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Home > Restaurants > Buddakan

Buddakan

Chelsea Market
75 Ninth Ave., New York, NY 10011
nr. 16th St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-989-6699 Send to Phone

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  • Price Range: $$$

    Key to Prices and ratings

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  • Reader Rating:

    6.6 out of 10

      |  

    14 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Asian: Southeast, Chinese
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Courtesy of Buddakan

Official Website

buddakannyc.com

Hours

Sun-Mon, 5:30pm-11pm; Tue-Wed, 5:30pm-midnight; Thu-Sat, 5:30pm-1am

Nearby Subway Stops

A, C, E at 14th St.

Prices

$17-$44

Payment Methods

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Hot Spot
  • Design Standout
  • Online Reservation

Alcohol

  • Sake and Sojou
  • Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Profile

Buddakan is the second wave of Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr (Morimoto)'s well-orchestrated shock-and-awe campaign to take culinary Manhattan. The centerpiece is the "Chinoiserie," a great hall with oak-covered walls two stories high, chandeliers as big as Volkswagens, and a banquet table seating 34. Off this room is a library lined with glowing golden bookshelves, and several smaller dining catacombs, with scenes from Chinese antiquity drawn like cave paintings on the walls. This strange, synthetic landscape doesn't feel like a restaurant. It feels like an oversize nightclub, or a random gathering in the semi-abandoned mansion of some absent Cantonese billionaire. But then the food starts to arrive, and the mood changes. There are traditional Chinese selections on the menu at Buddakan (very good Cantonese spring rolls, steamed sea bass buns served in properly steamy bamboo containers), and there are dishes that maintain their classic nature but have been updated in all sorts of inventive ways. The Chiang Mai chicken is sliced chicken breast with muddled tomatoes and spoonfuls of ginger-infused yogurt, and the tea-smoked chicken would cause a mini-stampede if it were served in Chinatown. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

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6.6 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
71% Would you go back?
71% Would you take a date?
7% Would you take kids?
42% Would you go on business?
57% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 7.1
Service: 6.9
Décor: 9.0
Value: 6.8

It's a One Time Deal

Kerita from 10009 | Posted on 8/10/09

Overall Rating: 6 (Mixed Reviews)
Food: 6
Service: 9
Décor: 10
Value: 9

We had a delicious sake recommended by our waiter, but strangely, it was served in these ikea-type drinking glasses. We got the lollipops (be careful, very hot when you bite into them). I would skip these as they really tasted nothing special. We got the pot stickers- yummy, but you might have to add more soy sauce into the chili sauce as it was super spicy. Make sure you order the boneless ribs with mustard- probably the best thing there. For an entree, we got the charred steak in butter sauce. I was expecting more of a flank steak but it was very finely seared pieces of meat with a to-die-for sauce on top. Highly recommended but not for the 250 lb mid western dad.. If you're a party of two, hope for a table on the balcony overlooking the downstairs or they might stick you at the 75 seat communal long table!

What you'd expect from a trendy Stephen Starr

lulu32 from 10038 | Posted on 7/12/09

Overall Rating: 6 (Mixed Reviews)
Food: 9
Service: 3
Décor: 10
Value: 7

I love the fried rice here, the tuna tartare spring rolls, and the scallops. I think the food is great Asian fusion - BUT it is all overshadowed by the horrific service. When you arrive, you have to stand in the overcrowded bar and wait for about an hour, with nowhere to sit. Finally when they seat you - the decor is very impressive as well - but they refuse to bring out the food in the order you want. What kind of restaurant won't let you choose an appetizer and entree? Last time I came, they brought out my friend's entree before any of our appetizers, which just makes for awkward timing. If this was a take-out place I'd order all the time, but the food isn't worth all the hassle.

Read All 14 Reviews >>

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