HomeTown Buffet

I can not believe that they have closed so many restaruants here in Sacramento county — but I really shouldn’t be surprised. Only the Monday before, the cashier told me that the chain had been bought in December 2015 and that they were thinking of making Veterans show their DD 214’s to get a Vets meal on Monday nights because VA cards can be faked — don’t you know — BS… There were some other changes too that she was not happy about either and then a few days later — bang — they are closed with no notice. So — I recommend that we all go to Golden Corral — at least they are still opened and their food is better.

This location was Shut down today along with florin and elk grove stores with no notice to its employees

Food was not great, only enjoyed the chicken fried steak. Not a whole of variety either. Probably won’t be coming back here.

Worst food ever!!! Stay away from this place. I have been to a lot of hometown buffets with my family, but this place was the worst so far. No food variety, poor customer service, and worst food quality which led me to write my first review ever in Unilocal.If the manager is reading this rating CHANGE THE CHEFF of close this place.

My sister and I went for breakfast after church… Hadn’t been to Hometown Buffet in a few years and was very disappointed. Food was mostly cold, scrambled eggs were rubbery, hash browns were like eating toothpicks. The worst rub was that now the coffee is to be paid for separately… since when??? Also, looked up at the ceiling… d-​i-​r-​t-​y. I’ll try again in another few years.

Here for lunch. Chicken, corn, green beans,& stuffing. Pretty tasty. Service very polite.

Problem 1.
They were so busy, they ran OUT of food.
Lots of people asking for refunds and upset. I lucked out and found Roast beef and salads. But, all the waiters & staff did their best!
Problem 2.
Another problem. .children running around placing hands in food. A device is needed to cover little hands, trying to feed themselves .Yes, parents oblivious and unattended.
I didn’t see any management or assistance to help customers, requesting food. But, it was crazy tonight.
Management was no where to be found. Refund time!!!

Staff: The customer service at this location is exceptional. Guests are promptly greeted at the door, and if you let them know it’s your first visit they will give you a quick orientation of the place.
Groupon: I used a Groupon during a Sunday breakfast, and it was an exceptional value. I did not have any difficulties redeeming the Groupon, and we weren’t treated any differently. If you want to try this place, I definitely recommend the Groupon, a coupon, or sign up on their website for deals/​offers.
Food: During our visit there was a good assortment of breakfast and lunch items. Each food station was well stocked. And, yes, this is a buffet so you can eat until your heart’s content… or you can’t move from your seat. If quantity and variety is your dining objective then you will find it here. Quality? Again, this is a buffet, so some of the food items taste a bit «institutional» in (as in cafeteria — not hospital or prison).
There is plenty of seating, so the restaurant can accommodate large groups, and children are welcome, too.

Home Town Buffet is not worth spending your money at. Food is ok. The one at the Watt location which used to be country club mall smells like old and moldy. Employees are nice but not worth it

This is near at our place and we decided to give it a try since we were able to find a good deal. Signed up online and was able to get the buy one, get one adult dinner free.
Dinner time and there was a line. Not a long line but the reception area needs more space since it will be easily crowded during peak hours. You don’t want your guest to fall in line outside of the resto waiting. Nice receptionist, he greeted us with a smile and we showed the text and ID from the deal and that’s it.
It doesn’t have a lot of options but every food taste ok. The meat section is my favorite. It’s really tender and juicy. The steak was seasoned well. The pasta section was ok.
For the cleanliness, not bad but I think they could have made it better than that. Most especially the drinks/​slurpee section. It’s un appetizing to look at if it’s just right beside your table.
It was an OK experience overall.

staff at register very friendly then entered bathroom and found extremely unsanitary. bad impression, food quality is poor. think day old and at best warm left over and dry. Mexican food samples were only slightly better. decided to leave without sampling other food stations.
Not a good choice my eighty four year old aunt got food poisoning

For $ 36.00 we had a dinner for two and drinks. It was not all that packed on a Sunday night for dinner. You can tell 89% of the food was not fresh. I will not be back again over priced for old food.

I received coupon for a BOGO and decided to try it. I went in for lunch with a friend and we got a standard lunch and drink each. I cost me over $ 18.00 even with a BOGO coupon. Needless to say I was shocked at the price. I was even more shocked at the lack of selection of food. I have eaten at the competition’s buffet a number of times and there is no comparison.
To make matters even worse, the fried chicken was so salty I could not eat the coating and I went to get a slice of roast beef ~ there was only a small piece mostly all fat and no body to carve it. I finally l found a girl restocking a steam table to cut me a off a piece.
To compare the two, there is no comparison, especially considering the $ 18.00+ for the one bad meal. I could have had steak and lobster for that price, not over salty fried chicken, and that chicken was the highlight of their menu.

Not only was the service bad but the food was disgusting. Walked in and literally walked out. You had the spoons and forks not washed and the plates with stains. I will never go back agen in my life. Most disgusting place ever …

My family and I came to this location in the past for dinner and it did not meet our expectations. We were over charged. Took about 15mins to get a refund. The dishes were coming out dirty with food particles on the outside and inside. Foods were not labeled correctly, sometimes not knowing what I was being offered. When brought to the staffs attention, I was welcomed by staff that was not proficient in English and therefore did not understand what I was saying. The food was either cold or disgustingly underseasoned. Dishes piling mile high on tables, bust service was not present. Floors nasty and dirty. The service was subpar. The professionalism and customer service was no where to be found. I witnessed management speaking to enployees in a manner that was inappropriate. The employees in return speaking to customers in the same way.
Months later, I returned to see nothing had changed. Was over charged again. I thought maybe before I had come on a bad day but that wasn’t the case. It’s this way more often than not.
I will never visit this location again. Please go over your receipts Make sure you look over it carefully.

My friend and his girlfriend made the decision for my gaming group to go to Hometown Buffet last night at this location. When we arrived I noticed the price for Dinner being more than 10 bucks. I then asked the cashier if that included drinks and she said that would be another 2.50 and that total it would be about 15.85. That’s just too damn much for a buffet to me. I texted my friend telling him this and he said we should try it anyway, so we did.
First off the line wasn’t that long, but it took a very long time to get through.
Secondly they have a deal where you spend 99 cents more to get a to-​go cup for a drink (which I thought was a decent touch), but after two of us ordered and went to the table and the remaining two of us were ordering next, I got my cup and my friend didn’t, because they were out of cups in the front of the store.
The cashier sent a message to management (or whoever) that more cups were needed, and they didn’t show up for another 5 – 10 minutes with my friend just standing around waiting, while the other three of us were able to wander the place and get our food.
I go to get a plate for salad first and when it came to dressings, I felt like Ranch since Thousand Island felt it would be too sweet for me at that moment, and noticed it was out. Also noticed someone else standing there who had also been waiting on Ranch to be refilled for a few minutes and she said someone was getting some, but it has been a while.
So while my friend is waiting for his cup, I am standing around waiting for my Ranch. It took about 5 minutes from the point I had started waiting, which was already x amount of minutes since this other person had been waiting.
Finally the Ranch came in a simple white tub, and off the worker went into the back area.
I then finished filling my plate and put it at the table and picked up another place for the classic Buffet staples of Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese, and a Roll.
The chicken visually seemed overcooked (it was), and the Mac & Cheese seemed like it was almost out, but there was enough for me to scrape one spoon of it from the pan. Even after being at my table and being done eating, I heard a message over the loud speaker saying «people are STILL waiting on macaroni and cheese out here», meaning that someone in the back isn’t doing their job.
The chicken was overcooked, the green beans were fine, the potatoes weren’t bad, the roll wasn’t great, and the mac & cheese was pretty mediocre.
My friend that had waited for the cup however, couldn’t even finish his first plate of food (didn’t get a salad) since he couldn’t finish his chicken-​fried steak and said the food tasted like crap (which I pretty much agreed with), and that it tastes worse than military food (he’s former military).
Yes, there was someone who came by to pick up dirty dishes, so that was good, but overall the experience was overpriced garbage with me being disappointed and one of my friends feeling sick for the rest of the night.
I used to go to JJ Norths when it was still around, and even went to Sizzler, and I even go to the Chinese Buffet places around town, and even though I got sick from one Chinese Buffet, I would go back to that one over Hometown Buffet any day.

Visited for the first time last evening (Friday), and was pleasantly surprised, as buffet-​style restaurants aren’t always the best.
Service-​wise, the cashier was friendly and the line moved fairly quickly. Employees frequently cruised the restaurant bussing tables, so no dirty plates stacked up. I appreciated that.
The general manager dropped by a couple of times — first with a plate of garlic bread and, on second trip, cinnamon rolls — for customers to try. They were both damn good.
Food-​wise, I sampled a little from each category, so enjoyed BBQ pulled pork, a build-​your-​taco, cornbread stuffing, actual cornbread, and a filet of sole. The fish was a little dry, probably due to the heating lamps. And, then, there’s the dessert table! My friend picked up the chocolate lava cake, and I was so jazzed to see coconut cream pie — my favorite!
I’ve been in dumps, and this isn’t one. Have no idea why people have described it as such. It’s a basic buffet, with a variety of food options. It’ isn’t fancy, and isn’t claiming to be. The odds are that some dishes might be a hit-​or-​miss, but it obviously isn’t a dump. Jayzus.

I’m convinced that their buffet items are ten times better on WEEKDAYS and horrible on Saturday and Sundays.
Since it was a hit or miss for me, I started paying closer attention.
On weekdays, they have chicken strips, which I love more than I should and discovered they didn’t serve them on the weekend.
Steak and roast beef is pretty good, but don’t count on it every time you go. I’ve also seen ham. I suggest that you call ahead of time to see which meats they’re serving.
One thing you can count on is their salad bar. They have a great selection to make a fabulous salad regardless of the day you go.
Also, you can get great discounts, such as buy one get one free, by utilizing their text messaging feature for meal deals. I don’t know which number to text, or the message you have to type to get whatever coupon they’re offering. Google it. Or call them to find out. Saved us 13.00 on the day of our visit.
Do bring a few dollar bills to give to the bus gals. They work so hard and I feel terrible when I forget to bring cash, since I usually pay everything with plastic.

Arrived at 5:00 pm, which should be the peak serving time. This place has gone down hill in service and food quality. Maybe 20 customers here, which should have been a sign. But I came here, so I might as well make the best of it.
Out of green beans, out of carrots, mashed potatoes looked old and crusty. Looks like they’re running a skeleton crew, had to hunt one down to get the vegetables refilled. Corn and even hot dogs cold. What in the heck is going on? I’ve run my own business for years and there’s a reason I’m still in business… Management, you’re going to have to hire more people, get better quality food in here, or plan on closing this place down. It’s called sacrifices. You want more business, then you need to clean this place up! Excuses of product price increases and labor expenses won’t cut it when there are so many other choices in eating establishments!
Either management is at fault in which they should be fired. But I suspect this is more of a upper corporate management comedy of errors. Again, fire them. They’re getting paid numerous figures while the business health and reputation suffers.
Either fix this huge disappointment or start from scratch. Really, if I were CEO of this company, I would be ashamed especially of this location. Heads would roll. Corporate execs, come here unannounced at peak hour. If your worth your salt, you’ll fix it pronto!

Haven’t been to a Home Town in so many years I lost count so when some coupons came via mail last week we decided we’ve give it a whirl this past Sunday which we did.
The visit wasn’t without its challenges however I decided to give it a solid 4 stars based on the customer service we received from the manager there after experiencing an issue with the internal temperatures of the building being well in the 60’s if not below AND the external temps were in the 20’s this entire week. My initial review was going to be a solid 3 but felt compelled to bump it up a notch after my interaction with him…
Before I get into what I like and didn’t I will give props to the male manager there who after I approached the front desk to ask if the heater was actually on as it was beyond freezing and us and every other patron has their winter jackets zipped up all the way and was wearing either the hoods on their jackets or beanie caps INSIDE the restaurant and never took them off…
The manager sat down next to us as I asked why it was beyond freezing inside the restaurant so much so that ALL of the hot food was cold as well seeings as how it began hot under the warming lamps including our freshly prepared omelets however before we could even reach the table the food was stone cold. I also said that with it being so freezing outside all we wanted to do was warm up with some hot n tasty eats and that wasn’t happening…
He took the time after he sat down with us to apologize and go onto say that since he had taken management of the store over he has encountered issues with the HVAC system and has to date been unable to get anyone to address it either at the Home Town headquarters or the mall. I believed him and my ‘liar’ radar is damn good by the way so I believed him. He also went so far as to apologize more than once and offered us two complementary passes for our next meal.
This is where the 4^th star comes in for me. Superb customer service is a dying art these days and he nailed it. He made a situation that was out of his control amicable for the paying customer IE: Us which all of a sudden made us want to come back and give them another shot especially later in the day as he said it warms up a bit more as the day goes on but after 6pm the a/​c will come on regardless of the seasons.
Now onto the food. AND a reminder I am a low~carb carnivore and saturated fat eater so you won’t find any commentary on breads, potatoes, riced, desserts and anything like that in this review:
LOVED:
The sliced kielbasa sausage that was beyond moist, perfectly cooked with a moist flavorful inside and that crispy delicious shell. Had 3 different trips to the area to refill them actually.
Chicken Strips: Were very good! I enjoyed the hell out of them, crispy on the outside and although ever so slightly dry on the inside I’d rather have them that way then undercooked.
Ranch dressing: I love ranch and theirs is a solid 4 stars.
Salad Bar: AWESOME!!! Full of choices of different lettuces, all the fresh toppings you could want from fresh veggies to fresh crumbled hard boiled eggs, bacon and more, more more!
Bacon & Sausage: Both very very good and cooked well.
Condiments: I love my food saucy! I had no idea they had an entire area of clean ready to roll condiments of so many varieties! Jalapeño Tabasco, Tabasco, A1 Steak Sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, BBQ sauces and all sorts of international choices too of well; condiments; love love, loved that…
Although I didn’t eat the traditional breakfast foods like pancakes, waffles, hash browns, biscuits, muffins and pastries they have an amazing selection and all looked very very fresh and actually yummy…
DISLIKED:
Obviously the freezing temperature inside the building and the eggs.
I LOVE eggs and eat a ton of them and was truly looking forward to amazingly light and fluffy omelets and scrambled eggs on this mornings outing however their buffet style eggs were over cooked and dry and the «made to order» omelet area sucked as far as the heat level of it to not to mention the dude behind the omelet château was stingy with the cheese and actually didn’t put any inside of mine even though I clearly asked for a «Cheese and Jalapeño» omelet. Once I got back to the table I opened it as well it wasn’t stuck to together at all like a cheese omelet properly cooked and heated should be to see that it was just a Jalapeño omelet so I went back and asked him for cheese to which he actually said to me «Well you didn’t ask for it». Needless to say I quickly corrected that customer service faux pas with him on the spot and now we’re friends again…
Will be back to use our Sorry-​4-​The-​Artic-​Freeze climate control vouchers soon only next time for dinner as I really want to try the shrimp!