Hometown Buffet

As of Feb 1, 2012 this HomeTown Buffet has been permanently CLOSED. They didn’t serve the greatest food and the atmosphere definitely leaves much to be desired. The dismal ratings by fellow Unilocalers probably aided in it’s demise. Oh well, I hope they replace it with something better.

This location is now permanently CLOSED… the owner filed for bankruptcy. I drove by it today and all the windows are covered in paper, and the restaurant sign has already been taken down.

See all the one star ratings? There is a reason for that. Are you thinking of eating here? Think about eating somewhere else… seriously. Don’t go here, ever!

what happenned to the HOMETOWN BUFFET we had growing up?! Theyre very cheap with their food and not to mention its a joke! MARK MY WORDS: IM NEVER GOING TO HOMETOWN BUFFET in any location ever again… sad to say it was a Sunday tradition we had growing up…

This place was ok but just ok. There are way too many seniors each individually taking up a booth alone. They’re not even eating, all they do is sit there all day reading the newspaper and take up the space for people who come to eat. Did I come to a restaurant or a retirement home?
As for the selection, it’s kinda small in my opinion. I’ve been to other Hometown Buffets that have more variety.
The restrooms weren’t that dirty in my opinion and I didn’t see any «ghetto» people like other reviewers mention. But maybe it was because I came around noon? Who knows.
Overall I didn’t like it and I’m definitely not coming back to this place.

i went to a few hometowns all over so cal. and this 1 by far was the worst 1 yet! the food had no taste at all, and the mac and cheese was cold, the customers were lo lifes. the manager looked like a cholo and he had tattoos on his head. i seen a fly just flying around the fruit and salad bar, and the girl that picks up the plates barely picked my plates. i only went there because my wife and i went shopping at big 5 and wal mart and we got hungry so we tried it and we’ll never ever go back. oh! the soda was good :) but please dont go there. the torrance hometown is most likely the best in the south bay

What could I say? I dont like it much but my son is a fan so I take him here for breakfast. Sometimes it is so crowded that your have to wait for food but at least the food is fresh when you get it.

One of the worst. Hospital /​Airline quality. Keep looking on.

Listen, you’re not going to feel good about dining here. You won’t brag about it to your friends, you probably don’t want to be associated with some of the clientele, and about two hours after eating here you are really NOT going to feel so good. But sometimes you need to put your pride aside, show up with your drunk bum friends, and fat kid it up.
I’m giving this place 3 stars on the salad bar and dessert bar alone. I’m a sucker for a salad bar: lettuce? veggies? cheese? dressing? Check, check, check, and check = I’m happy. Oh and frozen yogurt and brownies. As for the rest of the food, it was… interesting. I tried the mac and cheese, which was simultaneously the saltiest and blandest thing I have ever eaten. I still can’t figure that one out. The gravy was also bland, and the fried chicken was OK, but cold. The biscuits were decent and there was some surprisingly good fried shrimp and cocktail sauce. The soup tureens looked suspicious to me, so I didn’t sample any of those.
I didn’t have any issues with crowds or notice any real cleanliness issues when I went, but it may just have been a slow time. And the girl that was taking care of our table (clearing dishes and coming by with the occasional bread/​dessert) was super sweet. One of my friends had a coupon for BOGO dinners, so mine+his+2 drinks was like $ 15. This ain’t the French Laundry, so if you’re looking for something cheap and filling (and are possibly drunk), come here, stuff your face, then go home and lie down.

all you can eat american/​tex-​mex food. great salad and dessert bar. be sure to have a hearty appettite when coming here bring your whole family too =p

I always get diarrhea, whenever I leave hb.
But this particular one needs to be shutdown. They had stale ass french fries. They had some orange chicken which tasted like rocks when you bite into it, hell, all their food makes me sick.
The bathroom was yucky. Both of them were.

I like coming here for breakfast. I can eat all of the breakfast I want, the lunch and dinner here aren’t that great, and yes Home Town is a chain, you would think they carry the same food, which they usually do, but the cook prepares it differently at every area. So breakfast here is yummy. I used to get my meals for free so I would come here often, now that I don’t… I don’t come here any longer. Service here is lacking customer service. They honestly don’t attend to you. Thank golly for self service. No worries I never leave without giving a tip. Always leave a tip guys, small or big. I base it on service and food quality.

Okay, I don’t know why people review this place that clearly don’t like this type of restaurant. IT’S HOMETOWN BUFFET. There are 928 374 928 374 983 296 children, 9 873 498 274 298 374 cranky seniors, 287 364 872 634 786 240 weird down-​on-​their-​luck types, and 982 736 487 263 487 bougie jerks that talk really bad about the restaurant and come back anyway.
Having said that, this place is a zillion times better than any of the other HBs I’ve been to. The restaurant is clean, the food is hot, the beverage machines usually work (and the one time I came when one didn’t, they were fixing it right then and there), there’s enough room to walk, enough light to see, and enough silverware and napkins to not feel like a disgusting pig.

Horrible food… Yet quiet environment, clean, not too many people, good for studying, reading, peace of mind, but not eating!
Simple things they make which you may feel. «now u can’t mess up on this» they messed it up!!! Chicken nuggets. horrible. Fish… horrible. Mac & cheese… horrible. Horrible everything!!!
But if I have to say one nice thing… Their drinks and desserts are good.

This review is for 8÷2÷09 and reflects on the Long Beach location.
Carl, an employee I bumped into while going up for thirds, went beyond the normal call of duty, by getting me chocolate milk, even though the machine was broken.
Gary, one of the room attendants, was bustling everywhere, smiling, offering bread, asking if everything was OK. He made it a good experience instead of just a place to eat. He made you feel welcome; something that would make you want to come back.
Still can’t beat this place for the variety.
Don’t like something? Get up and get something else.
Even if it’s a different version (e.g. I find the «baked» chicken to be much better than the «fried»).

So one day I crawled out of a body bag after a near death experience to find myself in front of a Hometown Buffet. Dying can make a man hungry and I’m sure the concussion I suffered played a role. I, of course thought I was dead and the doors in front of me would lead me to my maker. I opened the doors, peaked within, old dead people… check! fallen gang-bangers…check…trailer trash… check!
Yup, this must be the place. «Damn, I went to hell!»
I sat on my assigned rust-​colored vinyl chair awaiting to be called like Geena Davis and that Daniels dude in Beetlejuice. See, I knew I was dead. I could tell by the smell and this is just Hell’s complimentary meal they give before they shove you in your 4X4 box to spend enternity in. All of us in a daze followed each other scooping up the runny meats, hard potatoes and crispy green beans. MMMMMM be sure to grab one of them 14 day old squares of chocolate cake. The cups we were expected (forced) to use were sent via portal from left over Sizzler’s from the 1970’s and hold exactly 8.3 ounces of beverage. Did I pay? who pays the bill here? … over the loud speaker «carry on son… out that side door. Satan and your eternal fate awaits.»
Hell on Earth Buffet

Now first off be mindful that the 2 star rating isn’t so much about the food but (and I use this term loosely) the patrons.
I had a bad start today, car wouldn’t start ’cause the battery decided to have a massive stroke in the garage over night ($ 114 later to AAA & has to go have the commputer panal adjusted on Monday. OY!)
However, I digress; I was craving some cheese and chicken enchiladas, carrot sald and some Collard Greens… don’t laugh this box of saltines likes them!
I thought when I was interning for my MSW and getting licensed that working in the locked unit was the only place you would see humans behaving this way; at least in the locked unit it is mental and unintentional; I saw more potential reasons why men should wear condoms at this place than any other and, women who should have tied up the reins internally after the 5^th kid!
People here pile their plates so high they act as if they can’t go back or, someone is going to finish of the Stove Top Stuffing. No manners, pushing, shoving cussing and most of all wasting food!
For shame. for shame! DISGUSTING! I enjoy the food in a pinch this works for me but, my tolerance of the delibritely ignorant is severely tested here.
I left my server $ 5 because I repeatedly saw no one tipping her & I made sure to hand it to her too for fear that the denizens of chicanery would steal it! Oh, did I mention I’ve seen cleaner bath rooms at truck stops in Kansas?!

This is set up a little different from the ones I’ve been to. I was reading some of the previous reviewers and maybe this place has read them too. It seemed liked the workers and management try really hard to keep the place looking good.
We brought 25 students here to eat. Where else can you find somewhere affordable for a group like this other than fast food? I felt the food catered toward the African American community since there were collards and dirty rice… both pretty good. They had the standard fare that all the others had with the exception of arroz con leche, which wasn’t bad.
HT worker: Happy Birthday! (Placing a piece of cake that had been decorated festively in front of me)
Me: But…(as all the students gathered around to sing)
She: You didn’t see us talking to the waitress Mr. H?
Me: Well, I thought you were asking her for something.
Other She: How old are you?
He: He’s like 200
Me: So’s you’re mother-​in-​law
He: I don’t have a mohter-​in-​law smart one.
Me: I know that, do you think I’d talk about your momma? She slap me into next year…
(roars of laughter)
So I just let them enjoy my embarrassment. Then I couldn’t understand why they were all watching me. I reached from my orange soda and took a swig. Is that Tabasco? Yes, I got punked! Tabasco in my soda! AAAAHHHH I knew it was love!
Other He: Mr. H, how come we couldn’t room with you?
Me: Well, for one, it would be highly inappropriate and two, I’d wake up with toothpaste all over my face and an airstrip shaved down the center of my head.
(more laughter)
I will agree, that there are some questionable characters that were in there. For me, it’s part of the fun. People just come here to eat… it’s not a fine dining experience, so don’t go in with high expectations. It’s food.

Hometown Buffet, synonymous with yummmm. Thus far to one exception: this one!!! The food had no taste. The food had not taste… …the food had no taste! I loaded up my plate with tons of food, even got a second for the stand-​in line meats. The good: the colorful staff and the ribs. The «not-​so-​much» good: all of the other food. When I’m sooo hungry that I go to a buffet, I want to enjoy eating! It isn’t hard for something to taste good when I’m hungry but HomeTown Buffet impressively proved that wrong.apparently. I’m hungry right now while wrting this review but I’m not hungry enough to go back there because I can eat paper for free (same taste).
On the bright side the food MUST be healthy because no flavoring was added. I could tell the mashed potatoes from the corn from texture, now that’s saying something.

Perhaps you consider yourself a «foodie», a gourmet, or a connoisseur of the finer things in life. This review is not for you.
This is where the masses come to dine. The retired, the disabled, the children, the tired and huddled masses yearning to be free… you will find them all here, including me on a weekday lunch hour.
As mentioned before in other reviews, you will find collard greens here. You’ll also find meatloaf, chicken dumplings, and macaroni & cheese. The beauty of Hometown Buffet is that if you want a healthy meal here you can make yourself a salad with generous portions of vegetables and top it off with oil and vinegar.
The other wonderful offering here is at the beverage bar. Of course they have soft drinks but they also have tamarindo, jaimica, horchata, and pineapple juice free flowing with unlimited refills.
Don’t forget to grab a cookie or a slice of sugar-​free pie from the desert bar before you leave.