The food here is delicious, particularly the Ginger Beef and the Thai Calamari. No reservations for this place and there may be a bit of a wait if you arrive at peak time in the evening so try to get here before 5-5.30, it gets very busy.
You'll be seated on big tables that you are likely to share with others diners. Service is efficient and the price is more than reasonable for London. There are other restaurants around London, including Westfield in White City, check out their website for menus and locations.
The restaurant serves a blend of japanese and thai, and at really good prices too. The restaurant is very sleek, low and relaxed, with large tables being shared "wagamama's style" with many other people. The food is really good here and the service is very quick. There is a private room you can book for 12+ people apart from that there is no booking for this place. The worst times to go are at 1pm and 5:30 mainly because it's an office favourite and it'll take you a long time to get in.
There's always a queue outside though so you can't miss the restaurant.
2010 Update: There's another Busaba Eat Thai on Bird St, next to selfridges. It's busy as well but you don't tend to queue as long as the one in Soho. To get there take a tube to Bond St, cross the road towards selfridges and go down Bird St and it's on the left at the end.
Favorite Dish:
Chargrilled duck... I swear it melts in the mouth like you're eating a prime scottish angus steak...
We were lucky to get two places by the front window in the restaurant - there were people queueing outside in the rain for tables. Sometimes to get in you might have to share a large table (eight people) with strangers - which is often a real turn-off if you are going there on a date - as apparently the place is quite popular for dinner dates! As it is so packed you may struggle to make yourself heard above the general commotion. The ingredients are by all accounts genuine - other Thai places often use ingredients that are too sweet for traditional Thai cooking, and there is a good range of vegetarian and spicy food on the menu (all conveniently marked as being such!). For two mains with rice and two side dishes (as starters) and two beers and some mineral water we paid GBP 37 - but the food was worth it.
Favorite Dish:
I had some chicken satay and fish cakes as side-dishes and then I had a very good chicken and potato curry with coconut rice. The chicken satay is not like it often is - the pieces of chicken are not on skewers and the satay is not like the thick brown satay sauce you often get. I had this washed down with a Singha beer and some mineral water - all in all very tasty, and the service was quick - although you were not "pushed" off your table as quickly as possible.
I've just discovered this place, under a recommendation of a friend who brought me here. The place looks so nice that I thought it was going to be one of the usual Thai restaurant that caters for European taste. I say this because the occupants are full of Europeans and I couldn't find an Asian looking person in sight. We were guided through a bunch of people because it was almost full house, and this is the usual and were seated at a corner of a big square oak table with other customers as well. It's more or less feel like a Teppan Yaki restaurant.
The decoration is excellent and the service is just perfect that comes with it in a package - a job well done they have made towards a first time visitor like me. When the food arrived, I was in heaven! It was incredibly fantastic.
Favorite Dish:
Green Curry Chicken with Jasmine Rice, Fish Cake, Tom Yum Goong, Cod Fillet with Stir Fried Chilli, Som Tum and Kway Teow.
Busaba offers great Thai food. There is typically a line to get in the place but it moves rather quickly. Seating in the restaurant is open, meaning you may be sat next to strangers at a large table or put along the front window looking out to Wardour Street. We had a great experience there and found the staff to be very attentive.
Favorite Dish:
We ordered the Green Chicken Curry and my wife, a Red Curry something, both were great.
For my first evening in London, my friends took me out to dinner at this lovely Thai restaurant in Soho. Having had a tiring flight and a long day figuring out how to get around London, I nearly fainted as we approached the Busaba Eathai, and saw the queue outside the restaurant! But standing there chatting, and watching the people inside deliciously devouring their colorful plates, made it seem like it was really worth the wait. This place has a no reservation policy, and so you have to go through the long queue to enjoy the food (esp. on a Friday/Saturday night) - we were there on a Friday night.
We were soon handed our menus as we got closer to the entrance, and in no time we were seated on these large wooden communal tables that are shared by different groups of people...to some it might be odd to share a meal with people you don't know..for me I thought it was quite intimate and friendly. To add to this feeling, the waiters and staff were extremely welcoming, efficient and friendly. We got our orders right away, and needless to say...the food was GREAT! Seriously, anything and everything I tasted was sooo good! Just writing about it right now kinda makes my mouth water :o)
I can't say much about the bill, cause my friends wouldn't let me pay (ever!)...but from the other reviews I've read about this place they said that the prices were 'relatively' reasonable...just keep in mind that you're in the UK ;-)
There are lots of mediocre restaurants in the west end of London and Busaba has latched on to the Wagamama formula of consistently high quality food at a good price. The food is good and while nothing is mind powingly amazing it is good and you will leave happy that you've eated something that is reminisent of Thailand. Obviously the food isn't the most authentic but the location and ambience make up for that. Like many other restaurants these days seating is communal and I much prefer it to Wagamamas. Queues are to be expected any night of the week. Prices are competitive and this is perhaps the best value restaurant in the area.
This is a Thai restaurant with a brilliant and extensive menu. The Thai curries are excellent in particular, although many other items on the menu are highly recommended!
This does not take reservations, you just turn up and queue. During the week the queues are minimal if at all, however at the weekend get there before 6 to avoid a long wait.
Seating is on large communal tables so it is not appropriate if you are after a romonatic intamate environment!
Service is good and fast. Due to popularity and lack of reservations, staff move people in and out as quickly as possible- without being rude though!
Favorite Dish:
The beef curries are all excellent. They are quite hot but brilliantly flavoured.
Favorite Dish: One of the best 'minimum fuss' Asian restraunts in London. Very similar to Wagamama but more trendy and alive! Ideal if you want to have something to eat before going out on a weekend. Expect to queue but don't be discourages, it moves surprisingly fast! You also might end up jumping the whole queue if you have the right amount of people they need. So be prepared to ditch a few mates :)
I love this place...informal setting, good local crowd, and lovely thai food...well worth a visit!
Favorite Dish:
All of it!
Sponsored Links
The Montague On The Gardens London
5 Reviews and 1486 Opinions The concierge was fabulous, the hotel very grand, and despite the rooms being small they were...
41 Hotel London
2 Reviews and 1051 Opinions Hotel Ibis London Euston St Pancras Recommended by being the best location, nice rooms, modern and...
The Egerton House Hotel London
see all London member meetings
Sponsored Links
Comments