What more can you ask for in a buffet but to be wheeled out to your car. The food is primarily seafood and Asian. There's a Mongolian grill, wide variety of sushi, and what I've been craving for a long time: dim sum! The seafood looks fresh and is not drowning in cheese (gross). There's clams, crab legs and even awesome-looking stuffed crab. I will be back for much more even if it means breaking the diet. I have to try it all! read more

Lin's International Buffet - Sushi and dim sum - Chinese Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

For an Asian buffet this place is top notch. Fresh food that has not been out all day. It is clean. There is a lot to choose from. They have Pho and Mongolian grill if you want it. read more

First off let's call this what it is, it's an Asian buffet. Nothing international to see here. I found the entire selection to be underwhelming and generic; the kind of stuff you would find in a run down shopping center Chinese buffet. Sushi selections were strange and skimpy, who is actually eating a roll made of just cream cheese? Dim sum wasn't labeled so it made it hard to make selections. Very few salad options other than a bowl of uncut iceberg lettuce. The desert was by far the worst. Boxed puddings and very few fruits to choose from. The scoopable ice cream was nice but it was rock hard and everyone sticking their hands in to scoop it out was gross. Little pastries, cakes, and cookies, were out of a box and nothing special. Last, the layout was strange. Random assorted cookies next to silverware, a three tier plate of nilla wafers, biscuits, and then pickles in the desert area. The pudding was next to the salad dressings. The building is very nice and well decorated but the service and food selection isn't worth it. I will not be back. read more

It was great and the price was cheaper than Los Angeles we need one in Norwalk California the employees were nice and friendly a variety of foods and BBQ ribs and beef brisket thanks again . read more

Lin's International Buffet - Chinese Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

The building is beautiful inside, luxurious almost and I really wanted to like this place but unfortunately, it's just so-so--actual rating is 2.5 stars. Upon entering there were two young ladies at the cash register so busily talking between themselves and with a handsome customer that we were greeted with, "Just a minute." Well, okay ladies, I realize you're in the middle of flirting which of course takes precedence over an old geezer like me--sorry for interrupting! When one of them graciously turned her attention to me she was at least efficient although she did sigh when I said we only wanted water to drink. After being led to our table, I walked around the restaurant taking photos of every station except the Steak and Pizza which was fairly bare. Since there are labels over most of the foods on the steam tables, I won't label them on the photos. As you can see, there is a wide variety, including crab legs and oysters. There is also a Mongolian grill. I started with hot and sour soup and a plate of sushi, seaweed salad and dim sum . The soup did have a slight beefy flavor and contained tofu and tree ear fungi but unfortunately both had been cooked so long that they were falling apart. The soup was neither hot nor sour; a bottle of vinegar on the table helped, but not much. The sushi was obviously fresh as two chefs were making it then and there. It looked beautiful but beauty is only skin--excuse me, rice--deep. The most flavorful was the Philadelphia roll's cream cheese; the rest all tasted the same. The seaweed salad usually has a dressing of sesame oil and vinegar. There was only a slight hint of vinegar and none of sesame oil--too bad. There were four dim sum offerings, two versions of baozi, one filled with custard, the other with pork. The flavors of the fillings were very nice but the dough was tough and sticky, spoiling the dish. There was shaomai (shumai) which are like little bags, open at the top and filled with pork. I imagine that over the years I've eaten at least half my weight of these little yummies but honestly, I cannot for the life of me tell you what comprised the filling. There was little flavor and it had the texture of rice (which it very well might have been). The last was the ubiquitous pot stickers; they weren't too bad after being dunked liberally in dipping sauce. After a bit of digesting, I plated more food. On this go round there was crab rangoon. As I expected the crab was either hiding or absent. But hey, what's not to like about warm cream cheese? Nothing, I tell you--they were quite good. And I had to try and egg roll, right? Nondescript flavor, uninteresting texture but at least not greasy. I sampled the fried fish and a frog leg; neither were high on flavor but the tartar sauce was good. The green beans looked promising but looks can be deceiving. The flavor wasn't bad but they were tough and only partially cooked. I hadn't tried chicken yet, so teriyaki and a buffalo wing it was. The teriyaki wasn't too bad but it think that if any native of Buffalo NY were to try a wing, there would be a riot then and there. Nasty is the only word that comes to mind. As I was passing the sushi bar I saw one of my favorites coming out--bean curd skin stuffed with sushi rice and pickled seaweed. The flavors were there but uninspiring due to the skimpy amount pickled seaweed. My friend tried the Mongolian grill so, just for you, Gentle Reader, I forced myself to try it also! There was a decent amount of ingredients available; the meats were shrimp, chicken and beef. If you go this route, do your intestinal track a favor and grab the meat from the bottom of the pan where it's coldest; the meat at the top was room temperature. If you've ever been to a Mongolian Grill like my favorite, HuHot, you know the grill is hotter than Hades and cooks very quickly. At Lin's, that's not the case. The ingredients were spread out separately--meat, vegetables, noodles, each in the own pile. There are no choices of sauces, only the level of heat. The process took around ten minutes and I was the only patron there. You can stay or walk away but if you choose the latter, better listen for a bell to be rung announcing the dish is ready. If there were several patrons ordering the grill, every time that bell rings, several people are going to be getting up to see if the dish is theirs--there has to be a better way!!! The flavor? Meh, as people are fond of saying nowadays. The meat was tough but the veggies and noodles were cooked well--and after the cook adding four spoonfuls of peppers, the heat was passable. I really hated that the outcome was so bland as the fellow worked so hard on the dish. There's Blue Bunny ice cream for dessert but I preferred a coffee mousse alternating with layers of chocolate cake. I won't be coming back to Lin's; the potential is there, just not used, unfortunately. read more

See all

This buffet was delicious! Lots of variety and great quality choices for the entire family! We love to take our kids here! It prevents us from going to 12 different places as they are all picky... read more

Great variety of food. Everything was delicious!!! One of the only buffets with good food.

My new years resolution is to go on a new diet called the "see-food" diet, so regularly scheduled face-stuffing sessions at a Chinese buffet is exactly what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately, most Chinese buffets are a feeding trough of substances that is barely considered "food" served in a setting that may or may not be passing health and sanitation standards. However, Lin's is as close to the polar opposite of that as you can get... trust. I've eaten here dozens of times in the past year and here are some observations: PLUSES + Interior is nicely decorated and the staff does a good job keeping the place clean, even during dinner rush. + Service is attentive. Drink refills are frequent and used plates are promptly removed from the table. + Variety of food is massive... salad bar, soups, dim sum, all sorts of fried stuff, typical entree dishes, noodles, rice, Mongolian grill, desserts, and self scoop ice-cream. + Quality across the board is above average. + They serve nigiri sushi AND SASHIMI! Most Chinese buffets are too cheap to serve sashimi because the rice from the nigiri will fill you up quicker. The salmon is consistently fresh and can be at times amazing, seriously. + Sushi spread is huge for a Chinese buffet. Some of the rolls are kinda weird but the ones I had were good. The Inari-with-seaweed-salad-on-top "sushi" that's ubiquitous in Chinese buffet sushi bars is notably present. MINUES - The seaweed-salad-mixed-with-other-bs "salad" that's ubiquitous in Chinese buffet sushi bars is also notably present. Why ruin perfectly yummy seaweed salad??? Why??? - The ice cream station needs more frequent attention. Scoops are always sticky and often left inside one of the ice-cream tubs. Perhaps enforcing the routinely ignored "children must be accompanied by adult" rule would help. So if you come here, remember... *THIS* *IS* *A* *CHINESE* *BUFFET* *Y'ALL* !!! Set your expectation accordingly and come in your fat jeans for an epic chow down. read more

I come here at LEAST once every week, sometimes once every two weeks and I can't believe I've never wrote my review, Well it's my favorite Chinese food buffet in SA, I urge anyone to try this place out... some of my favorite items are the sushi, the fried fish, the sweet yellow bun in the dim sum area, the lo mein noodles, the steamed rice, the sausage by the sliced meat area, the sweet and sour chicken, the fresh seafood...I still have not tried their stir fry because I never have any room left! My hope and prayers is that this buffet will not loose it's fire to produce good food like some many other buffets burn out and loose their quality. Lin, keep it going strong with the good food and clean restaurant :) read more

we arrived within 30 min upon opening so you would think the food would be hot...it wasn't. it was cold and stale. even my husband said he was done after 1 plate. it was such a disappointment we don't care to eat here anymore. read more

A roach came out of the seam of our booth. I spoke to waitress and and hostess. Both seemed unsurprised but were extremely apologetic. Waitress said "This is embarrassing." And the host said "We have pest control come through in the evening and they move booths around." ‍ I will never go back though. read more

The food was passable but definitely not worth the price. $16 at 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon! Also, I would not call this International. It was mostly Asian, with a smattering of American food options, like almost all Chinese buffets do. There was a larger variety of sushi than usual, but the rice was overused, overcooked, and the fish barely had any flavor. It wasn't awful, but not worth the trip and cost. I will not be returning. read more

Very popular place, I got there at 2PM on a Monday and had to wait in a short line for almost 10 minutes. Lots of choices, clean, good waitstaff. Food all tastes the same, bland. Something is bad wrong with their water, I got ice tea (sweet only, unsweet is not served here) and when it reached half done I put in some of the glass of water I also got. Ruined the tea and the water is not drinkable. Waiter and manager agreed with me. Hope they fix it before you go. read more

The food was horrible. Some of it was so hard you could use it as a hockey puck. My whole party was disappointed.

Place needs a little maintenance in the food area. They do clean but with the same dirty rag and I've seen them put the food back when it fell out the dish read more

The place is beautiful, the staff Is ffriendly, the boiled shrimp is great, the ice cream and deserts are outstanding,,,just one little problem... the food is nice cold and I wonder how long it will be before people start getting I'll because of spoiled food.what a shame they start out so well and before you know it, they start neglecting one thing to keep the food at a certain temperature. ...I will give them one one chance a nd them lm gone. I suggest you check the food before you eat it. ..ok. do much for thst i wish them welland hope they are still open when i return.. .,,,, read more

Have been to this buffet three times. Will not go again. Each time, the food that was supposed to be hot was lukewarm, at best.

We came here last week for dinner, it wasn't very packed. This is a pay before you eat place, so there was no turning back after. Decent sized place like many other Chinese buffets. Good selection of the cooked foods and seafoods. The shrimp and oysters looked a little sketchy so I didn't touch any of it. The fried sushi rolls was soggy and the nigiri sushi tasted like it was previously frozen for a while. I didn't have the cooked rice, but my wife said it has a weird after taste. We tried the dim sum but the Shui Mai was really mushy and definitely tasted like the frozen ones you buy at an Asian market. I couldn't even eat one. I did enjoy some of the chicken dishes and the noodles. The only thing that my wife enjoyed was the chocolate ice cream. I hope the new one they are opening off 1604 will be better than this place. read more

The Pho was very gross, the soup smelled like old water and the guy cooked my chicken and noodles first, so everything was soggy. The crawfish had no seasoning whatsoever, probably just salt is all that was on there. The tap water made my stomach hurt so I don't recommend getting water. The waiter on the other hand was very nice so I give them that. read more

Love this place. been there twice so far, for under $10 you can't beat it! Sushi/Sashimi is spectacular! wait staff is attentive, they come by often, clean place huge parking, love it would recommend it. read more

Loses a star right off because of the no guns sign at the door. It's not OK to tell people they can't protect their families. It's worth ignoring this sign or going somewhere that does not endanger people with nonsensical policies. Good selection. Fresh steak is nice. Crab legs only on weekends it seems. Came in around 7. Food was pretty good, sushi was ok but not that fresh. read more

Mediocre at best. Wasn't impressed with the selection of food for lunch, however, the facility is clean and well lit. You pay before you even try the food, which is out of the norm. Servers take their time coming back to check on drink refills and have a bit of an attitude. Lunch buffet is $9.49 and a drink is 2.29 w/refills included. Sushi bar available. There is a Mongolian style grill also available to build your own bowl. Dinner begins at 4pm and the menu changes. Have not hat dinner but looking forward to seeing what is offered. All the food looks fresh inducing the fruits and vegetables. read more

Best buffet since I've been to Vegas!!! Food is fresh and well made. Everyone was friendly, use your military discount. read more

See all

Was fortunate enough to dine here opening day. The food was well prepared and the service was polite and attentive not to mention some of the plates were that of I've never seen before. Where I usually shy away from Buffet's Lin's has treated me right with positive customer services and multiple delectable dishes. read more

I've had better and I've had worse. I'd avoid the seafood. It was either overcooked or the cosistecy was off, i.e , frozen and thawed a few times. The Chinese portion of the food was decent and so was the pho. I'll give it a second chance eventually. read more

Came after my class... as a college student I need something cheap and filling! The price was alittle more than the other buffet I go to but it was worth it ! More options on sushi, soups, crab and shrimp to pizza and actual ice cream ! Only thing is that some noodle plates are stale and hard to get the ice cream for some.. you actually have to scoop it out... read more

We have passed by many times and decided today was the day to try it. When we first walked in, we were impressed with the cleanliness appearance. The actual buffet of food area is very large. We walked all of it prior to serving ourselves to see what was available. VERY large assortment of hot and cold food....so we thought. Was the food tasty? Definitely. Was there different options to try? Yes. Was the food hot (you could see the steam rising from the food)? No. We can now assume we got there too early and the food did not have enough time to sit in the water bath. We mean any and all food was either lukewarm or absolutely cold. By the way, sesame chicken is not tasty cold. Would we go back? For the price and cold food? Probably not. read more

Lin's International Buffet - Beautiful display. - Chinese Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Food was great and so was the service. There's a variety of food. The pizza isn't good though, it tastes like freezer pizza. So many deserts and scooped ice cream. Kinda weirded by that since so many hands have to tough the scoop. read more

First time there. Buffet was good so many selection to pick from. The only thing was that some parents let their kids get there own food/ice cream I saw a kid sneeze on the ice cream bit turn off. read more

The absolute best chinese buffet I've ever been too. Spotlessly clean, great service, and better food. Many fresh choices and the sushi... god. Delish. read more

It's a buffet. Lunch was not worth price paid. I only ate the baked fish and sushi. And the sushi was tasteless.

Yeah, I think it is that good. First off, I broke my Cardinal Rule! Never eat sushi at a Chinese Buffet. I am glad I did. I porked out on the oysters, bugs, shrimp, and sushi. I felt the oysters were of great quality! Not a big bug guy, but I had to since they were here. And Lin's had some of the best sushi I have had in the US! I can't recall what else I had other than the seafood. I know I nibbled on this and that, and it was good. But I was about the seafood. I normally don't play that card, and my wife called me on it. But to me, it looked good, tasted great, and I didn't pay for it the next day (if you know what I mean)! Run, don't walk. Sit down. And loosen that belt up. When I get back to SA, I am going! read more

My family and I went for lunch on a Sunday, just to try out something new, surprisingly the whole family enjoyed the food and Service. I was very happy cause my husband and son do not enjoy buffets cause they think is a waste of money. We only had one plate and sushi, it was hard for me to finish but everything was fresh and clean. My husband words ...this is our new family spot. Thank you so much.. read more

This is definitely an international and interesting buffet. My husband and I just recently moved to SA and was pointed to this buffet when asked where to eat. So, we tried it and to my surprise it was amazing! They had all types of sushi, seafood, salads, soups, and more! I, myself, am a HUGE pho eater and I even recommend going there to just eat the pho! Absolutely amazing. read more

Never thought I would eat sushi at a buffet before! Wow, I am surprised. The sushi is made right in front of you, to me it seems safer to eat :/ The Chinese food is typical of a buffet, stations are kept clean and fresh. I enjoy the soup, sushi and steaks after 4. They also have crab legs for dinner, but I don't enjoy them served on ice. Kind of kills it for me. Also they offer senior and military discounts! read more

Lin's International Buffet - Chinese Near Me - San Antonio, Texas

Fantastic. Great food. Seafood was excellent. Chinese was fabulous. Nothing negative at all. read more

See all

When the place first opened up the food was good but now they want to charge you $20 a person and give you leftovers the food is no longer grades I would not recommend this place to anybody you spend your hard earned money on leftovers read more

My family and I love going to Chinese Buffets. My youngest can be a bit picky at times but he always gets his fill when we visit them. That being said it seems almost any place you go to is going to end up with some sour notes. Not Lin's. I have always had a very pleasant experience here. Everything is clean, the staff is polite and the selection is very good. First, let's talk sushi. I love Sushi. Buffet sushi is 99 times out of a 100, complete garbage. This is one of the few places I have seen that serve eel and cuts of sashimi (no rice, just fish). And though of course I would rather have sushi from an actual sushi restaurant, it is not bad as an alternative. If you don't like sushi, you've got raw oysters, crawfish, crab legs, brisket, steaks cooked to order on the grill, and plenty of other choices to keep you occupied. Lin's Buffet just gets a Chinese buffet right. At maybe a couple bucks more pricey than others, it is worth the extra money if for nothing else the fantastic seafood selection. You should check out Lin's International Buffet. P.S. They have Dim Sum, too. What is going on? :) read more

Not as good as the one on the Northside. Don't know if their quality is lowered because of the socioeconomic demographic of the area and figured they won't be called out on it, but was extremely disappointed. Nice layout, lots of variety, again, not as much as the NS location. Food quality was lacking. read more

Outstanding in everything. Service is semi-good they are still learning, the environment is clean. Enjoy the buffet food, every time I go there. So, thrilled that they decided to expand to 410 & 151 area just please don't forget where they started in the south side of town. read more