See David Visan The Buddha Bar is an exclusive and highly-regarded bar and restaurant in Paris, France, and is a Buddha-themed venue serving Asian cuisine. The two-storey dining area is dominated by a large statue of Buddha. The upstairs bar is a large, ornate dragon. The Buddha Bar originally became popular because of the DJ's choice of eclectic, avant-garde music. Buddha Bar has also opened a venue in Beirut, Lebanon & Dubai, UAE, and New York City. Buddha Bar is also the name of a popular and exclusive, yet unrelated bar in Barcelona. Compilation CDs are released under the Buddha Bar brand name, some of them have been compiled by David Visan, son of Raymond Visan, who opened the Bar in 1996. These are generally of lounge or "chill-out" music, reflecting that played in the restaurant itself. The series was started by Claude Challe and continues today with different producers. DVDs have been released along side the series