Golden Corral Buffet & Grill — Restaurant in Georgia

Sun June 11, 2023, Golden Corral, McDonough, GA.

We stopped in for brunch about 9:40 am. I hadn't been to a GC in quite a few years. I just knew I wanted the ability to have a variety of things this morning. I went with a friend. We decided to split a variety of food to try. This location has an omelet station, steak made to your doneness level, dessert bar. -2 on quite a few items due to complete lack of seasoning on them while being cooked. The steak (medium) was a basic cut. No seasoning added. It was fairly tender. I tried the cornmeal covered catfish. Not my style, but the catfish was cooked perfectly. The fried chicken breast was cooked spot on, but lacked any seasoning also. The scrambled eggs were good. I added some mushroom, onion and bell pepper. I did like the hash brown casserole The breaded pork chop was absolutely perfect and delicious. Sweet tea was average Cranberry cocktail juice was completely a blend of other juices to make it. The Borden chocolate milk, is always good. I must confess, I had 4 of the school size boxes of it! They were chilled on a bed of ice and we're cold cold cold. The only way to truly enjoy them in my opinion. I tried some bread pudding with whipped cream on top. I liked that combo quite a bit. The GC in my opinion blows Shon**y away for pretty much the same price. Sadly where I live, unless we drive 30 miles that's all we have for a breakfast buffet.

Our server was very good. She was helpful to everyone in our section. Asking to refill drinks, get more silverware for customers, bring a dish of food, asking how everything was. I wish there were more like her at other establishments, because she really knew her job and great customer care. I tipped her extremely well for a job above and beyond.

The restaurant was clean and tidy. All the dishes were available and not empty.

-1 The checkout individuals weren't passing out silverware so we, along with almost everyone in our section had to be given silverware...

So tonight we wanted to do something a little special. It’s summer break and I needed a break from switching in the kitchen, but I still wanted the kids to have something good to eat. We decided to go with Golden Corral and build around the homemade dressing I made. Fried chicken was the original plan, but I wanted something a little different to pair with it, so I chose steak and baked potatoes. Let’s get into P & C’s.

PROS;

• The steak was surprisingly tender and juicy. It had that flame-grilled flavor that hit just right.

• The baked potato was cooked to perfection soft, fluffy, and warm.

• The garden salad was actually one of the highlights. Everything was fresh, vibrant, and crisp like it had just been chopped.

• The yeast roll? Nice and warm, soft in the middle, and just the right touch of sweetness.

• They added baked cookies to the meal, which was a sweet unexpected bonus.

• The homemade dressing I made brought everything together. It reminded me of being a little kid again, back when meals felt like love on a plate.

• They also gave a generous amount of steak, enough to enjoy leftovers the next day.

• Everything came packaged nicely, no spills, no mess, just clean and ready to eat.

CONS:

• Even though the steak had that grilled taste, it was slightly overdone for me. Still flavorful, just could’ve come off the flame a little sooner.

• The baked potatoes were on the small side, which made the portions feel a bit uneven, but it was still cool for what it was.

OVERALL: 9/10

Golden Corral came through for us tonight. It gave that homey, comfort feel without me having to lift a finger in the kitchen. With a few small tweaks, it could’ve been a 10, but this one sits comfortably at a strong 9 out of 10. Solid Sunday meal. Appreciate you,...

ASK FOR DIAMOND (server)! This young lady was professional, kind, attentive, and very sweet. She went above and beyond, unnecessarily. My family of five was in a really chill mood. My hubby hadn’t had Golden Corral since the start of COVID and really wanted to go. Several of the foods were just blah, but it’s a buffet. I do expect the foods to be hit or miss. Her service was truly SUPERB.

The dining area was clean and most of the severs were continuously cleaning, sweeping, etc. Their conversations were a bit much. Yelling to one another while in their respective zones, carrying on conversations that weren’t work appropriate in the presence of families dining. We also witnessed an employee openly debating/ or arguing with the manager in the dining area.

The cashier apparently wanted to be anywhere but work. I greeted her, complimented her and was overly pleasant (it’s my natural personality 🙄 I can’t help it😂). She only asked us what we wanted to drink, and told us our total. My son asked if she could mix his drink (lemonade and fruit punch). She literally just stared at him. I told him no and we kept it moving. In her defense it’s apparent they may have been short staffed as the cashier was making drinks and running the register. That doesn’t excuse her lack of joy though. Some people have that Wednesday Adams’ temperament- I get it. But she should be maybe in the kitchen. That way she doesn’t have to interact with the public if customer service is just not her thing.

I was sure to seek out the manager before leaving just to extend our praise for Diamond. His response- “oh yeah, that’s Diamond. She is great!” Clearly we aren’t the only members in her fan...