Dinner buffet restaurants.

[PositronicRay]

Moominho said:

I was waiting for this thread

I love a hotel buffet breakfast as discussed in the last thread, but dinner buffet restaurants are the lowest of the low. Definitely fodder for the council thread.

Ideally suited to someone who approaches mealtimes with a "strategy".

[vsonix]

I know a fantastic one in Narbonne, Southern France. http://www.lesgrandsbuffets.com/en. Head Chef has 3 stars. It's bloody amazing, just quality French food, rotisserie meats (suckling pig, duck), seafood fresh out of the Med, foie gras etc etc. It's not 'cheap' per se but it's definitely affordable at about €40 a head and very worth the money. It's in a leisure centre, of all places!

Edited by vsonix on Wednesday 29th March 18:17

[fido]

I used to frequent the ones around Leicester Square - not to pig out but so I could pick and mix. A few of they appear to have closed down - not surprising as they seemed to attract the lower end of clientele (especially mouthy customers i.e. 'out-of-towners' on a weekend night out) and not charging enough for reasonable food. The only one I go to nowadays is on Lisle Street - it's always a novelty to take friends who have never eat Chinese food before, albeit a cheapo version of it. There is decent eat-as-much-as-you-can Sushi place in Soho which has better quality food, clean and nice décor, but costs twice as much.

[hyphen]

KungFuPanda said:

On the outskirts of town are Indian buffets.

The one on Stockport Road opened a branch on the outskirt of London. Went to it and wasn't very good.

[hyphen]

Rick101 said:

I don't mind a buffet but it can be a false economy. Many are often near £20 for their 'full' menu, Brazilian nearer £30.

You can go to some really good restaurants and get a starter and main for under £20 and be quite full.

Buffet places are something I grew out of.

[ambuletz]

Do they still do Pizza Hut buffet? I don't think I've had that in at least 5-6 years. Had it loads during uni. I think the most I ever managed was about 13 slices (not eating the crust). I always wondered about the crust on the buffet pizza though, it almost looked/felt like the crust was fried.

[kowalski655]

Pizza Hut still do a buffet, normally a plain one,a veggie one,and a pepperoni one...So pretty st.

I quite like the Cosmo in Glasgow, but prefer a buffet that is just one cuisine, preferably Indian. Pink Turban in Wishaw is good.

[KungFuPanda]

hyphen said:

KungFuPanda said:

On the outskirts of town are Indian buffets.

The one on Stockport Road opened a branch on the outskirt of London. Went to it and wasn't very good.

Nawab? The one in Manchester is pretty good. Went a few months ago. they're the ones with the grill chefs who will cook up lamb chops, lamb steak, seekh kebabs etc etc to order.

[Mykap]

Yep I prefer A La Carte but last night was BBQ night in my hotel in Oman so it was a sort of buffet.

Not too shabby though, albeit eye wateringly expensive..





No pork of course, which was predictable but disappointing just the same.

Edited by Mykap on Thursday 30th March 07:31

[brianashley]

C70R said:

Walk through London's Chinatown, and look at the contrasting clientele in the various establishments. I've been eating there for more than 10 years, and this has always rung true.

The handful of really good Asian restaurants tend to be vast majority Asian diners, with the younger audiences denoting the trendier places. The many, many middle-of-the-road restaurants feature majority non-Asian Londoners, with a smattering of tourists thrown in for good measure.
Then, the buffets... without fail they tend to be full of overweight, badly-dressed tourists; clutching teetering piles of deep-fried, beigeness.

Take from that what you will about quality of food, but there's a strong correlation with the type of people who tend to frequent restaurants in Chinatown.

So true . I dont think you can find great food in China town now. The Phoenix Palace is the best in London I think . China town is like saying you can get good Curry in Brick lane !

[IanJ9375]

boxst said:

Oh yes, Brazilian ones are great.

I took a bunch of people here http://fogodechao.com in San Francisco and it was lovely.

I've been to one of those on Int'l Drive Orlando - even by Fazenda standards that place is a clear notch above, not cheap but it was the nicest meal I had whilst in Florida by a mile!

[C70R]

brianashley said:

So true . I dont think you can find great food in China town now.

100% disagree with that. I've eaten great Asian food across most of the continent, and some of the stuff in London still stacks up well. If you want some recommendations, I'm happy to provide...

[brianashley]

Go on then, Most of my HK and mainland friends dont like eating in China Town. I spent time in HK years ago and mainland also . The only place that was authentic (Not amazing but good) had a fire (Insurance Job!) last year . On the corner of Gerrard Place . People say the "Royal China" is also good in Queensway . But I think it falls into the 'Not bad" quality.

[C70R]

brianashley said:

Go on then, Most of my HK and mainland friends dont like eating in China Town. I spent time in HK years ago and mainland also . The only place that was authentic (Not amazing but good) had a fire (Insurance Job!) last year . On the corner of Gerrard Place . People say the "Royal China" is also good in Queensway . But I think it falls into the 'Not bad" quality.

Not to go too far OT:
- Imperial China. Excellent Dim Sum and private dining.
- Misato. Fantastic, simply Japanese.
- Feng Wei Shi Tang. Decent, authentic, Chinese fayre.

I also really like New Mayflower, but opinions are divided among my friends. Asking for the Chinese menu (in English) helps a lot.

ETA - If you're going to the Royal China chain, make sure you visit the "Club" on Baker St. Head and shoulders above the others, and brilliant for weekend Dim Sum.

Edited by C70R on Thursday 30th March 13:01

[brianashley]

C70R said:

Not to go too far OT:
- Imperial China. Excellent Dim Sum and private dining.
- Misato. Fantastic, simply Japanese.
- Feng Wei Shi Tang. Decent, authentic, Chinese fayre.

I also really like New Mayflower, but opinions are divided among my friends. Asking for the Chinese menu (in English) helps a lot.

Not in China town, but did you ever try "Shanghai blues " when it first opened ? We did find it could be really good

Ive eaten a few times in Imperial China and it was good. .But I find the whole China town thing a bit jaded (!)

[C70R]

brianashley said:

C70R said:

Not to go too far OT:
- Imperial China. Excellent Dim Sum and private dining.
- Misato. Fantastic, simply Japanese.
- Feng Wei Shi Tang. Decent, authentic, Chinese fayre.

I also really like New Mayflower, but opinions are divided among my friends. Asking for the Chinese menu (in English) helps a lot.

Not in China town, but did you ever try "Shanghai blues " when it first opened ? We did find it could be really good

Ive eaten a few times in Imperial China and it was good. .But I find the whole China town thing a bit jaded (!)

In spite of the tourists, there are still a few real gems.
Shanghai Blues was fun (I had a client who loved it a few years back - probably 3-4 times a year), but I never really felt like it understood what it was trying to be.

[toastyhamster]

Been doing some consultancy on Shaftesbury Ave recently for a HK company, all the HK ported in staff eat Pret and Maccies :-o

[red22]

ambuletz said:

Do they still do Pizza Hut buffet? I don't think I've had that in at least 5-6 years. Had it loads during uni. I think the most I ever managed was about 13 slices (not eating the crust). I always wondered about the crust on the buffet pizza though, it almost looked/felt like the crust was fried.

13 slices? Lightweight. When my daughters were a lot younger and begging me for a laptop each I foolishly said if they could jointly out eat me at pizza hut buffet they could have one. 21 slices later, they were still short of a laptop and I was near collapse.

The crust and base of pizza hut pizzas are almost fried as they put a few tbsp of oil in the pan before the dough.