As many reviews have stated, Mai Tai has an amazing variety, so it was probably having a bad day when my mother and I visited. We usually go to another Chinese buffet in town, but we always go there! I recommended Mai Tai because we needed something different that day. Plus, there were rows and rows of food. I just knew we would find something even better than the other buffet. Meh. I think they had this coconut chicken or something. I don't remember the exact name, but it was deep-fried chicken pieces covered in a spicy mayonnaise-based sauce. That and the egg drop soup were the only things I enjoyed. Mom liked the corn and the string beans. Of all the food there, that's all we ate. We tried other things, but something was off about the flavor or the way they were cooked. I have no idea. Our server was nice, but obviously in a bad way. We overheard that she had been working for a month and hadn't received her first check. I would be upset, too! Thank goodness she didn't take it out on us. Even if she had, I wouldn't have blamed her. We left a nice tip. Apparently, a lot of family I have no knowledge of visit Mai Tai. A relative, whom I've never met before, walked up to me and asked me if I was so-and-so's granddaughter. I said yes and asked how they could tell. "By your walk." My w a l k. Impromptu family reunion? Blah food? We might visit again. Hopefully with better luck. read more

Tired, sort of run-down, with no Chinese decor except a little in the front lobby, leftover remnants of decorations from some previous occupant from years before. The food bar was long and had many choices but the meat dishes had almost no meat in them. Staple items like broccoli and beef had no meat in it that I could see. Most of the food was fired out and some of the dishes that should be hot were very cold. The only dish either of us liked was the thinly sliced BBQ pork which was kind of like jerky but it was still good. They even got my drink messed up, I asked if they had Coke ZERO, and they said yes. What they served could not even be described as a cola, more like when kids dump in a bit over everything because they think it's funny but won't drink it because it's gross, it tasted like that. Positives: The fruit was fresh and well-displayed. The sushi area was fresh and had several interesting options. The hibachi grill looked okay, I should have focused on that because at least it would have been freshly prepared. read more

Mai Tai - Buffet line - Chinese Near Me - Jacksonville, North Carolina

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Food had a weird taste and I saw something fall from the vent into someone's food. People were nice.

Barely any food at buffet. What food was there looked old. Restaurant didn't seem clean. Service wasn't there either server seemed like we were bothering her. read more

Everything had a weird aftertaste, don't come on Sundays or at all even you get charged for dinner all day, there's dirty vents everywhere, the train no longer runs, bathrooms are dirty and stalls don't close all the way, sushi tastes stale mode of the time, do not recommend. read more

Mai Tai - Dirty vent - Chinese Near Me - Jacksonville, North Carolina

Unfortunately, most of the fried food, when pushed with a fork or finger on my plate leaked grease out like a sweaty mom doing HITT. I can't do too much grease or I get sick, so there wasn't much I could eat. I tried the hibachi, but the snow peas were inedible fibrous, the meat was rough and stringy, and the sauce was nothing spectacular. The ice cream is not real: it's a milk dessert, and melts so fast, and the sherbet isn't any better. The only thing worth eating was the lemon cake. I won't be back. The service was really good though, and very attentive and kind, and prices were good. It looks like a forgotten hole in the wall place, and dirty, and unkept and broken down. read more

I haven't been here in a very long time due to their uncleanliness and roaches. They have cleaned the place up, but the food quality has dropped drastically. Food was bland and flavorless. I tried to give them another chance, but this will be the last time I go there. It's a shame, it used to be one of our favorite places in town. read more

Good selection of food and relatively clean. Drinks were kept full by the staff. Our plates were allowed to stack up which is something that always bothered me in a buffet style meal. Overall a good experience and very filling. read more

This is a no for me. Why? Service and no food labels. If I'm going to a buffet style place I need labels. I am allergic to mushrooms and don't eat pork. I literally had to guess and when asked the servers act like they don't work there and are extremely RUDE!! There are far too many quality places to eat to take my time to go here and eat!!!! read more

This place is literally DISGUSTING!!! How it is even open I do not know. First clue was they make you pay first. I was part of a party and didn't want to be rude or I would have just left. We went at 5:30 PM and the food was obviously sitting all day. I mean how hard is it to change a pan or stir something!! I swear I was expected to get sick Funny. If you go to their Facebook page the food looks amazing. They are using someone else's photos. You can not post on their page either. read more

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Food was okay. Restaurant itself was rather dirty and in need of a serious deep clean. Buffet was rather expensive. Waitress was as very kind that helped us. read more

Gordon Ramsey needs to visit this place. Used to be an amazing restaurant before Covid. All of the food was horrible. I took a bite of each item I took (buffet). Tasteless-nothing is fresh. A lot of food was cold. Horrible! No greeting walking in-a poorly hand written sign that says "pay before you seat". Ripped cushions on booth. Muggy and warm inside. I don't even want to imagine how the kitchen area looks. This place needs to close. read more

This at one time was my favorite restaurant until they closed a couple years ago for remodel after that its totally gone down hill,today was the LAST time they take any money from me,the food is by far the nastiest ever,i wondered when i went in on a sunday for lunch and only 2 other people were there because your better off keeping your money and eating out of a dumpster!ZERO STARS,They should immediatley close the doors,disgusting.you've been warned. read more

Completely disgusted and will never order again!! I ordered the Chicken Lo Mein and the Chicken Teriyaki (5pieces). The Lo Mein had zero flavor, no color and did not even resemble Lo Mein. There was almost no chicken (what was there tasted boiled with no seasoning) and the noodles were not authentic Asian noodles but instead spaghetti (I am sure of it!) The Lo Mein, however, was not the main concern... The Chicken Teriyaki was coated in a thick batter and some pieces were undercooked and others overcooked to the point you couldn't even chew it. Yet... THEE WORST PART... there was a whole bug on my chicken teriyaki!! and it was fried!! I could not believe it and I had to throw the whole meal in the trash! Will never be eating from here again! Please be warned! read more

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The original owner died in October 2021. The restaurant went with him. Do not waste your money here. The people who took it over have destroyed it. Went a while back, not knowing of the management change, and noticed the drop in food quality immediately. It really was the worst restaurant I had been in. The food on the bar was old. You could tell it had just been sitting there way too long. I was actually worried about food safety. Yesterday, I got talked into trying it again. I said, "maybe the last visit was just an off day.". Nope, just awful. Honey chicken was hot but tasted old and stale somehow. The cream cheese in the crab Rangoon looked dried out and chunky with a weird taste and the wrappers were stale and greasy on the bottom. Chicken wings were ok but had no seasoning. Potstickers were bland and flavorless. The "sushi" looks sad. Looks to be the frozen type. California roll with a few sauces on top and a few balls of rice with fish on them. They did bring out some hibachi chicken that was fresh and was actually decent. The sauteed mushrooms were the best thing on the bar though. Even still, I'm not sure how fresh they were, and they were never replenished the whole time we were there. Ambiance was quiet but that's easy to do when there's no customers. There was one table besides us in the whole place, which is very large, with another coming in just before we left. I remember when the parking lot was so packed you couldn't find a spot anytime they were open. Literally 3 cars in the parking lot on this visit. Sanitation grade was a 91. Oh, and pay before you're seated? That should have been a tip off. If you are looking for good Chinese food, look elsewhere. If you are visiting for the first time in a while and remember how good this place used to be, don't soil your memory by visiting. What was is no more. I'll never step foot in that place again. read more

I definitely recommend going here with the family if you are looking for an all you can eat buffet restaurant that has Chinese, Indian, Italian and American dishes. They are always so friendly when you come in. read more

My expectations where set fairly high. We use to go for lunch Buffett before COVID few times a month at least. Since they were only doing take out for the last few years I was hoping the inside Buffett was going to be better. First off, they didn't change the decore much. They didn't w horrible paint job in shades of green. Which don't do anything for the coloring of the food or people. Food was sub par. They got rid of many favorites of ours. The sushi bar was gone. The ice cream machine was gone. And the made to order habachi selection was cut in half at least. It was $31 for two adults and a child with water to drink. We probably won't be back for Buffett but take out for the walnut chicken. That was the best thing ever that was made here. read more

Walked in and first thing I smelt was mildew the left side of the restaurant was dark and dim hard to see the servers where friendly and food was alright but not the best. read more

There was mold in my cup! If I could give it zero stars, I would! The food wasn't good either! No flavor, and yes, the noodles were spaghetti noodles, not the correct noodles. Please stay away! read more

Mai Tai - The ice from my cup had mold on it. - Chinese Near Me - Jacksonville, North Carolina

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I ordered food for my parents on Christmas day because my father was very sick and they weren't able to get out. Obviously, they suspected covid but couldn't be tested until Monday morning. I ordered them a ham fried rice and a house lo mein around 3:00 pm. It was finally delivered at 5:00 pm. It was Christmas so no complaint. However, I got a text from my dad who rarely ever complains and he texted me: "Tony I know you paid good money for this food but the food is the absolute worst I have ever seen. The rice is literally like half-cooked and warmed up from yesterday. We literally can't eat it. The Lo Mein is not as bad but it definitely is the worst we have ever had there." I reached back out to see what could be done and they said they would send something else out so he texted: "Maybe some chicken teriyaki and sweet and sour chicken. Maybe we will try their meat" She agreed and said it would go out... that was at 5:30. I called her back at 8:00 pm because the food had still not got there and they were very hungry. My parents are in their 60s and the sickness had them very weak. I asked the lady when it would be sent out and she said I don't know we are busy... I told her the original order was at 3 and the remake was at 5:30 and it's now 8 ... do you have any idea? She said maybe 9 pm ... that was just too long so I told the lady don't worry about it and that she would refund my money to me and I should see it in a couple of days. Fast forward to today ... January the 5th ... 12 days later ... still no refund ... I went in today and Talked to the owner Lin. He called her on the phone ... she had never refunded my money! So she tells him to tell me that she would give me $30 of the 43.69 they owed me ... What? Why? She said well the other money is "labor cost" ... I said wait ... you never said anything about this before and I had to drive all the way in here after you never refunded my money and that isn't acceptable to me. How about that additional 13.69 is my delivery fee for having to drive all the way out here and get my refund that was never submitted. She told him she wanted to talk to me ... She told me that she would give me $30 because the other money was for labor but if i wanted a full refund she would give it to me but don't ever come back. !!! What?? I just said give me my money. So I asked Lin ... can I have your name ... he gave it to me ... I asked can I have her name? He asked why? I asked if she was the owner (Thinking it might have been Tony Chow's wife) or was she a manager ... he said she just works here ... I asked him ... so you are the owner and you let your employee disrespect your customer that way? I was blown away. This is the last time I will ever give that place my money. They have gone downhill starting a couple of years ago. I know plenty of businesses they owe money to and refuse to pay for services. This place is not honest and at this point just living off the name that has built credibility over the years ... literally told me never to come back over 13.69 for labor. Wow! I am still floored and disgusted. read more

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! As someone who's worked in the food industry for 6 years, I would have NEVER served something like what we just experienced today. So my husband just took me here to celebrate Mother's Day since I absolutely love Chinese buffets, but this just ended up in complete disaster. It took a while to receive our drinks as only one person was managing drinks and she was trying to maneuver around other customers and what I'm going to assume is the owner's kids who were running around, so credit to here for trying her best. The dishes smelled of bleach like they weren't cleaned properly. I tried tiny bits of a variety of food there, but I have no clue what they were as there were no labels at all. Most of the food either smelled of bleach or mold and some of it was the second I put it in my mouth instantly had a taste of mold or like they were cooked in unsanitary dish ware. The food was so bad that I started throwing up in the parking lot and could only smell the mold or bleach coming from it in the process. I would give zero stars if I could. read more

I really enjoyed eating here before covid when it was a Buffett but since covid 19 they reopened only as take out. I miss that Buffett because it had so much to offer and was best in town. The menu items are still great you just get full portions so if you want few things it comes up to more than buffet price. I'm just glad they are still open. They have stuffed wontons that I can't get enough of. Their fried rice is pretty good too.. read more

Well the new Mai Tai is an experience for sure. It's super hot in there, server said the AC can't keep up. We were dripping in sweat as we had dinner. Service is really bad. See my pics of staked plates, no refills unless you yell across the room for the server. The food... it was good!! My food that I got was really good... hot and fresh. More than I can say about most of the restaurants in Jacksonville. So go for the food not the service. Pre payment is required also... that's a little different but the other Chinese buffet in town does the same. read more

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When we walked in the restaurant nobody was upfront to seat us. We waited for someone to help us and people that worked there kept walking by ignoring us. We finally got seated and the waitress was good and very responsive, but that was the only thing about the restaurant that was good. When we got our drinks all our sodas were flat. I though it was mine so I checked my kids and there's were too. The food was not good. After my son not eating his food he tried to go with something safe like jello and there was a hair made into the jello. We made the waitress aware and she said she was going to tell the owner. The owner never came to talk to us. $40 wasted! Used to be a good restaurant, however would not recommend as of today. read more

Mai Tai - Hair in the jelli - Chinese Near Me - Jacksonville, North Carolina

I just got back from eating there. That is the worst Chinese buffet that I have ever ate at and I have ate at many Chinese buffets. That was a total waste of $18. That was my first time and last time I will ever go there. Now I'm just hoping I don't get the shits. The food had absolutely no flavor to it, the crab was cooked so long it was crispy and no meat in the shell. WTH read more

This place is a good Italian/Chinese/Japanese buffet! Sushi isn't bad especially for 10$ Would definetly try the meatballs, spicy wings and sweet and sour chicken! read more

Mai Tai - 火鉢 - Chinese Near Me - Jacksonville, North Carolina

Very good variety of food they have here. They have a buffet where there are many dishes, a Mongolian area and a sushi area. So whatever you are craving they have it. The chicken her is my favorite they gave 5 different types of chicken made all delicious. The sushi is also very good but they do not stock it very well and once it runs out they usually dont pay attention to restock it. The servers was very nice and attentive. read more

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Not bad for the money. Food was fresh and hot. They were not too busy, which was good for us.

Should be named might die! Sick, sick , sick Won't eat there if god told me too Hibachi taste like crap and the buffet food makes you and others I've known sick. No go to this place for sure. Plenty of other Chinese buffets and hibachi places in town choose one but not this one read more

The owner and staff have changed, so the taste of the food is different，The boss and staff have changed, so the taste of the food is different. The buffet food run by the previous Cantonese boss is delicious. read more

I'm writing this from my bed sick from food poisoning. This restaurant used to be good before Covid happened with the original owner. Since then the owner has passed away and it's new management and ownership. I was extremely disappointed with the change in food and as I was eating the oysters, I told my son "I hope I don't get food poisoning" and sure enough I did. I will never return again. The food does not look or taste good at all. Furthermore, as we were leaving they came outside to our car to asked us if we paid. My son had to go inside and speak to the gentleman that took his credit card to pay for the food. That's a first and that is very tacky. Again, never again will I return. My stomach is regretting it. read more

Ok so, I was looking forward to some delicious Chinese food we came to mai tai and were very disappointed. The food was a 6/10 do not recommend!! The service was okay. The overall vibe was a no but check out hibachi in Goldsboro, Nc. read more

Do not recommend Price was too high for lunch Most food items were cold Waitress took forever to bring us drinks Food was flavorless read more

Ignore the poor reviews!! Like with every buffet, it can have its off days. BUT... ...this place is awesome! The original Chinese restaurant and buffet in Jacksonville! They started in the 80s and still going strong for a reason! Their food selection isn't the largest but it's quality over quantity. What they cook, they cook WELL. My favorite is the twice cooked pork! They also have some American fare which is prepared well, including Salisbury steak, pork chops, and crispy fried gizzards!! On top of that, they have a great hibachi grill, and small but good sushi selection. And ice cream!!! (Also a salad bar, dessert section, alcohol, and a toy train that goes around the top of the room! What buffets can say that!!) The owner and staff are friendly and welcoming, and to top it off, the prices are unbeatable. If you can't stay for a good meal, quick take-out is available too. Just stuff your box with as much as you want and enjoy. Come to Mai Tai! read more

The food was alrightttt...but good overall. The waitress was very respectful and attentive.

The food industry (hospitality business in general) has been hit hard by the Covid 19 crisis. The niche of business was sick; he became dying. It is a fact and each of us may have to regret it. However, does this mean that the customer must systematically become the " dindon de la farce ", the fall guy? Having contributed to this industry for ten years, I do not believe it. A dinner at Buffet Mai Taï Jacksonville last night around 5:00pm, in a largely empty room turned into a total fiasco. Sparse food in the bins, of poor quality, bathed in fatty juices, since at least five hours (opening time of the place) all that for $33 for two people. The toilets will give their final verdict today on the freshness of the whole, but I am not hardly optimistic. The 92/100 in health rating does not bode well. So, certainly the Covid effect is obvious; certainly the competition in the catering sector in Jacksonville has become insane but above all the customers deserves respect and therefore at the very least a healthy and presentable food. That was not the case last night. I am very sorry. I wanted to inform all of us. A matter of respect and public health. read more

This is NOT Chinese food. Half the options are Americanized....chicken alfredo anyone?? Also, there is a reason there are more tables than booths. If you are a regular at this restaurant you will be unable to fit in a booth. If you know what I mean.... Will not be returning. read more

Food is poor quality. Tasteless. Poor service. Will never return. Hibachi tastes like food is cooked in dirty dish water. Bathrooms dirty. read more

Mai Tai - Chinese Near Me - Jacksonville, North Carolina

the smell was horrible, the food wasn't as good as it used to be, some food wasn't labeled so you didn't know what you were getting, the floor was nasty, and there was nothing but dead bugs on the window seals, with flies flying around, I will not be going back read more

I really wanted to love this place because one of our good family friends highly recommend this place. Came here one time and never again. I've had a lot of Chinese buffet food and I honestly am not picky even if I have an all time favorite. But I have to say, even the mediocre dishes from various places I've been has this place beat by a hundred miles. The food is somewhat decent but if I crave for Chinese, I'd rather go to Panda Express. read more