Cool setup for a restaurant that accommodates for large and small groups as well as the individual looking for a quick bite. What I didn't notice till I walked out was they have a row of seats that look out toward the street and on a cool spring day, the windows are open and you can people watch as you enjoy your meal. For drinks, the guava collins, mango lassi, and ginger tea were all excellent. The Dolly Pad Mee was very good with just enough kick to it. The most interesting part of the visit to this restaurant was a trip to the bathroom though... and not in a negative way... they have interesting signs on the male and female bathrooms. It took me a minute to make an educated guess and I guessed right (a female friend did not)... Someone googled it later on and the signs make perfect sense after that ! read more

Knowing what authentic thai tastes like, I'm afraid I cannot recommend Busaba. My wife said it best, it tastes like a white person cooked the food. Overly sweet tones, tastes like nothing Asian. Had the duck curry and pad thai. We are coming from Los Angeles, and every time I visit a major city, I can't help but feel that LA kills every other city in regards to good food and spoils you. The thai restaurants that I stopped going to in LA where I spent equivalent of $16 for a meal, unfortunately, taste better than this place. It sucks I spent equivalent to 43$ for my meal at busaba. No offense to busaba. Servers were so nice. read more

brilliant concept, cheap and sociable! i love the communal style of sitting around a table with strangers, not only do you get to have a good look at other people's food - you know we all do it so dont deny it! the salt n pepper squid is my fav! took some of my friends to the tottenham ct road one and one commented "its the best restaurant ive been to!" just do it! read more

The inside is simple and sleek, with communal seating at large tables. All of the food is fresh and fast. Definitely a good place to branch out and experiment with unfamiliar dishes. read more

This place is sooooooo good. The best Thai food I have ever had. My boy friend does not normally like Thai food but he loves this place. We went here the first time last week and since then we have gone 3 times. I also told 2 of friends about this place and they tried it last night and they both said it was the best Thai food they have ever had. There is alot of the time a line up so be prepared read more

My girlfriend is from Bangkok and we eat Thai food weekly. We ordered a Pad Thai with Chicken and this is the worst pad thai we're ever had. Tasted bland. To be honest, I do not understand why this restaurant has 4 stars... Would not recommend to anyone. read more

A little pricey, but the food is FANTASTIC! A great place to go for vegans and vegetarians. Try their Jasmine-Passion Fruit smoothie and the Veggie Pad Thai! Seating is communal, so it's great for big groups, or for small parties of people that don't mind being social with the neighbors. read more

Ahh, Busaba Soho. You were the location for my first business lunch in London many, many years ago, and you still fill me with joy. Literally. The peppercorn calamari here is amongst the most delicious things on the planet, closely followed by the duck and lamb curries. As I write this I realise it's time to go back already. Gotta go read more

The food came out cold as did the diners' next to us. We waited 35 minutes for our food the first time and it was cold. The second time it came out was within minutes and it was hot. The food itself was meh. Wouldn't come back. Also there was no toilet paper in the washroom. read more

The portions have gotten way smaller than before. This place knows it's popular, so they give smaller portions and less dress meats, and no one complains, because it's "trendy." read more

My co-worker in London described this place as the McDonald's of Thai food. I wasn't sure how to take that because I love Sausage McMuffins and they have the best fries. Everything else in between is eh. Even with that we ventured forwarded with the assumption that this wasn't the most authentic of Thai joints. We passed by this place the other day and it was crowded, long lines out the door. I'm not sure how I feel about community tables. The amount of Siracha I use should allow me not to have to share it with some wanker across the table who isn't putting the bottle back into the middle. The menu was pretty limited and definitely lacked some of the dishes I've come to enjoy like chinese brocoli with crispy pork, mee krob and some of the soups. Anyway we ordered an obscene amount of food as usual. The best dishes were pad see ew, chicken satay (thick pieces not on skewers) and the crab fried rice. The fried rice was easily one of the best fried rice dishes I've had outside of DTF. The pad see ew was mixed with lots of different types of seafood and pretty good but they had the wrong type of noodles. Pad see ew noodles are usually the thick flat rice noodles but this version used noodles you'd more commonly find in ramen. Big error. When the chicken satay is one of the best dishes of the night (ordered 8 total) then something is amiss. One of my work friends isn't as adventurous and wanted to pick a safety dish alongside the noodle and rice dishes which I know he loves. The spicy prawns and jungle curry were mediocre at best. The curry was spicy but a bit oily and something about the flavor was off. The papaya salad lacked punch and flavors. A lot of people from the US on the board should come out to LA so I can take them to some bomb ass authentic Thai in Hollywood. I have some stuff that will knock your socks off. read more

I have been going to Busaba for a few years and it is generally pretty good. The Thai food is about average by Australian standards but pretty good for Soho. The menu is very restricted and the dishes are all safe Thai bets. Recently however (Spring 2011) the portion sizes have gotten a lot smaller and on my last trip two dishes out of our five were disappointingly cold. The staff are very friendly and efficient but I don't think some of them really understand English. They asked three times if everything was alright and were told three times that the dishes were cold, but they just smiled and nodded and walked away. It is still a safe bet for a quick meal if you are out in Soho but I am not sure if it is really worth queuing for any more. read more

This place is probably best described as the Thai equivalent of Wagamama. The food was tasty and the service was quick and efficient. Good recommendation for a reasonably priced mid week meal read more

Pretty awesome food here, came here with 6 people on a Wednesday night at about 7:30 and the wait was around 15-20 minutes. Not too bad. The decor was nice here and the tables are communal. When we finally got seated, we ordered a few small plates of the Thai Calamari which was awesome (I would definitely recommend ordering that). For my entree I ordered the Pad Thai which was pretty good, I tried some of the green chicken curry which was pretty spicy but it was also very good. I would definitely recommend coming here if you're in the Soho area. read more

Community seating and Super loud restaurant. We have some good dishes like calamari, pepper steak and brisket curry. I don't like the fact you cannot pick a different protein for the curries. The Chicken satay and fries came out cold. Chicken satay has good flavor. Tom Yong soup was delicious. It is hard to flag down waiter to get anything and even the check. Overall, decent would only back for lunch.! read more

My friend and I really fancied some quick Thai food so popped in here between cocktail bars. We were seated quickly (be-warned the tables are sharing tables only so you are sat on a corner of a table of 8) however once sat were left waiting quite a long time to have our order taken. We both went for a Pad Thai and boy did it come quickly. Unfortunately it was COLD - not luke warm but FREEZING. We ate until we could grab a waiter, which also took quite a while, and told them it was cold. They took it away immediately with an apology and brought out a hot hot hot replacement quick enough so I have to give them some stars for the way they dealt with it. It isn't a bad Pad Thai but I have had better - not worth the aggro! It then took forever to get hold of someone to pay the bill. When we did get hold of them we then had to wait for it to be brought over and they put service charge on! Bloody cheek! read more

Busaba Soho - Chicken pad Thai - luke warm! - Thai Near Me - Soho, XGL

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Pleasant vibe as we arrived 6pm on a Monday night. Tables were full but we were able to be seated right away. Food was yummy. They did have gluten free options. They seemed fine with out two unrefined 8 & 10 year old. Kids loved their food. As did us adults read more

Great food, and accommodated my family with reliability short notice. What more could you ask for?

Great service! Very down to earth and friendly. Very cosy atmosphere. Great value for money. Food was good, but not great.

Before heading to London this past January, I did my culinary recon via intense online researching and through friends and family of mine who reside in and around London. On more then one occasion did this restaurant come up, so I had to make it a point to stop in. Busaba Eathai has three locations in London, the one I hit up was the location off Wardour Street a 10 minute walk from Oxford Circus. I can honestly say that this restaurant boasts some of the best Thai food I have ever consumed. Approaching the restaurant on a Saturday night, the side street it's located on is rather calm. I was definitely surprised to walk in and find the restaurant buzzing with locals and tourists alike. The décor is a deep wood theme which carries through the walls, tables, and even chopsticks. Definitely one of the sleeker Thai restaurants I have been in. Having binged out at Borough Market all day, my companions and I were not deathly starving, so we decided to skip out on salads and soups and head straight for the mains. We did however order one app which the waitress recommended to us. The side was called Pandan chicken, it consisted of chicken with garlic and coriander root, wrapped in a pandan leaf. Great presentation on this dish and the flavours of garlic, coriander, and pandan were sealed into the chicken via the neatly wrapped leaf. For mains, we ordered the Pad Thai Jay - rice noodle with shitake, tofu, baby corn, french bean, peanut, bean sprout, and lime. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the assortment of vegetables created a successful medley of flavours, great vegetarian dish. Next on the list was crab meat egg fried rice with spring onion, the rice was moist and screaming flavour, the crab meat, egg and onions formed a deadly threesome. Last was the cream of the crop, the lamb red curry with lychee and cherry tomato. This was definitely one of the best Thai curry dishes I have ever had. The red curry was so sweet, and the lamb was falling apart. The lychee really rounded out the flavour for me and after we finished eating the dish and licking the bowl dry, I could have ordered it again. I will warn you that Basuba is known for its long queues and busy atmosphere due to the restaurant being so popular. Many of the tables are square seating up to 10 ppl, so you may very well find yourself eating besides complete strangers, to me this is no problem but some may find this offsetting. As far as pricing goes, I don't believe there are any dishes over $10. Typically in London prices for quality foreign food is extravagant, but Busaba's is very reasonably priced making this a more affordable venue to eat at. I can not vouch that you will find fully traditional authentic Thai dishes here, but you will find many of them with chic modern twists that work. Why do they work so well? ALAN YAU directs the restaurant, he is a highly successful restauranteur who's restaurants have attained Michelin starts, and his Dim Sum restaurant Hakkasan in the Soho district took the 18th spot in the magazine Restaurant's Top 50 restaurants (08'). Alan knows what works, trust me. read more

Best Thai food I've had in London so far hands down. Be prepared to wait, though. We went in a large group on a Saturday night, and they don't take reservations, so we stood around in the queue for close to an hour. Once we got inside, though, the service was very fast, especially considering how crowded it was, and the food was delicious. The dishes they offer are much more authentic and interesting than the standard pad thai and curries you find at most basic Thai places. Definitely worth a repeat visit, although next time, I'll try to go at some random off-peak hour. read more

Everything is delicious, the price is inexpensive, i am a proud regular, its just simply fantastic!

hold on to your wine bottle - it might leave the table (un-emptied) as if it earns wings during the meal!!! unbelievable these waitressesss!!!! grrrrr... thank goodness the mgr came over and gave us a free glass.... (BUT that's NOT the point... the point is do NOT clean my alchool if that doesn't go on top of the EMPTY plates too). so RUDE. the food was yummy, greasy, and salty, spicy and hot of the grill, JUST the way i like it! very presentable, adn the service was quick. sure, we had to wait in line for 35 minutes, and sure we had to decide what we were eating/drinking/talking about before we even had a chance to see the interior of the place before reaching the window (let alone the door), but at the end of the day.. err.... night was totally worth it!!! obviously being seated at the communal tables (seating about 12 each) is a great experience, ESPECIALLY if you're a big group (or if you speak a different language, which your communal table compatriots do not understand) and last but not least it's a rewarding experience if you're going to strike up conversation with anyone that is sharing the same munching surface with you. NOT ideal spot if it's a first date, if you are going to break up with someone, or telling them... you're pregnant. very nice, would go back, with maybe a slightly larger group, can't see myself eating at a communal table if i don't have a full schedule of topics to talk about, or if people around me are not ordering weird items. wine - cheap the duck (grilled) - GET some weird fish stew thing that was last in the menu and that the waitress suggested, SUCKED... so she should be punished for suggesting that lol.. j/k it's ok..... next time.. will get something ELSE!!! Ori will be BACK!!! read more

I didn't think much of Thai food before eating here yesterday! I had ginger Ostrich.....'twas absolutely gorgeous! would highly recommend this place! very good food for pretty cheap really!!! mmmmm read more

Busaba is a rare London find: sleek, minimal decor, communal tables, swift service and great food. Oh and did I mention it's very reasonably priced? Servings aren't huge, but the quality is outstanding - Busaba boasts the best calamari in town.Their "no booking" policy means there are usually queues on Fridays and Saturdays, and staff are sometimes a bit frantic, but believe me, it's worth it. Oh, and it boasts one of the most fabulous bathroom sinks in London. read more

I have to write a review of my favorite restaurant in London! I just went there last night and as always came out feeling happy and waiting for my next visit. If you go please order the amazing Thai squid, I swear by them. Also the duck curry is so delectable and full of flavor and it goes perfectly well with the coconut rice. If you go with a big group you might wait a while for your table so be aware of that. But be patient its worth it. The price for your dinner will be so incredibly cheap for the quality of food you'll be skipping down Wordour Street like I did last night. read more

Love this place. The food is really fresh tasting creative and affordable. Not your standard thai this place is a bit of a scene. Definitely not a relaxing meal as these tables turn over quick. read more

Great food and service. The seating is a little crazy and there are no acoustics other than large open windows to the outside. Nice ambiance! read more

Three stars for the service which made the entire experience kind of mediocre. Three of us went into Busaba and got sat immediately. The girl didn't take our orders for ten minutes!! After that we got our food and in all fairness their food is AMAZING. So we downed the food right away and then we sat for a good 40 minutes because nobody came to take our plates, give us our bill OR refill our water. We asked three times for water and finally after 40 minutes we got water!!! HOW ON EARTH. We honestly debated on just walking out so many times. They would have never known. So service is HORRIBLE. food is great. Weigh your options. But there is a busaba in covenant gardens which is much better with service and the food is obviously the same. read more

I have been to this restaurant three times now; the first time (when it had just opened) was fabulous, the second time was mediocre and the third time convinced me to never go back. The main issue was food quality--the first time the meat was tender and lean, but by the third time, it was full of fat and gross. I think they must have cheaped out and switched suppliers. In any case, you can't fool me with cheaper ingredients, as it was very obvious. The tiny portions don't help either. Not spending another dollar at this wannabe Thai fusion joint! read more

One last check in and review from our recent trip to London. I really liked this place, good food, fun atmosphere. My wife says the Pad Thai is not as good as her favorite, Tommy's in Denver, but a close second. check out the loo, if you have a few drinks it may be tough to figure which is men's vs women's. read more

3.5 stars. Honestly, for a fusion place, I was veryVERY INCREDIBLY surprised. For those who know me, I am quite critical of "fusion" food as I find it a cop out used by mediocre chefs to ignore the authenticity of ethnic food. I'm glad that I came in with low expectations, because Busaba left me quite impressed! 1) Black peppercorn calamari. Fantastic. Again, I was apprehensive having learned that this dish was prepared without the tentacles ( guess because that tends to disturb some inexperienced eaters?). However, the tastes and texture of this dish were phenomenal. Covered in sesame, spices, and peppers to give just the right kick. 2) Pad thai. Oh my gosh, I so did not want to order this. I would never in my life order a Thai staple in a fusion restaurant. But my friends are stubborn. I am so glad to have tried this dish because it's given me faith in the quality of all other Busaba dishes. The dish was not oily, the noodles were not too wet, and the peanut sauce was not grainy! My main concerns assuaged! In fact, I would go so far as to say I would order this again. 3) Butternut curry with a side of jasmine rice. The rice was a bit dry, but this helped in soaking up the curry; so it was well planned. The butternut was, like everything else, cooked just right; and as it had been marinating in the curry for quite some time, it easily picked up all the best aspects of the curry -- which was delish! Thick and milky with a spice kick on the finish. Loved it. A very simple dish with some great depth in the flavours. 4) Lemongrass tea. When I ordered hot tea, I was honestly just expecting a run-of-the-mill jasmine blend. The presentation of this drink is quite lovely, served up in it's own little pot (about 4 servings worth). The lemongrass was sweet enough that the included honey was not necessary. And the included cookies were a nice gesture (though a bit dry). Why only 3.5 stars? -- There are sakes on the drink menu and a few non-thai dishes available for order. I find this a bit incongruous. Moreso with the sake, since it doesn't pair well with spicy Thai dishes in the first place. -- The coconut water isn't fresh. If you're used to fresh coconut milk, this will disappoint you. -- They do not have any desserts here. Why not? Given the quality of the dishes I tried, I'd be willing to order mango sticky rice if it were an option. It's also a Thai staple. So what gives? Busaba offers sticky rice and coconut rice (which show up in a lot of Thai desserts), so I was really surprised that they ignore desserts altogether. -- When it came time to pay, we were informed that the debit / credit system had been down for over a few hours (throughout Soho), and all the cash machines in the nearby area were also affected. This was quite frustrating as our total party did not have enough cash to cover the bill and we were stuck retrying our cards for about 30 minutes until one of them finally went through. In my opinion, as the machines were down when we first arrived, staff should have informed us of the issue up front to avoid what could have been a very bad situation. Extra info: -- Group seating, so you share a rather large table with several other parties. I love this type of style when eating Asian cuisine. -- Hooks and nooks to store baby strollers, jackets, etc. Super convenient. -- Plugs, so if you need emergency power for your iPhone, no worries. ^_^ -- Funny symbols for the women's and men's bathrooms. FYI, the "squatting" one is for women. Haha. Doors to the individual stalls are heavy, so don't get confused like me and mistakenly think they are all locked. read more

Stopped in on the fly, jet-lagged and hungry. The restaurant was packed, cozy and cute. Everything we had was fantastic. The portions were a little on the small side but we ate well and left happy. I think dinner for two with a few glasses of wine was around 40 pounds. A reliable place for a meal, nothing ground breaking but solid. The papaya salad was spicy and crisp. The tofu and spinach was actually quite amazing. read more

A fancy place with just ok food. When you walk in the restaurant, you almost can't find any Asian guests, and I, as an Asian who is very familiar with Thai food, realized why shortly. Noodle soup is under seasoning - shows no long cook for the soup, Pad Thai has no dry shrimp flavor ( shows that they didn't use appropriate technics), Thai salad was under seasoning with no peanut flavor, and the Thai calamari is way too salty/over seasoning. read more

Very good Thai food and we have our share of thai food all over the world. The noise volume is very high and gets very hot and stuffy. The wait is not bad. If you are about the food then come here. But if you expect service and ambiance, then this place is not for you. read more

Wow, I think they are onto something here. Great interior design and branding. Food is excellent, not necessarily authentic, but very flavorful and definitely won't disappoint! Tables are all communal, but very tastefully designed that I think a date would still work here even if you are sharing the table with strangers. If I have only 1 complaint, it would be the price but hey, when in London... :) read more

You can't go wrong with Busaba. Be prepared to queue outside for at least a few minutes because it's just that dependably good (and they don't take reservations). Jungle curry is very spicy, spring rolls are lovely, coconut prawns have a kick and are tasty, coconut rice is always a necessary side, and green curry just can't be beat! read more

This place was crowded, if not packed for a Monday night. The staff is good at getting you in and out to accommodate the flow of customers. The selection is nice and the food was good. I really liked the decor. Nice ambiance and almost completely communal tables. We ordered some interesting drinks and delicious food. Maybe not the best place for a group of more than five. Two is perfect, three is fine, four is pushing it. The wait staff was fast getting our orders but never came to collect the check. We sat talking and waiting for more than 15 minutes. Finally we got up to leave to see if someone would take the check. No one cared, so we had to go up to the cashier and then still no one wanted to take the check. We had to ask three times before someone would take the check. Wow. read more

A friend recommended Busaba Eathai. I tried the calamari which was fantastic. My husband who hates calamari liked it. My husband had the fried chicken dinner with brown rice. He said it was good but not fantastic. I had sticky rice and chicken with a side of spicy cucumbers. The spicy cucumber were very interesting, but I liked it. The food was good but not great.The restaurant is very casual with picnic style tables. We actually sat at the counter because the restaurant was full. I was pleased with customer service and would be willing to return. read more

I adored Busaba, even its big communal tables, rather confused, abnormally slow service and overly heated interior. But still, we had an excellent pumpkin curry, delicious coconut rice and scrumptious other things I can't remember. Not a fan of the "dry" shrimp curry, it was quite dry with a paste-like sauce, but everything else we tried was very good, and the decor/atmosphere is very cozy. I'd go again and again, if my "other" would let me (and if I didn't live elsewhere). read more