China Buffet
| Address: | 3720 Mayfair St, Durham, NC 27707, USA |
| Phone: | +1 919-403-7878 |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 11
A
A Private User
This place is LOUSY. We were drawn in by the neon lights surrounding the building that can be seen from the highway. We went on a Friday at 6:30pm (should have been prime time for hot fresh dishes). The buffet even looked promising at first glance and we were excited. Weve eaten at TONS Asian restaurants all over the county over the years (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, etc.). This place is terrible. There was virtually NOTHING good on the buffet. The soup tasted like really bad tap water; sweet and sour chicken was just plain bad (the chicken tasted like it was possibly expired and the breading had no flavor at all); all other fried chicken dishes were soggy and ordinary; veggie dishes were way overcooked; the rest of the selections followed this trend. The only semi-palatable thing we had was the sushi; it wasnt bad for a Chinese buffet. Sushi was cold, fresh, and overall decent for this type of restaurant. But that was literally the only redeeming quality of this place. We will not return. People that rate this place as good obviously have horrible taste and have never experienced a truly good Chinese buffet. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.
A
A Private User
I moved to Durham in 2007 from Raleigh and had a pretty high standard of good chinese buffets from a couple of favorite places. By far, this is the best Buffet Ive ever seen. There are so many options its crazy. Sushi Bar, normal fare, seafood cooked a variety of ways, soup bar (they make it fresh in front of you), bowl bar (build your own bowl and they cook it). This is all included in the buffet. On top of that their food just tastes less greasy than most places. There staff is quick, courteous, and with over 20 visits to their place my drink has never gone dry. They cover each other like a team. I know that sounds silly for a buffet but thats part of why I like this place so much. Their takeout prices are very reasonable. I got a good chunk of food the only time Ive done take out and was kinda shocked when it was $6. They also remember their regulars and will greet you by name. Its how a restaurant should be run!
MI
mimicat333
We walked in about the lunch time when the food should be nice and fresh. But to our surprise, the food was dry and lots of them had this leftover looks. Didnt look appetizing at all. To make things even worse was the waitress, she didnt bring us water or any utensils until we asked twice!! And she was not busy serving other people, instead, she was playing with her cell phone......unbelievable! The last straw was the sushi bar. We found hairs in it.....Its not like a bug or anything like that, but this and that adding together pretty much says all about a restaurant quality. So the verdict is my friends and I will never go there again. Period!
A
A Private User
Ive been eating here for at least 7 years. By far my favorite restaurant. Yes there are times when the service was off, usually on a busy night such as Friday or Saturday. But about 95% of the time its perfect. Perfect to the point that my glass never gets near empty and they are taking the plates as soon as you get up for seconds. $10 bucks for a buffet that includes all the sushi you can eat, Id say that sounds pretty good to me. Best time to come is right when dinner starts at 4:00, usually all the food is fresh and theres normally plenty of sushi at that time. If you like Chinese food and sushi, Id say absolutely give it a chance.
A
A Private User
Stay away from the dessert bar. I know jello cheesecake squares when I see them no matter how prettily they are decorated. Gave three stars for the sushi bar and for the staff which is both efficient and invisible. Silently, they slide by to refill your drink and swoop your dirty plate off the table. Their selection is wide but shallow. Ive tried everything they have, and found some of it to be inedible. I once had to get rid of a vegetable roll in a napkin because I just couldnt chew the dang thing anymore and it was too big to swallow. They raised the price a few months ago, so I havent gone in there as often.
FA
FANIE Ponce
Use to be one of my favorite places to eat. The sushi is great as well as the food, but the servers try to rush things too quickly so they can leave and not clean up. They use very harsh smelling disinfectant to clean the table why you eat and that is a huge turn off. You shouldnt do that while the customers are trying to enjoy your food! And they didnt apologize, they only laughed about it. We talked to the manager too but to no avail she also kept smiling and saying "its okay its okay no chemicals". Im not returning until they fix their problem.
JE
Jennifer Tuck
Wanted to try a new Chinese place, I was a little weary of the reviews... but Im glad I decided to try it. Cant see it from the main road and its a bit rough on the outside, but the food was very good. I followed other reviews and went in tonight at 5pm and there was plenty of HOT& FRESH food to choose from. Plenty of choices at the buffet from fresh fruit to an assortment of Chinese dishes. The scallion chicken and fried dumplings were on point!! Lots of sushi choices and a Habachi grill. I am making a point to take my friends to this place.
DA
Danielle Peters
Really cheap food, the sushi is alright but the rest is a bit sketchy. It seems like everything is slathered in MSG and some weird viscose clear syrup. Even the "steamed" beans were covered in it and gave them a weird flavor. The staff are nice though and did good filling and keeping up with drinks. Probably the only MAJOR nasty i saw was a kid LICKING the ice cream faucet in the machine. Cant blame the restaurant for that but I didnt see anyone cleaning it after either.
FO
Fortier Events
Ok so I rarely post reviews but I feel like this place totally deserves it. Im giving 5 stars. The servers were so pleasant and polite. Everything was clean and well stocked, despite being in the middle of the dinner rush. With a variety of options, including many chinese dishes Id never heard of, theres something for everyone. The sushi bar was great, as well as the hibachi, and a noodle soup bar (try the roasted duck noodle soup!) I was very pleased. Great little place!
SE
Sean Baek
Unless you are there during busy hours, expect sub-par Chinese cuisine that has been sitting in a buffet bar. The food is okay, when its hot. 80% of the dishes are your usual Chinese buffet fare. They have a sushi bar, but dont expect much, its quite confused in its offers and the chef will eyeball you the whole time waiting for a tip. The servers are prompt though. I got my check 20 minutes after I sat down. They seemed keen on getting us out as fast as possible.
MA
MAGGIE MCKEAN
Supposed to be a chinese retsraunt but only see hispanic. I have nothing against hispanic my bf is mexican but they cant cook chinese or at least these idiots cant. this place sucks my mexican bf will eat anything n even he says this place is no good. Rude staff discusting food cant even cook a damn egg roll right. Better go to a chinese take out probably have better luck. Sushi made me sick. Threw up on my way home. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME!
