Worst restaurant meal I have ever had and I'm 66 years old. The buffet vegetables were drowning in oil, tasteless as were all foods on the buffet - everything tastes like fried or sautéed nothing. Exceeding overpriced. Utter garbage food. My advice is to not go anywhere near this place! read more

I feel this business needs to delete old reviews online. If it is now a new business from October 2025 then the reviews need to reflect new business, not ten years old. Too many negative discussions on Facebook about old Tans and then it becoming Driftwood and then condemned for health reasons. Now back to Tans. For the new business to flourish please update the information, and get rid of the old website information. We went to old Tans years ago, we were disappointed, we tried Driftwood when it changed over...disappointed!! Now, not sure if we want to try Tans. read more

YIKES !pretty bland looking; drunk loggers likely love it, mostly ALL deep fried just like the Golden Arches next door ! No sign of any authentic BAR B QUED pork belly and they use mixed No Name cubed frozen veggies in the rice, JUST LIKE Quality (sic)Foods~ I've seen more appetizing food on the ground under The Tilt-a-Whirl read more

So very disappointed in the buffet we had tonight at Tan's in Parksville. The pans of food were near empty and what was left in them was definitely old dried out options, however the cooks were sitting down to a fresh table of food they had prepared for themselves . Guests were asking the server to ask the cooks to replenish the empty bins so they could have something to put on their plates. We certainly won't be going back and in hindsight we should have just walked out and not even have tried what was there. What a disgrace that 2 iced tea and disgusting food cost us $75.00 ...JUNK read more

Buffet was terrible ,39.95 a person. Food only had a couple items in each pan. over cooked and dry. to the waitress how bad it actually was. And she said that we were catching the end of the buffet at 6:45 at night. Meanwhile, at 7 o'clock all the cooks in the kitchen brought trays of food for themselves and ate it beside us. All fresh not dried out and sitting under lights for an hour. Four dollars for a glass of which was 80% ice. I do not recommend eating at restaurant. Save your money there is a lot more better places to eat in Parksville. read more

Tis is a very clean, modern type place. The food is very well prepared and it is delicous! I would like to see a bit more chicken in the lemongrass chickn but no complaints, it was god PHO GA, Lemon Grass Chicken and they sell a Chilli oil that is amazing for use when cooking Asiab Style at home. read more

Went for lunch today at Tan's and it was excellent. Best Chinese buffet with a great variety of dishes. Everything was freshly cooked and the menu extensive. Prices are reasonable with lunch for 2 less than $50.00! We will definitely recommend this little gem and plan on going back soon !!! read more

The food is great . I had the buffet the prawns are exllent. Very expensive nothing on the menu for 20 bucks.A few things not many.

One of the better Chinese buffets we've been to. Good quality food, fresh ingredients, and lots of variety. Some good healthy options were a nice change from some of the pub food we ate in the area. And mini-nanaimo bars as an option for dessert! read more

It's actually called Driftwood and is still a Chinese Buffet. Good food and quite the takeover from Tam's. I was glad they kept a buffet style place. read more

Pretty good. No exuberant high fives to the chef but it was just lunch. My wife had the buffet and She was pleased with it and it seemed to offer a nice variety. read more

We used to be major regulars but the buffet choices never change and the pricing constantly goes up. We just find its way too expensive now. Wonderful waitresses and service has always been excellent. read more

This is definitely one of the best Chinese buffets I've ever had. The food was fresh, not overcooked, and flavourful. Highly recommended! read more

No stars from me I found hair in my food from buffet Ugh cant even imagine eating here again. And management only wanted to give me 10% off! I just sat down had two shrimp before moving on to the dirty deep fried hair! read more

Fresh food, not frozen. So surprising to find great chinese food here. Portions were huge. Price was normal per person. read more

Tan's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - Parksville, British Columbia

See all

We celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in Parksville BC. 20 years ago we had a large banquet dinner at a Chinese Restaurant for our wedding so with COVID-19, we decided to get Chinese take-out and bring it back to our hotel (only open for take-out). We ordered a veggie dish with prawns (the prawns were HUGE) and vegetables were very fresh. We also ordered a chicken with black bean sauce dish (a favourite). It was wonderful and came with lots of vegetables (which we loved). Everything was so delicious, we gobbled it all up! We're not sure why the reviews are so spotty but we thought the food was excellent! So, we're glad we took a chance. 5 stars for the good food. We can't tell you about the service because no dining is available...only take-out. read more

Tan's Kitchen - Veggies with shrimp (larger shrimps than expected). They gave us a lot of shrimps. - Chinese Near Me - Parksville, British Columbia

i used to regularly get dinner at tans kitchen. the food is good until the next day after you've visited, when you're sick from whatever you've eaten there. now, i thought it was just a one time thing. but my father and i have both gotten sick from eating this food multiple times, i will not be coming back to tans kitchen again. read more

Because this is basically the only "Chinese " Food restaurant it seems to be good but the pricing is WAAAAAYYYY over the top. The buffet is good. read more

Super happy we found this place. Everything was fresh and crisp. We will definitely be back. One redeeming business in the area.

We have ordered regularly for years and the food is always good and fresh. Excellent honey garlic pork, great Ginger beef and the house fried rice has lots of added items with it (shrimp, chicken). Arrives early than they say, hot and no leaking in the bags. The delivery staff are pleasant and courteous. read more

Jiving for a little buffet loving and stopped by Tan's. We went at 4:30 when they started and at that time all the food was fresh. It was all delicious and for the price you can't go wrong. Lot of typical Chinese seafood choices. If you are looking for a great Chinese Canadian buffet you are at the right place. I cannot say if you go later if the food is as fresh. My fav was the deep fried shrimp. It tasted fresh as sometimes you get old oil. Blah!! read more

Great food for a good price. It's a buffet, so you've enough different flavours! Service is also good. I will come back here. read more

Tan's Kitchen - Chinese Near Me - Parksville, British Columbia

We're new to town and we were looking for great Chinese food for delivery. FOUND IT! Not greasy, still hot when it got to the house, and reasonably priced. You know when Chinese food can have all the same flavour no matter which dish you get? This wasn't that at ALL. Every dish (curry veg, chow mein, BBQ pork) had its own unique fresh taste. And the fried foods were still crispy when they got to the house - nothing was soggy! Veggies in the veggie dishes were also crisp not soggy. Highly recommend. read more

Eagerly anticipated opening, May 4/2013. Even the next day at 6:45 the line was out the door! Great variety of food, but pretty much the standard fare for a chinese buffet. Lots of battered deep fried stuff, chow mein, chop suey, fried rice. They were struggling to keep up with the crowd, and there were empty bins, but they filled them as fast as they could and everything was very fresh and very tasty. There was some salad, fruit and jello and ice-cream for those who had room left. The buffet was $17, which for us was NOT worth it. Combo's range from $13 to $16, and family dinners avg $13 per person. But if you are a big eater you will do well with the smorg. Next time we do ala carte and leftovers to take home! read more

We were staying at a resort south of town and just wanted a quite dinner in.We took out from here and had a good basic Chinese meal from there. Growing up in Vancouver my levels are set higher than people from the rest of North America. I am giving it a 4 star rating as compared to Chinese food I have had in other cities (Toronto, New York, Seattle, and Ottawa) it was above average. read more

Chinese food buffet with great service. Very clean and fresh items added regularly. Spacious seating, great for families and very well priced. read more

The worst Cantonese chow mein . Swimming in oil and no taste at all. Not recommending this Chinese Restaurant. The manager insists it's not cooking oil. read more

Great Chinese food from Parksville. Chicken balls were awesome. Great sweet and sour with pineapple. Bbq duck had good flavour- just needed crisper skin. Wonton was ok. Will definitely be back read more

I ordered the combination plate for one with chicken chow mein, vegetable chop suey and sweet and sour pork. The first two were hot and fresh but the pork was cold with warm sauce poured over it. Disappointing for a combo I was charged $19.93 for. Way too expensive for what you get! read more

Went with a large group of multiple families. They were very welcoming and the service was very attentive and prompt even though we did the buffet. The food was fresh and decent with something for everyone. The kids loved the selection of fresh fruit, jello and ice cream! read more

Terrible food - 12:30 pm arrived for lunch to see 3 dried up chicken wings remaining , a handful of noodles including vegetables overlooked and looking BAD ! The selection is absolutely terrible for a Buffett ! The owners need to step up and serve good food ! read more

Checking back in since previous review. Again, only delivery, no buffet or eat in. Since last review, have ordered 5 times. 3 great. 2 not so much. Seems to depend on who's cooking. Prices have increased. Generally, food is really good for delivered Chinese. Sometimes a bit bland. Overall, would now rate as a 4. read more

Great food if you're in need of a Chinese food fix. Smorg has great variety, and seemed to be replenished with fresh food quite regularly. Restaurant was clean and comfortable. There was only one waitress on during a lunch rush but she did an amazing job, she did better than some places that have more servers and less people. Impressive. I will return for sure read more

Tried Tan's. A bit of a wait but the staff was friendly. Restaraunt was nice and clean. Buffet was kept stocked and the food was fresh and hot. 5 dishes in buffet for vegetarians. Don't know what FoodGug C. was talking about. Prices reasonable. We will be back. read more

YUMMY!!!!!! Finally a descent Chinese food restaurant in the Oceanside area, its about time!!!!!!! My hubby and I went to Tan's on a friday evening for their buffet and we were not disappointed. The buffet selection was unbelievable, so many choices. The food was fresh and hot and they kept the food bins full right up until the end of the buffet. Our waitress couldn't have been more friendly & accommodating, service was EXCELLENT!!!!! We have definitely added Tan's to our list of favourites, and we will be back at least once a week, keep up the great service, cheers....sincerely, Rebecca & Kelly K. read more

Complete waste of money. Don't waste your money there! First they don't even have a pop machine, no free refills, they bring a can of pop to your table if you order pop, charge $3.00 a can, OUCH! Rip Off! For that money should be doing free refills, food was not great, limited selections, for the price they are charging I am expecting to see lots of variety, basically another bamboo garden, ripped us off on the price for buffet, charged kids adult price, for 4 of us just the buffet alone was almost $70.00. Not worth the money. You are better off just ordering from the grocery store in town. No paper towels in bathroom to dry your hands, camera located on the ceiling by check out till, suspicious they are collecting people's pin #'s. I work in security you are not gonna get a good image of a robber from an above view like they have, it's only other obvious purpose is to allegedly get your pin # when you pay. Guard your pin there. Employee's eating in back of kitchen with same gloves they are wearing to handle your own food. That is a health violation. The employees are also handling cash and food. I have no beef with these people, I am not a competitor, I just don't agree with their practices or prices. Way too much for what you are getting. Give it time and they will do the same as china garden. They never disclosed the price to us for the food or the pop. No menu`s. They should at least have a price board and disclose what the price is for what ages, and no free refills on pop. DOn't waste your money there! read more