Hokkaido Seafood Buffet

Wow I used to drive all the way from LA to eat at this place, and was just looking up the address on Unilocal to find that address so I can go eat there…
now that I have seen that cockroach picture I highly doubt I would go there again. I’m going to the one in long beach

Go elsewhere.
Food is not all that.
Groupon deal was great but when we got there, there wasn’t much good food to choose from. Everything was either dry or drenched in liquid. There were fruit flies all over the place, and some of the food wasn’t fresh due to lack of people there.
Enough said.
I’m
From Vegas too, hub of all you can eat buffets so I’m a little harsh when I’m rating this place because the groupon description was nothing like the real thing.

I don’t like posting bad reviews but My coworkers decided to go out Hokkaido today. I did my homework and saw the 2star avg. and first thing after we sit down, my coworker felt some tingling by her toes. Moving her foot, she unknowingly flipped a cockroach upside down and the thing just laid there feet kicking. We immediately got up in horror. See my picture I uploaded.
I connected eyes with a Hokkaido employee who came over and told her that they have a cockroach problem. She looks down at the bug, then back at me. Then walks off and takes a drink order from the table next to us. Hands down, quality customer service…
I have no idea why we didn’t leave but my coworker assured me that most restaurants have cockroach problems. So awkwardly we stayed. They finally removed the bug by the time we got back to the table. Food was soso. I’d say 2 out of 5. You gotta sacrifice quality when you go buffet so don’t expect the taste to be stellar…
Please call your Orkin man.

I’ve been to the one in Long Beach and that was the most horrible experience I have had a buffet, but my BF bought a Groupon for this place so I went along with them hoping maybe this time it would be better. Wrong! Food still sucks, but at least service was better. We came on a Friday night and there was maybe 3 other parties there. Bad sign already, but we paid for it already so yeah…
What they had:
Sushi selection was horrible. All the rolls were cooked so it was your typical imitation crab inside with random stuff on top. The only raw fish they had was discolored tuna, squid, and red snapper.
Mongolian BBQ selection was small, but I didn’t even bother trying it and I didn’t see anyone in line to eat it either.
Hot food selection had your typical seafood with cheese on top, crab legs that weren’t fresh tasting, and your typical Chinese food take out food.
Dessert selection had maybe like a couple cake squares and an ice cream machine. Nothing too impressive though. I just had the ice cream and I took a couple bites and threw the rest away.
Service:
Better than the Long Beach one, but that’s only because they actually took our plates away pretty fast. Check was brought out and taken right away when we put cash in it. But never going to Hokkaido Buffet again…

I’ve gone here a few times, hoping things would improve with each visit but… sigh.
The good.
1. Lunch was (at the time, not sure if it still is) $ 10
2. The layout of the restaurant was nice and professional
3. No wait to be seated and the bill was closed out in a timely manor
The not so good.
1. The food quality
2. The food selection
3. The service
Here’s my deal. You have the location and the venue — I love the area this place is located in. You have the service routine down — getting customers in, seated and out is a big plus for the lunch crowd.
But that said, why skimp on the food quality and selection? Why not train your staff to be courteous and professional and not just efficient? This is a REALLY big deal for me. I can go to a mom and pop Chinese hole-​in-​the-​wall and get what this place offers for $ 3 – 5 less.
So, what’s the draw? Why would I bring my co-​workers back here? Why would I bring my Family back here? I would gladly pay a few dollars more for better food and service. Who wouldn’t?!

Ick! One star is more than generous! We were sucked in by a Groupon. We thought we’d try it since we always see coupons for it. Now I know why… they should pay you to eat there! Even with a Groupon, it was still quite pricey for the value.
Overall, not impressive. Our interaction with the hostess was okay, but seeing her interact with other patrons throughout the night led me to believe that she was just plain rude. The waiter had no idea what lite soy sauce was. Really? Come on!
The sushi was a sorry selection. I can get waaay better sushi at a supermarket. I had a piece of sushi it was white (had no idea what idea it was), but it was super slimy. I think it was the first time I ever made a face eating sushi. Blech… Gross!
It must have been the sandals that I was wearing, but it did not go well with their flooring material. I felt like I was sticking to their floor and had to walk on the carpet just to get rid of the stickiness…
The rest of the food was unremarkable. Quite frankly, I’m surprised that a place like this exists in Newport Beach. More power to them!

Umm for some reason my parents love coming here… But I prefer not.
I remember this place used to be so much better.
The food always tastes old. And it’s the usual chinese food buffet, the only difference is there’s a grill where a guy can stir-​fry up some noodles and meat for you. The noodles I had were a bit too over-​cooked and way too oily. The steak and chicken I had, super dry and way over-​cooked.
Don’t bother with the sushi. They probably only refill it every 5 hours because you can taste the unfresh-​ness of it and how it’s been sitting out for a LONG time.

I went to this place because of the Groupon deal I got recently. Their price is definitely a little higher for the quality of food they offer. It is not just about the variety when it comes to the buffet style restaurants. The quality is extremely important. I think that there are several other buffet restaurants I have been to in the past are definitely better than this one. I think that they charge more only because they are located in Newport Beach.
One thing though, their oysters are very impressive! Huge and fresh oysters were my highlight there!

I’ve been here on a weekday and a couple of weekends and this place is never crowded.
This place has a sushi bar, soup bar, fried food bar, hot food bar, salad/​dessert bar, as well as a mongolian stir fry area. There is a lot of variety and they seemed to keep everything well stocked.
Honestly, the food keeps getting worse every time I come here. The buffet prices here are super inflated and the food is always sub-​par. If you expect me to pay that much, at least offer more quality foods! At any kind of Asian buffet, I usually rely on the sushi to make the meal better, but the sushi here just could not make the cut. I was questioning the quality of the fish the whole time and the sushi rice was not as expected. Do not try the raw squid sushi. I warned you.
What was good here? The mushrooms. Basically, that’s all that was the least bit tasty. Most other things were bland, overcooked, or had a funky taste to it.
I do not recommend this buffet. You’d rather get yourself to a Todai for the prices of this buffet!

I honestly feel bad for this business. I was curious why it was empty, and I realized after watching people hand off their coupons that they were here for the same reason… it was the last day of their groupon before it expires. And that just about explains this place, as it’s a place you’re forced to settle for rather than choose willingly.
The groupon I used was stated in the fine print as «dinner only», and I understand why… it was all leftovers from lunch. It’s almost as if the staff knew that it was Groupon expiration day and not to put much thought into the service or food. The buffet was depressingly sparse, and most of the food was cold and bland, food that wouldn’t look far out of place in a buffet at a Motel 6 or similar motel. No one came to refill food or check the buffet in the entire hour I was there.
This place is in a prime area of Newport near many excellent restaurants… which gave me hope. But this has to be the worst buffet I’ve ever been to and I will never be coming back again.

You’ve been warned! This business is only 2 stars on Unilocal — and It’s two stars too many. Terrible customer service. In a nearly empty restaurant, we opted to sit at a table, she placed at one that had a pole next to it. We asked to move over to another right next to it (again an empty restaurant). She said «No, that’s a table for 8». Is this hostess completely devoid of any common sense or customer service skills?!? Yes, all she knows how to do is sit and text at the front desk while she is supposed to be working.
Be aware of: Fruit flies on the food (I posted picture evidence, time to call the health department), soft serve machines that pours out liquid, food tray after food tray that were empty the entire time we were there), and here’s the kicker — at the end, the waiter said to us «CASH TIP ONLY» — are you kidding me?! After a heinous, terrible dining experience, they expected to be tipped!!! And in cash in order to avoid reporting it (time to call the IRS).
We had my mother’s birthday party here — 30 people attended. We will never step foot in here again thanks to the hostesses’ incompetence, the disgusting state of the restaurant, and the greed of the establishment. If we could take all of those revenues back we would, and we hope we can save others from our mistake. Do not eat here, no matter what your GroupOn deal says, it’s not worth it. I hope with the power of social media, we can shut down this repulsive restaurant for good. Let’s send a message that bad businesses like this should be left to rot — much like the food that they serve.

BEWARE OF FRUIT FLIES!!! This place is AWFUL! Service, food, hygiene. NIGHTMARE! Just went at 730 pm on a Monday night and there was NO food! At least 6 of the trays were completely empty and remained that way for the entire hour we were there! I am in shock as to how bad it was! The oranges/​pineapples had fruit flies ALL over them! GROSS! The ice cream machine came out like soup. PLEASE SEE MY PICS to know I’m not being dramatic. If I don’t get food poisoning tonight, it’ll be a blessing. At the end of all this the waiter goes «Leave cash tip.» ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING?! WHOA… the only thing I’m leaving is this Unilocal review.

UGH, thought we’d come here again because we’d had a decent experience before. BUT we were utterly disappointed with the service. My family and I had purchased Groupons to use, which we thought would be a great deal for Sunday morning brunch.
When we got there and informed the front desk that we’d be using the Groupon for brunch, they said, «Nope, sorry. That’s only for use during dinner for Monday — Friday.» Then once I pointed out on the Groupon the statement that read, «Valid all day Saturday and Sunday,» the front desk said that the manager stated it could not be used. When I asked to speak with the manager, the front desk then stated that the manager/​owner was not in. How could you NOT be in your restaurant on a busy Sunday morning? No manager at all, not even a lead server, etc? Terrible.
Needless to say, they finally called the manager and he approved for us to use the Groupon. We were sat, ate our food, and got outta there asap. We would have just left initially due to the poor service, but we’d already spent/​wasted our money online with the Groupon purchase.
For $ 18.50 per adult as regular price for a buffet meal, it is NOT worth it. Although there is quite a variety of food to choose from, the quality of the food is obviously poor. You can tell the sauces and dressings are not fresh, with the nice layer of crust on the top and around the edges. Gross.
But then once we thought we were in the clear to leave, having paid for our Groupons, we were informed that there was a $ 4 Groupon tax due for each person in our group (8 people). It was ridiculous! Definitely not a bargain at all, and completely disappointing. When we asked how they calculated the tax, they had no idea.
I had some hope for this place, but not anymore. We will not be back.

I thought to try this buffet restaurant again since I was craving for sushi & my husband is not much of a sushi eater but he loves seafood, Chinese food & they have chocolate & vanilla ice cream for desert.
Anyways, sushi was good & made fresh. My favorite one was Philadelphia cheese roll. The other sushi was okay. I also had a lot of their stemmed crab legs. This was made fresh, stemmed with melted butter. This was tasting good. My husband also enjoyed his baked crab & scallops. Both we’re good & selection we’re a lot better this time.
We had vanilla, chocolate ice cream but it was melted. Maybe, needs a better way of keeping it cold. crème puff, sugar donut, grapes. These were all yummy deserts.
I also love the fact that we were greeter with a smile as soon as we walked in & servers were also nicer this time & greeted us with good bye. Overall, this was a better experience from last time we went & food selection definitely got better. We will eat here again. I bought groupon for $ 30 worth $ 50 & didn’t have to pay for my 1year old baby boy. Thanks everyone!

The only reason we came back here was to meet some friends.
When I saw buckets of ice cream that obviously were from the previous day just marinating in some ice I knew not to eat here ever again. I just had some salad and some French fries I was that leery. The cleaning log in the bathroom hadn’t been updated in 2 weeks.
Not to mention their lunch on the weekends is the price for dinner 17 bucks a person.
I hope no one doesn’t get seriously ill eating here. You would have to have a knife in my side to make me come back. AVOID

If my husband didn’t accidentally buy a groupon, we would not be here. He forgot we came here before. That’s how memorable it was. I hope to never come here again after right today.
I’m writing this review as I’m sitting in the restaurant bc everything is so dirty and pretty much everyone working here acts so shitty.
Young manager girl who acts like she owns the place (the only one out of uniform) I’m sure your parents forced you to work here so that they don’t take away your car. Learn to act like you give a damn so your parents will be able to barely keep this restaurant or you’ll not have a car at all. You’ve been on the phone for the last 30 minutes and your parents staff doesn’t even chat with you.
Also. Smiling and all human kindness is illegal here. There’s no signs but I’m pretty sure.
I’ve never seen such a dusty restroom in my life. We came in at 5:05. Five minutes after opening. Walked in to the restroom, smells like days old piss. Stall I went into, trash was half full and something brown exploded on the back of the toilet seat. Aka. Shit stains. Floors were dirty. Dust all over the walls, tops of stalls, who knows where else.
Honestly, food isn’t much to brag about. Neither is anything else. Don’t ever come here. The discounts aren’t worth it.
Only plus is their glass of wine is poured until almost overflowing. Are they trying to make me forget how bad it is? HAHA. It’s almost worked.
Now one of the girl staff is drawing on one of the guys arm. Wtf. Get me out of here.

The taste is consistent.
…Soapy dish water!
PASS

Like many others, I purchased the groupon so I could have dinner for two with 2 glasses of wine. So, I saw the boxed Franzia wine in the back… Don’t get your hopes up high. Also, they normally charge $ 8 a glass so that’s where the high valuation for the groupon comes in.
The food… Made me crave Panda Express. The rice in the sushi was frozen. Like how did that happen? The crab meat was stuck to the shells and was basically inedible. The Mongolian style BBQ was disgusting. The meat has been sitting out for so long that it started to reek a bit. The «Dim sum» was a choice between the bun (no filling) and a bun with a filling that tasted like peanut butter. The egg rolls were basically filled and soggy. The miso soup was watery and I thought you couldn’t mess up when it came to miso soup… The only reason I got my monies worth was eating $ 30 worth of kiwis from the salad bar.
I should have listened to other reviewers. Save yourself and spare yourself a wasted $ 30. Also, they charge you an additional $ 4 for tax.
One star for the soundtrack. I liked the music!

Let me just start by saying… Boy am I glad I didn’t have the runs from my meal!!!
I bought a groupon deal, 2 for $ 25 plus beer. The picture looked good. But I really should have checked the Unilocal reviews before purchasing. It seems like it use to be good at one point. Maybe under new management or something.
I liked the restaurant itself, it was large and spacious.
The food selection overall is like a normal Chinese buffet.
They had sushi, crab and a mongolian bbq area.
So…the food that was all cooked was all good. I enjoyed most of the meal. The orange chicken… the chow mein noodles… the soup.
However, it was the sushi that I couldn’t get through, it was old. Not fresh and tasted bad. Also the crab was bad too, it had such a bad taste, not fresh and pretty damn disgusting. The snow crabs, also not fresh, but decent enough to eat!
I don’t think I would come back here… there are better chinese buffets for cheaper elsewhere.

I came to try this out after I got the Google Offers deal for dinner and beer for 2 for $ 25. It reminded me of Todai, but a couple levels down in taste and freshness. What I liked most was the Teppan grill, which is similar to mongolian BBQ places, where you select your meat and veggies and they grill it right in front of you. There was a very limited selection of sushi and most of it looked like it’s been sitting there for awhile, so I was skeptical to try, with my sensitive stomach and all.
They would bring out fresh seafood every 20 minutes or so and the fresh crab legs and clams I tried were good, but the crawfish there was disgusting and rubbery; I’ve never tasted crawfish like that before. They do have the typical Asian buffet items such as string beans, fried rice and noodles, wontons, etc. which were all just okay.
Overall, this place is very MEH and I don’t know if I’d ever want to come back.