Buddha Thai Bistro: Thai Food in Jacksonville Beach

Updated November 2026

Buddha Thai Bistro is a family-owned Thai restaurant at 301 10th Ave. N. in Jacksonville Beach, owned by Noom Boonsanong and open daily for lunch and dinner since 2010. It serves Thai curries, noodles, and house specials with a deep bench of vegan and vegetarian options, and it offers dine-in, takeout, online ordering, reservations, and catering.

Finding Thai food that works for the vegan at the table and the person who wants crispy duck is harder than it should be. This is one place that handles both.

Buddha Thai Bistro at a Glance

  • Address: 301 10th Ave. N., Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
  • Owner: Noom Boonsanong
  • Area: Jacksonville Beach, just off 3rd Street North
  • Hours: daily, noon to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m., per its website
  • Phone: (904) 842-2207
  • Website: buddhathaibistro.com
  • Instagram: @buddhathaibistrojaxfl
  • Facebook: Buddha Thai Bistro
  • Google rating: 4.5 stars across 1,106 reviews as of November 2026
  • Parking: on-site lot, with wheelchair-accessible parking, entrance, restrooms, and seating

What to Order at Buddha Thai Bistro

The menu runs from Thai street food to whole fried fish. A few dishes regulars and the restaurant itself point to:

  • Royal Pad Thai, which the restaurant's menu says was voted best pad thai in Jax
  • Pra Ram curry, spinach, carrots, and broccoli on a sizzling plate under a rich peanut curry sauce
  • Red snapper red curry, a whole deep-fried snapper priced by weight
  • Crispy honey duck, honey-glazed, roasted, then flash-fried
  • Hawaiian fried rice, served in a pineapple boat for dine-in
  • Thai street food, a dine-in-only section with boat noodles, moo ping pork skewers, and larb

Dishes are meant to be shared. The restaurant's own advice is to pass plates around the table, which settles the question of who ordered better.

Vegan and Vegetarian Options

Buddha Thai Bistro is one of the more vegan-friendly Thai kitchens at the Beaches. On the regular menu you'll find:

  • Tofu satay and golden triangle fried tofu with peanut sauce
  • A vegan option on the egg rolls
  • Soy satay chicken and soy shrimp satay
  • Vegan wings with a sugarcane center that stands in for the bone
  • A rotating Vegan Chef Challenge section, recently with Pad Prik King crispy tofu

Once a year it goes fully plant-based. The annual Vegan Thanksgiving Brunch Buffet is an all-you-can-eat Thai vegan spread on Thanksgiving Day. The 2026 date, prices, and booking details are in our Buddha Thai Bistro vegan Thanksgiving brunch guide.

Catering and Private Events

Buddha Thai Bistro caters through set packages listed on its catering page:

  • Thai boxed lunches at $14.95 each, 15-order minimum, for offices and meetings
  • Finger food packages for 20 to 25 or 50 to 60 guests
  • Entrée packages sized from 12 to 15 guests up to 90 to 100, with entrées the restaurant lists as gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and MSG-free

Prices are from the restaurant's catering page as of November 2026. For a sit-down group, the restaurant also takes reservations for a private room through its Toast booking page.

Events at Buddha Thai Bistro

The restaurant runs a few ticketed events each year. In 2026 that included a Bangkok Glam Sweet 16 anniversary party in September, a Magic & Boo Halloween party, and the vegan Thanksgiving brunch. In a 2013 interview republished by Metro Jacksonville, the restaurant said it celebrates Thai holidays, including Thai New Year.

It opened as Buddha's Belly and changed its name after the trademark turned out to be taken. Some locals still call it Buddha's Belly. Nobody seems to mind.

Who Buddha Thai Bistro Is Right For

  • Mixed groups where one person is vegan and another wants pork belly.
  • Families, with a kids menu of pad thai, fried rice, satay, and panko shrimp.
  • Office managers ordering boxed lunches for 15 or more.
  • Party hosts who want finger food trays instead of cooking.
  • Beach visitors looking for a sit-down meal a couple of blocks from the ocean.

How to Order or Book a Table

Call (904) 842-2207, order online for pickup, or reserve a table through Toast. For catering, use the inquiry form on the catering page or call the same number. Note the 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. gap between lunch and dinner service.

New to the Beaches? Our explainer on Jacksonville vs. Jacksonville Beach covers where one ends and the other begins.

Next step: get driving directions, or book a table for your next night at the Beaches.

Know a local business we should profile next? Email us at jaxhumor@gmail.com.

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