Empire Buffet

We cme every tuesday. we loved the food. everything is
complain.the manager so friendly. the staff thier great… God bless…

This place doesn’t deserve 2 stars. At least, it should be 3 – 3.5 stars. To me, most of Chineses foods have the same taste since the Chefs use Soy sause, oyster sauces, black bean sauces. So this place is not bad as the reviews. Actually, some foods tastes good here.
They have the BBQ section that the Chef does the stir fry job in front of you, all fresh and very delicious. Don’t forget give the chef a lot of garlic, some soysauces.
I was hesitant to try this place after I read the reviews in Unilocal.But my husband just wanna try and that was right decision.
Good place to fill up your hangry stomach.

So I am a REGULAR customer at Empire Buffet. Why do I give them a 2 star rating if I’m a regular you ask? It’s because I only come to Empire for TWO things and two things only. Their crawfish and my ice cream cone dessert. Literally just those two. Normally I will feast on some crab but their fried crab taste funny (like a spoilage problem EVERYTIME), & their snow crab legs aren’t cooked properly. Either it’s overdone or unsalted with no taste. Even dipping it in butter does it no justice. Empire tries it really does. There’s no other buffet right now in Vallejo, so I’m forced to come here. a few months back I tried crawfish for the first time (what a sin that I waited so long) and now I really just can’t get enough of it. So Empire is my go to. I would love to give them 3 stars because their crawfish is delicious BUT they always stop making it early. The first time I visited empire they only had half a tray left. When that was finished I asked the lady if they were gonna make some more and she said no and brought out a different dish in it’s place. Another time, I arrived at 745 pm, ate some crawfish, they replaced it again at 815. Then they stopped making more when the place didn’t even close till 930. I was sort of dissappointed seeing as that’s the only food item that I ever eat from there. I’ve tried probably everything they offer, but nothing really pops out on me. The shrimp is tasty, but I keep my eyes on my crawfish prize.

Haven’t been there for a decade. Decided to give it a chance and it’s still terrible. They need to stop money-​grubbin and make some quality fresh food. I will wait for another decade and I won’t be surprised if it’s still terrible smh

I just ate here for lunch and found it enjoyable. Food is good as far as buffet standards go. But it a «no-​frills» joint, its buffet 2 steps above fast food, designed to get you in & out. But, like I said it was tasty. Good for a quick lunch. I wouldn’t recommend it for date night. Just basic, around-​average buffet fare.
However, it doesn’t deserve that hate it seems to be getting.

2.5 stars. I ate here last year and had a great experience. It was prime dinner hours and everything was cooked to perfection and fresh. One of the best buffets I had ever eaten at! Hours are until 10pm. I showed up at 9:10 last night, I was no sooner seated when they started taking food out of buffets, till there were only a few selections to choose from. How unprofessional, I wasn’t expecting new food, just full selection. Food was good, what there was available ! Cleanup shouldn’t begin till closing time, especially when there are customers present !

If you want some good food, save your money. I know, I know– it’s a buffet. Great place to take your hungry family if you’re on a budget. I guess. I understand the food won’t be the greatest, but I expected to at least leave satisfied. and I wasn’t. We went in a group and it was my first time there. The while set up was confusing, the food was not as good as it looked, and the cashier was so rude. Also, you pay at the end and the person who cleared the plates at our table was standing there next to us in line to pay to make sure we left her a tip since we didn’t leave it on the table. Awkward. Top 5 on my list of worst places I’ve gone to eat at. Definitely won’t go back.

We had a funeral reception held here and my family who was paying for it had no where to sit in the area reserved for us. Their 2 male waiters had an attitude about it and wouldn’t let us sit down at the next closest table and got in my cousins face about it. Which I found highly unprofessional. Then when it came to paying the bill they counted 177 people when their max capacity was 150. It makes no damn sense. And their food wasn’t even good. Atleast the 2 female waitresses were nice but that’s about it. If I could give 0 stars I would!

Anything that is not Chinese food is pretty much crap. The ambiance is none; not that I expect much, it is a buffet. But it just looks dirty…
They fill food quickly (small plus). Sushi is old (rice). Anything fried is just plain soggy. The salad bar sucks and what’s worse is the dressing. Don’t touch the seafood, all tasted like chemical products. The best part of my meal was the sofa and ice cream.
Final thought is it cost me $ 30.00 for two people and two drinks. I started to tip but then thought «they aren’t serving me, just brought me a coke». So I gave them $ 3.00 reluctantly. The chick thought I wrote $ 4.00 and I pointed out that the total was $ 33 so obviously it wouldn’t be $ 4… Sigh.
Thanks for reminding me why I don’t do buffets.

Food was bad bathroom was filthy. only good thing was the ice cream and sweet banana.

The chicken tastes like bleach, even the water is nasty… The only positive this is that the vanilla ice cream is okay. so that’s nice. Also, not once have i seen my dad spit food put of his mouth and today was the first ever…

This food was ok at best. The hot stuff wasn’t hot and lacked flavor. The best thing about it is the huge selection, but it doesn’t matter much when it isn’t good. I should have read the reviews before coming. Don’t plan on coming back.

I am writing this review more for management than diners. I have been eating at this restaurant ever since it opened. Waiters in crisp red coats took very good care of you. The food was always good. nothing to die for but good. It is a place I eat at 2 or 3 times a year and enjoy. It is a buffet I get it I don’t expect superlative.
However this place is going downhill fast. The mushroom chicken had no chicken, Another pork dish had next to zero pork in it. It looks like the restaurant is trying to save money by putting less meat in the entrees. The net result is customers are picking out the meat and leaving hot trays of vegetables. It also seems more American cuisine fare is creeping its way in.
I won’t be coming back to eat here anytime soon … and that is a pity

I have a secret love for buffets, even though you really give up quality for quantity at those kinds of places.
I used to come here when I would go grocery shopping at Seafood City down the block. Eh, it’s your typical buffet food. I would stay away from the «sushi» since they’re never that great (not only at this place, but at a lot of other buffets as well). I would probably just stick with the fried stuff, since you’d have to try really hard to mess that up, lol. The place itself seems pretty clean, though.

Crab legs over done and rubbery. Bbq chicken tasteless. BBQ pork good flavor, but tough. Coconut shrimp had a good flavor, but was overcooked. Jalapeño chicken was good. The pork and onions was by far the best thing on the line. Potstickers… Another over cooked item. Teriyaki chicken on a stick was tender but the flavor tasted like burnt soy sauce. Donuts dusted with sugar, the greasiest ones I have ever tasted. I am not sure how one messes up a fried piece of dough that bad. Fried wontons were stale. We will not be returning here. A wasted $ 30 for sure. We’re leaving here to get sushi across the street.

I keep reading the 1 – 2 stars review. Okay u have to read the names of each bad reviews and go figure y they do write bad reviews. Cheap cheap ass one.
I’ve been coming here since I moved to Vallejo. I’ve never had any issues at all. This is a 15 $ bill for a lunch buffet or dinner buffet. This is Vallejo not sf. Don’t expect ritz Carlton food people.
The staffs always been nice. Anyway get what u paid for or go next door get happy meal to make ur night better

Despite the two star rating averaged from 56 reviews at the time, we braved our way inside for some buffet. The facility appeared clean and there was certainly a nice selection; however, we learned first hand why Empire struggles to obtain a third star.
«I think we’re going to be fighting over the toilet tonight.»
It’s a shame this place isn’t more diligent in their efforts to serve fresh food; especially where sea food is concerned.
Shells of crustacean should crack, not rival one’s attempt to open the plastic vacuum-​sealed casing in which electronics are packaged.
Oysters shouldn’t taste like dirty fish tank water emulsified with spoiled butter.
Everything was a little off. I couldn’t say what it was exactly, but everything I tried failed to taste like I remembered it is supposed to taste.
Fortunately, I didn’t get sick and my toilet was spared abuse.
The two star rating is well deserved; in fact, that’s more than generous.

They failed as soon as we arrived. My family reserved a room for our large party. And a table of 10 was sitting in the middle of our section. I believe they even charged us for the young children whose parents brought in baby food for them.
I would suggest trying the Mongolian BBQ first as they cook it by the order.

Maybe the best buffet in Vallejo, but that honor really doesn’t mean much.
What I like about this place is its expansive selections. You have American, Mongolian, Japanese, and of course Chinese. They even have a wide selection of seafood! I personally like their mussels and oysters.
But somehow all of cuisine from every corner of the world all taste the same. Greasy. Granted, this is a Chinese restaurant and a buffet, so grease should be expected. This place accepts that expectation literally and liberally though, as evident by the grease that is essentially used as the main topping in just about every dish.
Be prepared to leave the restaurant with the a strange concoction of flavor of your mouth — the taste overstaying its welcome in your palate due to, you guess it, grease! Also, be prepared for a painful day the day after (typically).
Maybe you shouldn’t eat here. But if you’re hungry, on a budget, and feeling like going to a buffet in Vallejo, then I *recommend* this place. Just remember that my «recommendation» comes with disclaimers (read review again).

I feel like it’s my duty to Unilocal this place. Let me start this review by stating, I am from Vallejo and know the area well. There’s not much out here in V-​Town. So, I had to consider that Empire Buffet will not even come close to the buffets I’m use to in Las Vegas. But what I can do is compare this buffet to the non-​casino buffets that I have eaten at. Empire Buffet is your standard buffet that serves a mix of food ranging from chicken, fish, fried foods, roast beef, sushi, and desserts. Taste here is just average at best. I’m still trying to eat a clean as I can. Even at a buffet, I was able to eat about 8 egg whites with asparagus & mushrooms. I also tossed in a few fillets of salmon just to get the calories up for a missed meal earlier in the day. My family thought that the food was just okay, nothing spectacular. But here’s my complaint… our group was deep and Empire Buffet knew we were coming in advance. Most of the good stuff was out and the wait wasn’t minimal (i.e. 20 minutes). I know that Empire was doing the best they can by busing tables as quick as they can and cooking as fast as they can, but they were not at all prepared to handle us. C’mon…you got a bunch of hungry Filipinos heading your way. There’s no excuse to run out of all seafood the first 10 minutes. It’s a buffet, be like one. My last complaint was that it took forever for drink refills. They could easily remedy this by having a self serve drink location. Overall, I wasn’t totally marveled with Empire Buffet. I could have easily given this review 2 stars, but I have to consider the area and our group size. Where else in Vallejo could we find somewhere that would accommodate a huge party? Empire was good enough to hold on to a 3 star review from me. A-​Ok!
Unilocal PERSONAL CHALLENGE 2013 — (⁴²³⁄₅₀₀)