We last came here 4 years ago on Christmas and we wanted to go back. It was very busy but we were seated right away it was very crowded but we had our drink order taken right away and we were off to the very large buffet everything from rice seafood and desserts. Crab shrimp soups salads. Peach cobbler ice cream machine and go back as much as you want. Something for everyone come try them out you won't be disappointed read more

This is a solid 5 star for the price, variety, and volume, without a doubt! My entire family loved this place, everyone found platter combos we loved, there's something for everyone here. Perfect mixture of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, and American. Only about $16 pp on the weekends. Now, for reviewers complaining about the cleanliness, I have a word for you - Yelp is very open about the health score, which for this place is currently 70. If 70 is not up to your standards then don't come here! So simple! For me personally for what was offered I was good with a 70 and came with realistic expectations. With as much traffic as this place has, and lots of aggressive eaters as patrons who messily scoop food onto their plates, this place holds it down well IMO. Just wish some of the other customers were more tidy and cleaned up after themselves. The waiters were super efficient, and dutiful. Bathroom was clean. read more

Buffet Palace - Yummy crawdaddies! - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

This place has potential to be good for a buffet, but my experience there was not great. We went on a Sunday about 2 hours before they closed, and half of the food (all of the sushi) was gone and they NEVER brought out anymore food the entire time we were there. This isn't an exaggeration, quite literally they did not bring out a single new tray of food to replenish, and I would say about 50% of the items were gone and that was it, you could only get what was left. And obviously all of the better dishes were the ones that were gone. I got a few pieces of sushi before it was completely gone, and that is the main thing that we came there for. I might try this place again at like 5 o'clock in the middle of the week, but going on Sunday night a few hours before they close was a terrible idea. Instead of replenishing the food, all of the workers behind the line that I saw were just focused on cleaning behind the line instead of replenishing food, which they never did. Absolute terrible experience, and I probably will never go back because cleaning up for the night. Two hours before clothes was the only focus of anyone that worked there and I did not get anything anywhere close to what I wanted but still had to pay full price for a buffet that was almost nonexistent. read more

I have been coming here for several years this is me an my daughters favorite place, but I have noticed the ac is not working anymore like it used to it's extremely hot not enough fans to cool u down over crowded, The manager seems very upset or angry all the time over all the food is good read more

This place at point was amazing, after not visiting for a few years, it was very disappointing to see the quality go down so bad. The food looked like it was all plopped down and would become one pile and you had to try to pick it out just to get a piece. That even applied to the noodles. Service was great when it came to the picking up the food from your table but we were almost knocked down a few time because they were running. I feel for them they get busy but at the time it was a bit slow. This place could def use one tlc and a good cleaning. This was my fave place but now it will be something I avoid especially for the weekend $20 a piece price. read more

We were starving after a pool day and Buffet Palace was the perfect call for our appetite! For Sunday buffet I think it was $16 pp. I'm pretty confident I got my monies worth in sushi ha my 2nd plate was pretty good too, but could have used a little more flavor. I also got a delicious seafood soup. I couldn't finish all of this, but I did a pretty good job! Everything was very orderly, clean and fresh for it being packed that day. read more

Buffet Palace - Sushi! - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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The food was really good and had many options. The environment was lively and enjoyable.

I like the sushi somewhat, like the sushi was ok, but everything else I tried here was very cold and really disliked it. I honestly would of enjoyed eating fast food more than the food I had here. That and I had to pay more for this restaurant than I would of at a fast food place. read more

Was cool to see a buffet with not only Chinese food and sushi but also Korean foods! They had japchae, kimchi, cucumber kimchi, Korean soups, kalbi, and several other Korean dishes and side dishes. The buffet was a bit messy when I got there probably from all the people but overall the selection is good. I saw a review that showed they had samgyeopsal but I didn't see it there so was a little disappointed by that because I really wanted some pork belly and lettuce wraps. Selection of sushi is large and they had tuna sashimi salad bowls which were great - I had three of them! Overall they have the classics but also lots of veggies and some specialty Korean foods that makes this place stand out among the rest read more

Buffet Palace - Buffet set up - nice ambiance - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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My wife and I (along with our twin grandbabies) stopped by today for lunch and enjoyed it immensely. I really liked the sushi offerings, and the carrot cake was surprisingly moist and delicious. I also liked that they had some unique offerings such as marinated raw blue crabs and shrimp/baby squid salad. My wife liked the wonton soup. We'll definitely be back on our next visit! read more

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First time visit and impressed! Large space with open seating offering a huge selection of favorites plus mini dessert station. Everything was delicious - I did not have room for seconds but hubby did enjoy another serving. We'll definitely be back soon. read more

Buffet Palace - Fried Crab, Sesame Chicken, Vegetable Fried Rice, Korean Beef Cake and Sweet Corn - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

This was not very clean. The Buffet line was a mess, food spilled everywhere. Quality of the food was average. Would not recommend and will not be returning. Egg rolls were poor quality. Beef was very gritty and gristly. read more

Buffet Palace - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

They have lots of variety.... The only thing disappointing was the ice cream machine was broken

In 2021 it's rare to still find places that offer "grab it yourself" style buffets, however, I recently came across one that is still up and running: Buffet Palace! and the best part? It's only $15!! *Let me preface this review to say that they ask for you to wear a facemask and to wear plastic gloves when using the utensils to grab the food. Anyways - Buffet Palace is an all you can eat buffet that offers a variety of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean foods. From hot meats to dumplings to sushi to noodles, you can find a wide variety to choose from! Overall, the food ranged from "okay" to "good", nothing particularly stuck out to me aside from the sesame chicken, yet nothing here was "bad" so I can't complain given the amazing $15 price tag. With that said, I give them a 4/5 for being "good". Felt there was more to be desired when it came to cleanliness of the place and flavor of the food, but none of that is enough to deter me away. I'd come back again. read more

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I've dined at Buffet Palace many times over the past 24 years. The quality of food is better than most Chinese buffets and includes Japanese (sushi and teriyaki), Korean (pajeon, kalbi) and the well known Chinese American dishes like sweet and sour chicken. My gripe has to do with their COVID 19 measure enforcement. There are 2 clearly visible stations which require that you put on disposable gloves when you enter the buffet area. There are signs that state masks and gloves are required in the area. What I observed is a total lapse in the enforcement of the sanitary rules - a hodgepodge of people either not wearing masks or gloves and touching tongs with their bare hands (and placing said tongs right on top of the food you're about to eat) or folks wearing a mask and no gloves or folks wearing a mask and paying homage to Michael Jackson by wearing only one glove. I'm not sure if it is straight up defiance or ignorance. Either way, there should be some enforcement. But that's difficult when the staff behind the buffet don't wear gloves consistently. If you're hesitant to dine out because of Covid, this is not the place for you . read more

Buffet Palace - Covid 19 measures - clearly stated but not enforced! - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

This was a place we went to when I was a kid for when we were in the mood for an Asian buffet. Now that I'm older and visited Austin, I can finally give my two cents about it. If you're looking for fancy gourmet Asian cuisine, this is not it. This is basic, simple, Asian foods where you can get a little bit of everything when you don't just want Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. Overall, the food served its purpose. Some things were over fried, others were great, the sushi had some weird combos, and the dessert did the job. I was a little bummed they got rid of the cream puffs and banana pudding with a load of whipped cream and Nila wafers. At least the egg drop soup tasted the same! I wouldn't say I would recommend this place over other Asian restaurants, but if you're unsure of what you want and people want other things then this would be a place to go to so that everyone can be happy. read more

My fiance and I loved this restaurant before the plandemic hit and let me tell you, this place has gone so far down hill! I got completely sick at my booth from their soft crab: which used to be amazing but now they do not care about the quality of their food. It's sad. Service is okay but obviously could be better. You have to get your servers attention inorder for your plates to be picked up and for refills. Ridiculous! The atmosphere is loud with annoying music that makes you want to glue your ears shut. They don't change out the food until it's completely gone and as a certified food management handler that is foul! read more

Buffet Palace - Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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live next door, constant loud obnoxious noise from a generator belonging to a white truck that is routinely at the restaurant overnight. will be filing complaints with the police/city if they can't keep it within ordinance hours. posting this currently awake at 1am with a 4 hour drive bright and early, kept awake by this business and their lack of care for the surrounding community read more

This place is massive and it was packed full on a Sunday afternoon. The food was mediocre overall. My husband was not happy with the quality or taste, though the variety was good. The vegetarian options were already limited and the ones available, like japchae, were sitting out for too many hours and completely dried out. read more

Last time I was here the kitchen staff putting out food dropped the serving spoon and it bounced across the floor- he picked it up and placed it rt back into the new food with NO SHAME- like , just another day. read more

Buffet Palace had many 5 star reviews so we came here to check it out. It looked great to begin with. But after we started it was like a chucky cheese / mcdonald's . The food was all cold and felt like it would make us sick. The sushi was warm and gross. The service was ok but they obviously don't have to do much. They did feel like they were rushing us out and trying to take our plates quick and give us our bill. The place was packed with kids and families. It did not smell great inside and felt like we were inside dollar general. The parking lot had homeless people standing at our car doors asking us for money. We were excited to come here for the first time since we r new to the area but will not be coming back. Very disappointed, thought this place would be a new favorite for a cheap meal. :( read more

I've lived in Austin most of my life and a few years back the best Asian style buffet was China Star (if you know, you know). Eventually they went out of business here and finding a quality Asian Style Buffet in the city was damn near impossible! My mom took my sister and I here at the top of the year and Buffet Palace did NOT disappoint. From a variety of freshly assorted sushi, crab legs, soup to the popular foods that we love ordering through takeout anywhere else Buffet Palace offers the best food for the price when it comes to Asian Buffets in Austin! Whether you're looking to dine with friends, family or a solo date the ambiance fits any occasion. read more

One of the best buffets around, though I'm still giving it three stars! If you're looking for a buffet, this is the one to hit in South Austin. Mixture of Korean and Chinese, they've got the hits and then some. Popular ones at our table: - Egg rolls - Hot and sour soup - Grilled kalbi - Spicy tofu - Spring rolls - Sesame Chicken - Fried chicken - Noodles! And fried rice with little shrimp in it! - Sushi rolls - mostly with cream cheese in the middle - Ice Cream machine (though it's not too high level...) - Japchae It's expensive for dinner, so hit it up before 2:30pm when the pricing is a little more right. Worth the time if you love these kinds of things!!! read more

This place seems to have gone downhill since last visit. We have been going there for 7 Christmas Eves. Most dishes were tasteless and cold or just warm. Will not go back. read more

I truly have no idea how this place is still open. This place is food poisoning central. My bf took me here and I got sick. Nothing about this place is good. This is not a hidden gem beware read more

Great buffet been going here for about 9 years, this was the price for 2 As of 2/8/24 at lunch (11-3:30pm) with waters as drinks, 12.99 each before tax read more

Buffet Palace - Price of lunch - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Pre pandemic, this buffet used to be very clean, with amazing selections! Now, it is pretty dirty and they have changed their menu. Upon entering, the tables and chairs were very sticky. While we were eating, nobody picked up plates from our table so we were left with a very crowded table. In the picture of the sushi, the fish are all dyed and it bleeds onto the rice. It appears that they are trying to make it look like salmon and tuna. But it is tilapia. There was a customer telling the sushi workers that they have gone to this buffet for 17 years but this will be their last time because of the dyed fish. In addition, the fried crab my dad ate was rotten on the inside. Unfortunately I will not be coming back and am sad that it's become like this. It used to be such a nice place to go. read more

Buffet Palace - dyed tilapia sushi - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Nice place! Food is good as well. It can be busy during the weekend (lunch and dinner).

My spouse and I felt like trying out a Chinese buffet this evening with high hopes. We leaned on Yelp for the review from the masses. They can't be wrong, right? Unfortunately, they were. It was a miss on this buffet. The dining room looked full at 8:15 PM (they close at 9:30 PM), so it looked reassuring about the food. That was until we walked around to explore the offerings. First off, it took 4 plates until I found one that was clean that didn't have rice stuck to the plate. As we walked around, most of the offerings looked like there were left overs. The steamed rice tasted like it was over cooked. The Teriyaki Chicken looked appetizing, but we discovered that it was cold. I tried the Korean-style Beef. I discovered it was a low quality Salisbury steak patty that reminded me of the high school and basic training food. It too was luke warm. We tried the fried chicken drumsticks, but found that the oil tasted "off." We did find that the Jalapeño Chicken was not too bad. It honestly is what I stuck to so I could at least have a meal. Lastly, we tried the Jello cubes. The Jello had an odd after taste, similar to what the water in Wichita Falls, TX from memory of my previous travels. I will say the server was nice and was quick to clear dirty dishes and keep our beverages topped off. This was something I will say I noticed throughout the rest of the dining room from the other servers. I hope this was just a bad night and not the norm. read more

When I first found this hidden gem I was astonished by the selection of food there was a wide variety of Chinese food including seafood and chicken nuggets for the kids the only problem I have is that the prices were fairly high for a child and adult and service was mediocre. read more

My favorite Asian buffet spot south of the river. I feel like it used to be better in terms of variety, but still pretty solid. If you ever sit near the street (Westgate) facing side, you will notice that they did not look at the back side of the statues when statue shopping. This makes for an awkward view. Kudos to them for sticking with it, though. Note to self: Look at all sides of statues when statue shopping. read more

What a spectacle! * * * When the economy and the ecology crash, And we are all living in misery, Buffet Palace will represent the happy memories of our current age of plenty. * * * The place is enormous. It has big plate glass windows, and is bright, sunny and cheerful. It serves vast numbers of people vast amounts of food. The food is good. Nothing is unique or legendary, but nothing is mediocre or bad either. You see things. You take things. They taste good. You can repeat the process over and over again. * * * The selection is positively Brobdingnagian. This means gigantic beyond belief. Flashback. When our son was still a little kid, Buffet Palace was by far his favorite restaurant. For him, the dessert buffet was off limits. Even allowing for that, he had sixty six zillion dishes he could pick from, with serving table after serving table after serving table of choices. He had unlimited possibilities. This is something little kids rarely have. Frankly, the situation is not that different when you are a grown-up. Nothing makes me happier than unlimited possibilities. Sadly, unlimited possibilities guarantee that I will put on fifteen pounds every time I visit Buffet Palace. I pack my plate once; I pack it again; I pack the plate a third time. Note that this doesn't count the soup round that I started with before I even got my plate in the first place. If I can still fit behind my steering wheel to drive home, I consider myself to have been very disciplined. * * * Breaking news: I just got an email from Jaded Yelper, who has seen everything and done it all. Jaded Yelper says: "That Buffet Palace has a lot of items on the tables is no big deal. There are a zillion Chinese buffets out there, and they all have lots of choices." Yes, Jaded Yelper, what you say is true enough. But Buffet Palace really does not have any bad stuff. There is no cheap substandard chicken - which is the curse of econo Chinese buffets. There is no cheap substandard seafood - which is another curse of econo Chinese buffets. Because hundreds of people pile through the door, the food runs out and is replenished frequently. That means everything you are looking at is fresh. This is a big deal on sushi or a chilled crab salad. And the execution on skill items is as good as it needs to be. This avoids the third curse of econo Chinese buffets - which is absolutely awful fried food. So this place has the price of a cheap buffet and the huge selection of a cheap buffet, But none of the downsides of a cheap buffet. You can get your feed bucket and start loading up. * * * When we talk about sentimental memories of Buffet Palace after the fall of capitalism, One aspect that will stand up is that all of this good stuff was available to everybody, not just the rich. Everyone from every social class and every ethnic group chows down at Buffet Palace. You get both the families of doctors from West Lake Hills, and the families of road crew guys from the apartments south of Ben White. You get blacks, whites, twelve kinds of Hispanics and thirty eight kinds of Asians. Everyone is there with their wives, their husbands, their best friends, the parents and the kiddies. Everyone is having a good time. If you wanted to see that many people in Austin all being happy together, you would have to go to Memorial Stadium when the Longhorns are winning. * * * So this is why you are going to want to remember Buffet Palace later in history after everything starts falling apart. There was cheap food, there was good food, there were happy times and everyone could be a part of it. We take these things for granted now. But these things are very, very precious. read more

For $17 on a weekend dinner visit, I have very few complaints. Don't expect michelin star quality, but do expect copious amounts of AYCE sushi, Chinese stir fry classics, desserts, and more. Service was low key but consistent. Only gripe would be a strong bathroom odor permeating parts of the restaurant. This place will give you big bang for your buck if you're willing to brave the crowd and some mediocre cleaning standards. Good for large groups. Parking is plentiful. Bathrooms are decent but could be cleaned more frequently. read more

Terrible rubbery over cooked meat not worth what they charge. The chow mein was just standard ok. A dirty food crusted glass was served to one of our party. It serves the lesser unknowing for a higher price than anyone should pay. The furniture is old and worn. It just runs as if it's there to serve as a lure since it has a good location. If they get one group of diners out of every 100 to come in at least once then they at least survive. Don't fall for the location meaning it must be good, if it's near a gourmet hot spot. It is not. read more

I think the best place to start would probably be the bathrooms. I have seen cleaner port-o-potties at a music festival. The food was not good. I'm 90% sure the sesame "chicken" had no chicken in it at all . . . . It was just a gelatinous ball of goo. If that's the food we can see & the bathrooms are that disgusting (apparently the men's bathroom was just as bad as the women's bathroom according to my husband), I can't even imagine what the kitchen looks like!! My husband said the men's bathroom looked as bad as the bottom of a cattle shoot on deworming day. I recommend this place if you're looking for a little hepatitis with a side of diarrhea. read more

I've never been more impressed with a Chinese buffet! The food was fresh and delicious. There was tons of quality dishes to choose from. Some of my faves were the fried blue crab, orange shrimp, Korean beef rib, and the assorted sushi. They have bok choy, kimchi, seafood soup, teriyaki chicken, and so much more. I was too stuffed for dessert but I seen cheesecake, ice cream, cookies, peach cobbler, and more. The sushi is great, tons of rolls to choose from. I enjoyed the unagi and their crunchy roll (forgot the name of it). My waitress kept our water glasses full and cleared dirty plates fast. It was $14 for adults and totally worth it. read more

Buffet Palace - One of many plates - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This place is getting worse...been coming here for years but now i dont want to return. Food quality and presentation is a disappointment. To be blunt i think since they have mexicans making the food instead of asians its gone downhill... the sushi yuck...yeah yuck droopy sauce....should i go on....i go find a new place is all... read more

Delicious place to eat and excellent service too. Would recommend this place to anybody.

I've driven past this hidden gem for many months now wondering what delicious treasure might await inside. Finally I decided to pull the trigger and see for myself. Upon pulling into the parking lot, you're greeted by 2 big statues that make you feels as though something powerful is about to happen. That power may be the gravity which some of the other guests walking out as I was walking in possessed. I took it as a good sign. Once through the main threshold, I stood waiting patiently to be seated. I could only slightly peer around the obstacle hiding the trays of food in the island at the center of this establishment. The excitement began to arise as I was being walked to my table and noticed the soft serve machine. I hurriedly made my way to select a plate and scan the hot trays of food. Now, I know what you're thinking, you're expecting hot metal trays full of slop because that's what we've all experienced before, NOT HERE. Not at this wonderful, I dare say, UPSCALE buffet. They had all the classics, teriyaki chicken, Korean short ribs, kimchi, various noodle and rice dishes, a selection of hot soups, and to my surprise, a vast array of sushi. Yes, buffet sushi. Skeptical? So was I, but I didn't let that stop me. I jumped in head first. Everything, perfect. Now, a buffet is special to me because when I'm feeling indecisive, I can simply go and just take a hit of everything my heart desires. I like to be able to choose the most overcooked or burnt pieces. (If you've read any of my other reviews, you know this is my "thing"). Once I stuffed my gullet full of all flavors of the orient, I decided I needed to take care of my sweet tooth. I skipped the soft serve when I noticed these little dough balls covered with sesame seeds. Inside, I believe was a red bean paste. They were perfect texture and hot off the press. A nice way to wrap up this little visit to the far East. Upon finishing and requesting my check, I was presented with a fortune cookie. My fortune was a load of BS, so I didn't even bother to eat the cookie as I felt slightly discouraged. None the less, my meal was delightful and I really enjoyed the wide open room and ambiance. My closing argument is as follows... Do not let the word "buffet" discourage you. Go enjoy the many flavors. After all, Varitey is the spice of life. And after my visit, I would say this meal, was a life truly lived. read more

The food was so bad we left everything on the table and walked off. Not recommended. No issue with service