty silverware with a clean knife, fork and chopsticks; the way things should be done. It bugs me when nice restaurants take dirty salad forks and hand you you the dirty knife back. I’ve encountered this poor service in too many nice restaurants. Buddakan does it right! And, the manager and waiter each provided a little unexpected wow. The hostesses are exceptionally warm, friendly and helpful. Same thing with our waiter. We had the dim sum sampler, duck and shrimp. And the manager brought out a sample of the snow peas. All were delicious. Lastly they wowed us with a little biz of chocolates that they delivered with the check. What a nice surprise.

Freedman Morse

We had reservations and it's a good thing as the wait would have been long. Larry was our waiter and gave excellent tips about the menu and provided great service. The food was outstanding as everything came out of the kitchen hot and delicious. If we had time, we would have gone to lunch the next day...I definitely would make reservations at Buddakan when in Philadelphia

Sheru Hoffman

Pricey but stellar. Buddakan sashimi, crispy shrimp with walnuts, eggplant, all good.

Jon Langdon Phillips

Amazing meal. The fire roasted edamame was amazing, I’d go back for that dish alone. With no reservations we were able to get a table for 3 at 6pm on a Tuesday night. Everyone enjoyed their meal and there were good vegetarian options for the one person in our party that was looking for a meatless meal.

Al San

The food and service are steadily declining here. I really enjoyed this place in the past. Now i highly doubt we will be returning. We were in a small corner. The appetizers were great: shrimp bao buns and lobster dumplings. The entree’s were horrible. The duck almost tasted sour. The garlic onion soufflé was okay. The salad was ok. The chicken with vegetables was salty and the chicken didn’t taste like chicken. Very weird. Very rubbery. The doughnuts were the best part of the meal. So it looks like we will only return for appetizers and dessert. It’s a shame your entrees were highly recommended.

naruto amvs

Great place to entertain

Carolyn Amato

First time here and I was totally blown away. We had a 4 course chef's tasting and it was positively (almost ridiculously) delicious. Can't wait to go back!

Anthony Feghali

Buddhakan is a great place for a date or group. There is always a trendy crowd. The atmosphere is also fun with a giant Buddha and house music. I usually get the tasting menu which gives you a bit of everything. There are three tasting menu options from $60 to $80 a person. The pork belly buns, dumplings, and duck are the best.

Jeannie Taylor

Excellent Asian food. Nice variety.

Sophia Appelbaum

I'm not sure why this place is so popular. Everything on the menu sounds great, but nothing was actually better than average. The tuna pizza was so-so, the cashew chicken just tasted like a soy sauce stir fry you could make at home, and the "yuzu" meringue pie just tasted like plain old lemon. All fine, but definitely not worth the exorbitant prices. The server was extremely friendly, but also kept "suggesting" we order lots of extra things, when we clearly didn't want them.

Ina Earl

Very nice atmosphere, good service and wonderful food.

Mohamad Hussein

Excellent variety of food and desserts. Superb service. Professional Walker and waitresses. Nice environment, good for small and large groups. The taster menu is certainly worth it with large groups who are willing to share there is plenty of food to share with this option!

Rachael Wright

We went for lunch and it was a superb experience. A waitress not ours HEARD our chopstick drop and brought us a new one without asking. Our waiter was as professional and amazing as if it was dinner. I'd give six stars if I could for his excellent museum recommendation.

Stanley Rutherford

As soon as we arrived we were warmly greeted by the host. We actually made it there 45 minutes before our reservation and was able to still be seated. Our waiter was very accommodating since we had our child with us who happens to be a very picky eater she was able to have a meal that she was pleased with. Overall this place was wonderful, by far one of the many best restaurants that I've ever had the pleasure of having my birthday dinner at. Thank you Buddakan!!

Massimo Dal Bosco

it was suggested to me and I had a great time! Not very visible the entrance, but then inside a very nice restaurant, excellent food, well cared for, excellent selection of wines and a lot of friendly staff. A little too much with dim lights for my taste ... Costs: american style

Bessie Grant

Good food, but small portions for the price

Robert Peters

A staple of center City for as many decades as I can remember. It's offering is consistently updated with modern influences that insure the quality is beyond compare. A must for upscale Asian in the city.

Stacie Radcliffe

Overpriced extra salty and extra greasy looked nicer than it actually was

Jocelyn Glenn

Very clean restaurant with beautiful ambiance. Plates are not the largest or most flavorful. They recommend sharing plates with the table. So far the best menu item I’ve had are the lamb chops, in my opinion they are the most flavorful and filling item on the menu.

VK S

Great ambience and seating. Good for groups and couples. We had a house saka a win extract of rice. For vegetarian recipes we had a cauliflower with cashew as appetizer and pad thai noodles as main course. No prices were denoted on vegetarian menu. Great choice of wine.

Spence Miller

Absolutely delicious food and the service was spot on!!!

Vermel Beatty

The food was good, I've been here before.

Danielle White

Food is always delicious. The tables are a bit too close for comfort when you have a spouse that’s the size of a linebacker.. other than that.. I’d recommend the lamb or the lamb with a side of lamb lol

Lew Schowalter

One of the best and recommended restaurant in PA . Place is small but the staff/crews did their job well. Foods are not just attractive but really tasty..

Dot Allport

Bento lunch was delicious way to start the week.

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jon henry quinones

I came to this restaurant about 15 times already I loved it every single time

Wallace Harvey

Great food, excellent service and cool ambiance. Will definitely go again next time I am in town.

Peter Bishop

The two normally-hard-to-please young men enjoyed themselves. My sea bass and lamb chops were excellent. She really liked her crab tempura. Four @50 ea. drinks incl.

Dene Cassells

Finally we got the duck breast. The breast was fine, but not as tender as I had hoped; the five spice powder also was good, but masked any flavor of the duck. The bread that came with this dish was intriguing - more like a quiche (there's eggs and scallions too) than a cornbread, it was delicious and soft.

Quetta Nyree

Atmosphere was nice service was fine and very beautiful inside.

Adrian Cummins

Always excellent. Came for an office lunch during Restaurant Week and it did not disappoint. One of my favourite restaurants in the city

DM Hayes

Destination dining. Excellent food and service. Very nice atmosphere. Can get a bit noisy. Fabulous!

Aliyah Wilds

Great service. Food was excellent. Drinks are a little expensive but it is free pour so just tip your bartender!

Dakota Eckenrode

Food was great definitely would recommend when in Old City!

Kimberly Diamond Music - KDM

Excellent! As always. Service, food, drinks, ambiance, the whole nine.

Jessica DeHerrera

Great atmosphere and delicious food. The curried cauliflower was delicious.

Justin Robinson

The food was better than I thought. With a nice glass of wine. It's just right.

David Sax

Buddakan was fantastic! We went for lunch during restaurant week. For $20 we got a 4 course meal, and every. Single course was something that surprised me! The house salad was great, as were the tuna spring rolls. I would return just for those!!! Go there...but make reservations!

Daniel Thomson

Excellent dining experience. The wait staff is helpful and extremely knowledgeable about the menu. The setting is trendy. And the food itself is fantastic.

Jason Francis

Nice layout with different setting atmospheres, I sat upstairs where it's a little private. Its nice up there. Food was pretty good... I knock off one star because my old fashioned didn't taste like and old fashioned... everything else was good.

Frank Rotonta

Great food. Had the tasting menu. Was amazing

David L Rozzelle

One of my favorites. A must if you haven't been!

Tomas Kiss

Both the food and the service were excellent. Highly recommended.

Michelle Robinson

Had reservations still waited awhile when people came in afterward got seated before us when their were only two of us they had no reservations. And the lady didn't even had money got her food before us even though we had to wait awhile for food. That when they founded out she have to call her husband for money lol. That's what they get for judging us. But the food was ok.

Merdelin Rodriguez

Food was just okay, for that price I was expecting better. I order a carrot cake and it was awful, again super pricey for a small piece of bad tasting cake.

r k

I'm only rating the cocktails I had at the bar. The bartender was great. Funny, polite and tentative. The cocktails we're excellent.. however I would have liked to taste the liquor just a tad more.

Tijuana Singleton

Every thing you put in your mouth is Delightful

Anita Whitaker

Beautiful decor and great food. This restaurant is a little pricey and portions are kind of small, but it's an experience I recommend everyone have.

Akilah Pierre

Great food and striking aesthetic. A great place for a date night.

Joseph Blackmon

I had a great time... the layout, the atmosphere, the aura... this place is amazing. My table ordered a plethora of simply divine dishes, me personally settling on the Korean Beef Fried Rice... Talk about tasty! And, I must add, this place takes food allergies seriously... having a shellfish and peanut allergy, it’s very refreshing to know that they have a carefully curated menu for individuals such as myself (I didn’t order from that menu, but it being available was a major plus).

Ross Wiltse

Interesting cuisine, don't be afraid to try some of the unique dishes, they are all good

Elijah Lanchester

Excellent food, wonderful service.

Bev Chandran

Buddakan always offers a twist in flavors used to prepare the meals and desserts. Really like when it is on the list during Redtaurant Week so we can go and try a variety of different food at an inexpensive price. One of the entrees did not meet the test taste; seasoning rather bland, but overall a great experience with all other selections.

Aaron Levine

Baby loves the Buddha. How do you spell that??? Lol. 5 star service. 5 star food and 5 star ambiance and vibe. All around s great place for great Asian fusion cuisine with. Flare.

Ty Hagy

Excellent food and service, just as you would expect. Typically a younger, hip crowd. We had no problem getting reservations on a Wednesday evening. Would recommend the Dimsum Sampler to start with. I dont believe there are any bad choices of food here, you will enjoy whatever you order so give it a try!

Virginia Belle

We were a party of 11 and we had to eat off of the price fixed menu. There is also a separate menu for beverages. Many in our party did not understand the beverage menu. Apparently if you are drinking alcoholic beverages, you have 3 pricing options and it is all you can drink, I think. However, it also states non-alcoholic beverages, so we assumed it was $30 for all you can drink iced-tea. What was probably the most disappointing was that people drinking alcohol didn't know they had to ask for refills and didn't know that it was all you can drink, so many in our group ended up paying $30 for one beer. And then if you are just drinking iced tea and coffee, there is no fee at all. Before you go, you probably want to vet this out a little more and make sure all in your party understand how the beverages work. We had menu #1. I couldn't tell you what we ate because it all came out in waves and we didn't have a menu in front of us, we only had the confusing beverage menu. Again, people in our party were confused about courses, so some people were eating a lot at first not realizing there was more food coming. It didn't appear we received enough of each dish for 11 people. We had steamed dumplings and we didn't know there were two trays stacked (it's so dark in there), so they got cold before we realized there were more in there. Everything I had was very good. Everything was warm enough (could have been warmer), everything was well seasoned and very flavorful. Dessert seemed skimpy. The hit were the home made donuts but, again, not enough for everyone at the table. I'm not sure if we were allowed to ask for more. Service was excellent, our table was ready when we arrived, but we could not sit down until our entire party arrived as we were all coming from different hotels. We paid a $400 deposit, so I think it was clear we were good for the table and should have been allowed to be seated. Bathrooms were clean and enough to accommodate the crowded place. I would probably go back and order off the regular menu on a less busy night.

Hamutal Schieber

Let’s start with the less obvious: aside from the menu you can see online, the restaurant also offers a gluten free menu and a vegan menu. One dish that falls under both categories is the Red Dragon crispy tofu - a hella spicy

John Strawbridge

Buddakan is always delicious. We split the dim sum sampler and cantonese spring rolls (forgot to take photos because we were so hungry). If you are going there for a formal evening like a date or dinner with friends, just be safe and make a reservation with open table or by calling ahead. If you're just going for dinner, you can usually get walk-in seating at the bar. This dish is the char grilled aged beef. It comes with watercress and really thin fries with a spicy Szechuan mustard on top and a really delicious reduction for the beef. The food comes out fast as well and the staff is very friendly.

Timothy Rudisill

This is one of the restaurants my gf and I visit when we travel to Philly. The food is always amazing. The service is always above and beyond.

Andrew Haskell

The food was out of this world. When/if you go! Definitely need to get dim sum sampler!

Christina Butchko

The restaurant was extremely crowded, probably due to restaurant week. Even though was ordered from a restaurant week menu the food was excellent and large portions. Well done to Buddakan to having the restaurant week menu live up to their regular menu!

Aaron Hickey

Food awesome bar maid amazing

Cesse

Atmosphere was great, food fantastic and the service was wonderful! Love this place!

Michael Brittle

Wow !! my first visit to Philly for an Eagles game and my wife and I stumble into this place.....if you are a foodie, this is the place.....food is outstanding restaurant beautiful and service is on point... Good cocktails and good beer list....highly recommend ...would have gave it 5 stars it's a little over priced

Mike Ice

OMG.....Beautiful Restaurant Great food

Glenn Pritchard

Great meal this evening. Didn't know what to order, so we told the waiter to simply bring out his choice. Started with the napa salad with calamari, ribs and shrimp boa buns. All were great. The entrees included the spicy monk fish, the steak and the pork loin. Once again, all great. No room for dessert ar that point.

nelly m

Came here for the restaurant week. Impressed by the service and food. We got the dumplings, sashimi, sea bass as the main course, donuts and the cheesecake. It was the best sea bass i ever had!! Everything else was great too. I’m likely to come back.

Derek Moreno

Great food. In fact it was so good, I forgot to take photos of the food.

Robin Taylor

Service was phenomenal just like the food! I highly recommend the monk fish and sea bass. Oh, and be sure to try the tuna tartare spring rolls - TO DIE FOR

FREDDIE ALFONSO

Great place, great food and great atmosphere. Recommended to anyone. You have to try the blackened beef and the Wasabi mash potatoes. Shrimp dumplings awesome.

Jason Krapf

Awesome service and food....definitely a great spot.

maya holloway

Delicious! I truly enjoyed my meal

Dijah

First time attending was for my cousin's 40th bday party and I have the fried rice with lobster. It was really good, but the drinks were horrible. The lightening is horrible too. Not sure if I would recommend.

marquitta williams

Food was Delicious ave the service was phenomenal

Gene Kagan

Went there for a quick bite after a show. Staff was great and food was as well. However some things that were prepared felt like they where just done in a hurry. Would I go back there prob yes but I would recommend visiting AC one first and then you'll be able to tell the difference.

Miguel Martinez

We showed up without a reservation and the place was packed. There was plenty of room at the bar so we waited there and ordered some sake. It took about 30 minutes to seat us which went by pretty quickly since we were drinking. We were seated in the upstairs area near the glass railing. It gives you an entire view of the beautiful restaurant. Every detail of this place has been well thought out. The decor is stunning, the service is excellent and the food is amazing. I can say that our experience was nothing but perfect. This is a more upscale restaurant so if you’re planning on spending less than $50 on 2 people don’t go here. We ordered two plates and a bottle of wine and spent close to $200.

edneesha C

Love the food. Lots of flavor. Everything was good.

Amber Coleman

The food was amazing. I got the wasabi mashed potatoes and shrimp & lobster dumplings... Soo good. My friends also enjoyed their meals.

Brenna Pink

The edamame dumplings are literally the best food I have put in my mouth.

John H Savoy II

What a meal! The sashimi, the pork bao buns, the sea bass, those delicious dip sum doughnuts.. I could go on and on. Great food, great service, nice atmosphere(love the Buddha!). One of my favorite restaurants!!

Sekeya Moore

First time here. And I was thoroughly impressed. The food was great and the service was outstanding. I'm definitely going back.

Lucretia Barnes

I really was impressed with the food, prices, and set up in this restaurant! It has a very relaxed but elegant atmosphere where you and your significant other can eat and share your meal in a private but, intimate setting. I found it best being able to sit and eat while overlooking the balcony of the restaurant ...The pork short ribs were an amazing appetizer but could be added as just the main meal because the portions is enough with just a side choice. Delicious!

Michael E

Had a great time with our table of friends and a good host. Wine list is decent (we had a couple bottles of great wine). We ordered a variety of fusion dishes for the table including favorites of tuna tar tar spring rolls, Wasabi mashed potatoes, Mongolian beef (but it wasn't called that) and monkfish (best monkfish I've had yet) among others. And everyone to their own surprise loved that eggplant dish. The table was well attended to and our party was a success.

Vivian Leslie

Great food. Professional service. Amazing decor. Nice place to be seen. Good for groups.

Trina Sanders

Went for my birthday dinner and it was awesome. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food/drink selections. Our waitress was extremely pleasant and helpful with choosing options since it was my first time. I ordered the lobster fried rice and the lobster egg rolls, my rice was cold and that was a bit frustrating considering the fact that it was good. We had the donut and sherbet for dessert; my goodness the donut was phenomenal!! The rhubarb glaze was an excellent touch and the cherry sherbet was super rich in taste and there was plenty to share. The valet that was offered sucked however and the attendant was not pleasant; next time I will just find other options to park.

Emma Burke

Not far from the major Philly sights. If you are looking for an upscale restaurant that delivers the best food and service then you must come here.

Jon Hofmann

Always a great meal along with great service. Beautiful ambiance, fun dishes, and friendly servers.

Christine Szumowski

Very good food and wonderful waiter