Busaba Eathai (Store St)

I discovered that place just a few months ago. The food is amazing. Especially their black pepper beef is so good... But more than that it has been 4th time I am going in there, they are always busy and always welcoming people.

I was with my friends last Friday and there was a huge queue I convinced them to wait in the queue for 10 minutes. It was a great experience...

The service was amazing we had a really nice lady from Hungary she was brilliant.

You won't go wrong with Busaba especially that branch...
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Osco
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, October 21, 2011

One of my 5 top restaurants in London. The squid is amazing!
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Lee Woodman
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Friday, October 07, 2011

Was excited by the (comparatively) cheap prices on the menu for Central London, but disappointed by the portion sizes when they came. In particular, the fried squid (a side) was an *extreme* disappointment - obviously the temperature they used to fry it was much too low, and so it was oily and soggy and the squid was on the overcooked, rubbery side - even the local Chinese does it better. The pandan chicken was tasteless, and pad thai was not very authentic (coming from that part of the world) and much, much too sweet. Go elsewhere for a decent Thai meal.
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4 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I ordered take away from Busaba and was very disappointed with the small serving sizes. The take away container was smaller than most and when I opened it, it was only 1/3 full!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I'm pretty small and would have needed min 2 containers that size to have felt mildly satisfied. When I rang up and spoke to the manager, I was told that the portion sizes are measured out and that the size was standard....

This restaurant is meant to be one of the best 'Cheap eats' in London and it is far from it, given the small portion size of stir-fry for over $9 a serving!!!

The stir-fry was tasting however, not particularly AUTHENTIC Thai, as we had hoped. There was not one Thai person in the restaurant when we picked up our meal, which is usually a sign that it's not the real deal. Food is nice, however not very good value for money at all.

Given the huge number of options in London, I would not recommend this place.
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Elski
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

This is one of the best cheap eats in the capital. You can't go wrong with this place, the squid is amazing. Enjoy!
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Sean Smith - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 26, 2011

My friend and I had no wait to be seated when we visited here which was more luck than the norm I think as it was busy and there was a queue when we left.

The service was very good and the menu varied. I have encountered and not enjoyed the shared table concept at other restaurants before, but here it works really well. The tables are large so you don't really feel like you are intruding upon strangers' conversations etc.

The decor is very modern and gives the place a trustworthy feel.

The food was delicious. I've never had thai before so my friend and I ordered 4 dishes to share (I would say the portions were a bit small so I don't think one dish each would have been sufficient).

Sorry I can't remember any of the thai names for the food, but the noodles were delicious, the prawns excellently cooked and spiced. It all tasted fantastic and authentic (I presume!). We weren't very impressed with the fishy soup we ordered though - prawns, clams and squid I think with rice noodles. While it was very tasty, it was a shame the clam shell was in the soup as it made it hard to get the grub out!

It's not cheap, but I didn't think it was expensive either - four dishes and two diet cokes came to about £35. I will definitely go here again and recommend it.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 14, 2011

How much: Three main courses and a side to share came to £44. Most mains hover around the £10 mark.

I've always been a little amazed by Busaba Eathai. Ten years after do no wrong restaurateur Alan Yau first opened the first branch on Soho's Wardour Street, the crowds still line up outside the reservation free communal tabled Thai eateries. We arrived at 7pm on a Friday night and waited 20 minutes outside before being given a menu. There were a few people who had sorted the system and nipped in to 'meet friends', there were also a couple who seemed to be treated as VIPs and managed to queue jump somehow. It's not a system I'm a big fan of personally, though the fact there was a queue throughout means that it must work for some people. We ordered finally 45 minutes after arriving. It would normally have been way too long for me to wait.

We went for three mains and a side to share. The Green Curry beef was ok but the large amounts of a vaguely tasteless vegetable along with the beef felt more like filler than anything else. A grilled ribeye was thin, though well cooked and tender, and went well with the sour tamarind sauce it was served with. We both felt let down by the alleged 'crabmeat' rice, which other than a couple of rather incongruous mushy tomatoes and a lonely looking spring onion was nothing more than a bowl of plain rice. I'd have been badly let down if I'd ordered that as a main course on its own. The Thai calamari was excellent however. Perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Despite the shared tables it didn't feel too intrusive or loud. That being said, we were on a table with a large group and did feel like we were intruding on their party. Other comment would be that on the large communal tables the central sauces felt far too far away so that you were intrusively leaning over people to get to them.

The menu seemed a little smaller than I remember. There didn't seem to be much by the way of starters, though I get that they may not be culturally appropriate. Having checked with their website I see that there aren't any desserts and while fresh fruit couldn't appropriately be served year round, there are a number of Thai desserts that would have rounded it off nicely. It was a good meal, but not worth the 45 minute wait.
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www.grumblinggourmet.com - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, November 14, 2010

Went here with friends on Friday night. We booked the private dining room downstairs and ordered the £16 per person group menu.

The start of the evening was rather chaotic. We almost got our reservation double-booked with another party. Our party was less than the initial number that intended to join which is below the minimum 12 required to use the private dining area. The manager almost moved us to the noisy main area but we made up for his loss revenue by ordering bottles of wines. Food came an hour late!

However, our waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable of the Thai food. I give a 5/10 for service because of the very friendly waitress. If she wasn't extra nice to us, I would have given a 0/10.

The party menu is recommended when you are in a large group. We have two courses and each course had 5-6 shared dishes. The curries were excellent. There was also this salad appetizer dish that was wrapped in betel leaf. Other dishes worth mentioning are the crab fried rice and fried calamari. The portion of the menu was small so I would recommend the restaurant to be a little more generous. Hence the 2 points off.

The private dining area has excellent ambience. It felt like dining in a fancy home. The problem was the toilet was next to it so other customers had to walk past our table when they go to the toilet.
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kab
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Sunday, August 22, 2010

I went to Busaba last Friday. Place is always busy and you have to wait to get a table but it is always worth it! The food fantastic as usual. Fast, friendly and efficient service. U can't go wrong with Busaba! I would especially recomend Thai calamari to start with and duck curry to follow. Yammy!
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kat - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, July 03, 2010

Love Busaba - the whole atmosphere is great, the staff are very helpful, if a little flaky sometimes, but always friendly!!

I love the fact you get to sit on tables with others it adds to the atmosphere and fun. it is definitely not a stuff restaurant, so if that is what you are looking for go elsewhere!!

The food is excellent - tasty flavoursome and nicely presented. Portions are on the small side so make sure you order a couple of sides if your hungry.

First went in Feb 2010 and been back loads of times and my kids just love it - even the the youngest who is 4!!!
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RalphT - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, May 13, 2010