Golden Corral is our favorite buffet restaurant, and this is the store where we eat the most often. We've never been disappointed. Waitstaff are friendly and attentive despite the fact that this restaurant is usually packed full of diners every time we've been here. The dining rooms are clean, pleasant and the tables are well-spaced, which is much appreciated because I use a wheelchair occasionally due to chronic pain. I've never had a problem maneuvering around the dining room or in the bathrooms (a big trouble point when I'm out thus burdened). The food is awesome and there's lots of it. The salad bar has almost every ingredient you can think of, including different fresh fruits and melons if you prefer your salads fruity instead of lettucey (is that a word? Guess it is now.) There's a wonderful station with enormous baked potatoes and all the fixings a tater-lover can deck them out in. Of course there's steak for us carnivores, with shrimp, fried whitefish and hushpuppies if you like some surf with your turf. Veggies? You can have corn, cabbage, french fries, beans, carrots, broccoli and brussel sprouts, just to name few. Prefer chili or soup? Yep, got those too. My personal favorite is their Awesome Pot Roast, it's tender, juicy, and accompanied by roasted celery and carrots. It's better than mom used to make for Sunday dinner, and that's saying something! Try it out, and add some of the wonderful mashed 'taters and gravy to go with it. AND......those wonderful, soft, always-hot and freshly-baked rolls! These are so luscious that it wouldn't be a waste just to come here for those! (Don't forget your honey butter) Dessert? Although I really miss the chocolate fountain, you can still get your chocolate fix with brownies or a Hot Fudge Sundae from their soft-serve ice cream station. But wait! There's more! Grab a piece of pie, marshmallow treats, a piece of cake or some wondrous bread pudding. If you're a Boomer or Gen Xer with fond memories of Tastee-Freeze, you won't want to leave without a cone. We eat regularly at Golden Corrals in Wake and Johnston County, and this is our favorite location. Highly recommend! P.S. Please, corporate, build us one in Goldsboro! read more

The food is mediocre at best. I got sick last time I had food there. I won't be back. People are crazy when going for food. No ambiance at all. Go elsewhere. read more

The food was great It would be nice to have names on the food The establishment was clean and organized. Our server Debe went above and beyond for all the other tables but not ours. Never asked if we needed refills. Asked the other tables if they were ok or needed something, but not us. She frowned when I said I couldn't use my same fork more than on 2 plates. It's being treated rude when you come in after a long day and just want peace and to eat really good food. We will not spend another dime if severs are still acting racist. Yelp elites notate this. read more

Would have given 5's but our server wasn't very attentive, waited about 10 minutes for someone to take my drink order while I told my wife to go and get her breakfast, you know at GC that can take a while with all the selections. When my wife returned I reiterated that I would like a coffee. When I returned I had my coffee but my wife stated they didn't have any spoons so she left... straws huh. Our food was good, I really enjoyed my everything omelette. The ambience is always laidback however your server shouldn't be. read more

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I have debated to leave this review on the establishment but decided to leave it anyway. My husband and my family came in to eat today and I can say I will not return to eat here . We waited for a table and the server was very aggressive towards me , he was very rude , nasty ,and unprofessional. Seems like he couldn't control his tables and was behind .He's a white male with salt and pepper hair ( closely shaved ), really loud mouth , I would have ask to speak with a member of management but I figured I would just leave this review here and call the corporate office after the holiday. I was totally embarrassed by the way he treated me in front of the other customers , what establishment would even have such a rude , narcissistic individual employed ! read more

We came here today to have breakfast Paid & looked for a quiet place in the corner to sit with our service dog. As we were about to sit the manager Valerie Campbell came over & told us no dogs are allowed. We explained to her we had diabetes & our service dog was a special kind to detect our insulin & levels. She didn't want to see our documentation & proceeded to tell us what a service dog should be or look like. She was totally wrong & ill informed & wouldn't hear any reasoning. I told her that she was doing something illegal by telling us we had to leave. She didn't care that it was illegal so I feel the need to post some ADA rules here so she knows she was discriminating against protected disabled senior citizens If I could I would have given this place a 0 rating read more

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Food was not tempered items was not cooked through potatoes was hard. Meat was not cooked fully.

We really enjoyed the fresh salad bar. Entrees were good for a buffet style restaurant, and the price very good for the offering. Very clean and well maintained, and our server , Chris, excellent. read more

Would never consider going here but was doing a long drive and it came up on thruway and we were hungry. Not a bad breakfast buffet. Everything you can think of for breakfast and more! Plus the biscuits were warm and wonderful ! Might just try the one close to home! read more

I went to lunch on a weekday before a business meeting in the area. The facility was clean and the food variety was good. Server for my table was polite and prompt in beverage refills. read more

I'm staying at the Hampton Inn next door so this seemed like an easy decision for dinner. Right out of the gate the lady that was taking money was sneezing and coughing while at the register I'm like WTH. With everything that's going around this Is the last thing u want to see right before u hand your cc to someone to run it. Lucky for me I had backed up and while deciding if this was for me another person had walked up to the other register so I went with it quickly. Let's start with a salad , it was incredible but where it weren't south was the main part of the place. The meats The baked chicken looked like it had been out for some time and the catfish looked the same. I grabbed the best looking pieces I could get and walked over to the steak bar and asked for a medium piece. Once back to the table it was like chewing on leather tuff. It will probably be some time before I step foot back in one of these places after that debacle. read more

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The food was just okay. Servers were quite friendly. The overall cleanness of the resultant was not bad but not great either. I had several things that I did not completely eat because it had sat under the heat lamps for a bit too long and got hard and crusty. Parking was fine and we were pushed through the check out line efficiently. read more

Hours are not correct on yelp website. They do Not open on Fridays until 11am for lunch and no Breakfast until 8am on Saturdays and Sunday. U would think they would correct that. read more

I am a fan of Golden Corral What can I say if you've been to a Golden Corral you know the food is good. If you haven't then you really need to. The staff were friendly and attentive. Location was good, close to my hotel. I wish there was one near my home but unfortunately I must leave the state if I wish to eat at a Golden Corral (at least for now). read more

Great variety. All the food was at least warm if not hot. Servers were friendly and frequently checked on us. Everything was clean. Will be back! read more

The food was great and staff were so friendly and helpful I would recommend them to all my friends and family. The place was clean and there were lots of friendly people. read more

We love to eat at the Golden Corral. The one is Smithfield is one of the better ones. The line was long but moved quickly. We were seated and our drink orders were taken. Servers bring you dishes and cutlery. The drinks are also brought by the servers. There are blue glove stations which you must put on prior to getting in line to get food at this all you can eat buffet. It was crowded but everyone getting food was wearing the gloves and had a mask on. There were sanitizing stations in multiple locations. There are also a large number of options in terms of hot and cold food. The night we went the steak was really delicious but if you don't eat meat, there is a salad bar, an extensive choices of hot food, baked fish, desserts galore [although they no longer had the chocolate fountain] but do have self serve ice cream with multiple toppings. I will recommend and return when I get back to this area. Dinner is a better choice than lunch with more options but is more expensive. read more

Food pretty good but prices are ridiculous high . can't affect to eat there anymore. especially the cost of food & restaurants now . Have to eat affordable meals at home . read more

We were so excited to try this place out! I love GC. Unfortunately this one is NOT friendly. My husband and I arrived this past week to this location. The food was just okay. I couldn't find the silverware so I asked one of the managers (blue button up shirt - white guy, skinny, 40-45 years old, buzz cut). Instead of getting some for us he insisted on telling me that our server will bring it over. IT TOOK OUR SERVER 10 MINUTES ONCE WE SAT DOWN! Disgrace. read more

I went to this place a couple months ago before COVID hit. I was doing some work and hadn't eaten all day so I popped in for a late lunch. I was so full I didn't even eat dinner. At about 3am, I got the worst, most violent food poisoning I had ever had. I couldn't even drink water without throwing it back up five minutes later. I had violent food poisoning for about 48 hours. Dry heaving too. Will not be going back to a Golden Corral anytime soon - or ever. Stay away. (I would add a photo but I think that it's for the best that I don't) read more

Service was amazing! The cashier greeted us with a smile, and explained pricing. Our server Payge was phenomenal, not once did we have to request a drink refill, and made us feel at home with her sweet demeanor. We will definitely be back thanks to her amazing service. read more

Not clean, no social distance and looks like they don't care of wearing facial mask. Not enough menus, I'll never go that place anymore.

First off, we like a good buffet. This place?? Awesome! We're from the south, so what's good to eat on a cheat day? Corned Beef Hash. Honey, all day long! This stuff was the bomb! Creamed beef on toast. Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, French toast, pork chops (fried and grilled!), country fried steak, grits, potatoes...Oh My Word, I could keep going. It was ALL delicious! The staff was helpful and very pleasant. Oh, the husband said to be sure to share that the tomatoes were very fresh. He's a tomato connoisseur! read more

I wanted water and they gave me carbonated plain wate from the soda fountain. I have to give one star to any place that can't provide water. I ate alone. Server never once removed plates or offered any type of service. Just another example of women treating women badly. Food was prett good. read more

We had our Thanksgiving catered by these guys and everything was top notch. The turkey was the best, moist turkey I've ever had. My whole family ate very well and the price was very reasonable for all of the delicious food we ate. Thank You Golden Corral. read more

love it ! so much to to choose from , friendly people and great for kids when you are on the road & it off 95 south or west. Thank you

My family and I went to get a variety of food for breakfast this morning. I have to say, it was the worst breakfast I have ever had. First of all, they were out of almost all breakfast items before 11:00 am. (Which is supposedly the time they stop serving breakfast). They were out of large sausage, fat back, and other items that would normally be on the breakfast buffet. The coffee had to have been at least 2 hours old, it tasted as if I was drinking vinegar. When I tried to talk to the manager about the situation she was more focused on the argument, than resolving the issue. Sorry, I hate to say it, but I do not believe I will be going back to the Golden Corral in Smithfield. I rather take the 30 minute drive to Raleigh for a better meal. read more

My kids are more buffet fans than me. Golden Corral in general is not a 5-star experience. Buffets in general are more a feeding trough than a dining experience. That said, this location seems to do it better than most. The guys behind the bar do a good job of keeping up with the Saturday night rush. Steak, ribs, ham and chicken are served fresh off the grill and the stuff I got was all adequate temperature. The staff does a pretty good job of clearing empty plates and cups. It's also quite clean as well. I also have a general rule that most restaurants on interstates aren't as concerned with service because they have captive customers. This location seems to be an exception to that rule. I was surprised at how well this place handled the Saturday night dinner crowds. read more

People here are rude and have no manners. Some of the staff don't have manners as well. One of the staff said my shorts were interesting to another staff and I over heard them before (jeans cut up with paint all over) like say it to my face boo thang read more

You get exactly what you expect. It was clean & our server was there to refill our glasses and remove our used plates. Glad we arrived when breakfast was offered. It's pretty hard to mess up bacon and pancakes! So no complaints there... If you need somewhere to stop driving long distance and want to sit down and eat this is an option. read more

The breakfast " cook to order chef" wasn't the friendliest but our waitress, Natalie was very nice. I'm still not sure why pork chops, and fried chicken is ok for breakfast but steak is considered a lunch or dinner item according to the chef. The food was fresh and delicious for the price. I had grapes, cantelope, watermelon, eggs and grits. Also shout out to Tammy for being so awesome and personable! read more

Ok. I've done plenty of Golden Corral places. This one Was. The. Bomb. Sirloin steaks cooked to order. Corn on the cob. Smoked brisket. I didn't know what to eat first. Full? Wwhaaaaaat? I had to stop stop stop myself about 5 Times ... great job, Golden Corral of Smithfield! Well done! read more

The manager was awesome and trying to be accommodating, but the food was lukewarm to cold. She tried to get the cooks to change it out, but it was taking too long. Was given a refund, but this should not have occurred in the first place. If it was just one item, then I would understand, but it was about 6 different items that were all cold. This place used to be my favorite and we had not been here in a while, and now we might not come back. read more

Mac and cheese went crazy. Barbecue was succulent. All in all a lot of solid choices from this location. After several plates I had to tap out but I looked to my left and my buddy had grabbed his silverware like a barbarian and was deleting every crumb in sight. Safe to safe I had to roll out of the restaurant. Ice cream was kind of sketchy but lots of other desert options. So yea 4/5. Definitely heading south though and I still got this 2 hour car ride so it's gonna get real interesting real fast. #Dumpcity read more

I'm downgrading my experience at this GC not for any one specific reason. I am a semi-regular of GC wherever I might be and used to like it a lot. But alas, this one has has slipped down below the point I won't be returning here. Example: it's wing night with 5 kinds of chicken wings. Great, I like that. All the varieties have rubbery skin and bland meat topped with weird tangy sauce I don't care for. You can say it's just my taste not caring for the sauce, but the wings are obviously not cooked correctly. All the seafood is fake now. Fish filets are now composite processed fish flavored product. Think of chicken McNuggets baked with no breading. You used to pay more after 4pm to get the better offerings on the buffet. You still pay more after 4pm, but now the offerings are what you used to get before then when the price was lower. Those familiar with GC know what I mean. Sad. $16 I too much to pay for a meal at this buffet. read more

$14 for a meal?!? Absolutely crazy for the quality of food. Difficult to eat that quantity, either. Server was mostly absent, checking her phone with other servers. read more

It's what its supposed to be...they just need to stay on top of the line keep the food fresher. .its quite busy. Love the mom daughter servers..cute read more

This place looks and feels like a Mexican Restaurant. The food is horrible and you have people working here who can barely speak English. It's hard to communicate with people who don't understand English. Hire some new people that can actually cook and speak English. read more

This is the third time I have been to Golden Corral and I can say I enjoyed it! The price is good you get a drink and all you can eat food for two people about 30 dollars! The food is good you pick what you want eat as much as you want the staff is friendly they refill your drinks and clean the tables about a min or two so you get a plate with food eat it and go get another one by the time your back the old plate is gone and your table is clean:) amazing place came on a Sunday and it's a bit full with a mix of people from toddlers to seniors it's a great place to go to get some food and head out read more

Like all Golden Corrals the food is ok. It's tough trying to keep up with the cooking when there's so many to feed so some is cold, some gets overcooked but still it's worth the money. Service was good though and the gal who worked my table was around to keep it clean and refill my drink. If I ever get back that way I'd go again. read more