The Grand Buddha Bistro - Castlegar

A hidden gem in, sad to say, the culinary wasteland that is Castlegar. If you rely on Yelp, you will see it located in a different place in the map from the directions provided (hopefully this will change in the future). Trust the directions; even so, you may wonder where the restaurant is when you arrive. It's hiding around the side of a nondescript hotel off the main drag. Signage is not visible from either direction. A pity. If you navigate these hurdles you are in for a treat. My pho was plentiful and excellent, not over salted like many versions but with just the right body and flavor. My spouse's massaman curry, at a reasonable $22 the most expensive thing on the menu, made me second guess my enjoyment of the pho. The peanut sauce for the tofu rice paper wraps made me contemplate intellectual property theft. As residents of nearby Nelson we're accustomed to having abundant restaurant options, but finally discovering Grand Buddha has given us a reason to go elsewhere for top-drawer, affordable food.

Overpriced. Ordered two pad thais at $19 a pop. Not authentic, covered in shredded iceberg lettuce what the. The wife also said it was super salty (I didn 't try myself ordered for her and mother in law). Chicken wings my family didn 't even finish half, seemed deep fried in too much batter vs the dusted in potato starch as it says on the menu more like drenched. Some of the pics other yelpers have posted look tasty so maybe we just ordered the wrong items or caught the kitchen on an off day? Otherwise I don 't get all the 4 or 5 star reviews. Service seems hit or miss. Lady who took my order was friendly and helpful. The other girl who retrieved my order when I came to pick up seemed pretty snooty and unfriendly.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the Grand Buddha Bistro! Never mind the fact that my phone keeps trying to auto populate the name to Grand Budapest Hotel... however, it is good to note that the restaurant is located in one wing of the Fireside Inn. It 's a pretty modern and beautifully decorated space inside the restaurant. It was very empty when I arrived at 11:30am on a Friday at lunchtime, but I was greeted warmly. I ordered a lemongrass pork vermicelli bowl $16), and I asked if I could just get a small cup of pho broth on the side. They only charged me $1 for the broth! What a steal! The vermicelli bowl was excellent. The pickled vegetables were bold in flavor; and the pork was juicy and tasty. My only complaint was that the cucumber was cut into very large sticks, rather than julienned to be mixed into the bowl. I wish they had cut it smaller so I could actually eat it with the rest of the noodles, rather than having to munch on cucumber sticks separately. In the culinary wasteland that is Castlegar as put by another Yelper), Grand Buddha Bistro is definitely an oasis.

Stopped in on my way to the Castlegar airport. This has got to be some of the best Thai/Vietnamese food in the interior. We had: 1. Tom Yum Phò: A Thai Vietnamese fusion of two of my favourite dishes. This huge bowl had lemongrassy broth and noodles done right. Plenty of seafood between the squid, prawns and surimi (imitation crab could have done without this). Accompanied by fresh Thai basil, crunchy bean sprouts, and bright red birds eye chilli, which you should add if you want it spicy (otherwise pretty mild). 2. Thai Green Chicken Curry: Classic preparation, great flavour and nice balance of veg (baby corn, broccoli, red peppers) and chicken. Only downside is it's very mild. The side spring role was veg filled and a bit oily, could have done without it. 3. Shrimp Salad Roll: lots of shrimp and great peanut sauce. Unfortunately, it was not rolled tight enough and as such was a bit messy. 4. Chicken Satays: nicely marinated and cooked properly. Would recommend this spot if visiting or driving through Castlegar, BC.

We came here during lunch during a road trip, and the tables were suitably spaced out, with hand sanitizer and a sign-in sheet at the door. The restaurant looked very clean and well taken care of, and is attached to the hotel next door. We ordered the lemongrass pork vermicelli and the vegetable vermicelli. Food came out very fresh, nicely presented, and we really enjoyed our meal. The portions are substantial. There are plenty of vegetarian options on the menu. Service was very friendly and stayed physically distanced, but staff members I saw were not wearing masks. Would definitely come back, if we are in the area again.