My family and I had an extremely disappointing experience at China Garden Buffet last night. We were a party of seven — five adults and two children — visiting for the weekend and decided to dine here for dinner. Unfortunately, from the moment we walked in, the service was unwelcoming.
The gentleman at the front did not greet us and appeared unwilling to assist. We stood waiting to be acknowledged, and when we finally placed our drink orders, they were written down incorrectly despite our patience and respectful demeanor.
After we were seated, the experience continued to decline. Dirty plates were not cleared in a timely manner, and I found myself organizing and stacking dishes just to keep the table manageable. The buffet food was cold and clearly had been sitting out for some time. We waited for fresh food to be brought out, but aside from the crab legs, very little was replenished.
What made the situation worse was the way staff hovered around our table. Employees repeatedly stood near us whenever someone in our party got up — whether to get food or use the restroom. No other table appeared to receive this level of attention. It felt uncomfortable and unnecessary. We were never clearly assisted by a designated server, and staff came one by one to remove random items rather than providing consistent service.
At checkout, I noticed an additional $13 charge on my debit card that was not reflected on my signed receipt. When I addressed the issue, communication suddenly became difficult. The gentleman at the front would not properly respond, and after reviewing multiple tickets, I discovered I was the only one charged this supposed “weekend hold.” Others in my party dined at the same time and did not have this additional charge. The explanation given was inconsistent and unclear.
Given the unfriendly and uncomfortable atmosphere — especially with children present — I chose to leave and will be disputing the additional charge with my bank.
The food was cold, undercooked in some areas, and overall unappetizing. After paying for what little we attempted to eat, several members of our party still had to purchase food elsewhere.
As a Kansas City native, I am extremely disappointed. Based on our experience with the service, food quality, and billing practices, me and my family will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Brynlie
The only thing I like is the egg drop soup and the ice cream. All the food is cold or hard and tastes gross. The whole place is a mess and don’t even get me started on the bathroom. If you want tummy problems go here!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 2
Meg N
Great food at a great price. Large selection. Food was hot and dishes were filled frequently. Great value and service. Top notch buffet.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Taylene Ramirez
The mozzarella sticks taste like fish sticks and there was hair in my food I found two pieces of hair one in my ice cream and one of my lo mein noodles but overall they were nice
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 4
Dave Bond
Food good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Steven Schulte
Best in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
donald kielman
Order the buffet servervcame over and took my plate for me before I could finish, very rude and inconsiderate atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Southern Cross
For a reasonable spot to eat it's ok
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Brian Bush
Had lunch with a friend. Good food. Felt uncomfortable with them staring at us like they wanted us to leave or something. So we did after eating.
Perfect chinese buffet with lots of options, lots of seating and good service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Albert Toluono
The food was good. But some of the waitress were rude. We just barley sat down and the waitress just came took the ticket out of our hands. And we haven't sat down at the table.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
John Poersch
I really enjoy the food here, its always been fresh and tasty. The waitresses are all very attentive, even on very busy times. One of the best Asian buffets in the KC area in my opinion, and the price is very reasonable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Don Kansas
Alin Is the host. He is the single rudest person I have ever encountered in a restaurant. You will get no greeting. You will not get a smile. You will not get eye contact. The servers are very quick and you will not wait for anything. They are very nice however you will notice that they have smiles for each other and Alin will smile and tell stories to them but to the guests it is a different story. The food is always fine. I have been to this establishment probably 10 different times. I have never had a problem with the food. it does make me wonder who owns this restaurant and how can they treat their customers this way and in doing so treat their employees like this? can you imagine the increase in business if they were nice? can you imagine how much more in tips they would make if they were nice? so it makes me think they do not care about their employees in the least. Alin puts in his earbud and stays on his phone and definitely does not clean anything and let's not talk about the big fountain in front. At least they finally drained the toxic water. but they sure didn't clean it.
My family and I had an extremely disappointing experience at China Garden Buffet last night. We were a party of seven — five adults and two children — visiting for the weekend and decided to dine here for dinner. Unfortunately, from the moment we walked in, the service was unwelcoming.
The gentleman at the front did not greet us and appeared unwilling to assist. We stood waiting to be acknowledged, and when we finally placed our drink orders, they were written down incorrectly despite our patience and respectful demeanor.
After we were seated, the experience continued to decline. Dirty plates were not cleared in a timely manner, and I found myself organizing and stacking dishes just to keep the table manageable. The buffet food was cold and clearly had been sitting out for some time. We waited for fresh food to be brought out, but aside from the crab legs, very little was replenished.
What made the situation worse was the way staff hovered around our table. Employees repeatedly stood near us whenever someone in our party got up — whether to get food or use the restroom. No other table appeared to receive this level of attention. It felt uncomfortable and unnecessary. We were never clearly assisted by a designated server, and staff came one by one to remove random items rather than providing consistent service.
At checkout, I noticed an additional $13 charge on my debit card that was not reflected on my signed receipt. When I addressed the issue, communication suddenly became difficult. The gentleman at the front would not properly respond, and after reviewing multiple tickets, I discovered I was the only one charged this supposed “weekend hold.” Others in my party dined at the same time and did not have this additional charge. The explanation given was inconsistent and unclear.
Given the unfriendly and uncomfortable atmosphere — especially with children present — I chose to leave and will be disputing the additional charge with my bank.
The food was cold, undercooked in some areas, and overall unappetizing. After paying for what little we attempted to eat, several members of our party still had to purchase food elsewhere.
As a Kansas City native, I am extremely disappointed. Based on our experience with the service, food quality, and billing practices, me and my family will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The only thing I like is the egg drop soup and the ice cream. All the food is cold or hard and tastes gross. The whole place is a mess and don’t even get me started on the bathroom. If you want tummy problems go here!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 2
Great food at a great price. Large selection. Food was hot and dishes were filled frequently. Great value and service. Top notch buffet.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The mozzarella sticks taste like fish sticks and there was hair in my food I found two pieces of hair one in my ice cream and one of my lo mein noodles but overall they were nice
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 4
Food good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Order the buffet servervcame over and took my plate for me before I could finish, very rude and inconsiderate atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
For a reasonable spot to eat it's ok
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Had lunch with a friend. Good food. Felt uncomfortable with them staring at us like they wanted us to leave or something. So we did after eating.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Quick service great price amazing flavor
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Perfect chinese buffet with lots of options, lots of seating and good service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was good. But some of the waitress were rude. We just barley sat down and the waitress just came took the ticket out of our hands. And we haven't sat down at the table.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
I really enjoy the food here, its always been fresh and tasty. The waitresses are all very attentive, even on very busy times. One of the best Asian buffets in the KC area in my opinion, and the price is very reasonable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alin Is the host. He is the single rudest person I have ever encountered in a restaurant. You will get no greeting. You will not get a smile. You will not get eye contact. The servers are very quick and you will not wait for anything. They are very nice however you will notice that they have smiles for each other and Alin will smile and tell stories to them but to the guests it is a different story. The food is always fine. I have been to this establishment probably 10 different times. I have never had a problem with the food. it does make me wonder who owns this restaurant and how can they treat their customers this way and in doing so treat their employees like this? can you imagine the increase in business if they were nice? can you imagine how much more in tips they would make if they were nice? so it makes me think they do not care about their employees in the least. Alin puts in his earbud and stays on his phone and definitely does not clean anything and let's not talk about the big fountain in front. At least they finally drained the toxic water. but they sure didn't clean it.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
What a dumpster dive.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
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