Great Plaza Buffet

We love this place!!! This is my favorite buffet in San Diego. We went there for my birthday with my 5 kids & my grandson. My meal was free because we had more than 6 people. There’s also a seniors discount. They had everything I love at an Asian buffet. The sushi was freshly made. The coconut shrimp, Mayonnaise mussels & the other shrimp dishes were excellent. An awesome selection for desserts, including a chocolate fountain. We will be eating there a lot.

The stir friend noodles smelled good but tasted gland. The dessert is pretty good, love the crème brûlée and the cheese cake. This place had a nice set up for the food.

Stopped by here after remembering it from years ago. Didn’t even know I was in the mood for Chinese until something rang a bell in my head about coconut shrimp and I was in the proximity.
As stated in a previous review, I don’t do buffet that often because I feel I have to severely overeat to get my moneys worth and end up with a food hangover from hell.
But, I remembered how much I enjoyed this particular establishment so we took the plunge. Pulled in at 11 am (old people lunch time) and the place was just starting to get busy. The Hostess told us from the offset that the buffet was more expensive than usual because of Memorial Day. This didn’t bother me but I thought it was odd because I thought it might be cheaper because of the holiday. (It’s not it’s like being the only restaurant open on Christmas or Thanksgiving.)
Come to think about it, I do hope they gave military and veterans a discount.
Anyway, speaking of discounts… checked in with Unilocal and got a 10% discount for myself. Hot Dog!
Now, finally, the food. Good as I remembered. Piled up my plate like I was never going to eat again: Fried rice, chow mien, coconut shrimp, and every variation of chicken from orange to General Tso. All hot, all fresh, all good.
So good I had to repeat. I was really full but as I stated, I have to get my moneys worth. I’ve always heard that an hour after eating Chinese food you’re hungry again. Whoever said this never played Hungry, Hungry Hippo at a Chinese buffet bar.
Glad I remembered it and glad I came. Won’t be due for another belly buster gorge fest for a while but this will satisfy me until I’m ready again.
Once again, don’t forget to check in with your Unilocal app for the discount.

Slightly more expensive then I would like but the food was good and fresh. I like the actual place, it was very comfortable environment. We never got our change of 20 dollars but it’s okay they can keep it as tip

Visited 2÷11÷2016
This is a review that has mixed thoughts.
First off there is plenty of free parking in a large lot. A plus considering Its In PB. 5 Stars.
It’s a nice big restaurant with lots of great seating. Nice inside and out. 4 Stars.
We were greeted wright off and seated immediately. 5 Stars.
We were very surprised at the giant selection of food in the many sections. 4 Stars.
Quality is the hard part to judge.
Some will love everything and some will only love some of it. As for us we enjoyed «Most» everything we tried. The salad bar was well stocked and very fresh. 4 Stars.
The Fresh Mongolian grill was Good with a nice selection to choose from. We Especially Loved The Beef Short Ribs Grilled for you on the spot. 5 Stars.
All the Dumplings, Potstickers, Dim Sum and many other treats were not bad and We enjoyed them too though not the best we have ever had. 3.5 Stars.
For a lunch price of $ 9.99 it’s a Great Deal. 5 Stars.
The Dessert bar was just ok. Nothing Special. 3 Stars.
We didn’t try the sushi bar so I can’t give that a rating. It’s on the small side anyway.
Service on drink refills was Super with the staff all smiling. 4 Stars.
Over All
Would we eat here again ?
We Will For Sure.
Enjoy

What are always great the sushi is excellent I love the ribs and all-​you-​can-​eat peel and eat shrimp is fantastic sort of um they now charge for beverages but overall great place to eat tremendous selection

maybe I am biased since I am not a big fan of buffets, but I was not as impressed as I thought I was going to be. even with a reservation, there was no table ready for us when we arrived and had to wait 20 – 25 minutes. when we finally got to the table, it was a very crowded, tight table where a few of our friends could barely squeeze into their chairs (and they are small people)
I was impressed with some food items including the potstickers, the made-​to-​order stir fry station, and surprisingly the pizza. the chocolate fountain with fresh strawberries and froyo machine were really good as well. on the other side of things, the sushi was below mediocre and some of it even tasted as if it was no longer fresh. I recommend steering clear of the sashimi. if I had ordered any of the sushi at a specialized sushi joint, I would have sent it back.

I can’t say I was impressed after going here but considering the prices I think it’s very fair. The prices are very good for when you want to meet friends out but don’t want to do too much spending. You could be very full for under ten dollars. In no way would I say these things aren’t worth the price, but I can’t say I would go out of my way for this place at all.

The service here was extremely horrible. We arrived at 2:30pm for lunch and their dinner started at 3:30pm. We had no idea we couldn’t eat their dinner items once dinner started. I had a plate of crab legs that I was already eating and the waitress came over and took my plate away. She said since we’re eating lunch we can’t eat their dinner items and proceeded with taking my plate away. She then left my plate of crab legs and another place from a different table and left it by the sink for several minutes then put it back on the ice as if no one was looking. That is cross contamination at its finest. I give this place a –5 stars.

I eat here at least a couple of times a month and it was just as tasty this last time me and my friend went. The sushi is not the best but pretty good. The teppanyaki is my favorite along with the Chinese food. The salad bar has plenty of choices. Yummy good.

Good verity of food, Asian, Japanese, American, Italian… a little of everything!!! Fondu chocolate fountain!

I’m not really a buffet person, but we came here for an after-​event thing for our family.
Parking is good since it’s a big lot. I can’t talk about service because we didn’t really interact with them. But the guys that gave us our drinks were pretty attentive with how big our group was.
The food was just okay. I’m not really big on asian buffets, so I kind of picked over. I also didn’t want to wait in line for the grilled section, so I stuck to basics.
I had garlic bread (because bread is all I need), the cream cheese wontons, I tried a crab dish and had some other stuff. I honestly don’t even remember what I had because it wasn’t that great…
The establishment seems more like a place locals/​regulars come to as opposed to people looking to try a restaurant. My food wasn’t awful, but I wouldn’t be someone to come back and eat here.

Currently with all the s/​s of the stomach flu followings yesterdays lunch here. Not okay at all. I might have my bowel system completely emptied BOTH ways but still able to type through this fever and hope that management reads this reviews and SERIOUSLY in service their staff on proper handling of food. Lesson learned, dont eat food at sketchy looking buffets even uf your group desires otherwise.
Maybe i came on a bad day or bad time but this is absolutely unacceptable. Its 2016, get it together guys! Ive lived down the street from this place my whole life and have never eaten or have anyone want to ready here til now from someone not familiar with the area, what i was thinking!
Will follow up with a phone call to this buffet once I can move again. Please, save yourself the trouble and skip out on this place

First time and last time.
Warning: Look at the food you are eating.
ROACHES in the cold shrimp, crab leg, crawfish buffet.
Disgusting, yes. But, that was not my purpose of up and leaving. The waiter tried to justify that the flattened vermin with obvious anatomy of an insect was not a roach. But, seasoning. I went back to grab another plate to prove him wrong. Again, another roach. He took it with a napkin and disposed of it with a puzzled look and continued to insist it was not a roach.
I would have taken a photo. I was embarassed enough to have brought guest to this place. We just wanted to go. We should’ve dined elsewhere. This was a random, «oh let’s try this place», moment.
I get it, it is a buffet. Address the issue, then correct it, and apologize. Instead this place tries to make their customers feel wrong.
My guest and myself, still paid in full. At the entrance we were told 11.99 for adults on Saturday. Then you are brought your receipt and charged 15.99. Only to be advised to «look at our online it is done professional. Price right».
I am a chef and have my experience working in kitchens. I get it. Roaches will be there. If it’s in the food being served there’s an issue. Fix it.
If you experience the same. Let others know.

We came here by actually seeing it on the way to a different lunch spot. We’ve never heard of it or looked it up but was feeling spontaneous. We missed the lunch window by 15 minutes… prices go up for dinner at 3:30, whichever we feel is a bit early. So it was about $ 15 per person instead of $ 11. But the lady at the front was nice so we walked in. We took a look at the food before really committing to staying. We are both lactose intolerant and I’m also gluten intolerant so we always have to check for options. I was feeling doubtful until we saw the sushi station so we gave this place the green light.
Most of the food here is Asian. There was maybe three American choices plus salad and dessert. There is a station where you make your own stir fry which is cool. There is a chocolate fountain and I saw a few exotic choices like chicken feet.
The rib eye was delicious! And I don’t even like beef. My boyfriend really liked the custom stir fry he had made. The sushi was good. Other than that I didn’t like the food too much. It tasted old to me. My boyfriend seemed more fond of this place than me.
The restaurant looked old and dingy. It looked dusty but I did like that the lady putting food out wore a hair net and gloves. The waiting staff was quick! As soon as we pushed a plate to the edge of the table they came by to get it. All the guests in the restaurant were having a good time. It looked like a great place for groups.
It was nice for us to break out of our routine. Buffets are always nice but maybe we came at a bad time where the food wasn’t fresh. I think it would help with ambiance if they opened the shades. It was so dark in there but not the romantic kind. They had nice chandeliers and vaulted ceilings so it must had been nice at some point. My bf also liked that they had football on the tvs. The parking is way better compared to the rest of PB. Overall this place is okay.

Great Plaza Buffet underwent renovations and the updated place is large and clean.
The buffet is a combination of Chinese, American and Japanese cuisine. There is a salad bar, sushi station, Chinese entrée section with shrimp, salmon, and chicken, soups, and fried spring rolls/​shrimps/​chicken wings. They also have unlimited boiled crab legs and shrimp. For those who need American food, they have pizza, prime rib and ham. The best part of the buffet is the stir fry noodle station where you pick out your meat and vegetables and watch someone freshly cooks your noodles Genghis Khan style. They also have a dessert bar with fruits, pastries and self serve ice cream.
Overall this buffet has average tasting and quality food. Nothing like a Vegas buffet but then again, what do you expect for $ 14? For an Asian restaurant, the service was outstanding! Our servers were attentive and prompt with our drink orders and cleaning up our plates.

Actual text I was sending to my friend while waiting in line at the teppanaki grill inside the buffet: «This place is bomb, you have got to come here.»
I have been to lots of mediocre Asian buffets and know not to expect much. So upon entering Great Plaza Buffet I was immediately impressed and then wow’d as I explored and dined.
I think I ate a whole four plates!
The Japanese/​sushi bar at the front is three times the size of a normal sushi section at an Asian buffet, and they didn’t just had six variations of California rolls as is usually the case. They had sushi (tuna and salmon and eel and shrimp and squid on rice) and sashimi (mackerel and seabream) and even a full rainbow roll! They also had squid salad, seaweed salad, inari pockets and more.
The Chinese food included a small dim sum section which even had chicken feet and lotus leaf rice. These are items usually not served at a buffet but only in a real dim sum restaurant on a cart. Quality of the Chinese food (dim sum, stir fries, etc) wasn’t that great though compared to the Japanese and other Asian offerings here. Except the hot and sour soup was really legit. And it was super cool that instead of a roast beef carving station, you could get freshly carved barbecue squid.
The star is the teppanyaki grill in the back which is right next to a Mongolian grill. Tons of meats including Korean shortrib to pile on a plate with veggies, noodles, etc and then they cook it before your eyes. It was so crowded that people were reaching over me throughout my visit!
Salad bar is huge but you’re not really here for salad are you…
And then there’s a huge and tall chocolate fountain where you can dip fresh fruits and marshmallows on sticks and the chocolate hardens.
I was impressed with the dessert bar which honestly rivals the one at the fancy 94^th Aero Squadron. Lots of selections and actually delicious versus just empty calories. I loved the Mexican flan, the Japanese style cream puffs, and the orange layer cake.
TIP: It’s $ 9.99 for lunch Monday through Friday, and $ 12 on Saturdays. Check in on Unilocal for 10 percent off. Also, we asked if the dinner offerings were better but were told they don’t really change it and don’t have lobster.

***MAKE SURE TO CHECK IN ON Unilocal SO YOU CAN GET A TEN PERCENT OFF COUPON!***
My wife and I had some errands to run in the area so we decided to stop and try this place (at the recommendation of some friends).
The price was a little steep for dinner ($ 14.99 each adult) but we did enjoy our meal.
As we walked in, we noticed a wide variety of sushi closest to the waiting area and as we walked through, we noticed fresh fruit, crab legs, shrimp, and various other items. Make sure to take note of the large chocolate fondue tower over by the ice cream machine! What impressed me the most is the teppanyaki area where you can pick your own ingredients such as noodles, beef, chicken, pork, and vegetables and they will grill them for you. I have never seen this at a buffet before.
Each item that we tasted was very good and not greasy like other buffets that we have tried.
We look forward to returning!

Si la gente le pone 3 o 4 estrellas a este antro no se yo como serán los que tienen 1. Malo, malísimo! No he probado peor comida china en mi vida. Y tengo que dar gracias a que no me atreví con el sushi, porque mi esposo si lo hizo y se intoxicó. Le doy una estrella porque no se puede poner 0. Este sitio tendría que tener una buena inspección de sanidad.

Choose meat and veggies
watch meats sizzle on the fire
teppanyaki grill.
I’m not a big fan of Chinese buffets but was excited to visit when I heard they added teppanyaki grill to the menu offerings. I watched as the chef was cooking to make sure I wasn’t given any of the spicy sauces. The noodles, bean sprouts, shrimp, beef, pork chops, and beef spare ribs were fresh and cooked perfectly. The pork chops and marinated beef spare ribs were my fav items. :-)
The har gow & potstickers I tried had been sitting out too long and was dried out with funky flavors. The traditional sticky rice seemed to be devoid of other ingredients and just had sticky rice which didn’t really have any flavor.
The fried chicken wings were hot and had a bit of crunch. The seasoning was done poorly though as they just tasted of chicken and salt…
The bbq ribs tasted of baked beef covered in sweet bbq sauce. Reminds me of Hometown Buffet bbq ribs.
The prime rib had good flavor but the piece I got was mostly fat. The only other option was a really lean piece that looked dried out from sitting under the heat lamp too long…
Won ton soup had ok flavor overall but the won ton wrappers had that been sitting in the soup too long flavor.
Creame brûlée tasted like regular pudding. The top didn’t have that hard crust I’m use to at Ruth Chris.
Overall this place is ok. If I came here again if I was craving teppanyaki grill. I was here from about 6−8pm Thursday and it wasn’t very busy thus much of the buffet food wasn’t very fresh.

I came to this buffet with a number of Unilocalers and enjoyed a variety of items, but mostly from the freshly prepared item at the Teppanyaki-​Grill station, where you are able to choose from a variety of proteins, vegetables, and they provided a noodle to add to the mix.
My first visit the Teppanyaki Grill consisted of Korean style marinated short ribs, some flattened pork chops, noodles, and mix of vegetables. Both the meats were well cooked and tasted very good, but it was the short ribs that was very tender and packed with nice flavor (
). The pork was good, but a little on the drier side. The noodles were good and the vegetables, the zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers I chose were tender and not over cooked. They could of used some seasoning. I had two servings this with a lot more short rib on the second visit.
Others things I tried were some terrific green beans from the buffet and a plate full or pork loin ribs. The ribs were very tender and the meat had good flavor with a semi sweet BBQ sauce. I had two plates of these (
). On the same plate, I tried the rib eye roast which was unfortunately over cooked and dry, and some chicken wings. The wings’ breading was to soft, probably due to them seating in the warmer to long.
In the end, for dessert, I tried a mini Crème Brulee but I did not care for it very much because it was to grainy and not silky and smooth, and the crust on top was not thoroughly formed. Its flavor was okay (
).
The buffet was a mix bunch, but thankfully I was able for the availability of the Teppanyaki Grill and those pork loin ribs. Our server was very nice and worked hard servicing our table.