Super Buffet Bemidji — Restaurant in Bemidji

This is an incredible restaurant. I don't know about the older, anonymous reviews, but I've been to Chinese buffets from Seattle to Orlando, and especially to many in San Francisco, arguably the birthplace of Chinese American cuisine. Super Buffet is one of the best I've ever been to, which is hilarious because it has a generic name written in a generic all-caps font, and it's located not in San Francisco but Bemidji, Minnesota. That's just random as hell.

The first thing you'll notice is the decor. Super Buffet might look plain from the outside, but dining here is like stepping into a classical painting. From the lacquered chairs, bright chandeliers and clean bathrooms, it's that very polished look standard to upscale restaurants, but not what you are expecting from looking at the outside. It's immediately comforting, and takes a lot of pressure off you wanting to eat in a hurry and leave.

Buffets are awesome because if you've got time to dine in, the selection allows a family of picky eaters to sit together for a meal. I ate here with a diabetic, a kashrut observer and a vegetarian, and there was something for everyone at the Super Buffet. The buffet is very large and for the lunch price of $9.44 (including tax) it's an incredible value. During lunch, the place is bursting with traffic, so fresh food isn't in short supply.

One of the best shorthand ways to evaluate a buffet's quality is to look at the most expensive menu item, and to judge the quality of their soft drinks. Buffets can cut costs both by cheapening their entree items and diluting out their soft drinks with water. This usually means ditching seafood, which is expensive to buy and maintain because it must be shipped long distance. Super Buffet's most expensive dish is baked salmon, which is a staple of their lunch and dinner menus. Not only do they not dilute their soft drinks, they're actually stronger than what you would taste out of a can. The staff act like this quality is no big deal to them, but it's clear to me it's something they take very seriously.

Although Super Buffet is a superior dining experience, there are a few negatives to take into account. The dinner price of nearly $14 dulls the magic, as a big part of what makes lunch amazing is the trio of high quality, diverse selection and low price. Although dinner is available twice as long as lunch, traffic slows down later in the day, so the food isn't going to be as fresh or replaced as frequently. I'm not sure why this is, as the restaurant seems pretty popular, but I think given the location most of the lunch business comes from travelers through Bemidji, while in the evenings the distant location and strong competition from restaurants in town suppress customers. The final wrinkle is the menu doesn't change much from lunch to dinner, or from day to day, so you're effectively paying 5 extra dollars for what is essentially the same meal as lunch. That's enough to dock the rating from 5 stars to 4 or 3 and a half, but that's still well worth going to.

Final verdict: Super Buffet is a beast of a restaurant, and if you're traveling through Bemidji it's practically a tourist destination. You'll be impressed by what you see here, especially if you ate at other Chinese buffets along the way up north. Lunch is spectacular, while dinner is just okay, and is hurt in a big way because business slows down. If you hit dinner during a busy time it's just like lunch. If you couldn't tell, I highly recommend...

The "buffet" costs $18.99 for dinner. Not $13.99 as shown from the menu from two years ago. The food was okay, but the selection was dismal, at best. No sushi. The "fresh" green beans were old and limp. I know the difference between over cooked and old, these were old. This is a 100% serve yourself. Get your own flatware, drinks, napkins, ect. The bussers did keep the plates picked up though. I cannot in good faith recommend this place. It's overpriced and the food leaves much to be desired. I'm pretty sure their produce is on the verge of turning and they buy it at a discount. Veggies are the staple for Asian cuisine and if it's not fresh the rest of the ingredients don't matter. I had high hopes for a good Chinese meal but didn't find it here. For the price I expected much bigger and better. A hibachi grill would have been nice along with a much larger selection of dishes and appetizers. My local Asian buffet is three times the size, has a hibachi grill so you can have them prepare the fresh foods you choose, has a huge dessert bar and...

For a small community, Bemidji has one of the best Chinese Buffet style restaurants I have been to. The restaurant is clean every where. The food choices are plentiful. During Covid-19 the restaurant was closed for dine-in; but the kitchen stayed open for take-away. Customers are given a list of what is available on the buffet to order, while staff filled the container with your choices. My favorite is the take-away menu which is different the the buffet menu. There are many more food options and the take-away portions are huge and packed in reusable, freezer, microwave, dishwasher safe containers. No matter if you buffet or take-away the food is fantastic!

UPDATE: Super Buffet has changed ownership. Your Credit Card will show as "Happy Brothers" although the outside signage is still "Super Buffet." The food is still very tasty. The take away containers are the same and they are still packed as full as possible. You still can't go wrong by choosing Super...