Spring Buffet & Grill

This buffet is very spacious and the staff is friendly and efficient. Those are really the only positives.
I am quite familiar with these types of buffets, as they are a business model that pops up all over the country. The food tends to be the same: A general selection of Americanized Chinese food, plus the frequent addition of a made-​to-​order hibachi and a selection of sushi.
Spring Buffet is no different, offering General Tso’s chicken, fried shrimp, california rolls, and all the other stuff you see at these buffets. However, they don’t do it very well. Everything we ate was quite bland, and served at near-​room temperature which is very unappetizing. The serving area is not kept hot and products are not rotated. Seasoning is non-​existent and the ingredients used in the dishes seem to be very low quality.
We quickly lost our appetites after sampling a few dishes; luckily it’s not expensive or we’d have been pretty cranky about paying to eat here. We won’t be returning.

The first time I ate there, I was not impressed. I took from the buffet and didn’t go to the sushi bar or hibachi grill. The food was greasy, overcooked and somewhat tasteless. I wasn’t interested in returning until we joined friends there for a birthday party so didn’t have a choice. This time, I had hibachi and it was very good. We were a party of 10, and our service was great, especially for a buffet. I will definitely return.

I had it yesterday but it was not good. The good thing is I am glad I only paid $ 6.99 for lunch. Because if I would have paid more I would have been upset.

So most Chinese Buffets feel real dirty (especially the bathrooms). But this one was pretty clean! I would give it 4 stars for that.
But one star for the food.
First time there and that was the most tasteless chinese food I have ever had in my life.
Bland and bad.
Shrimp — grimy
Crab Legs — zero taste
Lo mein — slimy
general tao — flavorless
and it wasn’t just me. Everyone at our table independently noticed how tasteless things were until eventually one person said what everyone else was thinking. You could blindfold me and could not tell difference between fried shrimp and french fries.
Also a lack of vegetables. They had some snow peas that tasted like rubber. Come one kitchen put some sauces on this food!
I really wanted to like this place because so I could go to a chinese buffet and not get grossed out that the people cooking my food were using that dirty bathroom. But I hate to say it, I think I will take enjoying the food over enjoying the bathroom…
I will give it one more shot at some point based on some of the other reviews so look for an update… but not anytime soon.

This is a 4-​star joint for a Chinese buffet. Of course my rating is comparing this place to other typical Chinese buffets. Its clean, has plenty of options and the taste is fine. Nothing outstanding here but there is no other decent buffet option in Ithaca either so they kinda win by default! Will go back.

Very good! BEST buffet around. Please note the best time to go is during dinner hours as there is far better selection of dishes. The sushi is amazing and all the dishes were very flavorful. One of the few chinese buffets I’ve been to that’s spicy food is actually spicy. Also one of the downfalls of buffets is that the food can become lukewarm. In contrast, at this buffet all the food was piping hot! Would highly recommend! Especially the coconut shrimp, honey chicken, and dim sum.

Great place, they have a large selection!!! There food is fresh and good. I am glad that e stop to eat here. So if you are in the area and like Chinese food go!!!

For being in Ithaca this place really was a surprise. Not only is the place huge and very clean their food is great. They not only have a large buffet option but also made to order hibachi, sushi, and lots of dessert as well. Simply put if you’re looking for good food and service in a nice clean environment this place is a must visit.

This place is amazing. If you’ve ever been to Chinese Buffet imagine that but costs maybe $ 1 more, has literally twice as much food (and somewhat better quality) and the inside is nice and brand new. They even have a hibachi station and a full sushi bar. Lunch is $ 7 for all-​you-​can-​eat. I don’t know how they even break even with the amount of food they’re putting out and how little they charge. Highly recommend

Hidden gem in Ithaca!
Was so cheap, went there for lunch, and was pleasantly surprised by the food selection.
Food placement was a bit odd (raw shrimp placed right next to the desserts), but overall, the restaurant was very clean and you get to eat a ton of food.

At just over $ 10/​person for dinner, the value was good. One person in our party had a lemonade. $ 1.75 for the glass, but included refills. The rest of us prefer water.
You should be able to find something that you find is OK to eat, and depending on your taste you may luck out and find something you think is good. In our party of three, we all found several things (most of which we’ve enjoyed numerous times at other restaurants) which we didn’t care for at all. One person in our group said of the items he did finish that, «they were just ok, not good» (but, as he said, he could see going back if he were really hungry and didn’t want to spend much.)
There was a hibachi bar (pick out the food you wanted and they’d put it on the cooktop at the counter), but the items on it didn’t look that intriguing to any of us so we passed on it. The sushi bar (pre-​made rolls sitting there, without labels) didn’t piqué our interest, either.
There was a carving station (carve your own) with ham, sausage and beef. The beef was well done (as in brown, all the way through) — the one who ate it said it was chewy, but the flavor was good.
There were a few soups to choose from. We didn’t see any wonton soup. (Not a problem as we weren’t in a soup mood. Just commenting as wonton soup is usually a staple at the buffets we’d been to in the past.)
A couple of oddities on the buffet, which I haven’t seen elsewhere:
Crawfish and frogs legs. (Frogs legs were edible. I’m guessing that the crawfish were in some sort of Cajun seasoning which I didn’t care for, but perhaps that’s the type of seasoning rather than their preparation.)
The dim sum that I ate was disappointing. And, as that’s usually one area of the buffet where I usually have fun, it was a bit of a letdown that the selection was minimal. Dumplings and shu Mai were heavy and dried out. The egg roll that I had was awful. Took one bite and put it down (and was tempted to spit out what was in my mouth) — thick, stale tasting crust. I would have had to take another bite to get to any filling.
I would have liked to see more vegetable dishes to choose from, to help balance out the various meat and seafood items. I did have some Bok Choy, which was as expected.
I enjoyed the salt and pepper shrimp. Note: They were whole, with the heads on, which bothered the third person in our group.
The person on our group who usually enjoys various items with barbecue sauce said those items were inedible here. The pork chops didn’t look like they had a sauce, but they did and the sweet, heavy taste was overpowering. (Barbecue sauce, whether or not it was visible, tasted like a very heavy sugar glaze with no smokiness or anything to take away from the beyond-​cloyingly sweetness.)
Overall, if this were a restaurant where you ordered specific dishes, I would have only given it one or two stars. Same if the cost were higher. But, since you can push aside whatever you dislike in a search to find the ones that you think are ok or better, and you can do so at such a low price, I’ve given it three stars.

Tastes good, clean and cheap. I think it is the best one in Ithaca.

So many choices there! I went on Sunday. The place was very popular. Besides sushi, seafood and common Chinese buffet dishes, they have a big Hibachi place, where you can customize your dish.

I’m not usually a fan of buffets, but this one was good.
The food was very fresh and high quality. I didn’t hate eating here, like all other buffets.
There are very many items to chose from, but not a lot of good vegetarian items.
The lo mein was very tasty and the choy was great.
My only recommendations would be to a add at least one tofu dish, and also labeling on the dishes that is more specific. Like what kind of egg roll is this?

After reading the other rave reviews, I think I may have eaten at a different place… or the lunch buffet is not as good as the dinner buffet. Not that it was bad – it was a pretty typical buffet. Very reasonably priced and the service is friendly.

I absolutely have no idea how they keep their business profitable with all these great foods. This deal is too good to be true. I’m super stuffed! So … let me just briefly describe this buffet restaurant in five words and let my pictures speak the rest.
1) $ 11.49
2) Seafood
3) Steak
4) Sushi
5) Dessert
PS. To starving college kids, I know what you are thinking but let’s try to keep Spring Buffet & Grill alive for the benefits of Ithacans ;)

Finally, a clean restaurant in Ithaca! I got lunch takeout on a Tuesday, and I was sincerely impressed!
Huge selection of Asian foods as well as some American stuff (crinkle cut french fries, mac & cheese) for only $ 3.99/lb! I ended up getting over 2 lbs of food for $ 10 (with tax). Everything looked and tasted delicious. Food was fresh, hot, and flavorful without being too salty or greasy. The restaurant and buffet area appeared clean and was fully stocked.
Recommendations: boneless BBQ spare ribs, honey chicken, dim sum, and dumplings

This is just what Ithaca needed! I’ve always loved Chinese buffets, but every Chinese buffet that I’ve tried in central New York and Ithaca has been extremely disappointing. Spring buffet is great. It’s new and clean. I went Friday night, and there were a lot of people so quick turnover of food. So much seafood, meat (steak), sushi, hibachi! Such a great deal, not so great for your waist line though…

Good food and priced really well. Brand new and clean place. Lots of selection — A LOT of seafood (shrimp dishes, scallops, crab legs, etc.) and real sushi (by real, I mean they include a wide variety of authentic rolls and raw fish). Has a make-​your-​own hibachi station.
$ 11.49 per person for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays, $ 10.49 Monday-​Thursday, $ 10.99 all day Sundays.
Lunch Monday-​Thursday is $ 6.99, Fridays and Saturdays $ 7.29.