Ajna Bar

I really like the atmosphere of this place albeit unoriginal. Its a great place for a birthday or special event, especially the tables along the far back wall, where your feet dangle below seemingly into the water. The menu has lots of great choices, some great curries if you are into that, and nice fish dishes and good apps. I would definitely steer clear of the sushi here. Im a sushi purist, and they add random things to the sushi that actually take away from the taste. In addition, it was so fishy (the tuna) that I could not even eat it. Totally not worth it, and its pricey too. But aside from that, if you have a reservation, which is essential, they accomodate you very well up front, and the service was pretty good too. The bar couldnt get the drinks fast enough or accurate enough for our group, but we got them eventually. The wine list is ridiculously overpriced. A bottle of Benton Lane Pinot Noir (mediocre at best) goes for $95 at BB, but you can snap it up for $21 anywhere in the city. Get real! Dont expect perfection, and you will enjoy! Pros: Fun cool place, good apps and entrees Cons: fishy sushi, pricey, slow bar more

The restaurant is all about turning tables as quickly as possible - not good service. I hosted a business dinner here and the Maitre D - (who claimed he was the owner?) came to our table and asked one of my guests to sign the check to so they could seat someone else. This despite the fact that the check was in front of me and had been on the table for no more than 3 minutes as we finished our dessert. When I expressed my disappointment, I did not receive an apology - but rather, ""I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't ask him to leave"". Theoretically he did ask us to leave. The situation was inappropriate, not to mention embarrassing. I don't recommend it for business or pleasure. more

My friends and I had heard so much about this place so we decided to go around midnight on Saturday 9/16/06. The door man was THE RUDEST PERSON ive ever met (jimmy). He was picking people out of the crowd letting them in and ignoring whomever he chose to ignore. It felt like we were begging to be let into this place. He yelled at us several times as we waited at the door from midnight to 2 a.m. He was telling pple who had parties of 3, they had a one bottle minimum, but parties greater that 5 had like a 2 bottle minimum. We were only three, and he refused to let us in unless we did a 2 bottle minimum. It was like he thought he ran the place. We asked another really nice bouncer to speak with the manager, and the manager (tim) came out. He was not the nicest guy, but after listening to us make a scene in front of everyone, he had to let us in. Once we got in, it was incredible. But Jimmy had really left a sour taste in our mouths and we would never ever GO BACK. My freinds and I were willing to spend a lot, but after that initial experience, once we got in and didnt spend a dime. DONT GO HERE. its the WORST feeling youll ever have at the door. THE GUY IS EXTREMELY RUDE!!!! Pros: AMAZIIIIING music, great ambiance Cons: THE WORST STAFF, rude door man (staff), manager a bit arogant more

The food: horrible\r The decor: giant buddhas, been there, done that\r The service: wretched\r The value: none\r I agree with the other negative reviews. Buddha Bar is just another expample of the MTV-ization of Manhattan. People no longer care about style AND SUBSTANCE!. Rather, quality suffers at the hands of patrons who are only interested in being surrounded by knock off Sarah Jessica Parkers and predictable decor in order to make themselves feel as important as a Hilton sister. Well, i already know I'm beautiful and important. I know when I'm being tricked into lining the pockets of an establishment relying on hype. I don't need to be overcharged for bad food served by people whose main concern is their next audition. Treat yourself like a real VIP and go somewhere you get what you pay for (food, service, value, decor), that is unless you're paying for an ego boost.\r Pros: Gimmicks, smoke and mirrors accomplished Cons: Gimmicks, smoke and mirrors accomplished more

I have to say that I was very surprised to read the reviews written in the past on this web site. Let me tell you about my experience, I had dinner with five friends on this past Monday night, when we walked in we were shocked by the amount of detail and absolutly amazing decor, we were greeted at the door, and were seated propmtly. the food was excellent, the service was\r irreproachable. Now let me tell you about the crowd, Tiger Woods was sitting to my left and on my right was a table full of beautiful models. Thank you Buddha Bar for finally opening up in NYC. Pros: crowd Cons: hard time to get a table reservation more

Unlike most! I happened to have had the time of my life that night. We arrived with a group of 4 at 9:00 on Friday just when DJ Sam Popat gets started. We were seated within 5 minutes of our entire groups arrival (great table right next to the Buddha). Our drinks were made to perfection (try the Rev d'Cognac) service was polite and very helpfull as 2 of my guests were not from the States the waiter spoke fluent French and Italian and explained the menu to perfection. Great Sake selection magnificent deserts... All in all it was the best night to kick off our September in New York. Pros: Music! Atmosphere! Food! Drinks! Crowd! Cons: raised the bar too high for me to enjoy anywhere else more

The scene at the one in Paris has been over for years and even in its heyday, it was never much to write home to mother about... more

If you'd like to go to the ""real"" Buddha Bar, spend $300, or more, fly to Paris where the infamous Buddha Bar is located and where you will have a wonderful experience. Buddha Bar Paris, France, is NO comparison to Buddha Bar NYC. Terrible experience. more

I was there Saturday night, 8/19/06 with a group of about 10 people all ranging in age of 23 to 29 and varied being single & married as we all agreed with what happened.\r \r As soon as we walk in, it is a beautiful atmosphere and they sit us without a reservation which was a good start, pretty much right away. Problem #1: I order a martini which I think the most I have ever paid for was maybe $10 at a ritzy place, here? $15. That was an idea of the night and experience I was about to have.\r \r We all sit down and the waiter comes by and asks me if I want water, I said ""sure, water all around,"" mistake #1, he comes over with $20 worth of spring water that I would have much rathered tap water if I knew he was going to do that. I obviously didn't hear him, and he just started pouring the water like it was no big deal. I told him what I thought I ordered, but he seemed not to care. Fine, I knew it was going to be like this, I can live with it.\r \r Problem #2, my fiancee orders her meal, thinking it was an entree and orders the Wild Salmon thinking nothing of it and not hearing anything from the waiter. We all get our food and she gets this little plate with 4 peices of salmon and some lettuce surrounding them. She says to the waiter ""I though this was an entree, can I replace it with another one?"" which in a restaurant is normal practice, it's part of the business. 5 min. later I'm guessing the head waiter, comes over and says he ""cannot take it off the bill, it's prepared already, you have to eat it."" At this point, I'm fuming and walk over to the manager and spill my guts with complaints, he says he'll be over in a few min. but never does and I guess sends back the head waiter to try again.\r \r Finally, the average price for the entrees was about $30. We all get our plates and all say the same that we ""could've gotten more food out of a frozen dinner.""\r \r All in all.. SAVE YOUR MONEY Pros: great atmosphere, but if you like getting raped while looking a big buddha statue, then it's all for you! Cons: value of the mediocre food quality & overall service more

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. First of all, I was given a nasty attitude by the maitre'd for wearing flip flops. Even though I was wearing a cute, expensive skirt outfit perfect for that summer evening, he said they ""have a policy against thongs in the dining room."" I should have told him where I'd stick my ""thong"". I should have taken that as my cue to leave then and there. We later found out it is wayyyy overpriced; you get nothing for your money. We left the place still hungry - the waiter brought me an appetizer that I was expecting to be an entree. He gave us such a hard time and wouldn't take it back. It finally took the top negotiator in our group (I was with 10 people) to get the miniscule plate of salmon priced at $35 taken off the bill. With such a large group, you would think they'd aim to please. Instead, they now have 10 ticked-off people all in one shot who will never speak kindly about Buddha Bar. Not a smart marketing strategy! more

Waited 45min despite having reservations... actually everybody at the restaurant was kept waiting because the service was so behind. Our waiter was distracted, the busboys who brought the food never once knew who had ordered what, and at the end they overcharged us on our bill! As if the food was not overpriced for what it is already - a bland, lackluster attempt at Asian fusion. Horrendous experience that made me appreciate the delights of smaller, quality-driven, un-'trendy' places in the city.
The lounge area is fabulous, but now they have bouncers that make it a difficult door... I guess if everyone could easily get into the bar, no one would bother with dinner there! Pros: Good atmosphere but nothing special. Cons: The food, the price, the service... did I leave anything out?? more

I went here about 2 months ago and it was the worst experience!\r \r After waiting for our table for an hour [which we made reservations for], we finally sat down, only to find it IMPOSSIBLE to place an order with our waiter! Seriously, isn't the business of a restaurant to take orders from people and then fill them?!?! I would think that is how they make $? We were 6 very hungry and thirsty gals and the place could have rung up a check twice as much on our table if only they took our orders!\r \r And, to top it off, the fire alarm went off about every 20 min!,... I think it was from their amazing ""smoking room"" which unfortunately on a humid night only seeps cigarette smoke into the place everytime the door opens. Perhaps if you hear the alarm go off a few times, you might want to stop people from going in there? Or I guess they'd rather people push off their starvation by letting them smoke a cigarette rather than taking their order!\r \r I am a reputable NYC event planner and would never even consider placing an event with this place, unless they let me bring in my own staff & caterer! Do not go here! Pros: Absolutely stunning design! Cons: awful service, mediocre food, and fire alarms! more

Not to mention the attitude at the door, the food is nothing to talk about as well. You are better off taking a pick from the multitude options available in the MPD.\r \r Pros: Ambience Cons: Everything else. more

I attempted to call Buddha Bar numerous times to complain about our experience. I was told that the management wasn't available and to call back later in the afternoon. When I attempted to call in the afternoon, I was asked what the call was in reference to and only AFTER I explained (very nicely I might add) that I was calling in reference to a complaint, I was told that no management was available. Finally, on my fifth attempt, I was asked to leave a name and number. When I asked when I could expect a response, I was informed that management ""reviews"" the nature of the call and customers may or may not receive a response based on their discretion! I've never heard of an establishment not responding to their customers' feedback. It's been a week, and still no response. I suppose my patronage isn't welcome there, and according to other patrons' feedback, they don't think much of New Yorkers in general! Cons: Rude service, bad food more

I held my husband's 35th surprise bday at Buddha Bar and it was a great night. I could not have picked a better place for it! We had 27 people in our party and the service was still excellent. All our guests loved the ambience and the food. Peter, one fo the managers kept coming up to me to make sure everything was okay, as I was the one throwing the surprise bday for my husbnad, and the service was indeed great! We had waiters on hand all night long and did not experience anything that these other negative reviewers have written. \r \r I thought the night went far better than even expected and I would definitely revisit this restaurant again. The food was amazing and the sushi was delicious. We had a prix fixe menu as we had so many guests and food was prompt and every dish amazing. \r \r The music was also a plus. A good mix for all the ages in our group and a wide variety of music so that everyone was commenting on how they liked it.\r \r I cannot find any complaints with this place and am surprised at all the negative reviews. \r Don't believe it, it was a fabulous evening. \r \r And I want to thank Peter again and all the waiters and Tim Gaglio for making it such a fabulous event for us. My husband enjoyed the surprise bday and was very very happy as were all our guests.\r \r I highly recommend this place for groups, bdays, or just a fun night out! the decor is truly amazing! Pros: ambience, service, music more

Just went, was a little worried after reading reviews but the missus wanted to go anyway, had a 10pm reservation on a saturday, got right in. Place was very cool although a little loud for me, we had lobster roll which was a little rubbery and the summer rolls which had crab shell in them, then I had the duck which was very good. Nice thing about this place is that you can sit and have dinner then go over to the bar and have a little dance if you want. Not to sure who screwed up but I payed $22 a glass for bubbly at the dinner table and only $10 at the bar. Overall we had a good time. Oh and another thing this place is slated as the place for the in crowd. They might have been in there, but there was a bunch of people touched with the ugly stick too, that should have been arrested and thrown out by the fashion police, but hey what do I know that probibly was the in crowd. Pros: music, decor, location Cons: a little loud for dinner on a saturday more

I live in the MPD & had friends visiting from out of town. I wanted to take them to a place with spectacular decor & was between BB & Tao. I called BB to see if we would need a reservation for cocktails was told 'No reservation needed. No problem, just come on in & enjoy'. When we got there (6 women), we were not even allowed in when a staff member with a bad attitude wearing a suit told us that we absolutely needed a reservation (yes, we've gone from an artsy community to this)! As a local, I am so tired of places that try to create faux hype! Come on! Rely on your food, your chef, your decor, your impeccable service, SOMETHING other than creating some fake ""VIP"" atmosphere to make people feel as if they need to gain admission in order to feel better about themselves. The hope is that word gets around that you just ""have to go because it's so hard to get in"" instead of you just ""have to go because the food, drink and service are wonderful"". Since when does a great restaurant need to rely on peoples' insecurities to make $$? We went to Spice Market and had a great time. Next time, I'll recommend SM, Tao, a place with a celebrity chef who is a true artist, or anywhere but here!!! Pros: Better places nearby Cons: Faux Hype! more

This bar has fantastic decor but some of the worst staff I have ever encountered at a top restaurant. They were rude, didn't know their drinks and were unable to demonstrate any professionalism in their service mentality. Worse still, having gone there to celebrate the birthday of a friend, one latecomer to our group wasn't allowed in to join a group of 8 spending good money at a nice place (this doesn't apply to one doorman there later on, Blake, who was a complete gentleman). The shortsightedness of the management appalls me and thus I say STAY AWAY. There are plenty of great restaurants in this city that know what decent service is. more

First of all I would like to say, i have never in my entire life experienced such a horrible dining experience. Buddha Bar is Absolutely THE WORST WORST WORST MOST HORRIBLE PLACE IN ALL OF MANHATTAN. We had reservations for dinner Wednesday night for a group of 9 people at 9:30. We arrived on time and the bouncer asked if we had a reservation, which of course we did have. Five people from my group were already at the door, we were told to wait a minute and then out of no where the bouncer said that we had a reservation for 9 people and only five of us showed up, and that they did not have a table for us because not everone was present, and we lost the table. I HAVE NEVER HEARD SUCH (BS) IN MY LIFE. We told the bouncer that the other four people were just a few minutes away because of parking issues, and are definately coming. The bouncer named Patrick told us NO MORE TABLE, we can still come in and have drinks at the bar. We asked to speak to a manger, (Tim Gaglil) we told him what happened and he did not care about anything. He was extremely obnoxious and super rude. I was extremely UPSET!!!!! We made reservations a week in advance and my guests were outraged, we came for dinner not drinks. Can you imagine, you make reservations for dinner and then told no dinner just drink and watch others enjoying themselves with a table and food. \r Buddha Bar OPEN YOUR EYES you have a bad reputation, New Yorkers dont appreciate to be disrespected. \r \r This establishment is very unprofessional, rude, and disrespectul towards its customers. \r Save your time, money, and friendship, EAT SOMEWHERE ELSE.\r \r I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE. HORRIBLE TERRIBLE PLACE!!!!!!!!!!\r Pros: NOTHING AT ALL Cons: RUDE, DISRESPECTFULL ESTABLISHMENT. more

I am not a particularly picky person and have been to pretty much all the top restaurants in NYC. This is my WORST WORST WORST dining experience. To be fair, the place has very nice decor and food was good. But the whole place was awful. \r (ONE) no reservation for group over 8. We have 16, so have to split into two group sitting really far away \r (TWO) we waited an HOUR and HALF to get to the table \r (THREE) one friend was late and the bouncer didn't let her in and was super rude. \r (FOUR) We were standing next to the table talking when a manager showed up. He yelled at my friend and said ""if you do this again, I will throw you out"". What happened was that somebody had thrown bags of sweet 'n low on the floor and that idiot manager thought we did it. Despite that we tried to explain that that had nothing to do with us, the manager was extremely obnoxious and rude. When finally he found he made a misake, he refused to apologize to us. \r Yeah, it is meating packing and I wasn't expecting VIP treatment. But for God sake, what kind of restaurant manager will yell at a customer for something he didn't do? Even if it was our wrong, he should first check to see if it is an accident or at least ask us, rather than threaten to throw us out. \r Call me an arrogant New Yorker, I will never go back to that restaurant again!!!. Terrible Experience. Pros: ambience, food Cons: Out of nowhere, the restaurant manager threat to throw us out!!! more