Buddha Original — Restaurant in Budapest

I don’t understand how this place has such high reviews. We went around 8 PM for dinner and it was nearly empty. The server was friendly and help helped us decide what to order.

My husband ordered a Tom Kha soup with beef. The soup was lukewarm and tasted like it was watered down. The beef was thin and stringy.

I ordered a Buddah Tik-Tok roll and was BEYOND disappointed. The first issue, which was definitely my fault, was that there is no rice in it! It did not list rice as one of the ingredients on the menu, but obviously if I’m ordering sushi, I expected rice. When I got it, it looked like it was fried, and I did not want a fried roll. But I decided to taste it just to see. It was so weird because it was warm! I had two pieces and then my husband had one and we just couldn’t stomach eating it. We asked the waiter if he could bring us a different role instead of that one because it was a fried roll and we do not do fried food. Since the menu did not list it as a fried roll, we figured it would be no big deal. But they would not change the roll for us! They said we would be charged for it Because they made it regardless of if the menu did not tell us it was fried. I appreciated that the waiter did go in the back and speak with a manager, but it was unfortunate that they made us keep the roll. Obviously we didn’t eat it.

Lastly, I ordered a noodle dish, and asked for it to be made spicy. I did not realize that was an extra charge for one pepper to be diced into my meal. this dish is the only reason I’m giving two stars. It was tasty and seasoned well, and was hot (temperature wise).

We ordered water to drink (of course there was a charge that we expected) and when the bill came, we were charged a very expensive service charge for the food, but then an additional service charge that they told us was for the water !!!

Overall, I DO NOT...

Overall:

Food: Thai/Sushi

Quite an odd concept but seems to do well enough to have several locations in Budapest.,This is definitely for the less discerning diner who won’t raise an eyebrow at a menu featuring some unusual interpretations of Thai food along with an even odder sushi menu. It was passable but not somewhere I’d rush back to. Happy to award a respectable three stars.

What I liked:

• Nice clean restaurant • Clear, easy to understand menu • Good portion sizes • Reasonable price point

What I didn’t like:

• Prawn tempura wasn’t prawn tempura but deep fried breaded prawns oddly straight and quite oily with an unnecessary chopped vegetable garnish.

• The red curry was already blended into the egg fried rice which was odd and I didn’t taste it.

Will I go again? NO Was it good value?...

Absolutely unacceptable. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before. There was literally a PIECE OF PLASTIC in my food. Not only was the food BAD to begin with, but everything around us was dirt. The restaurant was nearly empty, and now I understand why.

When I brought the plastic issue to their attention, they casually tossed me a 10% discount—on just that one dish. No apology that felt sincere, no manager stepping in. Just a half-hearted gesture as if this was a normal occurrence.

Some of the staff were somewhat decent, but overall the service was just as disappointing as the food. Honestly, I left feeling shocked, disgusted, and angry.

I do not recommend this place to anyone. Save your money, your appetite, and your...