HomeTown Buffet

this htb is closed gone! good ! some timesgood most times not

Sadly this location is now permanently closed. I am shocked as the food was MUCH better than the Santa Maria one (which is still open). I will miss the chicken pot pies and my older father will miss it very much

This is a Hometown Buffett. For $ 15/​per person with drink, you’ll get all you can eat of stereotypical American foods from the 1950s-​1990s, and a mix of Mexican and Asian type foods.
Is it awesome food? It’s never going to be awesome at that price point. Is it good for when you’re hungry and need food now? Definitely, especially when you have a situation like tonight where my spouses tastes and mine were completely orthogonal.
How does this compare to other Hometown Buffets? Best I’ve ever had! All of the food was flavorful, fresh, and the staff was very polite. If the spouse wanted to go back to this one, I would be willing to say yes! That’s not my usual response to this chain.

I guess you have to come when they open. The food was fresh and the service was friendly. The biggest thing was the pot pie. OMG, even my wife (who is not a pot pie person) said it was even better than marie calanders. As long as we are here when they open, and have pot pies, we will be back.

I’m not expecting too much from a hometown buffet. This place wasn’t too busy. Service was good. ThE prime rib was a little dry. They had a good taco station.

Went to this HTB on Christmas day. The food was amazingly good. What one would expect for all you can eat but quality was top notch. Manager Janelle was attentive and friendy… in fact all staff were good with customers as well. Very happy with SLO Hometown Buffet.

Went with my roommate since I was craving mashed potatoes. Good experience! Will be returning sometime in the future. Friendly staff as well.

Although it’s been over four years since I saw the inside of a Hometown Buffet, I basically knew what to expect dining at this one for the first (and most likely, last) time. I’m not a big eater, so places like this make money off of people like me. Where to begin? How about the end. One thing I remembered liking about hometown was their bread pudding, it’s changed! This individual serving of this very old rock hard sticky bun was what they’re passing off for bread pudding. Um no thanks! The temperature of the cheesecake slice I picked up was about 30 degrees warmer than it should be. My fork told me that as soon as soon as I saw the texture. Dairy products like cheesecake can be dangerous consumed at that temperature (if I would’ve eaten that, no doubt about 3 – 4 in the morning, food poisoning would’ve set in). The soft serve machine was not in service, so I’m sure there were people not happy about that.
Onto the food: this thing that looked like a pot pie was completely inedible except for the crust, the carving station didn’t have anyone attending to it nor was there a knife in sight to help yourself. I grabbed a steak knife and cut myself a piece of steak. The Mac and cheese was not appetizing, the mashed potatoes were fine once i smothered them in butter and horseradish. The broccoli was old and flavorless, and everything but the salad bar looked like it had been either reheated or needed to be thrown away. It was 6pm: dinner hour! Yes it was only a Monday, but still!!!
Salad Bar: mushroom and pineapple sliced way too big to be on a salad bar.
I was generous with the two stars because my dining counterpart was quite happy with the overall experience…

I went here on a Sunday night, and there was almost no one there. This means that all of the food was probably sitting there for hours, which would partly explain why it was so bad. I couldn’t find anything good here, even the ice cream was not good. In fact, Metro at Cal Poly, which is a terrible buffet, is even better than this place. Never go here.

Had a hankerin’ for some down home food for lunch today, decided to try the HomeTown Buffet for the first time.
I tried to register online for a coupon, but the coupon options are only for old folks, military, and kids. Nothing for us singles. Bummer. I ended up paying a dollar extra for the large soda cup so I could take some to-​go, won’t do that next time. My bill was about $ 14.00 after the tip I left the bus guy.
I was bummed they didn’t offer a tray and I had to juggle my food plates that don’t fit on the edge of the counter. There must be many dropped plates while folks are filling up. I also didn’t like the idea that I had to leave my food unattended at the table while I filled up my other plates. It was also strange that I had to leave my receipt on the table and the bus guy signed it. I suppose that prevents folks from sneaking in?
Filled up on the hot stuff first. Fried chicken and baked/​grilled chicken, both thighs — apparently the only place to find breast meat is in the chicken nuggets. I also grabbed some meatloaf and made some nachos with the beef sauce and some grated cheese and sour cream. I thought I would try the chicken dumpling and mac & cheese, too. Mashed potatoes, corn, cornbread stuffing, and some rolls rounded out the carbs. I then got a salad at the salad bar.
My soda was good, and I suppose it was nice that I didn’t have to keep getting up to refill the small cup. I loved their mashed potatoes, easily the best part of my meal. The meatloaf was OK, big chunks of onion and beef. Lots of tomato sauce on the top that I had to scrape off. It tasted great with my mashed potatoes. The rolls tasted OK, with butter, but the tops were hard. The stuffing was baked too long, dry and really dense. The corn was chewy and discolored. The Mac & Cheese was awful. The Dumpling was not good, but I am not a dumpling person so it might have been good for all I know.
I had high hopes for the fried chicken and was not disappointed. It was nice and juicy inside, but I don’t prefer thighs, they are hard to eat. The grilled/​baked thigh was seasoned nicely, and it was also juicy. The tortilla chips were nice and fresh, crunchy and I even used them in my salad. The meat sauce was nice, I would probably get some next time I am there. My salad was good, with iceberg, carrots, raisins, sunflower seeds, and eggs. The blue cheese dressing was a disappointment, too vinegary. I miss the Sizzler dressing. I was disappointed that there was not a pasta salad option. The pre-​made Caesar salad was not good, soggy lettuce and croutons.
After lunch I realized they have a dessert area. I tried several options, the ice cream cone being my favorite. They had some soft peanut butter cookies that weren’t too bad. Their cheesecake had almond extract in it, which was unexpected. That could be a problem for folks with nut allergies, they should label it. That was my second favorite. They had a couple of chocolate items, both were disappointments. I should have tried their peach cobbler with ice cream.
Bottom line, amazing mashed potatoes, I hope they have them this good all the time. I will try this place again when I want home-​style food. I might try some other items next time, such as their fried okra, potato salad, cornbread, etc. The people working there were nice, which makes a big difference. They do need to investigate the unfortunate smell back by the desserts, though.

Well they refunded our money but still charged for drinks. Food was horrendous. It was so old, crusty and inedible. Absolutely disgusting. They should have done more than refund dinners and charge drinks. This place should be shut down.

Bad place to eat and their food is not fresh and awful. Been there a couple times and is always empty restaurant and their food selection is bad and just really bad place to spend your money and eat. I wouldn’t even recommend this place is way better eating at subways or somewhere else. The Santa Maria hometown buffet is wAy better and has more to offer and hot fresh food not some old days food that can make u sick. I’m surprised this place still open for business and not closed.

Today i was not satisfied with my visit because to start the first thing i did was go to the bathroom, it was very dirty, napkins all over the counters, and there was unflushed toilets. Then i proceeded to my table with my family. We sat towards the back on the corner last table of the restaurant by the desert area. I specifically sat there because i did not want my children to bother any other people. The server was present for a little while, It was a male, and he was having a conversation with a single male customer while cleaning a table. He was talking about a car accident that he was in, and he almost died. After a while i did not see him. He never came to our table, never cleaned the dirty dishes, and never signed the check. My husband did not say much, he did tell me on the way out that he asked the manager if she was understaffed and she replied with a no. I still have the check for proof, and i took pictures of our table, as well as the dining area we were in that shoes there was no customers, and there was no reason to have been ignored. We felt like no one even cared if we were happy with our experience. In addition, the food was very cold. My daughter only ate 1 cucumber that i put on her plate, because the hot food was cold, and she would rather eat food that is suppose to be cold. We came in at 2:35 pm, and left at 3:15. We will eat and recommend hometown buffet to other people, but we probably wont go to this location. The last few times we have been here the services has not been good, and the salad bar has old lettuce. We would rather drive the extra few miles to the one in Santa maria, CA. The food seems a lot fresher, and the servers always clear the dishes, and the managers take the extra effort to go to the tables and check on there guests to make sure everything is tasting good, and we have had a good experience. Instead, the General manager at this location was bringing food out from the kitchen and restocking. I though maybe it was just us being ignored, but on my way out i was looking at other peoples tables that had not been bussed, and there checks had not been signed as well. I took pictures of that too. This location is getting worse and worse, someone needs to really step in before summer comes so that people our happy with there experience at this facility. This is coming from a person who has worked in the food industry for 12 years, has a food handlers card and understands the dynamics of the restaurant business, as well as keeping guests wanting to come back.

Every time I have been here the food was good and staff was friendly. I especially love the honey cornbread.

St Paddys day fiasco Came in at 4:45 to have their corn beef cabbage. Paid even after telling cashier of my anticipation of the corn beef. Got my plate headed to the meat station and to my dismay I was informed that they ran out at 2:00. Complained but was never spoken to by a manager. They were apparently hiding in the back afraid of the angry customers It will be a very very long time before I come back here.. No stars

Meh.
I knew going in not to have high expectations however I wanted to relive the experience of eating crappy college food.
Yup it still sucks but it brought back so many fond memories of the struggle back then.

In San Luis Obispo I haven’t found but two salad bars where you serve yourself. Here and Apple Farm although I’m always looking. I appreciate it for what it is and the variety. I tell you sometimes it just plum hits the spot.

I’m surprised at all the negative reviews, frankly. This place is not for gourmets, and should not be considered an upscale eatery. It’s great for families, for kids (lots of selections they like and sometimes they eat for free), for big eaters, or picky ones who just want a little of this and a little of that.
We ate here recently, after seeing the ads about improvements. Our main complaint in the past was how relatively expensive the dinners were, and the price has dropped by a dollar or two, so that was an improvement. I’ve always enjoyed their salad bar, and this trip was no different. Honestly, I could feast on the salads, greens, and prepared goodies such as macaroni or potato salad and skip the main courses. The area was spotless, dishes were chilled, and the offerings were visually appealing as well as tasting great.
My main selections was popcorn shrimp, along with one of their dinner rolls. These are usually great; this trip, just okay. The shrimp was excellent; I could have eaten twice as much.
I finished off with a brownie topped with soft serve ice cream and sprinkles… decadent and tasty.
My encounters with the servers were pleasant; dishes were cleared quickly. The place seemed clean and the kids were pretty well-​behaved (although as someone else said, this is the parents’ fault, not the restaurant’s).
This restaurant is good for what it is, and it makes no attempt to be something it isn’t. It fits its niche just fine. We come here a few times a year and enjoy it.

Horrible food. Flies in restaurant. Cheap, unhealthy. Corey terrible manager. Napkin holders are filthy, also. Corporate headquarters do not appear concerned.

My husband & I thought we’d give this place a shot, plus I really was in the mood for that jello heh, the food however did look old & over cooked. The food tasted exactly how it looked… It was gross but we continued to nibble on our food. The workers we saw the most of was a young woman who we had paid, she was very pleasant — the other was an older gentleman who was in charge of cleaning tables, you could see by the look on his face he did not want to be there. It made us a little uncomfortable. We left about an hour later and I had to go straight to the bathroom… The food went right through me! Then shortly after it happened to my husband. We both looked at each other afterwards and realized we had paid 30 $ to get diarrhea … I had eaten more then my husband so I was stuck with a sour stomach all night & even now, after three tums my stomach is sore.
I would suggest not eating here…
As for what we had– it was chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, jello, beans, corn bread & corn–