Our family went to eat here while passing through on vacation going home on Father's Day the prices were raised because of the holiday which were fine & the half a plate of food was ok, but the 10 minute wait on my drink refill was not. The manager was rude & only wanted to take a few dollars off of our bill. We will remember not to come back here on our next trip. Totally disappointed & dissatisfied. read more

Definitely in the top 3 of the worst places i've eaten. Between the mold/mildew/puke smell of their carpet and their strange textured "chicken", I definitely know where not to go next time i'm in Hoover. I even asked they guy at the cash register why he doesn't say "how was your meal"? So he asked.. and i was able to communicate some hatred of the grotesque plate of _______ , that I literally spit out. He smiled and said thanks for coming in today. read more

This place treated my family very poorly, and were very rude, one of there staff members burn my little 8 yr old sisters hand while she was re-rilling the buffet and she cried and said it hurt, my mom saw the lady, earlier and said she was throwing the food when she would re-fill and she told my father, my father confronted her and told her she burn her, and she denied it and told my father that If there was a problem that he can talk to the people up in the front, so he did, they called the manager who was not there, and he said if it was really serious to call 911 and that they will comp my little sister meal by not my parents, it wasn't that serious but the way they were treated was not right, at the end my father didn't eat and my mother only ate just a little, they went to the front and they still charged him for the meal after they said they would comp my little sisters meal. All my father wanted was an apology and he's money back and he would leave, but they didn't any apologize or anything. read more

I luckily went on opening night and thoroughly enjoyed this new addition to the B'ham buffet scene. It's your typical Chinese buffet with pleasant additions. I'm an avid sushi fan, and they had such a wide variety of sushi and roe toppings. Surprisingly, they also have an oyster bar with a server who opens oysters for you right then and there. I feasted on the shrimp & cocktails and mussels. I was able to get some snow crab legs as the line was way too long. I had a spoonful of the usual cuisine dishes, like sauteed green beans, peppered steak, orange chicken, and dumplings after consuming mass quantities of sushi and seafood. Needless to say, I'll be working out tomorrow :) read more

Food directly off the buffet bar was COLD, all of it. The fried fish wasn't crispy, really soggy! Our waiter only came around 1x to refill drinks and get plates we had stacked up. They were dusting and cleaning while people were eating.. just a total waste of time & money, never again will my family eat there. Ate there June 14, 2017 read more

This place is not awful. But it's definitely not worth your time. They serve way too big of a selection. I regret most of my plate every time I fill up. There are so many great restaurants in hoover, this isn't one of them. read more

I have been Chow Town around 10 time since they opened in 2014-15. It used to good in the beginning BUT NOW No. Went there a few times this year, 2017, and it is NOW horrible. The food looked like it has been out for days. They also don't fill some of the food once it is empty. So food like crab claws or pizza etc sometimes doesn't get fill back up even before you leave. Also the bathrooms are horrible. I told them last time I was there about the bathrooms being out of order and the front desk person seemed to know and not care. read more

The food and customer service was horrible. The owner is self centered and rude. He even made the comment that he has thousands of customers that arent asian as he is and they keep coming everyday spending their money at his establishment so he don't care if he lose a few. The food was cold and disgusting, the dishes where dirty, and our waitress had tissue stuck up her nose as if mucus kept coming out. I would not recommend this place to no one. I gave them one star only because I had to select a star to post review but they don't deserve a star. read more

When this place opened it was maybe the best Chinese buffet around, but it seems to have gone down recently, or perhaps it was just that we visited on a Saturday night, naturally a busy time at the restaurant. You pay a premium at dinner time, primarily for the privilege of eating crab legs. Good luck getting some. They provide about four clusters maybe every 20-30 min or so. One person is always patiently waiting for it, and unless you are that person, you're not getting any. Some of the food is not bad at all - the ribs are good - but they seemed to have a hard time keeping up with demand for luxury items like clams etc. The selection is less than it used to be. What really did it for me this time, though was the lack of cleanliness. The plates were greasy and some of them even had remains of food still stuck to them. It was disappointing, and I think we'll have to try out Top China again. read more

Great Place!!! Once your on the inside you will be blown away!!! Food is great, atmosphere is out of this world! Don't let Mike T experience stop you from going there. You have to realize its about the food, price, and atmosphere. read more

I ate there and the service was Great but the food had been sitting out for awhile and because it was close to closing they refused to bring anything new out. It wasn't the best experience. I would say ask to look around at the food before deciding to spend your money :(!!! read more

BY FAR THE WORST SERVICE I've ever had at a resturant! The manager was rude as soon as we walked in the door and he wasn't welcoming at all!! Our server was atrocious! !! Instead of serving my friend and I, he was too busy sitting in the back eating his lunch!! After sitting without water for at least 10 min. we asked for refills and the server put his hand up in a do not disturb gesture and made us wait even longer! We instantly informed the manager of the rude server,  and he walked off and laughed without doing a damn thing!!!!! The server refused to clear our table and at that point we had enough and refused to pay the bill!! The manager had the audacity to call the cops on us causing a big scene!! I WILL NEVER SPEND ANOTHER DIME IN THAT PLACE , I have never in my life been treated so poorly! read more

Economical weekday lunch, 6.99. Service: polite but very slow on drink refills. Food: great variety (chinese, seafood, american), good taste, warm temperature, salad fresh, sushi couldn't bring myself to try buffet sushi, mainly crab and veg. Cleaniness: Very clean for buffet style restaurant, restrooms impressively clean, decor impressive for buffet. I recommend you give it a try. read more

This place tries to sell you on a massive buffet that has everything from sushi to turkey n dressing to more old fashioned Chinese dishes like sesame chicken. It's not a Chinese buffet that specializes in quality Chinese food along with some non Chinese items. They try to serve TOO much while most of it is non quality, and not something that you want more off. Ham and mashed potatoes don't belong on a Chinese Buffet. They should serve less food in general, but focus on that food being higher quality. Focus more on the taste of your Chinese dishes and not on the donut gems on the desert table. Ppl come to Chinese buffets for Asian food in general and try to stay away from those fried poodle legs that the squint eyed shirt cleaners are so fond of. read more

I checked this place out right at dinner time. The food was ok i was expecting more since it took forever to open. I didn't find it to be no dfference from any of the other chinese buffets in the area. I had to wait on hot food also the crab legs which is a given at any chinese spot for crab legs. I was not impressed at the least. read more

I am in love with Chinese and Japanese food. Honestly, for a buffet, the taste of the food in this restaurant is unbelievable! They have the best hot and sour soup in town! My young daughters and I had lunch here today and the waiter went out of his way (during a very busy lunch hour) to ensure we were happy! read more

I sat down while the ladies in my family went to the restroom. They came out saying "we're leaving, this place is disgusting." Since I got an eggroll from the buffet and ordered sodas, I had to pay for 1 full buffet and negotiate the drinks. Most expensive bite of food ever! Always go into the bathroom of a restaurant before you sit down. If they can't clean a lavatory, how is the kitchen looking? read more

Beware of this restaurant. They will rip you off. Another couple and us arrived at the restaurant before 4 pm in time to take advantage of their daytime prices. We were getting our food before that time. However, when the bill arrived they had charged us the dinner prices (about $4 each). They refused to correct the bill and, to add insult to the transaction refused to give us our Senior Citizen discount. These are not honorable people. Needless to say we'll never go their again. read more

The 1st time i went my husband an I went an thought it was a "okay" buffet, not really flavorful but would do since the hibachi grill is available to mix your own dishes however that was nothing special. We are vegetarians so not many dishes for us to choose from either. The second time was the last and final time, my husband got to the restaurant first as the lunch menu was changing so he wasnt able to be seated and had to wait for me and the rest of our family to get there. Once we got there we were told since we got there right before changing to dinner we werent allowed to eat dinner menu choices. We said fine as we wouldnt be eating the dinner selections due to being vegetarians he(host)followed us around the buffet and then back to our table reviewing our plates. When I asked why he was doing so he said it was his job to follow customers around and make sure they aren't eating dishes they shouldn't. We left at that point and will never go back. I've heard jokes about the following people around the stores however in a restaurant you have to worry about someone standing over you while you eat and following you around the restaurant. Top China on 19th ST has the flavor and enviroment for great family dinner, they would be awesome if they did buffet style! read more

I have been to this restaurant several times and it is constantly great! It is a very clean well maintained facility with very courteous employees. They have a variety of quality food to choose from and the meal is excellent each and every time i have visited. I would suggest this restaurant to anyone looking for a premium buffet in the Birmingham metro area!! read more

Lots to choose from and nice atmosphere but the food is NOT good at all. Food is like bad cafeteria Chinese food.

very good food allways hot and fresh. i look forward to going to hoover so that i can stop by chow town to eat at affordable price. the best chinese buffet i have ever eat at. read more

Dinner was $10.99 for adults and my 11 year old, $5.49 for a six year old, and $6.99 for a nine year old. We wanted to try something other than New China Buffet in Eastwood Village which we usually go. We found the food to be about the same or of less quality. The food bars are short and spaces in between them rather tight, so on a crowded Sunday night, you can imagine the chaotic atmosphere. Often the dirty plates were left on the table and not taken away till they were ten plates high (we are a family of 5). We were put in a room where English was not the primary language so if was like visiting south of the border. I didn't have high expectations of the food, it is, after all, a Chinese buffet, but I must say I've had better and will not go back to this one for sure. My main complaint is the clientele. I had not expected fancy ambience, but no one practiced buffet etiquette. Some would scoop up the whole container of shrimp onto their plate regardless of the long lines behind them, kids running around unsupervised from more than a few families. Food stuck inside ice cream containers and sushi not replenished for a long time, I would not recommend this place. read more