WORST RESTAURANT OF THE CENTURY! DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE RECENT 5 STAR RATINGS! Why is the kimchi next to the pudding??? Why is the orange chicken so bad??? Do the cooks even taste what they're putting out there? The manager/owner or who ever runs this joint should be ashamed! It's no wonder why the one in Vallejo shut down. San Pablo deserves better!! read more

For a buffet / eat all you can place, the taste is good; could be better... but it is subjective for each person. Service was great as staff keeps checking your table for plates to get and drinks for refill. Lighting could be better and cleanliness is good but could have some improvement too. Overall, nice place if you are looking for a variety of food to eat and if you are planning to eat a lot. read more

The food was great and the service was great and friendly. It's just that they lack foods that other buffets have. The place was somewhat clean overall it's not a bad restaurant. read more

ENTIRE EMPIRE NIGHTMARE Sorry to say, but the one-star reviews are STILL currently accurate, as of 3/24/23. My brother and I ate here on a whim. We had never eaten at a Chinese buffet in the East Bay (new to area). Literally only two rows of hot food, NO food labels, and extremely dirty and old utensils for self-serving. It seemed like it truly was a nightmare I couldn't wake up from just after a few bites around my plate. It LOOKS GOOD, but it TASTES HORRIBLE. I honestly could not tell what MEAT I was eating because the texture of the deep fried fish (or chicken?) was like eating styrofoam. The egg drop soup was literally like sipping a bowl of hot water. Chow mein was bland. Everything tasted like it was cooked by whatever one could salvage during an apocalypse -- tasteless survival food!! No windows in there. Looks like an old casino/dim sum joint. The ONLY saving grace was the noodles station, SO I THOUGHT. Noodles had great flavor, BUT when I took a bite of the beef, I knew instantly it was old and rancid. Please, please take heed to all the one-star ratings and never step foot inside. You've been warned guys. read more

DO BE CAREFUL. Eat at your own risk, I had gone to the restroom, and one of the workers came out of the stall with the gloves he serves in. He just washed the gloves and left to serve more stuff in them. Brave man for still having them on after and before. read more

1st time over here at Richmond area. The food and place was very good. They were fresh. This place deserves 5+ star rating. The staff were nice and friendly. Very helpful and communicate well. Would absolutely come again. read more

I'm vegetarian and I really liked the buffet made to order wok. I picked out my vegetables and tofu and noodles and the chef made a fresh stir fry chow mein. Was good and priced reasonably. The rest of the buffet doesn't have vegetarian options except for maybe one item -- I can't remember fest it was -- maybe broccoli. read more

Very good . I was amazed at how fresh the fish is prepared. I really love coming here with my two friends. Yummy yummy

Foods was not fresh, not cleaned, Taste not good and expensive if compared to the service and foods.

We got here at 8:00 pm. They close at 8:30 pm. We ended up with warm leftovers. Not good. read more

Empire Buffet - Just made a plate. - Buffets Near Me - San Pablo, California

I think only the chow mein is cool. And although none of the food is delicious, I think it's alright because of the amount of options

Customers service wasn't great, a little dirty & too crowded for me. I wouldn't recommend to my friends & families

Negative review. Me and my wife went to eat here last Sunday afternoon (11/5/23). The food was ok i say the least. On our way home, my stomach was not normal. I had a very bad diarrhea when we got home and my wife had it later on the night. So if you are constipated, go eat at this place. It is a guarantee that it will make it soft and more...Highly not recommended... read more

Good value and variety was pretty good too. They have increased the prices a bit, but they seem to have improved the menu so it's all good. I was surprised that it was half full only on a Friday night, but I guess since we have more options around. read more

Fresh and delish seafood. Friendly service. Place is clean and spacious. We were handed gloves for some seafood dishes. They were put to good use. :) read more

Food is decent and ice cream is a a go to especially for kids! We went here on a weekend and pretty quite selections of food for the price.

6 of us went there for lunch. Lots of food to select from. We loved the baked and steamed fish, fried calamari, clams, orange chicken, fried shrimp, salad, and especially the hibachi bar where you pick the noodle and all your ingredients and it's cooked for you. Lots of other things besides what's written here and they all looked good. Can't beat the price, 16 for seniors and 18 regular price, includes soda, tea and coffee. Good selection of desserts too. Good service. Also can take-out, charge by the pound. Will be back for dinner soon for just a couple of dollars more. read more

This is for Sunday, April 11, 2021. We showed up around 3PM and there was a line outside. We stood in line for about 30 minutes. Once we got inside we were given disposable gloves and sanitizer. After being seated and receiving hot tea in a paper cup we made our way up to the the buffet table where a waitperson standing behind plexiglass asked us what she should put on our plate. The servers were way too generous, putting a lot more on our plates than we could possible eat. All the food was tasty, flavorful and well prepared. We liked everything we were served. I do have one standard for an all you can eat buffet and another for an expensive sit down restaurant where all the food is made to order. This restaurant is doing all they can to give you a good experience considering the Covid scare is still going strong. As they are able to get back to normal [ie before Covid] things will only get better. This buffet was well worth the drive to San Pablo. We shall return. read more

At first, the restaurant seemed promising as we passed by the line going outside of the door on a Sunday afternoon. The ambience had a very casino feel to it, a bit dim but cozy and busy all at once. about 1/8 of the selection was missing (likely due to budget cuts), but the ones there looked delicious so I started with the clams, coconut shrimp, calamari, green beans, mushrooms, and oyster. Then followed it up with the potstickers, shu mai, and sweet and sour chicken. The mussels were pretty good. The cheesy mayo topping was a nice compliment to the well cooked mussels The calamari was tender, breading was light but crispy, overall impressed with the large pieces that were cooked well The coconut shrimp was soggy and lacked flavor. Hardly any of the sauce was detectable The green beans were crisp and well seasoned The mushrooms, though the canned/jar variety, were tender but had a nice texture and complimented the main dishes well The potstickers' wrap was very thick and the filling was mediocre at best The shu mai's filling was bland, but it was tender and large in size And the oyster was nicely cooked but nothing to write home about Overall, at the $20.45 cost, it was a bit of a let down. I was hoping some of the selection was better prepared but having the few good items on the menu definitely makes up for it a bit. Coulda been better, Coulda been worse read more

Good food, service and price at this present time it's the only Buffet me and babe will go to in the Bay Area definitely a good place to take a big group and enjoy some good food and good service. read more

Good service from staff except one guy (the bigger one from the sushi side with the black shirt)(Looks like he's the busboy) from the grill bbq and sushi. He was very rude to my fiancé when he went to get another plate of grilled bbq from the other guy. Told him they only limit 1 plate per customer. If he was nice we would've understood but he made us lose our appetite. We love coming to this location but this guy is a problem. read more

If you're planning to visit this buffet restaurant as a group, then beware! Advanced reservations will require you to pay a full adult rate even for a child less than 3 years old (who, btw, had less than a bowl of jello, but we had to pay the adult rate for the baby and the 4 year old who barely ate, too). When we asked and challenged the rate to the owners and front counter person they would not budget and simply said "you have to pay". Yes, we had to pay, but since this unfair pricing which happened during the Xmas holiday, we never went back (and I usually visit it every month but have not since). Just beware, this is unscrupulous and they don't care. Food-wise, it's decent for the price if you like seafood, but the Chinese food is only ok. It's not too sanitary as well with the carpets musty and looking like it's never cleaned. read more

If you want FRESH, HOT, QUALITY, Buffet. DO NOT eat here. Anytime I visit an Asian Buffet, my favorite item are the fried Prawns/Shrimp. Prawns were overcooked, greasy and warm to touch...but were dehydrated and cold when I bite into them. So disappointing. I feel as though they were old prawns they reheated. YUCK. I will not visit anymore. read more

THERE OPEN AGAIN! ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THE COVID PROTOCOL IS TOP NOTCH for a buffet! You first walk in and they hand you a pair of gloves and take you to your table. You still gotta get up to go to the foods that you want but instead of you serving yourself there is a worker that will get your food that you pick out which is perfect regarding safety COVID measures. It's $18.99 per person for adults. The food itself was good! I only stuck with seafood and I thought the oysters were pretty good and flavorful. The honey walnut shrimp was hella good. The clams were delicious as well. The crab was okay but overall for $18.99 this place was really good! read more

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The food was good but some of the chicken was really dry and when we had left the restaurant our stomach hurt really bad to the point he had to vomit all the food we just ate everything was good the service was good it was just the food that was dry and the food that we throw up.the food got my dad really sick. read more

Despite I don't like this place.. I was dragged here by my MOM lol What I didn't like - Food was not quality, but had quantity Look good, but fools the eye I don't know how long the food has been sitting out Was is left overs from yesterday? did not taste fresh Service sucked - no one was friendly, no hi or hello Not a Chinese buffet LOL they served pizza, chicken nuggets, garlic bread, french fries, sushi, and hash browns???? wth? Don't waste your time. read more

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Got my mom sick from eating their food. Their food was overall mid and greasy. I don't really recommend tbh

Come early for fresh food. After 1, you're on your own. Nobody expects great food at a Chinese buffet in San Pablo, right? And for your own safety avoid their sushi bar. But they did have a few items that were fresh, tasty and nice-looking, including honey prawns (no walnuts though LOL), dry-fried green beans and kung pao chicken. read more

Empire Buffet - Buffets Near Me - San Pablo, California

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My family and I used to eat at this buffet the food was ok before but since Covid-19 appeared everything changed the price was raised and the the food was not pleasant for the quality of the food. I'm not going here again. read more

Can you say . . . Pig Out on Asian cuisine? I knew you can! I always bring my out-of-town visitors to this restaurant because this Asian cuisine boasts a PLETHORA and I do mean PLETHORA of Asian delights. My visitors love the never-ending servings of fresh sushi! I ate lunch & dinner here countless times in the past. Please tell me of another restaurant that serves a multi-plethora choice of seafood, including crab legs, eat a wide variety of salads, main courses for $8.00???? Oh . . BTW-the food is not greasy . . . Empire must have hired a new chef. The chef who cooked when I visted just days ago is comparable to the chef who cooks at the Noodle Asia Restaurant inside the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas when I ate at Noodle Asia with my Mom and Mom's partner, Mario. read more

Empire Buffet - My Favorite Asian Cuisine Buffet Restaurant! - Buffets Near Me - San Pablo, California

Went here with 5 people, 3 adults, 1 senior, and 1 child. There was nothing one of the people in my group could eat due to allergies, so she just sat there while the others ate and requested to not be charged for the one person, however we were told that since she sat at the table, we had to pay for her. We also had to pay an adult price for an 8 year old and a senior. This buffet used to be good, but now it is the worst buffet I have ever been to in the entire Bay Area. You're better off driving to Brentwood for Lone Tree Buffet or Hayward for Hinata or Newark for Newark Buffet. I would rather eat at a hometown buffet than here read more

Hard working staff. A lot of selections. A reasonable prize and minus 10% off for senior citizen. Very nice.

Went with a gang of family and we all enjoyed it. They kept the drinks coming and the food was good but not great. Better than Panda Ex.

Not bad but one complaint that I would say is that I went to this buffet and one go the fires were dry the chicken wing were not cooked well and the worst thing that I could say is there was a hair on my plate next to the French fríe I'm not joking if I had took the picture that I just saw with my eyes that's just disgusting read more

$16.88 after tax and no tips. For lunch. I will never come back here. You've made my $15.35 this time but you'll never make another penny from me ever again. As for the food, it's below average. Not many selections. Overall, it's a $9.99 quality of food and service. Bathroom toilet doesn't function properly. Waiters don't do much. They bring you your drink, napkins, and take away your plates. With tax was $16.88. I've left no tips. Will not come again. read more

A friend took me there after a procedure at Kaiser Richmond. I was starving because I had to fast all day. I was really pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of the dishes in this buffet. I miss Fortuna in Oakland but this is far better. I will go back again and again. read more

We happened to be in the San Pablo Towne Center from out of town. We walked into Empire Buffet by chance and couldn't believe how good the food was! Fresh, flavorful, beautifully presented. Huge buffet offerings; friendly staff. COVID safe. Includes BBQ grill with fresh vegetables, sushi, many seafood offerings, chicken and beef, pork dishes, dim sum, potato let's, rice, noodles, dessert bar, and much more. Reasonable price, given all the offerings. read more

All you guys complaining about the food. What do you expect from a $20 buffet? I mean let's be real you think you gonna get some gourmet food. Hahhahahaha! People go to buffets because they want a variety of foods for cheap and they want to stuff themselves. So stop whining over the obvious. Even if you ate one plate it's worth the $20. You guys should give yourselves a one star rating for complaining over $20 bucks. read more

Nasty as hell, Blue Crab was served, or should I say the meatless Blue Crab, just not the same.

I really don't know what all of you low stars expect from a cheap all you can eat, try different foods they have such, as the honey walnut shrimp, if you're allergic then you're better off sticking to jack in the box which is just to the right of Ross. Really good price for an all you can eat, food is just as good as Panda Express if not better depending on what you get. If you expect to get high quality food then go elsewhere that isn't so cheap, pay those extra $20 or $30 for all you can eat enjoy yourself there. read more