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    Dragon Buffet

    2.5 (147 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Buffets

    Dragon Buffet Photos

    Business Info

    DRAGON BUFFET ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Dragon Buffet

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    Wyatt A.

    Dragon Buffet on Central Ave is, "the old standby," for my parents, but that doesn't mean it's exactly good. My parents come here for only two main things, fried shrimp (the dried crispy ones where you can still see the little black eyes) and little clams. Everything else is fairly bland. All you can eat buffets are going the way of the dodo bird, as covid has forced many of them to close. So it's nice to just go to a place with mediocre food and just eat till you pop. It's cost efficient and hey, we all have had that urge to binge. Dragon Buffet fulfills this purpose just fine, but again, the selection is exactly that, mediocre. Everything has little to no flavor, and it just feels like your eating to, "fill a void," rather than enjoy yourself. But there are some things I can recommend. * hibachi chicken * general tso chicken * tempura chicken * squid, if they have it * tiny clams * fried shrimp * spring and egg rolls Everything else just tastes so average, but the ones I listed have a good amount of flavor. They have a sushi selection but you're better off going to United Buffet, for their rainbow roll and nigiri options, since this Dragon's sushi is lacking. If you guys at Dragon made slightly higher quality sushi, I'm sure you'd have way more customers. As it stands, it's just artificial crab meat salad wrapped in different varieties. When they had Ahi tuna as a topping I took them all. No regrets. If you need to fill the gut and satiate a binge, Dragon Buffet will do just fine, just don't expect much flavor.

    Wings were almost edible. That potato's thing had mushy and hard things in it, like. I don't want to know.  Ugh.
    Angela M.

    We were visiting the Capitol and wanted a Chinese buffet. Lord help us. we walked in...It had to be 85 degrees in there, no fans. Dirty windows. Had we not been driving a while looking for food and were both getting hangry, we would have left. Got to be something edible - we were starving. I have never been to a China buffet where not one item had good flavor or texture. I tried everything. Most I had to spit out. It all had the texture of frozen food dethawed and not cooked all the way. It is hard to describe how horrible this food was. The cantaloupe was good. To top it off my husband comes back with an ice cream and tells me to go get one. Dirty spoon in dirty tepid water to bend over and scoop the ice cream yourself. Freezer burnt ice cream in dirty freezer that anyone could have sneezed on or dripped on...ugh. . Ugh. So dirty, I am honestly going to go get pumpkin seeds tomorrow for my husband because he actually ate it...he is bound to have parasites. Waitress was loud and obnoxious in Chinese yelling to the host constantly. Worse experience ever. Did I mention it was $17.99 a plate?

    Dragon Buffet

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    1 year ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great buffet. All the one star reviews seem outdated, friendly service and solid food.

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    1 year ago

    You'll come out thinking it was decent buffet food but there's a 50% percent chance you'll change your mind about 45 minutes later.

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    2 years ago

    Manager Li is kind to a large group of Taiwanese members. Food are excellent for the price.

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    1 year ago

    the waitress came back with my recite and told me I did not tip and started hassling me felt very uncomfortable

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    2 years ago

    Food was alright, Do not eat the sushi, the service was good but had a hard time understanding them. 3.5/5

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    3 years ago

    There are better options. Trust me. Food was not good. The only thing I enjoyed was ice cream.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Was okay. Assortment of different food, but good for the cost. Would go again for the price.

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    2 years ago

    food good. great service. nice people! perfectly nice, clean presentation. nice ambiabce!

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

    HORRIBLE. Me and my husband came here for dinner and all the food was cold . They charged us 37.00 . NEVER AGAIN

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    19 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Dragon Buffet

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    On a cold, windy day there is nothing like a bowl of piping hot soup. Absolutely nothing. On this…read moreparticular day, the wind gusted nearly 20mph and the temps hovered above 30 degrees. It felt brutal as the wind pierced through my coat. Winter still had us in its icy grip even if the calendar said that Spring was only days away. I was alone and I was happy to take refuge in the warm restaurant with its welcoming decor. There are pretty Chinese lamps at each booth as you enter. In the back, the large round tables were filled with families who appeared to be throwing a party. The server told me I could sit wherever I'd like. I chose the first booth. I was only too happy to come in from the cold and sit. Oh, the bowl of soup that I ordered turned out to be a dream come true! It wasn't just any soup. It was the Wonton Noodle soup lunch special at Shining Rainbow on Central Ave. in Albany. The menu is in both English and Chinese. After looking at the description, I thought I had an option to add some meat to the soup. So I asked for some roast pork. After I placed the order, a young man from the kitchen staff actually came out to ask me what kind of noodles I wanted in my soup: skinny, medium or wide. He spoke to me in Chinese. I must have really confused the staff because a second staffer also followed him out and he asked me exactly the same question in English. I was really surprised. I said to them in (Mandarin) Chinese, " Don't you usually use the thin noodles for this soup? I'll take what's easiest for you to prepare." So I realized later--after they'd gone--that I didn't actually answer their questions. I must have added to their confusion but they were so very nice and polite. About 10 minutes later, a server returns with a huge steaming bowl of soup. I'm still so cold and when I see the steam rising in the distance from the soup bowl, I'm smiling. He places the soup in front of me. It's a thing of beauty. It also had vegetables that I didn't ask for, but that's not a bad thing. I took one look into the bowl and expressed my shock, "Wow. It's huge." The server looked satisfied and walked away. Underneath the roast pork and bright green veggies, there were thin noodles swimming in soup. It smelled divine. But there were no wontons. Should I say something? No. Because this meal looked perfect. Despite the confusion that I might have contributed to-- I wound up with what I really needed--a delicious and healthy hot meal. I almost finished it, too. The servers packed the rest up for me. When the bill came, I wondered what it would be. The lunch specials which are offered Monday- Saturday are just over $10. Almost $11. Sure enough, that's what they charged me. I gave them a large tip. I think $5 or $6. They were just so nice. Perhaps I looked so cold and pitiful. Whatever the reason, it was an awesome meal that didn't break the bank and I hope I can order it again sometime with or without wontons.

    Dragon Buffet - chinese - Updated May 2026

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