Ocean Buffet — Restaurant in Carlsbad

Was overcharged twice for our kids. Talked with hostess about price discrepancy. Owner quoted one price and we were charged another. Two different visits one child was charged double! She saw our receipt & advertised price, was polite, took photo & offered 1 free meal. If only it ended there. (We were overcharged A LOT more than that, but it's fine, the important thing is i thought they’d correct the discrepancy but sadly they didn’t even do that)... Unfortunately while we sat waiting, a man came & began speaking loudly at the hostess, he was very upset, ppl were staring, he caused such a scene. While we waited he kept berating her. It was so incredibly uncomfortable I wanted to leave while also wanting to help her but they were speaking a language I don't know. He then came to us & had her translate that HE's the owner & that they "don't know any Tiffany". He announced "Tiffany is NOT the owner!" I'm not sure who is the owner... Tiffany or this man, but yikes, this interaction was so embarrassing. The hostess said something to him & showed him the advertisement again & he still upset said to us "are you eating now? 1 free!" If this is the owner, I don't want to return. Such a shame. So many people working so hard there, providing great customer service and decent food, spoiled by one "owner" posting wrong prices & another "owner" belittling staff loudly at the entrance with so many customers staring eyes wide. Way too much drama in an area saturated with so many other places to dine.

Review on the restaurant: The soup bowls, ALL but 2 were poorly washed/dirty. higher prices than advertised for kids. They won’t honor their advertised pricing but it's worth mentioning that the owner posted prices for children $2 for each year over 3 yrs old for weekends. My 8 yr old was charged $20! So we should have been charged $10, but the server said "it's $20 for an 8 yr old."

Our 11 yr old daughter was charged 32.99. She should have been charged $16. Server said "over 10 it's full price." Owner's posted pricing is not what we received at the restaurant.

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Place looked clean. Impressive. Plates, like at Texas de Brazil, are at knee level. Why do this? Space saving, yes, I get it. But so gross, ppl are walking/ hovering, little kids coughing on them... yikes. Bathroom had an industrial loud n forceful fan blowing on the floor. It felt humid in there, l'd imagine it'd be hot without it, but yikes, on a bathroom floor blowing all over... was not a fun experience. At least it did look clean. Now for the food... THE reason you come. All food that's out is included in the price. Only Drinks are extra. Crab legs were iffy looking, quite dirty looking. I got a little and they were cold BUT decent. Shell on most are rubbery. Crab was gone quickly but several mins later replenished, then gone again. So be patient. Lo mein, no flavor at all, was just spaghetti noodles. Cheese ragoons were ok.

Baked Shrimp was tasty but extra difficult to separate from shell. Coconut shrimp was incredibly delicious!!!! Sesame balls filled with paste are my favorite. Daughter loved the dumplings! I tried one, yes well made. Nice crisp to it and soft yummy interior. Well made. Husband tried the soft bun? items & liked them. Sushi was decent too. I usually won't eat it at a buffet but here it looked really clean and possibly safe. Except for the soup... bowls were ALL but 2 dirty. One even had an ice cream lid stuck to the inside of it, so gross! It turned my stomach to see it & the black pieces of rice or something stuck on the others. Very gross!

We were so excited to hear of this buffet. My husband loves buffets. I’m not a fan but was excited for him and was hopeful for something new to try. The lying by one owned or the other has me baffled. I hope they get it together and that they find peace. Such a...

Today I went to Ocean Buffet with my family and I honestly regret every second of it. The service was zero. The staff were not only rude….they were straight-up disrespectful and, to be real, borderline racist (we are clearly people of color and i guess they all hated that)

From the second we sat down, we felt like we were being watched. We were just four adults trying to enjoy a meal, but every time we put a plate to the side, the workers would come by and individually check every single one to see if we had finished the food , like we were kids or like we were going to get in trouble. I’ve never seen this happen to anyone else in a buffet, and I’ve been to a lot. It felt targeted, and it was humiliating.

Then when we got the bill, it came in one of those black folders, you know, the usual. But instead of letting us review it or take a second, the server literally put her hand out immediately, signaling for cash or card right now ( i literally thought it was a prank or a joke, i didn’t understand at first but she stared at us for at least 30 SECONDS until my brother pulled out his card). It was so aggressive and uncomfortable that we just handed over our card because we didn’t know what was going on. Then she came back with the same folder for the tip, and before we even opened it, she threw her hand out again, basically demanding we give her the tip right then and there. It was insane.

There were so many little things that built up. When we asked politely for sauce, we were told to go get our own containers ( you’ve got to be kidding me) not even nicely. It was dismissive, cold, like we were bothering them. Throughout our whole meal, we kept getting stared at. It wasn’t subtle, it was like full-on stares, eye rolls, and annoyed looks. It was clear they didn’t want us there. OH and they didn’t speak to us, they used hand gestures like we didn’t deserve a word. Meanwhile, they were actually talking to other (white) customers normally and with respect. The double standard was loud.

And when we left, after we still tipped (which we now regret), FIVE employees literally followed us to the door. No thank you, no goodbye, just this feeling of being pushed out. It was beyond uncomfortable ( i truly believe they think they own the place) it felt like they couldn’t wait to get us out of there.

I usually don’t write reviews like this, but this was hands down the worst treatment I’ve ever received at any restaurant. And I’m calling it what it was …discriminatory. Every single employee we interacted with was dismissive, cold, and disrespectful to us, while being normal and friendly to everyone else. We felt unwelcome from the start to the moment we were rushed out the door.

Ocean Buffet, you should be...

While the have a sign outside it is hidden behind part of the roof. It is visible from the far side of the parking lot but hard to see when you are up close. Just remember in is in the Olive Garden parking lot. This is a reasonably priced seafood buffet featuring and leaning Oriental fare. We went there for lunch and all you can eat for $20 they offer a senior discount so it saves you a few dollars. The dinner menu is about $30 and for seniors a little less. It is a big place with many areas to sit. While at lunch it was not too busy we got there at 1:45 and they say certain days and time they are packed. They have a lot of help but still it seems like it is one giant family. Everyone was pleasant and they did a good job changing plates because most buffets they want you to use a new plate each time They do have a sushi bar but it might be limited for most. If you like Chinese food but do not know what to try this might be an excellent way to taste a little of this or that. The had about 40 items not counting sushi. I was disappointing on many of the items because they were lukewarm at best. Even the baked fish you would assume was hot was actually cool. While I am a pretty plain guy my wife thought most of the dishes were blan. They did a good job labelling each dish but as stated they really need to turn up the temperature on the steam tables. I know it is hard to keep things hot on a buffet but certainly they need to look into this. You will not go hungry. While I would not say it was great food but they did a good job with many option. While this is mainly chinese and seafood they did have on special dish. Pizza but it wa not very good. If you are big on deserts this might not be the place. They have a cold box with little cups of ice cream. A few cookies but they did have a chocolate float to cover marshmallows Only soft drinks tea and coffee While this is NOT on my MUST TRY list I think it is interesting enough to try and for $20-30 you will not break the bank. I might consider trying the dinner in the future. There is a lot of parking but with all the other eating places you might have to...