We love this place. The food is always amazing and we always get such a large variety. The service is always great and the atmosphere is just a nice big laid-back restaurant. We've been eating here since they opened highly recommend. read more

While vacationing me and my family wanted to eat chinese food. This place was amazing. The workers are very nice! Place was very clean. Overall go here it was amazing we all enjoyed it. Left with a full stomach. read more

I'm gonna shoot the middle with my stars. Chow Time is your very average Asian buffet... not great but not bad. I know a little about Asian cuisine having spent my childhood there. I'd recommend starting right away with assembling a bowl of fresh veggies & taking it to the hibachi to get cooking. There are no cooked veggies with the main meats so if you like veggies with your Kung po or Sweet & Sour then get those going. Walk all the stations because you'll have everything from boiled shrimp to Mac n cheese and a whole dessert bar on the opposite side of the room from the ice cream. Unlike the other reviews who talked about being stared down at the buffet, I saw one person taking care of each station & that made me more confident in the cleanliness. Our waiter was delightful & attentive. No pressure about the tip. We did do 20% since he kept our table clean. Now let's be honest.... You can't go to a Chinese restaurant for $16 a person anymore so this is a deal for what you get so 20% is well worth it. read more

Chow Time Grill and Buffet - Macaroni salad & chilled shrimp the shrimp is delicious - Buffets Near Me - Panama City, Florida

We have been back here for so many times by taking friends and family who visited us in Panama City. The foods are amazingly good and I could also just eat hibachi noodles with sausage and the spicy hibachi sauce then you top them with fresh bean sprout and cut out green onion by the soup place and add some salt and pepper shrimps. The price is right also. This is the place to go as long as you know how to control yourself and don't over eat. read more

Nice variety. Everything I had was tasty. Good service too. Even had seafood. Attentive waitstaff.

Great selection of food. Endless amounts of Chinese food with all you can eat. Love the select your own hibachi bar and they cook it right there as you watch. We took my uncle who is a competitive food eater and he loved it. Attentive service and plenty of room to sit down and enjoy your meal. Great for a buffet. read more

Chow Time Grill and Buffet - Happy competitive food eater right there - Buffets Near Me - Panama City, Florida

HORRIBLE SERVICE! NEVER COME HERE! My boyfriend and his friends came to this buffet for the first time. The food was alright but the sushi was DISGUSTING and WARM. The SERVICE is TERRIBLE! The servers STARE at you waiting for you to be done so they can get their TIPS and grab other people. The servers are GREEDY and DEMANDING! Even when you TIP they WANT more money! They CHASED and YELLED at my boyfriend all the way to the PARKING LOT. Others experienced the same thing too! I DONT RECOMMEND this place UNLESS you want to get CHASED and YELLED all the way to your car by GREEDY servers! read more

Pretty good Chinese food. Still haven't found a Chinese restaurant in the Florida Panhandle area that's as good as any of the ones I use to eat at in Charleston WV. read more

Everything at the buffet is always good and it's a great price but do not eat the breaded shrimp without checking to see if they've cleaned it because I picked up three and they all had poop veins that weren't cleaned read more

I've been to Chow Time Grill & Buffet more times than I can count. It's been our go-to spot after family funerals--a place that could reliably seat our big family after we've laid someone to rest. Not because the food is amazing (it's not--it's basic, Americanized Chinese buffet food), or the service (which is average at best), or even the cleanliness (which honestly needs work). We come here because it's easy, familiar, and spacious. This time, though, after my father passed, we tried to do what we've always done: reserve the side room for our family. At first, the manager said all she needed was the date, time, and number of people--which I got together and gave her. Then suddenly, she flipped the script and told me it was too many people. Mind you, we've booked this exact setup multiple times before, with no problem. It didn't feel like policy--it felt personal. Like she just wanted to say no because she could. It's a terrible feeling to be grieving your father and have a place you've always relied on act like your family is an inconvenience. No compassion. No effort to understand. Just attitude and a power trip. We didn't need special treatment--we just needed a place to feed everyone who came to honor our dad. They've done it for us before. But apparently now, they're too good for that. So no, the food isn't worth it. The vibe definitely isn't. And after this, I don't see myself coming back. read more

The wife and I come here a few times a year and it's always pretty good. Today we came for Thanksgiving because it's just the two of us and we didn't feel like cooking. The food at the buffet was all fresh, the hot food was hot and the cold food was cold. They had turkey, corn bread stuffing, gravy cranberry sauce, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Sadly no mashed potatoes but plenty of rice and other carbs. It was clean and they kept the plates cleared from the table and refilled our iced tea without us needing to ask. We originally intended to try Golden Corral but there were around 80 people outside waiting to get in and there was no parking available so we drove over to Chow Time. Glad we did. The atmosphere is pretty nice, however, the seats at the booths are cracked and worn out, def need reupholstered. $16.99 each for the Mrs and I plus $2.50 each for our iced tea. I left an $8.00 tip because the service was really good considering it's a buffet. read more

Chow Time Grill and Buffet - Thanksgiving Day Buffet. Turkey, gravy, green beans, cornbread stuffing and a few fried shrimp to top off my LDL. - Buffets Near Me - Panama City, Florida

They have a nice sushi selection, but it's almost always warm. The servers stand around the buffet area glaring at everyone, making things very awkward. Despite it being a buffet, the servers are very demanding regarding tips. Unfortunately for them, I tip based on service, and no amount of loudness, begging, or guilt tripping will make me change my mind. I've never been to a place where the servers chase you down and confront you based on the tip you leave. Also, for the love of all that is good in the world, please stop letting your young children be at the buffet line. You would think with the 50 employees guarding the food that they would address the children running rampant, mixing food items, taking bites off of the serving utensils. Just gross. read more

This is my second time here. True believer in giving an establishment a second chance. Service was good, and the best thing of my meal was the Pepsi I drank. Mediocre at best food, entrees were cold, and floor was filthy. read more

It was good. The buffet was a bit messy and it was noisy and there were not that many people in there. It's just not as nice as the one in Dothan. The food was picked over. We just didn't come at a good time. read more

Highly recommend Chow Time Grill Buffet. The quality of the food is excellent and the service has always been great. We've been going there for over 5+ years usually once a week at different days and times and the food and service are always the same....great! The staff are courteous and friendly and regardless of how crowded the parking lot is, the staff is so efficient that we have never had to wait to be seated. Ben our server always takes time to keep our drinks filled and table cleared. Great Job! Best buffet in town hands down! read more

This so-called "Chinese buffet" feels like they ordered everything off Wish and dumped it in a steam tray. The orange chicken tastes like depression in sweet syrup, the fried rice looks like it lost a fight with Uncle Ben, and the sushi? Straight gas station cosplay. Half the trays are empty, the other half are just soggy noodles clinging to life. Honestly, I've had better fortune cookies from Amazon, and the only fortune here is food poisoning. read more

I was there with my 96 year old mother. She ordered a to-go, I was eating the buffet. She just took a couple bites off my plate. It was harmless. She gets forgetful. She did it maybe 3 times. Just little nibbles. Some scrawny uptight Asian dude comes over and made a big deal out of it. I explained she was elderly. Little twerp didn't care. We had to pay for a buffet for her. The waitress came over and was very apologetic. You could tell she felt bad--it wasn't her fault. I held my temper because I didn't want to upset my mother. I could have turned that runt into a drumstick. So if you are eating there, since it bothered them so much, do me a favor and have an extra plate for my mom. Let them pay that way. Many thanks. read more

The food was on par with a Chinese food buffet, service was ok. But the bill was on par with a sit down Japanese restaurant. Was blown away when I got it. Not from around here but if this is standard price for a Chinese buffet around here I'd say skip the buffets when in PCB. read more

I gave in to my guilty pleasure and hit up a buffet for a late lunch today. Yes, that's probably crazy in the COVID era but they did a pretty solid job here at Chow Time. Masks required (and most folks were wearing them), disposable gloves for touching the tongs and sanitizers everywhere. As it was not crowded, I had no problem keeping a six foot distance from other patrons and there was no one at the table immediately next to mine. Food was pretty good. A nice selection of the usual proteins in sauces with chicken, beef and pork mixed with vegetables. The baked surimi (krab) was in good condition. Even at 3pm, the buffet tables were tidy and well stocked with fresh food coming out often. I also got one plate of sushi. Nothing spectacular or particularly creative here but the fish was fresh tasting and it looked good. Overall, it was A-OK. Not great and far from bad. I would eat here again. [Review 14689 overall, 189 of 2021, number 1253 in Florida.] read more

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Excellent choice.. The best buffet of all! Delicious steaks, ribs, shrimp of many different varieties to choose from like shrimp boil, grilled, boiled and seasoned breaded .. Loved the fresh crawdads and clams. All under $15. If you choose the lunch buffet come before 3:30 for the low cost of $10.99... The sushi had many different options to choose from and lots of dessert!!!Well worth the drive ., read more

Amazing crawfish it was so good and juicy oh yea so yummy I would definitely recommend to everyone read more

Chow Time Grill and Buffet - Crawfish - Buffets Near Me - Panama City, Florida

Typical Chinese buffet. After spending $800 for a disappointing dinner at the Wharf on a previous night this buffet was great! LOL. Our total was less than $200 including tip. They had Crayfish, shrimps, mussels and much more. Hibachi was fast even though very busy. Hibachi station was plenty and stocked though the rice was on the harder side. Sushi station had a lot of variety but the chef seem to have trouble keeping up. My boys enjoyed the ice cream which consisted of self scoop vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, cookies and cream, and pecan praline. They also had sprinkles, nuts, and chocolate syrup to add. Our waiter was awesome and very respectful. Cleared our tables and kept our drink full with no problems. We had a group of nine so it was an automated gratuity. They only charged 15% gratituty so we tipped another $20 in cash because we really appreciated him. read more

Good quality. Hot food. Great hibachi. No issues with anything. I think some people just like to complain about everything

Terrible. Nothing looks or tastes fresh. Rice probably from day before yesterday. We have chow time in Pensacola and it's way different. I tasted few things . Everything cold also on a buffet. read more

Chow Time Grill and Buffet - It's hard not to when everything taste like ... - Buffets Near Me - Panama City, Florida

Beautiful Atmosphere / Mediocre food Most of the servers seem exhausted, angry, or both. I saw several yawning. No one was welcoming, engaging, or outwardly friendly during my visit. They are good about removing empty plates and refilling drinks, and the restaurant is quite clean. The restrooms needed repair and could have been cleaner. The food is exciting to look at, with a lot of variety; but, when you take a bite, it only reminds you of the good version. That, especially, applies to the sushi bar. I had some the fish was definitely not fresh. With others, the rice was dry and gummy. The deserts were typical of any Asian buffet I've been to.... Those odd colored, gelatinous, translucent cakes; jello; pudding; cookies; macaroons, and banana halves with red dye. The decor couldn't be more pleasant for a buffet. For the money, it's always a great deal to get stuffed for $15! Just don't expect a high-end dining experience of any kind. read more

Food was just okay but mostly cold. Certainly not worth $75 for two adults and two children. I read through previous Yelp reviews and I should've taken them more seriously. Be aware, if you don't plan on leaving a substantial tip (remember this is a buffet) the staff literally encircles and harasses you. I absolutely DO NOT recommend this restaurant. read more

Very clean, food is hot, hibachi can't be beat! Sushi has excellent selection! Courteous service, for $10.99 ,seriously?!?!? Incredible! No waiting around when you're starving! Instant gratification! We love Chow Time! Highly recommend! read more

Food is pretty good but I will not be back simply because the servers are extremely rude and do not want to do their jobs. The whole time our server never came to the table to check if drinks need to be refilled or if plates needed to be taken. Had to ask for refill and the check. The server also complained that the tip was not enough, with that poor of service he should be glad we even tipped as tips are based on service and not an entitlement. As a server myself this is unacceptable behavior, I'm a local and have been to this restaurant a few times now and every time the service has been poor, we will not be back and will be informing everyone we know about this. read more

Food not to bad sometimes it's super good others times taste old the customer service is kinda hit and miss overall not bad

Reading the reviews is pretty scary. Looks like you just need to hit it at the right time. We did lunch on a Saturday, and we had no issues with the food. The sushi bar was nice and I enjoyed it. The rest of the food was good. The wife enjoyed the fresh class, I liked the spare ribs and other items as well. The only weird part is that the hired help stands at posts nearby watching our every move. It's just too much when they are 3 feet away. Find something for them to do rather than creepily standing next to us while we are eating. read more

Ate here on sept 5th 2024. I have stayed up all night throwing my guts up nonstop to the point I can't throw anything else up and just having stomach cramps. Worst case of food poisoning I've EVER HAD OR SEEN. I ENCOURAGE NO ONE EAT HERE UNLESS YOU WANNA DUMP YOUR GUTS FOR 8 hours strait. I'm also considering taking this legally because I have to miss a whole days worth of pay.... read more

Awesome place to eat great bang for your buck. They have delicious steak and ribs and the pizza was pretty good too.

Good food. Lots of selection to choose from. Our waitress was excellent and very attentive.

So I went to chow time with my girlfriend to eat some food and just have a casual night. So we get seated by this server and we don't think nothing about her until we get near the end of when we stop eating. She is rushing for us to leave just so she can get tip and it's annoying us but we just brush it off. So then we get the check and I leave a $0 tip. I never leave $0 but because she was rushing us to leave it made me upset. We were only there for maybe 15 minutes tops. So as I'm leaving she yells "sir wait sir wait stop" and so I stop and turn back and it's our server demanding that we tip her and so I'm like ok because she is causing a scene and she is making it look like we just stole food and left so I say ok I'll just leave a dollar and then she demanded that I leave more then tip so I then go to $2 and by that point EVERYONE was staring and me and my girlfriend. So I wrote it and left very furious. I called chow time back and they said that tips were optional and that what she did was wrong but what she did deserves for her to be fired. It was a busy Friday night and everyone was staring it was so embarrassing. I will not be comming back to chow time and will be telling others about their horrible service. They were able to remove the tip after I called but only after I was consistent in getting it removed. read more

We were here on a trip and wanted to have different choices for everyone. We were not disappointed. Some of us enjoyed the sushi bar (not a lot of selections but was ok). some of us loved the seafood with big salt and pepper crab, crawfish, shrimp, and fish. Kids loved pizza, hibachi, ice cream. Of course you can find normal chinese buffet items there. The food has msg (expected as eating out) but wasn't as salty as other Chinese buffets I tried. They were constantly refilling foods. Staffs were nice and attentive. read more

I feel i was rush when i was eating here. The server was handing our bill and expecting us to leave right away, when we were supposed to eat more. They need to play music in their restaurant. The food is good, nothing to complain about the food. read more

1st time here. Excellent Chinese food. Wish they had this place in Hawaii. Awesome grub.

The food was absolutely amazing! The service was great, and the staff was very and helpful. With the price I was HIGHLY IMPRESSED and very pleasantly surprised because this place is unlike any place we have back home. The whole experience was fantastic! A new favorite for us! read more

For $15 I wasn't expecting that much however I highly don't recommend this restaurant. First of all, the waiters and waitresses were just standing around talking to each other. There was that not that many people yet we still had to wait in line because the waiters would not get us seated. Also the food was cold and it tasted flavorless. It looked good when you first see it but it disappoints you once you taste it. And the bathroom needed repair. The atmosphere wasn't that bad it was just a typical buffet house. Overall I don't recommend read more

I've been there a couple of times. I think it is the best Chinese buffet in town. I think it has things to improve, but its not bad, the food is good and the hibachi grill is always a good choice. read more