Buddha Lounge — Restaurant in Richmond

I wanted to go out for elevated Indian food with cocktail/drinks. The website looked amazing and with 4.9/5* reviews, this place should have been a no brainer. I sent in this review but did not see it in their reviews tabulation. When I chose the lowest rated, other reviews came up that were also not shown. Is this why their rating is so high?? Firstly, the place did not have the lounge atmosphere as depicted on the website. Rather the harsh lighting, decor and even dinnerware/cutlery is more like that of a diner. We sat down next to a window but I had to change as it was dirty. I was surprised that no customers were in the restaurant on Friday night dinner service. The owner/chef said they haven't officially opened and are waiting for supplies and finishing touches. My husband was starving and wanted a lamb dish. I was intrigued by the rave reviews and hoped chef Siddhartha would make suggestions for us. I had high expectations...very few restaurants are as highly rated. We had a complimentary vegan appetizer, chicken 65 and fish pakora which I mentioned was salty(was not charged). We had chicken biryani, a signature dish and a lamb curry selected by chef. The biryani was ok, the lamb curry too salty for me to eat and crispy garlic naan was really good. The server took the lamb back to the kitchen and returned with a saucier dish. Did they add more liquid to make it less salty? He asked if the food was ok and I said it was better. We took much of the food home. Cost was about $70. I don't understand how it got so many 5* reviews. Even if the food was better, the atmosphere/ambience is 2-3 at the very best. The photos made out like it was a relaxing high end place. It wasn't even licenced so not a bar/lounge, no alcohol. That's misleading advertising all around. I grew up in the restaurant business and understand customers can be quite critical. So to go to such a highly rated restaurant and have such a disappointing experience prompted me to write this review. Don't go expecting fine dining with impeccable service and ambience. If it was advertised as a cheap eats(not cheap), my expectations would be lower. Quite upset that the restaurant still show only the 5* reviews and not...

We were looking for a place to eat around Ironwood Plaza in Richmond on a Saturday and decided to give this restaurant a try after checking out the execeptional reviews on Google.

The restaurant was having some additional renovation done so we were not sure if we could sit down for a meal, but the owner Sid welcomed us and had us seated.

Sid made recommendations after asking about our dietary restrictions and preferences on spice level. We took his recommendation and ordered the Chicken 65 and the Lamb Biryani to share.

While we were waiting, Sid came with two glasses of chai tea to warm us up. We had the Chicken 65 as an appetizer, which was very flavourful. Sid explained to us why Chicken 65 is called that name. He said a restaurant had a chicken dish that people liked, and instead of remembering the official name of the dish, people would order it by the number on the menu, which is 65. We love hearing this kind of tibit, and it added to our experience.

The star of the show was the Lamb Biryani. It was hands down the best biryani I ever had at ANY restaurant. It was very flavourful, infused with all kinds of spices, and has this kick that is just perfect. Not so spicy you cannot taste the food, and just enough to elevate the dish to another level. The dish was not saucy, but it did not feel dry at all. That is a difficult art to master, and it shows the skills of the chef.

Sid gave us some naan to go with the food, and even gave us a bit of the meal he cooked for the staff for us to try. They were both very tasty. We were also introduced us to his business partner and the chef, and we find everyone at the restaurant to be polite and nice.

The experience was so good that we ordered the lamb biryani and two dozens of samosas for our family picnic the next day, and the entire family loved the food we brought!

I am not a professional blogger and completely forgot to take any photos.

One thing to note. This restaurant is located inside an industrial park, and is on the second floor so you can...

I happened upon this place quite haphazardly and I'm so happy I did!! It's the best kept secret in Richmond, until now.

Short version, the food was EXCEPTIONAL and the lovely hospitality made the evening most memorable.

The more detailed account... Sidartha, the owner, was engaging from the moment we walked in and we opted to simply go with whatever he suggested from the starter through to dessert. I took a few photos of the dishes (sorry, I'm no expert photographer!) and the chef Naveen kindly wrote everything down so I would know what to rave about when I go about telling everyone I know about how amazing our experience here was.

Here's what we had: 1-Aloo tikki (photo) 2-Haryali(Mint marinated) tandoori Chicken (photo) 3-Lamb rogan josh (photo) 4-Hyderabadi chicken biryani 5- Kadai chicken 6- Gulab jamun and rasmalai (photo)

Our server, Vairag, was so helpful and charming, making sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal.

The multiple 5 star reviews are indeed well deserved. The flavours were perfectly balanced, everything tasted fresh and our group of 4 friends (with varying tastes and preferences) all enjoyed every dish, which is impressive! The price point was good for the quality and quantity of food.

This is going to be my new go-to place for takeaway now and I look forward to visiting again soon to try the lunch buffet with friends.

NB** They did mention it's a good idea to call ahead if you're planning on going for dinner as they are sometimes engaged with...