Formosa Seafood Buffet

Not the best food quality, especially when compared to The Journey at E 96^th st. Food was burned in some instances, dry or just bad.

This is usually a 4-​star place for me, but today, u only get a 3! Came for late lunch (approx 2:50p) after my dr appt. Entrée dishes were old, dried out or empty. Had to wait 45 min for the fresh fried calamari to be restocked… worth the wait tho! I love this place coz I can sit, read, eat w/​o being bothered… free wifi too!

Horrible experience! Despite my table being dirty and sticky, they had no beef Chinese entrée, they were out of several items 2 hrs before close, table behind me complained the crab legs were out, took down the chocolate fountain 1 hr before close without informing us and when they put it back up for me, they had nothing but marshmallows to dip in it. Desserts were dry and tasteless. It was still $ 16/​person so NOT a good deal!

For the price, good value. Those low stars must have never been to a real bad Chinese buffets! I’m thankful for what they have to offer for the price they offer it.

Beautiful space upon walking in, as far as a buffet it is impressive. I expected the large size because I researched the reviews before coming here and it was just as many stated, I think a good word that was used was, «ambitious». Fellow Elite Unilocaler, Peter «Harpoon (3 stars = A Good Review)“P., sums up the description well and you should read his review for a great description like a 360 degree tour with words. Anyway, Formosa has more food than I have seen on a buffet, and more variety ever. It’s honestly a little overwhelming (pigs feet? Awesome!), but great because that means that I get to come back multiple times and have a chance of trying new foods each time! And service, my server met me with a smile, in fact, all of the staff did. And, she didn’t serve me like a typical buffet server might, just removing plates and not asking if I needed anything; she treated me like a server would at any other restaurant, asking checking back several times (cool points). I had read the reviews on the bathrooms (and yeah I saw them, one faucet was totaly disconnected); but they seemed clean enough, more like outdated, especially compared to the pretty glass bowl sinks. There was soap, smelled clean, working toilets, and no trash in the stalls… worked for me.
As for the buffet, I started with the sushi because that’s really what I wanted to know… could I get all I could eat sushi closer to home. They have a lot of sushi varieties and nigiri available and it all looked fresh, slightly chilled to touch. My first plate I was going to try some clams and some of the many MANY types of fish, flounder, differently prepared salmon, and muscles, and shrimp. And the first couple of sushi were doable, meh, ok. The rolls that were fried seemed like they were heavy on the breading and tasted like fried stuff does after it sat a tad too long and the others were heavy on sauce and maybe even rice. But, buffet sushi is a toss-​up. I’d eat it and I did. Alas, I got a couple of rolls where the fish was chewy and I lost all appetite for the rest of anything raw. So, I moved on to the hot foods and there were sooooo many choices I took a bit of everything, from corn on the cob and pork chops to my favs like sweet and sour chicken and General Tso’s chicken; I knew if I couldn’t get my fave dishes here then it would be a wash. So, I had to try those; and those were all winners. And the cooked shrimp, the salmon (not honey mustard, pass on that one), rice noodles, and you could go on and on, all of those were great too. In fact, they didn’t have that buffet taste that you sometimes get in buffets where all the dishes taste alike. They were each their own dish and tasty. Point is, even with out meh-​ok sushi (that, yes, I will try again) this place is a bargain and a great place for food. And I haven’t even tried their ice cream, their tea, or any of their soups… and I got all of that for 7:49 at lunch.
Oh! lol, they have this chocolate fountain that you have to use a spoon to use, (I was so confused by that part), but if you have kids I’m sure they’d like it. And, in the front space their waiting room makes me want to sit there even though I have no reason to… it just feels like maybe Buddha is in there and I might find enlightenment, lol. It really is odd, such a nice sitting room. I like this place.

Worst dining/​buffet experience of my life!
It pains me to give and write a 1-​star review on any establishment, but I feel so ripped off I am glad Unilocal exists to share with other people before they waste their time and money on places like this.
I went around 8 PM on a Tuesday, I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it. But that shouldn’t matter. Sushi was so old the avocado was almost completely brown, only a few pieces out anyways. I tried a bit of everything in hopes it would compensate for my lack of sushi fix– everything I ate was bland and OLD. So bad. Unfortunately wasted $ 40 on a restaurant I was really looking forward to trying out.

It was easy for a large group to go here for a work lunch. They are set up to handle the big crowds. They have a lot of items. Sushi, soups, grill, buffet stir fry, desserts…
I would suggest (if you have to go here) to head to the grill where you pick your raw foods and they cook it for you. For example, I picked mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, rice, noodles and shrimp. I put the food on a plate and handed it to the grill cook. So, at least I got to watch the food get cooked.
To sum it up, one of the people in our group asked, «Did anyone eat something they are happy they ate? Did anyone taste something they really enjoyed?» Out of 19 people, 0 of them said yes.
I just got back from lunch and my most prevalent thought is «I want it out of me!»

Not fresh seafood is the theme of this restaurant. Crayfish had no taste. Oysters on the half shell were dead, probably they were thawed from the freezer. Stone crab, blue crab, snow crab, meat were all mushy, not firm. Sushi looked dried out, I didn’t dare touch. Clams were over cooked and had no taste too.
I would not go back.

Verdict: avoid this restaurant.
TLDR: bathroom wouldn’t pass health inspection and didn’t have soap; food was largely inedible quality; their specialty, sea food, was very salty. Won’t come back.
For the first time in my life, I left nearly a full plate of food half eaten. Everything was disgustingly dry and hardened. The fried rice was powdery rice and my mother, who I shared company with, didn’t touch the rice on her sushi. She ended up earing just the raw fish part with Wasabi and soy sauce.
The bathroom was a horror that probably would not pass health inspections. The faucet handle had brown stains covering it and the bathroom cover was broken. To top it off, the sink had no soap anywhere.
Their sea food, which they supposedly specialized in, was sloghtly acceptable, but much too salty. I will never come back again.

My fam and a friend went for dinner monday after hearing how much better and cheaper formosa was than journey and i will never go again. The food was not fresh and the sushi was not labeled. Sushi that should have been warm was cold and clearly hours old. I was considering giving it a second chance on a busier night so the food would possibly be better until i took my daughter to the restroom and witnessed a member of the kitchen staff use the urinal, not wash his hand and go back to work. I mentioned it to the manager and was told he will remind them they must wash hands. He did not say or do anything else. It left all of us grossed out and we will never go there again.

Trust the reviews!!! I always want to be adventurous and give a try to different places, but when people say this place is bad, it is bad! The staff was very nice and sweet, but we went there for the food. Everything was dry and cold. I can’t even imagine how long it’s been sitting. We went during dinner later on in a week, so I was hoping the food would be fresh. I tried EVERYTHING! Not a single dish was decent. It was that bad. I am not a picky eater, but this was beyond disappointing. Yes… It is cheaper than other seafood buffet in the area, but at least there I enjoyed the food. Here I was just going from one dish to other hoping to find at least something decent. It was disappointment after disappointment. I would NEVER consider giving another chance and another try to this place.

I’ve yet to find a Chinese buffet I really like in Indianapolis. We have tried this place two times now wants for lunch once for dinner and were very disappointed both times. Waitress didn’t refill drinks. The food and the seafood was subpar and there were very few dishes with vegetables and the food, especially the clams seem not so fresh. Bathroom not clean. Also, a bit overpriced. We won’t be back.

Crab was crap! Sushi was above average for buffet dinning. Rest rooms were less than desirable. Waitress wasn’t sexy so I deduct 2 points. When I eat Asian food I like hot Asian women to bring me drinks. Next time I’m going to Japan.

I love this restaurant at dinner time.
However, I recently went for lunch and was not impressed. Much better for dinner! :)

One of the better buffets in Indy. The Journey which is down the road is a lot better in terms of quality, turnover, and price though.
The sushi there is much better than it is here.

If you really love all kinds of seafood I strongly recommend you head out to Formosa and give it a try. They have a good selection and the food seemed fresh and well prepared. I only have two major complaints. The first is their refresh rate was a little slow. There were items on the buffet that were depleted and never replenished during my time there which was about 2 hours. The second is based on personal opinion so you may take it with a grain of salt, but they didn’t have any salmon.

If you have you ever been to a real seafood buffet, like on a coast or in Las Vegas, you are going to be disappointed with what Formosa has to offer. It isn’t bad, but some sushi and Mongolian grill does not a seafood buffet make.
This place is more of a Chinese restaurant that offers a larger oriental selection. Oriental buffet, yes. Seafood, no. They do have some sushi and crab legs, but that’s about the extent of the offering. And the sushi they do have is quite limited. About half of it is made with fake crab.
Overall, the food was good. They service was non existent, but I left full and with a fortune cookie. So I’m going to give it an extra star and round up to 3.

This place is very amazing the have fresh food all day long which is usually not easy for a buffet.
The food is an amazing variety from all over they have a grill set up where they can make you noodles lo mean meat etc,
A dedicated soup stove where they make thin white noodle soup fresh with whatever ingredients you choose.
Full sushi and sashimi table where even more variety then I know how to spell are present.
Chocolate fountain made with fresh melted down chocolate hourly that it’s self is amazing to me.
The selection of food which impress anyone the price is 9.99 per person lunch dinner is little more but food is amazing at all hours no doubt a place to try.

My rating isn’t a fair assessment because I never like these kinds of buffets… sushi has all the imitation stuff inside and no fish. The chinese and the american foods aren’t that tasty either. Vegetables don’t even taste healthy, lol (super oily/​greasy). The best part about this buffet, as with most others, is the fruit that they offer.
Service is better than most other chinese restaurants and there is lots of space and seating (opposed to many chinese restaurants who try to maximize their space).

I had been to the former Chinese buffet at this location and when I returned to see its resurrection as Formosa Seafood Buffet, I was astounded. The owners must have spent a fortune renovating the interior. I barely recognized the place. The only feature I remember is the big fountain at the entrance and even that was changed significantly. The whole place is done in kind of a trendy black marble look.
First of all, everything about this place is huge (see my pictures). In the buffet room, there are no fewer than 8 buffet islands to go along with the buffets that line the walls.
The price is a bargain as well. $ 15.99 for dinner? This completely blows away the competition considering the number of items they have available.
I think the $ 9.99 Saturday/​Sunday brunch (i.e. dim sum) is the best deal. Dim sum in Indianapolis has a sad and sordid history. Traditional dim sum (the kind with rolling carts that pass by your table) just doesn’t seem to be able to survive in this town. The alternative that has managed to hang on is ordering a la carte. Formosa manages to up the ante by offering a buffet version. There are about a dozen hot/​cold items to choose from.
Formosa Seafood Buffet really lives up to the «seafood» part of its name. There are several grilled fish and shrimp dishes. There is a large sushi bar in the back with nigiri, maki, and sashimi. They also have crawfish, squid, and several other seafood dishes that are too numerous to remember.
As in most Chinese buffets now, there is a Mongolian grill on the right side where you can choose your ingredients and have someone cook it for you on the flattop.
A nice addition in the back is the noodle soup bar. Pick your ingredients (shrimp, onions, fish balls, napa cabbage, etc.), your noodle (phở or ramen) and your broth (beef or chicken). Then someone cooks it for you. Yum.
There is a huge room on the right side which can be reserved for large parties/​wedding receptions, etc. In addition, there are 3 «VIP Rooms» on the left side which can be reserved for smaller functions. There is no additional charge to use these rooms. Simply call ahead and let the restaurant know how many people will be attending. They will simply charge you the normal buffet price based on the number of guests.