First Choice Buffet

Unsafe food temps on the buffet. I had the kids put their food down. Most dishes were crusty and old. The soup all had a film of crust. Grossest buffet I’ve ever seen.

Boy I’ve been going to buffets a lot lately, but this was a 7 year old great niece’s choice for her birthday. Lots more choices on the sushi buffet than just California roll and «krab». The egg rolls were very good. Not the usual generic. I enjoyed all that I tried and there were many more choices I didn’t have room to try. Good choice by a 7 year old.

my family and i have been there twice. we love the food and the staff is so friendly. the sushi selection is amazing. we will definitely be back again.

My son and I had to go across the bridge for an appointment at 11am this morning (blood tests, fasting!). We had a few minutes to kill before going in, and decided to check Unilocal to find a restaurant for lunch afterwards. I found First Choice Buffet was very close by. My son turned around, and said, «Mom, it’s right behind us!» We had to suffer with our hunger pains for the next 20″ to get our tests, and then headed next door to chow down! This was the best Chinese buffet I’ve had in quite a while. I’m not going into details, because I honestly couldn’t even tell you the names of half the stuff I ate, but it was all fresh and delicious. The restaurant was clean, and the staff kept our drinks filled. I highly recommend that if you have to go to Quest Diagnostics for a fasting blood test, time it for lunchtime. This is a great way to break the fast!
One suggestion for the business owners: Consider updating the outside of the restaurant. I honestly thought it was no longer in business until someone opened the door.

I’ve had better and I’ve had a lot worse. Like all buffets, I recommend going as soon as the restaurant opens or during peak mealtimes and not at 3pm for the freshest food. The service is ok. My used plates are removed before I return and my drink is sufficiently refilled but the servers don’t smile. For the price, I recommend it especially when it includes sushi and prime rib.

The people who work here need to learn what customer service means. They were very rude and there’s no reason to be. The food isn’t that great where they can treat customers like they are bothering you by wanting to eat at their establishment. I will not be returning.

I live in Freeport, and we drive out of our way at Least once a week for their buffet. The food is extremely good. I always go for the coconut chicken and peanut chicken. The sushi I amazing for a buffet. The only thing I’ve noticed is the dumplings are great one and day and not so great another day.
It’s definitely worth it.

The food is great and it’s much better than other Chinese restaurants. However, there’s not a large selection and the sushi doesn’t wow me. But the taste of the food and the customer service offsets those factors.

Standard to above average Chinese buffet. Not the largest selection. But what is there — is well done. Plenty of shrimp. Plenty of baked seafood. Plenty of standard Chinese dishes like sweet and sour chicken, lo mein, and egg rolls. The sushi was a pleasant surprise! $ 11 for a Monday adult dinner.

I never thought I was going to puke sushi all over my plate until I ate here.

Let’s be fair with our ratings, please. Don’t compare a Chinese buffet to a freaking white-​glove steakhouse. This type of restaurant has a specific share of the market, and it should be rated among like restaurants… not rated against places where a 10-​ounce steak costs $ 48 (a la carte’).
That being said, this is absolute best Chinese buffett in Okaloosa County. Sushi is very good considering it’s a buffet. This is the cleanest of all Chinese buffets I’ve seen in the Florida panhandle. Most of the shrimp dishes are pretty good. The crab rangoon is fantastic. The green beans are very good. The spicy beef and chicken dishes are excellent, as is the coconut chicken. Soups are excellent. They usually have fresh oysters, and we often try them… and have never had a problem.
Unless you have a strong jaw, very sharp teeth, and a pocket full of dental floss I’d suggest you skip the «round of beef.» This restaurant is good at Chinese, and pretty fair with Sushi… but they are clueless about how to buy and cook a large beef roast. It’s a «fair» quality roast, cooked poorly.
The restrooms are very nice, and virtually spotless. The wait staff is a bit «icy,» but I attribute much of the «chill» to a language barrier.
No need to make extensive comments here. It’s very good, very clean, and the service is as good as you’ll get in a buffet of this type anywhere in the Florida Panhandle… and yes, I believe I’ve seen them all.
No chinese restaurant from Pensacola to Panama City can match it. End of story.
FYI…recently there was a false report posted on Facebook that this restaurant had closed. That report was removed. But if you have heard anything about the restaurant closing, please know that the story was false. First Choice is still open and doing fine.

I was a visitor to the area and my relatives took my husband and me here, The variety was more than I could even taste so I didn’t need more items. Everything was tasty and not overpowering but still spicy enough on the day we were there. The hot and sour soup was one of the best. The shrimp with black bean hot sause was divine. The deserts were the weak link but lichees seem more appropriate than tiramisu anyway. I wished that they were in my neighborhood. Funny thing, I got home and there was a brochure in the mail of a new Chinese, sushi buffet on Lombard in Portland Oregon. We’ll go there soon to see if it is as good as First Choice.

It is strange to me when Chinese people serve sushi, but it is pretty good here, so that’s a plus. The buffet isn’t vast, but you can certainly stuff your face and get your money’s worth. On that note, THIS PLACE IS A GREAT DEAL!!! Holy moly, for 11 dollars (or whatever it costs) you can really fill up. The steamed crab legs, shrimp and oysters really make it a great value. I really recommend this place if you are in the mood for some asian food.

One of the better Chinese buffets where i’ve eaten. Small selection but they have help yourself prime rib

As Chinese buffets go, this one doesn’t stand out, but it is probably the best in the area right now. (The one by the mall that burned down several years ago was the best.) It still doesn’t come close to NYC chinese food, but at least the food tastes pretty fresh here. The big selection of sushi is the best thing about it. They actually had prime rib when I was there and it was very good — I gave an extra star for that. The buffet could use a lot more vegetables.

What a great place to enjoy some fresh sushi. Not only great sushi, but overall great food for a buffet restaurant. There are three different sections offering the typical fried rice, fried shrimp, and spicy beef and green peppers.
The downside to this restaurant is that it seems a little cramped. The seating could be a little better because the tables seem too close to each other. If you can get a booth seat that would be better.
A few TVs can be found throughout which gives you something to watch as you dip sushi into your soy sauce. The Spurs were on the night I was there so that was an added bonus!
I don’t like eating at buffets too often but I could eat here at least once a week to satisfy my Chinese fix.

This has to be one of the best Chinese buffets I Have been to. The sushi and raw oysters are superb. The hot and sour soup is to die for. They have a great beer selection, and the remainder of the buffet is phenomenal. My family and I go here often. $ 10 per person for all the best you can eat!

This place is so amazing the music is soothing the people very nice, polite, attentive, and well dressed. There is a large variety of food from the usual buffet style to the many different kinds of sushi and sushi-​mi made fresh the entire time your there. The price is very affordable and considering the food choices available you can easily leave stuffed like the Thanksgiving turkey (very satisfied)

I think this place has the cleanest, nicest atmosphere out of all the Chinese buffets I’ve been to. Feels more like a good restaurant than a Chinese buffet. Dark paneling, LCD TVs, booths, a sushi chef station, and a framed ceiling over the buffet tables realistically painted to look like a clear sky with a few clouds here and there all add to the comfortable ambiance. Even so, it’s CHEAP. Like $ 7-​cheap for all you can eat really good sushi and Chinese food, which is the only «merely acceptable» aspect about First Choice. It’s the same food you’ll find at any other Chinese buffet. Pretty good (especially for the price), just not amazing.

Pros: Sushi Bar — Probably the best quality, cleanest, and greatest selection of sushi I have ever seen (in a buffet). Maki, Nigiri, and Temaki of all kinds were readily available. The sushi chef’s were making it right in front of you. I never eat sushi from a Chinese buffet, but this place is definitely the exception to my rule.
Cons: The actual buffet is quite small in variety compared to most Chinese buffets. They had quite a good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, but that did not make up for the lack of other «main dishes».