Luau Garden Chinese Buffet

R.I.P. Luau Gardens!!! A Sacramento staple for 35 years!
Sad to say that this Sacramento Classic has closed up shop after 35 years! The place was a classic Luau-​style buffet with Don Ho music playing and all of the staff dressed in Hawiian shirts. When I was a kid growing up in the 1980’s, we would come here for dinner with firends and family before hitting the movies. Coco Palms, the neighboring night club, was a great place to grab a drink if there was a wait for a table… and there was.
Fast Forward to the 2000’s. At some point, they tried to do some remodeling on the interior and while it was needed, it kind of ruined the atmospher a tad. Also, they started mixing American food with the traditional Chinese food which took some of the excitement out. In the end, they closed and they are missed.
While they were never 5-​stars, they did have outstanding food for a buffet! So long!

I’ve been wanting to go back here for a long time. This was always one of my favorite places of all time. Took my boys here all the time when they were young. They loved to play on the little hill with the tree after eating. I was sooo sad to see it was closed.

I’ll miss this place. No more Brandy fried chicken, BBQ pork and peking ribs like they had. It’s getting to the point that most Chinese restaurants are getting bad — with Luau I’d see fresh food brought out often. I want the recipes and I’d pay for them. Either that or I’d like to see a smaller version with the same food. Please! Please!

Since the restaurant is now closed, please share the Sunny’s Fried Chicken and Egg Roll recipes with your longtime fans. I can’t go on without them both.

I’m so sad that Luau has closed! Last night Mom and I went there for our customary dinner before shopping at Kohl’s next door and as we were walking up to the door, we were stopped by no other than one of the owners. She was very sweet; told us that she and her brothers (the family owns Ma Jong, Cafeteria, et al) had decided to close up after 35 years to concentrate on their other ventures. SO SAD! I loved their food. I wish them best of luck on their other restaurants but really, they should consider re-​opening Luau for all of us fans.
So my five stars are being given here as a salute to Luau Gardens… you will be missed!

RIP, Luau Garden!
Sadly, I found out that my favorite Chinese buffet in Sacramento is now closed. I now live in San Jose, where you just can’t find a good greasy Americanized Chinese buffet. Because of the large Asian population in the bay area, even the many Chinese buffets here are borderline authentic. I don’t want frog legs and shrimp with their heads still on when I go to a buffet — I want fried chicken, (headless) fried shrimp, and lots of greasy potstickers, served up in an awesomely cheesy retro dining room! I have missed Luau Gardens ever since I moved 13 years ago, and would eat there on my visits to Sac as often as I could. I found out they were closed last weekend when we stopped by after a day at the State Fair (yes I was still hungry even after a whole day at the Fair).
Thanks for all the memories and full bellies over the years, Luau Gardens!

THE GOOD: First this is a buffet. As buffets go it is not bad or is it something great to write about. The food is ok. Their verity is mediocre. THE BAD: The salt and pepper shakers looked like they had not been cleaned in a very long time. The pepper shaker on my table had a build up of sticky dirt on the cap. I noticed other salt and pepper shakers on other tables also looked dirty.
THE UGLY: The rest room smelled like a old rundown gas station restroom despite looking clean.

My mother is a buffet junkie. Me — not so much. So when she comes down to visit and wants to hit a buffet I suggest this one (otherwise we’ll end up at Hometown again… please… for the love of God, Mom, give it a rest!).
Luau Garden is totally old school. I think it’s been around forever (it seems really 1970’s). They serve Americanized Chinese food as well as American food. That makes it a good place to stop for families mixed with those who like Asian food and those who don’t, but still want to dine together. They have sweet and sour, chow mein, egg flower soup, broccoli beef, and all the usual Asian buffet foods. They also have mashed potatoes, macaroni salad, ice cream, ribs and more.
Before my grandmother passed away from Alzheimer’s I used to bring her here to eat. She could get seafood stir fry that had octopus and other things old Asian ladies like, as well as get my son brandy fried chicken and mac –n– cheese. All in a pretty quiet, low key atmosphere where I could easily keep an eye on both of them.
Is the food amazing? Not really, I mean, it’s a buffet, but the brandy fried chicken is pretty good. Are the prices amazing? Er, no, but it won’t break the bank. Is it clean? Yes. Does it have good service? Yes. Would I go back? Well, obviously, otherwise I’ll be subjected to Hometown the next time my mom pops in to visit.

always come here after going shopping in the mall. the place is deceit and the food is better than average. the service is okay but be prepared to have finished dishes on your table when it is very busy.
the hawaiian shirts on the staff, a bit too much. they have a variety of items like shrimp, beef and the bbq pork. its a lot better than the others in the area.

Don’t do it. Just don’t.
I went here on the recommendation from a friend, and trust me, she has not heard the end of it.
The Chinese food is among the worst I’ve ever had. Yes, I understand that it’s a buffet, but come on. Unless you’re a super-​deluxe-​glutton, you can get a good, well-​prepared meal at another Chinese restaurant and be just as full. You’d have to go to extreme measures to make this worthwhile, especially considering the quality of the food.
The fried chicken was the best thing I had here, and that’s not saying much. But really, shouldn’t a CHINESE buffet have some quality items that are ranked higher than fried chicken?

I come here occasionally, when I want to get my grub on. It’s pretty good Chinesey food for a buffet. Good selection of asian, cockasian and kid’s food. Drinks included in the price of admission. Like others have said, I’m a bit surprised that it gets a less than average rating.
What put me over the top was Israel Kamakawiwoole singing in the background. For that alone, they get mad props. He pretty much makes ANY meal better.
The black bean spareribs, 5 spice pork ribs and char siu pork were ono! Kid’s loved the Mac-​n-​cheese, fried mandoo and of course ice cream with enough butterscotch syrup to kill a cow, smothered with sprinkles.
They’ve been around for OVER a decade in the same spot. They must be doing something right.
Another chinesey greasy spoon I need to frequent more often.

I eat their regularly, enjoy their fried chicken, fried rice and fresh salad bar.

I’m actually really surprised that Luau is rated so low. I really enjoy this place and I’ve been eating here for years.
Many buffets have really greasy unappealing food and I think the food at Luau gardens is a solid middle ground between cooked to order fresh and hours old stodge. They refresh dishes about hourly unless they run out before, then they are refreshed when they run out.
The Chinese side is generally where I eat, i think thier American side is pretty bland. Though they will often put a few asian dishes there and those are generally very tasty. I really enjoy their pot stickers, Egg Foo Yung and Curried Chicken & Veg. People I know swear by their brandy fried chicken but I’m not a fried chicken guy (it is quite good though).
The food could be more vibrant, it could be fresher but for a buffet it is high quality. The prices for dinner are high, I generally go for lunch. The staff is generally helpful but they don’t fuss over you. You can run your own beverages or have a server do it, they have a small but very tasty selection of cakes and other dessert bits as well.
I really enjoy the place and it is a step above the average chinese buffet, certainly better than a 2 star rating.

GOOD CHINESE BUFFET
THE SIT-​REP (Situation Report)
Conveniently located next to the dance club BARCODE and across the street from the ARDEN FAIRE MALL.
THE FARE
They are a very good buffet with a considerable variety of items. Right next to Barcode (in fact, Barcode is actually the banquet rooms for Luau Garden).
THE LOWDOWN
Nice place to catch dinner before hitting the ASYLUM next door and dancing yer ass off!

Hilarious this place is rated at 2 stars overall from 10 reviews! Well no surprise I am also giving 2 stars being a AYCE (All you can eat) place that charges way too much for the food that is provided.
Price for ONE PERSON came to around $ 18.00 for dinner with a drink. I saw no hawaiian influence in this buffet. Lots of different chicken dishes, none extremely memorable or a slight ‘wow’ factor to give this place a signature dish. Very bland and dead atmosphere, a sharp contast only noticable because of the loud christian religious hawaiian music. The most lively thing about this place is the beautiful freshwater aquarium that greets you when you walk in.
I remember why its been years since I had gone in the past. I feel this place charges a lot to help pay for the likely expensive lease of this location.

Absolutely awful. Poor selection, very greasy. Foil wrapped chicken was good, but that’s all. Couldn’t tell the difference between chicken and shrimp. WAY overpriced at $ 12.99 for dinner.
There are so many good chinese buffett’s in sacramento, don’t waste your time or money here. No service, horrible food. :(

First of all, this restaurant has been around longer than I have, so I took that into consideration.
I walked into the restaurant and was greeted by a young host who told me it was $ 12.00 plus for dinner. It was $ 14.34 and seating only to the left. I don’t wan to say the food was awful, but it was not worth the amount. There is no dessert bar, rather ice cream and a piece of whatever pastry.
The food is so greasy and it’s not fresh. I’ve noticed many restaurants who have buffets don’t want to refresh the food unless the line is out the door. This won’t likely happen here, since there are so many better deals that are less expensive in this economy. I think if they had lower prices, or even coupons they may be able to save the overhead. For every adult seated there were as many hostesses, chefs, etc. working.
I would not recommend this place unless you are stoned, famished and not honoring your taste buds and have money to toss. Sorry, I really wanted to like this place.

The chinese portion of their buffet isn’t very good at all, and their «american» selection is even worse
seriously there’s SOO many places that are A LOT better for only marginally more money.

Actually I think this is one of the best of the Chinese smorgies in Sacramento, and I have eaten at most of them, at least in the south area. The food looks good, the atmosphere is pretty bland as overall appearances go, and the Hawaiian music is a bit bizarre, but the service is good and the variety is very good.
Being Chinese American I have gone to many a baby party or birthday party held at several local Chinese smorgies. True, the food is not going to stack up to places which serve it via waiters, but we are talking about a smorgy here and not a café. Overall, the food tastes very good and looks good, and the staff keep the warming trays filled.
So many Chinese smorgies have taken on the «seafood» theme to impress customers who are dreaming of crabs, lobsters, and all kinds of fish. I could care less about seafood, I just want my noodles, fried chicken, veggies, and pork, beef, and chicken with veggies. If you want seafood, go to Scotts, Maritime, or a Chinese restaurant specializing in seafood. Seafood in smorgies do not hold up because it sits there and cools down.

Did anyone say «BUTTFETT»! Ya this place is gross, just the people who eat here make you want to think twice about holding that spoon to serve your food! My husband and I only went because we had an Entertainment book coupon so we decided to give this place a try since it had been over 2 years since we ate there. The food is just slopped together and it’s not as clean as it used to be. Def not going there again. Continental Buffett is a better alternative, it’s on Howe Ave next to Garibaldi’s Mex Restaurant.
FYI– BUTTFETT is a made up word that I created.
Definition of Buttfett: a place where the person in front of you picked their ass and is holding the spoon you’re about to use :)
So the next time you’re at a buffet do like I do and ask for a glove or use a napkin when using the utensils. Happy Eating!