Used to eat here years ago and enjoyed it, but today was disappointing. They don't refill any of the foods after like 1:30. The foods that are out were not very hot and the cold dishes were not very cold. Over all this is a very mediocre asian buffet that they are charging a LOT for. There is Flys all over the place, greasy slippery floors, sticky tables and disgusting restrooms. For the money, go enjoy an actual good meal elsewhere. read more

Food was cold, service was rude, price was insane. First 5 plates picked up were dirty. Place is looking pretty rough. Use to love it here. So disappointed. read more

Went there for dinner last Friday. We called to check first if they had oysters and clams which was the reason we're okay with the high price for a buffet. They did have them but had no taste at all. For $37, we could have paid that at a high end restaurant where the quality would be so much better. The rest of the food is the same at a cheaper Asian buffet. It's been years since we've been back but won't be back, unless someone else is paying. read more

This place is always good when I come to Chicago! You can't pay much less and get unlimited crab legs and a big full seafood buffet. The waiter was very nice to us. The fried food all tasted the same but for the ribs and other foods it was really good. They need to update a few things like the bathroom. read more

Royal Buffet - Crab legs were good - Buffets Near Me - Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Not a big fan of buffets but somehow ended up here. I give it a 4 based on most recent experience. The very few times I've been here in the past, I'd probably give it a 2. Here what made today a difference. I came in early as soon as dinner opened and got seats close to where lobster is served. I was able to see how their dinner is was prepared and got fresh batch of food. In the past, I've always went 7pm or after so by then, food looked pretty disgusting to my eyes after so many people have served or it's been sitting there too long. From my table, I was able to see when lobsters were ready and when that was the case, I got up immediately in line to get a lobster. However, when prime time dinner rolled around, I was reminded why I've never eaten lobsters at this place & that I forgot that they even served it. The line was just too long and it wasn't worth it for me to wait in the past. There's a wide variety of food- make your own noodle station; cold seafood (oysters, shrimp, & etc); maki & sushi; crab legs & lobster (Wed & Fri dinner only); dim sum; various hot dishes including noodles, meat, & seafood; desserts including ice cream, crepe, and ice cream. I'd probably go again around the time when they open if I am able to, but during typical summer time, neh- I'd skip. read more

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So yeah you guys were right. Based on other buffets that I have been to in the Chicagoland area, Royal Buffet is the best one so far. Soooo many options to choose from that I had to go back for seconds, thirds, and fourths. Of course my favorite item on the menu is the all you can eat snow crab legs! Its a crustacean lover's dream. They also have mussels, clams, dungeness crab, and oysters. Great seafood buffet so if you love seafood, you could live here for a day. Seafood not your thang? Dont worry as they have oodles of other things available. You can create your own Hibachi plate where you choose your veggies and your meat and the cooks will grill it up for you. Anything you can imagine at a Chinese reataurant you would probably find here. There are also other American food options available as well. For dessert, they have ice cream, cotton candy, tropical fruits, and some other sweets that I dont remember the name of. The restaurant was also very clean. I love how well it was lit, and that there was a separate dining area for larger parties. Nothing beats a clean restaurant. I need to come back on a Wednesday or Friday night for LOBSTER! Until we meet again Royal Buffet! read more

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Think Golden Corral, but a tad bit nicer. Went for my mother in laws birthday, had 10 people in our party. They were able to seat us and the wait staff was decent. read more

Got serious food poisoning here while on vacation. All three of us got ick but one broke out in hives and was violently ill. Attempts to contact restaurant went unanswered. Do not risk it. read more

If you like overpriced meals for low quality, this is your place to go. Some of the dishes and desserts being served looked like they were at least a day old. It was a letdown that I'm paying a ton of money and I couldn't even eat half of the food because of the level of quality. I also ate some oyster and it tasted really funky and I spat it out so I don't risk my health. Got really bad food poisoning the day after. There's nothing royal about this place. read more

Been doing occasional takeout here lately as I dont think their meals are worth $50 (with tax and tip) pp. So their prices on takeout used to be fair, but they seem to want to be changing them a lot, and since I get vegetables, I am.aware of the rate $2.99 Got some today, and... B at the counter charged me at the chicken rate because I had 1 crab rangoon the size of marble... that's $4.99 per lbs for my vegs. Are you effin kidding me? So I call and ask to speak to manager. She asks why then says."oh yeah that was me" and ignoring request, tries to tell me that: 1.) vegs are 4.99 ... then why is this $4.13 for .69lbs and labeled as chicken (nice story B, math not ur strong suit) 2) the rate was upped to chicken because I had an egg roll (crab rangoon is not, but wtf is the diff, it's garbage sides) 3) they are charging .50 per piece for items now So I tell her again, I want to speak to a Manager Then I hear 2 minutes.of bullshit in Chinese. Why all the explanation and noise if she followed policy? The "manager" doesn't want to give me his name.. that's interesting. He wants to know why I need that... hmm. it's called a accountability. I hope screwing me $3 was worth it. read more

It was my first time in a Japanese buffet restaurant like that and I can say it was a pretty good place. The first room in front of the restaurant had an amazing koi pond fountain and a gorgeous Japanese painting, and the dining area is so big that it's never a long wait to get a seat. On top of that the food selection was wide and tasty and they even have crepes for dessert. read more

It was very mediocre. The sushi was dry you can tell it was sitting there all day. The lady gave another customer crepes and when I went to try it she said no more it's not worth almost $40. The quality of the food was terrible save your money and go elsewhere my first time and my last time. Me and My cousin Got sick the food is old the sushi had to be out there all day was hard as a Rock Save your money go else where read more

DONT GO! Most of the food wasn't fresh and some foods were moldy. Dishes were dirty. I stopped eating because I kept gagging trying certain foods. The staff was very cranky. My friend got racially bullied by a rude customer. We told the manager to give her a warning and he said he couldnt do anything about hate speech, when he really should've kicked her out. Our Mother's Day dinner was ruined. Not worth $40 a person, we spent $200. Wish I would of looked at the 100+ bad reviews because they are true. And I didn't feel very well later that night. I contacted the Cook County Department of Health. I don't write reviews but my experience here was so bad I just had to. Hopefully my review will be seen by others and stop them from going and wasting their money/getting sick. read more

Not a good place. Pricey..food are flavorless. I went there with my friends ,Server are very rude. They asked us to leave. were not there for long. I asked them why, they said they need the table. But theres a lot empty table. Theres no customer waiting. I asked one of the employee in the front if theres a time limit, he said theres none. We didnt eat much and were just talking. I will never go back there nor refer it to my friends. Poor serving, Rude server read more

Really good food, I highly recommend trying the squid and crab! The service here is amazing also, they come almost every twn minutes to pick up your plates! The ambiance is amazing truly. read more

I went to this place for lunch and was quite disappointed. Food was flavorless staff very rude and way overpriced. For about $45 including tip I can go elsewhere to enjoy a good meal and a comfortable atmosphere. read more

Went for lunch first timers with family of four. Nice big restaurant with attentive service staff. No items great and no items bad. We didn't try the hibachi. Numerous types of sushi rolls were solid; the dim sum was very disappointing and not what I was used to at a normal Chinese restaurant; good selection of seafood entries; their signature dish of deep fried fish with sweet & sour sauce was solid; and overall a good, wide selection to try. For $21/adult, a nice visit. read more

Foods at Royal Buffet(Hoffman Estates) were good but they need to talk to their servers or explain that tips at buffet restaurants are not compulsory, and doesn't require a 20% tip, for the reason that customers get their own food, it's not being served to them, except for the drinks. Tips depend on how satisfied the customers to their servers, they can give 20%, if, they are really satisfied and happy with their server, but not compulsory, and they should not demand it. IT'S NOT GOOD, and IT'S NOT RIGHT!! read more

Royal Buffet is awesome! Everything has always been fresh when I've been there. It's always very busy which helps keeping fresh items on the bar. The Sushi is great. They have raw oysters which I love but they need to get some horseradish to go with them. They have all kinds of seafood. The biggest draw is the half lobsters and the crab legs. Although very good, they sure take their time dishing these out. The lobster and legs draw long lines and you are standing there 15 to 20 minutes at times waiting for a new batch. There is just way to many items here to review, but they are all awesome and plentiful. If you like Asian Buffets you must try Royal Buffet. read more

Royal Buffet - Royal Buffet Sushi. Always fresh and always awesome!! - Buffets Near Me - Hoffman Estates, Illinois

You should stop by on a weekend. The selection is outstanding, for a buffet, the food is excellent. It's a little bit, Bandi, but it's very much worth it. This has to be one of the best buffets, all of Chicago land. And the services excellent. read more

Avoid this place like the plague unless you want to pay too much and get mediocre food, poor service and food poisoning. Went there a couple nights ago and my stomach is still queasy. My daughter got sick on the drive home, and we had to stop so she could sprint into a bathroom somewhere. My daughter said one of her friends also got sick there recently from eating the crab and lobster. On top of this, the waitress was very unfriendly/borderline rude, except when she wanted a tip and she suddenly perked up and gave me a fake smile and said "Happy New Year!". Also my daughter claims that the waitress and hostess were talking about her/making fun of her with some very odd arm gestures. So, we will never go back there, and I may contact the health department about this dump. read more

These were the plates we got and rarely able to finish. The food was cold which was strange because we arrived at 5:15pm. My thought is that their warming lights are not appropriate. The oyster had a creamy and weird taste- had to spit it out. We looked at the rest of them more carefully, they all had a milky residue surrounding it...? We were afraid to try again. The service was so so. Nothing spectacular but not rude. After we paid, I started to feel uncomfortable and ran to the restroom. TMI alert: I had diarrhea. I was concerned but figured I'll see if it progresses later, but it didn't. It could have been due to the fried food, andboring food being cold? read more

Royal Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Hoffman Estates, Illinois

We brought our friend here for his birthday for the crab legs. I called early in the day to make sure crab legs would be available on a Monday and I was told they would be. We were very disappointed to see there were no crab legs on the buffet. There were a few crab claws that were so dry, what meat had been in them had disappeared. There is plenty of other food available, but when you go for one specific item and it's not there, you don't enjoy it. read more

Our favorite spot!! The place is so big, biggest buffet I've ever been to locally. They have just about anything you can think of relating to seafood! read more

Hi there ! Here we are at one of the biggest buffets I've ever been to , and let me tell you it was an experience. First off the food was above average depending on the day . Seasoning is flavorful but also typical for the style of dish , the portions are off the charts even when they first open ( I know I went ). There are so manny options to choose from , a little bit of everything for your tastes. This includes a lovely sushi bar and drink bar on the side , the have a little gem that you may like if your looking for some fresh stir fry . The service is what you would expect kind , sweet , but eager to please . The waiters will not hesitate to turn the table lest you have a dessert plate ready. One thing I would say is that the ambiance though is tranquil and easygoing , there is a bit of tension in the air as I didn't see a lot of interaction between cooks and food preparation. It's almost like a low vibe , and they tend not to look at you unless you ask a question, but maybe that's how it is . Overall it's a splendid place for drink and some great food , the price is what you make it. Enjoy !!! read more

I came here for my birthday with semi high expectations because of all the people raving about how good it was. I was sorely disappointed in a lot of aspects. Not sure if it was the hype so my bar was raised too high or if it was an off night for them. Either way for the price and quality I don't think I'll be back. First impressions: upon entering it looks like a pretty decent establishment, lots of space, but probably poor design of the food set up as for the lobster & crab leg lines were huge and blocked others path to reach the other food in the area. We were led to a table not quite by the door but in the direct path when it opened. So everytime someone came in or left we got blasted with cold air. On top of that we were chocked out with cigarette smoke which is not a pleasant taste with he food. Servers/bussers: They were around, really good about clearing dishes, not so good about keeping drinks full, ours ran dry a few times. As we wrapped up our eating they were really good about bringing the check out and we didn't have to wait around too long. Food: I'm not sure how to describe it, I love seafood and sushi.... but their seafood was not rotated nearly enough, sitting under the heat lamps for who knows how long and occasionally giving it a stir to appear fresher had me iffy on even touching some of it. Most was very rubbery in texture. When it came to the sushi I had the same issue. Even some of the sushi/rolls that were made fresh and just placed out just did not look the best, however, it wasn't too bad. Some pieces had a funky aftertaste that made me highly skeptical. My bf who normally isn't picky but is not a fan of seafood had the normal stuff, which he says wasn't very good, not too much flavor or way over cooked from sitting under the heat lamps. Mind you we did not come at a slow time, food should have been rotating fairly quickly due to the amount of people in the place, but it wasn't. I think what topped off this sub par experience was a couple next to us was in and out within 10 mins... they were 100% not happy and also commented on how the food was pretty much inedible. For the $30+/per person you spend to eat there the quality should be regulated a little bit better. Just my opinion though. Maybe if it changes anytime or if friends really want to meet up to go I'll consider going back. But I will not be returning voluntarily as there is waaaaay better food in the area for about the same price or cheaper with much better quality. read more

I went there a couple times. Food was great. I recommend this will fit a little expensive food is good.

Gone down hill. Used to come here for years with our family. Today's visit really showed how this place has changed, in a bad way. I hope you guys pick it up and be great again! read more

Royal keeps their eating areas clean which was the first thing I noticed, especially post-full quarantine era. A big selection of food too. An area for Mongolian bbq, a big wall of sushi, a line for fresh crab legs, the furthest wall has Chinese food, American inspired food, desserts, and even to order crepes. A cool feature the restaurant has is a bar. Usually I don't see alcohol served at buffets but that's awesome to have. I would say though, make sure to time it right. It can be really busy where lines are long during peak times but also past peak times, some of the buffet is a little cold. The food was still pretty good even though cold so that goes to show the quality of it but that's just a downside of the buffet style and also a little pricey, but besides that, I would definitely and will definitely come back! read more

Great selection of food. All well prepared and taste good. Use caution when selecting the raw oysters. The sashimi was good. No complaints.

The food was very good for the price! Very wide assortment!Crab Legs, Mongolian Barbecue, huge shrimp!!!!!!!!

So we went to visit this buffet for Mother's Day. We anticipated the long food line and the inability to keep the place clean. And that didn't really bother us. . The main thing that turned me off about this place was. My mother who is 74 years old gave her card before we were seated on a table because she wanted to beat us into paying. She then told the busser or waitress? I dnt m know what you call those ppl who cleans the tables and charge the table. While my mother hasn't even eaten yet and gone to the bathroom with my little niece. One of the busser asked her how much she wants to put on the card. My mother told me that they asked her if she wants to put $50 on the card. My mom then refused and told her she was going to sign it later because she needed to go to the bathroom. When my mom told me this I was turned off and told her to have me look at the receipt instead of her. Upon check out. My mother showed me the receipt.finally was able to give the tip. and the lady upon taking the receipt. Looked at it and said she needed more. I asked why? Did you guys serve us? Did you wait in the long line for us? They served us drinks and I didn't even see them clean up our food until we were finished and was ready to pay. I was going to give more due to it being Mother's Day but because of the attitude that they demanded $50 from my mother as tip before she even started to enjoy her food. She hasn't even washed her hands yet. I understand that it's busy and there were many ppl but demanding a large tip because my mother was old and willing to pay ahead of time was wrong. read more

Only One Thing to Say: NEVER AGAIN! This place is WAY overpriced and the food quality/preparation is, at best, poor. I just ate their Tuesday evening meal. Had I known ahead of time how much they charge for the weekday evening meal, I never would have set foot in the place! $37.00 for a Buffet??? A family would go bankrupt eating an evening meal there! They seated me right up against the bar, where it was so dark I couldn't see what was on my plate, even though they had plenty of open seating areas available in the well-lighted section. I selected some of their huge-size shrimp that had been coated with tempura batter coating, and the shrimp were so dried out it took me almost 15 minutes to peel the five shrimp I had on my plate. The shells were cooked onto the meat, and were so badly dried out that I almost tossed them in the trash instead of taking the time and effort to peel them. (And All of the trays of shrimp looked that way.) The business also tries to make it look like they have a larger variety of food items than they really do, by having multiple locations of exactly the same food item scattered around their multitude of buffet serving tables/trays, which were NOT being kept warm at all! I counted six warming trays of the same jumbo tempura shrimp, five identical trays of boiled shrimp, at least four trays of identical mollusk preparations, and several trays of fried shrimp scattered throughout, just to name a few. Beef, pork, and chicken trays were only minimally represented, but they DID have some kind of small (3"-4" width shell/body) whole reddish-looking crabs. Food needing to be served warm/hot was COLD! Mollusks were rubbery and hard to chew because of the coldness. Overall a VERY BAD impression was made, for a supposedly "High-priced/high-quality" establishment. Needless to say, I will NEVER eat there again! I consider their prices tantamount to "Highway Robbery"! My recommendation: find a Steakhouse somewhere. It'll be CHEAPER and better prepared/served food! ( They DID agree to take $5 off their ridiculous $37 charge, for being a Veteran. The food STILL wasn't worth $32.00 at the Discounted rate!) Master Sgt, US Air Force, Retired/Veteran. read more

I like it. There are of food can choose very delicious with good quality. I like the fishes and snow crabs. my friend like the stir fry very fresh. they also have a lot of alcohol to choose. Qingdao beer, plum wine... will go back. read more

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Decent food especially if you eat the seafood. I'd say if you're here for seafood, the price seems appropriate. What I didn't like was the lady being pushy about leaving a tip. This is a buffet after all. For those of you who don't know, the waitresses don't receive any of the tip that you leave. The tip goes directly to the business owner. This is how Chinese buffets work. These works are usually illegal immigrants or indentured servants. Just say no to tipping pressure. read more

Monday evening, my husband and I decided to go to eat sushi.. choice was the Royal Buffet... we'r so happy that we can finally DINE IN after pandemic.. we came at 7:30 pm, maybe like 5-6 tables eating, so they are not busy .. the food choice was really good , some sushi was out but I understand we came late. Not a big deal. We sit down, our waitress put her hands on the table and leaned close to me. I pushed back the chair as if letting her know so that she would keep her distance. okay. I asking for a Mai Tai cocktail which was on the menu but I don't why our waitress said they can't make a cocktail now. I asked for a tea. I saw crab legs on each table but I didn't see them on the buffet , so my husband decided to go and ask the kitchen employees. They gave him some legs , not enough for both of us to be honest.. So I decided to go and ,check maybe I can get some , especially we came for sushi and snow crab legs .. After three minutes waiting and stuff is not paying attention on me at all, I finally was lucky to get attention of one guy which told me legs need like five more min to be cooked . Great , mission completed , I went back to my table and started to wait . While I'm waiting one of the waitresses started to clean the tables with BLEACH! Smell of the bleach simply killed all appetite! Common. I Understand they need to close soon , but you still have people eating in the dining room! The couple In front of us complained about the bleach smell too... They started to mop the floor!!! With bleach too!!! You close at 9pm!! It still was 8pm ! The SIDE WORK must be done when all the GUESTS ARE OUT OF THE RESTAURANT! ITS DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Horrible.. my husband went to the buffet to check if the crab legs are ready, and guess what : they told my husband that they are out of the legs for tonight. He came back. And than we see that the lady from the table behind us is going to the buffet and gets the carb legs . I started to laugh . My husband got upset, drive 30 min to the restaurant and leave hungry? Wtf Carl? So i decided to ask our waitress if she can go check on those crab legs. She gave a worse look ever, she said something like "no pss". I turned around, saw the face of my husband , than turned back to her and asked to call me a manager. She seems to be confused, yes dear that's not the attitude you give to the clients !!!!' Manager came , apologized, gave us 20% of the bill which we didn't ask for , it's nice but honestly after all this experience this 20% is nothing. I left 2.94 $ for the service I got . Usually I tip more than 25% . Have nothing to say. Maybe because they were closed for couple months they forgot what customer service is . And btw, as for me , the distance between us and table behind us was way less than 6 ft. Stay safe read more

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I was wondering how Royal Buffet was going to be like reopening during COVID-19. Here is how it is. Tables are spaced out, no hand sanitizer on tables and they are using cups instead of water bottles which are refilled using pitchers. Hand sanitizer is available in a few locations around the buffet, but it would have been nice to have them at each table since it is still self-serve. Service is largely the same. It's still-self serve with social distancing enforced. It is encouraged to use hand sanitizer before you grab any of the serving tongs, but the first time I went I didn't even see the station because they don't stick out. Everyone is required to wear masks except while you are eating at your table. Staff is wearing masks and gloves. No temperature checks. It really feels like they are doing the bare minimum of safety measures to open up. I understand that opening a buffet would be difficult to do during a pandemic to keep everyone and everything safe, but it definitely feels like they could be doing more in terms of safety measures. read more

Food was definitely delicious! and the waiters came by every few minutes and we're really nice! People are complained on how service was horrible but it was the opposite! There was music and the place was absolutely beatiful with a little water fountain with fish and turtles! read more

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The selection was incredible. Love the way the chef cut fresh sashimi to order a tuna.. The dim sum was amazing. The variety and quality could not be matched. read more

DONT GO HERE ! WORST DINNING EXPERIENCE EVER ! 0 stars ! Food was cold , Every dish looked like it had been sitting there for a long time and not swapped out ! Meat was raw and chicken wasn't even fresh! Staff was rude! And to top it off the waitress was Speaking to us in Spanish which in fact is racially profiling us as well as hovering over my table forcing us to give her a tip that she did not deserve ! Do not recommend coming here unless you want to be paying $100+ for horrible food /service ! . I will be contacting The Cook County Department of Public Health about this restaurant the food safety is ridiculous I refuse to see our community get food born illness. You need to do better ! such disappointment read more