As a born and raised New Yorker with quite a bit of experience in the food and beverage industry I am well aware of the trendy new hotspot that everyone must go to until they've been and then they never go again. I've been to Buddha Bar over a dozen times. It is hyped, it is trendy, there is an attitude and it isn't cheap, but this is New York City not Podunk, Iowa. If I wanted smiles and a friendly greeting I'd go to a TGI Friday's in Kansas.\r
I thought the food was good, not extraordinarily so, but very good, particularly the sushi and apps. The service was prompt and on a number of occasions when I asked the waiter to order for the table I was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't order every expensive item on the menu, but a good cross-section thereof.\r
The times I've stayed after dinner I was ushered over to the lounge area and seated by a genial bald man with an earpiece. My cocktail waitresses have always been attractive and cheerful, the busboys have been attentive and the cranberry juice for my Ketel has never ran out. \r
My only complaint is the French. I generally don't mind French, as a food, a language or a people, but when they stand around idly with their hands behind their back only to stammer and stutter at you uselessly when you ask them a simple question I tend to take offense. Beyond that I am a fan of Buddha Bar.
Pros: Ambience
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