place has got a bad attitude. I came in 20 minutes before closing and asked for some ice cream to go. that's it. just a scoop in a container. takes a couple of minutes max. the wait staff said no almost immediately. it just shows the kind of attitude this place has, refusing to go just a little out of the way to help someone out. and by help someone out i mean doing their jobs. it's not even like the place was about to close early, there were still other tables of people eating. just a bad impression from the employees is all. read more

Limited parking on side of building. Nice staff. Not very fast with the food. Some dishes tasty others not. Crab fried rice has no flavor and looks like it's canned crab not fresh. (Grey meat.) read more

See all

Busaba is a great Thai Restaurant in the hipster town of Nelson. The menu is great and also has the best Thai dish from Chiang Mai, Khoa Soi. They even have a tofu option. Loved the dish so much, I went back again. read more

Busaba Thai Cafe - Khoa Soi Tofu. (Roti in the background) - Thai Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

We got chicken pad see ew for take out & it was the best we've ever had! Chicken was perfect and well-seasoned. Service was quick and portion was enough for lunch for two! read more

Busaba Thai Cafe - Pad see ew with chicken - Thai Near Me - Nelson, British Columbia

There are so many things I love about this restaurant. First off, It's not westernized like other restaurants! It's true, mouthwatering, authentic Thai cuisine. Secondly, the service is great, the employees are extremely kind and food comes to your table fast. Lastly we need to talk about the ambiance, it's great! Decorations everywhere, paintings throughout, and the bustling Victoria style town of Nelson out the windows. 5 stars! read more

See all

Service was good, food was fresh and tasty. Had Pad gra Pao. Lots of minced pork and green beans were perfect little crunchy

Decor nice, but overrated. Asked for steamed tofu with curry, got fried tofu. Waitress never checked back in after bringing our food, I had to get up and find her. The lady who seemed to be the manager then acted like I had not specified steamed tofu. Finally admitted they had no steamed tofu because it all came " prepackaged fried" ?!?!!!! I asked to substitute it and they suddenly were out of shrimp... I settled on chicken. By the time they brought me a bowl of plain boiled chicken strips to add to my cold plate of fried tofu curry my husband was fine eating. It was a nightmare. The manager seemed " confused" at my situation. I won't go back or recommend a restaurant that doesn't cook its own food. The managers attitude was passive aggressive at best. Disappointed is an understatement. Maybe they hate tourists.... read more

New owners. Actually Thai. Lovely service. Terrific food. Three recent wonderful experiences.

Late Friday lunch. Restaurant quite crowded, with a mix of locals and tourists. High quality preparation. Excellent flavors in the curry and visual presentation on the plate, especially the accompanying side salad. You can tell the chef/owners care about providing an authentic dining experience. Food on par with the best Thai places in Vancouver, San Francisco and London. Very clean. Attentive service. Reasonable prices. Highly recommended! read more

We had lunch at Busaba and tried two of their lunchtime combos, the Pad Thai and the Pad See-ew, both served with soup and salad. For $12.50 the price was definitely right. The soup was overcooked vegetables in water that must have been sitting in the hot table too long. The mains were okay; the Pad Thai was quite sweet, but the chili vinegar provided on the table made it much better. I also loved the chilies in fish sauce. The Pad See-ew was very oily, but my boyfriend liked it. The salad provided on the plate was a nice mix of greens, but the dressing was very bland. I also ordered a Thai Tea, which was beautiful and yummy. All in all, as good as one could expect for a cheap lunch in this town. read more

Pretty good run of the mill Thai. My pad Thai was one dimentional, but still good. The fried rolls didn't have a ton of flavor, but their sauce did. My husband loved his curry dish though. read more

Despite the poor reviews we really enjoyed our lunch. Little bit overpriced based on portions but nice presentation and very good food. Liked the peanut salad dressing very much. My yellow curry was excellent and I enjoyed it immensely. Nice service that did not warrant any criticism. read more

Overworked and underwhelmed. After being recommended to this restaurant, we were not impressed with any aspect other than they were generous with the wine since they had us wait 30 minutes to clear our table completely. We arrived after a rush and I can say I understand. However after another hour the tables were still not cleared and the welcome was even less welcoming. The staff needs a bus-person and a lesson or three in efficiency. The Thai food was simply ok. I have had better Thai in even smaller towns. I don't recommend. read more

Always looking for good Thai food. Happy to say Busaba did not disappoint! Spring rolls were great, pad Thai was delicious and green curry was amazing! read more

I love this place. I have been eating Thai food my entire life, and this is as good as any I have had. Sure, the menu is limited, but I don't think it is fair to penalize them in your review because it is not a full-service big-city Thai restaurant (I'm talking to you Chris, and D.L., since when is Winlaw "local"? That's like being from Hamilton and telling people you're from Toronto. It simply isn't so). By the way, Busaba is MUCH better than the Thai restaurant in Winlaw. That place sucks; everything tastes like quinoa, bulgar wheat, and weed : ) They have recently completely renovated the inside, and it is beautiful. Very well done - it actually feels like a Thai restaurant now. And while the service is still a bit slow and flaky (this is Nelson after all; slow and flaky is the norm - even at the bank), the food is top notch. About the limited menu: just because a lot of Asian restaurants have menus with seemingly hundreds of items on them (ask yourself: have you actually ordered more than 4 or 5?), doesn't mean that the menu here at this Thai "cafe" is "missing" anything because they choose to limit their menu to a sampling of Thai specialties. I personally find this to be a ridiculous criticism. Judge the restaurant by what IS on the menu! Was it good or not? In my opinion, it is damn good. I have tried almost everything on the menu at this point, and I haven't been disappointed. Although a better dessert selection would be nice - we are occasionally forced to take a postprandial stroll down to All Seasons if we feel like having dessert and a digestif. read more

Small, but very popular, family-run restaurant one block off the main street. Limited menu, but what is there is done well, meaning that the tastes are true, and value-for-money is a likely outcome. It's not fancy, and the service can be almost amusingly amateur, but the nosh is good and few are disappointed. Howver, Thai specialists will be underwhelmed; this place is a 'cafe' - translate: imagine a family-run roadside stall, anywhere in Thailand. It gives you the standards, such as Pad Thai, Green Curry, Yellow Curry, Tom Kha Gai, Yum Wun Sen - but nothing more exciting. This is not, repeat NOT, a full-blown Thai restaurant. Fair enough: this is rural small-town Canada after all. Decor is nothing to write about, and the front patio is ok, but far from fancy. All-in-all, a great little lunch spot, and an ok start to the evening. It's good, but it;s not (trying to be) great. read more

Over priced for okay food. I think it was like $14 an entree and it doesn't include rice, and for that price I just expect really good food. I think they are taking advantage of the fact they have the market cornered in Thai in the area. The service and atmosphere are good though. read more

I love this place. As far as Thai food goes it is hard to get more authentic then this in Canada, never mind Nelson! Recently had the spring rolls and fish cakes for starters and they are simply amazing. The coconut chicken soup (tom ka gai?) is truly delicious. I have also recently had both the red and green curry's and I love how you can ask for them as spicy as you want. Both so different in their flavourings unlike some Thai restaurants where the only difference is the colour. So delicious. It is a limited menu, but what they do have on there is so good. Give me quality over quantity any day. read more

I had dinner at Busaba while in Nelson for a soccer tournament so my dining companions were three teenaged boys. The restaurant had been recommended by a staff member at our hotel and the boys wanted Asian so we thought we would try it out. Each one of us was happy with the choice and we all had very good meals. The atmosphere suited our wide-ranging conversation and the portions were perfect for three hungry teens. While the composition of our party was as described, Busaba would be a great choice for a dinner with friends, couples or anyone looking for a good meal. The staff were attentive and friendly and there was a healthy mix of patrons there for dinner. I would highly recommend Busaba as a restaurant option in Nelson. read more

having been to thailand over 10 times i couldn't understand why this food has almost zero spice it says authentic thai food on menu but theres no sticky rice and tom yam goon is served medium hot nothing tastes authentic here i could tell because no photo of king in restaurant read more

This place has a funky atmosphere, a little bit strange and un-feng-shui. The food is definitely tasty, though not the best I've ever had. Because options are so limited in the Kootenays ethnic food, let alone for Thai food, I end up going here quite a bit. Worth a visit. read more

Good (though not spectacular) Thai food, and I love their red curry. Definitely the best Thai in the area, and a nice addition to Nelson's palate. read more

Limited menu but really good Thai food! Try the bubble tea and I suggest a curry! Small place... great service and decent prices! For what it is I highly recommend! read more

This is one of my favourite places to eat in Nelson. The curry is consistently delicious. And my absolute favourite is the coconut soup - something magical in there. I've heard the pad thai is nothing special. very friendly owners and staff - authentic thai cuisine. read more

The staffs are friendly but the food is so bland, I'm not recommend if you want a taste of Thai. It is not worth the price. You are probably better off with a pack of hotdog from save on good. read more

I was in Nelson visiting my daughter. We needed a couple of dishes to add to a "home" meal. Ordered two chicken cashew dishes. Picked them up for $29. At home we found they were 6" foil dishes, half full. Not what we expected or what my daughter had experienced in the past. We thought they had made a mistake and made one meal and put it in two dishes. We were able to fit it in one dish! Called the Cafe and was told the manager would call back. Called again later.......eventually he did call. We were told they could prepare us another dish but it would have to wait until the rush had gone, a couple of hours or so!!!! This was not satisfactory, we could not put our meal on hold that long. There was little chicken or cashews in the dish, mainly bland veg. Not worth it if there had been the correct amount. Poor, over valued food and rude response with no intent to rectify a wrong. My daughter had been a customer for 10 years but will not return. Apparently it has new owners.....They have a lot to learn. read more

reasonably priced entrees for a family budget. great for date night, they are always so accommodating and remember us whenever we arrive.... if you get a gift certificate, you can use it to spend on booze ( many establishments don't, so that was a bonus) - tasty desserts - can't wait for date night read more