I'd like to take this opportunity to respond to "Tessa N."'s review below. Her review is written in a very condescending "better than thou" nature. It's a Chinese buffet place - what extravagant expectations did you have? Further, Tessa N. chose "buffet sushi" as her highlight - any person would know that should not be the highlight and if it is, then the said person knows very little about the culinary world. This buffet is a mainstay in Des Moines. The food is fresh, authentic, and tasty. For the price, you cannot go wrong. Buffet City has some items that you won't find at other places. For example, tripe. Tessa N. seems very ignorant to the fact that the majority of the people who inhabit this planet do enjoy offal dishes. Just because you are an American living in the Midwest does not mean you have the right to talk down in such a childish, bigoted manner. Please perform a google search on tripe and you will find the answer to your question. Also, I highly doubt high school students dissect tripe as you have mentioned. Dissection in itself is inhumane, an outdated education vehicle, and serves very little purpose. In spite of that, I am sure that a high school biology teacher would not have students dissect the tripe of an animal, as opposed to a more active organ. I would inform people to give this place a shot and please do not take one uninformed woman (with very confined and unworldly views) to have an effect on your decision. Great food, prices, and service. read more

I'd like to first start off by saying that I used to be a big fan of buffets. But as I've gotten older, my stomach has shrunk and I'm not able to get my money's worth (at least not to what I would like), so I don't go to buffets as often. But I found myself here on a Saturday night and decided to try it out. After having some Chinese food in Des Moines, I kept my expectations low. I've found that a lot of Chinese food in Des Moines is catered to American tastes (salty and greasy), which is not what I enjoy. But Buffet City really surprised me because I really enjoyed the food. I got THREE plates worth of food!!! Thats how much I enjoyed it. There are A LOT of options here. I miss having home cooked Chinese food, so I gravitated more towards the vegetable and seafood dishes rather than the more Americanized dishes such as General Tao's chicken or battered fried shrimp. I did give the GT chicken a try though and it was good! But if you want more chinese dishes, I recommend the steamed fish and the clams. I also liked the seafood bowl (which is imitation crab stuffed in a fried bowl). The seafood bowl is NOTHING close to being a chinese dish, but I really liked it! Another chinese dish is the chinese donut. Love that stuff! I saw they had crawfish. Unfortunately I'm not a crawfish fan so I can't say if it was good or not. But a lot of people scooped it up so I'm guessing it was good?? They also had bbq pork ribs, beef and broccoli, fried rice, stir fry noodles, and cold dishes like fruits and salads, a mongolian stir fry section, a sushi section, a dessert section, and a soft serve machine. The food seemed very fresh to me and there was also someone refilling the pans with freshly made food. You are not allowed to take any food to go, and if you do, you'll be charged extra. Cost for dinner was about $10.95 which I thought was reasonable. The staff speaks limited English, so don't expect attentive service. I personally would rather eat good food in exchange for poor service, than have good service and crappy food. But thats just my preference. Since a buffet is SELF service anyway, I'm not going to complain about the service. We were seated immediately, and ordered our drinks immediately, which was also promptly served to us. No complaints from us! There was a good mix of people here, some of which were asian, which is a good sign that the food is good. I would definitely come back here to eat! read more

This was undoubtedly one of the worst restaurant experiences I've had, and the worst one ever for here. I've been coming to this buffet for years, and in the last couple of years, even before the pandemic, the food and customer service has gone down hill. There used to be an older gentleman running the place, and he hasn't been there for a few years. About 3 years ago, I was in filling a to go container to take back to the office, when one of their workers (who I continued to recognize when in there subsequently, and was in there last night) started KICKING stuff out from the hostess stand at the front, stomped out of the restaurant, came back in, and shut the lights off.....THEN an older lady who was also there, LOCKED him out. I scaddled out of there. Anyway, back to last night. I have been eating there for years and can tell when the food has been in the serving containers for a while. All old food last night. No crab on the buffet, had to ask for it....when I did scary young man said we are going to quit serving it; it's too expensive....Oh! back to me walking in young lady that sat me, wanted to sit me 2 ft away from a family of four....um no. asked for a booth further away and she gave me a dirty look. I thought I was coming at a good time (about 6 pm) so that the food would be hot, plentiful and fresh. It was awful. About 7 they did start getting some business so they HAD to start putting more fresh food out. Staff and customer service was bad, food was worse. Used to love the place and eat there about once a month. I won't go back. read more

Ok, so I would like to state first that this is a place that I wouldn't usually even considering trying. Iowa strip mall chinese buffet......scary. If it wasn't for my grandma's consistent comments on the freshness of this establishment, I'm not sure I would have ever tried it. As it turns out, I should have listened to my instincts. My friend and I went there at about 6:30, and it looked like the food had been sitting out for quite a while. The only exception was the sushi which I watched being made and was actually pretty good. There were a lot of very different dishes that I wasn't brave enough to try. If anyone could explain to me what the hell beef tripe is that would be great, because it looked like they were serving something that I dissected once in cell biology. I have heard that lunch is apparently the time to go, so if any of you other yelpers are brave enough to give it a try, I guess that would be the time I would reccommend. All in all, not so great food or atmosphere, but a cheap place if your hungry for a lot of sushi. read more

This place use to be so good and now its just poor quality. My girlfriend and I went there today around 11:30 AM and the food was so cold and had no flavor. We are not picky eaters and this place needs to be shut down. All the food tasted like leftovers and was so dry and wasnt even hot. The management needs to be fired and they need to get health inspectors in there. We use to come here two years ago for the crab legs and now they let them sit in water in the back for hours and its flavorless. This is the worst place to eat at in the Des Moines Metro area. We will never be going back. read more

Amazed to find good sushi! Really good sushi. The buffet was well done and had a huge variety. Crab cakes, General Tso chicken, and Kung Pao chicken were flavorful with a great balance on the spice. My hot tea was tepid. I would highly recommend this place and will come again. P.S. My favorite sushi was the spicy crab role. Yummo read more

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The food is good. They have a wide variety of things to choose from. The prices are very affordable. Will definitely be coming back here to eat more often! read more

Decent Chinese Buffet in Des Moines area This is my family's favorite Chinese buffet in Des Moines that we frequent the most. One of the reasons I like this place is that it always racks up a lot of business, which means their food is consistently hot and refilled. At many other buffets, food may be lukewarm or left out too long. Buffet City has a good amount of food. My favorites are the hot and sour soup, thin white noodles, salt and pepper shrimp, salmon, mussels, crawfish, crab, mushroom, and some of the sushi choices. The crawfish is really what I like about this place. I average about three plates of hot food and then a plate of fruit + ice cream. read more

This is the worst Chinese buffet I had in my life. Food was cold. Lots of selection but food tasted cold and old.. very disappointed.

It is a rare thing anymore around here to find crab legs on a buffet on a week night. Most buffets have gone to only having them only on weekends. They were even replenished often! There was quite a variety of other foods. More Mongolian grill, sushi, salad bar and desserts. The buffet had and large variety of different seafoods cooked in many different ways. Frog legs, octopus, and craw fish. read more

Very disappointed. We went here because of coupon in Entertainment Book, but after we ate they refused the coupon in spite of it being valid. The least they could do is put a sign in the window stating they were not accepting these coupons so you could make a decision if you wanted to to eat here anyway We went at 5:45pm, most of the trays had been sitting and were dried out. They did replenish some as more patrons arrived but we will not be back. read more

As far as Chinese all you can eat this place has a variety of dishes. The peanut chicken is crunchy and sweet. Sushi is of the California variety not traditional. The Staff is quick and friendly. If you are looking for something different check it out. read more

Buffet City - Buffets Near Me - Clive, Iowa

On a positive note, the servers were very quick to remove empty plates and refill my drinks. I saw them refilling empty trays on a fairly consistent basis. There's also a sign on the germ guards that states "Uneaten food will be removed at 2:30 and 6:30 on a daily basis", perhaps mitigating some of the complaints people had about stale food during off-hours. None of the dishes were outstanding, but none of them were terrible either. It was refreshing to see an assortment of seafood items available--something that isn't always available on a lunch buffet. read more

Most of the food was cold. The person I went with got food poisoning from the seafood.

I had to dig deep to push the rating for this place up to 3 stars. I've been here a few times over the years since moving to Des Moines. Either my tastes have been changing over the years or the quality at Buffet City has been declining. I'm going to say it's the quality in this case. The only words that I hear from the staff for the entire stay was: "how many?", "drinks?", "refill?", and the total for my bill. While I'm not expecting to have a conversation about world events while going to a buffet I thought the staff could have been a bit warmer. The food seemed fairly fresh and was warm. There was nothing that stood out or couldn't be found at any other Chinese restaurant in the area. There is a wide variety to choose from and there are American dishes there as well, if you have kids that don't want to experiment with Chinese dishes. And while none of the food was horrible. It did seem to be a bit off. For example: Ribs were a bit dry and hard. Chicken was a bit dry. Rice was on the dry side. And so on. The quality wasn't to the point of asking to talk to a manager. But more along the lines of remembering back to a time when you forgot to take something off the stove at the right time. Still edible, but you know you could have done better if you were paying attention. Because of the food it feels like this is more of a $6 buffet then the almost $11 that they charge. The bottom line: This is good for the wide variety of food that you can experience. But if your looking for good tasting well prepared food you will need to go someplace else. read more

One of the few only truly Chinese buffet restaurants left in town, Buffett City offers a wide range of your local Chinese favorites. My personal favorite foods include the sesame chicken, seafood delight, and a wide range available on the fresh sushi line. To me this is the best Chinese buffet in the city. read more

It's a standard buffet . They do serve boiled/steamed and fried crabs. I was also surprised they have a bbq area. Customer service was also similar to other buffets. If you want something quick and cheap this is the place to be . read more

Awesome buffet??? Tons of seafood along with the traditional Chinese dishes. Crab legs, about 10 kinds of shrimp, mussels, crayfish, salmon, etc. Very good price too... read more

The selection was very good. Some of the items on the buffet were first class, while others needed to be more freshly prepared. The price is reasonable and I was completely satisfied with the value. One of the best Chinese restaurants overall in the metro. read more

Best Chinese buffet in Des Moines! Buffet City has been my go to restaurant when I crave amazing food for a great price. They offer a great selection and variety of food, from soups and salads, traditional chicken and beef dishes, amazing crab rangoons, and awesome sushi. Service is always very friendly without being overly attentive. I have never had a reason to complain about this place, always satisfies. read more

I am writing this review based on other Chinese buffets in the midwest. This place definitely would get 2 or 3 stars in the DC area. I come to DSM quite often and eat at this place on each trip. I used to go to Shangri-La but that closed. This place is pretty good for the price they charge. No Chinese buffets serve crab legs back in Northern VA. The food was fresh on the Friday night. The salmon sushi roll was good too. The place has a mongolian grill. Overall, this is a good place to eat. Mind you, they charge for drinks and the ice cream is not that creamy but more of a fake milk icy consistency. Service was good as the gal kept coming back to clear the table. read more

This place is a good place for eating the buffet is good and the sushi is great for a buffet. It is reasonably priced and the servers are great. read more

Found an ant on our plate, brought it to the manager and nothing was done about it. He just said thanks like it was a normal thing that happens every day. UPDATE: found a second bug on another plate! Management finally took 10% off our dinner after I pestered him 4 different times. read more

Buffet City - Bug in salad at Buffet City - Buffets Near Me - Clive, Iowa

Low end chinese food at a decent price. Went at 2pm on a Monday. Food seemed a little old, but was still warm and tasty. Not too impressed so probably won't go back. read more

1. Service at this place is kinda crappy. I agree with Andre. They said like three things to me and at one point they just gave me a bill and stopped asking if I wanted a refill... I had to go up to them on 2 different occasions and ask for a refill which is ridiculousness so the service gets 1 star. The reason I gave it two stars is because of the variety. They have a decent size buffet which is nice. I only give it two stars though because the food is below quality. They cook it quick as they can and as cheaply as they can for maximum profit. I'll be honest that I kind of felt a little sick after eating the really greasy buffet food... If your in Iowa I'd more suggest China One. They are the same kind of place with a larger selection and better quality... I'm also sure that the waitress's don't ignore you after 1 refill. I'm Tony and that's my two cents :) read more

Love this place, I actually find myself craving it. The thin noodles are my favorite, and the price is not bad at all! I would recommend this place for sure. Can't wait to go back soon. read more

I went there twice after it first opened and I thought it was just ok. There are good choices, but to me, the food lacked flavor and I didn't feel it tasted very fresh, read more

Fantastic value! Paid $6.29 for lunch, doesn't include drink. Lots of quality seafood dishes, all dishes made fresh in small portions and replaced quickly when gone. You've got to try the Seafood Bowls, Coconut Shrimp and Peanut Chicken! Unbeatable! The waitresses were very attentive in clearing used plates but unobtrusive. Decor was classic chinese but more tastefully done without being cheap and restaurant was very clean and well maintained. I've been to a lot of Chinese buffets and this is one of the better ones ever. read more

I rarely rate restaurants at less than 3 stars but the service I received today was the main thing that made me write and give this none a single star. I have been to this restaurant several times over the years without problems and today would have given a three star rating, but for the service I experienced on this visit. Three different staff said good bye to me on the two occasions I got up and got refills(3 potstickers on one visit and three potstickers and two small pieces of meat on the second). One of the female wait staff even cleared my table the first repeat trip to the buffet! I have never been treated so badly and "pushed" out of an establishment. Quality of service is VERY important when running a restaurant. And today there was less than zero...it was offensive. I've read previous reviews. I go to Asian places routinely and am part Asian, this had nothing to do with culture it had to do with plain old rudeness. read more

Don't waste your money unless you want cool shrimp, fish and ribs. In fact lots of the supposed to be hot food was not hot. Taste would probably be good if the temperature was turned up. Disappointing but it was not busy which is why we stopped! Wow! Now I know why. read more

Food was average at best. I had a coupon from the Entertainment 2019 book. The coupon was for 25% off up to four buffets. Went to pay after the meal, and the lady taking the money said "no no , we can't do the 25%. I said, why not? She could not answer. They gave me 10%, but overall very disappointing visit. Will definitely not be back. read more

Have been going here for years...its a cheap Chinese buffet. You have to go right after they open for lunch or dinner, they are not going to put out more food unless they have to. Sometimes it's real good and fresh, other times you can tell some of the dishes have been sitting there for hours. Interesting and BAD thing happened at lunch a couple of months back, I went to get the buffet to go on my lunch hour, and young Asian man that took my money at the front register, through a big SCARY fit. By this time, I had my to go container and was filling it up and he started kicking stuff from behind the front counter, left the front counter, in and out of the restaurant a couple of times, and then the older lady that's worked there for years and fills the food locked the restaurant down!!! I go to go out and it's locked......I called police. Then I went back a couple of times later once at lunch, once at dinner and he's still working there??????????????? read more

Best buffet in town! Tons of great options, love their crab & Mongolian beef! Also good sushi & seafood as well. My family has done the buffet tour and we all agree this is definitely the best in town! read more

The food was not hot! Some of the food was not even warm. Not much of a selection! The service unpleasant but no different from similar Chinese buffets. Such a disappointment! Will not be going back & definitely will not recommend this restaurant to friends or family! read more

The food is good. The sushi is good; a good variety of rolls. Expect service that is acceptable, not excellent. Most of the servers speak limited English. We waited a bit to get refills on our drinks but that was expected. If you're looking for tasty food to fill your stomach while on a budget, this is the place. I mean that in a good way. The restaurant is decorated with crystal chandeliers and paper lanterns. It looks nice! This place keeps us coming back because we know what to expect. Give this restaurant a couple tries. You're bound to leave satisfied (most of the time). read more

Husband and I went there Wed evening around 5:00. We've been there before several times and we've always liked it. This time around it was horrible!! Old, cold food that wasn't replenished from lunch I'm pretty sure! The sushi wasn't fresh either. We will never go back!! Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet must have really taken a toll on this place.. read more

i had the horrible experience ever. nothing was good even the coke i ordered was horrible. All the chicken dishes were overcooked. I am never going back to this place. read more

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I do agree however that Tessa N. seems to enjoy crabbing about things. "Iowa Chinese Strip Mall Buffet"....... "Scary" ? Oh, like you have never eaten at the Mall of America ? That statement alone tells me you're a Whiner and you enjoy complaining. Yes, i can see her review is 6 years old, but why does a Chinese Buffet being located in a Strip Mall make it "Scary" ? Well anyway, i'm not here to talk about the Tessa. I've eaten at this Buffet for several years off and on. It's Average. The Service is always very good. The food is ok. I have had Chinese at other places in the US that was much better, but i've had some that was worse too. I think they could do a little better job of Disinfecting Utensils, Tables and Chairs and other items everyone touches throughout each day, but all in all i have no complaint about this Buffet. The price and food choice are average. read more

i will say this...........the guy , i think is the owner , is always so nice ! food has NEVER been bad EVER ! its so nice as far as i have seen very clean food is always hot and fresh . employees are always nice to us. they pick up empty plates very fast and always refill your drink . i am just so happy that we live in west des moines and we have out little chinese place to go to . i am very proud of the food and how its always been the best buffet i have ever gone to .........TRY IT YOU WILL LOVE IT ! read more

DIRT CLOD IN MY HOT AND SOUR SOUP!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO LIE......... On March 1st, 2013 my boyfriend and I went to Buffett City around 7:30pm. I LOVE CHINESE food and so does my boyfriend. We have been to this Buffett City between 10 - 15 times together and never had a complaint about the food, outside the food not always being hot. But that didn't stop us from not going back. It had always been a pretty good place to eat until last night. I got some hot and sour soup like I always do along with my plate of food, went back to the table to eat. We said a prayer and began eating. I got about half of my hot and sour soup gone when I noticed something in my soup. It was round and black, a little bigger than a peppercorn. First thing that came to my mind, "Oh.....they changed the ingredients in the hot and soup." So I got a spoonful of soup with the round....black....thing and put it in my mouth and bit down..... I instantly thought that's not a peppercorn....it's to squishy and quickly realized it was dirt... I spit out the chunk of dirt along with a sliver piece of mushroom and put it on my plate. Then spit everything else out in my mouth in a napkin. My boyfriend looked at me and said what's wrong. I told him there was dirt in my soup. I downed some ice tea and was stunned.... Totally lost my appetite.....So my boyfriend and I debated on saying anything. I decided since loosing my appetite and feeling sick to my stomach I was gonna tell the waitress when she comes back by. I put the chunk of dirt and sliver of mushroom from my plate in a napkin. So when the waitress came by.....and keep in mind they speak very little English. I told the waitress I found dirt in my hot and sour soup and showed her the napkin. She took the napkin looked at it and said I'll come back. Then the hostess that greets you at the door came over and said that's not dirt....it's a mushroom..... I looked at her and said no that was dirt with a sliver of mushroom. She left and came back with our receipt and said, "the manager is going to give you 30% of your meal." I told her I wasn't paying for my meal. I'll pay for my boyfriend's but I'm not paying anything for mine. She left and was gone awhile. Brought back a new receipt with my boyfriend's Buffett charge. We got up and I stood by the door while my boyfriend paid for his meal. After the manager swiped his card and it approved the charge the manager said to my boyfriend, "Sorry". Didn't look at me and say anything. I liked going to this restaurant and can honestly say I CAN'T go back. I've always had a fear about cleanliness in Chinese restaurants and never ate food items they had to clean outside of mushrooms, broccoli, and deep fat fried shrimp. I love Chinese food and must say I will only be eating at Taste of China from now on. I've always loved their hot and sour soup and Buffett City wasn't bad but just can't go back there. I can't believe they did not offer to not charge for either of our food. They are greedy and didn't take the hot and sour soup off the Buffett!!! I'm so disappointed with their reaction and the thought I can't go back there. HOW NASTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more