Buddha Ruksa

So busy every single day and all the time but the food is so good that it doesn’t matter. We made the mistake of getting apps. Don’t do that. The entrees are so great just get extras of them. P pineapple fried rice and the crispy chicken and the stuff of dreams. Very loud inside but lovely. We met the funniest drunks last time :)

This place isn’t the same as it was a few years ago. It’s usually a long wait for a table if you don’t have a reservation, so we’ve gotten take out the last few times. The staff at the counter is never friendly. They don’t acknowledge you let alone greet you. They don’t thank you for your order or tip, so I stopped tipping. Then the quality of the food declined, not as fresh as it once was.
I haven’t ordered since our last mediocre meal. I may again one day if I have a hankering for Thai and don’t want to travel very far. Maybe.

Love love LOVE this place! If you’ve never been, order the Crispy Garlic Chicken (unless you hate crispy or garlic or chicken, and then I’d feel very bad for you), because it really is fantastic! They have all your expected Thai staples, all made with fresh ingredients. Great customer service, well stocked bar (could use a larger sake selection, oh well), and friendly faces. Great Food!

I judge most Thai restaurants by the quality of their Pad Siew (or Pad See Ew) because it’s one of my favorite dishes, though not many restaurants can execute this well for some reason.
Well, Buddha Ruksa nailed it! Perfectly cooked noodles, the right amount of sauce and tender beef made it the perfect dish. I also tried the Garlic Chicken Stirfry which contained huge portions of chicken covered with a slightly sweet soy/​garlic sauce — it was delicious. All entrees came out in 10 minutes or less by a friendly service staff. Next time I’m in West Seattle, I’ll be stopping by again.

Thanks to a recommendation from a friend, Buddha Ruksa has easily become my favorite Thai restaurant in Seattle. Unfortunately, it’s not a secret because it is packed every day of the week. They have tons of regulars and cater to what I consider the most efficient and highest volume takeout business for a Thai restaurant I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the counter where their register resides always has a minimum of 5 takeout orders waiting to be picked up at a time… and for good reason.
The food here is worth all the praise. From the popular phad thai, which they execute perfectly, to the ever so popular crispy garlic chicken, or the northern Thai favorite kao soi, the food is amazing! They also have an excellent beef salad. Some things you may gloss over on the menu that are worth a try — the whole fried fish, nuea yang, yum moo yang, and mango sticky rice for dessert (when it’s in season).
They have street parking only, which usually carries into the nearby neighborhood, but it’s findable. If you’re without a car, the RapidRide D (which turns into C) takes you very close to the restaurant.
You can make reservations and it is highly encouraged because wait times can be as much as an hour or more during normal dinner hours on most nights. For those who live in the area and are able to take advantage of their takeout, I envy you!

Wow. Reviews don’t lie on this one. Very good food. Pad Thai was great sweet salty combo was balanced. Garlic chicken was good– wished it was bone in or at least thighs– but still good. Ordered crab fried rice– good as well. Chunks of crab in it.
We walked in and counter was full of take out (good sign) & kitchen was humming but not hectic (better sign).
Only hiccup– our appetizers took long to get out & Satay was clunky (but still good) .
Overall– a return is in the books for us.

It was just OK. Nothing special. I probably wouldn’t come back.
The larb gai — it was very tasty. Different from other preparations I’ve had before but quite good. The sweet rice actually went really well with it. I haven’t seen that before but it worked!
The crispy garlic chicken was quite good. This dish was a big winner. Chicken was a little overcooked but the flavor was excellent. The fried basil was a perfect accompaniment and the garlic flavor was deep, rich, and in no way overpowering.
I got the pumpkin curry as my main. I ordered it ⁵⁄₅ hot — «Thai hot». After tasting it, it makes me wonder if anyone who has ever been to Thailand had tasted it it. Or even anyone who had been to… basically any other Thai restaurant on Earth. It had ZERO spice. I mean you could kind of tell that it was there, but wasn’t spicy at all. I thought they had confused it with a «mild» order but nope, that was, in fact, «that hot». The shrimp was cooked… decently. I wish they’d take the tails off. I know they’re edible but «edible» isn’t the bar a restaurant should be trying to set.
I added a full tsp of cayenne pepper to my leftover curry, and after that, I’d put it at like, a ⁵⁄₁₀ by the Lotus of Siam scale. I’d call it a ⁴⁄₅ on most other Thai restaurant scales. ONE TEASPOON OF CAYENNE PEPPER in like, a pint of curry leftovers. Yeah.
Lunch was $ 45. Nuh-​uh. I’ll pass, sorry!

Used to order take out from here frequently a few years back. Now that I live just a few blocks away, I am glad to be so close. Their crispy garlic chicken is a must order! I always got it while I was studying in college and it is just as tasty as I remember.
I enjoyed their Pad Thai as well. A lot of places will continue to use ketchup in their dish and I am not a huge fan of that. They don’t seem to use ketchup here (if they do, they hide it really well) and it is tasty. The portion is great and fairly priced during both lunch and dinner time.
I also have had a chance to get their Pad Kee Mao and really like that dish as well. My girlfriend had never tried it before but it is now her go to dish whenever we order/​eat there.
My new favorite dish is the five spice duck noodles. It’s made with egg noodles (my favorite) and well portioned out with a generous serving of duck on top. Last week I was craving this dish so much but had to hold off since they are closed on Mondays! Can’t wait to continue to try more dishes here.

My favorites here are crack chicken, basil fried chicken, and trout salad. Everything is so flavorful. It’s busy though so I recommend getting a reservation. Medium is not as spicy for me here compared to other thai places.
Environment: dim lighting, enough space between tables so you can have a conversation with your friends and family. parking is not bad either. plenty of street parking around neighborhood. Have 2 doors though so don’t be fooled if the door does not open, just walk around until you find the official door to the restaurant.
Verdict: Will definitely come back for more

Crack chicken, put see ew, and Thai fried rice.
Reservations ahead of time really recommend.
Date? Group of friends? Group of 10? Yes.
Fast and delicious.
Enough said.

I drive from Phinney to eat here, it is amazing! I have tried nearly every well known thai restaurant in Seattle and this is my favorite one that is not specifically isan. If you need any evidence when you go to pick up your order, on say a Tuesday night – its packed. Not just the dining room but they have delivery orders filling their counter.
The go to dish is the garlic «crack» chicken and justifiably so. But thing is, every dish is good. Last time I tried swimming rama for a change of pace and whatyaknow-​very tasty.

Definitely a happening dinner joint in West Seattle but I didn’t buy into the hype after my first visit.
Food: 3.5 stars — ingredients weren’t as fresh as I would expect. The BBQ Pork fried rice contained processed pork for example. The Crack Chicken was had a nice texture but the meat was a bit dry and not super fresh.
Ambience: 4 stars — nice dim lights and a very chattery atmosphere. Colors and décor in the main dining room could use updating.
Service: 3 stars — our waitress wasn’t especially friendly but other tables seemed to get friendly service.
Value: 4 stars — $ 29 for meal for two including tax. Pork fried rice was overpriced but otherwise this is a good value eatery. Huge demand for their takeout business in W. Seattle.

Wow… love this place. My favorite spot is at the bar where I can enjoy the food n delicious food. Not to mention friendly staffs. I love there trout salad n crispy duck that let’s u you choose the sauce!
But this month, their special is devine! Try Larb Tod (fried Larb salad that is not greasy at all!) I also love the Brussel sprouts with pork belly! Took me back to Thailand!
Also must try, their drinks! Note, you might have to wait in line a little as they are busy. You can hear phones ringing all night to pick-​ups.

Why do I come here? The crack chicken. Seriously, it’s that good. Look for it on the menu as «Crispy Garlic Chicken» but after one bite you’re recognize that it’s really bite sized morsels of flavor. If you can handle a little spice, try to get at least a 4 star spiciness. They go a little light on the space compared to most Thai places.
The staff is friendly and helpful, the drinks are great (with a great bartender!) Seriously though… have some of the crack chicken… you won’t regret it!

Ahhhhhh, this place is such a gem! From crispy garlic chicken to pad Ke Mao to yum Talay everything is perfect here. The more I think about it the more perfect everything seems lol.
The service is prompt even at busy times so you can get in and get out quickly if you need to which I appreciate due to not having tons of time on my hands and this place being out of the way for me.
This and Southcenter Bai Tong are my faves for Thai in NW.

You cant go more than a few reviews without reading about Crispy Garlic Chicken with crispy Basil. Rightfully so. I guess it’s been called Crack Chicken, I’ve never had Crack but heard once you start you can’t stop. Well that’s what happened. Ordered the chicken with some Jasmine rice, we had the plan to bring some home. Huge failure. I needed more. Chicken was so tasty, lightly breaded and amazing. The crispy basil so good. The rice was just an add on.
If you’re in the area it’s a must. Not sure how I could go back and try anything else on the menu. I’ll be back.
Food was 5 stars but the menus were gross. I almost missed the last page cause it was so stuck together. Small complaint but whatever.
Oh, and the blood orange Margarita gets a thumbs up.

I’ve eaten here a couple times now. Time for a review!
Firstly, the wait here is almost always long. Even for take-​out. I’ve ordered over the phone, been quoted 40 minutes then when I show up, I have to wait another 10 minutes. Plan accordingly! Also — everyone here is always rushed or looks rushed. The dining experience is probably not the best around.
Secondly, the «crack» chicken here, technically known as the Crispy Garlic Chicken, is great in flavor. Love the sauce and crisped basil leaves. HOWEVER, the chicken is ALWAYS suuuuper dry. Chicken tastes like paper! No moisture anywhere. It’s sometimes upsetting considering it isn’t exactly cheap. But even if it was at a lower price point, eating really dry chicken is not great.
The pad-​see-​ew noodles here have been hit or miss. Once it was great. Another time it was WAY overcooked and too salty.
Inconsistent food.
OK service.
Prices are just OK for what it is.

First time at this place,
no greetings at the hostess stand, waiting couple minutes for someone to acknowledge our presence.
finally get seated, the ambience is not as nice as other places but the prices are.
ordered
crispy tofu pad thai — probably was the better ones out of the 3. the color of the dish doesn’t have an appetizing appeal. but flavors were oki oki,
crispy tofu cashew nut entrée — needed more sauce and the veggies needed to be proportionally cut = they were way to big inconsistent
and crispy garlic chicken — but the tofu version… the tofu had no flavor just really sweet and burnt pieces of garlic stuck on the outside.
probably wouldn’t come here again.

My take on Buddha Ruksa is that while the food can be tasty. The staff’s haste in churning out food ASAP and seating more customers hurts the dining experience and food quality. Right as I walked in I noticed a mountain of take out orders waiting at the counter and a packed dining room. Obviously the kitchen was very busy but surprisingly I was seated within 5 mins.
My table ordered the Tom Yum soup, Crispy Garlic Chicken, and the 5 Spice Duck Noodles. The soup came out instantly but to my disappointment it was lukewarm and the mushrooms were raw. I asked the staff to heat it up and they promptly took it away without an apology or fight. Apparently this isn’t new complaint for them.
The chicken and the noodles dishes were both flavorful. However Bai Tong does a similar chicken dish and out of preference I prefer theirs. As for the soup, it wasn’t returned until I had finished the other dishes and was ready to pay. Good news, it was hot. All in all, while I enjoyed the food, the experience was severely lacking. So I’m not in any hurry to come back here.

Fence mended, locks changed, Blue Angels overhead and now, Monkey gettin paid! In grub, that is…
Monkey do:
*Special* RICE CRISPY w/​CURRY appetizer– pretty good, different, but not for $ 12
PHAD THAI PORK– good, but pork so dry. we dipped pork in curry appetizer
PHAD SEE IEW TOFU– deliciously perfect
CRISPY GARLIC CHICKEN– came for this and although it is better this time… the
NUEA YANG– grilled flank steak w/​chili lime sauce & sticky rice– was the highlight of dinner!
The five of us killed it. No leftovers. We did do reservations this time for our Sunday dinner. The corner table against the wall, furthest from front door is the hottest place to sit and they know it. If you are seated here during the sweaty hot summer months, refuse. Unless you’re into that kind of thing.
The two of us returned another time to share the CRISPY GARLIC CHICKEN. It came out hot and fast… questionably fast. Taste great, but the bigger hunks of breast were not fully cooked. Gah!!!
Bumped up another star from last review, but CGC is inconsistent. Always great service, even when busy.