Panda Garden Buffet — Restaurant in Sunderland

Oh panda!...how we missed thee, just when we thought it would never re-open after covid a glimmer of hope surfaced when work started on the inside...fast forward just a cpl of months later....and a kind of new name.."panda garden" was now open!! Yippee i thought, as I really did enjoyed the idea of of pick what you want and all you can eat aspect of the previous panda, well I went with 3 other people who like myself love to reminisce about previous visits, it was Saturday night and to start... well we were shown to our table which we thought was a little bit close to other tables..but bums on seats is obviously is the nature of this business, then the first bombshell...the cost wow!! it's shot up astronomically, I know the cost of goods has gone up but blimey 18 quid for a cpl if plate's of food plus drinks on top...I almost spat my drink out if I had one, as drinks ordered took a while to come over, anyway I settled myself in as I thought to myself give it a chance, hmmm...where do we start oh yes the plates...they are like a small dining plate almost two thirds the size, ok no Biggie I thought, where is the food, gone are the open containers where you can see exactly what you are getting..now we have glorified bread bins hiding the food with a small Label for the food is just behind, great if you can see without glasses but I found them a wee bit small, so I loaded up my plate with a few bits to start, the food itself was really nice and tasted better than it had ever done so a definite improvement there!, However 4 people eating on small plates soon mount up, and this is another gripe, the staff are obviously busy but seemed to ignore the plates on our table untill there's was practically no room, they did eventually clear them but cos the table was at the bottom they never ventured down enough to clear plates, I know the staff aren't there for me personally but it was a bit lax as they were more interested in clearing tables down for more punters that maybe come through the door...but I could see maybe it because they were busy, anyway to cut a long story incredibly short, yes panda is back, yes the food tastes better but no...the prices will probably stop me coming back unless it's an important occasion, shame really, I know they have to make a living but a lot of people will be put off with that price increase, 15quid maybe, after all how much can 1...

I love Chinese cuisine. I love a succulent Chinese meal. Usually though, I get my fix from takeaways, usually as a treat, but Panda brings this to a whole new level with an All You Can Eat experience.

Panda is your standard All You Can Eat; you go up, grab a plate, construction a mountain of various meats and sauces, Henry Hoover the pile of food into your face, and repeat until you feel physically ill. But usually the food at these sort of places is pretty standard, but Panda has so many amazing things to try; even things I don't like from takeaways, are banging from here.

Personally, I think the chicken balls are one of the best. Also, I think the Honey Pork is one of the most amazing foods I've ever had. And everything is better in Cantonese Sauce. On the downside, I think there needs to be some Cantonese Sauce items available, rather than just the sauce, and also, the sweet and sour sauce tastes a little artificial, almost chemically. It's weird. But it's an outlier, everything here is amazing.

Some advice though. Don't eat a lot before you come here, else you won't have room for all the food. Secondly, try to resist the urge to immediately shovel as much food down as possible, and take it slow, slower than you usually would. You'll be able to eat much more this way, and enjoy the experience for longer.

The staff here are really kind, very quick to clear plates, ask if you need any more drinks, asking how everything is. Very kind! The prices are very fair, I think I paid £14 for myself, but it depends on the time of day I think? But that's about how much I'd pay for a Chinese Takeaway, and this is like that but infinite, so really worth it.

The only downside is the last time I was here, there was a crying toddler there for most of the time, but that's nothing on the establishment. You'll occasionally get kids here, that's just life.

Overall amazing experience. Already been twice and I'll likely...

2 weeks ago I went here with my partner, during the week at around 3pm. The service was lovely, we were seated and served drinks within 3 minutes. The buffet trays were full of hot and delicious food.

I visited again after preaching this buffet to my parents, fair to say we were extremely let down. Saturday night at 7pm. Almost every buffet tray was empty, and if it there was any food in the tray it was cold. Every other customer was complaining about the same thing and the establishment emptied very quickly.

The "manager" was pulled on 3 occasions and asked why there was no food or variety and had short chats with other customers.

We had a chat with the lady at the counter when we asked for the, we knew what the price would be but it honestly felt like daylight robbery to pay £75 for 4 people to eat some chicken balls and boiled rice. I asked if there was anything she could do and she seemed a bit intimidated, which I totally understand as this is a new establishment. We spoke with the manager who advised us that they're still learning to 'control the peaks' of the business. This does make sense and is understandable, however when running a business of this stature you should understand this by week 2. If there is a football match, a live concert, a theatrical play etc. they should be prepared.

We requested that our price be reduced however the manager advised that he does not have that type of power, but he does go into meetings every morning and will share the feedback. He invited us back to try again, and I will be returning on the same day of the week, at the same time to see if there has been any improvements. The manager offered us complimentary drinks on the house for the inconvenience.

My parents won't be returning, which is a shame, however I would like to see this business do well so I will return to my review in a...