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Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Thai
Delivery
Take-out
Thai food menu featuring starters, salads, noodles, fried rice, currys, stir frys, and main entrees with choice of mockmeat or tofu. Brown rice, coconut rice, and other rice available. Everything can be made vegan upon request. Small and casual. Confirmed closed, Jun 2017.
15 Reviews
First Review by eric
eric
Points +21348
Real Thai Vegetarian Style - Edit
Great that this all vegetarian Thai restaurant has opened in Los Angeles! Busaba has a Thai-only menu and many interesting choices (i.e. "seaweed rolls"). The staff there were very friendly and welcoming. The owner said it was her goal to create a restaurant that reflects true Thai cuisine versus a California fusion, separating her from the other 7-8 vegan Thai places around town. We did visit on their opening day, but even so, overall the food & feel of the place was good, casual, home-style Thai. Brings back the memories! Looking forward to seeing how this place progresses in the future.
Read morePros: Authentic vegetarian Thai, Nice staff, Relaxed atmosphere
Guest
sandybadlands
Points +293
Good for sit-down or takeout - Edit
My favorite vegan Thai place so far. Basically everything on the menu I've tried was delicious, and I'm obsessed with the pad woon sen. I always appreciate when you order a vegetable dish and it has actual vegetables besides the typical broccoli and carrots. We've eaten at the restaurant and gotten takeout many times, and service is great for both. Just don't forget the rice isn't automatically included... I've made that mistake too many times.
Read morePros: lots of vegan options, good service, fast delivery
Guest
vegan_ryan
Points +3873
Great food! - Edit
I can't say enough about how tasty this place is. The price can add up after appetizers and entrees and desserts, but all of it is VERY delicious.
Read moreI recommend the mock-chicken satay for an appetizer. It's incredible!
Street parking can be hard to come by - that's the only downfall.
Pros: All-vegetarian
Cons: Difficult parking
Guest
Fritz
Points +66
Best Grilled Dumplings Around! - Edit
Yes, we LOVE Bulan's grilled dumplings, which are always delectable! I know of no other restaurant that has dumplings this good! We almost always order them for our appetizer. And, in general, the food is quite tasty. Some of my favorite entrees are: Eggplant Lover, Sizzling Pla Rad Prig, Pad Kee Mao "Drunken Noodles," and Chow Mein.
Read moreUnfortunately, the restaurant is tiny, and this factor has caused us not to go there nearly as often as we probably would if there were more room. Also, on at least one of our several visits, the noise level was very high, which we didn't like. The service, however, has always been good. Due to the tininess of the restaurant, we usually call for delivery, and the delivery time has usually been quite reasonable.
Pros: Outstanding grilled dumplings!, Tasty food, Good service
Cons: Restaurant is tiny, Sometimes very noisy, Prices are a bit high
Guest
Chia
Points +3631
Thai Vegetarian Food - Edit
I had read about this place on happycow, and here's my Bulan Thai Vegetarian review.
Read moreMy husband and I have eaten here several times, usually when we happen to be in the Melrose Area. Sometimes the food is good, sometimes average.
What I like about the menu is that it's varied and very authentic Thai - no western burgers and wraps like the other Thai veggie places in the LA area.
The taste, however, tends to be on the salty side and can be very spicy (Thai style), so ask for mild and less salt.
Small space, nicely decorated.
Guest
Bud Coffey
Points +37
Note to me missed! Silver Lake location - Edit
When I take friends to vegan restaurants I'm prepared for "lovely tasting cardboard". Not the case at BULON. "This is really good" is the norm here. I espically like their pumpkin main entre (sorry I don't remember its name). They also have great coconut flavored rice. I've eaten in lots of veg restaurants in my 30+ years as a vegan, and this is one of the best.
Read morePros: Excellent, Great $ value, Friendly staff
Guest
m@earthville
Points +10685
Above average in taste, but not all vegan - Edit
Bulan is our go-to Thai place in LA when dining out with non-vegan friends. We agree with the comments below from gr8vegan and Sonja and Dirk, and we have little to add except to say that we feel the kind folks at Bulan have a nice touch with the subtleties of taste and presentation that we appreciate.
Read morePros: Very tasty vegan Thai dishes, Nuanced flavor and nice atmosphere
Cons: Not all vegan, Not organic, Parking
Guest
SonjaCPA
Points +5270
Crisp fish with green apple - Edit
The crisp fish with green apple is my favorite dish there and I probably never would have tried it if not for the reviews here. The flavors together are just marvelous. And they have sticky rice with mango...yummy! We go to the Silver Lake location now, but this one has a nicer atmosphere and decor.
Read morePros: authentic thai, crisp fish, sticky rice
Cons: parking
Guest
gr8vegan
Points +2357
Great Veg Thai Restaurant to take a non veg person - Edit
Bulan is decently priced, parking is $5 via the Valet, but at least you don't have to drive around looking for a spot. Its not 100% vegan like many of the Thai restaurants but much of the menu is vegan or vegan optional. It has one of the nicer interiors on the Veg Thai Scene. I'd say it'd be my #1 place to take non veg people interested in Thai food, but its definitely not my favorite Thai restaurant, I'd rather eat at a 100% vegan one. Still they did a great job with my meal, Drunken Noodles with the pad thai noodles and no oil! healthy & spicy!
Read morePros: will do oil free, inexpensive
Cons: $5 valet, not 100% vegan
Guest
HOMEBODY
Points +171
What Happened? - Edit
We've been eating here for years, and it's always been consistently good... until last week. We ordered two dishes, both things we've eaten before. Eggplant with fake chicken and spinach with tofu. The eggplant wasn't cooked. It was hard and bitter. We sent it back. It came back still uncooked. Still hard and bitter. We ate what we could, a few pieces were soft. On to the spinach. It wasn't cooked either! Raw spinach is not a big deal. But the dish wasn't very good either. Bland, uncooked. I don't know what happened to this place. We asked if maybe there was a new chef. They said it's the same chef. Maybe we came on a bad night. We didn't get any discount or apology about the food. Almost $40 including valet parking... so much for a nice evening. We went home hungry and irritated. No more Bulan for us!
Read morePros: good menu
Cons: uncooked food, difficult parking
Guest
The Veggie Cook
Points +1201
Average - Edit
Been here serveral times, usually with a friend or two, and we would share our food. I've had the currys, the stir frys, most of the appetizers, and a couple of the soups.
Read moreFood in general is okay and can be improved. The flavors are strong but too much on the heavy side - lots of sauce, salt, and sugar. I would suggest for the kitchen to tone down the sauces, and let the aromas of the vegetables themselves surface.
The atompshere is pleasant.
Pros: all vegetarian, convenient location, varied menu
Cons: heavy sauce, salt, sugar, small portions
Guest
Peanut4
Points +349
Yummy - Edit
I love their "Fish" with sliced apples and cashews!!!! Great Presentation.
Read moreGuest
erbavore
Points +108
Wow, Thai Food that's 100% veggie,,, Impressive... - Edit
Wow, Thai Food that's 100% veggie,,, Impressive...
Read moreToo bad the food Wasn't impressive.
We started out with soup. I had Tum Kha which is my favorite soup. It was fairly good. Not the best I had, but acceptable.
Our Spring Roll appetizer was as BAD as it gets. :(
We had ordered 2 main Dishes. I ordered mine "SUPER THAI HOT," well I couldn't taste the first chili, nor could I taste the peanut sauce.
I asked for more sauce, but they had to make it for me and charge me. :(
I eventually took some sauces they gave me and made it into a tasty dish, but it took effort on my part.
My partners dish on the other had was completely horrible. The dish and silverware was dirty and the taste, and the taste of the food was horrible. She finished my dish.
As I reflect upon the overall experience, I actually did enjoy it. I would go back to try some additional dishes and see if I could find an gems in the menu.
Pros: price, selection, friendliness of staff
Cons: taste of food, cleanliness was barely acceptable
Guest
xtfrclqn
Points +37
flavorful food, friendly people - Edit
I randomly ordered delivery from Busaba after finding their menu tucked into my screen door about two weeks ago & have fallen in love with this restaurant. So far we've tried prik king fried rice, seaweed rolls, pumpkin and tofu, satay, & dumplings & we have loved everything. The people are genuinely nice. A total pleasure.
Read morePros: super friendly staff, tasty food, intriguing menu
Guest
think4leafclover
Points +21
vegan friendly - Edit
as a vegan, i was very happy to see the menu, which has vegan & vegan-optional items clearly marked. banana rolls w/ coconut ice cream is divine. portions are small but this place caters to white americans with its fusion menu. parking is a nightmare but to be expected in this area--order delivery instead if you live within 3 miles to save yourself the hassle.
Read morePros: vegan-friendly, tasty
Cons: parking, small portions
Guest
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