Food 3/5 Service 3/5 Ambiance 3/5 Going to a buffet, you don't really expect too much. You expect lots of cheap food, and World Buffet delivers on that promise. It's a small buffet with a decent selection of options, some of which actually stand out in a good way. There's a good barbecue chicken reminiscent of bourbon chicken that I got seconds of. But most of the food there is quite middling - the lo mein had a few cold spots, the veggies could have been executed a bit better, and the crab rangoons could have definitely been filled more. Overall, it averages out to a solid 3/5 review. Meets expectations for a buffet. read more

Food/Taste/Flavor: 4/5 - their chicken wings were surprisingly good as well as the short rib. Avoid the sushi section as the items were not fresh and the rice were quite hard. Service: 4/5 - quick service but definitely not the most friendly. When we were checking out, we were confused at the pricing since we were charged more than expected but the server wouldn't explain in English and kept defaulting to Chinese. Ambiance: n/a - packed a to go box. Value for price: 3/5 - for how much we were charged, should have just ordered a dish rather than packing our own food. read more

World Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The food was ok, I was looking for a bam of flavor with each food selection but it was more bland. There's more desserts than anything else.

One of the worst buffet in Madison. Not rotated. No service to speak of. The place is cold and lifeless. Avoid

Macy the waitress was excellent. Was attentive to the needs of guests of all age. My friend was using a walker and she accommodated his needs. Near by a guest with a cane cane in, she did the same. A crying toddler. She was on top of it all. She even had a great smile. Humming while working. Beautiful voice. We hope she's there again when we go back b read more

Sunday night buffet. Very large selection of foods on the buffet that were gluten free for me. Service was great. Our waitress helped in choices. Nice ambiance in booths away from the food. Pricey, but worth it for the huge selection of dishes. We shall return. read more

Decent Chinese food. Lots of options. Kind of "Jack of all trades; master of none" type of deal. Not bad for the price.

Overall pretty happy with my take out order! I enjoyed being able to try multiple different dishes (there are a little of two different dishes hiding under the string beans) for a cheap price ($11). They had run out of a few dishes I was hoping to try, so that was my only critique. Everything was tasty. I will probably go here again the next time I want Chinese but don't want to commit to a $40 take out order. read more

World Buffet - a plate of chinese food - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This is my favorite "low brow" sushi place!! Due to the pandemic, we have been getting takeout and the way they get our sushi rolls ready is nothing short of art. Also, they always custom make a few vegetarian rolls and I can't be happier with their food!! read more

World Buffet - a tray of sushi and vegetables - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

A decent choice for a buffet that edges out its sister restaurant in Monona. Food-wise it's pretty identical, but the ambiance is much, much better. In the former Pedro's space behind the mall, this World Buffet is lighter, brighter, and more updated. Items and areas are more clearly labeled, and there are some nice touched like wall art and a koi pond. The food is pretty identical to Monona, but with a few more choices. There's a soup bar, stir fry area, sushi bar, several areas for your Chinese food standards, and a bunch of desserts. The items seemed a little fresher than our visits to the other location, but we were also there on Christmas day so turnover was probably higher than average with the movie theater just down the road. Our server was kind and quick with drinks. The "sesame" chicken from the other location was called pepper chicken here (which makes sense since it's coated with pepper and has no trace of sesame I've ever seen); unfortunately it seemed to be made with chewy dark meat, though, instead of the white meat version I had previously. The sushi looked a little better and held up more, but the sweet potato roll I tried threw me for a loop by being topped with orange roe. I thought that might be what it was, but shrugged it off since it was their veggie offering of the day. Once I started chewing, though, the fishy taste confirmed my hunch. I never would have eaten fish eggs on my own (I don't really enjoy anything that comes out of the sea), so I guess I can scratch that off my unintentional bucket list. The westside location is a little more expensive than the older Monona location, but honestly the extra buck or two might be worth the upgrade in ambiance. Don't forget to check in on the Yelp app for a dollar off, good for up to four adults! read more

We are all about supporting businesses now more than ever, and trying to be cut slack where we can. They have raised their prices (understandable), but $16 for what I do get here is way too much, ESPECIALLY when they can't even include a drink. The drinks are only $1.50, so you really can't work that into pricing? I'm a fellow business owner, so that's something I just don't understand. They also don't mention until you are paying, that now they charge a convenience fee for cards. The prices on your check only reflect that price if you pay in cash. Well, first off, I didn't expect to pay $51 for a Chinese buffet for 2 adults and a child, so no, I do not have cash on me. It was so packed in there, and they actually had arrows on the floors to keep the flow going, but no one was paying attention to that, so I felt like I was going in circles to try and get the one item I wanted from that section. read more

This is our family's go-to Chinese buffet. Since we rarely agree on Chinese takeout, this is the best bang for our buck. Honestly, the food is not the worst I have ever had! In fact, the sushi bar here is better if not comparable to some of the sushi restaurants in town. Of course there are the Americanized, sweet/fried options, but there is a solid salad and fruit bar and Mongolian Grill (fill a bowl with ingredients and it will be cooked on a flat top grill.) The restaurant is bright and clean, as are the bathrooms. Lol. A cute Koi pond with turtles is a nice distraction for kids and the staff is polite and efficient. If you are curious about a buffet but were leery to try one, you will be fine if you come here. read more

World Buffet - Koi pond! - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I think once you figure out what you really like here you are all into it. To be honest, I never thought I would have liked it the way I do. It has some features I find appealing and it makes me come back all the time. You don't need to wait at the table for something that who knows you might like or not. I love I can go and choose what I really like by myself. Staff is always friendly. They have a wonderful variety of SUSHI people! Do you know how much you would spend in 3-4 sushi rolls in another restaurant? BIG bucks! besides, they keep making the rolls fresh right before your eyes and you can eat as much as you like, WOW, for me, that's a ginormous reason to come back. Some of the things I recommend are, besides the sushi of course, the seafood delight (crab meat, shrimp, broccoli, carrots in a white tasty sauce) fried rice, the green beans, crab meat salad (creamy and kind of sweet) and my favorite desserts, the sesame balls with a red bean filling (believe me, I almost cry when I don't see them in the tray, they are sooo good) and the chocolate ice cream, they both make a sparkling combination and for me it's the best part! ;) read more

World Buffet - Sesame balls with a red bean filling (my absolute faveee) and chocolate ice cream - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Normal, nothing special Chinese buffet that's costed 30 dollars for 2 people. YIKES! Too bad because I live right next to it and we love our Chinese food but not for $30!!! read more

I really like the pho that you can make yourself (: Good price too for all you can eat!

Beware!! They charge 3% fee for using any type of card regardless debit or not. Weekday dinner was too expensive, for there was not a whole lot of choice. Service was horrible. I had to fine server couple times to ask for drinks. I had 10 people on the table. They only come to the table to collect your plates, rather the customers needs. SMH.. The front desk lady is rude! The staffs have no customer service experience. read more

This place gives Journey a run for their money. It offers up a pretty good selection of your standard chinese-american fare. They have a mongolian stir-fry, noodle bar and a sushi dude rollin "fresh" rolls. The sushi is about what you'd expect from a grocery store. The General Tso chicken is up there with the best of them. The noodle bar is pretty solid. They offer udon and glass noodles, tripe, "beef balls" and other meat products as well as an assortment of veggies. After the Noodleman boils up your selections you choose what to add from the basket of sauces and oils. Not too bad. They don't have soft serve ice cream. Instead they have a selection of single serve ice cream cups. They had some roasted duck sitting out on the counter. I wasn't brave enough to try it though... All in all this spot has everything you'd need to make it your westside go to chinese buffet. Check in on Yelp and get $3 off 2 adult buffets! read more

World Buffet - Don't feed the first in the secret zone! - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

My infatuation with buffet should come as no surprise to anyone but I steer clear from ones that do not have a good standing in the crowd. A little hesitant at first as this joint is rated Average, but, we still did muster up our optimism and ventured to this joint for Dinner. Now, their prices for Lunch and Dinner if I recollect were $8ish and $14ish respectively. That's a considerable bump so one would expect better quality and options when planning a Dinner trip. Alas, it wasn't so. Ambiance : Clean and pleasant with a cute little koi pond at the entrance! Service : Swift and unobtrusive Food : Majority of the food was still "leftovers" from Lunch that they didn't bother on replenishing. We didn't see any "Special" dishes to elevate the whole Dinner idea, the ones that had Dinner stuck on them were more "meh" like a different version of shrimp or chicken. The Variety on offer was average and certainly NOT the largest local buffet as they claim. The Quality was OK but we didn't get to try quite a lot of them as they were still waiting on their turn to be restocked. The one highlight of the meal was Sushi. Quite easily one of the best "Buffet" Sushi's I've had. If you were to give this place a try, I'd say skip Dinner and save those extra bucks. read more

Standard Chinese American Buffet fare... The staff is courteous and seems eager to please. The food is pretty much the same as you'll see at most buffets in Madison, just with a bit more selection. The mongolian grill is solid, the general tso's chicken is the best I've had at a buffet - good chunks of quality chicken instead of the sauce and breading trying to hide gristly cuts. Ultimately the rest of the "Chinese" dishes are not particularly good, but if you fill up on the solid salad bar, some sushi, the potstickers (very good), and other random items like fruit (large selection) and the very buttery garlic bread, you'll at least fill yourself up. Lunch pricing with soft drink ends up being 11.33 after tax, which is barely worth it at lunch on a weekday. The dinner and weekend pricing is not worth the price read more

Decors looks great from the inside. However, I'm disappointed on their food selection, they don't have your typical raw sushi especially the tuna which I look forward every time I travel to various states. They need a proper place to store their cleaning materials instead of leaving it out in the open. Lastly, they need to play some music, as the ambiance is down right depressing without it. read more

First time here and hands down a new favorite. From the noodle bar, to fresh sushi. Also, I got a steak to order over a flame broiled grill! Deliouses read more

The worse service the worse food 30 bucks for two people never in my life again ... YUCK Food was cold waitress ignored my child and I table was never cleared... it was a horrible... never recommending this restaurant to no one.. read more

World Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This place is pretty solid. Everything was pretty tasty. A lot of your usual Chinese buffet foods - done acceptably. Nothing was like zomg delicious, but if you're ever unsure what to eat, this place gives you a nice eclectic Asian palate. Meaty stuff, veggie stuff, seafoody stuff. The sushi was pretty good too.. I liked how the rice was still soft. Nothing fancy, but definitely .. again.. solid. :) Everything here didn't seem like it was sitting out for awhile (except for the mashed potatoes-- which tasted like the boxed kind which was childhood nostalgia for me). Food were all hot/decently warm. It's as clean as I would expect from a Chinese buffet. Bonus, I liked how bright this place was. Waitstaff was kind. Not hoovery. I would come here again. read more

I like to stop her for takeout and it usually is decent; however, you need to double-check the cost. Last time they charged me $8 for .81lb of food. It seemed high, so I went back to check the lunch price. It was $6.85 a pound since I didn't have a pound I asked for my money. The owner screamed and said, "You want my money," and threw $2 at me which was still less than I was due and angrily said to leave. read more

Came for lunch on 4-13 and while waiting to be seated I watched as mice were running around the floor. Really used to like this place but won't be back anytime soon. read more

The food is fresh; they're open late and on most holidays. The price is reasonable, but I wish they'd offer coupons as they did in the past. Get a punch card for a free visit. Great selection, and there's plenty of seating. Nicely decorated with an indoor fountain and fish/turtle pool ( WARNING THE TURTLES BITE!) read more

I have to recalibrate. I had thought any Chinese buffet is good anytime, because you can go around and pick away at stuff and get a wide range of interesting flavors and a bounty of varied nutrition, just by being selective. This was before I went to this Chinese buffet at 4pm on a Tuesday. That there were only a couple cars in the parking lot should have screamed 'Danger Will Robinson' but I had a $1 Yelp coupon. 4pm is "dinner", so it costs more than "lunch" but at 4pm what they do is scrape together what was left over from lunch in the trays into piles. Isolated piles of things left over from lunch, and the heating pans can't keep things warm enough. Still, the discerning pickmeister who is only interested in a few bites of wide-ranging and tasty nutrition has a chance, with the immense range of offerings at a place like this. The green beans with onion were solid; the hot&sour and egg drop soups were kept hot; the two sashimi offerings were very thin but very nice. Everything else was questionable, to dubious, to atrocious. A huge pile of crawfish looking red and glistening - - the worst crawfish I've ever had - - the meagre tails were dry, off-tasting and tough; most of the entrees in the pans were not only way past their lunchtime prime, but were lukewarm and very, very tired after their long afternoon; they had a huge roast beef looking thing but the colors were downright scary - - it looked horror show, really - - so I didn't try it; a blast of kimchi hopefully to live things up was old and room-temperature and just plain off; the glop that they put in the hot stuffed mussels tasted especially gloppy, and the pork dish tasted like, I'm sorry, like something from the hog's netherest regions. Everything on the plate was extremely hit or miss - - the range running between somehow barely edible to badly, badly flawed. Weird too, was being seated as the only person in one section directly across from the forlorn soup chef with nothing to do - - he was hunched in a chair directly across from me, and just stared at me as I was eating. One bright moment was following a server just coming in from the kitchen and refreshing the fried fish tray - - so by avoiding the one piece of fish left over from earlier, and taking a piece straight from the kitchen, this fried fish was zesty, tasty, lovely texture - - a real joy. I tried following around the server when he came from the kitchen after that, but didn't have the same luck when he seemed to be basically just re-arranging the vegetable lo mein into a fresher-looking pile, and although the new tray of peanut butter chicken did look fresh and hot, we are still talking peanut butter chicken here. So - - this is a general truth - - eat at places where the turnover is HIGH, and they do each aspect of the offerings decidedly WELL - - and never go to a buffet when the parking lot is empty. read more

- Food was terrible; gave my friend and I horrible stomach aches. - Very over-priced. - Saw a half bitten-into dessert that somebody put back onto the buffet table. - When asking the guy who was making the sushi about one of the sushi rolls, he just side glanced me and mumbled some incoherent response to my question. - I almost slipped on a large puddle of water in the middle of the floor. They had no signs up warning people of the large puddle and no one showed any intention of cleaning it up. - Saw a little girl take a hard fall when she slipped on the same aforementioned puddle of water that still nobody had cleaned up yet. I will never return and I highly advise everyone to steer clear of this restaurant. It was just a hot mess. read more

Ahh, World Buffet... You are just perfect for those lazy, I-don't-care kind of nights. I just want to wear my t-shirt and eat your sushi with cream cheese and sauces thankyouverymuch. The lettuce from the salad bar is always cut way too huge. My boyfriend really enjoys watching me struggle to eat it. He prefers getting pho, which you can construct yourself and they will cook it for you on the spot. Aside from the dim sum section of the hot bar, we tend to stay away from it (mostly) because a lot of it is super greasy, overcooked food. Despite the fact that this buffet is just a little pricier than I would prefer, it's a pretty good go-to for those nights you're just feeling something more chill. read more

World Buffet - Sushi buffet :) - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This is my new standard for all Asian restaurants. It is a buffet which we do not do often but the food is so fresh. Not one thing on the menu could be faulted. And oh what a selection, it truly is a world buffet. Plenty of American cuisine along with your typical favorites like General Tsao chicken, peanut chicken, crab salad, chicken teriyaki, pepper chicken, etc. But how about a Mongolian grill and a sushi bar. The sushi rolls are made fresh right in front of you. The dinning room is beautiful with gorgeous chandeliers and the help is friendly. I must find something negative you say? OK, you have to pay an extra $.50 for an ice cream cup, really? Well I went without ice cream and if you know me that was no easy feat. But seriously you must go here and we will return read more

World Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The food is worse than it was a year ago. It is edible but nothing is delicious. The membership card is a lie. I forgot the and the owner said I could bring it and ask for a stamp the next time. I come here again but a waitress says NO! read more

Pro: Convenient, plenty of choices available, its affordable, carryout sushi is $8/lb! Con: Not the best English communication and buffets are hard to keep "feeling clean." (Not that World Buffet does a bad job with these two points... They are fighting an uphill battle since most of the employees are non-native and buffets are buffets) ;P read more

Ginormous buffet!! Everything looked so beautiful,fresh and delish...only problem was food was tepid at best. Sushi bar, noodle bar, Mongolian BBQ, Bao(sp?) But.....took a bite of something mis-marked and I must confess, I hid it in my napkin then ran to the bathroom to dispose of it because I didn't want to get caught wasting food. The chocolate pudding and brownie bite were my favorite as well as the red bean bun; yummmm read more

Do you like deep fried breaded meat in brown sauce? All the mayonnaise-doused sushi rolls you can cram into your gullet? Mashed potatoes and pizza for your picky child of a roommate who will still bitch the whole time about wanting a burger? HAVE I GOT THE PLACE FOR YOU Honestly if you are expecting fine dining at a 13 dollar Americanized Chinese buffet then you need your head checked. The sushi is OK, but there is quite a variety and it's out of the ordinary for a place like this. I see some rumblings about there not being enough variety but they easily have 4x more stuff out there than any Indian joint I've been to around here. It's a double edged sword though, lots of food = lots of old food. Go earlier. There are all sorts of condiments available. The noodle bar is nothing special, go to a Vietnamese place if you want some pho, you're here for General Tso and his lesser known cousin Mongolian Pork. read more

Food was pretty good and had a decent variety. Clean with a friendly staff who were decently attentive and were always there refilling or taking your plates away. Bathroom, at least the men's was clean with no "bathroom smell". Ultimatly the thing that knocked twos stars off was that some food, that should have been hot, was cold or warm. Over all a solid B- and a good place for a decent value cost read more

I went to World Buffet on Mothers Day to 499 D'Onofrio Dr. & it will not be happening again ever. I asked not up stairs. I can do 2 steps but not full stairs. And I asked for a table not a booth. The guy laughed. They seated a family of 3, then a family of 2 I watched the family of 2 go up 2 steps to a table. I looked the guy in the eye and he said we have no tables yet. And he laughed at me. I went back to my daughter out loud talking to her I said why don't we go to Journey on the East side of town where we can relax and Enjoy more these people are so RUDE. I am not spending my money in a place where people laugh at your requests. That is so very bad CUSTOMER SERVICE. I will never ever step foot in there ever again. I understand they were busy. Journey was even busier. But my requests were met with a smile. World Buffet you suck for customer service. read more

Been to Journey a handful of times, so I decided to try this place out to get my Chinese buffet fix. The overall experience was about what I expected. The place is clean and well lit. The food selection is not as good as Journey, but World Buffet still had a great selection to choose from. My schedule was a little weird, so I went in around 330. This made me weary of stale/cold food, but I was surprised that the place was relatively busy and food was as fresh as it could be. If I didn't have to take the belt line to get here, I would consider coming back. It is pretty cheap (25 for 2 with drinks), but I would choose Journey over it if you are on the East side of Madison. read more

Nice atmosphere. The food is always fresh when I go in. It's quiet enough to hold a conversation.

It seems getting worse now, the selection is very limited, with many empty pans. I don't think I will go back anymore!

Family member and I came here around 4:30. Got seated pretty quickly. The buffet is good sized. They have everything from sushi, sweet and sour fried pork, general tsos chicken(which tastes more like orange), smoked salmon. I liked the coconut shrimp and the lo mein noodles. It was the only thing decent. Everything else wasn't that great most things were just warm or cold. The dessert was probably the little highlight of it all. The pink and orange little cakes. It was steep on price for the lack of quality on the food. $31 for 2 "dinner" buffets. read more