Cafe East Humble

This was an average experience at a Chinese buffet. The food had a decent taste to it, and the buffet was kept clean. The servers were attentive. I would go back but it will not be my first choice.

There was a good variety of food and it was very clean. Our waiter was very attentive and brought us napkins and refills before we even asked. I have a one year old baby and they were very accommodating, they even had a changing table. The food was very good and even though it was a bit on the expensive side ($ 28 for 2 adults with drinks) it was worth it. Definitely will return.

Went here after not visiting for a while, big mistake. The food was horrible tasting and cold. Some of the sesame chicken I had was hard. The egg rolls tasted like they were there too long under the heat lamp. Their food and service has taken a major decline vs what it was years ago. They have added Mexican food to a Chinese buffet… not understanding that. The only positive things I can say is I walked out paying less than $ 12, the fruit was decent, and they served Coke products.

The food’s nothing to talk about, it’s dirty, and the service is horrible. If you’re looking to fill up on so-​so food… go…but is it worth $ 11 and a $ 2 drink? Let me explain… We sat in a booth. The table was semi-​clean but the wall was covered with years of smudged food, fingerprints and condiments. I tried not to touch it. There really was no service but a lady sure still wanted a tip. The hostess sat us, brought our drinks and gave us each a napkin wrapped fork. I never saw another person until we were done and had moved our dirty dishes to the edge of the table hoping to get the bill. Rather quickly a lady asked if we were done and put our check on the table. She waited for our method of payment, took it and returned with our receipt. She waited and then pointed out that I did not leave a tip. She gave us the most hateful look, paused as if I would change my mind then took a few steps away and watched our table, waiting for a tip to be laid on top. We stayed seated until she got tired of watching us and the minute she moved more than 5 feet away ran for the door. Unfortunately, there is no «no star» option.

The only reason I can even give it 2 stars is because it’s a convenient location and the price was decent.
If you like chicken and/​or deep fried «Chinese» food. This is your place. We got her at 11:01 and the food was already cold.

For a buffet it’s pretty good, but overall just average. It’s the best Chinese buffet in the area. That’s not really saying much though.
Crab Puffs suck and good luck getting your water refilled!

The selection on food is incredible Chinese, American and Mexican. The food is very hot. I have 4 kids. So lots of rounds at the buffet. They’re out putting new food out every few minutes. The fried food was hot and crispy. How many buffets can u say that? Huge selection of different seafoods. The service was awesome. The waitress was around very often. We never had a pile of dishes on the table. The restaurant was very clean. The only thing my daughter was disappointed about was they didn’t have her Chinese noodles she loves. Lol

Café East is a knock off of China Star chinese buffet. The buffet serves all of what you would expect at a buffet. It was my first time seeing a Chinese buffet serve chicken enchiladas and tacos, I guess a little spice of Mexican.
Though, most of the food was inedible to me. The chicken enchilades tasted like a breakfast taco with unidentified meat and eggs. The general tso chicken was sitting a pool of watery tso sauce. The pizza was hard sitting underneath that heat lamp and the sushi. Oh, for love of sushi! It tasted stale not fresh, it was extra gummy. Eww.
The only food I depicted as edible was the rolls, stuffed crab, fried shrimp, and fried rice. The rolls were sweet and soft tasting, the stuffed crab had potatoes, cheese, & corn in a crab. The fried shrimp and fried rice tasted real not rubbery.
The service was nonexistence, as if the hostess was just there to seat people and that’s it. We had to wave our hands to get the attention of one of servers to get a drink refill and ask them to remove the cluttering plates from the tables.
The desserts were also nearly dead calling. The cheesecake bits had some little plastic beads in every few bite I took. I had to keep picking it out of my mouth. The blue jello was good, just kind of sour tasting. The banana pudding with spinkles and cream, the cookies were all the old. With no flavor.
The buffet was lower than negative mediore and the price was too much for how rubbery and inedible the food was. Oh and there’s a sign near the buffets that reads, Do not waste your food!
The music of choice was very soothing and calm. I think it was ambient, but I’m not to sure. I mos def won’t go to another bootleg chinese buffet over the real deal.

My rating for Café East would be a 4 star for the food, but I’m leaving a 3 star mainly because of the staff. It’s really hit or miss if you’re going to have a good waiter/​waitress. I’ve been a steady customer here since they first opened. The food is not the best Chinese I’ve ever had, but it’s pretty good, obviously otherwise I wouldn’t continue going here. Alas the staff is their biggest issue. You may have a hard time getting refills, & they may even bring you the bill before you’re even half way through your first plate. To me that seems rude. It’s as if they’re saying, «I’m tired of looking at you. It’s time to go.» More often than not I just get my food to go. My favorites on their buffet include sweet & sour chicken (of course right!), egg rolls, crab puffs, fried rice (chicken and shrimp), won ton soup, pork spare ribs, & they have some of the absolute best fried chicken wings I’ve ever had! So I’d absolutely recommend Café East to anyone looking for a reasonably priced chinese buffet. I’d also recommend they get it to go. All & all it’s good, & I’ll certainly eat there again. Hopefully soon because now I’m hungry. LOL.

dz food is great but the waitress and hostess are rude they never smiled they all look mad never coming back here

Out of all the chino buffets in humble this one is 3 star quality better then the rest we have to choose from.

First of all, I can’t believe I’ve not reviewed this one before. Second of all, I can’t believe I’m thinking I may never go back.
We have been eating here (occasionally, about 6 – 10 times a year) for more than 10 years. We usually enjoy the variety and taste but we visited them this past weekend and I wish we had eaten somewhere else.
My hubby, who always gets the General Tso’s chicken, fried rice an eggroll and usually tries at least one other dish that’s usually chicken, said the General Tso’s was very dry and just didn’t taste good. He almost couldn’t cut it into smaller pieces and said it didn’t taste very good, in «general». (HAHA See what I did there?) Same thing for the rice but the other chicken dish was good. Their banana pudding is a horrible tasting instant mix (I tasted a nibble).
I’m what I call «a one-​bit-​er). I tend to get one bite of a several things. I tried the rice noodles and they were delicious. The fried shrimp tails were horrible this time, the boiled crawfish were just the worst I’ve ever had, anywhere. Look, it’s April (aka crawfish season in Texas) and NOBODY should be serving previously frozen crawfish during crawfish season! I got two pieces of sushi that had tuna in them and the tuna tasted «off» and I spit it out into a napkin. The boiled shrimps were okay as were the S&P pork riblets. Egg drop soup was just okay. I prefer their miso and they didn’t serve it that day. My dessert of choice is watermelon! Hubby said the watermelon was good so I got a few pieces. One was nice and sweet and the other two had no flavor. Not that they can «fix» that, it’s just a fact.
All this being said, we were there at around 2:30 on a Saturday BUT I don’t think this is an excuse for any restaurant. Food, even on a buffet should be consistently fresh at any time of the day a restaurant is open. I don’t know what’s going on with this restaurant but I sincerely hope they fix their problems because we use to enjoy their food. I hope to update this review with more positive opinions but I don’t think it will be anytime soon since there seems to be a lot of opinions similar to mine about the demise of quality at this restaurant. Two lunches on a Saturday at 2:30 was $ 25 + change.
Pros
Good noodles
their water actually taste good
They give you enough napkins
Service was good.
Cons
taste and quality of the food
previously frozen crawfish in crawfish season
tuna in sushi that had «turned»
fried shrimps that tasted like they may have turned before cooked
General Tso’s chicken dried out (possibly left on buffet since lunch service)
Place seems less kept than usual (carpet, cleanliness of the table, etc.)

My roommate took me to lunch here last Wednesday as we were in Humble. I have eaten here in the past and don’t remember being so dissatisfied. I have to say I was disappointed with the food. General Tso’s Chicken was hard and not quite flavored right. For one thing it lacked any spice to it. The salt and pepper ribs were the best, but overall the food was lacking something. Very nice lady refilled our drinks, otherwise it is buffet style.
I will be treating my roommate to lunch this week and we will again be eating Chinese, at a new place that I found to be far superior to Café East. Though they don’t have a buffet, the food is great.
Buffets are not all that great compared to a menu.

I really don’t expect much from Chinese Buffet’s but really, the food has to be at least decent. I cannot understand how this place is still open, it looks nice, but very tacky inside and out, and they have a large selection, but it would be nice if any of it was good.

We went there after church, the food was good, the server was nice and the place wasn’t packed. We’re satisfied.

I love food businesses with free Wi-​Fi! Give a person to ignore the one they love while eating!
This dining experience was almost a 3 star experience. The food is 3 star worthy. This particular location’s food is not that bad in comparison to my normal, Katy location. I was saddened that the service was about a 2 star experience.
You have your traditional Chinese food options here. General Tso this, sweet and sour that… nothing really out of the ordinary. I was surprised that they did have stuffed crab, which was actually pretty tasty. You had a nice variety of sushi, soup and desserts as well. No matter how long I live in Houston, I am still surprised to see quesadillas at a Chinese food buffet! All in all, for buffet food, this place will do you right, even though they are kind of pricey.
My biggest disappointment is the waiter service. Having your drink refilled at a buffet makes or breaks your experience. When I am up, getting a fresh plate, and looming over my next victims on the buffet, a server should have already refilled my glass. For a place that is so pricey, and ensure that you pay extra by not allowing you to refill your own drinks, they should at least have this part down pact. I had to ask several times for refills. It had gotten so bad that the manager openly started yelling at the waitress in a native language about the refills. The manager just opted to start doing the refills himself.
This is pricey, but decent Chinese food. I will round up and give this place 3 stars.

Food is made with the cheap ingredients. General Tso’s Chicken is fried so hard that there wasn’t any meat inside. This place is for people with a lot of kids that sacrifice quality for quantity.

It’s all about options and if you are looking for Chinese Buffet in Humble, this will be it.
I agree with Esteban about the service — it can be horrible. When I lived in Spring, we’d periodically go to this place when we needed a Chinese Buffet fix. So I’d say about 85% of the time, the service we received was good, it’s the other 15% that I remember.
The food isn’t like 4 star cuisine but they do have a decent selection. I think it’s all about what you get. I stick to my staples: spicy chicken, singapore noodles, lo mein, dumplings, veggie egg rolls, kung pao chicken and on occasion their ribs.
They also serve sushi — which looks suspect to me but my friends rave about how good it is. There is also a salad section and a dessert section.
Oh, almost forgot — they also have a soup bar. I love mixing their wonton soup with their spicy mushroom soup — delish.
Do I frequent this place –no. Is it edible — sometimes. Would I go back? probably…
People who go to buffets need not have such high expectations. That is reality.

I have to say I agree with Estaban on this one. Café East us not worth the trouble. It’s Slightly better than Golden Island though, so I’ll give it 2 stars instead of just 1.

Brevity is gold.
My review about Café East will be short and critical.
My brother and my sister — in — law invited to take me out to dinner. We decided to have some chinese food — one of my favorites.
We arrived at Café East. After entering the front doors, I knew there would be trouble. What clued me — in was the enigmatic, crazy patterned and deep colored carpet. The problem I have with that carpet lies steeped in the cliché — What you don’t know, can’t hurt you. If I cannot determine how clean a business/​restaurant keeps its floor then I can’t be certain it’s clean at all.
My real issue about Café East is their buffet and service. I am certain if I were to take a look at any successful business, I am certain there are two evaluation areas that are key to keeping it a prosperous business:
1. Product
2. Service
Café East’s buffet was not pleasant. The buffet tables were riddled with food that was dried out. The food had no taste, or flavor. And, the foods’ accompanying sauces were cold and lumpy.
Café East’s wait staff service was disappointing. Service is another reason why people return with open pocket books. Service also is what pays the bills for many wait staff professionals. Unfortunately, our waiter’s service was disappointing. I am certain Café East’s wait staff training program is not the industry’s best.
Café East is a restaurant for individuals and families to eat. It’s also a restaurant that has plenty of space for elbow room. Unfortunately, it’s a restaurant that I prefer not to return… and, that’s how fortune cookie crumbles.
–E