Buffet des Continents - Gatineau — Restaurant in Gatineau

Went here today for “lunch”, drove all the way from Ottawa, won’t ever waste our time or money doing that again.

Aside from kind servers, everything was horrible. I’m almost certain the food was left over from another day because it was so dry and hard we could hardly eat anything. As for the food, nothing was as expected. According to the website they have a wide variety of food from all over the world. This was more like potluck from Salvation Army quality. I’m taking food bank dinner which there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the food bank, but I certainly did not assume I would be paying $50 to eat like I am poor. I’m taking absolutely horrible. I think the only thing that was actually edible and alright was the pizza, and we didn’t spend $50+ and drive 30 minutes out of our way when the mandarin buffet is 10 minutes from our home. Save your money, save your time, save your bowels the displeasure from days stale,old food.

Also I would like to make note there was a group of 300+ kids having a Christmas party while we attended. Do I need to say more??? Instead of placing the large party in the back party room, they had them all at the front of the building. I couldn’t even have a conversation with my partner because it was so loud and we couldn’t use the bathroom because it was a hangout spot for these children. Don’t offer a quiet area for the customers there to enjoy lunch, place us right beside loud kids. Who I must add were touching plates, bowls and food and then putting it back?! GROSS!!!

To say we would have liked our money back would be an understatement, however they make you pay when you walk in, most likely because you would walk out if you took one look at the food they are serving.

This place was good a few years ago, not sure if it is due to Covid or inflation, however it is NOT quality nor quantity, hardly even is it edible. We’ve been having bowel discomfort since we left the restaurant, probably due to the general Tao chicken we ate that was hard as a rock.

Would like to also mention the food is not what is advertised. If you browse the website and read the glorious long lists of the top quality food they serve, you’ll be disappointed when you arrive. Tastes from all over the world, more like taste of this weeks stale left overs. I’m honestly convinced the food was left over from the weekend and we visited on Wednesday. I wish I was lying about the quality. I am going to be requesting a refund via email. Will update my review...

To say the least this place is absolutely horrific, the food was an absolute incense and should not meet dietary recommendations and should be re investigated by the Health Department, everything was left over from weeks prior, becoming dry, stale and bland. Everything was just unseasoned and either raw or really overcooked and dry. One of my cuts of briskets were left over from a few weeks prior and they were still completely raw! How does it stay in storage for weeks and it's still raw! Absolutely disgusting, I don't even understand why this place is still in business, and why people still go there. Not to mention, they demand you pay upfront and even TIP upfront so you are basically stuck there with terrible food and customer service. The reason they implemented this system is because if you just took a glance at the popularity of the restaurant and even the food in the buffets, you would walk out without even paying. The default tip amount is 18% when they should be paying you to go there in the first place! The hostess was extremely rude with making terrible and condescending faces when we asked not to be crammed into a space with about 5 people around us when the restaurant was close to completely empty! The waitress then brought the drinks to the table with rude mannerisms and took out the card machine and charged us an extra 11 dollars for 3 pepsi, on top of this they ask for yet ANOTHER tip. Then they didn't come back to take plates or ask if we needed anything for the rest of our time there. I had tried the Wonton soup and the amount of "meat" in there was to the portions of a mouse, it was all dough. I also had the displeasure of trying the chicken which tasted like a soggy and wet sock drenched in coal. The last thing I had at this absolute abomination was the spaghetti, the noodles were cold and the sauce was all watery which had absolutely no seasoning and you could tell it was made in the microwave and left over for weeks. Please people, do not spend your money and time here when there is so many alternative options that are way better and worth your while! Not to mention the whole meal came out to $150 for 2 adults and 1 kid. This was the worst experience and restaurant I have ever been to, for sure going to leave this one in the past and I urgently encourage you to never visit this disgusting...

Worst Buffet experience of my life- hotel breakfast buffets are better. We went for my birthday, which was a tuesday, maybe that was the problem.

There weren't any workers at the stations where we needed to be served. So we missed out on a few things because we literally waited and no one came. We finally flagged someone down for roastbeef and it was so old and unedible we just left it after one bite. There were two giant dishes of fries and not many options otherwise. EVERYTHING i could've made at home, one dish was cold stuck together spaghetti with an untouched dish of meat sauce, i could've made that at home way cheaper than $35 it costed per person. We ended leaving hungry and very disappointed. If someone offered to take me back for free, I'd refuse. There was a dish with cooked mushrooms, the mushrooms were raw. A dish with mussles, the mussles were so mushy and fishey- my stomach was sick after. The best thing out of all the options was Mac and Cheese (a little better than KD quality). Even the ribs they had were only fat and had a weird taste trying to he hidden by a strong sauce. Literally, just eat at home- you can make toast and itll be better than ANY of the food available here.

Also, when we entered, we were told to pay ahead of time and was told that was standard. Yet three table with older people all paid after their meal. It made us feel like they judged us.

Also, all the desserts were frozen - the Mille du feuille was literally completely frozen in the middle with freezer burnt crystals. I was so so sad to have wasted the money it cost but also the time. It was my birthday and I wish I had a dinner I couldve actually eaten.

Literally ANY other buffet would be better...