The service is meh, but let's be honest, you don't go to a Chinese buffet to be swept off your feet by service or ambiance. So let's cut to the chase...the food is good. You gotta hit it at opening or peak dinner to make sure the food is fresh and hot, but if you get there when they open, it's pretty good buffet food. The chicken options are actually chicken on not just breading. Large assortment of items. Better than ocean buffet IF you get there when they open. That's the key folk. read more

Summer Palace - Buffet assortment - Chinese Near Me - Waco, Texas

Good food waiters help and always make sure your good food is great and they were served fog legs

Wish I would have came 30 mins later. Paid for dinner but they hadn't changed the buffet out yet so I ate the nasty old lunch buffet. Expensive as well read more

Food was no good made everyone in my group sick. We payed and ate the ice cream that was the only thing that was relatively good.Got told to get out once we were done. Also got told what to tip. I went to complain to a manager about it and manager and server started yelling in my face. If I could give this restaurant no stars I would. read more

I use to like going there for the food, now it's both the price and quality that I'm leaving. They're not on top of their game like a year ago. Fewer things taste good and now the service is lacking responsiveness. When the young lady brought the bill (18.45) over I handed her $20, she immediately shoved the bill in front of me pointing to the total and paused as if I should be giving her a bigger tip. I'm done with eating out and the default tip is 20% for avg or worse service. Disappointed (2nd time this month) read more

Good variety of food; something for everyone. The service was ok could have been better. The place itself looks nice will come here again.

Always ready, tasty buffet and great service! I especially like the hot and sour soup!

We went to the buffet on Christmas Day since it's tradition. Some of the food was delicious, some of it wasn't as good. I think the beef items were especially disappointing this visit. I recommend the noodles, rice, and deserts. The chicken was questionable and the beef was really tough. The service was good though. They seemed to keep the buffet moving and full. All and all if buffets are your thing it wasn't too bad, but if you want quality I recommend going somewhere else. read more

Food wasn't kept at a good temp. Everyone ended up with a stomach ache after. Service was okay.

We love this buffet. The food is always good. Efficient staff makes the experience better.

Amazing service. Food was amazing and fresh. Ambiance was quiet and friendly Was my first time here and will be going back. read more

I've not experienced any rudeness, never forced tips (paid in card and cash) nor bad food. I'v always been seated promptly and provided a drink. Food seems fresh, I don't eat every thing as I am picky. I feel both hubby and I are foodies and we are comfortable eating here and service is acceptable. Green beans are my favorite! read more

We are regular customers of Summer Palace in Hewitt dining here about once a month. My son and I decided to have lunch the other day while my wife was out of town. We were welcomed and seated quickly by the friendly host who expedited our drink order and invited us to get started with the buffet. I walked the entire buffet line before deciding where to start. Everything was clean and well managed; sauces full, no stray food out of containers, and fresh items looking good. 1st up was soup. My "go-to" Hot and Sour was ok but lukewarm and little under spiced. Still, I enjoyed it. My son had egg drop soup which was very good. I'm not a rice fan so I went straight for my entrees; Mushroom Chicken, fried potatoes, Pepper Chicken, BBQ ribs, chicken wings, Jalapeno Shrimp, boiled shrimp, and egg rolls. I also had the cocktail sauce and the spicy mustard. Everything was good and typical buffet fair. The highlight was the mushroom chicken. Nice plump mushrooms with juicy chicken in a flavorful sauce. My real complaint was the BBQ rib. The texture of meat was mealy and mushy like it had been boiled too long. Definitely a disappointment. My son went for the Sesame Chicken and the General Tso's Chicken. Both were good, standard fair. Overall, our meal was enjoyable. We were well attended to by our waitress. The furniture could use an update or just some attention. I sank pretty far down in the booth seat. Summer Palace will continue to be regular stop for our family. read more

Food was mid The waitress had a strong grip on my change and wouldn't let go. Service was mid Desserts was mid And the steak was too soft and was like chewing on dog food. The chicken was the same. No sushi. The waitress haggled me of my change and she stood right by me to make sure I paid. Made me very uncomfortable and I am upset that I didn't get my change. Mid mid mid read more

I don't eat the meat dishes because almost all they have is chicken. Also the beef and pork ribs are kind of tough and stringy. I'll have a spring roll if they're freshly made. I usually get the fake shells with crab stuff and mushrooms from the chicken with mushrooms. At dinner it's strictly frog legs and maybe mushrooms again. Waiters are always nice but they know me 'cause I go there frequently and I'm a good tipper. No dessert 'cause I'm diabetic so can't give tips on that. read more

This review is rated heavily on the food. We saw some great reviews of the food on Google and Yelp, so we assumed it would be pretty good. Wrong. The service was good; we walked in during an apparent slow dinner time, were handled swiftly and provided drinks in a timely manner. The place was very clean, a few gals were walking around cleaning everything in sight the entire time we were there. Plate in my hands, I eagerly looked around. Nothing looked entirely appetizing besides the fried rice that some reviews raved about, the fried shrimp and the broccoli. The food was not memorable or great. It tasted as if it had been sitting out long, especially the fried rice. It was crunchy and tasteless. The meat skewers were also hard and dry. There was a staff gal going around making sure to re stir food that had been sitting, but we unfortuntely still got the crunchy, hard, dry side of things. Maybe we came on a bad day? Had high expectations? Unfortuntely we won't be back. read more

They were very rude, they were forcing me to give a tip (when i was but in cash) they wanted me to give them a tip with my card when i don't like to give tips with my debit card. and even the manager was rude. read more

I will have to qualify that I really am not a giant fan of buffets. My parents love this one as well as my fiancé. I do enjoy this one much better than most. There are some really good foods on this Asian buffet. They really do have the gift of cooking chicken. The chicken has always been of a high quality in my opinion. I particularly enjoy the bourbon chicken I believe it is called. The potstickers are decent and the general tso and sesame chicken are good. My fiancé enjoys the cheesecake. It is usually fairly busy. We came at off hours between lunch and dinner and while not quite as hot and fresh as peak hours it still was very good. Usually they have coupons offered different places or in the mail. I really do enjoy this buffet and will say it is a very good value for the money. One of my biggest problems with buffets especially good ones is that I am tempted to indulge too much but obviously that isn't their fault. It is a good meal that our family can agree on that everyone likes and enjoys. They also offer frogs legs steaks and crab on weekends and at night if you like as well as take out and perhaps delivery. read more

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gave me food poisoning today and all the people where rude the lady grabbed my food and snatched it from me there was craw fish on the floor the men's bathroom had poo stains on the toilet and the same lady was and my grandpa is disabled and the lady did not let him finish his food and my grandma forced into paying with card who would not let her look at the total the same lady was looking at my little brother and was cussing us out and invading our privacy not good WOULD NEVER come back and keep going around my table did not rotait the food it was stuck on the bowl there was flys and nats all over the food read more

Food was good. Service was rude! I told the woman upfront there was a roach and she was quick to snatch it up. She came back to my table showing me a receipt that showed 60 something dollars and said she's sorry about the roach.. well when I go to pay I was charged 80 dollars and told my original price was 90 dollars. It was me my husband his friend my 2 year old and 14 year old!!!! I've been to this place multiple times with my whole family and have never paid over 70!! Well let's just say after a fuss and a "discount " I paid 79 dollars. I ended up stiffed in the end!!! Oh and the food was good just stay away from the grapes!!!! They wash the ones off that ppl had on thier plates and put them back!!!! read more

My wife and I ate at this place for the second time. We thought we'd give it another try. The verdict is in, guilty of not any good food. First time, we were hungry and exhausted from moving into town. So, we tried it again for the second time. Unbelievable! I was far from impressed. So, here we are again for the third time. This food was bland and horrible tasting. Everything taste like chicken. Even the desert and the water taste like chicken. if this place was the last place on earth for a Buffet, I would decline. I will not be eating at this establishment ever again. Also, I recommend for all the newbies, looking for Chinese food, go elsewhere. Should you go to this place proceed with caution. and don't be surprised if you yourself, finds saying, " it, all taste, the same, it taste like chicken." read more

We have been eating at SP for more than 20 years. I'm sad to report that the last two times (June & Aug) we have been, we have seen roaches climb across the food. Both times, we left without eating. So disappointing. read more

I used to love this place but it has gone down the drain! It took our server 20+ minuets to get our drinks. As soon as we sat down with our food the lady brought our check. We were not ready to pay but she was just hovering over us. She then continued to tap on my husbands wallet demanding us to pay. After this we were all pretty pissed off. We usually tip because this is how they make their money but we did want to tip because we were in shock at what she did. We ended up giving a dollar for the tip and the server saw our check and grabbed a pen and started changing our total. She demanded a tip and kept arguing with us. My husband ended up grabbing the check from her hand and tearing it up. And she still was arguing with us about leaving a better tip. As a server you do not touch a customers total! You get tipped on your performance. And she did horrible!! read more

Good selection of food. And they had kid friendly choices such as nuggets and fries. The fresh fruit selection was nice and pre cut into kid friendly sizes. read more

The first thing I noticed was the rows of food that was being attended by at least 1 worker. That was pretty comforting to see. You go up to the counter to pay first. You can then go and unleash your feast beast upon the food and wreak havoc on your tummy (which will be happy at the time but will probably regret later if you're an overachiever/overeater like me lol) I noticed a lot of the food is saucy. I like sauce and all, but I kinda had to tilt the serving spoons to the side to help get rid of the excess amount of sauce. One of the other things I noticed was that a lot of the food was super greasy :( I am not used to Chinese food being mega greasy like that but I guess since they're a buffet place and has a lot of customers, they pump it out as fast as they can. Still good though! lol Aside from hot food, they have a slightly smaller but still good selection of desserts. I honestly think some of the stuff is boxed or something, but if you don't have an issue with that sort of thing, just disregard this part lol. I had the hardest time flagging a waiter down to refill my drink. Having a lot of food, I need something to wash it down. This was an issue for me. The bathrooms were clean when I went. I read in another review that that wasn't the case (sorry to hear about that btw) Pricing is great. You get what you paid for (and more if you eat like me lol) Lots of parking. Cash and card. I have to bring my kiddo here sometime :D read more

Summer Palace - Ice cream for my bday - Chinese Near Me - Waco, Texas

Christmas Day tradition ruined!! Throw up in the parking lot when I got put. I showed numerous people the picture (roach in my food) and spoke with staff. ​Surprisingly no one cared. Even staff did not care. read more

Was recommended by a coworker. Not everything was to my taste, but most of it was good. The staff is attentive and respectful. Never gotten sick here. read more

It's good food. Just good. Not the most fabulous food, but it definitely keeps me coming back for more. Good service and good food with a decent atmosphere. read more

I wish I could give this 0 stars it's the worse restaurant I have ever been to. The place is dirty and if you think this food is good then you must have never eaten any other "Chinese food" in your life, our "waitress" threw our food away before we could even finish when we got up and before we can even get close to finish eating she brings us our check and won't leave until we pay. She doesn't even ask if we want our change (she could at least ask) and then while we are still eating she comes and puts her hand out and asks for a tip, we are confused but then she points to my purse and says she saw the money I had earlier. At this point we ask for our change back and she walks off laughing and yelling at the other employees back and forth. When we finish eating my cousin asks the lady at the front desk for her change and she throws it on the counter! The first experience I've had like this and first where I knew I wasn't tipping. read more

Food: AMAZING. Drinks: AMAZING. Service: AMAZING. Would come again 100%. I would recommend the all you can eat buffet

You are forced to order a buffet if you want to eat here and got food poisoning. Food is average tasting and not worth the price. Won't go back. read more

if i could give this place zero stars thats what they would get ! the service was terrible waitress had us grab our own drinks and actually hit a member of our party on the arm ASKING FOR A TIP WHEN SHE DID NOTHING!!! the food was mediocre at best... then when she realized she wasnt getting a tip she started slamming plates and silverware this place is a joke! read more

TERRIBLE! Bad service and bad food. Went around 7pm and the buffet was practically empty(no chicken AT ALL)! Asked if more would be put out soon and never received an answer! Saw one small pan being brought out(in a crowded restaurant) and they poured the left over sauce that had been sitting out from the previous batch over it! Buffet looked dirty! Not going back! read more

The service was horrible I think they are all grade school dropouts. The woman who was NOT attempting to put any food on the buffet look lost in her own world. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. read more

This place is the ONLY place I recommend eating Chinese food in or around the Waco, Tempke, Killeen area. Summer palace is legit. Quality food time after time after time. Can't find anything to criticize about this place.well, maybe the banana pudding could use a new recipe but hell, at least they have banana pudding read more

It's been awhile since we were here. The restaurant is clean. The food is good. The beef was a little tough, the rib was gummy. The boiled shrimp was fresh, the sushi had a good flavor, the trays were well organized. The soups were tasty (hot & sour, egg drop). The vegetables were crisp and flavorful. The ice cream is a treat. The servers didn't say much but they were efficient. All in all it was a nice experience. read more

If last week you told me that I'd actually be reasonably satisfied with Chinese food served up in a buffet at a strip mall in Waco, Texas, I'd tell you you're mad. And then I'd have to tell you that I was wrong. First, let me set the expectations here: this isn't authentic Chinese cuisine, despite the staff all being Chinese and obviously working as ESL. The food is definitely slanted towards American tastes, but oddly enough they've retained a bit more of the actual Chinese flair than most "western-Chinese" restaurants do. Would I trade this place for any of my favorites in the Bay Area? No way. But if I need a fix of decent pseudo-Chinese when I'm in town, this place is hands down the best I've found in this area... and when you're in need, good enough will do. Maybe next time I'll ask the staff if I can come back into the kitchen and have some of what they eat themselves... I'll bet they're holding all the really great stuff back for themselves... I'm hungry. read more

I went on a weekday evening, about 3 hours before closing. THERE WAS NO FOOD. I wish I could be kidding you, but the trays were EMPTY. NO dumplings, NO spring rolls, NO beef with broccoli, NO chicken with broccoli, NO jalapeno shrimp, ONE eggroll left. I sat there an hour and the food was NEVER replenished. The food that was out was lukewarm and old. The service has become atrocious. The hostess is original and she is kind, but the new waitresses are a bunch of sour-pusses that mumble and won't make eye contact. It took me 25 minutes to get a glass of water to accompany my beverage. My plates were never cleared. However, an ethnic Asian family walked in, and I observed they received three...yes, THREE refills on their drinks and had their plates cleared TWICE by the time I got my measly glass of water. read more

This is my go to for Chinese buffets. I like buffets in general but Summer Palace is my favorite so far here in Texas. I love the rice noodles with veggies and the spring rolls with duck sauce. To me it is all good! They also have egg rolls, frog legs, bourbon chicken, steak and veggies, cheese wontons, sushi, honey chicken, salad, cheesecake, puddings, jello, fruit, soup and the list goes on! The service is friendly and they keep up with your drinks. The restaurant is clean and the atmosphere is good. The bathrooms are clean also. Most of the time one can get coupons either from store receipts or flyers. Unfortunately the coupons are only good for a specific day listed on it. You like Chinese buffets then this is one to try. Hope you enjoy! read more

Service wasn't good. They were rude. They all looked like they didnt want to be there. People were constantly on there phone. The food was descent, not great. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone, and thats a fact. read more