Buddha Tao: slick, pricey, and in many ways very good [closed]
by Tim | November 4, 2008 | 22 Comments
(2.38 with 16 votes) 
Loading ...Buddha Tao is located near Quail Springs Mall at 2737 W. Memorial Road in Oklahoma City (map). They have a fantastic website with all of the information you need, including their full menu at buddhatao.com.
Please note: Buddha Tao is no longer in business.
Buddha Tao does a lot of things very well, but prices itself at the level where they really need to do everything extremely well. So, while Buddha Tao absolutely brings a unique and quality offering to the Oklahoma City restaurant landscape, we’re a little unsure on whether that offering is worth the price tag.
First off, let me explain that this review represents more than just my own perspective. All of our four regular writers dined together here and each offered their own thoughts which I am incorporating into this review. In addition, one of our readers, Chris Johnson, submitted his own full review of Buddha Tao, and I am working in some of his perspective as well. So, you are getting a wide range of opinions in this article. Now, let’s get to it.
Buddha Tao is very slick. Everything from the website to the building’s exterior and interior are polished to the level that I thought it had to be a chain the first time I saw it. But, rest assured, it is not a chain. Buddha Tao is related by ownership group to In the Raw Sushi in Tulsa, but there are no other Buddha Tao locations, at least at the time of this writing. Incidentally, Buddha’s owner, Tony Henry, told me that while he does co-own the Tulsa In the Raw, he is not a part of the group opening the new location in Bricktown.
Buddha Tao is also pricey. As Greg puts it, “Buddha Tao is the kind of sushi restaurant I would love if I was rich. The decor is simple, but cool. The menu is chock-full of great items. Too bad I’m not rich, though, because I couldn’t afford to eat there on any kind of regular basis.” Putting together a complete meal at Buddha Tao, even at lunch, is going to cost you $15-$25 per person easily, and much more if you really want to try out the sushi.
This fact, and just the general feel of the place, lead me to believe it might be more of a dinner and late night kind of place than a lunch place. The four of us went at lunch and the restaurant was nearly empty. Makes sense to me as I thought the menu offered little for the lunch crowd. The pricing is high for lunch and the service was slower than what you need to fit a lunch hour. We haven’t been at night, but I can imagine dinner is more of Buddha’s thing.
Ok, so let’s talk about the food. There is good food here. There’s interesting food to be tried. Like the Robata Grill, a unique technique of charcoaling that packs a great flavor. Sarah ordered the beef tenderloin and pineapple Robata ($11) and gave us her perspective, saying “this was probably some of the best steak I have ever tasted. It was beyond fork tender and practically falling off the kabob. The lunch portion was small, with four bites each of steak and pineapple. The guys were thinking they would have liked more meat, but for me, it was perfect.”
I have to confirm what Sarah has shared about portions. If you’ve read much of my writing you know I’m no fan of large portions, but this was decidedly too small. For $11 you get the single scewer. Rice is $3-$4 extra. Plus, you’re probably going to need something additional to really get a full meal, so you can see how the bill starts to add up.
Buddha Tao also offers some excellent sushi. We all had fun trying the Lucifer’s Folly roll ($10.50). Heed the warning offered by the menu, as this is one seriously spicy roll. Greg explains, “Stuffed with Chinese mustard and jalapeno, rolled in 7-spice and laying in wasabi aoili, it will clear out your sinuses in a burst of pain. But, unlike biting directly into an habanero pepper, the searing heat will be gone in a matter of seconds. What does it taste like? I couldn’t tell you. I was too busy trying not to rip my nose off my face.”
Greg describes our take on the rest of the sushi as follows:
“The most popular roll at the table was the very expensive lobster roll. At $23.50, it is an extravagance, but a tasty one. Plus, there’s an entire tail’s worth of lobster sitting on top of the thing, so at least you know where the money’s going. The Big Buddha roll ($14) was also a treat for the eyes. Beautifully crafted, the roll looked like one solid piece until you started pulling bites away. With a crab cake center and seared tuna on top, it was probably the easiest to eat (and look at) roll we had.
The vegan roll ($5) didn’t excite me, but that’s probably because its flavor was subdued next to the lobster, crab cake and other-wordly pain of the other rolls.
One glaring omission was a sashimi platter. There are sashimi selections ranging from $11-$14, but they are for one kind of seafood each. As much as I like my raw fish, I also like a little variety and I fear that paying $25+ for two kinds of fish might be a bit much.”
The menu also offers a lot of other options. Andrew had the Kobe beef burger ($11) and loved the fact that they prepared it perfectly to medium rare, as requested. As he says, “Most places cook to at least medium when you ask for this, but Buddha Tao didn’t shy away from it. It had a spicy mayo on it that really brought out the mild flavor of the Kobe beef. I thought it was fantastic.”
I was the only one who was dissatisfied with my order. I tried the noodle bowl, which I thought looked terrific on the menu. You can order it with your choice of meat and I chose Filet Mignon ($15). Unfortunately, the meat was not nearly as tender as what Sarah experienced. In fact, it was very, very tough. Plus, I just didn’t like the noodle bowl. The broth was very dark and overpowering and, I guess, I wasn’t expecting it to be so much like a soup as the menu described it as “tossed in a tangy-savory katsu sauce.”
On the other hand, our reader, Chris Johnson, really enjoyed the noodle bowl. He comments, “A mixture of vegetables accompanied a proportionate serving of chicken — and we all loved this dish. The flavors really shined through and it was the favorite entree of the evening.” So, this one is obviously a matter of taste, though I would avoid the steak when ordering this as it seems the chicken comes out better.
So, is Buddha Tao worth a try? Well, on the one hand, it’s definitely unique and there is definitely some good food here. On the other hand, it all comes down to value — is it worth the higher price tag? Personally, I’m glad I tried it, but I doubt I’ll be going back. But that’s just me, and I think the question of value is something that each person has to answer for themselves.
If you do go, I recommend going at night instead of at lunch (with the exception of a few lunch only items, the menu appears to be very similar between lunch and dinner), trying the Robata grill and some of the very special sushi rolls, and planning for the higher-end cost. Do that and you’ll likely have a great experience, then you can decide whether to make it a regular stop.
Have you been to Buddha Tao already? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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November 5th, 2008 at 9:27 am
thanks for the review…I was curious about Buddha Tao. I think I’ll stick with Neko.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Ballerinatoes – absolutely stick with Neko. Neko carries a comprable price tag, but you get so much more with it. The sushi portions were extremely small, and left us feeling hungry two hours later.
Tim – great review, sir!
November 5th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I have been to Buddha Tao several times now for both lunch and dinner. I think they have the best sushi in Oklahoma! Atmosphere is incredible. I’m not a rich guy, and I think the pricing is very reasonable for the quality of the food. You have to remember they are flying in the fish almost daily! Try the Asian dip sandwich or the sidewalk chicken sandwich for lunch. Both are awesome.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I’ve never been here.. I’ll have to go check it out. Great review
November 6th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
I have been to buddha tao many times and every time i have been there i have had a wonderfull experince.. I am from hawaii and the quality of fish is the best i have seen in the mid west..
As for prices of the restaraunt it is very affordable and when i went to other sushi bars the food was not as good nor the quality wasnt there. But keep up the good work at buddha tao
November 6th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I appreciate everyone sharing their opinions. I knew this one would be a tough call between is it good value or is it too expensive. Glad to hear what you all think.
Please keep your comments coming.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
I’m not following that it’s too pricy for lunch, but not for dinner. a 20-40 tab is a 20-40 tab, irrespective of what the clock says.
And, if a place is uncrowded at lunch but packed at the dinner or late night hours, and you prefer a quiet spot, all the better to have dinner at lunch time and eat a sammywich that night to control costs.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
@Kevin, I guess for me, lunches are always short, working lunches. And, if I’m going to spend higher amounts on a meal, I’d rather be able to savor and enjoy them over a longer time when I’m not in a hurry to get back to the office.
That’s why I view pricing differently at lunch as opposed to dinner. But, if you have the opportunity to take the time to enjoy a lunch as I might enjoy a dinner, then I can definitely see your point.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
I would eat the Kobe beef burger for lunch. Man, was it tasty, though at $11 it is a little more than you would spend at a place like Irma’s.
November 25th, 2008 at 11:58 am
There’s Sushi Neko and then there’s all the rest. Here’s an idea – a new Asian restaurant with its own flair, sans sushi.
We ate at Buddha Tao for lunch and were not impressed. Stay away from the orange/coconut soup. It’s like eating sugared garlic milk. The waitress said the menu favorite was a burger. A burger?
Oh and I was double billed on my credit card. I called today and the manager flippantly said everyone that day got two bills. No apology, no explanation.
December 8th, 2008 at 1:58 am
Pineapple fried rice is okay, halibut tacos are okay, staff nice every time, excellent interior design (but you can’t eat that). Wish they had the lunch menu items at dinner, especially if the burger is as good as some here have said.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I’ve been to Buddha Tao a few times. It reminds me of a few places in Dallas where you go for dinner and stay for the late night party, hip, trendy…a place to be seen. They had a DJ last Friday so we stuck around for that and had as much fun as you can have without going to Bricktown. The Sushi is the best I’ve had in Oklahoma…and as far as Neko goes, their sushi is great but there is no atmosphere at Neko, nothing special about it. We had lunch there before Christmas and my miso soup came out cold but other than that my family loves it.
January 26th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I have eaten at Buddha Tao many times. It does cost a bit more but I am always impressed by the wonderful and tasty food. I have yet to find such an interesting menu anywhere else in Oklahoma City. As I said to my friend the first time we had lunch there, ‘If this food is anywhere nearly as good as the description, I am going to be a regular! And, I am.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
My dad and I went during the holiday shopping spree, and enjoyed ourselves. He ordered the Lucifer’s Inferno, and if you like spicy (and believe many of your peers to be wimps to spice), then this is the roll for you!
It was really too much for my wallet on an everyday basis, but definitely recommend trying it at least once!
April 9th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
This was my first visit and I was not impressed. The service was very slow. The other non-sushi items may be better, but I went for sushi only. The pieces of nigiri were small and the bits of fish in the rolls were miniscule. From what I have read on this site, I will visit Neko next time.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Sushi is decent, but Tokyo is by far the best place for fresh sashimi and nigiri. Buddha tao IMHO is another Neko that’s slightly more “fancy” and a little bit more pricey. I don’t mind paying a lot for good food, but this place is just, “OK.” Squid ink martini is yummy, though haha!
May 15th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
My husband and I ate lunch here today – was delicious but set us back $30, not including tip, for the Kobe beef sliders ($12) and one roll (Rumble and Roll for $12). Took a long time to get our food, considering we were the only ones seated at a table at that point – everyone else was as the sushi bar. But we’ll probably be back because hubby has freaked over these burgers served with pineapple compote.
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I think you were too nice about this review. Me and my boyfriend went there and had the most awful experience. First off, the fish wasn’t fresh in all of our sushi. It didn’t taste like anything in our mouths. When we tried to talk to the manager, he kept making excuses and treated us like we were idiots. I spent $50 for a bad dinner and didn’t tip the waitress bc the manager didn’t care. My bf slipped her some money but I was out-raged. An apology and a comped meal was not too much to ask. I will never go back even if I get a gift-card there. I will stick to Tokyo. Thanks.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Tokyo Grill Sushi is the best!
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I don’t see anyone mentioning the daily happy-hour sushi special… From 4:00pm to 6:30pm they offer half-price sushi (excluding the special rolls, such as the big buddha and the like). This takes the prices from a tad high to awesomely low for the quality of the sushi. Heck, even if you just get a bunch of half-price Tiger’s Eye rolls you’ll be happy. Those things are delicious.
Now, the entrees are decent, but nothing special and *way* overpriced for the quality. I definitely recommend showing up for an early dinner, ordering a ton of sushi, and avoiding everything else on the menu.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
@Cris, thanks for pointing that out. Half-price sushi definitely makes a good value. Sounds good.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Recent experience
Atmospere = good.
Staff = Superb!
Food = good.
Drinks/bar = first drink was not correct. Ordered a second more simple drink, still not correct.
Overall experience = good place, but will probably not return.
Please tell us what you think.