Empire Buffet

Came here with a group for a bday on. Friday night. The waitstaff was fun and helpful. The food was fantastic. We left with so many new favorites. Try the coconut shrimp and prepare to get addicted yum! Everything was fresh and flavorful

To be honest, the only reason we even ate here was because we just finished my daughter’s dance recital, we were all starving, and it was on the way home to Cumberland. I am not usually keen on buffets anyway, and I’m reminded why with this visit. Over half of the food I got was cold, and this was after stirring it around to ensure the hottest scoop I could get. If the health department came in here with a thermometer, they might get shut down. They had a ton of gross looking fried American food too and suspect sushi. It was $ 36 plus tip for the 4 of us to eat. I should have saved the money and made us all peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at home.

The Empire Buffet is pretty much what I expected for a Chinese buffet in Woonsocket. I would rate the food at about 2 ½ stars. The pans were kind of empty for certain items, some things tasted like they had been under the heat lamps for quite a while, but were ok. The hot and sour soup was gross. It tasted like it sat out for two days heating and was burnt at the bottom.
I would give it 4 stars for cleanliness. The floor was clean entering and everywhere I could see. The buffet area was wiped down and clean. And after a couple left, we watched the girl doing the tables completely wipe down the high chair the couple’s baby used. She wiped every inch of it.
The staff was friendly and courteous so I would say 3 stars there. And the price was good.
They only serve beer and wine if you like alcohol with your meal. I had soda, so it didn’t matter to me.

So we went on a Wednesday. 6 bucks with Tax for all you can eat buffet. The place was real busy especially for it being lunch time but we sat down right away. The food was all piping hott and all looked good. Everything I tried was real good fried rice, egg roll, generals chicken, crab rangoons etc… Never had a bad experience. I will be back…

I don’t know where the people that wrote these reviews were eating, but it couldn’t have been this place. My husband and I are new to Cumberland and there aren’t too many Chinese places around our way so since everyone around here raves about empire buffet we decided to give it a shot. What. A. Mistake. First of all it was 102 degrees in this place. They have filthy rugs and a dirty ceiling. The food was terrible. There was more gross fried American food (undercooked mozzarella sticks, undercooked French fries and onion rings) than there was Chinese food. The pork fried rice was clumpy, the chicken fingers were soggy and the chicken wings were slimy. There was no duck sauce to be found and the brown gravy was not good. The first two plates I grabbed off of the clean plates stack were dirty. To top it all off the server never checked on us to refill our drinks, yet she had time to be playing on her cellphone in the corner. This place was a waste of time and money.

The food is amazing for a buffet, if you know which dishes to choose! I suggest the mini egg pies, white rice noodles, white fried rice, ground chicken covered shrimp, jalapeño chicken meatballs, honey chicken wings, black pepper shrimp, general tsao chicken, baked imitation crab with cheese, fried dough balls, and freshly cooked crab! I come back often for these, which are served during dinner time. Crab on Fridays and weekends. Not sure if there’s a schedule for which dishes they put out. They have a great selection of ice cream.
Incredible price. Unbelievable discount on Mondays and Wednesdays. Sushi is not very good. The place occasionally smells a bit funky. Friendly staff. Ample parking spaces. Safe area of Woonsocket.

I have come here a number of times and know that I shouldn’t expect incredible service or quality for the price paid, however today’s service and quality was so low that I will not return.
I arrived a bit early at 11:20am and entered to find all of the chaffing dishes empty, with the exception of the fried foods. I asked the girl who came to serve me how long until the chicken and broccoli would be up. She replied that it would be 10 minutes. I needed to go to CVS anyway so I said that I would return. 15 – 20 minutes later I returned and noticed that the chicken and broccoli was still not put out. When I was seated I was told it would be out shortly. They also took my drink order, iced tea. After two small plate trips to the buffet the chicken and broccoli was still not up and my drink was still not delivered. When my «iced» tea was finally delivered it had remnants of ice cubes and was room temperature. The chicken and broccoli was finally put out (thus the reason I’m not awarding one star). The food wasn’t bad, as usual.
The final straw was that the waitress out a coke as my beverage which was inaccurate.
It’s been a hoot! I’ll miss the interesting personalities and the alway entertaining overheard conversation.
Farewell.

Good selection. Everything I had was very good. Very busy buffet. Not where you want to go for a quiet meal. Larger than most buffets. Very comparable to Imperial Buffet in Milford Ma.

My fiancé and I love this place. The food is always hot/​fresh. The staff is always very friendly. Two days a week, Monday and Wednesday I believe, they have discounted prices. 8 rows of variety with a separate ice cream station.

Sometimes my coworkers and I go here for lunch. On Mondays and Wednesdays the buffet is only like $ 5! Go when it’s busy and the food is hot and fresh. The flavor of the food and the variety of items are good. One of 2 buffets in the area. Both have certain positive attributes, but I tend to slightly prefer this one.

I’ve been here dozens of
used to be good a couple of years back but now it’s just so-​so.
They have been doing a special if you come for lunch on Monday or wed the lunch buffet is only $ 5.25.cant go wrong for the price if your starving and want volume.

I was having a bad day, and my boyfriend had visited this buffet before, and raved about their chicken, so I decided to treat us. Never again, here’s why:
We arrived, and had to wait a few minutes to be seated. We were there around 245pm, and the lunch buffet was done at 345pm. We grabbed our first plates of food, sat down, and dug in. My boyfriend had some chicken wings, french fries, and some pork fried rice. He stated that the fries were cold, and to the touch, they were. He also said his wings were lukewarm, but still good. He was satisfied with the rice.
My meal was some pork fried rice, a spring roll, an egg roll, and some general tsos chicken. The rice was flavorless, so I added some kikkoman soy sauce, and it has definitely been around for quite some time. It had a very spoiled taste that I wish to never taste again. I sampled some broccoli and dumplings on another plate, the only bad thing here was the dumplings were cold. This was not the end of the bad visit, and here is where the one star rating comes in.
I realised a few hours later that the waitress never gave me my debit card back. I say this because usually when you receive your bill in a little black tray, your card is on top, your bill underneathe. I didn’t think anything of it, signed, tipped, and left. I figured it out hours later, and called the business. I returned to pick up my card, and the hostess just handed it over, didn’t even get off of her phone call to check to see if I was REALLY the owner of the card. I just slowly looked at her, and a minute or so later, just walked away. I am glad I showed up when I did, because there was another card where mine was, and what was to say she wouldn’t have given my card to someone else?
I am appalled at their security measures, the fact that a lot of their food is cold (which can make people sick), and that I’m pretty sure I got overcharged. I will NEVER return to eat here again.

Large buffet with a lot of choices to eat. Quality if food is slightly below average. Place could use a makeover.

Not worth spending 10 dollars on weekend. You can give it a try when prices are half…

Well that was awful! Proof that Rhode Islanders don’t get out enough (four stars? Have you never eaten GOOD food?
This restaurant did about 25% Chinese and 75% of of American food (fries, nuggets, cheese sticks, pizza etc). Neither of which did they do well!!!
I am NOT much of a desert person but I ate my fill to compensate for the lack of entrees that were edible! Even so everything on the dessert bar but the tapioca pudding and jello were definitely defrosted. I have never left and a restaurant without paying a bill but I honestly considered packing up the two kids to do so!
I should have been tipped off of by my 6-​year-​old who refused to use a dirty plate from the get go!

Not sure what the hype is all about. I’ve been hearing about this place for awhile but we normally don’t do buffets. Finally got there and was quite disappointed in the food. If it wasn’t bland, it was just the wrong flavor overall.
The restaurant is actually quite clean although I did not use the restroom– therefore the 2 stars. We will NOT be back!

I have eaten here perhaps 20 times in the past 15 years. I love Chinese buffets and the Empire Buffet is one of the best around. They have an excellent selection to choose from and the service is good. However, the last time I visited, was one of the few times I was ever disappointed. Much of the food seemed to have been sitting out too long, and the selection was less that usual. Perhaps they were having a bad night. Still I would go back to Empire Buffet again. I recommend it!

Dirty cups. Cold, soggy fried food. Flavorless fried rice. Dessert clams, anyone? (sweeter than any seafood should ever be) Service not even up to buffet average standards. Even the fortune cookie was stale… Sigh.
Pretty much the worst Chinese buffet I’ve ever been to.

Better than I expected. Seriously mind-​blown.
I’m a Taiwanese woman with incredibly preferential tastes when it comes to ethnic cuisine. I have tried many Chinese restaurants in the Rhode Island area and Empire Buffet is by far the most «authentic» tasting (a bit sad, but worth it).
My husband and I went during lunch time on Wednesday (special $ 4.95). The food was hot and fresh. I tried their chicken dishes and they were delectable and tender. I loved their fried rice and lo mein. I also love how they have real ice cream buckets instead of soft-​serve machines. My only complaint is the variety of unappealing desserts.
I agree with most Unilocal reviewers that you must go when the place is the most BUSY. The food will be guaranteed freshly made every time.
Enjoy!

The whole family (7 of us) went on a Saturday night at 6pm. We were seated right away, even though they were very busy. There was a very large and varied selection if food! All hot and replenished often. Everything was delicious! (With the exception of the desserts… but it’s a Asian food buffet, so I didn’t take that into account for my rating.) Definitely worth going to and you can’t beat the price! We will be repeat customers!