Laughing Buddha

I have been to the Buddha a number of times, and every single time I have not been impressed.
The food was, however their deep fried pickles are pretty awesome.
The service is not what I like in a restaurant. The waiters are wearing casual attire, it would be hard to identify them as servers if it weren't for the black pocket apron and the bohemian laid back look they all shared, as well as they were eating and drinking while serving which I think is not very appropriate. I understand that the environment is designed for those who enjoy being a part of the "in" scene and conforming to what others are doing because it appears to be cool. Also more often than not the service is slow, and there seems to be a slight hint of pot in the air: P
So this would not be the first place I recommend to people from outside of Sudbury... unless they enjoyed the type of people who are slightly snobbish, shallow, and trying to be something that they are not.

I've been dragged here several times by friends. Each time I leave annoyed with the small portions and awful service.

At this point I'm done and never going back to this smelly armpit of a bar.

I just dined there last night and have never had a server be so rude or make my dining experience so uncomfortable ever. The food was wonderful but the continual snide remarks and degrading comments made our overall experience awful. In fact it was so bad that we made new friends from several neighboring tables bonding over our shared awful experiences of this waitress! Our group will not be returning to this restaurant, good food is nice but not when your atmosphere is awful.

The wait for service was unbelievable-longest I have ever waited, I would have left but boyfriend was starving and hypoglycemic- and a pain. So we waited- the food was good- the place was claustrophobic- I didn't enjoy the time there and have tried it on a couple more occasions and the service is consistently not good- only saving grace- outstanding patio- just be prepare to wait

There is a good choice of draft and bottled beer from craft breweries, and I always have a Murphys Irish Stout------excellent quality and taste.

I had the Leo Luigi pizza and it was covered in quality ingredients and well covered by several tasty cheeses.

The service was attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere is funky, with a good view of the street and the railway yard.

In the warmer weather, they have a great outdoor area between two buildings that was added a few years ago.

Everyone seems to like the atmosphere, but I go to a restaurant for food -- and the food here is bad. The pizza has little flavour; the toppings totally overwhelm the thin, soggy crust. The famous chick pea salad has a gritty texture. They are clever in coming up with new flavour combinations, but many of them just don't work. And the service -- ouch!

This is my first time in Sudbury whilst on tour with a theatre company. We arrived late at night and were starving with nowhere open to eat. So after a very chilly walk, we stumbled across this place. I'm very glad we turned here instead of the Towne House (I think that's what the place next door was called).

It looked like a pretty generic independent cafe at the front, but then we turned a corner and then there was this entire back area with tons of space for sitting, eating and lounging. Mind you, there was very little lounging chairs. The chairs were all hardback and with just dining tables. Decor was sparse and the entire place looked just like an eating room, but I'll admit, we were so hungry and cold we were happy to sit down. It was clean, and the dimness of the lighting on wood made it cozy enough for me. And after doing a quick walk through of the place next door, this place was far above it in my opinion.

The owners kindly let us sit in the back although they had closed it off since it was so late at night. Our waitress was very friendly, informative about the menu and patient with our various needs. I was particularly impressed by their large global beer selection with all the descriptions written out. I don't think I've even found something that extensive in Toronto. If someone knows one there (or in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, I would LOVE to know).

Their food was really innovative and tasty. They took some simple pub fare and added such a great zest to it. Their chickpea salad was huge and absolutely delightful, a mixture of a spinach base, a heap of chickpeas and black beans with a topping of sprouts. But it was their dressing that took the spotlight. A dusting of curry with a creamy garlic dressing. It was like a happy explosion in my mouth. My normally rather quiet colleague took a bite, paused, and then went "Wow! wow! Wow!" That kind of said it all.

Their sweet potato fries themselves were pretty generic, but it was their banana ketchup that zapped it up, a crazy mixture of banana puree, ketchup and a dash of cayenne. Madness, and we loved it. Other table tasties included fried pickles (firs time we've seen this...strange huh? Seems like we see it everywhere since then), gluten free pizza. The only disappointment was their mushroom dip. It was average. The artichoke one was pretty flavourful, if a little salty.

We were there until 2am, and even then there didn't seem to be any rush to leave. It was pretty fantastic and laid back with good music. When we left, the first thing we artists declared was that we needed something this snazzy out in Kitchener Waterloo. If I ever come back to Sudbury, I'll be beelining to this place.

We've order lunch to go from here on many different occasions and the food is always great and the service is prompt. The orders have always been ready when I get there to pick them up.

I come to Sudbury once or twice a year (not to mention I was born and mostly raised here) to visit and when I came to the Buddha for the first time I was pretty impressed with what had been done with the place. A nice patio was there, an incredible beer selection and some really tasty menu items (though pretty limited). As time went by each subsequent visit was better and better, with more variety on the menu (when ajoined to Sportsbury's) and great service and then soon an expanded patio and back seating area. There was even some entertainment from time to time. Lately, however, I've returned to Sudbury with hopes of a yet better Buddha experience and was thoroughly disappointed.
I like some of the new beer selections. I'm a little disappointed at the loss of some others but I can deal with it. The service has become quite terrible. I don't mean a little slow, I mean terrible. There are some good days when I don't have to wait 15 minutes for one bottle of beer but others when it's 15 before they even come to the table and then another 10-15 before I get the beer. Very hit and miss and always sloppy.
The food is still very good but it's sad that some of the old fare is gone now that Sportsbury's has closed. Somehow when I'm out drinking beer and chatting up the gang, a ham and apple sandwich with hummus is not what I really crave. Some wings or a basket of fries is good. One could say "well if it's a sports bar you want, go there" but I don't think that's fair. I like the Buddha's menu in general and the food has always been made well. I just think some of the basic drinking food could be there too.
Things to try: the chick pea salad is absolutely amazing, as are a number of the sandwiches. The pizzas are incredible. Just the smell of them makes me crave one immediately. I just don't dig on pizza all the time. The hummus is lovely (I miss the red pepper one). I think in general there could be some re-working of the menu. Maybe instead of 20 pizzas and 20 sandwiches and some other stuff, you could pare down some of it (or have "build your own" options) and add some more interesting things, as well as some old bar staples.

The place is looking good and expanding but the menu and service thus far are not expanding along with it.

I enjoyed our visit to the laughing buddha. We were seated outside, and their outdoor patio looks so cool! We all loved the casual setting, and it was nice because of how intimate the seating is.

The food was very good, lots of garlic though, be warned! ;) It was very tasty, we all had different kinds of pizzas, but I would've loved to have tried some of their appetizers. Hummus looked really good. I'll definitely be going back again.

The waitress recommended a berry smoothie for a drink, so we all tried it and loved it! The waitress was very polite and was around as much as she could be with how busy they were.

I will be returning to the laughing buddha, it's a cool new restaurant and a bit of an unpolished gem in the root of sudbury's downtown area. Loved the experience, can't wait to return!