Ajna Bar

One of the worst dining./bar experiences in the 30 years that I have been dining and clubing in NYC. Even during my days at Studio 54 and Xenon, NEVER have I encountered such an illiterate, classless, and rude staff, particulalry the meatheads at the front door. The beautiful decor did not make up for the terrible sushi, watered down drinks, and terrible DJ. The variable that will eventually shut Buddha down is the staff. Unfortunate because it had so much potential. Pros: Decor Cons: Rude staff (particularly the disgustingly rude ly bouncers) more

So ... I should start by admitting that I did not quite have the DL on Buddha Bar before I arrived. I knew it was a bit of a scene, but was not ready for the table shaking bass from the music.\r \r Chalk that one up to me for being unprepared.\r \r Unfortunately, for Buddha Bar, that's the only (-) I can take some responsibility for. From the cooked-through ""seared toro sashimi"" (I wonder whether they know what sashimi is, given its preparation), the lousy coconut mojito, the burnt calamari salad or the overly salted and otherwise poorly seasoned entrees and sides, the meal was a complete disaster. \r \r Had the food been better (and I mean a LOT better), the atmosphere might have been more enjoyable, but all that I could think about, sitting at the table with my girlfriend as we sat at the table staring at our half-uneaten food, was needing to get the heck out of there.\r \r Go there for drinks or to hang out on the week-end, but stay away from the lousy food. Pros: Great Space Cons: Food average to bad; Overcooked and Too Salty more

great place more

This was the restaurant I've been to since I lived in New York more

I have been to Buddha bar in NYC several times. It is a beautiful place, good drinks and food. However, the service is absolutely horrible and the staff is rude and arrogant with hardly any customer service skills. Every time I go there I am disappointed with the same issue bad customer service and rude staff members. Perhaps management should look at ways of improving customer service across the board. Pros: Exotic drinks selection and food Cons: Very poor service, rude and arrogant staff more

About a month ago I put together a dinner for 14 people at Buddha Bar. Peter the venue's maitre d' was the most accommodating maitre'd I would say in NY. Our large and fairly picky party of 14 were seated in the Pagoda area of the restaurant. The number to my party changed every hour starting out at 10 people and ultimately ending with 14. Peter took every one of my frantic phone calls and assured me each time that it will all be perfect. This dinner doubled as a meeting and an introduction. The circular tables we dined at were perfect - at first what seemed like a tight fit and too close for comfort - ended up being exactly what was needed for the team to get aquainted. The menu selection - a prix fix selected by the maitre d' himself was perfect - every dish that came out was a delight - there was a lot of food, lots of choices and everyone left very happy and satisfied. The service was top of the line the attention was masterful even though the restaurant was full and Peter was also hosting a large party for 150 - we never felt neglected nor really ever thought there was anyone else there. I stayed well within my budget and everyone had a fantastic time - it was a win win for all and I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a great night out either be it w/ co-workers or friends. more

if your a tourist come and drink and say you have been in the nyc version so you can add it to your experience in paris and where ever. very very dull food, bar not too much different, large dodgy music and full of mingers Cons: food is rank more

Very bad service and the food is too expensive. more

Great...great....great!!!!Best flavoured mojitos, delicious apps and you can't skip the sea bass. I've been there may times, still one of the greatest music and ambiance. I just want to say that I don't get why people are so bitter. If you can't afford it, just don't go. They are really busy especially in the weekend. So the next time you try to camp in the restaurant, be thoughtful. How do you feel when you have to wait for an hour and so for a table( like we did on last Saturday night) just because @..?h0..*** people hold on to the table without consideration. Come on.... do you really need 3hrs to eat????That's why it is called restaurant, not a hotel. Pros: Great food, decor and ambience Cons: Not a cheap place more

The a**hole at the door only lets the people he knows ... MF r*cist tried to let our group of 6 enter only if we buy 3 bottles which was around $1000 and when we said we will wait he told another idiot of a bouncer to not to let us in without buying bottle service.. I've been to the finest places but never treated and have spent a ton on money on alcohol before but never treated like this only coz we are Indian--- MF***er we make more money than losers like u-- we work on Wall Street and u look hip & stand at the door... wish u had better education so u cud have learnt to behave better... stop treating average looking people with money like that coz buddha bar would die in this economy if we dont enter to spend money on places like yours... respect everyone u r*cist nuthead !!! disgusting attitude !!! u cant even work a computer to make ur reservations we are the people who build software like that -- u loser get a life !! Pros: Music & Space Cons: Service /Attitude/ Overpriced Everything more

A few friends and I visited Buddha Bar this Saturday, March 28, 2009, and what a huge disappointment that was. As mentioned by others, the cuisine and ambiance are really nice, however the service cannot get any worse for that price. We had a table at 8.30pm, and what was our surprise when the waitress dropped us the check at 11.30 and told us we had to leave because the table was booked again at midnight. Now, I have been at virtually every trendy place in NYC, and have never heard of such practice, and in all fairness, if something like this is ever done, you should be let know in advance. While we were arguing about the table, we noticed that in addition there were a few too many drinks charged on our check. We had to go through an even bigger argument and pay cash to make sure we won't be charged for those extra drinks. Imagine my surprise when the waitress had the audacity to state she wasn't happy with the tip, which one of my more generous friends still left her (I wouldn't have left a penny for such service.) So, if you still decide to go there, keep your eyes on the check, apparently judging from the other reviews it is their practice to overcharge for extra drinks you never ordered. Also, keep in mind that just because you have a table doesn't mean you get to keep it, and you can be asked to leave at any point when the staff decides they can make more profit from another party. In conclusion, I would highly recommend taking your business elsewhere, especially that there is no shortage of nice places with good service in that area. Pros: Nice ambiance Cons: Rude staff and treatment, ripps off customers more

A few friends and myself went to Buddha bar to celebrate a birthday. As we entered we were greeted by a very nice, friendly man who escorted us to a table in the lounge. That was the highlight of the night. The service from then on was terrible. Whenever the cocktail server came over us ask for drinks she was EXREMELY RUDE, arrogent. I can't even try to explain what en unpleasant expericne she mad for us and how rude she really was. I heard from someone that works there that the cocktail servers are actually encourages to act like this!! that we should be happy just to eat there!! HA please,. I will never return. Pros: Decor Cons: service!! more

First of all, I cant even understand to see why people give this place a bad rap. It is the best experience I have ever had in the City . It really is all about your approach. I know people come on here and bash this place but you have to understand why. If you go here looking for a quiet, dull romantic evening with tiny $80 dishes and 1000 dollar wine list with some fancy french name you are going to the wrong place. If you are looking for a hip dark sleek trendy music infused asian fusion restaurant with killer drinks, banging food and cool people you are gonna have the time of your life. Lots of Menu options, tonnns of drinks and lots of beautiful people. Great place for a date, or for groups of friends to mingle with hot singles. crowd is late mixed but lots of young(28-40). Sushis are surprizingly amaziing concidering the size of this venue. Had cocktails and sake with dinner. Skipped dessert cause we were stuffed. I personaly recommend every single thing. ENJOY!\r A busy place in general means than this place is good and you are going to have a little bit of wait. \r \r Pros: Food. Scene. Beautiful Crowd.\r more

Whaouuuu! THIS FOOD WAS OUT OF THIS WOLRD!!!!! DELICIOUS.. Where do I start: the decor was beautiful, the ambiance was explosive, the wait was HORRIBLE, but guess what!!! It was worth every second. The very cute Pr director named Mickael offer to me and my boyfriend a glass of a delicious white wine for our patience. The food was soooooooooo good!!!! The sea bass, the delicious sushis and sashimis, the vegetable fried rice ...., the drinks were so good too, ask for the black Buddha, is a MUST drink... i will definitely be going back... LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!!\r \r Pros: DELICIOUS FOOD, AMAZING AMBIANCE...\r \r more

I went to Buddha Bar to have a good time with friends. While the atmosphere was nice they will overcharge you purposely. I ordered two drinks at 15$ each, at the end of the night I was charged for 3 drinks. I told the server this and instead of taking the extra drink off she insisted I had a 3 drinks and spoke to me in an argumentative tone. I asked for the manager who was no better. They only pretended to take the extra drink off and still charged my card 45$ for three drinks. All this to say if you must go to Buddha Bar pay only in cash!! I, however, will never go again because I was treated rudely and in a disrespectful manner, and not to mention RIPPED OFF! more

First time to Buddha Bar and probably my last. The ambience of the place was pretty cool and I liked the music until they turned up the volume and I had a hard time carrying a conversation with my boyfriend. The food was pretty good, but portions were on the small side. Drinks were way overpriced. A heinekin cost $8/bottle. Martini's were ~$15. I guess your paying for the ""scene"" which wasn't all that on a Saturday night. Bartender had a little ""attitude"". Pros: Nice waiter and cool vibe to the restaurant Cons: Over priced food and drinks more

It was really bad experience. Place looked nice, but bad service and way too expensive for what we had. \r I went there for my friend's birthday. First, they told us we only can reserve 6:45PM spot (we wanted go there after 7PM). We went there and place had a lot of empty table and never filled up. Why did they make us come 6:45? \r All of items were very expensive. So, I thought they were using high quality ingredients. But, it wasn't. Spring rolls looked like comes from Asian supermarket and served very small 4 pieces. Yellow sashimi salad was very small portion also. 6or 7 thin sliced yellowtail and small hand full of mix green.... for the price, I was imagineｄ that like Nobu's sashimi salad portion. My entry was sesami crusted tuna. It was like $27 and it was not worth it. The water and runner did not remember who order which dishes. Many of dishes were served to wrong person. Sometime the waiter had to announce loud ""who order tuna???"" It didn't seem like professional job.\r For the dessert time? the runner put dessert on middle of table (not front of birthday girl) with un lighted candle. It's unbelievable. They knew that we made reservation for the birthday dinner, so they prepared dessert dish with a candle. But who ever serve the dish have no idea.\r I just understand why I had to pay so much money for bad service and stingy food. \r Pros: Noce lokking place Cons: Over price and bad service more

I will keep this short and sweet.. place is beautiful.. bouncers are rude souless pr*cks.. after being abused by them nobody will return my calls/emails.. stay away, so many better places in the city.. Pros: beautiful decor Cons: everything else.. especially the a**hole bouncers more

don't go here! bouncers are nasty and dangerous and management doesn't care. Go to a club where you don't get abused. more

I usually avoid the meat packing district but I decided to make an exception last night and decided to have a drink at the French owned and operated Buddha bar. Beautiful place, creative decoration and very nice music. We waited at the bar to order a glass of Champagne and a sauvignon blanc. The bartender delivered the 2 drinks and asked me for $ 36. I pay with my credit card and when I am about to sign I am supprised to see that they automatically added the gratuity ( about $ 7) to the credit card slip and the total is now around $ 43+\r I complained and a French manager is called and he is telling me that is perfectely legal to add the tip and that if I cannot afford it , he would pay for the service himself. \r Buddha bar should invest in legal advices and stop acting like they are doing business in Europe. \r This is New York! Pros: decor Cons: attitude more