Empire Buffet has made some key improvements as of late. That calls for a star bump up. The drinkware has been replaced! There are some new cool lights near the buffet and checkout area. I have noticed better flavors out of some of the dishes that I wasn't crazy about before. Same great service from the host/owner, Mr. Lin. I just love the koi in the pond up front. My kiddos love getting ice cream from the machine that was unfortunately broken the last time we dined in on 6.26.2026. It's located in Hobbs, NM, near Albertsons Market. Yelp has two pages for this business and they have repeatedly denied my request to merge the pages. This page: https://www.yelp.com/biz/empire-buffet-hobbs-2 The other page with the incorrect address: https://www.yelp.com/biz/empire-buffet-hobbs?osq=Empire+Buffet read more

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S/O the amazing ownership, Skoo!!! So welcoming, humble and he has great energy! The buffet is always filled up, per my experiences. They have a little bit of everything for everyone, from sushi, Chinese dining, America food and desserts. Great local spot with friendly service and plenty of seating. A must every time I'm in town! read more

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It's ok there is probably more traditional food than Chinese food on the buffet. And please change your fryer greese every fryer taste like burnt greese. read more

Love this place, my family has been coming for the day they open. Always good food and friendly people.

The best word for the food here is grotesque. The buffet dishes are underheated and tasteless. Very greasy.

Friendly service. Place was pretty clean. Food wasn't bad, but wasn't great. Any of the fried chicken items were either over cooked or had sat out too long under the lamps. Tough, chewy, and crunchy... not the best. Other items were not bad, but could have been seasoned better. Service gets a 1 star bump, but otherwise it's a 2 star. read more

The food was really good and the sushi OMG it was DELICIOUS,the fishes in the little lake are adorable,the service was super nice the waiter was super nice,I recommend coming here read more

A couple decades ago, this was a pretty decent place to eat, due to the convenience of the location, we ate there a lot, after grocery shopping. The last time we went there, my wife and I took another couple, who weren't as familiar with the Hobbs area, and were looking for good restaurants. One of the dishes my friend's wife got had a big cockroach, legs still attached and smothered in sauce, in it. We were so disappointed and disgusted, we got up, paid our check, and mentioned the cockroach to the lady at the register. She apologized, offered us a free entree on our next visit, but we still had to pay for the cockroach entree. We renamed the place, "Chinese Cockroach Kitchen", removed it from our list of acceptable restaurants, and never went back for the free entree, and will never return. read more

Typical gross, greasy Chinese buffet, but surely the locals consider it first rate, gourmet fare. BONUS! There's a Koi fish pond inside, so the place is not only dirtier than usual, but it smells like a trout farm too. Prix fare menu included standard Chinese dishes, prepared substandardly, probably by La Choi. Seriously, you're better off getting the frozen PF Chang's stuff at Albertsons. read more

Empire used to be excellent, now, it's hot or miss. Sometimes, it's great, everything looks fresh and tastes great. Other times, the food is barely warm and looks as though it's been sitting for hours. It is on those days, we choose somewhere else to eat. The staff is friendly, owners are great. They take criticism well and try to do better. Their Habachi chicken is good and the steamed eice is never mushy. I've never had anything made at their Mongolian grill so I can't vouch for that part of the restaurant. They do have an actual menu in which you can order from. You do not have to only choose from foods offered on the buffet. read more

Empire Buffet - Empire Buffet - Chinese Near Me - Hobbs, New Mexico

First let me say 2 things: 1) I HATE buffet, especially Chinese buffet 2) I have lived in Hobbs 16 months and I've avoided The Dragon and The Empire like the plague I made the worst decision today to try The Empire against my better judgement. Every conceivable notion I have about Chinese buffet has come to pass. First, I'll state the good. If it came pre-packaged and then heated or fried, it was probably okay; dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, soba noodles, and fortune cookies. There. That's the good part. Second, if it was created here, it's either limp, underseasoned, bland, tasteless, luke warm, or filled with MSG and dye. Please, save yourselves and go to Taco Villa instead. You'll thank me. read more

Love 'em! I'm from Florida (and later Hawai'i), so it takes a bit to impress me with Asian cuisine. This far from the sea...they are doing good. They keep it pretty clean, the service is good and they are very polite, prices are quite reasonable, and for far-inland location they do good Chinese/Asian food. It's not 5-star fine dining, but it's good, solid Chinese buffet. read more

I love Empire Buffet. It reminds me of some of the Chinese buffets back home In Californi. I think the food there is very good. The only time I've ever not liked it was right before they close for the night. I will not stop eating there. They have me for life. read more

Love this place grew up eating it. Good people good food. It is a buffet but during the COVID you just go in and tell them what you want. Recommend read more

This was awful. Fish smell almost knocks you down when you walk in the door. Definitely not fresh smelling. Even napkins smelled like fish. Food was not good. Rice and egg rolls looked and tasted frozen and thawed. Best thing was ice cream cone at the end. Took some of the taste away. Won't be back. read more

Was not very good at all. Food was cold and noodles had no taste at all. My fiancé and I didn't even finish our first plates we had and thankfully the guy took some money off for us. read more

I read the reviews by Brandy G and Steve M and thought either one is right and the other is wrong or maybe either one's taste buds were off and decided what the hell I will try it. Yeah, big mistake. I have to side with Steve M, this without a doubt the second worst Chinese buffet I have eaten at. The worst one is in Sweetwater TX around the corner from a Schlotzki's This place has the: Worst hot sour & soup ever Worst egg rolls and spring rolls ever Worst fried rice ever Worst vegetable lomein noodle ever Worst sesame chicken ever Worst teriyaki chicken ever Worst stuffed crab ever Worst fried spicy calamari ever It was so bad I felt like walking out without paying but I'm no thief so I paid. The only thing that was tasty and halfway enjoyable was the General Tso's chicken and that's because it was laden with too sweet of a sauce. When I was just about to finish up, I looked over to a table where they were attending to the silverware and noticed they were taking the spoons out of the dishwasher basket and then dipping them into a picture of water with lemons and then wiping them dry. I guess the dishwasher doesn't do a good job cleaning them. I feel sick after this experience. I wish I had listened to Steve M's review but I guess I let Brand G's pretty face fool me. Sorry Brandy, no offense. If I could give negative five stars, I would So, people, don't waste your time or money here. It's not worthy of either. read more

Tasty, and all those wonderfully unhealthy Asian classics you would expect. Service is pretty good, considering it's a buffet. Just don't mess with the sushi. It's usually cooked shrimp or California rolls, but it usually is anything but fresh. read more

Tried it with my husband for the first time the food was ok. Wish they had more selection.I'm really picky when it comes to Chinese especially chinese buffets! Wasn't the best but wasn't the worst! Restaurant could have been cleaner and food could have been presented better.i don't know if I will go back..?? read more

I ate here twice last week. Buffet was very good. Not as large a selection as I have seen in other places but what they had was done well. Price was right for what they have. I will return whenever Im in town. read more

I will start with a positive, the only one I can give. There was a lot of food on the buffet. That said, the great majority of the food was seafood and for someone who can't or won't eat seafood, that leaves very little to choose from. The price for not being able to eat much was over the top! The food I did manage to get was not very good. The fruit was not fully ripe, so not flavorful. The service was mediocre at best. There were 3 sets of silverware when the 4 of us sat down and the waiter took one set away, leaving 2 sets for the 4 off us. He never came back to really check if we needed anything, until we were almost ready to leave. I had to grab his attention as he was serving another table to even get 1 more set of silverware. He wouldn't even bring 2 sets! We won't be eating here again. read more

I've been here so many times the staff know my name and what I what to drink now that's good public relations (PR) I have nothing bad to say unless you go during peek hours gets a little crowded but that because its a great place for Chinese. read more

The food was not very good. They used yellow rice for their fried rice and that just doesn't taste good. Their wings are ok. On a prior visit I had their vegetable plate with white sauce and steamed rice and it was very good. Thumbs down for the fried rice and wings. read more

Food and service were very good. They have a nice selection and the lunch menu has a lot of choices including Mongolian BBQ.