Busaba Eathai

Last week, Callum and I headed over to Westfield London, who had invited us to review one of their restaurants whilst have a romantic meal out on that romantic day of romantic days, Valentines Day. Now, we don’t actually celebrate Valentines Day, but we were rather excited about the feast that would occur! It was difficult to choose one restaurant to review out of Westfield’s 60+ offering, but in the end we picked Busaba Eathai as we’d heard lots of great things about it from friends, and with our Chinese roots, Asian food is always a winner. When I eat at a resaturant, there are four main things I judge it by- food, service, atmosphere and value for money. Here’s how Busaba fared on those fronts …

Food

Everything we ate (and we ate a lot!) was drool-inducing, Instagram-worthy goodness. Honestly, I couldn’t pick a favourite dish. All your food come at once (something I love as it always sends me back to my childhood in Malaysia eating dinners with my family) but everything is hot, cooked to perfection, and just delicious. We had Busaba’s famous Thai calamari, Chinese broccoli, green chicken curry, char-grilled duck and pad thai, along with fresh coconut water with lychee juice, fresh iced ginger tea with citrus fruits and some cold sake. Though I loved everything, stand-out dishes for me were the duck (soft and smothered in a crazily moreish sauce) and the calamari (Busaba’s signature dish that has a really scrummy, unique flavour).

Service

Bad service can ruin a restaurant experience in an instant. Good service, on the other hand, can create a really memorable experience, and that’s what we had with Busaba. Though it was a busy Valentines Day evening, our waiters were polite and careful, and they all had good food and drink suggestions when we were struggling with what to pick because everything on the menu sounded so delicious. Our food also arrived quickly – something I love as I’m already starving by the time I’ve walked through the doors! Special shout out must go to general manager Emre, who was lovely and helpful, and without him we wouldn’t have tried the duck.

Atmosphere

Callum was sold before the food had even arrived, he was so enthused by the restaurant’s lighting. Photographers, ey? I was more impressed by how the Japanese-style seating arrangement (minus sitting on the floor) managed to still feel intimate and unobtrusive, even when you were sharing a table with a bunch of strangers. The combination of low lights and the unique seating format and deep brown furnishings gave everything an exotic, Balinese feel that really suited the food.

Value for Money

Because of the sharing style of the food, Busaba could work out a little more expensive than your average restaurant trip. However, that’s only if you’re a) massive pigs like Callum and I, and b) you do decide to share dishes. Many other diners were sticking to one dish each, and if you did that Busaba works out about the same as most high-street chains. It’s better value for money than most, though, as the food is so delicious and the service is great.

The Verdict

If you couldn’t tell already, I loved every minute of being at Busaba, and I’m already planning a return trip next week. If you love any style of Asian food you have to try it – you’re not going to want to miss the seriously tasty fusion dishes on offer. Oh, and when you do go, have the duck and calamari. You can thank me later 😉 x

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