HomeTown Buffet

I do not understand the poor reviews. Every time we’ve eaten here it’s been fine. Clean, well stocked. It must have changed hands or something.

Sub par food and average service.
Most of the food is very dry and kind of old but the fried chicken is pretty good. Hash browns are also decent. I would stay away from the sausage, meat looks pretty fishy to me.
The cleanliness could definitely be better, especially the bathrooms and floors near the salad area. There was a little overflowing water on the floor at the salad bar when I last went around May 2015.
Service is ok, considering the cheap price. Wait times are also pretty low, you get seated within 2 – 3 minutes max.
Overall a solid two star.

Ughhhh… drive by it! I should’ve kept driving.
Went here out of desperation. I had just driven 3 hours to visit my sibling. It reminds you of Old Country Buffet. But the food looked like it had been sitting there for 12 hours under the heat lamps. The chicken had a rubber like texture and was salty. Actually all the food was salty. The drinking cups look like they’ve been used since 1970. They are old, faded and grungy. The horrific part is the bathroom. They clearly don’t clean the place. And the back of the toilets have dried up poop stains. Will not come back.

I generally enjoy a buffet of this nature. A wide variety so everyone gets what they want. Plus, a great dessert when you are almost too full to eat anymore.
However, when we walked in I walked passed 12 dirty tables with piles of plates on each one. With kids I would have preferred a table closer you the buffet and front door.
Oh and please clean your bathrooms. Preform a bathroom check on a regular basis (every 15 minutes or hourly at the least). After getting off work, picking up kids, and finally getting to the restaurant I had no choice but to use your restroom. They were NASTY. The smell, broken toilet, and the other two or three working toilets were filled with poop inside AND out.
Had I not already paid I would have left. My stomach turned and I didn’t even have an appetite after my experience.
During our meal none of our plates were removed.
My family of four will not be returning to this restaurant at all. I will spend money at a place that cares about hospitality.

Definitely a last resort. Came here on a whim to see what they had to offer; I wasn’t impressed. The food was very limited in options and not very well cooked, extending into the dessert selections, which were actually O. K, but again not very diverse or well prepared. I’m not coming back even for free.

Restaurant review
I agree this place has taken a change for the worst. We went for lunch this past Sunday. Somehow there was sections of the buffet that had no food. The popular parts of the salad bar stood empty for the entire meal. The fruit plates were also empty for most of the meal and only refilled toward the end. Lunch time options is abysmal due to cost cutting there was only fried chicken, orange chicken, a pulled pork sandwich, and taco bar. There was also chicken pot pie, but again this was out for a prolong period of time. You had customers standing by the buffet table complaining about getting a refund. On top of all this the ice cream machine is broken and the one that was working had vanilla flavor only. No sugar free option. Overall the value of eating here has gone down significantly. I will not be back.
Pros: none
Cons: lot of empty spaces for food, slow food preparation, very limited options at lunch, broken ice cream machine
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I used to be a ‘regular” but my circumstances have changed that.
I think they try really hard. The servers and staff are very friendly.
It is disappointing when they stop serving favorites like: Bean soup on Thursday;
fudge; sweet potatoes.
The honeydew melon is always good.
Breakfast isnt bad, if you have your eggs prepared fresh for you.
We like to eat breakfast there instead of the Ryans because they have toasters, and Ryans does not.
It is a good value when you have a coupon.

The employees and management have always been great! The biggest change I have noticed is the quality of food has gone downhill. Just in the last few weeks they eliminated steak from the menu. Other foods has been deleted as well which makes value for the buffet a huge concern. If you compare this buffet to either Golden Corral or Coyote Canyon, Hometown Buffet lags behind in both quality and value for your dollar.

Horrible food quality, the place has really declined over the years in quality while the price remains the same. The variety was limited for it being a Friday night. I was embarrassed for bringing my girlfriend to this place as her first American food experience. The food was not well stocked, I will not be coming back.

Run of the mill American Buffet.
Good value and selection.
Will return in the future.

My fiancé both got sick after eating here. The cashier/​manager over charged us until we realized it and got our money back. Then after stepping into the dining room, we should have turned around. It was the most disgusting ‘restaurant’ I have ever seen. We were searching for a table with two chairs that didn’t have food and waste all over it even though ¼ the restaurant was filled with people. It was understaffed to say the least. The buffet was not refilled often. The food at the buffet was disgusting. No wonder we both got sick for weeks. Will never be returning here. If you want to get sick, come on in.

The only thing i liked was the waffle fries and ranch. Overpriced gutbusting dreck. I convince myself to come back every year or so and always regret it a few bites in. Cleaner than Ryans ythough.

So many error made by the cashier but the manager fixed it up quickly (without a receipt though as I would have liked). The foods were a-​okay. I didn’t each much. The quality didn’t seem that great and there was only pineapple served as fruits (no melons, no watermelon, etc.) The salad was sparse. Other reviewers were right– foods were salty though I think mostly with seafood. Eh.
Oh and I ended up with diarrhea for the next 24 hours. Some people in my group did, too. Not sure what it was in their foods that caused such indigestion.

Walked in. For one senior, three adults, and four kids they were going to charge us $ 75. We turned around and walked out. Plus the kid working the register was rude to my father-​in-​law.
Mahalo, and avoid.

I got food poisoning here and was sick for hours after I ate. No thank you!

Ewwwww. My grandpa practically lives here (hello, embodying stereotype). Hometown Buffet is inherently depressing if only based upon the clientele — it’s all the town’s elderly and low-​income folks plus country hicks that make the drive special just for hometown. I felt inappropriately dressed, as we were heading to a Christmas party after and my jeans + heels + blouse made me feel like I was begging for attention or something (for the record, I was underdressed for the party. Can’t win ‘em all).
Jodi is the sweetest in the world. She always takes care of my grandpa.
It’s not that the food is horrible, it’s just that it is what it is and the ambiance doesn’t help it any. We always humor him when we’re in town, but if it weren’t for that I wouldn’t dream of stepping foot in this place.

They have an Icee machine with blue, red, and coke icees, which my son loved! Good place to take a picky toddler to eat where there are lots of choices. Otherwise, I’d skip it. The food is pretty bland and although there is a good selection, not as many healthy options as I’d like to see.

Went here last week for the first time in years. Seems like this place is not as well maintained as it was in the past. They also now charge for drinks.

I’ve always thought of Hometown Buffet as a glorified dorm cafeteria. Since sophomore year at Illinois, I’d make the trek out to Hometown if I felt in the mood for all-​you-​can eat, American style buffet.
There aren’t many gems in this place, but there sure are a TON of options. I’ve never left this place feeling like I should’ve ate more. I haven’t really enjoyed any of the special nights, but I suppose when your’e in the mood for some food without strings attached, this is the place to go.
There are other places that I prefer on most days, but I’ve never been disappointed by Hometown Buffet.