We have NO idea why so many people bad mouth this buffet! It's an AUCE buffet that is under $10! Seriously! And it included the drink! We've been here 2x and we'll keep going back .. It's a wide variety of interesting foods, latin, asian, american, hibachi, seafood, salads, desserts! It's like going to another country without the expense :) The staff is super friendly (though most don't seem to speak much English) .. It's clean and the food is pretty well stocked .. Four of us went yesterday and we tried just about everything there .. ONLY negative is that the signs above the food aren't always correct, some aren't in English, and some have no labels at all .. But we're daring and we tried most of it!! Give them a shot! * Also FYI .. Both times we went were during the week .. One around 4pm and other around 7pm .. read more

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I when there today with my family to take my wife and mother with my Dauthers and sister and also brother in law... For me it was the first time and now the last time ... nasty taste on the food ... food not fresh everything taste nasty ... where we was seating there was a table with old dishes fill with people food and the people working there did not pick it up .... Service was Bad Food was Bad Who the heck is the manager there Again my first and last time... Never again read more

was very disappointed with my experience. The food did not taste fresh and had very little flavor. For a restaurant that claims to serve Puerto Rican food, the seasoning and authenticity were lacking. The rice was bland, the meat tasted old, and overall it did not feel like traditional Puerto Rican cooking. I don't understand how the quality justifies the prices. I would not return. read more

How old is this Latin food? Cicero: This lettuce is brown. Cassius: I know 2000 years from now maybe they will consider throwing it away. Julius: This meat is leaving me a bad taste in my mouth! Somebody please stab me! Brutus: Umm. Okay... read more

I don't understand why this place doesn't have better reviews. First, I came here on a Sunday afternoon for lunch, so the price for lunch on the weekends is 11.99 (outside says 8.99) so just be aware the weekend price is different. You pay before you eat just like Sweet Tomatoes or other Buffet places. They have so many food choices here and they are GOOD. It is Latin style buffet mainly so you've got malanga, plantains, yellow rice, white rice, tamales(banana wrapped and so good!), pasteles, ropa vieja, salad (they have plain shredded cabbage which i loved), etc. For dessert, I had tres leches! I noticed as well they have some sushi options and ceviche, but that was the only thing that was not good, so I wouldn't eat those. Aside from that, servers were friendly and over all we had a nice experience here. Maybe they offer better food options for the weekend? I will definitely be back. read more

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I have seen this place turn over several times. Now it is a Spanish buffet. No one really speaks English there so when you order your hibachi you got to take it like they cook it for you. Furthermore, many time I have seen the buffet tables way under temperature and the food cold. The worst part is that everytime I go it feels like I am walking inside a church because they play religious music. If I wanted to go to church I would go to a church not a restaurant. In addition, this is not the first restaurant the owner has owned. Unfortunately, 90% of all the restaurants they have owned have closed down. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be aware that this restaurant has nothing to do now with El Gran Palacio. read more

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This is my mother in law's favorite restaurant. We had a crowd of 15 people for lunch. I like that the buffet has a wide variety of Hispanic food along with Chinese and American. The staff was a bit disorganized, it could have been because of the size of our table. The food was decent. Like any buffet, some dishes tasted great and others not so much. The restaurant wasn't as clean as I'd prefer and there was only one working toilet (out of 4). I also think they could have used 2 hibachi cooks, since it was backed up. Also, the dessert options were slim and the ones available were not very good. read more

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This is one of the worst buffets I've been to. From the flys and bugs flying around to the food that has clearly been out day after day, it's a mess. The hibachi location was unmanned with flys flying around the raw meat. There was little that was edible and what was was cold. Few things were labeled, some of those things that were were mislabeled. In addition the desert bar was all from Wal Mart. Right out of the package. Service was minimal at best as well. read more

DON'T waste you money and risk your health here!!! The food is OLD, COLD and NASTY!! The first red flag was having to pay first with no refund allowed. I should have known better. Nothing was edible. If you enjoy paying a restaurant and getting nothing to eat in return, then this is the place for you. read more

I don't quite know how to start. It's neither Spanish nor Chinese. It is a beautiful combination of blandness with a sprinkle of blah. Whether it's the beef tripe or the stewed goat or the crab Rangoon with no crab you will be blown away by the below mediocrity of this confusing buffet. Also, don't eat the sushi. Also, it's banana pudding. But A+ for the first serving of water. read more

I love buffets. I will go have lunch at a new one without hesitation. Good ones will get repeat visits. Since I'm new to the area I've been doing a google maps and Yelp exploration to find ones close enough to work that I can hit them up for lunch. Today was El Palacio Buffet. While the rating is really low here on Yelp, their Google rating is 4.2 stars with 2,144 respondents. Lunch was $8.99, they have you pay first. When I got there it was right at the start of lunch and only one wait staff was working, so it was a little slow. Finally, a second wait-staff person showed up. The kitchen staff was working and they kept bringing stuff out and refreshing dishes. The place quickly filled up and it seems really popular. The price point is a really good draw I think. Onto the food - Stewed goat, pork tripe, fried yucca plant! This place has got to be the most authentic Mexican food buffet I've ever been to! The stewed goat was cooked quite well. It could have been a bit spicier I think, but it was very good and a real treat to get goat again, no one carries goat (caveat: I'm new to Florida so if it's common here, I don't know that yet). The pork tripe was also cooked really well, it wasn't rubbery or chewy and I could pull it apart with a spoon. And the fried yucca plant, a treat all in itself. There was also grilled steak, stewed beef, and carnitas, in fact, I was surprised at how many beef and pork dishes they had for a 1 $ buffet. Generally 1 $ buffets overload with chicken and other fillers. Their seafood choices were really good as well. Mussels and Clams, both in the shell, was another threat. They had a vegetable shrimp and imitation crab meat dish that I really liked. For some odd reason, they also have some Chinese food dishes. I tried what looked like the sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken and egg drop soup. These weren't as successfully done as the others. And after tasting the soup I wouldn't finish it. I normally don't get those dishes, being a hot & sour soup fan, but I wanted to try them. But I won't again. I also tried their crap salad, good, and macaroni salad, also good. Their dessert section was much larger than most buffets, with some authentic dessert choices that I was happy to see. I loaded up some stuff that took me back to my childhood, which is a really nice thing. I left with a full belly and a very happy tummy. I'm rating this at 3 stars because: Quality of the food is different based on what you're eating, consistency is a concern. The cooking staff seems far better at the Mexican dishes than the Chinese. Staff needs another wait-person or two. I had to go ask to get my water glass refilled. But, price point is really good, food was something I'd like to try again. read more

By far the worst buffets my husband and I went to in my life. Food is old / unnamed. Empty buffet trays. FOOD IS OLD OLD OLD !!!!!! Do not go ! read more

The fruit was so dry. Ice cream was almost gone from tub and what was left was iced over. The temperature of the food was almost non existent. This place needs shut down. Pandemic waiting to happen. And I was excited to come to a purtorican place. Sad. They let me down. read more

Don't let the lights fool you this place is down right disgusting. The worse service ever and cold food. The server informed me that only the top layer of food is cold the bottom is "steam food" didn't eat more than 2 bites of rice and received a 50% refund because I received service and a cold sprite. read more

El Palacio Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Food is OLD! and not fresh, food is unnamed is a guessing name of what you're eating. They do not have a variety of food. It does not compare with the one in orlado!! Do not recommend at ALL!! read more

Without a doubt the worst restaurant/buffet I've ever been to... We walk in, and we're slipping and sliding throughout the restaurant because the floors were wet/greasy. All the food looked unappetizing and cold. The best thing I had was Ice water. All of the desserts were warm (yikes). The funniest part were the bananas topped with sprinkles... who does that? Go at your own risk. read more

I'm only giving 1 Star because I can't give any lower. 1. They make you pay first so you can't walk out because they KNOW their food is terrible. 2. The floor was sticky and the whole walk out my daughter and my shoes stuck. 3. I got a couple plates with a variety of items and not 1 thing was even luke warm. EVERYTHING was cold. 4.ALL the food items were dry or burned... or over sauced to HIDE the over cooked food from it being on the counter too long. I would NOT feed any of it to my dog, it would give ANYONE food poisoning. The 3 pcs shrimp, and the 2 bites honey chicken was too much as I feel like puking. Was sat ABOUT 2 min before leaving the plates as they were. HEALTH DEPARTMENT PLEASE SHUT THEM DOWN! Also the tea was spoiled so I've reserved a date with my toilet tonight . No pictures cause I was in too big a hurry to leave. In 1 word I would say it was disastrous. If you want to spend the rest of your week in the hospital, DEF stop in. read more

All the food was cold and looked like it had been reheated not freshly made. And it wasn't as clean as one would think.

I wish I took a picture of the food. The food is old, stale, greasy and cold. Very unprofessional and just NO, no label on the food and if I can give it a 0 I would, the food smelly and just terrible and clearly they just recycled from other time, shrimp rubbery and hard you can't even peel it hard as a rock.. noodles stale, watermelons are grey, food smells very bad. I am pregnant and I thought if I eat one more spoon I'll get food poisoning or stomachache. When we asked for a refund she said I'll give u half when I paid 30$ for good warm meal, this is so bad I don't recommend I don't know how they still in business I'll die of hanger before I eat there again just huge NO. I'm talking half of my money and going to the house eating anything eles but that food. Shame on you ! read more

First of all they make you pre pay for horrendous food.. Everything is cold, the rice is hard all the meat taste the same and is questionable. Everything seems microvaved and just plain not worth it. Mad that I wasted my money on this.. Should have made some instant ramen, would have been way better. read more

I was so excited to see this open up closer to home. What an extreme disappointment I must say. This is nothing like the one on OBT. I suggest you get the crew from the other location to train this one a little better. read more

Disgusting !!! DO NOT EAT HERE !! Rain was dripping through the moldy ceiling onto a filthy rag and then down into the salad dishes - management didn't care - I couldn't eat much , but what I did eat made me sick - literally! VERY EXPENSIVE TOO $40 for two adults and a child - do yourself a favour and eat somewhere else ! Avoid at all costs ! read more

Food was ok mostly cold and very limited in buffet. Need alot of help very old building could use a fresh coat paint and a deep cleaning.

Worst buffet I have ever been to. Food was absolutely awful! Hoping I don't get sick now!! Mac and cheese had a burned/smoked flavor. How do you mess up Mac & cheese? Everything was cold. When we walked in and they said we had to pay before going in should have been a warning to us. Never ever going again. Can't pay me enough to eat there. Walked out after tasting several items. Could not finish anything thing. Oh but the Diet Coke was okay. Not sure if the glass was clean though. read more

This place used to be great when it was the Chinese buffet Wild Rice. We were so sad when it closed. Then it became El Palacio. They decided to fuse the restaurant and keep the Chinese food, the hibachi and the sushi plus have Spanish food. It was just ok at first. The Chinese food was still good. But the Spanish food was not. It became clear after a few visits that the management sucked. (We lived close so we went a lot) One time we went there was MOLD on the cake. The manager really didn't seem to care. He DID NOT APOLOGIZE and made no attempt to make it better. The last time we went (and for the last time), the manager at the front took a phone call right in front of us and made us wait! Then he proceeded to talk over us in Spanish. So very unprofessional. The entire staff does that. I understand the food is Spanish but they SHOULD NOT speak Spanish around and over customers heads. It's rude and unprofessional. The food was cold and tasteless. The macaroni and cheese was absolutely swimming it was so watery. The chicken wings smelled and tasted bad. The crab had gone bad, it smelled rancid! I think my husband is lucky he didn't get sick from it. The only thing good was the rainbow sorbet. read more

First time visiting this establishment an I am very disappointed! It was not clean, a lot of food had been sitting there for a while, many empty or almost empty pans, food was not labeled correctly, others were not labeled. There 2 waitresses and while there were several tables food of people they decided to sit at a booth and have Taco Bell and flirt with 2 gentlemen sitting on the booth next to them. They were not on their breaks but sat there for over 20 minutes not checking if anyone needed a drink or anything. Definitely my first and last! Gave a 1 start because I can't give any less!!! read more

The place advertises that they close at 10:00 pm. We show up at 8:55 and were told they were closed. Apparently, the staff was more concerned about going out after work on a Saturday night than with servicing their customers. There were 6 of us and three other cars pulled in to be told that they were closing. Will never waste my time coming here again. read more

If I could give this place a zero I would!!! The food is cold as hell! It tastes like they kept the food in a freezer then decided to heat it up again. This is the first and last time I will be eating here. If you're deciding whether or not to eat here I would recommend DON'T ! read more

If you like Hispanic foods this is the place to eat in Orlando. However, it could use some updating of the restaurant. The atmosphere is dark and outdated. With a little investment they could have a 5 rating. read more

My friend recommended me this place because he said he'd eaten there a year or so ago and it was great.. we went to eat and everything was VILE!!! The woman in the front had the worst attitude and she was in her phone when we walked in AND when we left.. not a very great host.. When it comes to the food, EVERYTHING was cold, it all tasted like it'd been sitting in a freezer, and the floor was filthy! I would NOT recommend this place to anyone, ever! read more

The food wasn't restaurant quality and the service was mediocre even though there were more employees than customers.

The worst experience I had in a buffet. To start the cashier was very rude and charge for the 3-year-old child. I also found a COCKROACH and when I told the manager he just took it out but did not change the food or apologize for the inconvenience. I'm not going to come back. Do not waste your time here !!! read more

This is the worst restaurant I've ever been to. Staff is not friendly and the place was very dirty. The food tasted cold and stale. I actually had stomach issues for several days after eating there. I will never go back again! read more

Food is okay in selection. Needs more Asian selection. Mostly Latino style food . Some menu items are not available . Some of the calamari and other type fried foods and seafood were tough and chewy with Bland flavor.. The dining room is very large and has capacity for private party areas. Our experience included couples and no children good menu for children lots of variety. There is plenty to choose from but be careful that it is fresh. Cleanliness is not an issue except the floors are a bit tacky. The ambience is very casual and very ethnic for the local area. Prices are fair if you look at the selections and you find what you like otherwise it is a waste of time. I recommend this place for lunch to try it out if you are a local and are looking for some inexpensive grub to satisfy your Buffet hunger. Will not return to this location. read more

They asked me for a tip before I even sat down. Not much variety and not great food. I miss the buffet that used to be there.

This review is for the one on Lee Rd. I came in yesterday for lunch and was "greeted" by a very snobby lady with an attitude. She asked me for how many.. I said, for one, I gave her my card and she basically slammed the pen on the counter for me to sign then turned her back and went straight to the register. Immediately after I was seated a group of construction workers came in and her attitude changed. She was flirty and giggly with the men. The rest of the waitresses were the same, they were rude. Not once did she come by to grab my plates or ask if I needed anything. They were all concentrated on the group of men that came in. Over all the food was ok but, the customer service SUCKS! I'll be sticking to the one on OBT.. better food and service! read more

this was a nice surprise to walk into. place was very clean service was great and the food jesus they have food for everyone and any liking. music was also good. price was reasonable. i will definitely will bring my friends that like buffet style eating here. just so everyone know this place is a mix of Chinese food and Spanish food meanning Caribbean flare. read more

I have visited El Palacio in Kissimmee and the one on OBT. Many times. Enjoy the food for the price. However, visiting El Palacio on Lee road was a horrible experience. First there was a wood panel covering one of the front doors. I thought maybe construction. Inside not too many people. The place looks worn out and old. Was very hungry and we ate there anyway. Went to the restroom. Looked like and abandoned rat house. Will not visit again. This building should be condemned. Not fit for food business. read more

The food was horrible. All fried and greasy. Everything was old and at room temperature. It was really disgusting. We will never return.

The food wasn't bad, however as a senior citizen we have earned our discounts. Every one else gives seniors and military a discount why not you guys. The seniors raised you and cared for you, while the Military protects you. It isn't that we can't afford it. It's called RESPECT!! read more