China Garden — Restaurant in Culpeper

⚠️ Couple weeks ago we went to the China Garden buffet for our 2023 Valentine dinner. We had an awful experience. The worst in our entire life. Food was days old tasting, barely warm, shrimp and crab tasted ‘exactly’ the same as though both were made out of some kind of bread doe, and fell apart the moment we put it in our mouth. The only reason we ever go there was for the all you can eat fried shrimp.

My wife and I had been going there for a couple years, and stopped going for about 6 months because the Food quality was getting worse. Six months later we figured as long as we ate what usually was a safe bet would still be tasty. We were so very wrong. Everything tasted old, the food was barely warm. The last few times we went, there were never many customers during peak hours. And there were barely any other customers for their Valentine Dinner. When I asked the waitress where was everybody there was no reply.

The entire staff is no longer friendly by any means. They never say hi, hello, how are you, thank you or good by, and usually avoid eye contact. It’s as though everyone there had just lost a family member. A very gloomy atmosphere.

The service was super poor, almost absent all together, and they no longer have any music playing. We suspect they are on the verge of going out of business which would account for the unfriendly service, and poor quality barely warm food that taste like it’s a few days old. We just know we will never go back under its current management.

The experience was so bad, that we quickly stopped eating. Paid our $36.50 bill, reluctantly left a $5.00 tip on the table, and went to another resturant in town as we still needed to eat.

This four-star average average must’ve been before the China garden started going downhill. By the way they have shut down half of their Buffet nearly 2 years ago and never opened it back up. Scares me to think what their kitchen...

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. I'm all for giving credit where credit is due, but this place is absolutely horrible! My husband and I gave this place a try and we regretted it as soon as we sat at our table to eat. The food tasted like it had been sitting out for hours. Cold, leathery chicken...dry/hard rice...under-cooked broccoli...and some dishes almost had a chemical/soapy taste to it. When I brought this to the attention of our waitress, she shrugged her shoulders, said "I don't know" and walked away. I didn't eat one single plate of food after a few bites. I told the waitress I didn't like it, I wasn't going to be eating, and to take my full plate away. No apology, no customer service to try to remedy the situation. She did however proceed to talk about us with a handful of other waitresses, while snickering and pointing fingers our way. I asked for a manager. When I explained the situation to this "manager" (she didn't speak fluent English)...I was simply told to leave or they'd call the cops. The COPS?? Really? All I could do was laugh. Save yourself a trip. This establishment is a joke. The "management" and customer service here are nonexistent. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. We...

This hole in the wall is one of our favorite spots to go at least once a week. The staff is helpful and friendly. They tend to pick up on stuff like when you want or don't want a refill, have your plates taken or not. They understand personal space and OCD tendencies. This is one of the reasons why it's in the top 3 of my 5 favorite places to eat.

The food is fresh and quickly replaced when it has been bottomed out. Sushi is fresh and you will see a man working really hard to replenish any empty spaces.

The usage of paper products also speaks for itself. Efficiency is the restaurant's main goal and they provide that effectively without worrying about dirty dishes or dishes not cleaned right. Chopsticks are also found in more than one spot in the buffet area.

Overall this is a very great lunch choice. All races welcome and family friendly. You can pay at the table once you are full and can't move. Dine like kings and queens with prices like $32.00 for 2 all you can eat. 100% recommend but please don't take my booth on Sundays. It's the 3rd one on the left when you...