Buddha Barn

This was definitely a fun restaurant to drive to, as it means windy steep roads soooo characteristic of the West Side and the Sayler Park area. Finally you arrive at the small strip mall where Buddha Barn resides. The restaurant name is a little challenging to find -- it's written on the window glass, not the wide green awning above. But once inside, you find a cozy, clean comfortable environment with great service. BTW, I loved their menu, which seemed creative and quirky, with a few unusual offerings. For example, I ordered the C.O.P. curry (meaning Choose Your Protein), with shrimp. The veggies were huge, coated with a wonderful curry sauce. But it was the RaMa pork I was impressed with. I got take-out, and was surprised to find that this dish required some assembly. I received a box full of attractive-looking freshly cut-and-cooked veggies, a box of cooked rice, and two small containers of sauce. Way to keep everything fresh for me, B.B.!! I was equally impressed with the lemon Thai tea -- it had that great Thai taste, but there was a little kick of spice to it that was unusual -- and delicious! There were even a few special touches -- cardboard straws, chopsticks, and even some complimentary Hershey's kisses thrown in the bag. Yes, the food was wonderful -- fresh authentic Thai fare. But what made this place even more special was the thoughtful hospitality!

Cool spot. We live in a neighborhood with at least 6 Asian food options. but we met friends here who are regulars. We started with the meatballs and they were quite tasty. I had a chicken and pineapple dish, level six heat, really good, but I should have gone hotter. They are BYOB with a corkage fee that varies by what you bring. Our waiter was efficient. Only downside, it was pretty hot and stuffy in there. I doubt we'd drive 30 minutes to come here again since we have close options, but if you're out this way, give it a try!

This one I was really hesitant on. First, it's one of those places where the menu says to ask your server about vegan or gluten-free options, which to me raises the question of not just whether they'll have any good such options, but whether the server on the day will be able to understand the request. Second, it's a smaller building that was a fair diversion for me from the city. Third, when I got there it was packed and I didn't want to wait. However, when I did enter towards the end of the day, there was suddenly no one eating in, and the building on the inside was fantastically decorated with even the bathrooms looking great, and my dietary concerns were allayed by them saying they could do just about any dish vegan. The steady stream of people getting takeout also had many specific requests for their dishes; it seemed this was the sort of place where that gets paid attention to. On top of that, they were friendly people (American, with some ties to Thailand apparently) who were checking in on me constantly.Ordering an apple tea to start didn't blow me away. It was fine; not overly sweet like apple juice but just a mild flavor. There are a lot of great Thai dishes, but the holy basil and chili stir fry is my favorite, and they produced a wondrous rendition. My dish had a large amount of tofu, which was thick in character and seemed a higher quality tofu than most places use (it made me think of Hodo soy). Delivered on a banana leaf with a fresh lemon to squeeze on top, it exploded with a bright mix of tropical flavors. Ordering Thai hot gave a comfortable warmth but nothing scary (I suspect that on the 1-10 scale they offer, Thai hot is no more than a 7). I was a bit insulted at the small portion of rice, but they offered to refill that and my tea for no extra charge, and it ended up encouraging me to limit my carbs with no harm done.I wished they'd had an appetizer or salad that was smaller and fit my dietary needs, but as to what I got, I couldn't have been much happier.

Little late in posting this review but Buddha Barn is one of my favorites on west side. Food is absolutely delicious with lots of vegetarian options as most of the items could be prepared with tofu instead of meat. Staff is friendly and service is great! They have limited seating space but carry out is always an option, highly recommend this place.

Amazing food, always great service, byob place. I've also had great carry out meals. Just all around simply good food.

Hidden gem. Very courteous staff. Yummy food. Can bring in alcoholic beverages from out side.

Love this place. Authentic Thai food. The place is kinda small so they do a lot of carry out

Service excellent. Abner & young fellow are on point. Food tonight was delish. Ambiance would have been nice BUT it was so flipping hot. No A/C. We were miserable. There was a couple fanning their baby. Come on owners fix or turn on the ac.

Never disappoints! The peanut sauce with the meatballs is amazing. The drunken noodles are my go-to, but every thing on the menu is great.

My curry was so good! Two of us arrived early to see if they would seat our party of 8 in half an hour, which they were willing to do. I appreciated that! They reserved a spot where a couple were finishing their meal, pulled another table next to it, and our other 6 arrived just in time, although there was no pressure to have our whole group present before seating us. Someone brought a bottle of wine and some beers, but there's a convenience store right next-door, where you could go get a drink if you didn't want to have a nonalcoholic drink from their menu. The bottle charge was fair!We shared an appetizer they call sticks, which are strips of tofu, deep fried, that came with chili sauce, and we also had edamameMost importantly, my massaman curry was SO good. I'm looking forward to going back next time I'm in the area.