Went with my buddy big blue Finn tuna and some other friends. Place was absolute ass. My buddy puked. I’m a big eater but just couldn’t do it here. First of all, who the heck has pizza at a Chinese buffet? At least make the pizza good. Everything just plain sucked. Went back to the hotel and oh my goodness I feel bad for those toilets. It took me a couple of days to recover after this place. All in all I would come back though, not for the quality or lack there of, but for the memory it gave us. So thank you blue pearl.
Flecia D.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Springfield, VA
I was hesitant to eat here but my nephews(ages 6&8) forced me to go. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The food met my expectation… considering it was a buffet. I’ve come here several times and I’ll come again. It’s great when you have kids with you… Cause they can eat what ever they want and you don’t have to worry about ordering for them :)
Mm O.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Washington, DC
Amazing place! They accommodated a large holiday celebration and did a terrific job! Food was fresh and good! Staff was so kind!
D R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Princess Anne, MD
I have been here three times. The buffet is large with a phở station, habichi grill station and dessert station. Salad bar, hot asian fare and seafood. I go just for the cherrystone clams and awesome unique finger desserts. I have not tried tried phở or habachi yet but will post when I do. For 13 $ drink and dessert and wide selection I say it is a winner.
Abigail T.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Springfield, VA
Food seems old i think the only thing i likes was the ice cream. Also, i could have been dying of thirst and they will never know from«all the times» they walk by.
Lana S.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Dover, DE
This place has really gone downhill after they switched owners a few years ago. Food is just cold and not that appetizing. This time we went they closed down the noodle/soup section which my dad was looking forward to. Not worth the 10 $ we paid for lunch.
Cat T.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Annandale, VA
All you can eat? More like all you can’t eat… The food here is not very good. Literally the only good thing about this place is their egg tarts in my opinion. My family had been coming here since before they remodeled and changed the name. Before, it used to be called Dragon Seafood Buffet, or something along the lines of that. It used to be decent. My mom knew the manager and he would always talk to my mom and I, ask if we’re enjoying the food. I don’t know what happened a few years later. I think management changed and so they revamped the place with a remodel and different foods. Somehow this«upgrade» turned out to be a major downgrade. My family came back for dinner one night expecting the same friendly service along with maybe even better food. We expected too much… The food was dry. Most of it looked old. The only somewhat appetizing looking food ended up being too greasy. The steamed buns were dry. And tasted nasty. They had a salad bar but full of cheap ingredients… Looks like something you can make 10 times better at home. Sushi was made unprofessionally and didn’t taste right, the ratio of different ingredients in the rolls were off. And is it just me or do the workers inside make you feel really uncomfortable when you’re just walking up to get food? My mom only went for the crawfish, but if that’s the only highlight here, it is so not worth it. The dessert was gross too. The only thing I enjoyed was the egg tarts. Overall food experience was 1⁄5. Their dishes aren’t always clean… Which is gross. The ice cream machine tastes like mostly water based? I don’t understand how that’s possible. Waitresses don’t seem to speak English very well so when we asked for certain things they didn’t know how to respond or would get the wrong item. They barely refilled our drinks and weren’t very attentive. They usually talk around in groups in Chinese and ignore their customers. They also play this very annoying happy birthday song all the time. We came on the day where it was like everyone’s birthday because the song played every 10 min… Overall this buffet is a no no. I will not be coming back. Ever. — shudders–
John G.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Burke, VA
Considering the price, you can’t expect much. The food: overcooked or not cooked properly. There is a strong smell of fish and seafood which isn’t necessarily appetizing. There isn’t much organization when it comes to where different trays are placed in the warmers. The salad section looked the best out of all. The ice cream display is a mess, people use the same scoop for all the flavors and it’s sitting in a container of warm milky water– avoid. The dining area itself was not bad, the tables were clean and looked to be wiped down well, the cups, plates and silverware looked clean too. Service was quick and helpful.
Kyeong T.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Dumfries, VA
If I could give this place zero stars I would. I never felt so defeated in a buffet before in my life… first of all I’d like to say I love and enjoy chinese buffets! Sure they are not the best quality food but there is a beauty in it and I can’t resist… but this place. holy crap… first of all me and my mom went for dinner and it cost us 29.97 which was pretty high compared to the places I normally go to but I didn’t care as long as I got my fill So here’s the bad… 1. 2 sections of the food buffet area were completely off and cold to the touch! The sushi was hard as in the rice were dried out, the pizza looked a week old as the pepperoni turned black and cheese solidified and the sausage pizza, the«sausage» looked like rat poop. 2. Food just taste like crap and maybe that is expected but again, I love these chinese buffet but damn… it was bad and again COLD. THEGOOD. 1. I ordered their pink lemonade and it was the only thing that was enjoyable. Conclusion. The food was so bad I couldn’t take it anymore and couldn’t go for more after two plates where I normally get 4! This place is god awful and horrible! And to my disappointment this place was once really good which is the sad part… this place was so bad I had to write a long review such as this… please don’t come here and stay away
Cindy L.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Woodbridge, VA
If I can give this place 0 stars, I would. This place used to be pretty good when it first opened. It seems every time I come, the food gets worse and worse. It always cold, never warm. They have a microwave near the ice cream which should say something to customers who actually notice. Their food is cold! The waiters are always rude and it is mission impossible to ask them for anything. They like to stand around after you pay for their tip. How rude! Recently I feel like they don’t take cleaning the restaurant seriously. The tables are always sticky and the bathroom is gross. I won’t be returning to blue pearl again. The health department needs to shut this place down.
Licia J.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Fort Belvoir, VA
This is an old review that I’m just now posting. My daughter and I went here one day for lunch. I’ve been here before with co-workers and found it to be ok. Anyway, after paying I noticed my daughter panicking but speechless at the same time because she saw a mice ran in front of her. Needless to say, I asked for a refund and the cashier tried very hard to act surprised but I could tell it was an act. The health department should’ve been closed this place down. Not only is the food cold but it’s rodent infested.
Matt H.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Washington, DC
Was in the area and wanted Chinese and came across this place. I wish I kept on driving. It’s overpriced(~$ 15) and everything was cold. They also didn’t have wonton soup or egg rolls. Cmon! Plus the atmosphere is weird — the servers just stand in the dining room and stare at the diners. Save yourself some cash and self loathing and avoid this place at all costs.
Broy K.
Rating des Ortes: 1 McLean, VA
Let’s be frank… The health department needs to be more thorough. For one the temperature is obviously not what it is supposed to be. Literally you walk around for one minute and your food is cold when you go take your seat. Then let’s talk about the food, if your a seafood fan maybe your in luck. Unfortunately if your cant stand the seafood smell which could knock you out as you enter. Your food choices are plentiful BUT your food tastes terrible. Think of heating up expired boxes of items stamped with«fit for human consumption.» I’m sure it may appear to taste good because your starving. Looking objectively I would be so scared to realize what I sampled(most of my food went back on the plates). Thankfully I didn’t pay for this or I’d have asked for my money back. It was miserable, food was horrible, bathrooms were disgusting. The ice cream scoop was in a bowl of water which appeared to have a dusty mold layer. For the risk of cross contamination I choose not to try my hand at that food poisoning piñata. If you’ve ever watched the buffet scene from National Lampoons Vegas Vacation. I felt like I was re-living that moment in real life. If you enjoy gelatinous chicken and food poisoning… Please tempt your fate.
Nicolas M.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Alexandria, VA
Where to start? Well actually as I thinking of where to start I bumped my knee under the table and it came back with chewed gum attached… so there’s that. In addition to the free gum. The food is cold, I didn’t even make it back to my table with a warm meal. By the chance I got to start the food it was already hard AND cold. The food here for some reason doesn’t taste the same as I’m used to. Honestly the General Tso’s chicken and the beef and broccoli tastes sketchy at best. Even the dessert tasted like it was out all day. I know for a FACT the lemons sure have been out at least one day because most of them are dryed out. The ambiance in the restaurant is fantastic, it’s beautifully decorated with real wood. The lighting and plants make it a nice place to visit. Unfortunately the staff had an attitude, from the host to the cooks. Overall I’m disappoint. My girlfriend talked this place up.
Manh K.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Falls Church, VA
The Blue Pearl Buffet is a Chinese buffet. The standards of the buffet are always lower than what you can expect from a normal restaurant. However, the standards here are lower than an average buffet. So the positives. The employees are nice and friendly. Drinks are full all the time, and responsive, majority of the time. Also there is a large selection of food to try and consume. That is what a buffet is about. Selection. However, there are a bunch of negatives that stand out. The parking lot is weird. It encircles the building and is quite limited. A huge pain if it is busy. Once entering, the area is pretty dirty overall. It tries really hard to be clean and festive, but just fails at that. Vandalism is everywhere, and on the tables, wall, etc. The tables wable and it seems like there is no attempt to fix it. The place is also very noisy. Just in case if you plan on having a quiet time ever in a buffet. Here is the real bad part. The food is not always hot. Or fresh. Or presents any kind of quality. But there is a bunch of different choices. Overall I would have to give this place two stars. One for effort and one for having friendly employees who try to bring this Chinese buffet all together. I cannot recommend a place where the point of the place is to have a variety of food that is not cold.
Julius C.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Alexandria, VA
I have to agree with Jane P’s review, this place is nothing to write home about. In fact, its barely worth writing about here, except that that’s what’s expected of a Unilocal member. Ok, so, let’s get it over with: I went into the restaurant and it was crowded — a good sign I thought, until I remembered that it was Christmas Eve and people either hadn’t worked or were off earlier than usual and probably wanted to eat some place that was relatively quick and easy. I got my plate and hit the buffet — and was almost immediately disappointed. First, the food was a jumble of mismatched fare with no discernible order of thought as to how to make it appealing to the sight or easy in the selection process; second, every bit of it was food that you’d find in any food court mall in America, except that the mall food looked more appetizing. I decided to start with some Asian food, figuring that, well, the owners are Asian, how bad could it be? Well, it was bad. It was real bad. It was eat-the-General Tso-and-lose –a-molar bad. Seriously, I have never had chicken that hard and stringy before in all my years of eating chicken. The rice seemed hard as well, and at the same time somehow waxy, if that’s possible. The broccoli ws overcooked and the green beans were limp. So, I decided on American fare, again chicken, this time fried, with a side of fries. Once again, chicken hard, fries cold and burnt. Finally, I’d had enough. I got my check, left a decent tip(the wait staff, after all, weren’t to blame for the food, after all), and left. It has taken me four days to write this review, not because I’m a slow writer or because I’m lazy, but because I have to relive the experience every time I peck at the keyboard.
Adrian M.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Woodbridge, VA
Service was pretty quick. Nice selection of Chinese food. It also had one of my favorite dessert. Best part are the seafood.
Jane P.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Clarksville, MD
This is the worst buffet I have ever been to! The food was disorganized. Food was placed with items that did not make sense to be next to each other, but most importantly the food tasted horrible. Nothing was good. The only thing I liked here was their ice cream and crawfish. The crawfish was okay, but it seemed old. Also, when I went to get a scoop of ice cream the ice scream scoop was placed in a dirty water bowl. The ice cream flavors were all mixed up from other people scooping different flavors. Just horrible, messy, DIRTY!!! The dinner was over priced. It costed $ 15.00 for nothing. I left still craving for some actual food. As a matter of fact, I ended up getting food from McDonald cause I was still hungry… And I never eat McDonald. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Oh! Also the man making the sushi took eternity to put out rolls. I literally had to wait forever cause all the rolls left on the counter were rolls without any fish in them… And even the one with the fish on it tasted horrible. I do not recommend coming here.
Brouk B.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Terre Haute, IN
This place looks a bit run down on the outside, but the inside is actually a bit of a surprise. I think it may have been a steakhouse before, but at least it looks clean. The food wasn’t as nice. They do have your standard Chinese buffet fare, some desserts, etc. There was sushi, but being honest, there’s no way I was going anywhere near it. It was clear that it was made by untrained hands, and it had sat out for so long that it was dried out. There wasn’t any ice below it, the sushi was just sat onto a plate in a window. Pass! Something I really enjoyed seeing was phở! You can walk up towards the hibachi area, and they will make you a fresh bowl of Phở. It was delicious! I also was not eating any hibachi meal at Blue Pearl. The raw beef was out and uncovered for so long that it was dried and leathery. It did not look sanitary or appetizing in the least. Overall, I enjoyed the small selection of seafood(fish, crawfish, fried crab halves, large clams) and chicken dishes. They had a jalapeño pepper chicken that was delicious! It wasn’t very spicy aside from the actual peppers. It was the best thing that I found there, and I had more than one serving of it. Yummy! General Tso’s chicken was on the buffet as well, and was average but not bad. In all honestly, it wasn’t a terrible place to eat, but the food was mediocre and the price($ 13.95) was too high for such a small and average buffet, even if it does include your drink. I wouldn’t come back. It would have earned three stars if it weren’t for the restrooms — which were in HORRID shape. I am not sure when it was last cleaned; there was paper and dirty toilet bowls everywhere! Only two stalls worked. It was just filthy and I felt as though I needed to wash my hands again after I left.
Marc Alen D.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Fort Washington, MD
If it weren’t for the selection of food, I would’ve given this place two stars.(I’m probably the nicest reviewer on here lol) Why two? Customer relations is dry. The guy servicing the soup counter was a bit blah. There was a weird smell, coming from the carpet I’m sure, and the mens restroom, vandalism everywhere with missing pieces of wallpaper. A lot of the dishes were pretty common among Chinese buffets too, BUT(here’s where they earn an extra star) they did have the following: They have shumai, tofu jelly, and fried anchovies. I LOVE all three. These were dishes I grew up with in the Philippines; Definitely my own Asian-American version of timeless comfort food. Shumai you can definitely find in other buffets, but only in the more high-end, more expensive Asian buffets. The tofu jelly(which we Filipinos refer to as Taho) is less like a jello, but more like a very light tofu custard that you pour sweet ginger syrup over… it’s delightful! Then, the fried anchovies I like to dip in vinegar and eat with plain rice, but they’re actually pretty good plain too. Bottomline, if you come here, don’t expect customer service deluxe, but a great assortment of food at a reasonable price.