This place used to be City Rowers. The new owners successfully transformed a daggy nightclub with cheap ladies nights into a posh little restaurant bar featuring it's finest Buddha Bliss cocktail mixes with the likes of very knowledgeable bartenders... cute ones too! The downstairs is a little dark, i've only been there at night, but it has a 180 degree super spectacular view of the Brisbane river... with lights and all, very romantic if you're sitting on the outer part of the restaurant. Lots of functions here so make sure you book on busy nights or you may have to hang by the bar the entire time (not such a bad thing). My only complaint here is that although the food is pretty non-spectacular... entrees range from $13 to $18 and mains go from $20 to $30 sound a bit fancy... but don't pack that much of flavour... at least ours didn't... maybe it was because we were a big table? We tried the crispy skinned salmon and the chicken katsu curry with some sushi rolls as starters, the food was good... but nothing really jumped out as oh my god this is yum type deal. It is also incredibly noisy inside... we had to scream at each other over dinner just to hear what we were saying... leaving dinner having a very scratchy voice like you've just been clubbing all night is not the way I like to end a night. Besides from it being a little loud inside and dark, the place was pumping and very popular with dressed up folk. Maybe i'll try it out again during the day. read more

Jade Buddha - Restaurants Near Me - Brisbane, QLD

The Jade Buddha in Brisbane CBD is a Far East themed bar and restaurant, with great views of the Brisbane River and Eagle Street pier. It is said that the design, layout and decorations of the venue follow the guide lines of Feng Shui which give the Jade Buddha a special feel that's hard to describe. Even I felt almost relaxed sitting there which for me is great as I am someone that does not normally believe that furniture positioning can change the feel of a place. I think this can also be attributed to the water fall and bamboo finishing which makes you feel like you might just be on holiday for even just a minuet. The Jade Buddha is separated into two different levels, the Jade Lounge and the Shadow Lounge. The Jade Lounge is the bar and restaurant with some great cocktails and even a signature range called Buddha Bliss. The menu is a East meets West fusion so the food ranges from seafood to noodles to sushi. This is also transferred to the tempting desert menu with things like New York style cheesecake or for chocolate lovers the must try chocolate Buddha. If you go upstairs later on in the night you will walk into the Shadow Lounge that stays open till late. This is a sophisticated and classy cocktail bar to say the least. The cocktails are extensive and very tasty but are quite pricey at around 14$ upwards. The Shadow lounge is quite popular with the young inn crowd of Brisbane and is the perfect way to end the Jade Buddha experience. read more

See all

On Tuesday I went in to have a coffee and support my sisters gainful employment only to find out that when I got there she had been unlawfully fired due to bigotry. I sat down, finished my coffee. The service sucked.. My table was sticky and the coffee sucked. So many things wrong with my experience but mainly I was ashamed to be in an establishment that was chauvinistic to say the least. ew. Grow up people. read more

O.....m......g...... Soooooo good!!! I highly recommend coming here for dinner some night. The food is spectacular and happy hour is a great time to come. The atmosphere is very casual and laid back. I suggest coming close to sunset to see the views of storey bridge and the sky then. Of all the places I went in Australia this was the best food I had there and I would have gone back again if we didn't have to leave. A must stop! read more

I love the Happy hour!!! And Jack G is the best bar tender. The ambience and happy hour is great. :)

Thursday night Bubbly and Tapas for $20, how could I not be a fan? Alternative option to bubbles was a bucket of XXXX. This a the perfect venue for a almost-weekend catch up with friends or colleagues. This was my first time at Jade Buddha and we came specifically because we heard about this Thursday deal, cheap, easy, perfect. Nothing about the Tapas was Asian Fusian, just Mediterranean but good nonetheless. There were a number of small groups, mainly young professionals. There was also complementary chocolate fondue- Yum! The downside was the waiter that posted up at the fondue station chowing down...awkward. read more

Sorry but I'm just not that impressed with Jade Buddha. The whole Eagle St Pier complex trades on its great river views, but I'm yet to get any amazing eats and Jade Buddha is no exception (which is why I'm saving up for Jellyfish, apparently its amazing). The food is far too expensive for what it is, I had lunch there with a group of work colleagues and I didn't really taste any authentic flavours in the 'asian' dishes we shared. Shame, as the view really is lovely. read more

The Eagle Street Pier complex offers a beautiful view, so whenever you're a patron here you can expect to pay more than you should - and this includes the food at Jade Buddha. This place used to be a b-grade but popular nightclub called City Rowers. I admit I frequented it quite a bit when the other city clubs began to collapse. What was essentially a meat-market club that drew in stragglers with nowhere else to club is now a fine dining restaurant/club of a completely different vibe, although much of the layout remains intact. The outdoor dining area, once a spot for drunken biffs, is now a pristine beige Ikea catalogue image to look at. The view is as it was - beautiful, but if you look too sharply by daytime you might notice that the Brisbane River isn't blue, it's brown. By night the outdoor dining area is absolutely spectacular owing to the lights over the Story Bridge and on the riverside reflecting off the water. Though, to be honest, part of me misses the drunken biffs and catfights this area used to invite. The bar is noticeably more impressive than the two dingy bars Rowers used to offer, and the cocktails are delicious and on the pricey side, in-line with the general upmarket cocktail trend at the moment. (I'm not complaining. I'll pay good money if the cocktail is good, and often in new or upmarket Brisbane clubs this is the case.) The interior has an "Asian fusion" feel to it, with bamboo slats as a roof fitting and orange and red furniture colourings. In-line with my George Costanza attitude towards reviewing, I can't fail to mention the toilets. They're exactly the same as they were in the days of Rowers - plentiful, but without the smell of regurgitated cinnamon schnapps and there's no girl you don't know crying at the sink as her friend tries and fails to assure her some guy isn't worth it. Ahh, the good ol' days. Say what you want about Rowers; I miss the music. Mambo No. 5 was great. It got stuck in others' heads, but not mine. Win-win. read more

We arrived at Jade Buddha restaurant, in Eagle Street Pier, with myself, and my family, for Sunday lunch. The exterior of the restaurant was well presented, but the many stairs made it very difficult for us to enter the restaurant with a pram. We managed to get into the restaurant, and the interior was quite clean, but we noticed there was no maitre d to welcome us to the restaurant. Heading toward the tables, one of the staff behind the bar asked us if we wanted a table for four, and to pick any table. For a restaurant of Jade Buddha's location, we definitely expected proper seating allocation and welcoming service. The staff, once they had engaged us, seemed friendly though. We chose a comfortable table, and I was happy to see that as I took our son to the bathroom, I came back to find that the water had already delivered the menus, and glasses with a bottle of cool water. The service was standard, but the speed was noted. The menu was well-presented, but when I asked to order, I noted that the waiter did not mention any specials or house recommendations. None-the-less, the waiter answered a few simple questions about how the milkshakes were made, and was pleasant to deal with while ordering. He was professionally dressed and tidy, as were all the staff. However, the seats were not properly cleaned, and I had to wipe them down with tissues. The food took an extensive amount of time to arrive, especially given that there were not many people in the restaurant. It was 30% full at best. We ordered three Sirloin steaks, and one of the specials of the day, Battered Fish with chips, for the children. After approximately 25 minutes, the steaks arrived, and we were told that the fish would promptly arrive. The steaks were well presented, and the plates were nice and hot, as was the food, which was mostly fresh and delicious, with exception to the asparagus that was, in my opinion, too fresh to mix well with the dish. The Dutch carrots were soft and warm though, which is what I would have preferred for the rest of the vegetables. I must say, however, that the truffle sauce was delicious, and it was a very enjoyable dish as it was. 20 minutes later, with hungry children, we were still waiting for the fish. I had to ask a waiter what happened to the fish. I was advised that they would fix the situation, and that the fish would arrive in no later than three minutes. Obviously, they had forgotten the dish. The waiter did, however, offer to take care of the milkshakes for us to make up for the missing dish, which was appreciated. The meal did arrive in around 3-4 minutes, as promised, and I decided to ask another waiter where the beef was from. The waiter did not know and had to ask the chef. Waiters should always know where their food and produce are sourced from, but she did handle it with grace when I asked her something she didn't know. The entire time we were there, no staff asked us how the food was. I went out of my own way to say that the steak was delicious, but they should have been checking in on us, as they were not busy. I also noted that when I asked a waiter to take a family photo for us, he did not smile at all. But some of the other waiters were smiling and friendly, and a pleasure to speak with. The children ate some of the chicken and chips, which I can say they must have enjoyed, but the hit and miss service left a sour taste in our mouths. They did, however, adjust the bill as promised, which did serve to dull the damage. Jade Buddha is in Brisbane's premium restaurant location, with strong competitors "Cha Cha Char", and "Jellyfish" vying for their customers. The view is fantastic, as is the general appearance of the restaurant. They need to up some of their game, but are promising, and the steak dish is definitely recommended. read more

Stopped in tonight with a colleague. Drinks and menu looked good...but the service is really poor. We ordered an appetizer and an entree for each, but they came out at totally different times. Folks do t seem to go there for food, as folks around us were sloppy, falling over drunk at 7 pm. (And still getting served.) I didn't finish my meal, and asked for a box to go. According to the bartenders, they don't have takeaway boxes. When I asked one of the servers, I was told that people ask for boxes all the time. But they don't have them. WTH? I often split my entree so that I can have some the next day. Not at this place. Save your money, go somewhere else. Plenty of great places to eat in Brisbane! read more

Overpriced drinks and terrible service. when you buy a bottle of wine for $50 you would expect some service. The female waitress behind the bar opened the bottle and set 4 glasses plus water bottle and expected me to carry all these to my table. I was planning to order some grub but the poor service caused a change of mind. My personal experience has taught me one important lesson about eating out. This translates to establishments with poor service always serve you poor food. read more

Jade Buddha - Restaurants Near Me - Brisbane, QLD

I probably could have guessed the mediocre average quality of this place when I saw the waitresses wearing cheap looking qipaos, or when I saw the words 'asian fusion'. I don't think I've ever had good asian fusion food, or maybe I'm just too much of a fan of real asian food. The decor was decent, and the view, of course, was awesome, being on Eagle Street Pier. The staff were friendly and service was good, with timely presentation of food. Tapas were good, mediterranean as another reviewer pointed out. Questionable value for the money. For my main, I had the crispy skinned baramundi, just to try something Australian. The piece of fish was about the size of an index card, but tasty. The pile of potatoes and peppers on the side were, however, quite bland. My friend had the lamb, which frankly looked like a $10 stir fry from the local Chinese restaurant, dressed up and put on a nice plate. It even came with disposable chopsticks...tacky! I suppose I'm biased against asian-fusion restaurants, which try to 'chique-ify' the traditional roast-ducks-hanging-in-the-window Chinese food. Frankly, I'll take the much smaller price tag and sit next to the hanging ducks. I guess this is a nice place with a pretty view to take a business associate or someone you don't really care about but want to take on a nice night out. Will not be coming back. read more

Nice spot top class place in class location but easy going bar & grill not as Business style as say jelly fish.. It's up market from a $10 doller meal deal bar.. And is more pricey but it's relaxed just order at bar .. And take a number to your table simple .. Only weak point is they only do one sweat desert .. Which was average & pricey at $13 doller but nice to eat never the less.. Good all round night out to be honist .. read more

See all

Jade Buddha is a very beautifully decorated lounge and cocktail bar. This is definitely a swanky place that you would not wear a t-shirt and shorts combo to. Jade Buddha was not designed to cater for people like myself- the op shopper, local gigs attender, and huge tight-arse. Regardless, I do like to get dressed up and be fancy every now and then. Putting on heels, doing your makeup can be a lot of fun and Jade Buddha is the kind of place I can do that. When you enter Jade Buddah, you will probably be in awe at how beautiful it is, not only that but it has phenomenal views of the Brisbane River. The city lights reflecting of the river really help with the atmosphere. The place boasts many comfy couches and seats and if also very spacious. I have only been here for cocktails with a few friends therefore can not comment on the food but what i can say is that these are exquisite cocktails. They are not cheap (around $18), but they sure know how to make them. Even if you feel like getting dolled up to drink cocktails is not your kinda thing, I would suggest you give it a go every now and then- Jade Buddha is a perfect place to do it with class. read more

I was quite disappointed with my meal at Jade Budda. My coffee was only warm, my meal luke warm at best. Meanwhile my companion had the hottest of hot chocolates and her meal was literally steaming. If I hadnt have seen her meal (and pinched a bite of her mouthwatering tempura fish) I would have only given this one star. I ordered a flat white, which was served warm with way too much foam, it resembled more of a un-chocolated cuppacino . My Burger, being a lunch special had different ingredients than the menu stated and the beef pattie was only warm, and very dry. You would think they would get the Lunch special right to attempt to entice people back to try other menu items. Apparently not. I wont be going back in a hurry thats for sure. read more

Great location, good value and lively atmosphere Wandered along the river looking for something reasonably priced and moderately healthy and found Jade Buddha Lots of great menu options it was hard to choose Salad servings could have been more generous but with a tasting plate to start we didn't walk away hungry Have come back for a second night in a row (work trip) to try the barramundi read more

When you eat something so bad you have to review, I don't like to slag off a place but it has to be done in this instance. The "Wagyu" beef burger could have been fish with soya sauce for all you know. Tasteless, texture less and just made me sick. Soggy bun, not flavour caramelised onions, and super soggy shit fries. For $20 you get a meal that makes you feel shit. OR you take your money up the road to Red Hook and get a decent burger that won't make you regret wasting your money read more

Went to their $12 all you can eat dumplings tuesdays. The WORST dumplings I've ever had. The dumpling skins are thick and overcooked (pastey tasting). The filling is minimal and not flavoured properly. It is served straight onto steam baskets so when you add your soya sauce it drips all over the table and onto your clothes. The food wasn't worst the $12 even for a cheapskate glutton like me. read more

The food saves it. Poor service. Understaffed. I organised a work dinner of professionals attending from various parts of Australia and New Zealand. I thought this would be a great introduction to Brisbane for them. How wrong. We were ignored for a large part of the meal. While we were waiting an hour for the entrees our glasses were empty and waiters were far too busy to see us and offer more drinks. This was on a Friday night and there were 10 of us. The food was great though. I commented on the delay of the service and we were offered a free round of drinks by the manager. This was not deducted from the bill and I ended up paying the whole amount. After I sent them some constructive criticism via their website they sent me a $100 voucher. A few weeks later I returned for a weekday lunch with my wife to give them a second chance (and make some use out of the voucher). Same thing happened. The waiters were very scarce and while they are very friendly for the 2 minutes they are with you its very difficult to receive any kind of service at other times. Food is tasty and well presented. Location is excellent and the price is not too high. Our lunch cost $75 including wine. The bartenders make some fantastic cocktails and they have a great range of top shelf drinks. I hope they improve on service. The location of this restaurant gives it the potential to be an icon of Brisbane. Step up and take to another level guys! read more

Stopped here for dinner with my husband on a Thursday night. We were able to get a seat outside with a view of the water. I ordered chicken satay skewers and spring rolls. The staff was friendly and the food was ok but yet again a bit overpriced. The spring rolls were very bland and apparently you can't take any left overs with you as they do not offer boxes (or take away as it's referred to here). I didn't have anything that I wanted to take away but my husband had some of his dinner left. Why would the restaurant waste food like that? read more

The view is spectacular but that's about where it starts and ends. I was there on Friday 1 Mar, 2013 for dinner with my partner. I ordered the fried rice dish which is only an entree on the menu, I asked them to upsize it to a main and they were happy to do so. Unfortunately when it came out an hour later, I regretted my decision, it was dry and had no flavour despite dousing it with chillies and soy sauce, it simply had no taste. My partner had the steak and that too lacked flavour. The most we will be having at Jade Buddha in the future is a cocktail before heading over to one of their eagle street competitors for food that's worth paying the high prices for. read more

No real vegetarian options, poor service at the bar and despite being listed as a "take away" restaurant. They offer no take away options.

What to say about a Brisbane favorite? It's in a perfect position - the view of the Story Bridge is perfection, drinks are reasonably priced, I've not had food here so I can't comment on that. But nothing stands out for me about Jade Bhudda, I can take it or leave it really. When you're in a prime position between so many restaurants and bars, I feel like you need to do something to stand out from the crowd... Jade isn't really doing it in my opinion. read more

Jade Buddha bills itself as a "riverside hangout for celebrities." Brilliant, I think, I shall book my entire conference of 100 people in here for dinner! It will be delicious and a good time will be had by all! Fast forward a few months: The night is warm and we are all pleasantly boozy. Then the food comes out. It is cold. Cold steak, cold salmon, cold mashed potatoes. Imagine, dear reader, our horror and disappointment. Would I want a repeat of this experience? No. Jade Buddha, Pros: Great view; convenient location. Cons: Cannot cook for large groups of people; costs sackfuls of money; event managers disorganized and hard to work with. read more

We had the vegetarian group entree platter which was quite good. We chose the lighter dishes for main course and had the tempura crab the shrimp something. It took 35 minutes to bring us the mains which were really basic dishes that should not have taken more then 5-10 minutes to prepare. Even though there weren't many patrons in the restaurant. Unfortunately, even though the kitchen had plenty of time it tasted really really bad. Bland. Take my advice and choose another restaurant at Eagle Street Pier. This one is overpriced, serves crappy food and has equally crappy service. read more

Interesting experience. I ordered the Monday special (burger and beer for $10) and tried to add cheese on it. That was too difficult as the deal is only as-is. So, I had to pay for the meal. Ok, I could handle that. However, my buddy ordered right after me and added fries.... No problem for him to add them for $2. Wtf? Just give me the slice of cheese on the side and ill put it on myself. read more

Disappointed with our meal here and the service on Saturday night. I had relatively high expectations given the localty and price point. I ordered the balinese lamb, the meal size was small and I've had much better tasting meals at my local Asian restaurant. Rice was old, like it had been sat out all night. Service was slow despite the venue not being too packed. It took half an hour for plates to be cleared which turned me off thinking about a dessert. Starters weren't great either - edamame overcooked and the duck pancakes more pancake than anything else. I won't be recommending this place to anyone. read more

Well... where to begin. Not having the Yelp app before now seems a good place to start. I installed it with the soul purpose of writing this review. Suffice it to say, Jade Buddha is really a Quartz Buddha at best (that's a mineral joke for you clever clogs at home). Meals took forever to come out, and the steak and chips I ordered (for $30) were the equivalent of the good folk at McDonald's down the road. Seriously. I am not exaggerating. Shame on me for making assumptions based on price I guess--I know $30 isn't haute cuisine, but I expected better than the happy meal quality I received. I'm going to drink my sorrows away now, and cannot wait for the filthy $3 2am kebab to wash the taste out of my mouth. read more

My work mates and I are regulars at all of the bars and eateries along the waterfront in Brisbane. We have recently been going to Jade Buddha more and more as we just cant seem to go past the position (we use to go to Sianna till they closed!. The drinks are great and the staff are certainly friendly and always willing to go the extra mile for any request. Personnally we love the casual dinning, I dont think they try to be fine dinning in any way but every time we have food there it seems to be spot on given the price and lets face it, the position on the river is the best in the city! Also I would like to say I think if you are looking for a fun night out with food and cocktails then they do it far better than anyone on river in the city! read more

Friday 19/04/13 was the second time I had eaten at Jade Buddha. We were using a $100 voucher given to me by the management, having experienced disastrous service there last year. Sadly, the promise that we would be amazed by their excellence that accompanied the voucher was an empty one. Our drinks order "wasn't put in the computer," and then subject to "I'm sorry, we don't have any tomato juice." We ordered a medium-rare steak and a Balinese lamb. The steak was overcooked (to done) and both meals tasted of little more than salt. It took 20 minutes to get a dessert menu and the deep fried ice cream, whilst well-presented, was more crumb than cream. Our comments on settling up were responded to with the promise of "a great time" the next time we came but that attempt at customer service was somewhat dampened by the attempt to charge us for cocktails we had neither ordered or received. The restaurant was significantly short-staffed, with 2 or 3 people attempting to serve all its covers and this may well be the reason for our experience. Whether this was down to no-shows, sickies or simply a desire to minimise overhead, I do not know. In any case, a premium venue that fails to deliver a premium service twice in two well-spaced visits is not one I will be offering a third opportunity to. read more

Went to Jade Buddha to celebrate. Bartender brought our 3 drinks in his hands. Wine glass was stained at the rim with red wine as if it was not cleaned properly. Cocktail "Kamasutra" was so sweet with no alcohol in it. It looked like someone has used a blender to mix strawberry and red syrup. Another cocktail called was equally bad. Absolutely horrible drinks. Martini was colourless and olives in it had half piece missing. Pinot noir had stale smell. Anyways... we ordered tapas and other food. Waiter gave us starters but no plates to eat. We have to wait another 10 min for someone to attend us even when venue was half empty. Rest of the food arrived and it was poorly prepared and unpalatable. Lamb was so sweet that we could not eat more than a spoon ful. Worst part is still to come.... We finished our drinks and while we were having our dinner manager named Alex Kuhl came to our table and asked one of our family member to show ID or passport. When I asked why he need to see it, he said that he thinks that person is under 25 years of age. I said that legal drinking age is 18 not 25 and he should know this. But he persisted and only left when I got upset and asked him to leave immidiately. He was so rude and unprofessional that he did not care about their customers and interrupted us between the dinner. I asked him later that if he thought somebody is underage, why did they serve alcohol in the first place. He said he did not serve alcohol so he has no idea. WTF he is a manager and he has no idea about his staff and rules and legislation about alcohol. He later on apologised for his behaviour but he completely spoiled our celebration. This is the worst place I have ever been to. Poor service unprofessional and rude staff, unpalatable food, uneducated manager. Completely avoid this place. Absolutely horrible experience. Later on when I discussed with my friends they were surprised that How I didn't know about Jade Buddha's well known bad reputation. I do not recommend this terrible place to anyone read more

Had my birthday lunch here. Great views of the Brisbane River and reasonably priced. Great place to meet up with friends for a drink or lunch. read more