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Pan Asia Buffet

3.3 (803 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:30 pm

Pan Asia Buffet Photos

Business Info

PAN ASIA BUFFET ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Loud
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Pan Asia Buffet

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I have been a regular customer of Pan Asia Buffet for approximately four years, often coming here for lunch four or five times a month. The food has generally been decent, although I have never been particularly impressed with the service or the attitude of some of the staff. What happened recently, however, is the reason I will not return. Several months ago, I accidentally left the restaurant without paying. It was an honest mistake. When I returned sometime later, a woman who appeared to be a manager or supervisor told me that I had not paid on my previous visit and even showed me security-camera footage of me leaving the restaurant. I did not argue about it. I accepted that I had forgotten and immediately paid for both that previous meal and my current meal. Since then, I have been especially careful to make sure I pay every single time. Today, after several months had passed, the same woman approached me again and said something along the lines of, "Didn't anyone tell you that there was another time you didn't pay? I saw you on the camera, but forget it." This time I was confident that I had paid on every visit since the original incident. No date, receipt, transaction record, or footage of this alleged second incident was shown to me. Yet once again I was confronted with the suggestion that I had left without paying and that they had seen me on camera. I found this extremely uncomfortable and inappropriate. After being a regular customer for about four years and immediately paying for my genuine mistake when it was brought to my attention, I do not expect to be repeatedly confronted with vague accusations about unpaid meals. If a restaurant believes a customer owes money, it should be able to identify the specific date and charge and address the matter clearly and professionally. Repeatedly telling a regular customer that "we saw you on camera" without providing the details is not an acceptable way to handle the situation. The food here is not bad, and that is why I kept coming back despite the service. But after today's experience, I no longer feel comfortable eating here. After approximately four years as a regular customer, I will not be returning.

Sushi station
Essie K.

Pan Asia Buffet is your typical asian buffet with lots of food options but at the end of the day, it's quantity over quality. Despite having so many options, the food was average at best. There is no shortage of options from the hibachi grill where you can make your own noodles, a grill station that has various cooked meats, the long display of various hot Chinese inspired entrees, a salad bar, a dessert bar, an ice cream station, a sushi section, and on Friday and Saturday nights you get extra seafood such as crab legs. Service is blunt and uninviting but at the end of the day, you get your own food so it didn't bother me as much. I wish they came by the tables more to ask about drink refills or to remove plates faster. They should clean their ice cream machine and topping stations which was pretty dirty. I felt the prices were a bit high given the quality at $26 for dinner (drink not included) and $2/year for kids. Not sure if I'd return again...

Some bacon, chicken breast and some tilapia
Oleg B.

Pan Asia Grill Sushi Buffet in San Marcos... listen carefully, because I don't hype places unless they earn it. I walked in, paid $19 for lunch, and immediately thought, "okay, let's see if this is another average buffet pretending to be something special." I'm extremely picky. If it's trash, I'll say it straight. No mercy. First impression -- solid. Clean, organized, no chaos. Salad section? Surprisingly fresh. Not the sad, tired lettuce you see in most buffets. Real crisp greens, good toppings, fresh fruit, and desserts that actually look edible, not like they survived since 2007. Now sushi at lunch... let's be honest. It's decent, but nothing that will change your life. It's buffet sushi -- acceptable, clean, but I'm not flying to Tokyo over it. HOWEVER... I already see the potential. I heard dinner brings out the heavy artillery -- lobster, crab legs -- so that's the real battlefield, and I'll be back to test that. But here's where Pan Asia becomes dangerous. The Hawaiian BBQ / hibachi grill station. This is the crown jewel. You pick your meat, pick your vegetables, hand it to the chef, and he cooks it fresh right in front of you like a professional assassin. I went with hibachi steak, and my God... absolutely incredible. Perfectly cooked, juicy, flavorful, fresh -- not buffet quality, restaurant quality. This alone destroys the $19 price. Completely unfair value. Bottom line -- for lunch, this place already punches above its weight. Fresh food, huge selection, and that hibachi grill makes it worth the trip by itself. Sushi is decent at lunch, but I can already tell dinner is where they go full boss mode. I don't praise easily. But Pan Asia Grill earned respect. I'll be back for dinner to see if they reach full domination. Amen!!! Good job fellas

Faye A.

Pan Asia Buffet is located on Center Dr in San Marcos. We have been coming here for many years now w the in laws. Got here at 8pm on a Saturday and the place was super packed!! We were seated at the only vacant table. The food lines were crazy long, but I think the issue is the layout. This buffet is old and probably needs remodeling to accommodate the amount of people when it's a full house like last Saturday. Food was good. I love that they had pre-grilled steak. I actually enjoyed the soft and tender steak and had so much of it. They also had grilled chicken breast, and the mushroom chicken was also made w white meat. They have a hibachi grill which i did not get to try since the line to that was also ridiculously long!! Desserts were good. We really liked the mango mousse cake and the mini bundt cake. Pineapple and strawberries were fresh and sweet. Service was extremely slow. I get that they were a full house so the servers were running around, but we had to go up to the front counter to have them call someone to refill our drinks. Overall, good buffet. It just gets crazy packed in there, but is an indicator of how good the food is.

Cookies were hard and dry.
Phung V.

Took mom to the Carlsbad Flower Fields and afterwards Yelped a Chinese buffet because that what mom likes. This place came up. Reviews seem decent and I always give a benefit of the doubt when it comes to buffets. It was noon on a Saturday and the price was $20. That should have been a red flag. $20 for a Saturday? There was a decent amount of people though. However, the food was bad and the variety of food sucked. No corn. No baos. No warm crawfish (they had cold ones). No sesame balls. Whatever they did have was rubbery, fishy and old tasting. Desserts were dry and stale tasting. What was good? Orange jello and cream cheese wontons. They were good about clearing the plates.

Seafood and so much more!!!                YUMMMMM!!!
John B.

Food? Well there's more than you can imagine, including a Korean barbeque! Everything from the soup and salad bar to the Asian delights, and the home cooking items you might expect. Finish with the ice cream dispenser and dessert bar, and you are satisfied nummro uno!!! The service is right on and the place is clean and spacious. It's a monthly destination for me!!!

Karen H.

I am the worst person to take to a buffet I will not get my moneys worth. But when your friends want to go you must join! We were seated right away and drinks order taken. Then we were off to the races. There is hibachi style grill station you just choose all your items. And the chef will cook it for you. Grilled foods station, sushi, soups, hot foods, salads, and then desserts. Including a chocolate fountain and soft serve ice cream. The selection was a good mix of different cuisines. Don't think the food was kid friendly. No French fries or nuggets. The sushi was a ok don't expect omikase level sushi. Salt and pepper shrimp was really good. Orange chicken and chow mein was good. It was $20 per person on a Saturday afternoon no crab legs until later. Overall for a buffet it was not bad at all. The servers were very attentive and kept track of tabs. Probably won't be running back anytime soon.

Pan Asia Seating area

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2 months ago

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5 months ago

Delicious not too bad my first time eating with my family in San Diego . It's cute & not so bad.

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Pan Asia Buffet Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Pan Asia Buffet

How much per person for dinner?

Dinner may be more than lunch and it may depend if you are a senior. If nothing is found under menu on their website, I suggest calling them to find out. Regardless, you will be happy, I've been there at least five times for lunch, and invited folks… 

There was a bread that I really like, it looked like Hawaiian bread, what kind of bread is it or name of it?

Challah

How much is dinner here?

25.00 and if you want a drink it's 3 dollars more

How much is the lunch today?

Idk

Do they take to go order?

Yes they used to pre-pandemic at least. Just call them to find out...Usually the seafood items are much more expensive by weight than non seafood... Just get two separate to go containers for seafood and non-seafoods to keep your price down. 8)

What are the weekday and weekend rates?

$12.99 all you can eat lunch

Hello, What is your lunch price on Saturday?…

Hello, Lunch price on Saturday is $14.99 per adult, $1.99 for drinks. Vegetarian options: Lo Mien,… 

When will you re-open?

We are now open !

Is the Buffet still open now 11/4/2020?

Yes they are!

Is the buffet open?

They just opened today

Is this restaurant open yet?

No still closed.

Are u. Now open for dine in?

Hello! Due to the pandemic, we are are still closed for the time being. Stay safe and healthy!

Is your restaurant dine in open now? What are the days and hours of operations? Thanks!

Sorry for the late response, we are hoping to be open sometime in July but there is no exact date. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for supporting Pan Asia!

What are the ages of seniors and children? Do they charge more on New Year's eve?

Seniors 60 and over Children 1 to 11… 

Do they have shrimp tempura sushi?

Nope, they have salty fried shrimp and fried crab during dinner

What is the current senior price go lunch?

Its around $11 dollars

Do kids eat free or how does it work for a three year old?

They charge a dollar per year of age. Three year old would be $3

What's the price for dinner?

Dinner price $15.99. Price went up since the last time I went there

When do they serve crab legs?

Hey Anthony. Crab legs are served during dinner hours.

What days do they serve crab legs?

I know they do at dinner on weekdays and weekends.

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Chin's Szechwan - Carlsbad - Chins Szechwan Chop Suey Seafood

Chin's Szechwan - Carlsbad

4.4(444 reviews)
13.3 mi
•$$

two days in a row with highs in the middle-nineties. way too hot to cook at home. was craving…read moreChinese-ish American eats, so I called CHIN's SZECHWAN in Carlsbad and ordered takeout. totally hit the spot. the CHICKEN DUMPLINGS (fried dumplings with chicken, cabbage, and onions) are a hard pass. Costco, Trader Joe's, etc. freezer versions are way better. chewy, room temperature. no flavor. nasty. and still gave Chin's five stars. yeah, everything else was that good. CASHEW CHICKEN (white-meat chicken wok-tossed with celery, mushrooms, green bell pepper, and cashews in a sweet garlic plum sauce). apparently, we got the nearly cashew-free edition for people with nut allergies. that was a bit confusing but still delicious. SHANGHAI CRISPY PORK (braised pork wok-tossed in a sweet and sour Shanghai sauce) was perfect. this is what I was craving: sticky, sweet, and lots of meat -- Chinese-ish American food the Chin's way. looking forward to many return visits in the near future. this time, won't even wait for a Santa Ana. ps: seems strange there's a freak weather condition named for the Mexican general responsible for the death of Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, etc. I still have a coon-skin cap in my sock drawer. Remember the Alamo.

Staff and ambiance were excellent, however the entrees we ordered had too much meat--we all had…read morevarious dishes with chicken--and were scant of anything else, like other vegetables. It all seemed oddly unbalanced. Also, half the meat was fresh while the other half tasted like jerky (hopefully not left over chicken they're trying to get rid of). Not sure if we'll be back, unfortunately, but decide for yourself.

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Chin's Szechwan - Carlsbad - Chin's Szechwan - Carlsbad Decor

Chin's Szechwan - Carlsbad Decor

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Chins Szechwan Chop Suey House

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Joyee's Dumpling House

Joyee's Dumpling House

4.0(427 reviews)
5.8 mi
•$$

The food. THE BEST dumplings & sauce I've had in north county!…read more The service-GREAT! Good prices, great portions, was hot on delivery, can't say enough good things about this place!! The Dan Dan noodles were to die for Will DEFINITELY return & often!!

now that over the last couple of weeks I've eaten my way through nearly half the menu , it's…read moreprobably time I wrote a review. WOWZA. really delicious. I understand these guys are a chain which makes the amazing eats that much more surprising. dumplings: have had the FRIED PORK BUNS, the SHRIMP and PORK SHUMAI, and the PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS. all were amazing. the SHUMAI were the best I've ever had (and I've had a lot) and ordered them on two of our three visits. dipped everything in Sichuan red chili oil, light soy, and black vinegar mixed at the table from the condiment set-up. the twenty-year boy (man, they grow up fast, don't they?) had the HALF BBQ DUCK was another outstanding dish. moist and flavorful, not the almost duck jerky served at most places. the Sichuan-style HOT BOILED FISH is one of my favorites and I nearly always get it when it shows up on a menu. theirs is a bright, spicy, and well executed. my favorite dish was the EGGPLANT in Sichuan sauce with ground pork. anyway, pretty sure I'm going to be a regular. it's nice not having to drive three-quarters of the way to San Diego when I'm feeling more like Chinese food than Chinese-ish American food.

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Joyee's Dumpling House
Joyee's Dumpling House - Pork fried bun

Pork fried bun

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Pan Asia Buffet - buffets - Updated October 2026

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