This place has come a long wayy from when i first reviewed this place. Went on 03JUN25 and it is a much nicer experience. Sushi was kept stocked, they had a made to order section, and food was hot and well stocked. also, items like General Tso chicken, honey chicken, and other similar chicken dishes were of good quality. Definitely better than Chef Lin, which unfortunately has gone down in service. I also like the decor and background music which adds t the ambiance of the place. read more

This is your typical Chinese buffet that happens to include a hibachi grill. Service was decent, although i felt at one point in time i could not find my waitress. The food seems to always seem to be getting refilled so you never wanted for anything. This place is huge I will say that and had the typical fish like pond. Overall if you want Chinese but can't decide what type this place will have something for you. read more

Good staff and yummy nostalgia. Would go again! You have to be In the mood for Asian buffet

I have never seen a Chinese buffet with this many options of different kinds of food. It was all delicious!! You will not be disappointed eating here. read more

I loved the fish and buns! The server was very attentive with drinks and clearing plates. I only noticed minimal decoration, but I was focused on the food. The entrance is cute and it's very spacious. read more

We got there at noon on Sunday knowing that the food is always fresh and coming out fast as it's busy at that time. All the chicken that was breaded was overcooked and hard in the center. We spoke with the waitress and she said we should pick out the lighter colored one they would be softer. The worst experience we ever had there. read more

Overall decent. Great service. The ambiance was very casual. Food was fine. While the food tasted really good, a lot of it was just not hot. They had a very large selection of choices of proteins and vegetables. Prices were comparable to any given buffet. read more

Forbidden City Restaurant - Buffet - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

First time there for me. I was impressed with the way it looked inside. Really nice. Went for a lunch on a Fri and there were a lot of choices of food. Only one of the chicken dishes seemed too cold. Everything else was great. I love crab Rangoons. These were really good there. The people were really nice and attentive. Always asked if it was alright to remove a plate and if we needed anything. I'll definitely be back. It's hard to find a good Chinese place these days. Props to the staff for their inspection scores too. Last one was 100 and one before was 98. Find that at other places! I always check restaurants I want to try. read more

Food was so so. There was a great variety but nothing was outstanding. Fills the all you can eat buffet box. The price was not bad. Sushi was also just average. Typical restraint and typical service read more

I went there two days ago and that was the best Chinese buffet I've had in a while. The people was very friendly very nice very accommodating. They made my day wonderful. I cannot say enough. Nice things about that place atmosphere the decorations, the food perfect. read more

Forbidden City Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

All-you-can-eat Pan Asian buffet offered in spacious dining areas with decor adding to a warm and relaxing atmosphere. When I'm in Chattanooga and wanting Chinese food, this is the place to go to. Every time I order something different. Always glad I did as I sometimes discover new foods which becomes favorites. All the staff are attentive and the service is all the better for it. Be aware of the fact per company policy, a customary 15% service charge is added to all parties of six or more, no matter how tickets are split. I recommend Forbidden City restaurant when you are interested in Asian cuisine and atmosphere. read more

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Been going here for years, the food has gotten worse, every time we give it a try we're more disappointed, so we won't be returning.

Delicious! Huge selection of food as well! Love th hibachi bar . Ice bar is a treat as well! They have clean bathrooms.

The food is always hot and yummy. The girls and guys who work here work very hard and are on top of keeping your tables clean. I love that they work as a team and everyone helps out. This is our second time stumbling. Upon this place, the first time we were coming from Gatlinburg back home, and this time I just so happened to be staying in this town for work. I knew immediately when I saw the building that we had been here before, and I said, oh I remember this place and we liked it. I'm glad we came back.I will definitely be back again if i'm back in town!! read more

Food was delicious. Always getting items out of it is getting low. It also has options for kids that want American cuisine.

The fact that they charge a $10/lb waste service fee is ridiculous, and the fact that service is t that good, they're not that attentive to refilling drinks. The setting of the place is nice, but I will never come back to this restaurant. read more

The food had weird taste, overcooked and the waiter stood there and demanded our change for a tip ..BUT GUESS WHAT? LAST TIME WE EAT THERE.. and the ambiance? Well we were shoved with 4 other tables, could touch and hear the ones sitting 3 ft from us.. when therr were open sections empty. SORRY.. it sucked. read more

I love this place. However if you want to enjoy the full experience of forbidden city do not come right before they open which is around 11pm. They typically set out the old food first before the fresh food and the experience of enjoying the food is lousy. Please come a bit after 2pm or 3pm read more

Took my son in law there for his birthday and there were six of us on a Sunday afternoon. There is plenty of parking and it is large so seating does not seem to be a problem. As far as buffets go, it is above average. The food selection was very good and most of the food was kept fresh and warm or hot as needed. They had a sushi bar, and they have a wide selection of Asian food as well as American dishes. In the back they had a chef cooking, and the line was relatively long. They had bottle beer but no draught (-1). The wait staff did not seem personable, but they did a good job of removing dishes as needed and refreshing drinks. The dessert bar was less and desirable. The selection was minimal, and I was uncomfortable with the ice cream bar. Ice cream scoops were put back in what looked like dirty water but was probably just ice cream mixed in the water. I think it is a continual flushing process. I did not like the fact the kids were allowed to get their own ice cream. There was a lot of "cross contamination" if you know what I mean. It is a large restaurant with plenty of seating. If you want a buffet style restaurant, this is probably one of the better ones for price and selection. read more

I had a craving for Chinese Japanese all you can eat buffet. This place definitely scratched that itch. The warming trays are frequently refilled and none of the food feels like it's been out for very long. They have the Hibachi which makes all of your stuff fresh. Drinks are not included. Ice cream is included. They have all of the standard fair that you would want from sweet and sour chicken to beef and broccoli. The price is very reasonable and if you're looking to eat a lot for not a lot of money this is the place to come read more

This Chinese restaurant had a large variety of items to choose from along with great service. The price was more decent including a senior discount as a bonus! read more

This place is exactly what you think it would be. It is a giant Chinese buffet with some pan-Asian offerings (primarily Japanese). The crowds are feral but managed fairly well, and the servers are efficient to get you seated and started but then just leave you alone. Overall, it's worth the time and the money -- a predictably ostentatious presentation of lots and lots of ok food. read more

Very good food and atmosphere! It's a very pretty place. Service was okay and nice variety on food, they have a full bar, sushi and hibachi grill too! read more

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Atmosphere was good, decor was nice. Food was the worst. Even the desserts were horrible. Service was ok, it's mainly buffet style so you don't really need a hands on server. We will never go back. read more

We went for Christmas. The food was good all fresh and hot. We have been here several times it's always good. The hibachi in the back is fresh and probably the best. Love the hard ice cream for dessert as well. read more

Food was great besides the Lo Mien noodles but other than that everything was delicious. Servers were very nice even though they all seem worn out. Sushi was fantastic. Sadly no chocolate syrup for the ice cream read more

Forbidden City Restaurant - Puff cakes, crawdad, sushi, bbq chicken and best fresh green beans ever. - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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You know when you see a Chinese Buffet and you get all excited and then live to regret it later? lol~ yup! We pulled up and this place is massive and impressive from the outside- I was stunned. It looked like something I would see in Orlando! We entered and the inside was just as impressive. Now- we were there during lunch hours and I think that impacted what was available on the buffet and hibachi. There wasn't a lot of shrimp options- and no shrimp for hibachi. I made my rounds and loaded up my usual foods, shrimp, mushrooms, broccoli, fried rice.... Their crab rangoon were labeled cream cheese- aka, no crab. What? I scooped up some imitation crab and grabbed a "not" crab rangoon and thought I would fix it myself. Not so much! lol. The boys each went through 3 plates. No complaints from either. My dessert was the little sugar coated doughnuts. I love those things! I did hibachi and promptly handed my plate to my son- they didn't clean the utensils between cooking different plates and the 2 dishes before mine had peppers (allergy) and I asked if he could use clean utensils- but call it lost in translation- no changing. I think dinner would have been better. But truthfully- within 30 minutes of leaving John and I both had upset stomachs. The 20 something sailor had no trouble at all. Oh to be young and have a cast iron stomach! read more

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Good food large selection including sushi and dumplings only thing that was wrong was a few items were not very hot . It's a bit of a pet peeve of mine being a retired firefighter I ate a lot of cold food so I expect it to be HOT when I go out to eat. read more

I have yet to find a "great" Chinese buffet. I'll keep looking but in the meantime, Forbidden City is definitely a good choice when the craving hits. It's an older restaurant and could use a little updating on the interior; you'll feel right at home if you've ever been to any other Chinese buffet. The staff is pleasant but not overly friendly. We've eaten here a number of times and only get the buffet so not sure if any additional choice might be available. They have "sushi" that is buffet-typical. They have a fairly wide selection of hot and cold Asian items on the buffet including a few American choices. They also ha e a complete Mongolian type grill you can build your own bowl. The food seems to be rotated well and kept fresh-ish. A complete choice of rice and noodle varieties are available as well as soups to accompany your buffet plate. There is a cold salad bar with limited selections for the health conscious and they do have self-serve ice cream by the scoop with 6-8 flavor choices for dessert. Like I mentioned, it's ok, not great but good enough for us to make it our go-to for Chinese Buffet in Chattanooga. read more

Forbidden City Restaurant - Mini sushi galore. - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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I keep driving by this place so decided to take a chance. i've had great Chinese food but this wasn't it. I would call it meh. It's a buffet style and like other buffets, these places make their profit on volume, not quality. I didn't get sick, it wasn't awful, but I won't be back. I guess the only redeeming quality is you get your food fast since it's buffet style. And the price is cheap. So there's that benefit. read more

Should be 0 stars Seems like every time that we try to go and eat there, there is a problem The people that run the business are rude We went there today 2/3/24. With a group of 8 people including 2 kids. Both kids are in high chairs. The "waitress" if you want to call her that tried to sir us in at a 4 person table. I told her that this will not work. She looked at me with this confused look and said "your table " I said no there's not enough room. She walked off mumbling something We'd stood there for a few minutes while everyone else was eating around us. The "waitress". Came back. And said "you sit" My wife looked at her and told her we can't there's not enough room to sit. We left Will not try to go back. There's other places that I'll spend my money at. read more

Typical all you can eat Americanized Asian buffet, huge and spacious so plenty of room for groups or families. The food tasted alright, I sampled a few things from every hot bar and it was par for the course as far as appearances go. There were a few different steam bun options which was a pleasant surprise, I've never had the chance to try some before. The pork buns tasted pretty good! The sushi bar was extremely disappointing, a lot of places like this will offer smaller sushi options as opposed to regular sizes so they can stretch their supplies out but here all the sushi tasted like pieces of cardboard. Anything with crab in it (including the hot bar) is used with cheap low quality imitation crab that tasted like I was eating construction paper. I occasionally buy imitation crab to cook with at home and am ok with the taste but this stuff was pretty bland and flavorless. The service was very friendly and attentive I will say, they come around and top off drinks and take away plates every few minutes so you feel well taken care of. All in all it's about what you could expect from any Asian cuisine buffet. I recommend skipping the sushi bar but was satisfied with everything else. read more

I love this place for years now. Take out isn't as great but the inside food is good for my taste. The service is alright not outstanding. The ambiance is my favorite because they have a inside waterfall with live fish and good outside lighting. read more

Most all of the food was cold it looked like it had been recycled many times, as in what's left of a pan they pour on top, plates had left over food in them what was t cold was to tough to chew , when I left one of the females by the door was trimming her toe nails read more

Extremely disappointed! Limited sushi selection consisting of just imitation crab meat. No salmon, tune or other selections to choose from. Mediocre food on the buffet. One can clearly taste the inferior quality of their food. Floors are completely wet, including the restroom standing in water. Makes one wonder about the kitchen area and where this water is coming from. Sign are everywhere to use caution, even on the buffet floor. Staff is like vultures watching not only what you eat, but how much you eat. I literally was told I had too much shrimp and would be a ln additional charge. As for Chattanooga, I can no longer recommend Forbidden City to anyone. Once was the best, but now it ranks on the bottom of my list. read more

I love there food always try to go when I can it was only 30$ for both me and my uncle to eat at the buffet read more

Forbidden City Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Enjoyed the food, choices were great. Good staff with attention to making the customer feel welcome

Delicious food, clean dining area, nice selection of dishes. We have eaten here quite a few times, and we are always happy with the food and service. read more

A typical Chinese buffet restaurant, solid Chinese food that fills you up and tastes good without being an outstanding culinary experience. The full spectrum from starters (the hot and sour soup was very good), lots of main items like pork and chicken, and the usual dessert buffet are offered in a typical Chinese buffet setting and with fast and friendly service that mainly brings drinks and cleans empty plates from the table. You can get a lot of food for the price charged, and I enjoyed the food I had. read more

This is a typical American-Asian cuisine buffet; it's larger than others I've seen around town, though, and it's open later. If I could, I'd give the restaurant a 3.5 rating instead of a 3 and it'd purely be based the grill that's in the back. I can pick my own veggies, meat, and sauce and have a fresh stir-fry in a few minutes. That's what sets this place apart for me. Another highlight: sushi, sushi, and more sushi. If you love sushi and are strapped for cash, this is your place! It isn't high-end sushi, of course. If you want something more unique and exciting, you might want to try Fuji or some place downtown. I'm simple, though, so unless I'm craving something really specific, the options they have out are just the thing (bagel roll, California roll, etc.). Your blood pressure will probably go up after eating here, which is pretty normal for a buffet. But this place has all your favorite Asian-fare. read more