Lau’s Buffet King

Good choice when your at the town and want somewhere quick. Always plenty of choice and it’s hot. Staff are there if needed and always polite but don’t hang around you. You may have to wait to be seated if you land when busy. This has only happened a couple of times in all my lunch time visits and it wasn’t a long wait. Just something to think about if you have kids and prams as there is not a lot of room, especially at entrance/​waiting area. Also not much room in between tables. The only thing that let it down on my last visit was attention to detail regarding the cleanliness. Floors and especially corners were dirty. Food splashed up the wall that had dried. Ladies toilets were in desperate need of a clean! It’s cheap, quick and easy.

Located in the heart of Chinatown in Newcastle, it is hard to not miss the insane lunch buffet prices for Lau’s. The All-​You-​Can-​Eat lunch costs around £7,50 per adult and the selection of food was OK (see attached photo for a list of food they served. GB means grand buffet and so it is only served during dinner time)! The reason why I say the selection was OK is because they did not serve authentic and fresh Chinese food. Most of the food served catered to Western-​styled Chinese food. For instance, there were a lot of chicken balls, fried chicken wings, fried chicken, hash browns, etc.
I have to been to plentiful Chinese buffets (a lot of my uncles are chefs at Chinese restaurants) and the standard of food in this buffet is just poor.
–The fried chicken’s dried, hard to chew, and just not fresh
–The mussels were distasteful
–The so-​called Peking duck was just a bunch of shredded meat (it tasted more like chicken than duck) rather than crispy duck skin which is standard for such delicacies in Chinese restaurants. Moreover, the onions and cucumbers that were prepared for this dish was just dried up. The «Hoi sin» sauce they used was extremely salty rather than the sweet tasting sauce that you should be using for the duck
–The fried noodles were extremely salty; this is probably due to the use of an immense amount of soya sauce used to fry the noodles
There seems to be only 2 waitresses and 1 waiter serving the restaurant. It took us around 5 – 7 minutes to get the bill even though all the servers were doing was setting up tables. They didn’t even bother to look up and see that there are customers waving their arms around to get service.
The only redeeming factor of the buffet would be its sweet corn soup (which doesn’t really say much as this is not a Chinese dish) and the fresh fruits.
If you are into Western-​style Chinese food at a low price, then by all means come here. Otherwise, if you are looking for authentic Chinese food, then I suggest trying another place down the road.
Food: ¹⁄₅
Price: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Overall: ²⁄₅
Will visit again? Nope.

After decided to explore the Chinatown of Newcastle, we are pleased with our experience at Lau’s! All you can eat for £7,95 (plus drinks, but as always drinks weren’t that cheap…). Nice buffet for a Sunday; and you can’t imagine the «Everests» some guys were eating and repeating. For dessert, besides fruit, there was a lot of gelly and cakes. I enjoyed it all!

Lau’s Buffet King is what you would expect from a Chinese buffet joint. Food is aplenty, not of highest quality, served in big help-​yourself-​trays and with lots of different dishes to choose from, there isn’t much to complain about.
Located in Newcastle’s teeny China Town, this restaurant is nestled amongst the other food joints on the main street. As you enter, a waiter will seat you to a numbered cheap diner-​style table. It looks like the place needs a bit of a refurb but it is still very functional. It is dimly lit and not too busy so you can quickly pick up your plate and make your rounds. There isn’t much choice if you don’t eat meat (you are basically limited to some starters and side dishes with a few meat-​free rice and noodles on offer) but obviously great if you do (with ribs, various chicken dishes on offer as well as meat infused rice and noodles). There’s lots to choose from! There’s also soups to choose from and of course, a dessert section with help yourself ice-​cream, jelly, cakes and fresh fruit choices.
It’s pretty cheap to eat here so you won’t be hungry but the drinks are expensive!

been here a few times, great value for money, but very bland and very dirty. last time i was there people were coughing over the food and they didnt do anything. they left the kitchen door open and i nearly fainted. VERY DIRTY, i will never go back. service is crap also.

Mmmmmm love the place worth every penny

not for me! Much better places in Newcastle.
I don’t understand how this place is so popular, at busy periods I have been on stowell street and seen the queue all the way down the road. thinking it must be pretty good I made a plan to go there the following week.
I went on a not so busy Wednesday evening, food was lukewarm, nothing was marinated properly, rice was dry as anything, other dishes watery, some dishes swimming in a sticky sauce when it should be marinated. Quite frankly it was disgusting it just had no taste whatsoever. I go to plenty of other buffets & restaurants but this was just bad! I would never recommend it.
Tables & Chairs are basic, think café. There were two tramps in the restaurant eating and stinking of BO, that should tell you something. Along with the chavs the whole place just screams cheap, chatty and best be avoided. I walked out, you can forget «all you can eat!» I would never step foot in here again.

I personally have never had any problems with the staff here. I’ve been a few times and each time I’ve had to wait to be seated due to queues. I always expect that anyway at Lau’s.
To me, and my family, we have always enjoyed out meals there. Maybes not top notch cuisine, but still very tasty. Loads of choice as well. Just don’t fall into the trap of bulking up on rice so you end up too full for anything else.

Good buffet for the price. The price varies according to the time of day and the day you go to eat. So make sure you plan it well in advance to get to eat for the cheapest.
Quite a lot of variety compared to other chinese buffet’s in the area.

I’m going to have to agree with Derrick’s review of Lau’s. I went here for dinner, and would suggest trying a different restaurant in Chinatown if you’re looking for a food fix. I know Chinese buffets are not renowned for their awesome food, but I was still anticipating a bit more.
I experienced the exact same problem when I tried to order water, and ended up getting a beer. It still blows my mind how they ‘don’t have water’. They have a huge buffet, which is set on 2 levels. The only thing I found really worth eating was the egg foo young. They also have a scoop it yourself ice cream bar, which was a nice touch that I wasn’t expecting, but not enough to win another star.

I arrived here at 10pm on a Tuesday night. They close at 10:30. Though the place wasn’t really that busy, all the workers were sitting at a table and looked at me… then at each other… as if to try and silently decide who was going to greet me.
Finally one guy did, and when he brought me a table and asked me what I wanted to drink, I politely said water. Well, they don’t have water. Only bottled water. Pair the Geordie accent with a fobby Chinese one and you get a dialect that I could not comprehend. I had to ask him to repeat what he was saying when he told me that 1. they don’t have water, 2. they only have bottled water, and 3. if i want still or sparkling. At the end of this conversation I can hear he was frustrated with me, as I was with him. I mean give me a break, can’t you hear it in my voice? I’m surely not from around there.
Food was uninspiring. Most likely because the place was fairly empty and the food was sitting around for a while due to the lack of food turnover.
As I paid my check the same guy asked me where I was from, and when I responded America he just said, «ah, because you sound different.»
Though I hadn’t planned on it, I went to McDonalds afterward.

Cheap plentiful with a good range including prawn meals. Very busy but very big too.

This place is often busy but you will usually get seated straight away. The food is cheap but really good they do a wide wariety of meals with something for everyone It can be a litle more expensive in the afternoon when they bring the duck out. It has a great variety of food It has food that is as good as your local takeaway but you can get as much as you. As well as soup to start with there are puddings such as ice cream, fritters and jelly. It is probably the best all you can eat buffet in town

Fabulous Chinese Buffet From only £5.50 each! and you can eat as much as you like. There is so much to choose from, everything from salads, soups, king ribs, sticky chicken, rices noodles. Main courses dishes, starters right through to fresh fruit and puddings, You name it, it seems to be available and the service is friendly, and efficient, you can relax and you are not rushed. Well worth a try

Lau’s used to be a first class Chinese buffet in Newcastle, however the fame has gotten the better of it, and it is now very difficult to get into and is starting to look a little run down. The food is without a doubt the best buffet in Newcastle, with a huge choice of meats and veggies, as well as noodles, rice, soup and a few battered pieces of fruit and ice-​cream. There is also a few English dishes such as chips, plain chicken balls and fish fingers for the kids. Lau’s has the appearance of a canteen or café, and is just as busy on a lunchtime as an evening. The atmosphere is great and the staff are friendly.

Lau’s Chinese Buffet is my favourite chinese in Newcastle. It’s situated in China Town which is on Stowell street right at the end. The food and price is excellent as is the service. Don’t be put off by the café style set up, it really is excellent compared to the more expensive restaurants in china town. The food always looks delicious and it tastes even better. It’s always busy but it is still very family orientated.

This is one of the best all you can eat chinese buffets in newcastle. Its still a good price for what you get and the food is loveley. The resturant itsself is more like a café, so dnt expect fancy suroundings. The staff are very quick and clear your plates away as soon as you have your last mouthfull. If you go on a evening they bring a plate of duck with pancakes to your table which is very nicely cooked. They sometimes have offers on drinke eg 2for1 bottles of stella. There’s limied parking on the road outside but the gate across the road has a car park.

This place is great value for money on it’s ‘all you can eat’ — good quality food HOWEVER I’ve been in a few times recently, and half the customers in there were younger than me (and I’m 19). This wasn’t a problem for me, but if you’re looking for a quiet buffet lunch, I’d suggest somewhere else in Chinatown.

At Lau’s Chinese Restaurant theirs always a good range at the buffet, which is constantly topped up. Soups for starts, huge range of main courses including chips, chicken nuggets and lots of bits for picky little ones, followed by fruit or icecream, there’s something for everyone. If you can get there before 4pm its only £5.50 for adults and £2.99 for children which is great value, drinks not included. This is great for anyone who has a child who doesn’t like to sit still for too long, they get to move around, look and try lots of different foods, and help themselves to icecream. It’s a really affordable treat for the family, however not recommended for romance! Prices go up slightly over the evening. Chopsticks available.

Lau’s buffet King restaurant is very unique compared to other Chinese Buffet Restaurants. Not only do you get an extremely wide variety of food choices, but you can feel at ease that you know the food that is on offer is top notch and very good quality.
The price you pay for a two person buffet including drinks is very reasonable at approximately £14.00. The staff are friendly and the facilities available are clean and surpass standard hygiene standards. I would recommend Lau’s to anyone with children or simply slightly particular about what foods they like and dislike as there is so much on offer. If you don’t like the thought of eating banana fritters, trying them here will definetely change your views on them. I would have to say this is by far the best chinese restaurant I have ever been to.