It's not good food but honestly it's hard to beat for the price. I believe it's £10.50 for dinner now (cash only) but for all you can eat it's a pretty good value. I've been a couple of times now and I don't believe they change the selection up, so if you go and don't like the choices I wouldn't recommend trying again. They have decent options including a little salad bar, some fried food (I would skip this section), noodles, Chinese entrees, and a dessert buffet with an ice cream machine. Nothing was exceptional, but I loaded up a plate with noodles and some chicken and lamb dishes and it was decent, again keeping price in mind. The dessert is underwhelming but the ice cream machine is fun and the banana fritters are delicious. No service per se because it's all serve yourself, although the staff have been nice enough when I've come in. Maybe would return. read more

There's something so damn fabulous about a buffet of any kind - I think it must remind me of family holidays as a child, where there was ALWAYS a buffet at the resort/hotel we were staying at, and we're annoy Mum no end by selecting copious amounts of food we would never eat. So imagine my delight when a friend suggested we head down to Max Orient for lunch. And lunch we did. With a myriad of food options, we settled in for a l-o-n-g lunch. Sure, food here is not going to win any Michelin Stars, but it's good, dirty Chinese food. You know, dirty in a good way. Super tasty appertizers, a great range of mains, noodles and rice. And did I mention the Dessert Buffet? Heaven. Hint 1: go easy on the rice. It wastes precious stomach space that could be filled with a spring roll or sweet and sour chicken ball. Hint 2: Allow yourself plenty of time if value-for-money is a priority. read more

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There are tonnes of Chinese buffets in London intent on making a quick buck for crappy, unsatisfying food. Max Orient hasn't been around for years and compared to the rest is relatively new on the block but it definitely delivers a better standard of food compared to the rest. The buffet on offer here has a much more variety than the rest I've experienced. The only problem I faced, I must mention, is that I found there was a lack of veggie stuff / seafood stuff. I'm a pescatarian and at least expected more in the way of non-meat dishes. Other than this though, what I did eat, I really enjoyed. As well as mains, there is an array of traditional Chinese desserts too. I really enjoyed the desserts. The whole experience was pretty pleasant with the staff being really friendly and the fact that I stuffed my face for under a tenner - not bad. read more

Max Orient - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

I truly adore a chinese buffet. I see these kind of places as a competition, with the winner being able to screw the company out of as much money as possible. I'm sure that the food that they buy in bulk and then sold as an individual unit makes them a 400% profit margin so I'm sure I'm not doing alot of damage at all.. but that never stops me trying. A running theme through these buffet places is a lack of free tap water, which is something I always find a little bit annoying.. but the food choice was immense, with little bits from various cuisines available to eat. The only problem for me is being able to eat a bit of everything, because I sit here right now thinking of the prawn toast and the beef and the chicken balls.. and my mouth salivates. The staff are very friendly and the coup de grace is the dessert buffet as well! The meals are much more expensive in the evening then at lunch, and in the evening you get to use a fondue fountain for a dessert... pretty classy. The music is really good (think old English classics) and the layout excellent. A great place. read more

Max Orient - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

They do hurry you s bit and keep taking the plates £7.80p for a adult Drinks are extra read more

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If you are going to let me turn animal in a Chinese buffet for £6.80 with over 60 different dishes, I am going to make myself ill. And that is exactly what I did. I ate way to much. I felt fat, bloated and had to waddle home. I was impressed by the quality of the food, and there was plenty of options including choices for vegetarians. The desserts were a little strange, and seemed a bit of an afterthought even though the choice for a sweet was still good. There were no hidden costs and the service was attentive. This is no Michelin star eatery but for the lunch time price of £6.80, Max Orient is a winner. read more

I'm not sure where Leon is getting this "over 60 different dishes" figure from. Someone don't hire him as a statistician.. or maybe that's the precise reason to hire him. Anyway, my friend said that any Chinese buffet that serves fries (chips) isn't a real Chinese buffet. This place serves them on the first row. The food here is average. It's not great, but I suppose that's ok for the price. There's a chocolate fountain, which was the main attraction for my many compatriots. We went there in a huge group (5000 people by Leon's math) without a reservation. The staff were somewhat unhappy with it, but it worked out, more or less. By less, I mean we had to split up into 2 groups (4999 and 1). read more

Cheap chinese restaurant in Camden, with all you can eat formula. Good service but quality is not one of their strenghts read more

You really have to know what you're in for. Are you looking for good service, friendly staff and high quality food? Please avoid this place, it isn't for you. If you're looking for a cheap deal, large portions and decent food, this place IS definitely for you! This buffet style restaurant offers as much food as you can eat in an hour and a half for 7.80 (8.80 on weekends and holidays). The chinese food selection includes a variety of soups, rice and noodle dishes, meats, seafood, tofu, vegetables, a salad bar, a pudding table and even a soft serve machine! For the money it's a really good deal, you can go back to the buffet as often as you like. Can't ask for a better deal than that! However, don't expect to find gourmet food at this place, it's really not. The food is good an tasty, but definitely not of high quality. read more

I've been to Max Orient before and it seems that the place has lost it's charm and food quality. The food was not good at all - the rice was very hard as if it had been left out for a few days and the meat dishes did not taste nice at all. Nothing tasted fresh and I was deeply disappointed. The service charge is one that has always angered me as the service in this restaurant is just non existant. Lets put it this way - I had already start eating my food before my drink arrived (which was just a Coke!) Also, if you have any questions about anything do not ask the staff as they cannot understand English very well - which is quite annoying. I won't be going back to Max Orient unfortunately and would rather eat Chinese food from food court in the market. read more

So, it's Monday night and I'm writing this review. On Saturday 6 of us went to Camden on a bit of a jolly for someone's birthday. After an amazing lunch at Haché Burger we proceeded to have a few more drinks. The girls of the group actually drank enough to choose to eat at this place. Now please remember, it is now Monday evening. All 6 of our party have really bad sickness and diarrhoea. There is no doubt in my mind that this awful place made us all INCREDIBLY ILL as this is the only place we've all eaten at together in the last few days. Avoid this like the plague, I have been so so ill and feel like I've had my stomach kicked in by Wayne Rooney with the same power as that goal he scored on Saturday. Unfortunately Yelp will not let me save this review without a star. read more

Buffet as good as Warren. Pretty decent diversity of standard Chinese dishes. We have to put up with Camden if you want to sample the delights. But there we go, that's life. Basically, they're cooking ready-made food with decent sauces, prepped in bulk to cut-down any costs. But they're tasty and I think I spotted a 'no MSGs' sign outside, nice. Hey, it's not going to win any Chinese restaurant prizes, what did you expect from one of the grottiest street corners in the whole of London. But if you want filling in a cheap and fun way, bring friends and eat here! read more

Oh, this is a little piece of the Southern States in the heart of Camden.. Believe me, my family knows buffets being from the wilds of Kentucky (I was raised by wolves...or a version of the Hogans. true story.) THis one is pretty average but A-MAI-ZING when drunk. My favourite was the lemon chicken with fried rice...MSG'ed! There is quite a selection though, including a decent selection of veggie dishes. The desserts were cute and served in adorable chalise-type things. All about buffet presentation :) The food wasn't the most amazing I've ever had but I suppose you get quantity over quality in this instance. It did take a bit for them to bring us our drinks, despite not being busy on a Sunday afternoon. I stuffed myself to the gills for a cheapish price (to be fair...I didn't pay...I think it was more expensive on Sunday though, word to the wise.) i think I would go back, but only if Belgo was closed and I was starving...it comes in ahead of KFC at any rate! read more

Do NOT eat here unless you're broke and/or desperate for some quick eats. After a long day of sight seeing, my boyfriend and I were starving and walked by. Seeing the hot food in the windows drew us in. The place was packed on a Saturday night! After waiting about 10 minutes for a table we finally got seated and went right up to the buffet line. The options looked good and well labeled but eating it is another story! Everything pretty much had the same flavor and I really wasn't tempted to go up for a second plate especially since they warn you of a £5 fee if you "waste" any food. What I put on my first plate, I thought I would enjoy but when I didn't like it I felt forced to eat it all in order to avoid the fee! Long story short, don't fall into this trap! I'm ever so sorry I did :/ read more

This is a fun, cheap and cheerful all-you-can-eat Oriental place on Camden High Street with a simply staggering amount of choice for both meat-eaters and vegetarians. The Thai curries and Chinese-style meat dishes were really very good, as were old favourites such as crispy aromatic duck. Unlimited refills of green tea were a big hit with our table, and I can only say that we were very upset to be missing out on the gigantic chocolate fondue - a treat served at dinnertime only, unfortunately! It amazes me that they were able to offer so much food for such a small price, and I will certainly be heading back here as soon as I can. The restaurant is very large and, since we were with friends who have a new baby, we chose it for its child-friendly credentials. They also do take-away here, although I would prefer to sit in and gourge myself on all the goodies! The management's promise of absolutely no Monosodium glutamate (MSG/E621) was also good to see, something I would like other Chinese restaurants to mimic. read more

I don't know what has happened to Max Orient over the last few years. It used to be a great place to go for meal as the price for the buffet was good and the food was excellent. However, I visited this place about two years ago and my partner and I ended up with a bad case of food poisoning. We went back to Max Orient recently on the assumption that things may have improved because it always used to be a really good place to go to. However, it is still awful. The prices are still great but the food is terrible! It reminds me of the frozen Chinese meals that you can get from Iceland, but worse! It was tasteless and horrible! We went out in the evening with friends and we both spent most of the night feeling ill, running back and forth from the toilet. I strongly advice that you do not go here. I'm hoping that the manager makes changes and that it can go back to the excellent Chinese buffet that it used to be. read more

This place is so lovely ! The food is amazing and there is so much to chose from place was clean and there was a lovely water fall thing behind us as we was eating ! There is so much variety to choose from soups, currys, sea food , rice deserts sauces ! Even a ice cream machine ! The food is so yummy ! Only problem was some of the staff seemed a bit rude and miserable and it did worry us that the sign said we would be charged for wasting food , luckily it was fine ! Will definitely go back read more

Max Orient - Desert buffet !!! :D X - Chinese Near Me - London, XGL

I've been rushed out about 5-10 min before my time limit finished. Terrible and poor attitude to customers Never coming back again ! read more

Fill your dish with MSG-free Chinese cuisine, okay perhaps not cuisine, Max Orient is just cheap food. The all-you-can-eat buffet was pretty average but attached to a £7.20 price tag (from Monday-Thursday,) it can't be beat. The steam-trays host the average menu medley like Hong Kong style sweet and sour chicken and spare ribs, you can fill in the rest. The pineapple rice and the hidden lemon chicken were pretty tasty. The feature extraordinaire is of course the massive chocolate fountain. While it's a no-cone zone, the fresh fruit dipping was decadent. read more

Max Orient is an all you can eat chinese buffet with plenty of dishes to choose from. Although it's not always the best quality some of it can be quite tasty. Good if you want something cheap and filling after a few beers in Camden. read more

While walking round the area we were hungry and finding it hard to find something that suited both mine and my boyfriends food requirements. Well mine really as I am a fussy vegetarian. We both love Chinese food so gave this buffet a go. My boyfriend doesn't like buffet's but we both loved this place. I was happy with the vegetarian options, which I can't remember right now as it was a while ago. But anyway the food was good and we both left happy with our tummy's full of decent food. read more

Most horrible I ever went. Food was disgusting, even fried rice which was at least two days old...Awful place, ate nothing and I'm a big fan of chinese buffet...to not ever speak about the staff who is more than rude...avoid read more

The staff are rude and act like they don't care at all about what's going on - wouldn't even give us tap water without complaining and charging us. The food is very average - 'NO LOVE' food. It's just chucked on in bulk and tastes like it's been heated in a microwave prior to display. There is a salad bar but it looks like nothing has been touched there in a few weeks, definitely stay away from that zone. They proudly advertise "with MSG" which seemed a little concerning. They seem very uptight and strict about things like no wastage - something which is advertised in bold block capitals all over the restaurant. There are a bunch of Chinese buffet places in London so I would 100% stay away from here. read more

Went there today for the second time and have to say very good.Nice choices of food rice,pork balls,chips etc etc and for £7.80 you cant go wrong,only gripe I have is the staff are to quick to take away the plates as others said,that apart it gets 8/10 from me for everything from me and others who complain are obviously used to eating in 5 star places unlike us poor pesants,one of the better Chinese buffets out there for me. read more

Good restaurant to have the Chinese buffet at that area. Great foods and service is quick but the staffs are friendly. Price is reasonable for a meal in that area in London. Just good good! read more

THE WORST SERVICE OF MY LIFE. In fact, the WORST RESTAURANT EVER!!!! Never before have a I encountered such unacceptable service. I walked up kindly to one of the waiters asking if the manager was around, as I wanted to give some feedback of the restaurant. I don't normally do this, but I found it unacceptable that the waiters were pushing and trying to get all the diners food for their dinner. They grabbed plates and plates of food and did not line up at all, and never politely excused themselves. Then they brought their feast over to the biggest sofa chairs to dine, while there were not much food left in the buffet. I just wanted to let management know that it would be better if they didn't allow waiters to do that, or at least not so obviously, and at a prime dinner time. What I received were replies in broken English with Chinese accents, "manager is not here talk to me."... Ok so I did, and they all replied saying "well we all share food here, if you don't like it, next time don't come." With the most annoying facial expressions, like I was not their customer. Food was completely average, nothing special, not many options at all. The service there was unimaginably unacceptable. There are no words to describe my experience with them. Not a single one of these Chinese waiters/waitresses apologized. If only they said, I am sorry, that would have solved everything. Completely APPALLING!!!! read more

Forgot to add (the food poisoning was main memory of this place)... they let a couple change a baby ON THE TABLE! As in on the table where you eat. None of the staff batted an eyelid or even said anything. In hindsight, not that surprised I got food poisoning at this place! read more

A good place to go when you're hungry. Not very big, but I still couldn't manage to taste half of it before I was full, so I would say it is very good for the price. You only get 1 hour and 30 minutes to eat, which was alright. I didn't stress and I took 1 hour so I would say it was plenty, but still weird to have time limit. Coke somewhat pricy, but I guess it makes up for the cheap price for a person. Can't really complain about the service, because you serve yourself. I would definitely come back here because it is so cheap. read more

I was there with my girlfriend for my birthday and one hour after having food my tummy was very bad and I was poisoned. As I can see from other comments a lot of customers are poisoned there. I'm so disappointed! read more

If only I could give it less than 1 star: This place is awful any review that says it is good seems to be quite old. They no longer boost no MSG in their food in fact the menu now says eat tasty food with MSG (they have crossed out the no). The selection was terrible and the quality worse and all this for £8.80 that is a shocking price even for camden. There is also a £5 food wastage charge and a £4.50 dogey bag charge. The service is rubbish and the longer you stay in this place the more annoyed you feel for the price you have to pay for such an awful lunch. Don't go there unless you're looking for a crap meal. read more

I ve been comming to this buffet for almost 5 years ( lest 2or 3 times per month), I ve seen all the changes( it was better when cost was about 12.00 pp...had really good gourmet food!!!!), I was there yesturday on sunday and that was it for me!!!!! That was last time ! I came in around 7ish paid higher price ( cos of serving prawns) but 15 min later there wasnt no prawns, no mussels....veggies looked like cat just vomited ! I ordered glass of wine, waited n waited n waited... So I will never poot my food in this place, again! Shame on ! read more

To be honest if their was a number below 0 then i would rate it at this. I was disgusted with the service provided. I went into the resturant to see my friends and the lady was rude. When i sat next to my friends i asked for a green tea and i was informed that i needed to pay straight away even though it is a resturant!! on observation i then noticed that other people had paid after.When questioning the customers they told me that they were paying after and that we dont have to pay straight away .I realised then that they were a bunch of racists!!!! as my friends and i are black. On discussion with the waitress i asked her why we had to pay straight away she replied ' they only take payment afterwards only from groups. Whereas if we are paying individually then we have to pay straight away. To me this did not make sense first of all we were not given an option of how we would like to pay, and secondly it would of been easier to all pay at the end. If this was a place like nandos then fine where it is all consistent, however how can you have different ways to pay in a sit down resturant? when its not a takeaway this is discrimination. This resturant does not even deserve a page on google. The way we got treated was like we should be in the zoo! read more