Savory Buffet

I was here recently for a friend’s son’s baptism reception. This time I was here with my aunt and cousin, after running them around for errands. I was trying to convince them to eat somewhere else, but nooooooo they wanted to come here. Remember that rainy day we had where all of San Diego flooded, the 2^nd day with all the tornado warnings?! That was the day we ate here, after driving my relatives around for errands in a tropical rainstorm, straight up typhoon style weather.
The only thing I really liked was the fried rice, orange chicken, and the sauteed mushrooms. Everything else was not very good at all. I swear the quality goes down a little every year. I’d rather eat at the buffet at Miramar Rd and Camino Ruiz, at least I know the food there isn’t super duper old. The food at this buffet is always stale tasting and the servers are typical Asian rude.
I will seriously not come back if I can help it at all. For my friends, please no more receptions at this buffet, it’s sooo not good.
P. S. my plates of food in the photos are full, I had to try all the things that used to be my fave here before the quality started getting really bad. The bad thing is you have to pretty much clear your plate or they can charge you extra for wasting food.

My favorite Chinese style buffet in San Diego. They have all the typical dishes and AYCE crab of course, but on top of that, they also have lots of sushi (nigiri and rolls) and a noodle bar! I love the beef udon soup here. Oh yesss and you can get a steak cooked too! Their hot and sour soup here is one of better ones I’ve had at a buffet.
Thirsty? They got you covered with the usuals but they also have Thai tea, beer and wine (costs extra though).
Cost is about $ 17 or so person. Really worth it! They also can accommodate big groups with prior notice (my friend had her baby’s baptismal reception here for 100 people in the back room!). The weekends are a bit pricier, but the last time we went there, we saw a sign on the door that they’re bringing LOBSTER back for the weekends. Heeeyyy!

My family loves coming here! And while I do enjoy their selection, their quality of food is mediocre, but perfect for the price.
I have eaten here quite often and the price and service is decent for buffet. Price ranges from 10 – 15 dollars depending on if it is lunch or dinner, and if it a weekend or weekday. Also keep an eye out for their mail out coupons for additional savings. Service is never too bad, they have plenty of seating so there is rarely a wait, and the waiter refill drink quite often enough.
They have a ton of food options. They have a bunch of normal Chinese-​American food fair such as orange chicken and chowmein and even have seafood like crab legs, garlic crab, and crawfish, they even have some dim sum. They also have a soup bar and grill, where they cook to order steaks, and a variety of soups like phở. Right next to that is a sushi bar serving 8+ variety of sushi, even sashimi. They also have a nice mix of deserts ranging from fruit, ice creams, to cakes and cookies.
Unfortunately the quality of the food is not the greatest. A lot of the shellfish is mostly shell, and a lot of the food tastes sub-​par. It seems as the goal is the quantity of variety rather the quality. Nice if you want to try everything, but unfortunately nothing stands out!
I personally wouldn’t go here on my own, but it is decent enough to eat if my family chooses to go.

My family and I went here while vacationing in the area. We really enjoyed it. They have a large selection of hot foods, sushi, dessert and even made-​to-​order dishes such as beef noodles, seafood noodles, seafood vermicelli, steak and etc. Quick note: if you ask for the steak, and you want it medium or rare, be sure to just stand there and ask the cook to give you the steak after a minute or so, the meat is very thin and it cooks fast. The seafood vermicelli tastes great, I had 2 bowls. The baked squid was a bit dry, but they brought out a brand new batch and they were soft and tasty. If you don’t come out satisfied and stuffed, then you probably don’t like Chinese buffet in general. We will definitely go back if we’re in the area again. I highly recommend this place.

Unfortunately the food was not good. I didn’t try the seafood. Salad dressing tasted funny. The only thing that was ok was the Orange chicken and the flan. Service was good but I won’t b back

People, be careful with these money hungry scam artists. Apart from their food being bland and poor quality, they will add an automatic 10% «tip» to a party of 10 or more. I asked them why in the F did they do that? and she said it is what it is… basically.
I asked this money fiend if you’re charging an automatic «tip» how are you paying your employees? The answer was «hourly». So there you go people, the waiters are all being paid by the hour and expect a F-​ing tip for sh*tty service. This isn’t a fine dining restaurant where the waiters and waitresses EARN their tip… this is money hungry humans disguised with a smile… bringing you your water… once. Wow, what a bunch of BS. I always knew Chinese buffets were more about quantity than quality but savory Buffett has discovered a new lowest of the low, with me.

Another one of your typical Chinese buffets. There are your standard buffet fare here; frid rice, orange chicken, sushi, and even pizza. The orange chicken was pretty decent but it was a bit soggy. I really liked this one beef dish but I can’t remember what it was called but it had a lot of jalapenos in it. The one thing that stood out to me were their noodle soups. The beef noodle soup was excellent. That soup alone would have me coming back. Their others noodles are decent but not on the same level as the beef one. Dinner on a weekday was surprisingly busy and it came out to about $ 18ish a person. Servers were quick and attentive and were actually pretty friendly. The inside is well maintained and looked very clean to me.

Jadey «Moonrise» J.‘s… They ask /​add tips to my Kids, after they tipped them $ 10 !!
Savory Buffet’s waiter /​waitress did the same to my kids and friends after a Church Lucheon. My kids know Chinese /​Mandarins. Through out the meal, those b*tches were sitting down, eating, drinking and talking smack about my kds and friends. Food was not refresh, plates were not clear, water not refill and at end of the meal they add $ 20 tips to the check.
My older one called me, told me his meal experience and how bad they treated them… I paid the bill and open a can-​of whip ass on them. Nancy /​mgr /​owner was shock, «I told her never, never ever look down on kids and mistreating them like sh*t just because you think they don’t know how to eat and tip.

WHAT THE F!!! I was not planning to leave a bad review for this place, cause I decided not to tip for the bad service but the moment I left with my boyfriend, our waiter (a lean, above average height Asian guy) ran out, chases after us and said «hey can I have a dollar for my tip?» And startled, I looked through my wallet as if I’m being robbed and blurted out «I don’t have any change sorry «and he’s all «…Can u write it down «. Wtf ! In disbelief, we managed to scribble out the new amount on our receipt. Half in and half out of the car cause he a managed to catch us as we’re closing our car door. Wow. I can’t believe that just happened. I left no tip because I was unhappy with my visit but I still somehow had to.

WARNING!!! PLEASE DO NOT COME HERE!!! They serve raw chicken and false advertise their steak! And when we tried to show them the raw chicken and the «#8 Steak» they just tried to brush everything under the table. She told us that everyone complained about the steak because it didn’t look like the picture…“so if you get that many complaints, why don’t you change it?!?” All she said was «Yeah yeah. We heard that complaint a lot.» And just smiled at us like it was ok… This is NOT OK and they didn’t offer anything else in replacement. I, personally, work in the kitchen and this is just unexceptional. How do you serve raw chicken wings and think it’s ok? I ALREADY ATE IT!!! Salmonella here I come… If I get sick from your under cooked chicken wings, this will definitely not be the last time you hear from me.

My mom and I have eaten here a few times. I like the food selections and the hot food is always good. Lunch is a good price for the amount of food that is available. The desserts, however, are always a disappointment. They look really good, but when you eat them they never taste as good as they look.
Of course I would rather a buffet have good food and mediocre desserts rather than the other way around.
During my last visit I had a bite of the Ambrosia salad and spit it out because the pineapple had turned. When I mentioned this to the cashier he did not make an effort to get this addressed.
I mentioned it to a staff person who was servicing the buffet and a minute later I saw her picking out the pineapple from the Ambrosia with a spoon. Not exactly the response I was hoping for. The whole salad really should have been thrown out, or at least taken into the back and replaced with a new one.
I understand that one customer complaint may not be a reason to throw out a large quantity of food, but the staff person should have removed the salad and if there was any question, she could have tried a bit for herself and seen what I was talking about.
I have not gotten sick from the food and neither has my mom, but this incident with the Ambrosia salad has made me more wary of the cold items.

Oh look! Another Chinese buffet… but NO! This one has cute, decorative trees inside & AYCE noodle soups! I’m there! Let me tryyyy!
FOOD
Sushi, noodle soups, fried rice, some seafood like crawfish, shrimp, mussels, egg drop soup, salad bar, beef broccoli, etc. Basically there seemed to be a little of everything from the major Asian cultures.
As I mentioned, ALL YOU CAN EAT/​DRINK NOODLE SOUPS, Vietnamese phở, Japanese Udon & Chinese noodles! Yippee! Your choice of clear broth or Beef broth for each kind of noodle. I think there’s a seafood option too, but I heard it was pretty bland.
Go with #1 or #4 Beef broth Chinese noodles or Udon. Trust me. I am a Noodle Soup aficionado. No, seriously.
The rest is pretty standard, honestly. Nothing very out-​of-​the ordinary or particularly noteworthy. I liked the Chinese donuts!
Sadly, there were absolutely NOTHING to go with the softserve ice cream. Like, no cones. No sprinkles. No syrups… that’s so wrong…
PRICING
Not sure how much it costs on weekdays, but on weekends, it’s $ 17ish NOT INCLUDING A DRINK. It’s pretty high for this kind of place, but offers you some variety which can be fun sometimes.
AMBIENCE
Like I said, I LOVE THE TREES in here! So cute! The restroom was okay. Could definitely use an air freshner and some cleaning for sure.
All in all, not bad for what it is, but I’d only want to come here 3 times a year max. Felt kinda grossed out afterwards… I think it’s b/​c I ate too much… haha

Ugh, i already dislike buffets to begin with. My cousin was planning her father’s funeral reception on a weekday. She heard about this place that was very close to the church we were attending that morning. They had a deal if you had a large group, lunch specials, and use of the banquet room. No complaints on my end on having it here — I mean she was planning it after all. I am also very encouraging of all things cost efficient.
On Unilocal — this place had a terrible rating already, womp. Then you enter and we were all getting stickers placed on our shoulders… what if we weren’t part of the large party? Are you going to rely on the fact that you used 100 stickers? — seems like a legit-​fail.
Food wasn’t appealing — I had a hard time finding something that I think I would enjoy. Sushi was sitting out on display, didn’t seem right. They did have a large variety though. The waiters came around asking what drinks we want — I went with a soda because the water didn’t seem trusting, lol. They also cleaned up after us well too. I feel bad for the 1 star — but what can I do?

Been here twice before almost a year ago and liked the place more or less. However I have been back 3x in the past month and its gotten better! Mainly in the sushi/​nigiri area. They have a darn good spread of above average quality product to offer amongst the many other traditional Asian buffet joints. I also like that they offer a legit salad bar and a couple steamed/​grilled and baked dishes for both meats and veggies. One can fully blow their diet here and indulge or keep it pretty darn clean and eat well at the same time. I myself like loading up a plate of sushi rolls and nigiri to easily make up for the $ 15 price for dinner when I most often come in. They have military discounts of 10% to so that’s always nice!
Service can seem a little bit frazzled but that’s only because they work to keep dishes and trays filled at all times. Plus at dinner I think they get their biggest rush, weekends more so as they often have a wait after 6pm. The staff can seem a little cold-​shoulder at times but given how fast they need to keep pumping out the food I bet they all at brinks end just as well.
I come for the good food, the endless amounts of it, the clean, well kept inside and the great price with decent service. Don’t need to make friends here. Being just a mile away from my home its location could not be better either!

Three stars is very fair for Savory Buffet. It’s good, but not THAT good. At $ 15 per person for dinner, it’s more than reasonable for a seafood buffet.
As a general overview the place looks relatively clean. There’s something about the lighting and fake trees that gives it a Las Vegas-​y feeling. For a Wednesday dinner, it was surprisingly busy.
Some highlights included the hot and sour and egg drop soup. The hot and sour soup in particular was fantastic! The seafood was actually pretty decent. My first crab legs were kind of cold, but the second piece that I got was a lot hotter. Could they please put the butter in a warming plate or Croc-​Pot?
In particular the pork shu mai was pretty awful. I should have known better, the skin looked and tasted like leather with the inside clearly overcooked. Generally speaking, the dim sum just doesn’t work here.
Savory Buffet really struggles with the dessert offerings. I had this orange cream mousse thingy that left a really bad after taste. The «fresh» pineapple was bland. My date claims that they added salt to it. I also had a napoleon type cake that was so tough, my fork couldn’t even make a dent through the second crust.
Lastly, the soft serve machine clearly wasn’t up to par. The chocolate and swirl mixture was all runny, but the vanilla soft serve was just fine.
In review, if you’re looking for a relatively cheap seafood dinner, then this might be your place. Just don’t expect your sweet tooth to be satisfied.

Usually I give buffets a little slack as they clearly operate according to a quantity over quality philosophy. In fact, my date and I came here under my own recommendation given positive experiences I’ve had in the past. But the meat entrees really disappointed on our recent visit to the extent where I spent most of my buffet dime filling up on carbs. Even sitting for hours under a heat lamp, the presence of the dim sum donut balls is where this buffet shines over Panda Express. Also, the minced pork filled egg rolls were interesting in a way that one does not usually ascribe to buffet dining options. So, there’s that.
Summary: All you can eat carbs.

So it’s my preference to always go to all you can eat joints at about 5pm… Any later than that and you will be run over by the dinner rush!
I will be honest and say I have had better quality of food but this place is definitely packed with a lot of seafood choices!!!
Crab, cold & hot crawfish, cold and hot (with cheese) mussels, oysters on half shell, cold and fried shrimp, few different fish varieties, nice selection of sushi, … Seriously too many to name! I love crawfish and it was a bit over done here but you know when you are paying $ 15 for dinner can you really be that picky??? Considering the huge variety vs the cost — I will not complain too much! I haven’t been here for lunch «yet» but it’s $ 10 and about half of the selection– that’s not bad! Oh and beef ribs too lol oh yeahhhh I was happy and retardedly full!

Typical cheap Chinese buffet.
Mediocre food: crab smelled & tasted foul… Won’t be getting that ever again, I love sushi but I didn’t touch em. Fried shrimps were the only thing I actually enjoyed eating.
Service is okay, language barrier.
Although the restaurant looks old, it’s fairly clean.
I come here only because someone else pays for me, but if I had to pay, I wouldn’t come.

Wow, for a cheap Chinese buffet I’ve really eaten better. Savory Buffet is really not up to par with other Chinese buffets around Cali. Just not one of my favorites!
Went for dinner with the family on the wifey’s side. There was a party of about a dozen of us. The place was actually full with folks so I thought it can’t be all that bad, right? Boy, were we in for a treat (NOT).
Upon going to the buffet area after getting our seats, I was not pleased. Many of the trays were empty of food, but still sitting under the heat lamps? Silly. Trays that did have food were dried out? Ridiculous. Crab? Nearly non-​existent. All-​you-​can-​eat steak? Damn. Picture looks like a ribeye or NY steak, but what do you get? The thinnest slice of beef that you can in no way order medium-​rare. So sad.
The soups they also offer made to order were also pretty disappointing. I got a bowl of beef phở and it was just way, way, way too salty. Beef wasn’t very tender either. About halfway through or meal the nephew went to go get a bowl as well and was told they ran out of beef! Not pleased.
Seems our entire family was waiting (and waiting) for trays to be refilled with food. And on the occasion they finally were, the trays were barely half-​full. Foods that were already in trays were either dried out with a film on top, or things that were fried were soggy & oily.
The sushi bar STUNK. A bunch of poorly made renditions of California Rolls with hard rice. You’re in California, do the roll right! Another disappointing section. Take heed, if sushi is not lookin’ fresh, you riskin’ some food poisoning.
Service was slow, took a bit for us to get drinks and our plates cleared out. Overall, Savory Buffet was a let down. The previous reviews show it. Won’t be back here again anytime soon if I can help it.

This place is okay not the best and nothing delicious. $ 16 a person for dinner.
The baked mussels is the best.
I would completely avoid the buffalo chicken, soft shell crab and the walnut shrimp because it is toooo coconutty.
The beef phở was flavorless.
I probably won’t be back.