Andrew West
The food is delicious, fast, beautifully-prepared and fresh with perfect portion-sizes and a spot on balance of zingy flavours. The price is pretty reasonable for London (check out my menu pics for a sample) and the service is okay. We felt the first waiter was a little odd with us somehow and the toilets were a bit manky. Oh and they were out of prawns. So shellfish. But the food...the food was five stars all the way. Compliments to the kitchen crew.
Sari Rustiani
I was craving for Asian food since I’ve been away (from Asia) for more than a week. Found this Thai restaurant only 5 minutes walk from my hotel. Warm and friendly welcome as I entered the restaurant. Big restaurant with cozy atmosphere. The food quality undoubtedly good. Very recommended to order their tasty prawn cracker while you’re waiting for main course.
Nicole Cooper
We made the mistake of coming here during the rush of people going to the theater. I don't think anyone even asked for our drink order for a good 30 minutes. The food took over an hour to finally reach our table but it was good. The spicy edamame was really good. The green chicken curry was hot and flavorful. The tables are arranged so that you sit with others but they never sat anyone else with us so we didn't get to experience this part. The manager did give us each a free drink to make up for the wait and we appreciated that but this was the longest I have ever waited for service. #LocalGuides
Anton Black (antonblack_com)
Busaba Leister square is one of ten Thai restaurant chain. It is not your average Thai place. The interiors are dark and modern, combining teak wood , incense and dimly lit lanterns. It has large shared tables. They don’t Take reservations and overall is a great place for dinner with friends.
The food is always good, but I have to say it used to be even better. You always find a good number of vegetarian dishes and everything is well presented and inviting.
Everyone working there is always very nice and helpful, the service is quick and you often have a nice chat with the people you sharing the table with.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone.
Christian Frost
SUMMARY
Great Thai food at a reasonable price. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Please do order the satay chicken skewer dish as your starter - it will surprise your taste buds!
SERVICE
I would like to mention the service first as this is actually what really makes this branch shine. For example, the waiters are not pushy, so they leave you be and gives you the time you need. Another example is I asked for a plug/outlet and the staff immediately suggested that I should move to a location where there was an available plug - helpful especially if you are going for their lunch deal and you need to top up one of your devices.
STARTER
The satay chicken skewers (£3 lunch deal only) with peanut sauce was so good. The only 'complaint' I have is that there wasn't enough of that delicious peanut sauce.
MAIN
I ordered the Kwai Teow which is fried noodles with prawns and chicken (£10 lunch price deal) . This dish was a bit too oily so I'd recommend going for one of their curries instead. Note: I wish it would be possible to set a spiciness level, similar to some places in Japan as especially a dish like this could have been more impactful with more chilli.
DRINK
I ordered the Mojito (~£9). This was a very well done drink as the alcohol taste was very subtle and the ingredients really complimented each other. I'd buy this again.
Snowy Gem
Being a big fiend of Thai food, I am totally in love with this place. I strongly recommend the charcoal grilled-chicken here which is to die for. The price seems pretty reasonable and the service is really friendly. I always take the window seat with great view as well.
Simmy Ghatt
Amazing food and worth the price. Prawn crackers are a must (and the duck). Staff are helpful and friendly although the waiter dropped our first round of drinks - resolved with the duty manager with discounted bill. Would definitely go again for quality good food
Tantan Sumartana
Craving Asian food when you’re in London? This restaurant is one of the best I think. Thai food is always nice and so is here. Foods & beverages are great, staffs are nice and the restaurant is so cozy. We come here 7 peoples so we order various famous Thai Food to share such as Tom Yum Goong, Som Tum, Pad Thai, Fried Rice etc. And last but not the least is Thai Ice Tea. So Try it when you’re in London
A Vallecorsa
Excellent food and location. Stopped in for dinner before going to the theater at Prince of Wales, right around the corner. Lovely restaurant with plenty of seating for large parties or even just an individual. Service was great and came with a smile and recommendations. Lots of veggie and vegan options.
I had the green vegetarian curry and sweet potato fries-both EXCELLENT. Paired with a nice red and made for a superb meal before the show. I highly recommend!
Mike McConnell (Lorcav)
The food is varied and of a high quality. The prices are good for Central London, especially as you are right by Leicester Square.
There are only a few vegan dishes which is probably worth noting if you're that way inclined. The drinks menu had a few entries in each of the expected wine, beer and soft drink categories.
The seating is either benched by a window or around large square tables that you will share with other parties.
Service is included in your bill.
Saroop Chana
Went here for lunch... Service and food was great. I would recommend it to anyone. I bought Chicken Pad Thai and cousin got Green Curry
Moez Mitha
Really good food and a great spot for a quick bite if you're in a hurry. The service is okay, I find that they struggle when the crowd picks up. Otherwise I think they're a good go-to for decent Asian food. The tables are good for have a large group of friends together.
Valia Grigoriadou
Good value for money Thai dishes. Everything we tried was tasty. I would recommend to boon a table as this place is very central and gets busy (especially in the evenings).
P.S. Staff was not very friendly the last time I was there
B P
Great atmosphere, good food and reasonably price, the only downside we had to wait sometime before we could place our order.
Caroline Smith
Had a fabulous meal here a few weeks back. The service was really good but the food was outstanding!! We had the lunch time menu which was excellent value for money. To start we had the fish cakes, fried calamari and the spring rolls, and for mains we had chilli beef with rice and chicken vermicelli. Will definitely go back next time we are in London!!
Andrew Porter
Didn't expect a huge amount from this chain restaurant, but went away loving it and wanting more!
Busaba is informal dining (with Wagamamas style shared tables) but was clean with great ambience.
The food was absolutely amazing - a touch over spiced but bursting with flavour. We went for the £18.90 fixed price menu - the flavours were great, portions generous and the food fresh. Can't wait to visit again!
The only downside was the beer cost (£7 for a 660ml beer) and the 10% service charge being automatically added to the bill.
Filipa Lyseight
Love it! Been there several times, never regret it. Staff are great and food incredibly tasty. Tandrim duck and calamari are the best!
Marco Beaumont
I have been to busaba before and have had Thai Green curry, which was ok.
Yesterday I went to Leicester Square and decided to try the, Cod fillet. Well it is one of the most tasty meals I have had in ages. Highly recommended.
The place is a bit busy/crazy and service is a combination of rushed and slack. Everyone else liked the food including one of my friends who knows a lot about thai food.
Valentina Malvone
My friend suggest me this restaurant!! I love it!!! Food was amazing!!! It's such a shame that they serve all togheter, i would like to give 5 star but, I wasn't happy because they dont have the dessert, but just a tastless vanilla ice- cream!!! I really enjoy the dinner; just something to improve , good luck.
Andy Robert Long
Not the best meal I have had recently and I have had a few in Reading and Manchester, I had curry Massiman, which should have potato not chips
Lee Scott Robinson
I normally LOVE Busaba but despite an empty restaurant service was slow, kept having to remind the waiter for things we asked for, food was ok sort of (they've changed the menu but not for the better in my opinion it just has more expensive dishes as you work from left to right) the crispy seaweed is from a packet and not freshly made, the waiter looked a bit annoyed once he'd produced the bill we gave him a gift voucher to use....all in all a very average experience.
Conor McAuley
The menu is reasonable with a fair selection of dishes from which to choose. Prices are very reasonable for central London. The food itself is passable but I've had much better Thai food in my local Thai cafe!
Guilherme Oliveira
Great atmosphere, friendly staff and an amazing variety and quality of food. An experience to repeat!
João Silva
Great food and service! Good place to go with family or friends! Well done!
Laura Lagonigro
Food was great, although a bit too much on the expensive side considering that the seating is uncomfortable and the service needs improvement. Nothing dramatically bad, but there is a lot better in central London.
Gabby Willis
Perfect food and atmosphere. The saison beer is one of the most unique and wonderful crafts I've ever tasted.
André F. Macedo
Very cosy place in Soho. The food is good for someone that is not an expert on Thai Food. The great part are the tables for groups which make conversation much more easier.
ETNGC
My wife has recommended me this thai restaurant and I chose the one in Soho. The ambiance is quite good and so are the waiters/waitresses. I ordered Thai Calamari as a starter that is tosses in a wok in ginger and green peppercorn sauce. And as a main course I preferred spicy seafood noodles that is very delicious as well. I strongly recommend.
Akash Sapru
The food was excellent though service was not up to the mark. The green curry was perfect and the menu had some very interesting vegan options. The pad thai was delicious. The cocktails did not meet our expectations. We definitely recommend the place for the great appetizers and main course selections.
Global Foodie & Filmy
Good service... Nice vibe and very welcoming... Good flavours.. Not very authentic.. Feels like a food chain which it is..... Good drinks menu
Inês De Almeida
É difícil a comida tailandesa falhar, pelo menos para mim. O Busaba foi uma óptima experiência. Das entradas ao pad thai. Tudo delicioso! E a um preço justo, comparado aos que são praticados em Londres na generalidade.
@TastingGround
Though a great fan of Asian food, I did not enjoy dining at Busaba. When we visited, we were with vegetarian/pescatarian friends. Some dishes seafood and vegetarian dishes were already not available, though we came in really early (7 pm!!!). So we ended up with a very limited choice.<br/><br/>The dishes we ordered were average at best. Some were rather a hit and miss combination of ingredients, others just not as fresh or crunchy as in usual Thai eateries. The only items that deserved some attention on the table were the pad Thai and the lassy drink. <br/><br/>Service was slow and our waitress was not focused. <br/>The table was still messy when we sat, and toilets... no comment.<br/><br/>With the existing competition serving excellent Thai food in the neighborhood, I am not sure we will be back.
Elie Ghanem
One of my favorite Thai food in London.<br/>Great taste, good service and friendly staff.<br/>Thai clamari and the Char-grilled duck plates are the best. Singha beer is a must to try.
Maria João Teixeira
Favourite thai restaurant! Great chain of restaurants through london! Have been to many and none of them disappoint! Lots of delicious offers from the menu.
Cenker Köse
Definetly one of the best Thai restaurant in the world and we're lucky to have this as a restaurant chain! Thai calamari is the classic, orgasmic starter, which you should order first! Geen curry fried rice is also new generation + old fashion but yummy food. Also try "Koh Samui" as a drink if you like exotic fruits.
Beau James
B and I were looking for a place to eat before finally seeing Book of Mormon and at 6:15 we were a little worried. Stumbling across Busaba Eathai was a blessing.<br/><br/>Seated right away (there was a line about 15 minutes later) in a nice little window seat we ordered:<br/><br/>Chicken satay - Very happy they used thigh as it usually works better in the smaller cuts. Peanut sauce was good too. <br/><br/>Chicken Curry Rice - Nice cuts of chicken and the sauce was great. Best part was the rice though. Really fluffy and I could eat that by itself.<br/><br/>Fried Chicken - The sauce was tangy and strong and the centre of the chicken was nice, but the outside was much to dry and I did have to leave a few pieces sitting there.<br/><br/>Roti - Were really flavoursome but I didn't realise they came with no sauce. Not bad but we should've only ordered one.<br/><br/>We washed it down with a couple of beers and were on our way. <br/><br/>Good evening and would return if seeing a show again.
Ayush Lodha
Located near the theatres, this place is good for pre and post show snacks/light meal. They have lots of vegetarian options. The desks are huge, communal in some sense so you will be sitting with other people and it might be hard to talk to your friends. The service was prompt except for one dish for which they offered complementary rice. I had por-pia jay (spring rolls) and jasmine rice with coconut and vegetable hot pot. Both were good.
Gül
No word could define how delicious Thai calamari is! If you visit London, you should<br/>definitely have dinner in this orgasmic restaurant at least once. When ordering your main dish, you should also listen to recommendations of workers. 😋
Radhika Mathur
Had an amazing meal in this restaurant which happened to be our first meal in London. Fantastic, well priced food. Great staff and atmosphere. Definitely recommended.
Gregory Antoniou
I visited Busaba, Panton Street with two friends on a Thursday night and the service and food were so terrible that I decided to complain by email to the manager. I wrote that despite that the kitchen is supposed to close at 11 and we arrived at 10, the two waitresses were hurrying us up to order and they were extremely unhelpful and unwelcoming. Especially, from 10:30 onwards they were more interested in packing up and leaving that servicing us. When the food arrived it was equally bad; in particular, the two char-grilled duck breast we ordered were old, rancid and cold – they were definitely cooked hours ago - and the funny thing is that we have ordered the same dish before in other occasions at this and other Busaba restaurants and it was great. I had to send this complain twice, but finally I got a reply from the manager, Ahmed (cc to someone Francesca) apologising and offering me to book a table for a free meal for two people. However, when I replied back to him (cc to Francesca) accepting the offer and asking to make a booking, my email was again ignored. Even now, 10 days later, I haven’t received a reply. What an appalling way to treat your customers! The “moral of the story” seems to be, if you want to eat at Busaba, avoid the Panton Street one.
Joe H
Great decor, excellent service and fantastic food. Greatly enjoyed eating there.
Paul
Sad Decline. Some accountant somewhere has decided that the exotic ingredients and authentic(ish) Thai flavours that made their food so delicious, do not fit Busaba's current business model and as a consequence of this have removed any trace of what made these restaurants good in the first place. The food (whilst fresh) is flavoured predominantly with soy and chilli and whilst this is perfectly fine, I can get the same food in 100 other restaurants on the highsteet.
Gino
Positive concept of Thai chain. I was really looking forward to checking out a branch of Busaba Eathai. Having travelled widely across Thailand and having read several mixed reviews, I didn't know what to expect.<br/><br/>I would rate 8 for the ambience, the new branch at Panton Rd is plain but cozy with friendly service.<br/>What to say about the food? Well, we tried to order as many things as possible and would definitely recommend the "pad thai" (best I had outside Thailand!), "ginger beef" was also very tasty and full of flavour. On the negative side, portions are quite small, "calamari" weren't as good as expected and the "chicken satay" should have been sent back. Overall, 2 main courses, 3 side dishes, a portion of rice and 2 soft drinks for £40 + tips. Will surely be visiting other branches soon.
Ohnaturelle
Despite my incessant raving about Japanese food on this blog, I would have to say that Thai food is also one of my favourite cuisines. I only discovered the magic of Thai food about a year ago, which is when my uncle visited us in Vancouver and we had dinner at Bob Likes Thai Food . From then on, I’ve been enamoured of Thai food, and regularly try out new places in Vancouver, although none have surpassed Bob. While I was in London, this same uncle happened to be in town for work, and of course we decided to meet up. It was strange to see him in a city that neither of us call home, but after nearly a month without any direct contact with family, it was comforting to see a face that was so much like my dad’s. We started off our afternoon by visiting Westminster Abbey. I thought I’d become desensitized to churches and cathedrals of all kinds, but I was wrong. Although it lacks the majestic Gothic beauty of the Notre Dame and the simplistic elegance of the Basilica de Sacré-Coeur , I thoug
Fork My Knife
All sleek, dark wood, low lighting and candles. It doesn't feel cheap by any means.
Gastronoms.co.uk
I found out recently that my family have never had Thai food before. That they had never eaten Thai food before. At all. I was shocked. Naturally, I'm going to right this wrong (starting with my sister this weekend), but still - everybody has had Thai foo
Mr Noodles
Is there a bigger crime against noodles than some of the dishes masquerading as pad Thai (ผัดไทย) in Britain? You'd think it'd be pretty hard to bugger up a dish of stir-fried rice noodles, eggs, beansprouts, with some protein, usually prawn, chicken or tofu, and a garnish of lime and crushed peanuts. Yet somehow this iconic dish, more often than not, ends up as a clumpy over-sweetened mess that bears little resemblance to the pad Thai found in the old country. That said, there must be somewhere in London that can rustle up a decent pad Thai? For example, I was sure that the likes of 101 Thai Kitchen would do it well although that turns out not to be the case . In the end, I decided to check out the mainstream options - somewhere you might pop into whilst shopping or during a night out. So let battle commence between two of London's best-known Thai restaurants, Busaba Eathai and Rosa's . Pad Thai with prawns @ Rosa's Round 1 - Pad Thai Rosa's started out in Spitalfields and
Ολυμπία Τοπτσίδου
Really aromatic tastes of Thailand.<br/>Friendly staff willing to explain dishes to you and they always inform you about the level of spiciness of your order.<br/>Quick service.<br/>Lovely relaxed and ambient atmosphere.<br/>Drinks are fantastically fresh and delicious.<br/>Clean toilets and fragrant soap.<br/>A total recommendation.
Shake
Long wait but the service, prices and most importantly food are all good. A bit noisy in there in comparison to startford branch.<br/><br/>Very informal place where you share table with others. Food was excellent. We had a green curry chicken which was traditional curry with a different variety of veggies which was a nice surprise. The spring rolls were small, almost lumpia-esque. Very good, and the pad thai was very flavorful and the noodles were cooked perfectly al-dente.<br/><br/>Verdict a place to go if you have time and not fussed about the wait<br/><br/>
The Joyous Living
Sunday evening, some of the girls from my MA programme got together to celebrate our lovely friend's birthday at Busaba Eathai in SoHo. Naturally when a group of girls get together and they are as lovely and fun loving as my friends you are going to have the cameras coming out and some good times are shared. <br/><br/>GROUPS: The restaurant was good for a group with large wooden tables. A fee is charged for groups.FOOD: I ordered the Pad Thai which was filling and under £10. It was however dry, nothing special and the tofu was tough. Plainly speaking it was lacklustre.SERVICE: The waiters waited until everyone was finished eating before clearing away; actually ALMOST everyone was finished and then they tried to remove the plate from one of my friends who was not finished... ALMOST :o And nobody likes when the bill becomes a huge hassle.<br/>AMBIANCE: The restaurant has a nice cozy feel despite its size and we never felt like any other party around us was too close or too loud.<br/><br/>Would I go again? Perhaps but it would not be my first choice. Primarily because of the lacklustre food.
Diipesh DLB Bhagtani
Awesome food. If in london do not miss it. Authentic thai. Phad thai noodles, tofu in salt & pepper in vegetarian. Chicken with cashew nut, green thai curry & sticky rice were a treat. They do not serve desserts here which is quite funny & surprising.
Mo Al-T
Part of the almost ceaselessly expanding chain of Thai restaurants, this one is probably my favourite of the bunch. Tucked away down a side road just a minute away from leicester square, it is always so shockingly easy to get a table at prime dinner time.<br/><br/>From a purely food-centric perspective; Busaba has to be up there amongst the best reasonably-priced thai restaurants going. Having sampled basically everything on the menu (i may or may not be a bit obsessed) I have yet to order a meal without the calamari starter: succulent, wonderfully-flavoured and arguably worth visiting London from no matter where in the country (or world) you live.<br/><br/>The mains are largely excellent as well - the Massaman Curry with duck a particular favourite of mine. <br/><br/>If you have yet to try Busaba, I would highly recommend it. In particular, it is a pretty decent first date location as they sit you on the corners of large square tables. Order some food to share (definitely including the calamari!) and you are onto a winner!
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