I visit Green Olive whenever I feel a bit bored with my menu at home. I love the variety, and focus heavily on seafood - broiled flounder, breaded fish fillets, various cold and hot shrimp dishes, hot and cold imitation crab dishes and salads, and lobster bisque which I drop some of my seafood into. I usually also sample the pepper steak, General Tso's chicken, pork dumplings, and Lo Mein. Dessert of choice is banana pudding. I've only found one other buffet that can equal this, but it is in Cherry Hill, NJ. read more

No recommended. As I try to find new gems to eat at, I have to try places I haven't been to before. My wife and I were driving around and decided to give this place a try. From the outside, it doesn't look appealing but I don't go off that; I want good food. The name did not suggest a Chinese buffet, so a bit interesting. There's enough free parking and we were seated immediately. The food was not arranged in a sensible way and so you had to look around for things. The food itself lacked flavor and was overcooked in my opinion. I think the only thing I enjoyed were the fried plantains; everything else I could have passed on. Just would not recommend, especially given the price. read more

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We haven't been here in a long time. It looks like management is making efforts to improve things. The "pond" and other fixtures at the front entrance has been removed. We almost thought the place was closed. The booths are the same - bland, but clean. Each food item container was full or refilled. Pads of butter are no longer in stock. Instead there is a tray of warm butter. My "go tos" were there: Lo-mein, green beans, passable rice (yellow with vegetables (not really vegetable friend rice) and egg drop soup. The grill area allows customers to custom order soup or a stir fry dish. The food is okay without being extraordinary. Everything is clean (which matters). The employees are frequently checking tables. Lunch is approx $15. I forgot my phone and someone turned it in. I was grateful an employee handed it to me when I returned. There is a large parking lot. There are less businesses in the immediate block, which decreases questionable characters lingering outside. I noticed several buffet restaurants in the area. I would give this location another try. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

My brother and i saw this place driving back from an event off of Richmond Hwy, across from Mazda car dealership. As you walked in, the hostess/cashier stand is on your left, buffet line in front of you, small sushi station far left side, hibachi grill on behind buffet line and soup station on far right side. Some of the items were a hit and miss. They offer a large seafood iced tray filled with cocktail shrimp on the left and oysters on the right. I'm not an oyster fan but as I was walking by, I actually didn't see any oyster inside the open face shells. It's surely a AYCE and there's unlimited possibilities of combinationsThey also have steamed crabs and a full bar. All staff members were friendly and knowledgeable. read more

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This used to be one of my go-to places, but unfortunately it has gone downhill over time. The food quality is not what it used to be, yet the prices have increased significantly. On top of that, the service has also been disappointing and inconsistent. It is frustrating to pay more while getting less in return. I really used to enjoy coming here, so it is disappointing to see the overall experience decline this much. read more

Okay so this place isn't winning any awards anytime soon. I can't say that it's the most up to date, asthetically pleasing, state of the art kind of buffet. It serves a purpose, and that's unashamed, no holds barred, get your hands and face dirty kind of gluttony. There is a good selection of things to choose from, such as sushi, typical Asian fare, wings, and dessert options. I did find it cool that their solution to needing more food was not to walk into the kitchen or send a runner, but use a microphone that plays in the kitchen. read more

Lots of great choices including crawfish, shrimp, pork ribs, soups and dessert. Nice that crawfish wasn't overcooked and hot. A real lunch bargain at around $16 after tax and tip. I didn't even make it to sushi bar and Mongolian BBQ after the seafood. read more

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I give Green Olive four stars for variety and value. They have an amazing array of foods, from sushi, to seafood, including oysters on the weekend, a Mongolian grill station, soups made to order, classic Chinese dishes, and much more. Quality is commensurate to prices. I usually go when I don't know what I'm in the mood for and don't want to commit to an a la carte restrictive lunch, and I'm never disappointed. read more

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First of all, I would like to sincerely thank you for the quality of the food, its excellent taste, and the generous portions. My family and I were very happy with the meal and truly enjoyed our lunch today. However, unfortunately, an incident occurred after payment that caused me great discomfort and dissatisfaction. I am entitled to a tax exemption as I am a diplomatic member. During the checkout process, the cashier requested that a tip be added to the receipt and informed me that this tip was mandatory due to the service provided, with a minimum of 10%. I explained to her that in all restaurants I have previously visited, tipping has always been optional and not mandatory. It is also inappropriate for a cashier to request or impose a tip on a customer, as this should be entirely at the customer's discretion. Despite this, the cashier insisted that the tip was compulsory. Although I initially paid the tip unwillingly, I returned to the cashier afterward to express my dissatisfaction and requested that the tip be removed, which was done. However, the situation escalated further due to the cashier's extremely unprofessional and unacceptable manner of speaking. Her behavior was very rude, and she even stated that during my next visit I would have to serve myself while inside the restaurant, which is completely unacceptable. In the end, despite the excellent food that made my wife and children very happy, I left the restaurant feeling extremely upset and saddened by the poor treatment and unprofessional behavior I experienced during my visit today. read more

Good, service & atmosphere was good. Wide variety of food to choose from, which was well prepared.

I'm wondering if I hit an off day or maybe it's just a change in things. I went in with decent expectations as some other buffets have missed the mark. I felt like this didn't quite meet the expectations. Food was a mix. I tried a number of things to try and get the lay of the land and kept narrowing down what I wanted more of. There were a lot of items that were fairly cold. Another few seemed to have an off taste to me, but that could come down to personal preference. The staff was friendly and attentive from the interaction I had. Items were kept full at the buffet. The couple of things I did specifically go back for I thought were good. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Exceptional array of authentic Chinese dishes and a multitude of American offerings. This is buffet style. There is a Hibachi grill, as well. The restaurant is fabulous inside, always clean. Pricing is amazing, including a 10% senior discount. The dinner menu includes much more than the lunch menu, although lunch is very large. It is very busy, but has capacious seating. Very well attended by servers, large number of customers so that food is always hot and fresh. read more

The restaurant management is extremely unprofessional and forces customers to add a tip to the final bill.

If I could, I would give this place 0 stars. We went on a Tuesday night. Inside it was dead. There was only 2 other tables plus our party of 6. That should've been our sign to leave. The food is absolutely garbage. It was disgusting and disappointing. It's a buffet, so we should be eating multiple plates, however I could barely eat 1 plate. When we mention to the staff that the noodle dishes are bad, they had a rancid smell and taste, they told us that all the staff ate it and said it was good and that it was made today. We weren't the only one saying it was bad. The other guests complained about the fried rice too. We overheard one of the staff saying the fridge was broken. If the noodles were good, why didn't the staff eat it in front of us? When the dishes were out, the staff didn't refill the food. The employee that was cooking habachi/pho soup was standing there playing on his phone. I saw him picked his boogers and didn't wash his hands. He had a pair of gloves, he removed it and placed it on the side, and used the same gloves again when making the "pho" soup. What kind of restaurant that doesn't provide multiple gloves to the employees? The women's bathroom were dirty and smelly. Definitely wanted to gagged when I went in to wash my hands. The health department definitely need to go visit and check this place out! read more

Mac n cheese was cheese water and noodles My friend found a hair in his chicken When I was eating for the Mac n cheese it took 20 minutes for them to refill it read more

Customer Service!!! Mainly the Greeter. She has a horrible attitude and is very rude, saw a mouse coming from the kitchen and roaches around the food bar. read more

My experience here is good or not so good. Service is good. Food can be good, fair, or ehhh....bland & not so fresh tasting. The first time here was good, and the food tasted fresh. The last time I ate here I didn't enjoy any of the food that I ate except the ribs. I don't want to come back here again because the food experience was not so good as the first time & depressing. It didn't seem worth it to come back for a third time. I rather explore other options nearby. read more

When we entered it looked nice and everyone was kind when we went and got food I had some Chinese spaghetti and they tasted so weird but I'm not sure why also when we entered a sign that said people with over 8 people get a discount and we didn't even get a discount which is totally not good read more

The last time I went here was before the pandemic. This was my favorite buffet in the dmv area that is not too expensive, so my expectations of the food were high or normal as usual. For a Saturday night, I thought there would be more people. Turns out that there was not much. I can see the reason though... I hear customers complaining how the hibachi grill has an attitude. They did not look like they wanted to be there, no greeting or anything. There food was very limited for a weekend dinner. The section for blue crabs was empty with no refills for my whole time there. I was also very disappointed that they did not have coconut shrimp because that was my favorite item there. The honey and general tso's chicken was good and not too crispy. It was scary seeing how nobody was using gloves to get food and how the plates were openly available for anyone. When I went to a different buffet, the waiters would be the one to give me a plate for each round. I am not sure about the rules with the COVID guidelines, but this did not feel right. There was only one box of gloves for customers in the whole buffet area, which was disappointing. Gloves should be at each row of food and everyone should be encouraged to wear them while grabbing food. I would not recommend this buffet for dinner prices or if you want to stay clean and safe from germs and COVID. Besides the limited selection of foods, it was still good as usual. I do not plan to come back here until COVID is gone or when life returns to normal. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Buffer - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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It has been at least 12 years since I had been here and I was in the area with some friends so I suggested it thinking it would be kind of kitschy and fun. When we entered the building you get hit by the smells. Mostly of fish. Which makes sense because I remember they had a lot of fish offerings so I was not immediately worried. We were promptly sat and went to fill our plates. I remember last time there was someone carving prime rib. This time there was just a chunk of meat that you had to carve yourself which I thought "great!" So I get a slab and a few other items and go back to the table and it's inedible. It's tough. It's dry. Honestly I don't even know if it was beef. It tasted so weird. There was a slight fishy ness to the meat but it tasted wildly off. It immediately triggered thoughts of that scene in Bridesmaids so I stopped eating it. The rest of the options were on par with that experience. The fried chicken tasted fishy, the sushi (the first roll I liked a lot actually) on my second pass had a weird banana taste. Maybe they used the same knife to cut their bananas and avocado. Then there were the desserts. Surely those would be ok? Nah. I would have thought it would be difficult to make cake absolutely flavorless but they had three offerings of bleh. Then there was this cream puff looking thing. It seemed innocuous enough but after two bites I couldn't stomach any more. Was it the choux? Was it the artificial cream? Was it the combo? I used a utensil to scoop a little cream filling out and at first it was fine and then there was an....it wasn't so much of an aftertaste as it was an assault on the back of my tongue. I mean it was kind of painful. It was at this point that my friends and I burst into laughter over how very terrible this whole experience was. We are all collectively crossing our fingers that in 4-6 hours we will still be ok. read more

Barely any options, and the food is straight cheeks, the service was good but I don't care it's about the food for real, I don't know what is ambiance but I'm not going to lie but the food is booty cheeks. read more

I visited this place today. All the foods are cold, all employees on the phone, very limited choice of food. Very unpleasant experience.

3 stars for the food. But the price is ridiculous!! $19 is not worth it. A 9 & 10 yr old charged full adult price because of their height. Some bad business there. read more

The place looks like it was remodeled recently. They could've invested some money into the parking lot which is starting to develop potholes in some spots. Upon getting inside the place. You could tell the place was lacking good ventilation. The manager greeted us and everything. Came here with a family member. They seated us to the left of the place. It wasn't too bad. No crying babies or kids throwing food on the floor. They have a somewhat very limited food selection though especially the sushi. There was only like 3 different sushi flavors and one guy working the kitchen. The seafood selection here was lacking the crabs everyone had posted pictures on here about. I'm guessing they no longer have crabs or they're out of season. Most of the food in the pictures they no longer have. I'm guessing budget cuts or something. The overall food selection is VERY LIMITED. Also the presentation on some of the items didn't even look good. Upon eating the food. The ribs weren't bad really. Neither was the corn. The chicken however could've been at least hot. It was almost barely warm on the inside. Also the broccoli was hard like a rock. The sushi tasted very subpar. After a few mins of eating. Started feeling sick and had to use the bathroom #2 then called it a night. The staff here is very very friendly. They made sure everyone was wearing gloves handling the tongs and stuff in the food area. All the employees had masks on as well as gloves. Also the drink lady was very attentive and made sure we stay refilled with liquid. The fountain drinks tasted normal and not watered down like some places. The overall place was somewhat clean. The carpet needed a good deep cleaning or something. The ceiling looked dirty in some parts of the place though. Also in the men's bathroom it looks like it's mold developing on the ceiling. Only one working sink out of three and only one working towel dispenser out of two working. The general crowd here is normal class. Someone started a issue saying there was a hair in their food and became very overly dramatic demanding all the employees to come to him over a hair in his food. Probably just trying to get their bill comped really so that tells you what kind of crowd they get here. Still not a bad family place though. The pricing was a little high compared to the selection of the food. But it was dinner time. It was $15.99 per person. Total came to $36 with two fountain drinks. Mainly adults. Kids & Teens also. Everyone was very mature and the noise level was normal for a food place. Overall. I probably won't be coming back as a pit-stop before I visit the MGM though because the QUALITY of the food is very subpar. Also the selection is VERY limited. read more

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This a great Buffett for the price. On both sides of the restaurant are large open areas where you sit. There are several Buffett tables, a hibachi and sushi area, soup area, ice cream cooler, and a bar all in the middle of the restaurant. One table is just desserts with cookies, flan, jello, etc. another table has grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, oysters, and salad and toppings. The other tables have most of your other typical Chinese Buffett offerings and more. They have crawfish, clams, mussels, crab legs, many types of shrimp, ribs, pizza, duck, and lots more! You will get so full trying so many different foods. The sushi they make is slightly more variety than other places, but not too much. The hibachi is also typical, but they do a good job of cooking your food. The soups are wonton, seafood, and pho. The soups are actually pretty good. For ice cream they have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and orange sorbet. They also have a rewards system if you come here more than once. Not really the best rewards tiers but at least it is something. Make sure you sign up because I'm sure you will want to come again, I sure do! read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Their food was ice cold and hard. This use to be a good restaurant I don't know what happen... We pay for our food it should be hot and fresh!!!' So I don't think we will come here again... For all the money they charge it should be good. read more

Bottom line up front: A decent buffet for the route 1 corridor littered with restaurant chains. Surprisingly the cheese pizza was a star of this visit. The made to order stir fry was acceptable, but not a meal to write home about. The staff was overly friendly and ensured safety measures were taken. This places doesn't quiet deserve a four start review but is better than 3 stars. Route 1 Diner official score is: 3.4 Keep an eye out for the Route 1 Mystery Diner's next review of an unexpecting route 1 restaurant. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

sooooo bad my family got food poisoning and diarrhea from the raw oysters and my fried chicken was a fried mouse

I've been coming to green olive since it first open definitely a staple in my family, it was good while it lasted. I came back with my family today oh I should've known on how dead it was to turn around. It was hot, muggy, and sticky inside there was no ac running. First look on the food was wild, looked like it had been sitting for at least 2 hours! My family and I attempted to eat anyways. All the food I had tasted was bad or either went bad! We had told the server that the lo mein, fried rice, and Singapore noodles smelled sour and tasted like it went bad. The lady in front was kinda upset and in denial that it was bad not only we had complain another gentleman had agreed with us as well she still was on the fence about it, she then told us she will taste it. I heard her telling the back that the noodles were bad and the worker responded saying that the fridge is not working. I was taken back and knew I was risking my life with every bite I had eaten of their food! She came up to my table and responded the staff and her agree that the noodles are not bad and still good "if we don't like the noodles and rice to use the hibachi station". We were up set that you really didn't need to taste it to confirm the noodles and other dishes were bad you could smell how sour it was, yet she did not replace the dishes. Overall disappointing night, disappointing dinner and sad that the place I've came to for 5 years was awful never again RIP. read more

Basic buffet. Nothing special but nothing horrible. Nice layout and pleasant, attentive staff. Good for groups. Food variety is pretty good - heavy on seafood and Asian fare. read more

If you're coming here to get blue crabs, you'll have to wait in line for at least 15 or 20 mins per round and they'll be gone in less than 30 seconds. I felt like I was watching the show. Customer were fighting for crabs. Bad quality and bad service. You get what you pay for. Good luck! read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

This was my first and last visit here. I'm in the area a llot so I was curious. All the food was cold. The sushi had been sitting and hardened. The staff spent the night talking to each other and only came about every 20 min. To add insult to injury the bathrooms are extremely unclean. I was going to talk to the young lady at the front about it, but she couldn't seem to pull herself away from her cell phone. I came with great expectations but it was truly a disappointment. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Pass in this one - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

The food was overall flavorless and the variety was lacking. I do hope it has improved since renovating.

The price is great, the service was great but it's a buffet so not much service needed. The place is cute. They have sushi, seafood, salad bar, rice, noodles, deserts. I would definitely come back :) food was good! read more

Service: the Asian guy at the front who asked us "how many"?, never greeted us in a warm manner nor smiled. We told him that we had one senior and upon checking out, we found out that he attempted to charge us full price for the senior. My daughter asked him a question and he just looked at her without expression and complied as if he did not want to be bothered. The waitresses were friendly but we had to wait and look for them when we wanted drink refills and only then were our multiple used plates picked up! Food: everything on the bar that was supposed to be hot was COLD/LUKEWARM. I couldn't really enjoy it without wasting food because I had to go back and try to dig for what I thought would be hot foot that was still cold when I sat down to eat. The sushi bar was good although some of the ingredients like the celery was old. read more

How is this place still open? I would imagine people might be interested in trying it until they actually do. I've been there several times over the years and the food is still tasteless and cold. The selections are pretty good but the quality of the food is a big zero. Save your money or give them a try, form your own opinion. read more

Price is reasonable. Food is variety. Service is good. Restaurant is clean. Good choice for buffet on Saturday night! read more

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My sister's family and I came to the Green Olive for the special occasion of my nephews birthday. My sister was a little skeptical about dinning at this buffet since the front of the restaurant looked like it was undergoing some construction. We decided to go inside and check it out. Below I've highlighted the good and not so good of the buffet: The not so good: -When you enter the restaurant, you're greeted by the "wall of shame." There were pictures posted of patrons who skipped out on the bill. It came across as tacky to see that coming into the restaurant (see attached photo). -The restaurant bizarrely charged kids based off their height. I don't think height is a fair or educated judgement on how much a kid will eat at a buffet. And if their assumption is based off the height requirement, it comes off as an extremely tacky move in their attempt to bar people from lying if they were to have an age requirement to gauge what to charge kids to eat at their restaurant (see attached photo). -Some of the food was lacking in seasoning. The mac and cheese was tasteless. There was a feeling of sacrificing quality in some of the food for quantity and how fast it could be turned out. The good: +There's an impressive spread of food to eat. The variety is huge. They have everything from ribs, crabs, oysters, sushi and ice cream. +Service was great. Our server was accommodating to our needs. +The buffet was clean and taken care of. Overall, the experience was okay. I would recommend on a Saturday night dinner. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - "Wall of shame" - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Well, I rarely go to these all-you-can-eat deals as they're just not my thing; I never get my money's worth and if I do, I end up putting myself in such a food coma that I should be forced to open a dictionary and familiarize myself with such words as regret, gluttony, and fool. However, this time things at the Green Olive started off on a different note . First, at just $13.95, I knew that I could get my money's worth. I also thought that I could capitalize on their sushi selection and keep things a little lighter than your usual mac-n-cheese and heavier items. Next, the variety of choices reminded me of some of those legendary buffets in Vegas, so I was pretty certain that I wouldn't feel cheated if I had to leave a fallen food behind (leave no side dish behind I always say). Let me just say that the biggest surprise of this whole outing was the food, for it was pretty fantastic!! With such selections as coconut shrimp, sushi, mash potatoes, fried rice, bourbon chicken, marinated octopus, crawfish, and prime rib, I was pretty much having a United Nations of food on my plate (Ok, I confess 3 plates..oh, the shame of it all..lol. That's ok, I once had lunch with Sargent Slaughter and he crushed out 6 plates at the buffet so it could be worse). As I have said, the food here is pretty amazing for a buffet and if I were just rating it by the food and table service, I would have to go 5 stars. However, as all you young foodies out there know, a rating isn't just about the food, for atmosphere, clientele, and management also play a big role in your view of the place. So once again, I have to take some stars off for my favorite dining pet peeve..Wait for it, unruly children that are allowed to run free range over the restaurant without the parents or restaurant management intervening. My God people Chuckee Cheese is just down the street!! To be fair, I should have know that this place would attract families like an African watering hole attracts a pride of lions ready to feast on the unsuspecting impala or gazelle. You see, at $13.95 Mom and Dad can secretly feed little Johnny and Suzie Q off their plates so that the family of five could dine for less than $30...and oh they do, gentle foodie, they do. I had gotten there early on a Friday and pretty much had the place all to myself when a toddler bomb went off and I was overrun by screaming, rambunctious kids that treated this place more like am inflatable Bouncy Castle than a restaurant. And did the management or staff intervene, no. Yes, Junior was permitted to run up and down the isle screaming and stuffing coconut shrimp up his nose (a morsel that I am fairly certain came from my plate while I was away from my table) while his sister cried because her parents had given her a plate of noodles rather than rice. Surrounded by infants and toddlers and clueless parents, I was soon treated to an odor that one usually encounters in a mens room and not from the booth directly behind you. "Why, is that urine I smell? Thanks, Suzie Q, for making my day extra special." So, now you might be saying to yourself, "that jerk doesn't like kids." However, unlike Michelle Pfeiffer's character in Scarface who said of kids,"I like them fine as long as there is a nurse," I like kids, but I'm not too fond of parents who seem to have a real sense of entitlement these days. Let's face it, letting your child run wild in public is just plain rude. And when this happens, it really is the management's job to protect the rights of its other patrons,,You know, the ones who are politely gorging themselves on a never ending supply crawfish. But aside for the kid clueless parent factor this place is still pretty good. I mean even with the kids and the urine I'm still giving it 3 stars. In fact, I might even return one day, but only this time I will seat myself my back to the wall like an Old West poker player to minimize a possible kid ambush. P.S. If for some reason you have been offended by my comments about unruly children and clueless parents, please don't be. We both know that those comments are reserved for the 70% of parents that seem to embrace such bad behavior. No, I'm fairly certain that you're one of the good ones and that none of this applies to you or your progeny. read more

Green Olive Buffet & Grill - Chinese Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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We came in and greeted by the host. We always come here early. Food was great and the servers are helpful. The place was clean. We will be back. read more