We arrived at 3:50 . Kinda early for dinner but the buffet was fully stocked and hot and fresh. The dining room is quaint. Kinda small. And separate from the buffet area. We were seated right away and had our choice of soup within minutes. Helped ourselves to the buffet. Everything was delicious. So much so I went back for seconds. I think we both left stuffed. Funny thing is. In the decades I have lived in and visited Abilene, I'd never eaten here. And that's a shame cuz it's loads better than that place by the Mail. read more

China Star - Buffet - Chinese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

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Went once and was cured of ever wanting to eat there again. Most food was cold. Place was not very clean.

The owner and food here is amazing. If you have a complaint, be a grown up and bring it up to the Jack, the owner.

Back in the day, this was always my #1 place to go for Chinese buffet in Abilene. I've been there twice over the past year and unfortunately, it has gone way downhill. Today, food was cold, silverware was dirty, some of the selections were either old or overcooked...it just wasn't a good meal. read more

When I want Asian food this is where I head. There is semi private seating available. The service is always good and the servers are great. The food is so good. They have a great selection on the buffet and you can order off the menu as well. I love the sweet and sour chicken on fried rice. So good. 10/10 would recommend. read more

I grew up in San Francisco so enjoyed Chinese food from a very young age. I had a meal today at China Star and I can't tell you how much i enjoyed the meal, the service and the atmosphere! All were excellent, each dish with excellent spicing, texture, prepared fantastically for one's mealtime enjoying. Don't pass this place by the next time you're down on S 1st, or take the time to drive there from where-ever you may be in Abilene, or in Tayor/Jones county for that matter. Well worth the trip. Or ever anywhere in West Texas. I don't know where Robert F. ate on June 8th, but it couldn't possibly have been China Star. Or where Abdul H. was but, then again, I guess there could be this much change in such a short time. Who knows? Meal and everyelse today was excellent, and I'm fussy. read more

There are a lot of food options, the food is great, dining and take-out are both worth it. It is a nice place to stop by and it is pleasant inside. The service is nice. read more

What a bad experience with out even eating there, order from their website just to create a cart and went there to order it. There was very nice and polite young girl at the counter as i read from the cart i created one on the soup said on the web site has pork in it (Hot and Sour) this lady came to the counter from the back and with a very flat face "no pork in it" I said its say on you web site menu, she said "i am standing telling you no pork" i said i understand that but still on your website, I continued to order she stood there watch over that cashier's shoulder. I ordered house fried rice and said please make sure no pork in it also, that lady gave a dirty look stare and walked back around and started to talking to some one else which i could hear in the front She said "I don't know what the hell this guy problem, don't know how to order" I walked to that side and said " if you going to talk about me please do it to my face" she came out all upset and yelling, i told the cashier i am sorry I don't want the food from here and walked out towards my car, this lady cake after me to the front door keep yelling at did not understand a word she was yelling at me. I will never go there ever food might be good but this kind of customer service its not worth it. read more

I've been going there 20 years. I've never been disrespected by the front lady host like I was today. The last time I went there I got two to go plates. So the lady put all my sauces in a paper bag. I trusted her because I never had any problems. Unfortunately by the time I got home everything leaked out all over my car and me because I was holding it. I went up there today. To get my to go plate as usual every week. I asked her if she could please put the sauces in a plastic bag because of what happened on my last visit and she was completely rude and refused to but them in separate plastic bag. So I said she was rude and I started to walk out and told her she just lost a customer. She said oh well and start talking rudely to me so I went out of character, which I shouldn't have but I was very disappointed at this point. I did in fact call her the b word, but honestly didn't feel to bad about it because she cussed me out and called me a fat b word too. So honestly this is how they treat people Maybe it's time they do go out of business. Also tried to call and speak to the manager or owner and she refused that as well. She said she was the manager. I guess I won't be going there anymore. I don't recommend anyone too! read more

My husband and I used to come here 18 years ago when we were still dating. We still make sure to eat here when we come through Abilene. Always yummy with great variety and the people are so nice! read more

I am really impressed with the look of the restaurant, it has a nice look to it and incredibly nicely decorated. My waitress was overly friendly, but I do not blame ya girl! Get them tips! The food was okay, nothing spectacular. I would come back due to the service, not much for the food. I got the shrimp with vegetables and it was once again okay. read more

We use to come here all the time, not sure why we don't anymore. Wide selection and good taste. I like the hot and sour soup. Location is ok, sometimes getting out of the parking lot on the west side is a chore, so I go around the building and take the road. The interior is old and need updated. But overall we like this place, well my wife actually loves this place, her favorite Asian place in town. read more

Food wasn't very hot .. server was not very polite .. chairs torn .. person from the kitchen and 2 customers in the buffet area for over 15 minutes and had to be asked to move on many occasions by customers .. some dishes were decent and so.e not so good .. the fried rice was way under done and crunchy read more

Closed down the office and all went to lunch at the China Star today. Arrived to a crowded parking lot, and seated at the back of the restaurant. Each of us had from the buffet going back for to refill our plates. Of cource I had the ice-cream! Real good place to eat in town maybe try it at an off hour of the day, or weekend to maximize your enjoyment. read more

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The service was good, and the food was a kinda ok. Their a/c doesn't work in the buffet area. As I was leaving I used the restroom, one of the cooks was in there and did not wash his hands after urinating. So I will probably not return. read more

Not as good as it used to be, and much more expensive! They don't even have their lunch combination played anymore (hence being more expensive). They haven't had a new menu since we started going there about five years ago, we didn't go for a couple of years because of covid and social distancing, and when we did go back when we asked for a new menu we were told it's online, but it hasn't changed. Same prices as five years ago, but when you get to the restaurant, you get a surprise read more

This is based on my most recent visit to China Star, and this time I'm not grading on the curve. I guess it might have been because the weather was damp and rainy that day, but the last time I was in there, the place smelled like a locker room. On top of that, Anne Murray was playing through the speakers with a sound quality equivalent to that of an AM radio broadcast. Awfuuuuuuuuuuul. That's not the kind of thing I want to have to listen to while I'm eating Chinese food. ...Or ever, really. I guess it was probably because of these things, but the food seemed significantly less appetizing than usual. That said, I still don't know of any Chinese buffets around here that are actually better than this one. read more

Worst restaurant ever!! I do not recommend! We have ate there for years and recently it has been terrible. Please save yourself some time and money and avoid this place. The service is horrible, the food is dry, they mgmt/owners are nothing but rude to the paying clientele. To the point they will argue with you for their own mistake. Avoid is my advice. read more

If you are choosing between China Star and Buffet City choose this place (unless you prefer a Mongolian grill or a ton of salad options then choose Buffet City). First off... if buffets are not your thing or you don't like the idea of them in general, this buffet isn't going to change your mind. So don't eat here (and then give a crappy review). That said, if you love buffet, and chinese (of course) give it a try. Meat options is what this place does well. Many pork dishes that seems uncommon in lot of other restaurants. I've been all times of the week and all times of the day and they never seem to have an abundance of seafood (average amount for those that like it). To me this is great because I don't like seafood nor want to pay an exorbitant price for extras Im not going to touch. Favorites and recommend the chicken in black bean sauce, spicy chicken, Generals or the sesame chicken, or the Wife's favorite the double cooked pork. Most disappointing are the noodles and fried rice isn't great either. Service is usually excellent. The place is always packed during lunch and dinner hours no matter what the day, but they are better than most places at refilling the dishes so don't let that put you off. read more

We love China Star. It's by far the best Chinese food in Abilene. We've been having dinner here for many years. The food never fails, it's always delicious, there is a good size selection, & Jack the manager is very attentive and kind. Sometimes the service isn't up to par, however you have to add in that they are always slammed. Tonight we celebrated my cousin's birthday with dinner at CS, and once again it was wonderful. We even called ahead to reserve their bonus room, (very few places in Abilene let you reserve tables) and they held the cake in the kitchen to surprise my cousin who thought he was just going to dinner with the wife and kids. It's a great place the food is always amazing. My husband and I have traveled the country for seven years for his job and no matter how many different places we've tried, no place has compared to China Star! read more

Honest, I think all chinese buffets are the same. All good, none great, different locations. Been going here for years and I've never left hungary! read more

The service here was very good. The food here was sub par. I would never have to go back. I was very disappointed in the food. It just didn't seem very flavorful, fresh, or of very good quality. read more

This place is the best way to eat they have a wide selection from fish to desert the staff is so nice I enjoyed the cashew and chicken the spicy chicken is no joke but the sweet and sour sauce is the famous sauce we come every Friday every now and then if your looking to go in empty and come out with a full belly then this is your place read more

The food was par. The black mold on the ceilings freaked me out. It was too late to turn back. Praying we don't get sick. This place is something from a horror movie read more

China Star - a view of the ceiling of a restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Abilene, Texas

The food was horrible , how is this place open? There was food all over the floor, the floor was so sticky when you walked your feet would stick to the floor. My son couldn't even eat the fries they were so hard, the nuggets were horrible! The food was cold and you could tell the noodles were not even cooked all the way! complete waste of money and time! read more

Do NOT recommend this restaurant. Wife and I ate buffet there today, 10-29-22. Good looking buffet with huge variety and nicely displayed, appeared fresh, but even after sampling about 20 items from the buffet, we were hugely disappointed in the FLAVOR of almost everything; it was just terribly bland. Even foods said to be "spicy" were bland to us. Our waiter was very unattractive; he needed fresh clothes and wore a black face mask for some reason; kept coming to our table about every 3 minutes wanting to know "is everything OK? Do you need anything?" When he seated us he asked us if we wanted tea or soup...he should have mentioned that hot tea and soup was NOT included in the price of the buffet. I was appalled when I noticed that the inside window frames were very dusty with cobwebs, and the windows were EXTREMELY dirty, inside and out. The lady who cashiered and said she was co-owner did not even once thank us for our business or ask us if everything was OK. I feel our waiter had poor communication and service skills. The FIRST words out of his mouth should have been, "thank you for dining with us today here at China Star! Will you be ordering from the grill or would you like to enjoy our buffet?" He should then say, "let me show you our best table for two where I will take your drink order, and if you want a bowl of our great hot soup or our hot Chinese tea, I'll get started on that while you help yourself to our buffet!" He should also find a way to tactfully let you know that if you want hot tea or soup with the buffet, that it is EXTRA. We were very disappointed...bland, lukewarm food, poor service from a waiter you wouldn't want handling your food, eating in a dirty environment, getting charged for things you didn't know you were going to have to pay for, and then having an owner take your money and acting if she could care less if you were there or ever came back. Let me tell her right here: WE WON'T and we will make sure everyone knows what you are like and how we were treated. I feel ripped off because you did not advise us the soup and hot tea would cost extra. You would feel the same as us had you been in our shoes. read more

It's ok. Better than average for a buffet. Hot & Sour soup was really good. Not much kick on some of the more traditional hot dishes like Kung Pao or Gen Tso. Dumplings were good. read more

Exceptional Asian food with a wide variety of shrimp and combination vegetables and meats at very affordable prices. Eat off the buffet or menue and the staff is very friendly and accommodating, read more

This place is a guilty pleasure. Though you can find some pretty good food under those heat lamps I would be weary of the cheesy salmon! Service was slow when I was there... I mean it doesn't take much to just fill my drink up every once in a while! read more

This seems to be a very popular buffet with the locals. The standard American-Chinese buffet stuff. But I tried a take out order of chicken chow mein. Salty and bad tasting and soupy with poor vegetable ingredients. Ugh. On the plus side, the staff was friendly, and the buffet is very popular, and I was told they've been there since 1989, so go there for the buffet if you like that sort of thing, but don't order from the menu. read more

Outdated. Cheaply made Chinese food. Won't be going there anymore. The staff is very friendly however it doesn't make up for the low quality food. read more

The food is incredibly dry, the batter they use for egg rolls and other items are very strong that they taste off. The saving grace would be their noodles, which pretty much taste same as other restaurants. The chicken tastes dry and tough and so did the other proteins. Would not recommend this place as the price is very high and there are other good Chinese buffet in Abilene. read more

I think I finally am giving up on this place. I have patiently waited and visited frequently for the past 10 years in hopes this place would reclaim it's old excellent taste. It's been hit or miss over the last 10 years but after today's visit, I think I'm finally done. The first thing I notice is how disgusting the floors are to walk on, everything from chair backs to condiments on the table are sticky. All the fried foods tasted like fish and the rice was undercooked. I don't even want to talk about the egg drop soup. I'll give 2 stars because the staff is friendly and the ice was cold. Bye old friend! read more

I love this place! It's buffet or you can order off the menu. I always get the buffet because I love variety. The hot and sour soup and the egg drop soup are awesome. They even have sushi. read more

I'll make this easy. Old. Broken signs outside. Stinks bad inside. Hasn't been renovated since it opened about 20 years ago. No lighting. Watered down food. No variety. Food burned to pan. Dirty ice cream machine. 3 shrimp in a pan of vegetables. Dated. Dated. Dated. Dangerous area at night to be in. They have not reinvested one dollar in this place since they opened. And the best of all, you pay over $10 for lunch with tax and tip for this experience. There's a reason this place no longer wins the Abilene Reporter News Reader's Choice award for Chinese and/or Buffet. Back when it won it was basically the only thing here. Clearly, time has passed China Star by. And you should as well. Especially after sunset. They've made hundreds of thousands of dollars here in over 20 years and couldn't put up a fence to keep the homeless and drug dealers out of the parking lot? How about a new rug? Table? Buffet warmer? None of the above. This place will face a long, sad decline into "out of business." The building will be demolished once that happens as the stench must be so embedded that it can never be repaired. Another hallmark of Abilene about to meet its' end. And not soon enough. read more

Save your coin, the food taste like food poising. I never leave reviews but I was pretty upset with the food . Not worth the price at all - its trashy looking too. Seem like nice people though read more

Usually I don't give bad reviews. Look at my other reviews. Sometimes though, a place just don't make the grade. Maybe it was because we ate between lunch and dinner. Food was very old, overcooked, and just wasn't cooked right. Shrimp was tough, chicken was tough and ice cream was runny. I tried 6 differant dished and could finish any of them. The hot and sour aoup was watery and didnt taste right. Most of the food had a crust on it. It was very unhealthy. When i left i felt very sick to the stomach. When I brought it to their attention they were very off standish. They pointed to their A rating from Abilene city code. I let them know that I would be reporting them since I showed them several dishes on the buffet that were not stirred and sitting for several hours. Don't go to this place Unless it is at the beginning of the day or be ready for stale overcooked food. They were nice until I complained. I looked up their last inspection and it was a 69. read more

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This place hasn't always been the best, but was -always decent. Today, me and my parents went and the food was so bad. Everything we had tasted like it had been out more than a day. The chicken tasted horrible, was super dry. I expected the noodles to be good but they had an off taste. There isn't really any good dessert options besides ice cream. The best thing they had was the rice, honestly. It just isn't worth the high price they charge. There is so much more competition in town now, this place has been around as long as I can remember and would hate to see it close down, cause it isn't as busy anymore. Don't recommend the food, go somewhere else that's worth the price. read more

It's just great Chinese Buffett food. Service is great considering there's food ready to eat when you walk in.

I've been coming here with my grandparents ever since I was 2 and it's been without a doubt wonderful every time. I love it and highly recommend it. read more