First the good. Their buns are great (unbelievably light), large variety of dishes, and the food was fresh.Now for the bad. They BADLY need to redo the booths. Cracks and holes on all I saw.They don't cut up the broccoli enough. Some pieces were as long as my fork. They offer steak and roast beef but no knives, except request. That and they need to cut off the fat so we don't have to.
My husband and I have been coming here ever since we moved to Ames 5 years ago. The food has always been alright and it’s an easy place to get into when we have a group of 6 or more people. We went out to eat with our friends and my husbands siblings. His sister did not eat anything as she does not like Asian food. At the end they tried to charge us for her after we told her she did not eat. There was even an employee who was sitting right by our table rolling silverware the whole time and he wouldn’t step in and say a word. I’ve heard so many bad reviews about this place but never had an issue until tonight. We will not be coming back after this experience. Make sure if you have a guest who just wants to hang out and not eat, that they are made aware they will be charged a full price dinner for just sitting.
We went here in the early evening today, a Sunday. The food looked hot and steamy and it was really luke warm and really was nothing to write home about, it kind of sucked. No waiter came around to refill our drinks. No one got the plates. Ice cream machine is broken. Their were empty spots in the fresh grill part. It was just not good all around.
Sad, there is obviously some struggle to keep enough people walking in the door each day. Smells like mildew… must be the depressed fish swimming in the entrance. Food was fine, lots of options but some sanitary concerns. There was raw chicken sitting at room temperature at the buffet which turned me off from eating much more.
This place has gone down hill tremendously. Just looking at it from the outside it's rundown and falling apart. We had dinner there on a Sunday. Huge mistake! We were immediately assaulted withheat and extreme smell of nasty fish. All the food was old and yucky looking. The tables, floor, and ceiling were absolutely disgusting. I noticed The rice maker that they kept the rice in was very grimy. The handle was disgusting! Everything over all was just plain bad I can't believe it hasn't been shut down. I won't be coming back. This place needs a major overhaul.
My family often chooses this place for birthday outings which is how we ended up there tonight. We were set at a table where the sun shown in our eyes. Table was sticky. We moved to a table out of the sun. Table was sticky. Waitress asked if we were all on one ticket and walked away while my husband attempted to answer. When I paid I didn’t leave a tip on the receipt and the employee wanted to know if I left it on the table. I was a bit surprised and I told her I’m pretty sure tipping is an option and she tossed my receipt at me. Then waited on someone else while my daughter, who was next in line, waited to pay her bill. Food also has gone downhill. Very disappointed. As someone who has been a waitress before, I usually still would tip but not as much as I would for someone who showed us good service. In all actuality, While I was writing the total in on the receipt I realized I didn’t write the tip in so I was going to throw a few dollars back on the table. The behavior of the cashier-waitress changed my mind for me.
Waiter was very nice and right on target to pick up used plates,keeping table clean.Buffet warm items Fish etc. barely warm. Counter around food on all tables very sticky.Not very appetizing. Very few trays of food full or enough for a serving.
Daily prices are cheap, like around 13 to 14 bucks for lunch time. Dinner/brunch prices are around 16 to 17. The dinner/brunch times are the best, they have a wide variety of eastern and western meal options. The guys that work the grille are extremely fast and friendly. The young man that seats everyone is awesome, and the daily lunch/dinner server is on point. When they know it's going to be busy they are even more efficient with plenty of staff on hand to keep the customers flowing. They really are one of my favorites for a quick bite or a leisurely sit down lunch with friends.
This was the worst place I have ever eaten in my life. We brought some of out friends who happen to be disabled adults to enjoy lunch. We were stuck in a corner at a dirty table in a corner clearly not suitable for 2 wheelchairs. The waitress told one of our gals who does get a little touchy "eewww don't touch me" our drinks were not refilled our plates not taken off the table. When we asked for napkins the waitress tossed them to the table. Also before we were about to leave a screw popping up through the chair ripped my pants. I spoke to the manager and he said "so what do you want me to do about it" "we don't ever use that table" I asked if we were sat at that table because my friends were special. And he said no the other tables were full. Which was clearly not the truth. When asked for the owners name and phone number he laughed and said they don't speak English so you'll be talking to me again anyway. The bathrooms were filthy and the food wasn't even good.
Immediate seating was available, staff were very friendly, Price was comparable to most buffets, I must admit Some of their things were good, other items I wish not to have tried. They do have a Mongolian grill. Don't expect a wow factor with their sushi