Buddha Bar, London - Review

If ever you get an opportunity to visit the Buddha Bar… take it!

We did, and our minds were pleasantly expanded into culinary excellence.

The restaurant is situated about 3 minutes walk from Embankment tube. On entering you are immediately buzzed with the sense of cool meets gothic meets Asia and as you move through the main restaurant you can`t fail to see the 20 foot high gold Buddha, not something you`d expect in the heart of the Capital… but hugely impressive.

The venue must have either been a ballroom, cinema or theatre at some point due to the dramatic open space, not to mention the high ceiling, which is adorned by humungous chandeliers. The lighting is ambient and the music `nu cool` dance… this will give you a better idea of what the venue is about.

We trialled a couple of cocktails, the Volcano which actually came out `flaming` and the Palm Peach, both of which were fantastic and highly recommended.

Now to the grub. The menu is vast so make sure you are in no hurry to order. You have the opportunity to take the tasting menu (£67 / head) with a great combo of flavours. Alternatively you can take the Sushi, Sashimi or A La Carte menu.

We opted for the A La Carte, starting with the Seared scallops and shitake mushrooms with coconut satay (9/10), Fried crispy baby squid, in coriander with Thai basil tartar (7/10) and the Pan fried langoustines and foie gras with apple balsamic (9.5/10).

For mains we opted for Grilled wagyu beef with Thai butter sauce (incredible 10/10) and the Lamb curry with raita (8/10). The flavours were fantastic and we have to say that the prices are incredibly fair for what you get.

If you have room for desert then we can certainly recommend the Chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream!

The service is as you`d expect, friendly, knowledgeable and on hand whenever you need it.

Overall, a fantastic experience that we`ve already talked about nonstop for the past week… love it!