Golden Corral Buffet & Grill — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

Just to warn you, this is a very detailed review, so... It will long. We came on a Monday morning. The staff were nice, friendly, and helpful. I enjoyed the music wafting from the cook's station. The atmosphere was calm, mostly quiet. I tried a little bit of almost everything. Some of the labels were not accurate to what was on in the dishes, but most were. The chicken livers were not labeled, so I accidentally took some thinking it was chopped steak with peppers and onion. Unfortunately I don't like liver🤢. The salad spinach appeared to have some cold-damage on some leaves. The rest of the salad fixings I tried were good (grape tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, shredded cheese, French dressing) it was a decent salad bar. A cook was actively cooking steaks at the grill, but the sirloin tips in the self-serve were dry. My husband suspected they were from yesterday. I enjoyed the chicken pot pie, but I wouldn't necessarily say it was any better than what I buy in the freezer section at the grocery. The sweet potato mash had plenty of marshmallows bakes over it. I ate extra of that. They also had 2 types of corn bread in 2 different places. They were both delicious. One was very thick and moist with corn chunks in it, probs my favorite, but the skillet cornbread was also moist enough to win my approval (I don't like dry cornbread). They have a new thing now where the servers bring you rolls and butter. I did enjoy 1 roll with honey butter. It was perfectly light and soft and chewy. A couple of the cakes were dryish, but there were lots of dessert options. The brownies were perfectly moist and delicious. I just scrape off the icing. The peach cobbler was really just peach pie filling with strips of pie crust over it. I suspect the jello was sugar free by the taste. The chocolate pudding tasted a little off too. I'd say GC's claim that they have options for many diet types is accurate. I have gone keto enough times to know I could have stayed low carb this trip if I wanted to and still left as satisfied as I could be on a diet (lol). I was stuffed by the time I found the few breakfast items and the taco fixings at the far end, so I did...

Talk About GREATNESS, Team Golden Corral Corpus Christi demonstrates the true meaning of the word. As a very long time customer of GC, it had been over 2 years since at this store. What a positive shock I had! The new inside look is phenomenal. However, the high point of the visit was the customer service. It all started with the extreme positivity of the person at the register. His attitude and display of professionalism and cheerfulness let me know right then and there that I was in for a great time having dinner. Then on to the server, Irene. Irene is one in a million! Never a dull moment during a visit when she is your server. As I was enjoying the GREAT food (which is always hot and well prepared), I was watching all of the other servers. I was highly impressed with all of their obvious positive dedication to their job. I don't think I saw any of them taking a break from their work. Their positive work ethics were certainly visible, always happily serving their customers or ensuring the cleanliness and correctness of their assigned areas. It must be stressed that no TEAM just happens. It is always a reflection of the Management. I know that the Leader of Team Golden Corral Corpus Christi has been there over 10 years. She is without a doubt The Best of The Best. Every business in the customer service industry should model their managers after her.

Many times only 'Complainers' will take the time to write notes to corporate. This team richly deserves Appreciation and Thanks for a JOB WELL DONE. To the entire team at Golden Corral #0938, THANK YOU for the job you do in making the dining experience make it feel like one is having dinner with family. You ARE appreciated.

Keep up the GREAT JOB...

Our table server, Irene, was probably the best thing about our recent visit to Golden Corral. She was attentive to our drinks needing refills, and when we were done with our plates.

The food servers either could not hear our requests, or were just in a hurry based on how we were served. I understand the current situation of COVID and how it's affected restaurants, but given how many wrong items my brother and I were served, and how my requests for specific items weren't met (I kept asking for less fatty pieces of pot roast, and ended up with a mountain of it, and barely any meat), a lot of work is still needed. Some instructions could also be displayed for how to approach the carving station as I'm still at times puzzled for what to ask for or how to ask for it and I know I'm not the only one with this conundrum.

The dessert station and the chocolate waterfall have certainly been improved by their changes though, and I hope that these particular changes are kept after COVID.

The food is certainly good (when we got what we want), but the food service is certainly disproportionate to what we paid for, and I certainly won't be paying for a repeat of this anytime soon. I hope to return when some of these COVID procedures are rescinded as currently, they make the visit...