Fat Buddha

This spot doesn’t even deserve a star! For now, I’ll just give it my personal score, –0.
First of all, why the hell is there a $ 5 cover for a spot that never once use to charge for anyone let alone women for that matter, & with a very sad DJ & horrible staff. Fat Buddha used to be such a hot and poppin spot known for their old school Hip-​Hop style, & family like staff, but as of late, it’s become THEE wackest, & unpleasant places in the East Village.
Back in the day, I would spend plenty of my weekends going here w. friends, & always recommending people knowing that they would have a good time, but ever since my last visit I have to say it sure left a bad taste in my mouth, & not because of the bad drinks.
I of course came with friends as I normally would on a Friday night to enjoy a good time at one of my favorite spots or so I thought. Automatically, I notice my two favorite bouncers are sadly no longer there, & have been replaced by some ANGRY BIRDS (bad sign #1). The minute we were approaching entry you get welcomed with an, ‘ID & $ 5′ as opposed to the usual warm greeting Buddha’s staff is known for (bad sign #2). I noticed they had something about a smile & High Five will allow free entry available on Unilocal so I figured I would give that a try. Unfortunately, even after showing them the post through my phone, a flat out ‘no, we don’t allow it’ was given, & the cover was still required. The measly 5 bucks wasn’t the issue. The issue was the freaking principle as well as the FALSE ADVERTISEMENT! (bad sign #3).
After that unnecessary process, I was looking forward to just having a drink while listening to Buddha’s infamous good music… boy was I in for a rude awakening. The minute we walked in my friends & I thought we walked into a diner, because THE LIGHTS WERE ALL ON with 80’s music in the background… talk about a major BUZZKILL!!! As the night progressed the music got depressingly worse with the DJ playing constant EDM & Pop music… I’m sorry, but isn’t Fat Buddha suppose to be a Hip-​Hop joint??? If I wanted to listen to Justin Bieber & dance music I would have gone to a music festival. (bad sign #4) I heard that they are under new management, & it sure shows… in a bad way. If the owner thinks for one minute that all these new changes from the door fee to the new staff has improved their customer retention then he is truly mistaken, & needs to reevaluate the following:
1. DJ (BRING BACK that Oldschool 90’s & today’s Hip-​Hop music!!!)
2. Cover fee (GET RID OF IT! IT AIN’T A CLUB IT’S A BAR)
3. Complete Staff including Manager (Rude, Miserable & WACK)
Overall, the Fat Buddha that me & everyone else use to rave about is definitely NOT THE SAME ANYMORE, & I would HIGHLY SUGGEST people spend their money elsewhere. I hope one day it can go back to what it used to be instead of another bougie, tacky bar it’s become. DEUCES!

Great service! The happy hour pork buns are great and $ 5 well drinks! The bartenders are all quick and super attentive !

Been here a couple of times on Friday nights, it’s pretty fun and the music is good. $ 5 cover charge on weekends. Drinks are pretty affordable. But tonight, the girl collecting the cover charge was. to be frank. a bitch. She was unnecessarily passive aggressive. I understand you’re standing in the snow, but you signed up for it so at least have a better attitude. You’re the first person customers interact with so it would probably be to your advantage to be more nice towards people. She’s the only reason why I didn’t give 5 stars. Other then that, great place to drink and dance!

Awful experience at Fat Buddah.
They charged cover fee of $ 5 on a friday night. the two bouncers were extremely rude. the coat check lady was extremely miserably and hated everyone there.
Okay I understand it sucks youre working on a Friday night, but its YOUR job. if you dont like it, do something else.
Drinks were extremely strong, but not the good kind. Don’t think i would ever come, and definitely would never recommend this place to any of my friends.

Management needs to be changed. Not allowing a ⁶⁰⁄₄₀ group because inside is 80% guys. Like wth its your fault for letting the ratio become that… ridiculous

Came here for a friends birthday over the weekend. The overall atmosphere of the bar was ok, nothing super notable but ok. What really prompted me to write this was how they were letting people inside. It was a pretty cold night and after waiting on line for about 15 minutes one of the bouncers came over to ask how many we were with. We were 5 (3 guys, 2 girls) and he said we had to wait and went to the group behind us. I assumed it was because we were too many, but he then proceeded to let in a group of 8 (5 girls and 3 guys). This went on for about 45 minutes while groups of only girls were pulled off the line and into the bar while they let no one else in. Some woman came out (owner or manager) and basically told us that she was sorry but would not be doing anything about it.
I get that they wanted more girls in the bar but this is just bad business. I wouldn’t ever come here again or recommend it to a friend.

original dj left JamesK. music so bad. (friday 1÷8÷16) why are we listening to poor 80s music? where did the good music go?
updated the starage to two because of the funny bartender (gosh it was too loud to catch your name) and bouncers looking out for us. sorry! ill make sure young and sexy christine has a steak dinner before coming to drink!

Open late!
Amazing pork buns that are like little mini tacos but using buns. The pork tastes delicious!
Also a great Korean beef rice dish with perfectly mild-​medium spicy sauce!
Great late night place although a little too grungy of a bar for me.

We came here for happy hour and the food and drinks were either average or below average. i.e. their buns were edible, but I mean if I could go back in time I would take that meal back and enjoy another place in NYC. I had a couple of lychee martinis. They were aight, but nothing to brag about. Later that night the AZN’s came out to play. Omg no thank you!!! Places like Fat Buddha are the ones my girlfriends and I avoid in LA.

Ok, friends. This is a great place to come after work for drinks and snacks.
They don’t make amazing cocktails here but if stick to the basics, you’ll be alright.
Arrived at 7:30 pm on a Friday night to find the place brightly lit with a few customers scattered around the «infinity bar» — goes around in a full circle with plenty of seating.
Hungry as hell so ordered a happy hour drink (something with jalapeño tequila — WAS NOT GOOD) along with a few items from their menu:
Fried Squid — a little rubbery but digestible. I’ve had better.
Pork Buns — very good, order this!
Fried Rice — came with a sunny side up egg but nothing spectacular
About an hour later, the placed filled up pretty quickly with a wide range of personalities, which I really enjoyed watching from my seat. The lights dimmed and the DJ cranked up the music. If I wasn’t so beat from the week, I think I would have been on that dance floor.

Place has a circular bar and a sit down area in the back to eat. It is Korean based food and they have happy hr specials until 8 PM the day I went which was Friday.
I tried their beer and the lychee martini during happy hr and it was as I would expected not disappointed. It was $ 4 for the beer and $ 8 for the martini.
Then we went and sat down for dinner. I got the Bibimbap which was OK, it was vegetarian. I could have gone for some meat, my fault for not noticing.
My friends ordered the Mongolian beef and the Korean BBQ and I got to try it. Both tasted pretty similar to each other and it was a bit spicy. Though I don’t recall which one was more spicy.
Overall though the food was satisfactory, definitely more than I expected for a place more for their bar scene.
I also had used a very old Unilocal deal that it seems the prior owner had did with Unilocal that I had never redeemed but the new owner was nice enough for accept. Big 1 star for that!
Overall nice place, would visit again, just a tad out of the way but close to the L train so that part is always great!

#Five stars for the happy hour special. I came here one day waiting for the #L train to start working again after work. I believe it was half off drinks this particular weekday night until 8pm.
Here’s the #tip: Go to the East Village if the L breaks. Better Happy Hour deals. I don’t care for $ 1 off a $ 6 Bud Light in the Flatiron. Ave A all the way!
#Dragon Wings were alright here. Plus they have TV’s so I don’t have to stare at the wall or the stranger sitting across from me.
#More people came in later and I could see that the guy next to me getting frustrated because he was waiting so long to order at the bar. I had no problem ordering though. I give them #five stars. He might give them #one.

This place is an awesome place. The drinks are good and the servers are pretty. The music is great and the crowd is fun. Everyone and I mean everyone starts to dance so the vibe is definitely right!
The only problem I’ve had with this place is the fact that it gets way too packed! There is just so many people moving in and out, and the design of the bar being right in the middle just causes traffic on both sides of the bar while people are trying to get drinks and other people are trying to move to the dance floor or the bathrooms.
Overall I had a really good time. I’d come back for sure, oh and a tip. Dont be a drunk and billigerent fool. I seen a person take a beatdown by the security crew and it sure wasnt pretty!
Have fun and stay safe!

Lame. Ordered the bulgogi beef with half white rice and half brown rice to go. It came with all white rice and the portions of beef was disappointing, especially for $ 14+.
I left and went to Empire Biscuits down the street and for $ 8, I had a fresh biscuit stuffed with pulled pork to fill the gap in my stomach this place left.

When ever i want to dance the night away, this is my go to spot. a staple in the NYC hip hop scene, this hole in the wall lounge has the best music and DJ’s spinning hands down.
With super friendly bar tenders to match, if any one is looking to find their groove, give this place a try! guaranteed you will be off your ass dancing in no time!

Need to come back and try the food. A solid bar, music, and sort of dance club feel to it all. Cheap, solid drinks. Good throw back music. What else do you need?
I’ll be back for the food and a much more sober experience. I’m sure of it.

I came here on a Saturday night and had a blast. The place its huge but its a great lounge with amazing music. The crowd was in their late 20s or 30s which was great and I have to say the DJ was playing the greatest hits from the early 2000 which brings me great memories.
The place does get very crowded especially on the dance floor but its all in good fun.
I saw that they also have food but I came from dinner so I didn’t try any but not sure this would be a good place to eat.
Also if you are looking for a lounge to sit and relax this isn’t the place since its standing only but don’t worry just dance and have a great time.

Fat Buddhaaaaaa! I must say I first stumbled upon this little gem one random night during a snowstorm with my brother. We were actually headed to a bar across the street that happened to be closed. We checked out the surrounding area and were drawn to Fat Buddha because of all the hip hop records outside. Not only was this place playing great music but our bartender Gin? She was very on point with her customer service, her drinks were bomb, I requested a drink that isn’t commonly made and she blew my socks off with the end result. The food was delicious as well.
I’ve been back about ⁴⁄₅ times since then and I have not one single complaint. No dress code, no cover charge, diverse group of people, friendly staff and great food/​drinks, what more could you ask for in a bar?

Not a fan. Quite a hood spot.
The type of place that seems to need pat downs or a metal detector…
The music was so loud that my friend & I couldn’t hear each other talk.
Drinks were meh.
No bueno.

Came with the girls for drinks and lite bites before magic mike xxl. Lychee martini– steak– great music. Happy happy– joy joy!
Low key — old skool music and food happy hour.