HomeTown Buffet

I was watching a show on cable which talked about what became of the food left over from the buffets in Vegas. It was interesting and informative, yet at the same time kind of disgusting.
To simplify, the food was hauled away by a pig farmer and fed to his pigs which would later be used for slaughter.
Personally, I think some of the refuse was sent back to Mentor and served here.
The place is dirty. It is absolutely disgusting. The only thing I have seen recently that was worse, was the bathroom.
The servers were nice, as well as most of the staff, but the food reminded me of an old joke, «It tasted like framunda cheese!» I won’t ruin the joke, not to mention this is a family website, but the subtle hint I am about to give is, its in the region below my hips and above my knees (if you still don’t know, friend me and i’ll tell you).
About the prices, not expensive but aside from making yourself sick as you slide on up to the food trough, the food is generally overcooked, dried out and heavy on the salt and or MSG.
The floor is dirty, the plates are old, haggered, crack and chipped, just like the plastic cups. And if you dared look under the table (WARNING DON“T), you’ll lose your appetite.
I don’t want to come across as the most negative person in the world, for I have come back to this place more then once (when i was feeling like a pig), but there are some good points.
For example: If you are ever feeling sad or blue, and really down on yourself come to this place, Look around at the people who haven’t showered in days. Or the few who have skid marks which can be seen through the tent sized yoga pants, and almost instantaneously you will feel much better about yourself.
See, everyplace has it’s purpose

Good food selections, quality and cleanliness. Definitely worth visiting. Reasonably priced with friendly service.

It’s a dump, the food would be right at home in a prison. We paid, looked at the food and not one thing looked good. Went back to the cashier for our full refund. Bye bye and never again.

Absolutely disgusting it was dirty and gross the manager even came by our table but no one picked up the sausage that was next to our table the entire time we were there we watched person after person walk over the sausage some even stepping on it.

Arrived just in time for changeover to dinner. Strike one — they had a rep from the Plain Dealer in their lobby, hustling for subscriptions. Strike two — The roast beef, stringy, gristly and rather inedible but for a few bites once you tore the waste away. Strike three — Tater tots? Oooh I like tots. They were lukewarm, at best. I told the buffet kid they were bad and instead of checking the temp with a thermometer etc, or getting new ones, he put his (gloved) hands on them in a few places to see if they were hot. They had broccoli cheese casserole and … something gravy covered, pot roast maybe, in those individual «pans» that looked as if it had been there for too long. It might have been «at temp» but it was dry to the point that the gravy had that «crust» on it. No thanks. So I told the manager who was apologetic, and he gave me $ 10 cash back off of a bill that including pre-​paid tip was $ 35.
I will not be going back to this place. Here’s what I really don’t understand. Hometown buffet and Ryan’s are owned by the same group. I’ve never ever had a bad experience at a Ryan’s. I guess it’s like when a hotel corporation owns several brands… some are economy and some are higher end. What I know is that I won’t be spending my hard-​earned dollars at another Hometown. This was the last chance.

We went here Thanksgiving Day and arrived at 3pm and the restaurant said they would be open until 4:30pm. There wasn’t any turkey or ham left at the carving station and I asked the employee if they would be bringing out any more meat and he said «No». I told my boyfriend this information and he was as upset as I was. It was our understanding that they would be keeping the food options full until they closed. My guy asked to speak with the Manager, Calvin Williams, to get his money REFUNDED to him. BAAAHUMBUG and shame on you, Hometown Buffet

The interior could use some updating, here’s tears in some of the seats. The bathrooms are typically low on supplies. There’s often two to three items I’m unable to eat because it tastes room temperature. There’s been food items that have been freshly placed on the buffet and have tasted lukewarm. I like the variety of options at a buffet, but temperature is important to me. I’ve never understood the additional charge for a beverage. Why isn’t it included in the buffet pricing? I’m unable to locate pricing on the webpage. The employees are pleasant and helpful. The deserts are yummy. The ice cream machine has been down on several visits. One time, it was vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet twist as the only option. I would come more often if there was some improvements to the place. I love the fried chicken

I will be working on a contract in Mentor, Ohio for six months so my mom and I made a quick run from the Detroit area to check out Mentor. Max & Erma’s was really busy so we decided to check out the Home Town Buffet which was on the other side of the parking lot. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality and selection of food.
Everything was plentiful, at the right temperature and tasted good. There was a wide selection of quality food. Usually the steak is not of good quality at a buffet but the steak here was cooked and seasoned well… I loved it! I also had fried chicken… excellent again. What I really liked was home-​made desserts like carrot cake and banana pudding, it was moist and delicious.
Overall, a wonderful dining experience.

My mom wanted to go to The Hometown Buffet for Mother’s Day, so I treated her to dinner here. We went early, to avoid the expected crowd. But to our surprise, it didn’t get as crowded as we thought it would be.
The line moved fast, and a few empty tables remained throughout our visit there. The food wasn’t that great, but the Staff was friendly (but a bit laxed with removing used plates and cups from our table, during the first hour of our visit).
We were shocked that they had rare cooked steak, at the Buffet – especially since the media said there is danger in eating undercooked meat.
The ham and turkey was OK, but the fried and baked chicken wasn’t that good. And they didn’t have a lot of chicken wings on the Buffet (which is always a favorite of Buffet lovers).
The side dishes– Mac and Cheese, Green Beans, Corn, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, etc was acceptable. We didn’t care for the small fried fish, or the baked fish.
The fried Shrimp was good, but they didn’t have any Peel-​And-​Eat Shrimp. The Salad Bar was OK, except the Staff was slow to replace items on the Buffet, once they ran out of them.
The coffee was delicious, the hot tea was a generic brand, the soda selection could have been better, and the Staff was slow to refill the sweetened iced tea. I was surprised that they offered a nice selection of Frozen Icee drinks, and they were delicious!!!
The Dessert Bar contained Cinnamon Rolls, Brownies, Ice Cream, Build-​Your-​Own-​Sundaes, Coconut Pie, Bread Pudding with Raisins, Sugar and Chocolate Chip Cookies.
However, they did not have any fruit on the Buffet. And they only offered one type of Dinner Rolls – which were undercooked, mushy, and heavily buttered.
The Build-​Your-​Own Nacho Bowl, Taco, and Tortilla Chip Bar was the best and most tastiest items in the restaurant.
The downside of our visit, was when a unidentified guest pulled the Fire Alarm. The Staff said everything was OK, and no one needed to exit the building. The alarm roared for a very long time, and was very loud and annoying. It took a while for the Fire Department to come, turn it off, and reset it.

I’ve been going to this location to eat lunch on random weekdays for the last 15 years. In short, this place is solid. It isn’t fancy, but it is certainly no dump. It’s a nice clean place with good service where you can feast on pretty much unlimited food for a very low price. For those who haven’t been here before, the restaurant is predominantly self-​service in that you check in when you walk in by paying for your meal up front. You then get a table, and go straight to the buffet. A waiter/​waitress comes by occasionally to pick up your dishes. It’s nice in that it’s convenient to eat here and you can get your food right away.
Cuisine usually varies but includes standard American fare, Mexican and Italian. The salad bar and dessert section always tend to be well stocked. The food tends to be fresh, and tasty. Given the price, quality and variety of food, I think this place is an excellent value. It’s certainly good for families and kids.
For those who haven’t been, I’d recommend it.