After weeks of drive-thrus for lunch, when a colleague finally suggested a BUFFET I was all in. Four plates later I was happy (albeit stuffed) with our pick. The "Chinese" food wasn't the best I have ever had, but the variety made up for the flavor shortcomings. My favorite find was actually the bourbon chicken; I thought it was great, and not something I have generally seen at buffets. There were also a lot of fruit/salad options and PLENTY of desserts. I had what the waiter called a "cheesecake" that was delicious (but seemed more like a cross between custard and chess pie). All in all, a pretty good lunch deal, especially if you're SUPER hungry and want something other than a burger/taco/sandwich/chicken for a change. read more

Don't go here with a service animal. We just had to leave because they insisted we sit in the back corner away from everyone. I just don't like rude people. I'm a waitress and would never treat guests like that. Everyone should be treated the same... with or without a service animal. read more

Thank you, thank you!!! For letting us have a small surprise party for our beautiful friend yesterday!! Everyone was so kind and helpful. The food was delicious! We will all definitely be back to eat again!!! read more

Probably the best buffet in waco. They have great lunch time prices. The food is on average, hot and tasty. I probably put on 10lbs this year just eating there. Only thing i have an issue with is the fact the waiters, if you can call them that, are almost overly eager to fill your cup. Ive had a situation where i started drinking and was half way done when the man asked if i wanted a refill. Although its nice to have a full drink, its rude to interrupt guests just to fill a cup. We will let you know if a refill is necessary dude! Other than that, the food is good. Always go to the summer palace on valleymills dr., not hewitt dr. Valleymills has a larger and better selection for the same price. read more

Have eaten at Summer Palace in Hewitt many times and always have enjoyed the food served on the buffet there. So many different choices, my favorites being shrimp and sauce each time and crab legs when they are offered. Love the salad and fruit bars and desserts. I am also part of a group that goes there for lunches as they have a great area for large groups and we can actually converse with each other without competition from other tables and loud music.. Service is very good and attentive. We have only to hold up a glass and they are quickly refilled. We are allowed Senior discount and that is a plus for all of us.. read more

Dined Saturday (11:30am) right after they opened for the day, it was delicious, clean, and many choices were available. We will eat here again. read more

This place is off the chain. Offers a wide variety of Chinese & American dishes as well as an extensive dessert bar. I make it a priority to eat here at least 2-3 times per month. The bathrooms are clean and the wait staff is attentive. Oh, and did I mention that the food is excellent and economically priced! read more

We will not be back. We used to love this place. Last night we had dinner here. I watched one lady who was filling the buffet have her cell phone in one hand and food she was putting out in the other. Then watched our server gather trash from various trash cans carry it through the buffet isle take it to the room where drinks are made, then come to the customer next to us and get their cups for refills. Not once did he wash his hands (yes I could clearly see the sink). He set their cups down and came for ours. I said no please wash your hands first, he just walked off made us a drink and came and set them down at our table, still not once washing his hands. I went and asked the manager to make us a new drink and had to explain why. He didnt wash his hands till she said something to him‍ read more

The food was decent, not great. The bathroom was absolutely disgusting. I will never go back. The price was crazy expensive for what they had.. read more

One star because this was my grandfather's last meal in a restaurant before his death. It just makes the nastiness of that meal... that much worse. read more

Worst experience ever. I had been there before and it was ok, thought I'd give it another chance. I picked up to go order, and when I got home there was a bug in it. I took it back and manager/owner told me I could of removed bug and surrounding area and it would of been fine. I sarcastically (as I was shocked by her response) told her the food was cold by now, she said I could microwave it. I was in absolute shock. I asked her for my money back and she said "I didn't push you to get food, this is buffet you chose). I didn't know if I should laugh or scream. She refused to give me money back, not even replace food(not like I would of taken another plate)but it was ridiculous. Never again. I would recommend not going to this sick establishment read more

Chinese Buffet. There are good ones and bad ones. Summer Palace is a good one, but barely. They had an ample selection of food, but just didn't refill it as often as I would have liked. That said, it was tasty and worth the price. read more

The food was cold and looked like it had been sitting out all day. The only thing hot was th soup. The hostess was as cold as the food.

My family and I are regulars for both dining in and take out. Typical Chinese buffet with a few unique choices like frog legs or steaks. I love all of the chicken choices. Good lo mein noodles and wonton soup. Husband likes the egg rolls. Neither of us case for any of the seafood. Quick, affordable. Watch the clock though. Price goes by time you pay not by time you sit down. So if you sit down at 4:30 (which is lunch price) but don't pay until after 5 (which is dinner price) then you pay dinner price. I didn't know this until after we left, otherwise I would have complained. read more

I love Chinese food but am usually not a big fan of buffets. This said, sometimes you just one a variety of choices that a made to order place can't offer. Out of all the ones in the Waco area, this is the best. Although they are all pretty much the same, three things stand out with this place. 1) rib eye steak - surprisingly tender and well seasoned. Don't expect a roadhouse type steak but it's still good. 2) peeled shrimp dishes - I've seen many buffets serve shrimp dishes with the shell on. This place has most of the peeled. 3) rice crispy treats. read more

There is always a big variety to choose from my kids love going here because everyone eats something different funny how they all end up with white rice on their plates it's about the only thing they can agree on. The staff here is nice and friendly and very attentive considering it's a buffet I've always been very pleased and we love coming here often as a family read more

Best Chinese food I've ever had... food is cold sometimes and they are slow to refill the food... I like the waiters and their lemonade is amazing. The chicken is always good and so is the the egg drop soup. There is a nice man named Carroll that takes me to my table. And there is also a couple named rong and Wendy. Overall great family envit read more

As a local resident of Waco, I have enjoyed this Summer Palace location for the past 15 years. This location is greatly better than its Valley Mills location in every category! The Hewitt location is much more sanitary, has better tasting food, and great managing. Whenever I have a problem, the manager Rong always fixes it. There are a few things I would change though. I think if Summer Palace offered delivery, it would obliterate all competition in the Waco area. I don't know a oriental restaurant in Waco that delivers, so that would be amazing! Also, I think if Summer Palace added a Sushi Bar and got a liquor license, they would be getting 100x more business. People love sushi, liquor, and decent prices! Overall this is the best Chinese establishment in the greater Waco area. read more

Just forget the Chinese part and you will be perfectly happy with this restaurant. Think of it as an affordable smorgasbord. I think this is a better location than the Valley Mills site; that one feels claustraphobic to me; too dark. This location is bright, airy, and open. Good food. read more

Took my girl to eat here, immediately were seen and seated. The food was great most of what we tried we liked and what we didn't like was simply just food we didn't enjoy, had nothing to do with how they prepared it because everything looked clean and well cooked. The staff was very attentive our drinks couldn't get down to half full without a waiter offering to refill them. Very polite staff, fair prices, and great food. I highly recommend Summer Palace if you are looking for an affordable dinner. read more

Is there an option for "0" stars. My husband and I went in this restaurant for the first time tonight. It wasn't dirty as some of the previous reviews. They sat us at a table, got our drink orders, and let us loose. I ate one plate of various Chinese options and my second plate I filled with fruit. Let me just say everything is fried and from cans. The grapes had seeds in it, the pears were canned pears, which had the feeling of an apple, and the cantaloupe pieces were just the raw core. This was the worst food decision. I am paying for it now. I threw up twice and had very bad stomach pains. I will never be dining here again. read more

They have a great buffet with good quality food that tastes 6.5 out of 10. Selection is excellent service seems to be good each time we go. They always have a coupon available. read more

Had great reviews so we chose to go there and the service was great and so was the food . Had a variety of options including crab legs . I would definitely recommend this restaurant to someone else that would like to go to a buffet . read more

The food was okay, but the service was atrocious!! The server was wanting to clean tables, so she brought the ticket before we were done eating. We asked for a refill and she went back to cleaning tables. Asked again, and she responded with a wave of her hand and saying something in her own language. Finally refilled one glass and we tried to get her to take care of both of them at the same time. Back to ignoring us to clean tables. Asked the supervisor for a refill, ignored us. The manager asked what was wrong, ask her for a refill. She yells at her employee in their language. Employee still cleans table. 15 minutes later, we decide to give up and leave. Manager is snippy in her apology about the drink, extremely rude, and doesn't even offer to compensate the drinks. We didn't really want compensation, just a true apology would have been nice. Horrible service and management!!! Go to Chopsticks down the street or P.F. Changs. read more

First time here, I thought that it was pretty good. The restaurant was very clean, and the buffet was set up with half 2 inch hotel pans, so that food is not sitting out long. My kids loved the noodles, I really liked the sesame chicken. We will be back. read more

Always very nice staff and many many different foods to choose from! ! Great experience every time we go! !

Are you with a group of people that can't agree on what to eat or add saying 'I don't know' or worse 'I don't care'? This is the place to go. It has everything you could wish for in a large buffet. The food is excellent! The staff are polite and care about your needs. read more

Summer Palace is a nice place to go every once in a while. It's a family favorite, as they have food the kids love and for Mom and Dad too.....Generally clean, and usually not too busy. Wait staff is good about drink refills, but the food is usually better when they are busy. Kids love the soft serve ice cream and condiments (oreo cookie, sprinkles, hot fudge. Kudos for being open on Christmas too! They were packed!.... read more

Everyone has mixed reviews for this place, but I personally enjoy it. The food is pretty good, the price isn't too bad ad long you eat a lot at buffets. Staff is nice too. Clean tables, clean bathrooms, nice interior. read more

I like too eat at the Summer Palace on a regular basis.The food is always plentiful & delicious.The wait staff sometimes gets a little slow otherwise, a real good place to eat. read more

Every time I've eaten here, the place has been clean, the food fresh, and the selection more than one could ask. Usually there for an early dinner. Good, basic Chinese buffet. Reasonably priced. Staff usually very attentive and keep the dirty plates removed, drinks filled. Coconut chicken, bourbon chicken, fried wonton, hot and sour soup, spring rolls, seafood salad, stuffed scallop shells, fried dumplings (pot stickers), etc. I've never been able to sample everything they offer, but have enjoyed everything I've tried. Good selection of seafood - boiled shrimp, fresh oysters, crab legs, usual fried shrimp and shrimp dishes. Good vegetables. read more

We have eaten at Chinese buffets all over the U.S. and I can tell you for sure this place ranks right up there at the top! Our visit was on a Sunday at a few minutes after 11:00 am. We were among the first few diners present so we were promptly seated and drink orders were taken. The selection and quality of the food was second to none! Lots of shrimp and seafood options as well as many other items. The buffet all looked fresh and well stocked. In our experience it's always better to get there when they first open! There was a pretty decent selection of sushi to try and what I tried was delicious. Service was friendly and fast. I really would have liked to rate this place with four and a half stars but since they won't let me give half stars I have to round it down to four. The ice cream machine was not working so that has to be accounted for otherwise it would have been five stars. Besides I was already full and couldn't have enjoyed the ice cream anyway! We would recommend this place to our friends! read more

Just as long as you don't have any issues collecting your meal from a community tray under a sneeze screen, dig-in! Taste and variety was better than expected. Food was hot, service was cold. read more

We come here fairly often after church on Sunday (probably their busiest time). It has always been good, clean, and well stocked/replenished. My father in law said it was the best Chinese buffet he has had. The selection is large and I particularly enjoy the spinach stuffed pastry, the cheese tartlet and the seafood pastry items. We also like the usual coconut chicken, beef with broccoli, chicken with mushrooms, etc. A little pricey for our whole family but good. read more

Called in an order. My wife went to pick up and caught them filing the fried rice from the buffet. She had to tell them to make it fresh. The other items appeared to be cooked fresh from kitchen, We expect fresh cooked as buffet food can be overdone due to sitting in heating trays. I will let is slide this time, but will make it a point to tell them to cook all things fresh for future orders. read more