Food: 3.75 - 4.25. Came by for lunch on a Wed just before 12 noon. Place was mostly empty at the time but got busier as time passed. We were promptly greeted upon entering and directed to our requested booth. We chose their buffet which, at around 12 noon on a Wednesday, is $16.45 per person. There is no senior discount (at least not posted). Buffet is a nice size with a variety of common dishes like orange chicken, kung pao chicken, chow menu, sweet and sour pork, pot stickers, egg rolls, and mushroom chicken. My favorites were the tangerine beef and, orange chicken, and green beans. There was also a dessert section with soft serve and assorted cookies, cakes, and fruit. Staff was welcoming and friendly and bussed our table often. Ambiance is simple and fine. Their buffet is a great value and I'll definitely be back when I have a craving for Chinese food especially if ,I'm really hungry like this time. read more

See all

I came here for the lunch buffet recently and it was delicious! A coworker recommended it and we were easily able to get a table during the lunch hour on a Monday. The buffet was well stocked and had all of the Chinese staples people love. The orange chicken was so good. They had green beans cooked up in a super flavorful sauce that were also delicious. The egg rolls were great and they even have a selection of soups. The service was great and the buffet was only $15.95/person. read more

Ming Dynasty - Lunch buffet - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Unfortunately very disappointed in the buffet lunch today. The food was awful! I took my 85 year old grandma here and she says, "never bring me back" The fried foods were so greasy and the chicken and beef dishes were dry. Even the desserts was terrible! I'm sorry i usually don't give negative reviews but this place was a waste of money. read more

See all

We used to enjoy this restaurant, but our recent experience was disappointing. The pasta was undercooked, dry, and inedible. We contacted the restaurant, and they explained that this was how they served it. We had ordered the same (sea food with fried pasta )dish before, and it was nothing like this. Who can eat dry, uncooked pasta? We ordered three different dishes, almost $70 order (tax tip included), and all were unsatisfactory, with the same unpleasant taste. It was impossible to distinguish whether it was fish or chicken, as everything tasted the same. The owner refused to refund us for the dish. read more

Ming Dynasty - Uncooked dry pasta - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Service very good. Margo our server was so sweet and very attentive. Ambiance ok, could use updating, but it was clean. Buffet price not bad for Sunday. We ordered off the menu as we wanted a different selection. Egg foo young was not what we were used to. The egg was really flat & covered with a dark brown sauce with bits of carrots & peas. Just ok. The Mongolian beef was flavorful & covered in again a dark brown sauce. The chow mien had the same dark brown sauce. Every dish was covered in the same dark brown sauce. The wonton appetizers were good. We have eaten at Bay Area Chinese restaurants and so many other places, and each dish had its own distinct flavor. Sadly, Ming Dynasty needs to work on upping their sauces. read more

I love this place! Excellent Chinese food that doesn't leave you feeling horrible. The Tangerine beef is my Favorite. The service is nice and friendly. The dining room is spacious, could use a little update but it reminds me of the Chinese restaurant in my hometown we frequented. My favorite Chinese Spot in town. Seated our group of eight wonderfully read more

The food is top quality, fast, and affordable. The service is great. The Restuarant is tired and needs updating. The ownership has a great model and great employees, don't ruin it by not stepping up to give customers the "experience ". read more

food ...is good but the tables were really stinky i didnt knw if it was the table or the plastic tablecloth

Ming Dynasty is obviously better than V Star Buffet. Everyone that I had dealt with has been kind. The food was actually really decent. Everything was fresh and hot! I had the tangerine beef, beef and broccoli, walnut shrimp, orange chicken, cheese wontons and vegetable egg rolls. A little bit of chow mein and fried rice on the side. They cater to Americans of course, so it's not REAL Chinese food. The fried rice was literally just rice and soy sauce, not much flavor. They did have a variety of Chinese dishes so that was nice. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any Chinese desserts like sesame balls, egg tarts, or almond cookies. They were just the typical American desserts. Service was good. Everyone was attentive and checked in on us. Ambiance was...I don't know how to explain it. Typical buffet but kind of half ass American half ass Chinese with classical music of modern pop songs playing. It was weird. All in all it's a decent place to go when you want Chinese buffet. read more

The food was okay. The only thing that caused me disgust was the floor. VERY DIRTY. I saw it and I did not feel like eating anymore. You can't look at the floor or you will not want to eat anymore because of how DIRTY it is. I think they haven't cleaned it since they opened this place. Seriously very dirty floor. I would recommend not looking at the floor AT ALL if you are eating here because you WILL NOT enjoy your food!!! read more

Super yummy food! I don't go often because the dinner buffet is out of my budget usually, but the lunch buffet during the week was $16 so I was excited to go back! The food is great. The vibe inside is fine - nothing super special. The staff is fine too - they're really good about getting around a lot to refill drinks and clear plates ! read more

Ming Dynasty - My all you can eat plate! - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Limited menu Ambiance isn't much. Loved the big round table with the lazy Susan to pass things around. read more

Food is amazing and always fresh. I've been five times so far and never been disappointed. The service is great and they are always pleasant. The ambiance is nice and the music is soft and not over powering. Plenty of room and the booths are great! read more

I love this restaurant they have an amazing buffet, the food is great. the only issue is that when it gets a bit busy it takes too long for the empty trays to be refilled. But if you go early there's no problems. We havent ordered off the menu yet but plan to on our next order. the only issue is most Chinese restaurants give you a pot of tea on the table at no charge. Here you have to order it and the charge $2. for it not a big issue but... They also offer a lunch buffet which we also have not tried. The workers are friendly and efficient. try the tangerine beef its wonderful! overall 4.5 stars read more

I can't specify how many times our family has eaten here since the 80's, but we've enjoyed many meals and rarely had a complaint until tonight. We decided to mix it up for Christmas Eve and ordered a bunch of items for pickup. Many family members are in town and we were excited for a bit of nostalgia and not having to cook. They were supposedly busy and said 90 minutes, hey, no big deal. It's a busy night. We cruised over just after 7 to pickup dinner for the whole family and after some confusion learned they forgot to make our order. So now it's 7:30 on Christmas Eve, the kitchen is closed and we have to figure out what to feed everyone. The most aggravating part is there were only 3 tables seated. They were not busy at I went from planning on leaving a huge tip for the workers on Christmas night to deciding never to come here again. read more

Everything looked OK until I found rat poo in my rice. I feel like throwing up. On pushing on it, it smeared like poo. My worst nightmare.

Love Ming Dynasty! Grew up in this area and ate there often. Back in town and got all the faves for a take away dinner. Did not disappoint!

Just ordered delivery, which included fried rice. What we got was steamed rice drenched in soy sauce. Not fried, no vegetables, no eggs. Very lazy! Egg drop soup was good. Beef with broccoli, the beef was tough, broccoli barely cooked, mostly raw. Sweet & sour pork average, pork was tough. Egg rolls were okay. It's been years since we've eaten here, and it will be years before we re-order. For reference: order #321a7c31 on 06.02.23. read more

Buffet not bad at all but service is unacceptable. The host who wear the tablet is very nice. Other than that, very disappointed. There is a Hispanic young waitress have no smile with little attitudes on her face, never come back to check on our table, no water refill. We want to order a beer and a soft drink today but she never comes back same as last time. We just saw her twice only. First she took us to the seat and secondly she gave us the bill act like want us out of there. We don't know why we still gave her 18% tips last time but this time we leave nothing to her. She did good service to other tables which were the Hispanic customers. She was so nice to them. First I thought she is mute but I find out she is so talkative in Spanish. Does she recognize she is working at the Chinese restaurant? If she does not like Asian, then don't work there. I do not believe this kind of things "Racist" happen in the Chinese restaurant to the Chinese customers. I hope the restaurant owner notice about her behavior. We are not sure we want to go back?!!!! Twice happened! read more

Place is very good again. Food is freshly made and delicious. Naturally the prices are higher because of the current President.

Came here with my supervisor for lunch on a workday. This restaurant is clean, ladies working here are very friendly and efficient. They offer an all you can eat lunch buffet for $11. You get a choice of hot&sour or wonton soup and unlimited food from the buffet + hot tea. The food is pretty good. It may not be the best Chinese I've ever had but it's good and not too greasy. There are maybe about 15 things to choose from which is plenty for me. Did not see too many vegetarian options. Lastly, good place to eat if you are in a pinch because you get seated right away and check out is a breeze too. Definitely not a bad place for a sit-down casual lunch if you work nearby. read more

Ming Dynasty - Hot and sour soup - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

I always love coming here with my family. Great environment and always great food. Service is friendly and always willing to help out

I come for lunch and order off menu. Reasonable prices and fast service. What amazes me the amount of people that come to the buffet place is always packed, customers seem to enjoy the food read more

Been going here for years. We used to take our children here and now they are all grown. I love the lunch buffet. The green beans are crispy but sinful. My go to has always been the tangerine beef (may be called something else on the buffet. The last couple times it's been tough. But when we have called and ordered it ala cart to go it's much better (and more expensive) I always try to support our local businesses over chain restaurants. read more

Ming Dynasty - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

Been eating here since young, food is so delicious and staff have been friendly! The tangerine beef is amazing!

We had the buffet. The food is a step down from Panda Express, which in my opinion is bad. The floors were dirty, the booth cushion had seen better days, I felt like I was sitting on the floor, which was dirty. The table itself was sticky. We obviously won't be going back. read more

I have been going to the Ming Dynasty Restaurant for 22 years now. I used to live in the LA area and while there were a plethora of Chinese Restaurants they were pretty mundane. I was only able to find 2 really good ones. The Ming Dynasty and its staff are second to none and the same is true of the food. I used to go to Santa Maria weekly and I always looked forward to going there for lunch or supper with friends. Now I only go there to see my doctor at the VA Clinic as I am a Vietnam Vet. But since the pandemic I haven't been there since its start. Tonight I missed it so much that I drove the 30 miles over there and back from Lompoc just to get the takeout. That's how good they are. Everything was ready when I got there and I have just finished eating the food I bought. It was as excellent now as it was when I first went there. I am pretty sure I will make the trip over there again next week as well! They are now open to dine in with limited seating. I just may take a friend and go there real soon! read more

Eaten here many times, but it is changing. There is no more lunch menu on weekends. It seems it is all about the money. Went for lunch on a Saturday and had to order a dinner entree. Water was served in a styrofoam cup and was given a plastic fork for a utensil when I was eating there. Ordered cashew chicken and there was basically no sauce. When you added the rice, it was therefore dry. Asked for more sauce, which they brought a small soup bowl so they could charge an additional $2. Worst cashew chicken I have ever had read more

Ming Dynasty is fairly popular and I would presume that is because of the buffet. I drop in for the buffet from time to time and it can be quite poppin' at times. The service is wonderful, the people who work here are very kind. The staff knows its client base well, that is part of the success here. The food however is nothing special but it does get the job done. It's a buffet place mainly so the food is somewhat substandard if you're comparing to a la carte. You get soup which is typically hit or miss. The buffet food is sometimes out for way too long, but if you time everything well the fresh stuff is delicious. Great for lunch. read more

This is by far the best Chinese food on the planet. I've been coming here since I was 8 years old. I don't live in Santa Maria anymore but I have sweet dreams of this place. God Bless you Mind Dynasty I will soon return! read more

Throughout these trying times Ming Dynasty has been open and providing their fantastic food. I'm grateful to them for sticking with it and as always the food is great whether it is at the restaurant or at home. Thank you! read more

Came here not by choice but for a family gathering and hoped for the best. Maybe I am just spoiled living in the San Fran Bay Area where there are so many great restaurants especially Chinese ones. In any case the food was as expected getting Chinese in a non Chinese area, average at best. I opted for the buffet because there is always something decent to sample and to be fair I did leave satisfied but the quality wasnt that good and nowhere near what I am used to even for a buffet. The service was fine no issues getting refills of tea. They dont have a bar and the beer menu is very limited so unfortunately no libations which would have helped. They need to clean up the mens bathroom it was nasty. A fresh coat of paint would do wonders. read more

I give Ming Dynasty Four Stars based solely on the fact that, having come here for the past 15 or the 25 years they have been open, I have only ordered the buffet. One day I will order off of the menu and perhaps add the 5th star. The Tangerine Beef is second to none! Everything on the buffet is hot and fresh. There is a generous assortment of items too! At night they even have crab legs! The prices are very reasonable too! All you can eat for $10.95 at lunch and $14.95 at dinner. Children pay based on their age. You definitely get your money's worth here and the food is delicious too! Oh, and the same servers have been here for years and they are very friendly and accommodating! Ming Dynasty is especially good when one is in a hurry because the buffet is always hot and stocked with all the goodies Thank you Ming Dynasty for 15 years of great service! read more

Ming Dynasty - A satisfied 4 year old and that's saying a lot!! - Chinese Near Me - Santa Maria, California

$14.15 for one person for lunch? Buffet is not Vegas quality This only with water n tea Unless they lower this under $10 I won't be ba 2-26-18 I decided to give this another chance and another $15 for over cooked bland buffet Why? Why? Did I bother again My fault for returning read more

I have been to Ming Dynasty and I can tell you now that it serves very delicious Chinese cuisine. I should know because I am quarter Chinese from my mother's side. My mother is half Chinese, and passed the traditional food recipes for Chinese dishes onto me. I am blessed the food here tastes just like her cooking. The chow mein is soft in texture while the orange chicken is sort of crispy but savoury. The beef and broc is stupid good. Every hand slice beef blends perfectly with slightly crunchy, but absolutely healthy broccoli. The restraunt also gives you an option of eating at their delicious and alluring buffet with even more marvelous dishes. After a hefty meal, you can serve yourself desert, whether it be the amazing fortune cookie, sweet bread, or even icy and soft ice cream. It's lunch time, and you're hungry. Ming Dynasty will fulfill your hunger. Go there now and stuff yourself with delicious Chinese food! If you're really hungry, enjoy the buffet; it has a wonderful selection to choose from as well as a noodle bar. If you're thirsty, you may have tea that is included with the buffet, or order water, any kind of soft drink, or even bubbled tea! read more

The dinner buffet is $16.50. I tried it tonight. Pretty decent. The broccoli chicken was really tasty; the sauce was awesome. Chow mein was good, as was the sweet and sour chicken. Hot and sour soup was pretty ok. Now that I think about it, I tried many things and not one was bad. The soft serve ice cream was a nice little dessert to finish. Staff were nice, welcomed me as soon as I walked in and checked in with me every so often as well as answered questions at the buffet that they were repleneshing. Bathroom was clean and stocked. Restaurant windows had steamed up and that showed how filthy they were. Parking was basically non-existant owing to all the members of the nearby gym taking every space. Overall, pretty decent; I will be returning to enjoy some more! read more

Food: I'm happy to report the Kung Pao tofu is vegan friendly (I didn't see it on the menu online, but it was an option). The tofu was soft and had a weird mouthfeel, but the sauce was yummy and it was served with more than enough white rice. My fiancé thought the buffet was good, and worth it if you enjoy Americanized Chinese food. Happy to report they sell beer and house wines! Stick to beer, though. The house red was wine-water. Ambiance: Dinner service had super bright lights and family-friendly tables. A little too family-friendly, maybe? It's like an older, Asian-themed Denny's with nicer furniture. Service: Extremely friendly and helpful. Overall, three stars. I think the food is almost 4-star quality, but the ambiance is a total distraction. read more

The buffet is below average. Some of the food is lukewarm. The friendly waiter was the only good thing about this place. My boyfriend and I have never been rushed out of a restaurant before. A woman, who I think was the owner, rushed us out. She came to our table and said "You done?" But it was more so a demand than a question because she brought us the check right after that and were still eating and about to go get another plate. We had no reason to be rushed out so fast, we had finished all our prior plates and business was slow. Basically, don't come here if you like to eat a lot, don't want to be rushed, and want to pay $15 for low quality food. read more

I saw the reviews on yelp for Ming Dynasty so we figured it was worth a try. I'm so glad we did! The Tangerine Beef was amazing! Egg rolls and bbq pork fried rice also phenomenal! Definitely a once a week destination for us all the way from Pismo! read more

We recently had dinner at Ming dynasty. Always really liked the food. Always clean and friendly service but the last time we were there it seemed that the food was warm and not hot like it should be. Don't know if we would go back. read more