Buddha's Belly Restaurant

Doesn't Recommend

Prince Alex

Joined 3 years ago

Buddha's Belly is about to vomit. Buddha's Belly is mediocre food with lousy service in a generic environment.

If you are looking for a second-rate dining experience, well look no further! This restaurant is on the same level as Panda Express, and that is only due to the fact that the ambiance, while pretentious, is somewhat pleasant. Personally, I think the food tastes better at any run-of-the-mill fast food Chinese restaurant.

The wait staff are the Stepford wives of servers. I went there on a date, and our waiter kept interrupting our conversation to ask how our food tastes. I understand checking in with your guests, but it's just rude, by any standards, to interrupt people. That kind of service I would expect at TGI Fridays. Furthermore, after I received my receipt from my credit card, my waiter stood there and watched me sign it, intimidating me to leave a undeserving tip, and then grabbed it right out of my hand! Moreover, I heard one staffer complaining to another that they just hired "another white guy." Unacceptable.

The food is bland and passable. Which is probably the best thing I can say about the place. You get what you pay for... it's cheap and it tastes cheap.

After reading some other reviews (I especially liked the one entitled "Buddha's ASS), I feel anyone reading this is fairly warned. If you live in the area, and one night you don't want to cook and just need to get out of the house, and you're looking for cheap food and annoying service, well stroll on down to Buddha's Belly. It's definitely worth trying once to see for yourself. I doubt you'll want to return.

Doesn't Recommend

Doctor Milton

Joined 3 years ago

Buddha's ASS. i must confess, I have never had the inclination nor patience to blog about anything. Ever. But my experience which I am afraid to say still lingers on my palette regardless of how much trail mix I can stuff in my mouth as I type this drives me to break my rule.

Angelinos beware! This is a sham! The Emperor is not only without a stitch, but shamelessly without a clue or care that his chubby buddy Buddha is passing off hospital food as cuisine. If Death threats were being bandied about for off color cartoons of Mohammed, in Amsterdam, one can only imagine what Peacenik treacheries await those who live dangerously on Beverly blvd.

And excuse me, Since when is corn a vegetable? or are times so tough that some Wickedly frugal manager thought to instruct his flying monkeys to water down the hoisin sauce?! I kid you not. I nearly choked from laughing in shock and awe on my 12 hour carrot cubes when rivers of bland brown water cascaded from my lettuce wraps onto my lap.

Did I mention the Japanese Vegan curry?

Sure blame the Japanese for this abomination.

They know nothing of delicate, balanced elements perfected over centuries right? No one will think this sweat shop of pain is actually being run by someone's teenage kids while mom and pop split with the operations budget to Torrance to play Keno on the way to grab more of that fine curry powder from Little India off Artesia blvd....If only, friends. More brown water. Spicy though.

For the record..The over cooked carrot cubes were in the curry, the lettuce cups and hoisin piss were filled with a disproportionate pile of chicken chunks to the amount of oversized engineered iceberg lettuce cups that I haven't seen the likes of since Woody Allan's Sleeper.

The Vegan Tofu Salad had no synergy, no love, not even like. None of the ingredients seemed to want to even touch each other let alone speak to each other. As If cold hands threw cold mixed greens and cold dry tofu in a cold dry plastic box.

The service was sweet from the call to pick up, but what do those kids know. They're happy to be working. Its the other patrons I now can only marvel at. I assume they are all regulars, and that only now realized that my girl and I narrowly escaped detection by the body snatchers. What would posses them to return? Then I realized, like perhaps the captain of that hell ship eatery steaming towards the falls, they just don't know any better...Nah!.. They are idiots and the hosts are laughing all the way to the Buddha bank as they stretch their outlay to the max while the fools repeatedly pay through the nose for kaka.

Run bub, and fast from that zombie feast of the dead. It's not cheap, not food for not people.

Must..Warn...Others.....

x

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CSMobileUser

Joined 5 years ago

Terrible for groups of six who like the number 37. We are english and they don't like english people. Anyone wearing glasses should be aware they must take them off before you come in. Food amazing on everyday apart from Thursdays

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IACYOO

Joined 5 years ago

Great Food, Reasonable Price, and Great Ambiance. Great food. I had the the sour apple soju martini with the albacore avocado spring rolls and the alaskan black cod all reasonably priced without sacrificing quality.

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legaleditor

Joined 5 years ago

Great neighborhood place, allergy aware. We have lived by Buddha's Belly for three years and had never been in--primarily because I was concerned that my husband, who has a pepper allergy, couldn't survive a place sure to have bell peppers and chili sauce out the yin-yang. However, returning home from a long day at work yesterday, he suggested (to my surprise) we try it out.

It was 9:30 pm on a Thursday and we had our 11-year-old in tow (hey, it's still summer vacation!) and we got seated in a booth right away. The restaurant was busy, but not overly crowded, and the music was definitely not overloud (I noticed someone else said the music was too loud--maybe that's just on the weekend?).

Well, long story short (too late, right?), the wait staff was extremely attentive about my hubby's allergy. They seemed to know most everything in each dish we asked about, and were quick to insist on double-checking with the kitchen for things that they were even a little unsure about. Very refreshing in a city chock full of wannabe actor/waiters who think "allergy" means "dislike." (We once asked a waiter at PF Chang's why my husband's meal came with bell pepper spirals on top of it, and he said, "Oh, it's fine--it's just a garnish.")

Anyway, hubby ordered three generous appetizers (Har gow, simple and super good; chicken lettuce cups, very yummy; and rock shrimp tempura, excellent). My son and I got to order spicy food for a nice change of pace (we basically never go out to Thai or Mexican places because of the allergy). We all enjoyed our food very much and had a really great service experience.

To those complaining that this is not "authentic" Asian food, I would say Buddha's Belly doesn't really sell itself as such. It's kind of like complaining that an action movie wasn't "serious" enough. It's tasty food, nice ambience, and attentive wait staff. For us, that made a great Thursday night dinner.

Doesn't Recommend

saulcook27282728

Joined 5 years ago

Bad Food at its Worst. My friend suggested PF Changs and I in turn suggested Buddha's Belly. And so we went. It was T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E! We had exactly what the waitress suggested and we were completely unimpressed/disgusted by the food. It was the kind of food you would expect from a Food Court at the mall.

It should be called BOOdha's Belly. Or BADha's Belly.

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zenmonkey

Joined 6 years ago

Uneven, but plenty of great menu choices in a snazzy location.. It's best to visit this restaurant with someone who has been there before. Their food is wildly uneven. Some of it is just inedible, such as the damp and way overbattered tempura or the wildly fatty filet mignon. However, dishes like Korean steak, calamari salad, vegan tofu salad, and especially the ahi tuna burger are excellent, as are most of their appetizers. Be sure to try a lychee soju; one of my favorite cocktails in L.A. I have never encountered anything but charming and friendly service. This place is a favorite as I stick to what I know is good, and whenever I bring people and advise them on the menu, they love it as well. Also very easy for vegetarians to find a variety of delicious options.

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restaurantfoodcriticLA

Joined 5 years ago

Best Pan Asian. It is no wonder this restaurant is still so popular after all these years... it is consistently great and very Affordable. The service is friendly and welcoming, the food is delicious, and the restaurant is very comfortable -- perfect for a night out with friends or an early dinner with family...you can't go wrong.

I put them to the test with an office party for 40 people in their bamboo party room. It was a huge success and I've been a hero ever since.

Favorites entrees: Sweet Chili Shrimp, Black Cod, Korean Steak

Favorite Starters: Tofu Lettuce cups, Ahi Tuna Tartare

Favorite Drink: Mojotos -- even had someone in Vegas tell me the best Mojitos are at Buddha's Belly in LA

Dinner for two: Roughly $45 (Half the price and twice as good as any restaurant at the Grove 1 block away)

Doesn't Recommend

joannahbrown

Joined 6 years ago

Everything was just mediocre. Not what it's cracked up to be...yes it's more affordable than the koi's and katanas of the world, but the food doesn't come close. the miso cod was probably the worst i've had in LA

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Hip and casual dining spot for fresh, affordable Pan-Asian fare.. The Scene
This sun-drenched, airy dining room is welcoming and bright. Funky, oversized paper lanterns and a giant Buddha statue add liveliness to the simple space. Outside, lush bamboo shields the patio from busy Beverly Boulevard. Servers cater to neighborhood locals with friendly efficiency.

The Food
Popular Asian dishes are gussied up with fresh ingredients. Seaweed salad, a mixture of wakame and hijiki in a tangy sesame-ginger dressing, is cool and refreshing. Chilled Vietnamese shrimp rolls, packed with shrimp, cilantro and crispy rice vermicilli, gets a flavor boost from a spicy-sweet sake reduction dipping sauce. Thai beef salad is a carb-light feast with strips of tender sirloin steak, juicy tomatoes and sweet onion tossed with mixed greens in a lemongrass dressing. Japanese-style Alaskan cod glazed with a sweet miso sauce is baked until flaky and light. A cup of coconut-infused homemade tapioca pudding serves as the finale.