OK! so, I'm not sure why there are so many bad reviews... Coming up from San Antonio I thought this place was awesome! Our server was very nice and even interacted with our kids, he came to our table more than 4 times, and they brought our tab with EXTRA fortune cookies for our kids! The food was awesome, absolutely no complaints. (other than we wished we came at night for crab legs, too!) Everything was fresh and they were bringing out fresh new platters before the older ones were even getting low. Seafood was on point! Octopus was cooked perfectly and was still tender, which is awesome for a cold seafood dish! Clams were really clean, with no grit, and the baked fish was still juicy. Same goes for their chicken skewers, juicy and stilled BBQd right! I feel bad for anyone who ACTUALLY had a bad time here, because this place is comparable to seafood buffets in San Antonio and others we have been to on the East Coast. I only wish they had green tea ice cream (or real ice cream instead of ice milk) or black sesame seed sweets, but only because they're my favorite. lol read more

This is always a fairly good place. The food is usually quite tasty. It was today as well. Service is always a bit of a stretch here. It's a bit old and rough inside. A deep cleaning would not be a bad thing. A waitress dropped a drink, which exploded all over me, my food, my shoes, and my eyes. They kind of ignored that altogether and were more interested in cleaning up the floor elsewhere. I'm not particularly impressed by what happened with this. Nobody seemed to care. I had to get my own paper towels to help myself. Que sera... read more

DIRTY so DIRTY. It needs to be renovated. Food choice, ok. People that work there are nice. It costs money to get renovated, but it needs it desperately. I wonder what the inside of the kitchen looks like. Once is enough. No thanks. read more

THE BEST EGG DROP SOUP I HAVE EVER HAD!!! the service was amazing, my little one LOVES the dum dum lollipops afterwards and i love that they have a good mix of everything, i love the decor and the vibe there is rlly soothing and relaxing and personal my husband and me love to eat here with our daughter, it's always our go to and the staff is suppppperrr helpful and friendly read more

The top WORST Buffett palace! DO NOT waste your money or time pls! $100 for 4 people. The customer service is HORRIBLE, specifically the miserable lady taking payment at the front with her ugly attitude. Excluding one Hispanic gentleman. It's VERY humid/thick with no AC, no clean plates, floors or tables & a lot of water damage. The food is not fresh AT ALL. I recommend the buffet palace in west gate, better prices, clean & fresher food with 3x the variety!! read more

DON'T PLACE TO GO ORDERS ONLINE!!! I ordered online then when I got my order the restaurant left out an $11.00 entree. I called back to get it resolved and the woman automatically hung up on me. They will not give your entire order to you!! CROOKS!!!! AND FOOD IS GROSS!!! read more

If I could rate it a "0" I would. Food is inedible & customer service at front counter was horrible. Entrees tasted like they've been sitting there for a few days. Dishes were still dirty. Carpet and furniture is very dated & theres boxes and stuffed animals everywhere. Would not recommend. read more

Excellent waiters but the cashier in the front is very rude, she wants to charge the extra 15% if there is more than 5 that walk in through the door she assumes everyone is together to charge the extra fee which we always leave a tip at the table she also recorded us on our way out in front of Platos because we told her she was rude. Bad customer service! read more

We came for great food and we were not disappointed!! We visited China Palace on early on Friday evening and was thoroughly impressed! From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by the check-out lady and a warm welcoming atmosphere. The variety of food was absolutely incredible -- from classic favorites like General Tso's Chicken and crispy egg rolls to fresh sushi, dim sum, and a beautifully stocked Mongolian grill. I honestly think I tried a bit of everything there, with the only thing missing was Alka-Seltzer cause we "ate the whole thing" (only old folks will get it) Everything we tried was hot, fresh, and flavorful. The seafood section was especially impressive, with perfectly cooked crab legs and shrimp, and they had lots of different kinds of shrimp. My date liked the vegie options and the well-stocked dessert bar, except for the ice cream that needed to be restocked -- the pudding, bananas and tangerines were a perfect finish to the meal. The staff was attentive without being intrusive, and empty plates were cleared quickly along with endless refills of Iced Tea. For the price, the quality and variety far exceeded my expectations. This place is a must-visit if you're looking for a satisfying, all-you-can-eat experience with authentic Chinese flavors. Can't wait to come back! read more

*I am not one to leave reviews unless is necessary, but this one must be read by anyone bringing their special needs children with them to this establishment.* My family has always eaten here at least twice a month. It is our go-to place whenever we're craving Chinese food because I am allergic to shellfish and thankfully, never had an allergic reaction while eating here. I am very careful not to take servings from the steam plates next to the shrimp, crab legs, crawfish, etc. and never had any issues bringing my family to this place until today. On January 3rd, 2026 at around 1:30-1:40pm, me and my family arrive at this place like always and go to the cashier to pay for the buffet. We always bring our son, who is on the autism spectrum to have lunch with us. The first time we ate there, we asked if we could bring our son with his own food instead because he has food aversion, sensory issues and shellfish allergy which makes it hard for us to eat out as a family. They assured us it was OK so, we've been doing this for many years. We even buy him a fountain drink from this place every time because we are still paying customers and we don't want to be rude bringing someone who will not consume anything there, until today. There was this new asian lady that we've never seen before, she takes our order, we tell her that our son will eat his own food (which we brought, chicken nuggets and an ice cream cone) but we'll buy him a drink, like we always do. We'll, she said "we charge $10 for him, starting right now, there's a rule we charge $10". My husband asked "Since when? Because we've been coming here for years and we've never had this issue before". It's not like he's going to eat from the buffet without paying. We even showed her his bag from McDonald's and she still wanted to charge us $10 for him. Nowhere in this restaurant there is signage of this new "rule" like she said, about this $10 charge for non-consumption ANYWHERE. The rudeness of this cashier was in no way part of a language barrier, which we all could tell, as me and my family speak two languages. How come that "rule" was starting right then and there when we showed up? This place was the only one I found that we could all eat together and me not being afraid of having an allergic reaction. Most of all, we were still paying customers, I guess not anymore. Do what's best for your children, and choose an establishment where they actually care about their returning customers, not about making more money out of special needs parents who are already struggling to make ends meet. read more

Horrible experience today. I took my family after a dance competition. The person at the front range is up but never asked the age of my children. I have two 10 year olds. She never asked their age and just rang us up. She charged full price for the children. When I asked about it she told me it was my responsibility to tell her how old the children are. She was extremely rude about it and told me she refuses to refund me per their policy. She said they looked older, well yeah they are in full dance make up. I asked for a manger and she said she was the manager but wouldn't do anything to help. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! read more

NEVER COME THERE The fries are crunchy and hard and dity and cold nuggets after you're done eating your stomach gonna hurt

DO NOT EAT HERE. The food is old and stale. Feels and tasted like it's been out for days. It is horrendous. Dirty silverware had to use chopsticks and I don't know how.The place is hot like their AC is broken making you hot and sweaty. For 40$ for 2 people it is not worth it. Nasty floors as well riddled with used paper towels, crumbs, and any other trash you can think off. Tasted 2 things on my plate and left. read more

Hotter than the devils asshole in here. Crazy hot. I've felt burning charcoal cooler than this place.

Interior looks nice and the food was solid. Kinda disappointed it doesn't have salmon sashimi though. The chair I sat on was also wobbly

Food was mid, no air conditioning in the restaurant, Tables and seats were dirty, walls and stained glass looks like they haven't been cleaned in months. Food was hot. Overall, food tasted good but presentation and ambience/atmosphere was well below expectations. read more

Just ate there and there was a roach in my food and on my plate. The server just tried to put it in a new plate and asked if I wanted it. Do not recommend read more

Please stay away from this place I use to like to come to this place a few years back and I finely decide to try this place after about 2yrs and I was disgusted the A/C was broken they had fans all over the place the soda machine was broken they were pouring soda from 2 and 3 litres the ice cream freezer wasn't as cold got some ice cream for my son and it was melting the sweet and sour chicken was hard when I bit down on it had to spit it out the sweet and sour sauce was really watery The table we sat in the walls were really dirty and so was the floor like they hadn't swept in days this place has gone completely down I feel sorry for who ever owns this place its like they gave up and haven't maintenence this place in years read more

Grandson wanted to come here and it was Friday late afternoon 5:00. I dont eat a lot but I love hot and sour soup, dumplings, and an egg roll. Grandson makes up for my small amount with his crab legs and crawfish etc. Except for my soup being room temp to cold, rest of food was good. However, service was inadequate to not caring at all. I tried to tell the server the soup was cold. She didnt know any English. Didnt attempt to get any assistance to have someone else come over to table. The bill was 40$! Rude people working. Unfriendly. So my grandson was fine and full. But I was left very upset. read more

definitely wasn't worth the money I paid the food was cold and pretty bad not going back read more

This place deserves no freaken stars but I want people to this review so maybe it could save someone!!!!!This is a warning to all don't ever eat at this place. My son found a long piece of metal in his chicken. Thank you lord that he hadn't bit into it and found it before cause who knows what would have happened. Then the front counter guy comes after we tell the waitress what we found and he's like ooo yea it's from the cleaning scrub. Like it's nothing so obviously it's probably happened before. Then he proceeded to tell me "so what do you wanna do about you want a gift card or you want 10 dollars" mind you we spent 100 plus dollars just to eat there. Like are you for real. We left and won't ever be going back I'm gonna make sure no one I know goes there either. This is a very scary situation that could have been worse but I'm so thankful it wasn't. read more

I actually give this review no star's I found metal coil from a Brillo scrubber in food almost swallowed it . Don't eat there . I choose my life over eating at China Palace read more

A cashier man is so rude ! Or they don't say 'thanks you' to customer ? .........................

This is the most absolutely disgusting establishment I have ever been to. They have bugs in their food and drinks. NONE of the food is even warm enough to pass the health inspector standards. I literally watched employess use a bug zapper directly over the dessert buffet table and it zapping a bug/fly. Where would one assume that bug went? This place should be shut down for good. Definitely read reviews before choosing this place. More pics of bugs/roaches in other reviews. read more

China Palace - Bug in drink. - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Loved the decor and the food was delicious, the Buffett layout was good and they had lots of options. Sticky tables yes but when you're going to a Chinese Buffett you need to understand what you're going to. Our of all the ones I've been to this one was one of the top ones one food options and taste. read more

Coming back to another review 5 days later I've been extremely sick this past week. Went to my doctor and turns out I got food poisoning WOO HOO idk if it was my stomach being used to good houston buffet food but L restaurant read more

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My family and I decided eat lunch here after visiting half price books. I was willing to give this place a try even though it had a low rating. I have to say the rating is correct. The food lacks that umami flavor that most Asian foods have. The food lacked seasoning and flavor. The broccoli beef had no flavor it tasted watered down. How to you mess up broccoli beef? The fried rice and noodles both have no flavor, spices or anything. Most of the food looked great and fresh but it really lacked the flavor. I think the only thing that tasted fair were the fried foods. Then you dipped it in watered down sweet and sour sauce. Terrible. Might as well bring your own sweet and sour packets from another store because those probably have more flavor. My family said we should of just ate at Pizza Hut. For the price you pay it's ok but save yourself from the disappointment. Being Asian I know what spoiled rice looks and smells like. The white rice in the pot was nasty and soiled. Carrots in the salad bar were dry and looked like they had been out overnight. read more

China Palace - Spoiled nasty smelly white rice. - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Cockroach found in my Pork Mei Fun. Besides that the food was great and the value for what you spend is fantastic. However, finding a cockroach in my noodles reminded me of the risk/reward at buffets. read more

China Palace - YUM - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Super Delicious food and some of the flavors brings back memories of of home. Wow! they have sushi now. How great is that? I love this place. read more

Standard Chinese buffet, but I'll choose this one over that other one in San Marcos. The sushi was a little stale and the seaweed salad was slimy on the sushi station. Some of the fried chicken dishes were soggy. The Lo mein was greasy. Things I did like: Thin rice noodles Crispy chicken wings Egg drop soup Whole teriyaki salmon Gen tsos Stuffed shrimp Clams Honey fried chicken Broccoli beef Desserts good. This will be my buffet of choice in San Marcos. read more

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Still best value and taste for Chinese buffet, but they must be short on staff. One guy for the whole floor, and the young man at the register advised he can't give cash back for tip. Something has changed. Dirty tables and all the things you expect when a restaurant tries to run on less than they should read more

China Palace - So tables aren't really a priority right now - Chinese Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

The service could barely and I mean barely speak English. The floors were gross. The meal was absolutely disgusting. Our drinks were never refilled. The sushi looked old. For a family of 4 with 4 drinks, it cost me nearly $80. And you have to pay BEFORE they let you into the restaurant. If you love Chinese food, this is not the place for you. My oldest son rated it a 0.5 out of 10. But I recommend it as a 10 out of 10 for never returning again read more

Bad background music, does not make for a good dining experience. How bad was the music? I lost my appetite and was unable to eat anything! read more

Stayed in San Marcos for about a month on business, ordered the chicken lo mein...the chicken did not appear to be "chicken like". Had no flavor no taste....my colleagues all had the same experience with their order... read more

If I could give it zero stars, I would. We have been here before and it's not been too bad. Today it was terrible!! We got up immediately and went to the register for a refund. They told us they couldn't do any refunds because "we'd been there too long." I'm sorry but 10 minutes from time stamped receipt to asking for a refund is NOT a long time. Save yourself the disappointment. read more

I got their around 4:30 pm and I got the buffet to go, The food was horrible when I opened and ate at home, The shrimp was fried and dried out, the lime in was cold and had little beef left in it. I had the rice noodles they were good. All of the meats were very low on the warmers and had no oomph left I got three different Chicken preparations and all were dry and flavorless, I got two types of egg rolls they were cold and stale tasting. I spent $12.10 on this and it was utter crap I was So disappointed! This was July 2 2020 I was here about 6 months ago and it wasn't very tasty Then either but I thought maybe the cooks were more On top of it. I used to bring my kids to eat here a lot and it was awesome what happened???! read more

My husband and I tried this place tonight. It had its bad points, the cucumbers were out too long, to they were curling on the edges. The egg roll tasted "funky" so I didn't eat it. The food was good, I just always look at the way the restaurant looks. It could have been a lot cleaner, the tea and water pitchers were sitting out. We ate here, but I cannot say we will go back. read more

This place kind of reminded me of a fever dream or that movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The decor, furniture, and ceilings are all broken down and worn. Everything in the restaurant looks dirty and like it hasn't been cleaned or updated in 10 yrs. We should have turned away at the entrance with the dirty "pond" or water feature that had a weird green film. The food was edible at best but we stayed away from anything that wasn't fried because we were literally worried about food poisoning. Not trying to be dramatic but this place belongs on Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey. If the front of the house looks this bad I would be horrified to see how they run their back of the house. Avoid this place at all costs. Oh I forgot to mention they have you pay upfront before you even sit down and play EDM/rave music the entire time and flash colored lights. Very very very bizarre experience. read more

Our last outing to China Palace was not as good as it used to be. Food was cold, no chicken wings now and overall less appetizing. Have to find a new Asian restaurant read more

WOW, what a dump. I've never went back to a buffet line to grab an extra plate in order to move undesirable offerings off my initial plate. That was in the first 5 minutes. So, there were few items that were acceptable. Something called Thai Chicken, that looked like the adjacent Japanese Chicken. Not as scary as the deep fried Teriyaki chicken on a stick. The cold krab salad, iced tea, and glowy red sweet and sour sauce. Sub par items: Fried Rice Egg Drop Soup Lo Mein General Tso's Chicken Seafood Stuffed Shrimp Stuffed Seafood on Bun Stuffed Mushrooms Crab Rangoon Items that were so scary in a buffet setting that I did't dare try: Krab with a clear sauce Krab baked with cheese Sliced hard boiled eggs Broccoli florets with baked cheese Sushi offerings Little Rooster actually says to me "Dad, this isn't a very good restaurant" about 5 minutes in to our sitting. Yep, my five year old called it. I'm now waiting for my fortune cookie hopefully won't read "You will find happy, happy, yet painful diarrhea in your future". Needless to say we won't try China Palace..now renamed China low budget housing buffet again read more