I have been to some pretty bad Chinese buffets in my time but this is by far the worst buffet I have ever been to. I am going to start and date every detail I saw. First when you see the sign it looks run down, you walk in and they have something that looks like a waterfall but it does not work. They have 4 buffet lines, a sushi line and a hamachi line. This place is dirty and the food is just like the feel bad! I tried several different dishes but who knows exactly what they were because not everything was labeled. I know I tried the general tso chicken, lo mein, chicken on a stick, mushrooms, sweet and sour chicken and egg rolls. Some of the dishes had been sitting out for a while and were just bad. I am not someone to complain but this was just gross! The place is bad all around. They have a carving station but you serve it yourself. If you like fried sea food this is the place to go. For the dinner buffet it was $11.70! Way over priced for the quality and the chance to get sick! I will never go back!!! read more

Doesn't look like much from the outside but when you walk inside the place is pretty big. They had a good variety of buffet food that was replaced often as it was very busy. The sushi was very good. The servers were kind of impersonal and my drink went empty often. The food didn't give me a stomachache which is common with me for buffets. I recommend this buffet read more

The price is cheap and the food is reasonably good. But the environment is not very clean and it's a little bit noisy during dinner time.

I expected more and got less. Most larger buffets now have pretty good sushi but Ocean doesn't. I was totally bummed. I take pride in seeking out cheap sushi to quench my raw fish desires. Ocean buffet had zero raw tuna or salmon in any way, shape or form. It was fake crab and other junk food that cannot be considered real sushi. As to the rest of the food offerings, it was typical low brow "chinese" american food as well. Almost sub par. The owners should take a trip to SE FLA and visit the chinese buffets there to get a glimpse of the new chinese american buffet. read more

For what it's worth, Chinese buffets are always hard to come by. The Ocean Buffet is nice, great selection and hot food. I have not encountered any issues here and hopefully never will. The location is right in the Oaks Mall Plaza and has a lot of parking. read more

Typical buffet food. Decent freshness and always kept full. What really disgusted me was the employee that went into the restroom, using the stall next to me. She did not wash her hands as she left and continued her work duties. That is a Stat. E-11 violation with the health department as far as I'm aware.. Disgusting and unacceptable. read more

This buffet was so good it was genuinely fresh. And the sushi stood out too me it had a lot of hibachi food. The noodles were perfectly cooked and the clams were to die for. Ocean buffet overall fulfilled me, and I will be coming here again next time I visit. read more

Ocean buffet is the best Chinese buffet in town. There's currently only one or two other buffets in town, so the bar isn't that high. The sushi is pretty decent and I get a plate of it every time I go. The Chinese food itself is your typical takeout style food, also pretty decent. The lunch pricing is great so I highly recommend going around lunch time if you can. The dinner price is a bit more expensive but the dinner buffet has coconut shrimp which is one of Ocean Buffet's best dishes. They have a pretty high quality hibachi line, which I always recommend for custom fresh food! Overall I do enjoy my visits to Ocean Buffet and recommend going there to anyone looking for a Chinese buffet in Gainesville! read more

I visited here with a party of 12 (all family) for dinner. For $12, it's not a bad price for a Chinese buffet. They have what you could expect at standard Chinese buffets which is fine. They do have sushi and hibachi available which was really nice. For the sushi, you should try and get it while it's freshly made rather than the last few pieces because you do not know how long it's been there. However, the ones I did get to try were quite flavor full and they did have my favorite, eel! I didn't get to try the hibachi but the ingredients were various and you can choose from different sauces that they cook it in. I'm not sure if it is dinner only, but they had boiled crab legs for $5 more, so you can all-you-can-eat crab legs for $17! I found the rest of the food good and I definitely full and satisfied. I particularly enjoyed the coconut shrimp and my cousin absolutely loved their jalapeno clams. They also have cooked and raw oysters! I wanted some raw but they were always taken by someone else! The desserts were o.k.. They had green tea ice cream which made me excited, but the flavor was so minuscule that I didn't even finish a scoop out of sheer disappointment. The fresh fruits were good, but I avoided the ones that looked like they were canned. Best dessert in my opinion were the Chinese doughnuts! (I just call them Asian doughnuts because pretty much every Asian country has doughnuts like this. I'm Asian so I'm not being racist lol). Anyways! It's fried dough with a sugar topping! I'd suggest putting your favorite ice cream flavor on top of it and go to town with that baby! The atmosphere doesn't really matter much in my opinion. It's clean and they have a friendly staff who are willing to help customers. Nothing special but they're clean which is the main thing I can ask from a restaurant. Overall, for $12 dinner buffet, it's not bad. Have I had better for even cheaper? Yes. But, there's not too much choices in Gainesville for Chinese buffets. I'll come again when I have a large party in the mood for a buffet, but not really come again on my own. However, you will leave full or you didn't eat enough! Happy feastings! read more

Okay so I went back and the place is a lot cleaner and sanitation was very high on their list of priorities. They had a nice assortment of a Mongolian Grill and various other products. I guess I'm not a buffet kind of person is really not a lot of variety while looks like a lot of different options there sushi rolls were just rice and some California rolls. They had a lot of Americanized food a overcooked steak that you had to slice yourself. It's just okay but I've been too much better but face but for 1199 for dinner it's not a bad deal but not one that I would come back for anytime soon. They did have raw on the half shell which I was really surprised to see. I think between the oysters steamed clams in the steam mussels and the swimming crabs I did a pretty good job. read more

We love this place. Wanted to take daughter for her birthday her fave restaurant. As of Sept 16th 2020 it is not open, we were trying to a review to help is out on that because everything says they are open. And calling doesn't get am answer. Understand but would really help so I'm putting it this read more

Ocean buffet is a pretty descent buffet. Most people go thereto eat all you can eat B grade sushi; however their other stuff is pretty descent. I like the egg drop soup, chicken and broccoli, and mushrooms. The desserts is your typical buffet selection read more

Ocean Buffet - A lot of stuff on one plate lol - Chinese Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

horrible customer service the food was unseasoned and gross the waitress tried to snatch money from my hands as i was putting it away and the place is not clean do not recommend don't waste your money or time. read more

This is an excellent buffet with a friendly wait staff. Very clean, everything tasted great. Food was hot when it should have been and there was plenty of food out unlike some buffets. The vegetables and this baked fish were among the best items I tried aside from their delicious spring rolls. This place is a much better value than good fortune buffet, that's for sure. read more

Buffet hot fresh and full of so many amazing seafood options. Frog legs, blue crab, mussels, clams,sushi rolls and so much more read more

Ocean Buffet - AMAZING!! Monday night; blue crab, salmon, frog legs, shrimp cooked to perfection and more!! Buffet full and hot. Beyond perfect! - Chinese Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Honestly I've never been more embarrassed in my life. These people don't do a lot other then pick up plates and throw you drinks. Upon my first few times, I loved it but my third I had brought two friends. Our help was horrible so I had not tipped on my check which I always do. The lady came back, threw me my check and said I forgot the tip. read more

Ok heard a few good things about this place. Food was luke warm at best no taste over breaded. It really wasnt good at all. Peel and eat shrimp was overcooked, oysters were small and not worth anything, i love chinese food and this was horrible. The worst part was the bathroom emergency i had about 10 minutes after leaving. Avoid read more

Update: since visiting all the Asian buffets in Gainesville, I've dubbed Ocean as the best one in Gainesville from the categories of freshness, cleanness, assortment wise, and atmospheric environment. The location is also ideal as it is surrounded with other local shops and business to visit before and or after consuming at Ocean. Just like any other chinese buffet you would go to. Myself and another went got there around 8:00 pm and they pretty much slowed down in refilling the food items to a crawl, especially the oysters. When I got there were only 2 shells left on the ice tray and it looked like someone took the oysters and left the shells. The waitresses began cleaning shop around 8:30 pm well at least you know they're pretty clean. At about 45 mins into my meal the waitress automatically came over with my check..... overall it was an ok experience minus the screaming kid that needed a spanking. read more

Go here all the time everything is delicious, I especially love the fried sushi, i get it every time they have such great options, and a big variety of things to chose from. Definitely enjoy coming here. read more

Where I'm from, buffets are a dime a dozen (Chinese, especially).. so I was super happy when Gainesville actually got this buffet. Now, it's not OUTSTANDING or anything when it comes to just the food. I mean, it's Chinese food.. buffet style. You can't really make that super awesome (unless you go during a really busy time when you are more than likely to get fresh food because they're having to replace it so fast.) BUT. BUT. If you want some GREAT sushi that is an AMAZING price.. go here. I can not rave about the sushi enough. As for the people who are worried about sanitation.. that's at any restaurant. Really, if your meal is cooked behind doors, are you sure that it's even safe? I will say this: the waitresses/waiters will try and move you along after 30 mins. If you're like me and a slow grazer, you will start to notice. I don't blame them (you can't) because the tables are worth money if they're empty.. but it does become noticeable after a while. read more

Wow, the lunch special is pretty good. For the price of a midtown sandwich in New York, you can have all you can eat foods of all kinds. In addition, there are coupons online that you can check out for seniors and if you get the buffet + drink. The variety is pretty good. You can choose from sushi, asian food (sweet and sour chicken, fried fish, broccoli and tofu, etc), american food (roast beef (but you have to cut it yourself), spinach pie, french fries, etc), and a noodle stir-fry station. I also appreciate how the tea is free. I would have given it 4 stars for the value, but the waitress presumptuously charged us for three adults, even though it was clear that we had two seniors in our party. Also, the green tea ice cream is a bit artificial tasting. read more

It's a damn good Chinese buffet. From sushi to chicken wings, there's something for everyone here. My daughter loves it and it's a nice place to go with my mom. Price point ain't bad and at lunch it's even better. They also have a grill that you can bring up your raw ingredients to. They have a few spicy foods for those that want them and plenty of options for the less adventurous. Love this place. read more

This is a typical Chinese buffet to me. My daughter loves it. They have sushi and hibachi which is nice. I like the wide variety of food and they food is usually very fresh. They stay busy. Even though they are always busy the staff is always very friendly. So good food and good company make for a good place to go eat. read more

Worst customer service EVER! We were asked to leave when one of our friend was still eating and we only stayed for an hour when the maximum stay is 2 hours! read more

Has great food and great service! Huge variety of food! Hibachi service was perfect! Made it exactly how I wanted it and was very friendly, dessert options are great! read more

Great Asian buffet. Who knew? In Gainesville. Clean and food tasted very good. Definitely will visit again.

The service is too bad. the waitress just give us a very limit time for eating. We have to pay for15% tips even for the poor service!

I honestly love this buffet. Its selection gives you sufficient options. The sushi is good and made fresh. It's in a very convenient location. It's almost always a pleasant experience. read more

This place is like a restroom that serves food. The website makes it look amazing and fresh but....its not. Everything is basically extruded M.S.G. Into different shapes. No one can actually provide any information as to what is actually in the food... It should be called the red-flag buffet. read more

The food honestly was old and had a weird texture but the customer service was impeccable. Would recommend for customer service reasons only. read more

Typical buffet fare, nothing particularly exceptional. We tried almost everything between the lot of us (soup, sushi, entrées, ice cream), and there was no consensus on a particularly good dish. This scheme seems like a thing of the past, large portions of undesirable food. Perhaps it's a good idea if you want Chinese food, but there are many better restaurants in the area. I have to add that service was excellent (other than the male maître d') from the wait staff to the buffet staff. Kudos to them. read more

Raw octopus ceviche next to jello???? Both my daughter and I got sick. No one else, only thing I can figure is her and I ate the jello, which was next to raw octopus (I did find this odd and chose jello that was on other side of pan.) other food was meh, used to frequent here often won't be returning! read more

Went to dinner on Friday night. The food was fresh for the most part, as I would expect due the high volume of customers coming in the door. The variety of food was pretty good- the standard chinese buffet fare. The quality was average, with no dish that I sampled standing out. There is a sushi bar, and a hibachi grill station. The sushi was about what you expect from an all you can eat bar, certainly below publix deli carry-out. The grill area was not very well stocked when I went by, so I skipped that. Waitstaff kept our drinks filled, but was perfunctory rather than congenial. Hey- no complaint really, all I care about is keeping the drinks full. I didn't care for the waitress grabbing and transferring my straw to my new drink though. I've waited tables before, I know how many dishes and yuck you have to deal with- I'd rather not have that on my straw thanks. Dinner was 11 dollars and some change per person, with a 4.99 surcharge if you want to eat the crab legs (Which I didn't). I may return when I feel like sampling an eclectic mix of chinese food, but there's nothing spectacular to draw me in otherwise. I assume lunch is cheaper, that might be a better value. read more

Large variety offered from Chinese to Japanese hibachi grill. The sushi is mediocre but considering how many other varieties of food are available it is worth the price. The cleanliness of the place could be better. Overall a good value for the price but not a good place to have a nice quiet lunch. Good bang for your buck but be willing to compromise ambience - lots of people which means quite a loud chatter in the restaurant. read more

Sushi is mediocre, the food is mediocre too, lots of variety but just average.

Favorite Chinese restaurant of my husband. We celebrated his Birthday there. They brought out a cake and celebrated his birthday.

Food is good. Great for lunch time with the family. The rice and noodles are my favorite.

The staff is wonderful and polite. The food is amazing, large variety and good quality. Plenty of space for parking and inside plenty of seating space! Very clean and the decor is nice too. read more

Maybe it is just me but the buffets idea is not for me. Food out for everyone and their momma picking at it... nasty. But it is not the reason why I don't lol this place. To me this place charges way to much for the food they serve. True they do have a lot of food and a lot of variety but I know I can get better quality of food for the same price or less at other restaurants. In addition this particular restaurant has home made posters letting you know that if you get crabs it will be an additional charge. However everyone since to miss them hideous dirty sings on the wall and all you hear as you eat is the waitresses telling everyone " No they are more see the sings see the sings". Now if you do like buffet well the place is clean and you do pay for what you come to get. read more

The food was amazing and its a buffet you definitely get your money worth plus its really not expensive