Bambuddha Lounge

This place used to be a five star for me. When I was a kid the chef was the bomb. The menu was had a tropical influence and it had the best desert that I have ever had in my life! The best drinks too.
Does anybody know what happened to the old chef? Five years back.
sweet potato dumplings with passion fruit dipping sauce?
The best thing in my life.
Fresh guava juice cocktails.
sigh… oh the sweet past.
Now the food is so-​so.
The drinks are alright.
The room still has a cool vibe.
The hood is not so great.
I’d go back.
Maybe only to dream that the former chef would return to resurrect this place.

My partner and I had a lovely evening at Bambuddha tonight. The atmosphere was very chill. In between our entrée and desert we took a stroll outside. They have an outdoor lounge area by the pool and patio accented with plenty of exotic plants.
I did notice it wasn’t super packed for a Friday night, and like a lot of other restaurants they are using online certificates and points to lure in customers.
Our food was fantastic. We started with the grilled shrimp appetizer that is served with papaya salad. The oil dressing complimented the whole dish wonderfully. It only came with 4 shrimp though, so that was dissappointing. We were going to order the tuna appetizer, but they were not offering that or the ahi tuna entrée for the evening.
My halibut was superb, and my partner’s pork was also great. Our cocktails were fabulous too, and only $ 5 because it was happy hour. We’ll definitely return to sit outside with a cocktail during happy hour someday soon.
The desert was also delicious — biniets were fluffy, and they came with a side of thai iced tea flavored gelato. Yum!
Finally, our server was very professional. A real gentlemen. Not chatty, not overbearing, just there to serve.

I’ve been here a few times and it is a decent place in the TL and the pool is an interesting addition. BUT, I would have to say the management of the place is lacking. I would highly advise not going to this place because of the lies on the flyers. The flyers have very conflicting terms with improper cover prices («free before 10pm» — even if they don’t open until 10:30). Also, the times are poorly managed as it will state that the club is open at 9pm, yet the doors will be closed until 10pm or later. They also randomly close for private events without mentioning it on their site and canceling the advertised party.
In addition, if you have the presence of mind to call ahead, you will be happily be greeted by 1. nobody or 2. the restaurant portion that somehow has absolutely no idea what is going on with the connected bar area.
OK, so say you ignored all that I previously said and you make it inside… the place is TINY. And they close the outdoor portion at 11pm sharp — not worth it at all!
Honestly, why waste your time going to a mediocre place with poor website information and management when you can go to a better establishment that actually serves its patrons?

ew
no.

I came here with Kat C. and some other friends on a random whim after going to Butter. The Bambuddha Lounge is part of the Phoenix Hotel which is a JDV hotel.
The interior is very modern and fancy — something we were not at all prepared for. Shorts are definately not allowed, nor are flip flops or baseball hats — oops! I think the atmosphere is a bit stuffy until you go outside. There are cabana areas and nice soft seating areas where there’s an outdoor fireplace and also heat lamps. I definately preferred the outside to the inside.
I was surprised that the drinks weren’t even more expensive than they were — all drinks are $ 10. I tried the Lotus Flower — sparkling wine with guava nectar. I wish there had been more of a guava taste.
The actual lounge area is pretty small and I didn’t really care for the music. I did like the hallway décor leading up to the lounge — bamboo on one side and buddha statues on the other — bam-​buddha (get it!?).
Will I be back? Meh… probably not.

NO SHORTS ALLOWED!
Wasn’t expecting to come here after Butter (was actually hoping we would be indisposed but it was way too quiet on a Saturday night…)
A few words to describe my first impressions of this restaurant/​lounge/​club…
— Stingy
— Stuck up
— Apparently too good for anyone
— Trying too hard to be buttoned-​up classy.
— The music was repetitive and douch-​y. (seriously, the beat sounded like «douche douche douche»)
What I did like was the outside lounge area with cabana’s, x-​mas lights on the trees (glimmering in the heated pool with giant «6″ and 9’s» tiled on the bottom.), the style of the Phoenix Hotel (kinda like trashy motel in Vegas slash 1970s), the heated lamps and curtain covered seating area, and the fact that the bartender messed up on my drink and we got a freebie. OH. and the guavapolitan. Drinks are $ 10+ … I’d rather go to XYZ.
Would I come back? Neh… give me a really good reason.

The house cocktails are awesome. Had the ginger snap and the mango mojito. If you catch them at happy hour, they’re $ 5 a pop. Add to that the ceviche (which comes with shrimp chips) ($ 3), the same shrimp chips with aioli ($ 3), the prawn fritters ($ 5) from the HH menu and you’ve got an above average happy hour (ends at 7:30).
Did I mention the sheer *volume* of the cocktails? I left with a numb face. That says it all.

I WILL NEVER GO HERE AGAIN.
We got a «VIP booth» for New years and it was a HUGE waste of money. First off they tell us over the phone the guys have to wear dress pants, shirt, and shoes. No sneakers or jeans. Then we get there after going out of the way to get dress clothes for the guys and they are letting people in with sneakers and jeans! Bull.
Then our booth is 2 leather beds next to a walkway between the two bars. Not to mention it’s not roped off nor is there anyone manning your section that you paid big money for. The bartenders were completely ignoring us because we had a VIP table bracelet on. So we had to wait FOREVER to get drinks at the bar.
They also promised us each a glass of champagne for the New Years toast and come midnight we look around and everyone but us has a glass of champagne. They also said we would be served appetizers… one waiter came by one time and served one appetizer. When we complained the bouncers started getting attitude with us and everyone almost got into a fight. Luckily it was the end of the night so when they kicked us out we didn’t give a S***.
Definitely didn’t get our moneys worth. I would not recommend this place to anyone!
Not to mention it’s right in the middle of the Tenderloin. Classy

Bambuddha lounge you are such a joke. You advertise for «free happy hour» from 10 — 11pm. Our group arrived at 10, to stand outside for another hour while your bouncer played the game of «lets keep everyone waiting so the club looks busy and we don’t have to live up to our happy hour advertisement.»
Your snotty girl handling the money charged us even though we were on your guestlist. She wanted to argue it was 11, but it was only 10:50, which means we were waiting in line for nearly an hour. For what?!!
The DJ’s were horrible and the crowd wasn’t any better. Quite possibly one of the worst clubs I’ve ever been to. Save yourself the trip and avoid this place like the plague.

Plush, spacious, dark and beautiful décor. Bambuddha Lounge really ranks high in my SF nightlife venues list — which really isn’t much — sorry bay area!
I came here on a Friday night since I was informed of the house music AND open bar! Woohoo, music to my ears! There is a cover but I was on one of the dj’s guestlist so it was free (and it seems it should be for most people — try to get on a list!)
For a lounge, it is quite spacious — if you include the dining area and outdoor patio. When you first walk in, you hit the bar and a tiny area for people to dance and on the other side of the bar is some beds/​lounge chairs for people to sit. Walk through a small walkway that leads to a dining area and another bar and also the door to the patio. Be careful of the TV screen randomly placed into the floor because it isn’t flushed into the floor, so if you aren’t careful, you might ‘eat shit’ especially if you’ve had some drinks and rockin some high heels. Dining area is cleared to make room for a dance floor and there is an L shaped bench surrounding the dance floor so you can sit and rest your tired feet from all the dancing you’re SUPPOSE to be doing.
The patio leads out to the courtyard of the connecting motel — imagine the court yard of the show Melrose Place — but just a bit more eclectic colored — it was like that! All we were missing was Heather Locklear bitch slapping Marcia Cross =P The courtyard nearest the lounge had a few Asian-​esque gazebo/​cabanas which really gave it a nice touch. A few couches/​seats border the patio with heat lamps available to keep you warm during the cold bay area nights!
The crowd however is another story but that shouldn’t be the fault of the venue right (or should it be?). Crowd consists of a very mixed crowd with most people in their mid 20s and beyond. People are dressed to the nines at this spot which was nice for a change. Only thing was they all acted like their shit don’t stink and to be honest with you some of these people needed to hit the deodorant before leaving the house –if you know what I mean. I felt like these people thought they were in Hollywood or something, blank stares and whispering in the ears. Totally whack. It’s as though they were expecting me to rock a turtle neck. Apparently being scantily clad was something foreign to these people here. Haters!
I tried to give the hip hop music a chance since the house music area was a bit dead (I loved the music tho) but man oh man, did that hip hop dj suck and that’s really odd because the Bay Area never disappoints with its hip hop club music selection. I know the dj was trying to pay tribute to the King of Pop’s recent passing, but please play «Billie Jean» in its original form and not eff it up by mixing it with JT’s «My Love.» The King just passed, show some respect! After numerous attempts of waiting out the music, we left to our final destination spot that never disappoints — Ruby Skye.
I definitely would come back to Bambougie — err Buddha Lounge if it was promoted on a different night or if I was with a larger group of friends so I wouldn’t care what kind of crowd they had.

This place is terrible.
Pricey food, $ 25 noodles which taste similar to Cup of Noodles.
The bar is well stocked but their mixed drinks are pretty terrible and not cheap.
The place looks like it got lost in a 1970’s school cafeteria and someone tried to make it look hip.
Conclusion? A pig with make up is still a pig. Don’t come here.

We found Bambuddha Lounge online when we searched last minute for a pre-​ballet dinner reservation in the area. It’s unmarked and in the beginning of a shady neighborhood, so make sure you know where it is (the staff told us that as long as we weren’t «bright shiny objects that looked like crack» the people on the streets shouldn’t bother us…)
When I met my friend, there were about five patrons in the whole big place. Granted it was 6pm, but it didn’t fill up too much more in two hours. Friendly, but average, service.
We ordered the shrimp over papaya salad and the tuna tartare appetizers while we waited for our third to arrive. Both standard Asian fusion fare, if not a bit bland. Had a nice bottle of South African chardonnay. We shared a skirt steak and scallop entrees, of which steak was a little too flavored and scallops were good. The drunken noodle and bok choy sides were good.
Looks like there is a lounge/​club scene as well, and it might be a cool space half full, but not sure I have a reason to come back. Final bill ~$ 45 per person.

$ 20 cover with the rudest bouncers ever. I just love being told that I am «fucking things up» by standing in a line with my friends. Granted I didn’t have the wrist band, but seriously can you not be more polite? Calm down, you are just a bouncer, it’s not that hard to read IDs… Anyway, after finally getting in and getting over the shell shock of having to pay $ 20 to go in, I was so disappointed that the best part of the lounge, the pool, was totally closed off. To make matters worse, the bartenders totally messed up our drinks. At least they were relatively reasonable, but still… and the crowd, it is totally bridge and tunnel and sorta just bleh. Never ever going back unless I absolutely have to.

Is it fair to judge an establishment by its surroundings…
Ok, so Bambuddha is in the heart of the TL that I wouldn’t enter at night in my club attire. That said, once you make it inside it feels small and cramped.
The ceilings are low, the bathroom is kinda ghetto, and the bar tenders only seem interested in making drinks for their friends, or the girl willing to dance on the bar.
the pool outside seems like a drunken disaster waiting to happen, and having a motel attached is good for that one night stand, but overall… I wouldn’t come back.

I have taken many friends who are visiting San Francisco to this location.
The staff is always friendly and willing to help as needed.
Drinks and Bartenders are Delightful.
The crowed is good as well, a solid mix of just about everything.
I have yet to have dinner here, but I highly suggest it.
Yes the location is a little bad, but, the bouncers are nice enough to grab a cab for you if they are not too busy. I have also stumbled out of here and walked down a few blocks to pick up a cab, and I came out a live.

I got a table for my birthday on a Friday night in November, and the entire night can be summed up with one word: DISAPPOINTMENT. Keep in mind this wasn’t for dinner, just the lounge.
I organized the event through the office manager, who was extremely pleasant to deal with and promised a fair deal. However, when we arrived, my contact wasn’t present and somehow there was no way to confirm our previous arrangement. In retrospect, I probably should’ve printed out all of the emails we exchanged, but who does that? So all of a sudden I was REQUIRED to buy two bottles instead of one (which I had reached an agreement about with the office manager). Put on the spot, I had no choice because I couldn’t exactly redirect a guestlist of 60+ of my friends to a different location.
The bottle service here was a bit different from other places I’ve gotten bottle service at in the City (in much nicer locations too!). They’ll serve you the bottles with mixers, and drink with you, but refuse to serve you drinks from the bar. Additionally, the server disappears along with the bottles mid-​way through the night. What if we wanted to order additional bottles? I guess we’ll never know…
The bar was cash only, which I expected since I had attended a club night here before. However, the ATM was OUT OF SERVICE! Let me repeat: CASH ONLY BUT WE DON’T HAVE AN ATM. I don’t blame anyone for hesitating to wander aimlessly through the Tenderloin in the middle of the night looking for a working ATM! They had no problem running my credit card to cover the bill for the bottle service, but somehow it wasn’t possible to offer credit card service at the bar. I used to bartend in college and I understand the reasoning behind a cash-​only bar: service volume. On this night, the venue was only at about 20% capacity and definitely didn’t warrant a cash only policy.
I contacted the office manager via email with my concerns the following Monday. I hesitated to write such a negative review because I wanted to give this place the benefit of the doubt, thinking that it might have been a fluke. I was only half surprised that I still haven’t received a response more than a month later. I thought that they would’ve been a bit more accomodating considering my party made up more than half of all the guests attending this venue that night…
If you’re thinking about getting a table here… DON’T. Go anywhere else and you’ll get a much better value and experience! Having experienced running a bar/​restaurant for two years while going to school full time, I can positively say that the management here has some work to do.
1 star because this was the first birthday in awhile that I actually remember from beginning to end…

The only thing thats decent about this place is the atmosphere.
which makes you feel like you’re in an exotic spa. Unfortunately the
rest is pretty mediocre at best. The food selection is very limited and
overly experimental. nobody in our group fully liked their dishes, so
we just put them at the center of the table and picked at it (and mind you, Im not the pickiest eater in the world either!!!). I suppose if you want to try something different and are into the lounge scene, you should check them out for drinks and socializing.
Service way okay, although reaaaally slow for a friday night that wasn’t even busy. The drinks were pretty strong, so that was a plus, and the restrooms were really nice, which is another plus. If you’re thinking about eating here, don’t simply do a drive-​by because the cover doesn’t do this book justice. It looks a bit desolated from the outside, but as you can see from the pictures, the inside is far from it.

Food = so-​so
Drinks = okay
Prices = over priced
Décor = dark and just tacky…
Clientele = snooty!
Service = good
I love the outside though… the hotel in the back. :-) Nice feeling of time travel…
To each their own…

This is a nice spot to come out and hang out, dine, drink, dance, and then go to sleep! I really enjoyed the atmosphere and both the inside and outside areas were very pleasing visually. I personally enjoyed the swanky feeling of the lounge and dining areas. Outside was really nice as well. The pool area had tons of plants and fully heated patio makes for a win win situation.
Taking a step back lead me into the wonderful smells of dinner being serverd up. The food is great here. The preparation was fantastic and the taste was what one can only drool over. The portions are small and pricey but that is part of the experience here. I thought the prices were fair for the quality of the food.
Dinner now over I head over to my room, yes there is a hotel here. The rooms are not anything special. This hotel is old but has been remodeled. You still get that old 70’sw hotel feeling. The rooms are a good size, not overly decorated but enough to please the eye.
A few hours later it’s 12am and I am back at the lounge spinning records to a large crowd. After a nice 2 hour set, a lot of drinks, and tons of fun. I head back to the hotel by crossing by the pool and walking up a quick flight of stairs. I am now in my hotel room, safe, and not in any worries of a DUI.
Overall my time here was excellent!

modern contemporary… large…hip.generic…lounge atmosphere in the night… outdoor patio area backyard to mingle… steaming pool… pool for the motel… would guess to be… crowd mixed… all shapes, sizes ‘n’ colors… lounge ‘n’ drinkin’ for anybody and all… snaps…i’m a somebody…
CASH ONLY… cash only bar… shucks. unfortunately…broken atm by the restroom… well…broken on the night of 5÷18÷07…