Kingdom Buffet

Save your money! What a disappointment! I ate here all the time when I worked nearby a couple of years ago. But forget about it now. A sign showed under new management. The place was empty when we came in except for the help.
The food was just warm in all the selections. When we mentioned it to the waitress, she said she would microwave it! No thanks, if I wanted microwave food, I could buy frozen. We tried several selections and they were not even hot. The portions in the serving pans were very small which led me to think that they don’t sell much food.
We asked to see the manager and we were told he was busy. After a second request he finally came to the table. I told him that the food was just warm and he said he would get me a fresh plate of what I had. I asked him what about the rest of the food on the buffet that was just warm and he said nothing. I told him that we were leaving and would not pay for the small amount of food we tried. We got up and left.
I was really looking forward to a nice meal here, but I guess those days are gone forever. Will have to find another good Chinese place to eat.

I usually frequent this place with my father, and I must say I’m never disappointed by the food. I mean, I love the food here, especially with the fact they have Corn Nuggets! I just love the Buffet. But they could still improve a little bit.

Best Chinese buffet in Lancaster area. Freshest seafood! Their sushi can be better, but it’s not bad either.

This place was so good when it first opened but has been on the decline since. I’m hoping the new management can turn it around and bring it back to being delicious again!

I’ve eaten here several times and agree with other reviewers about the outwardly-​visible aspects of the restaurant, but after reading the inspection reports, I will not set foot in the place. It has been inspected four times in the last several months, and they are shockingly bad. Even more so, as they show no improvement over time. In the latest one, the inspector saw an employee drop a piece of chicken on the floor, pick it up and put it back in with the others for customer use. They are not just unsanitary, they are defiantly unsanitary.

Keep in mind, I live down the street from what I think is one of the best chinese buffets ever. I’m trying to give this buffet an unbiased review.
However, I’ve got my beef with Kingdom Buffet.
Firstly, it is very obviously posted in about one billion different places in the restaurant that if you «waste» any food on your plate when eating at the buffet, you’ll be charged by the pound for the food you didn’t eat. What?! So when I attempt the walnut chicken that was cooked into the afterlife, and don’t finish it, I’m going to be charged for it? Charged for not liking the food? I understand cost-​efficiency, but still. I think that that’s a bit REALLY ridiculous.
Secondly, the food was lackluster. That comment I made previously about overcooked chicken? Understatement. Sadly, this set the tone for the rest of the buffet. The little scraggly green things in a bin marked «green beans» smelled like a bathroom in dire need to be cleaned. The mussels turned to dust once I put them in my mouth. How can you even accomplish that with a mussel? Every piece of the questionable sushi had this tan «stuff» on it, it looked like tempura breadcrumbs. It tasted like sawdust and didn’t go well with the sushi roll at all. Overall, this place does have your typical chinese food, supposedly. Just really terrible versions of it.
What brought me down from 2 stars to one were the crab legs and customer service.
The crab legs were… brown. For starters, I love me some crab legs. I’ve had them (good and bad) at many a restaurant. I really think that anyone would be able to see that something was amiss with these ones. What made it suck the most about the sucky crab legs was that there were none out until towards the end of the meal, when someone slammed a half pan of crab legs into the full-​pan section on the buffet row. They all had this slimy exterior and nasty brown color. I didn’t even bother.
The customer service made me miserable, and i’m not a miserable person. Our server made us (the mister and I) feel guilty for eating at the restaurant. She made it a point to stand in the corner and stare at us. Not wait for us to have cleared plates, or empty cups, because those went unnoticed. She just watched us like a hawk. she would wait until we had to stack our plates for more table space to take them, and we had to ask repeatedly for refills. The refills she brought were water, even when I specified that I wanted a refill of sprite. In the entire section of seating she was supposed to wait on, two tables were being used. She wordlessly, and smile-​lessly dropped our check on the table.
Ultimately, I won’t be back. And I won’t recommend it even to an enemy. I felt queasy for the next day.

So far, the first Chinese Buffet I’ve visited in PA. Compared to the ones last visited in Sacramento, CA, this one is great! Still not the best I’ve ever been to, but my expectations were met here. The place is pretty clean for a buffet. There is always someone «tending» the food, watching people and yelling at the staff in the back when food runs low. They don’t let messes sit long if someone spills, and the servers are (usually) quick to take plates from the tables, like magic when you are away. Our first experience was better than the second on the service side, but both were good enough for a buffet, they filled our drinks when empty and left us alone otherwise.
The food is Americanized Chinese, and the usual non-​Chinese items are also present, such as Pizza and breads. This buffet also has sushi (not the best, but not horrible either). They go light on the mayo in the dishes that have them, which is good. Some places use mayo instead of cheese, and you can be fooled by that. There was only one (stuffed mussels) that did this. The stuffed clams were surprisingly good. There is also a «mongolian» style grill there, but that’s not quite right, it’s more of a bbq, as the usual «mongolian bbq» items aren’t presesnt, like the sauces that you would cook them in. Still pretty good in that respect too. Don’t forget to bring a couple singles to tip the chef!
I didn’t have a single item that i couldn’t eat, though there were a few I would probably not pick again. This is due to my tastes being pretty fickle, not that they were bad items altogether.
The kids also did well, each finding something they liked and going back multiple times. Soups and fresh fruit were a hit in this respect. They charge by your child’s age, so they will ask you how old each one is when you walk in.
On the dessert wall, there are the usual puffed pastry desserts and cakes, and, to my surprise, a freezer with 8 different ice cream flavors, self-​serve.
In all, I would rate this one as a fan, We have only been here a month, and gone twice, the food was consistant, and pretty good. I now have my PA bar set, we shall see how any others fare!

Found this place on Unilocal as a last resort. After looking up 4 Vietnamese restaurants in the Lancaster PA area that were either closed or out of business. I guess Vietnamese food was not in the cards today. So, I figured Chinese food would be a more safe bet, I mean c’mon, who doesn’t like Chinese food, right? Now with a restaurant named «Kingdom Buffet» I had high expectations! «Kingdom Buffett, Kingdom of God» I just came from a 3 day spiritual retreat and I was drawn in to the ethereal spiritual reference. Well, I can safely say that there was no divine intervention here. The place is typical of Chinese Buffet joints. While not great, it will get you through the day, and at $ 6.99 all you can eat, that ain’t too shabby!

This used to a spectacular Chinese buffet when it first opened up, but after numerous sanitation violations, it has really gone down hill.
It is still one of the only buffets to offer a Mongolian grill, which is a huge plus. At least you see the food being cooked before your eyes.

The food is hot (but not dried up under the food lamps, thank God), the premises are relatively clean (compared to other similar establishments), and some of the servers are real cuties (giving credit…).
It’s all you can eat, and you’re not breaking the bank. It ain’t gourmet, but the food is definitely worth the money you pay for it (maybe even more depending on how much you eat). Who cares if half the stuff you put in your mouth isn’t «real» Chinese food? Last time I checked, we weren’t in China (though I’m sure we’ll be kneeling to our eastern masters in due time).

Mmm, chinese buffet.
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FOOD: Its a chinese buffet, so theyve got the whole batch of things to try. Compared to the other chinese buffets Ive tried, this one seemed a little on the heavy side, it was a little oily. Still, I can always find some veggie things to eat at these places.
SERVICE: Good and Friendly. There are lots of people floating around taking your dishes and refilling your drink. Not too much in the way of wait staff as normally thought of.
DECOR: Its a buffet. So its really a mildly chinese decorated room with steam tables in it and lots of booths to engorge yourself at.
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FINAL THOUGHTS: Would I go again? Sure. It has good food and good service. I like variety. Mmm.