Chef Lin Buffet

Pretty goof for a buffett. They don’t speak much English and I have had problems in the past with stale or old food on the buffett.

The food was horrible. It tasted like lemon Lysol smells. Ughhhhh… And the bathrooms? Disgusting. What a waste of $ 10.

Horrible service and I think all employees here are mad. They shuffle you in and out — and they were NOT crowded. They are just rude and food is below average — even for a buffet

This has to be one of the worst Asian buffets I’ve ever been in. The chicken is always overcooked for sitting on the bar too long, and the atmosphere is drab at best.

I would have given this place three stars until my horrifying bathroom experience, but let me start from the top.
Last night it was pouring rain and storming so my husband and I got off the interstate and went to Chef Lin’s just to get out of the storm for a little while. I had been there years before and remember the food as being ok, and fairly cheap. My first impression was that the place hadn’t been updated whatsoever since my last visit, and it shows.
The buffet was sparse, I mostly ate noodles. The crab legs ran out and the pan sat empty until we asked for more. They brought out a small amount and put them out and they were basically gone immediately and never replenished.
The rain had slowed down a lot so we got up to leave, going to the restroom first. If I had gone in there first, I would have never eaten the food. Some other patron had left a nasty surprise on the wall, and by the looks of it, it was dried on and had been there for some time. There was a spot of blood on the trash can as well, and I turned around and left, washing my hands instead of using the toilet.
It was a little over $ 25 for two people to eat their low quality food in a filthy restaurant, avoid at all costs!
*EDIT* I can’t imagine that those bathrooms are checked «multiple» times per day, and if they are it’s just someone looking around the sink area and not inside the stalls. That mess had been there for a while, longer than a few hours and the rain wouldn’t affect that.
Also, as for the crab legs taking a while to cook, if this is true then they wouldn’t have been brought out as fast as they were when we finally asked. More like they probably had a decent amount ready to serve but are too cheap to keep it stocked. Employees literally stand around the buffet area and talk to each other while food goes unreplenished.

Food was lukewarm and rubbery didn’t seem like people wash their hands before eating. Don’t do a lot of buffets and this makes me remember why

I would love to give this place a 5. It was clean, waitresses were friendly and courteous, buffets were well kept and clean, food was very tasty.
But I went to this place solely for the hibachi and the hibachi chef really disappointed me. I specifically kept asking for no oil or sauces and he repeatedly added oil. I would love to have blamed it on a language barrier but it definitely wasn’t that. I went back twice. Both times the food was good but both times it wasn’t what I asked for.
I’m in town for the week and was hoping to find a place to go to for lunch everyday but looks like I’ll be finding another place.
If you’re looking for just the buffet food, definitely go give it a try. Looks delicious!

I think i have a new hot spot china buffet. Good services quality sushi wide variety

Passing through town and was hungry. Figured can’t go wrong with Chinese. Food was okay, service was good. Would not be a first choice. If ever I was passing through again, I would try a different place.

In a word, gross. No need to embelish. If you want to gorge yourself of lots of food, fine.

Food was subpar. this place was great, not anymore. We had a problem because their sushi cooks apparently have the dangerous practice of cross contaminating their rolling boards.
When I asked to speak to a manager about said issue, I was confronted by a very deffensive man, who proceeded to explain to me that they apparently have being cross contaminating for a long time (this, as you immagine, did not help his case). After I had to teach Mr. Manager the dangers and potential law suits that come with cross contaminating, he finally decided not to charge us for the meal. Not my goal but at least I didn’t have to pay for a bad meal.
Beware of this place.

I’ve eaten at a lot of Chinese buffets on the road. In my hometown I have a few I frequent, but many on the road I’ve tried I wouldn’t go back to eat again… Chef Lin is an exception.
We were driving back to Ohio from Destin and wanted a place that was cheap and easy to eat with the kids, just off the highway. My wife did some research as we approached Chattanooga, on all the buffets there and we chose this one and man was it a keeper.
They have all of your typical chinese trimmings, General Tso’s, Pepper Steak, etc, all great. What was exceptional about this buffet… the raw bar. They have freakin’ Sushi chef’s making excellent pieces. On top of that… raw oysters… man I love raw oysters and they are expensive anywhere else.
This place was packed, but it’s big enough to handle all the traffic, worst part was finding a place to park. My kids loved the fried donuts and ate several.

Best buffet we have ever found. Love the sushi, crab, and shrimp. Best value, selection — this coming from an experienced Asian family.

This was a DIASTER. My husband normally loves chinese buffets so we took him there for Fathers Day and all I can say is that was the biggest mistake.
First of all how is it a Chinese buffet when 90 percent of the food is seafood. Second of all none of the food was really hott it was as if they just had it sitting back there and filled it up as it got low.
What bothered me the most was that none of the Chinese food that they did have seemed authentic… like the honey chicken was like not chicken. All the pieces I had were hard as a brick.
Overall I do not recommend this restaurant to anyone. They advertise that they have won awards for best buffet. Dont fall for this. It is the worst chinese buffet in Chattanooga.

I agree with Dude D. Everything was bland. We went for dinner on Tuesday at 7p. Hardly anything was hot. You can order a steak that’s included with the buffet. We ordered it medium but we got well done. The oysters on a half shell and mussels didn’t look very good. The raw fish on the sushi was a bit chewy. The crab legs are bland due to them sitting in water. The clams and sesame balls were the best things on the buffet.

This is in my hometown and I always go when I’m visiting.
They have the typical fare on the buffet lines. This, oddly, is not my favorite part. I LOVE that the sushi is made fresh (and quickly). I have never eaten here at time when the sushi sat out for more than 15 – 20 min before it was eaten. They also have a Hibachi and a huge selection of deserts, fruits, and salads. The desserts aren’t great, but whatever.
I will always return for the sushi.

Certain combinations just come across weird. Hearing an Asian person with a thick southern accent counts as one of them.
Irrelevant ruminations aside, I was surprised at how good the food was here. They have a big spread and everything I grabbed was delicious. The sole crawfish I sampled was perfectly cooked, making it easy to peel. Overall, their seafood selection was pretty good and they even had items I didn’t expect, like tripe (no chicken feet, however).
The disappointment came on the dessert front. Fortunately, the fruit was good enough to cap off my meal. I didn’t pay, but I believe it was less than $ 10 each with tax and tip. Pretty good value considering the food.
Not that I’d be back in Chatt any time soon, but I wouldn’t mind returning to this place.

Yeah, this is not a great buffet. They promote that they’ve been voted #1 but not by me. They seem to try to cover to much and I just don’t prefer the tastes of their preparation.

It’s my favorite Chinese buffet in Chattanooga because its sushi. I would say that its sushi is the best compared to other Chinese buffet in the area. The dinner buffet is also the cheapest in the area. The fruit is pretty good as well.