Rio Buffet & bar — Restaurant in Hillcrest Heights

WE ARE NEVER EVER EVER GOING BACK !

I wish there's 0 star I can choose ! 1 star is for : (Waiter is nice, sushi is good . I pay 72$ for 5 adults 1 kid (2drinks). Price is fair. ) .We were so tired and hungry. Because we were at 6 flags had so much fun and catch Pokemon , we didn't have chance to eat . We want to have meal before we go to the skating place at Temple Hill. So we use Google search the most nearby the restaurant. Rio buffet it is . ( Rio buffet this name I thought is Latino food restaurant ) so this was how me and my friends first time coming to this restaurant .(7/19/2016 at 5:56pm) After pay the money and a waiter lead us to the table . Not many people there at this time and this is not good for eating at the buffet.(buffet tips: more people eating more fresh food coming)

Just as I thought most food are dry , slimy and not to fresh . With a few more people coming in, the bartender start bring out the fresh( I mean better looking and not dry food) .one of Fish is good . And it all start with one of my friend say he tummy not feel well , we were thinking maybe he was to tired with 7hours playing at 6 flags and this hot weather . We told him just drink some water and don't eating any seafood or anything anymore. ( he end up vomit at the restaurant park lot when we left from the restaurant )

My wife find out my 8 year old daughter dessert plate have a cake ( this cake is totally Latino homemade cake , one of my family favorite, not many place have that , in Spanish we call that "Budin De Pan" . My family made that sometimes, one of ingredients is bread, special leftover bread , it is hard to keep it fresh in this weather so always keep inside the refrigerator) my daughter has 2pcs on the plate one of cake top very slip (my wife use her finger touch) and other one has White Fluffy Hairly Moldy thing on the top ( I wish I can upload the picture), I call the waiter and show it to her I say :" hi, miss , this cake is not fresh, old, and had moldy white hair thing on the top " she told the cake ( cake was never return back to the table , I took the photo before they took away ) . So we decided not touch the dessert. We eat fruit ( I pay 72$ gonna eat something right) . Few minutes later same waiter come and say we remove all the cake away already. When we go get the fruit there are no cake on the bar anymore, before we leaving one lady coming and say to us there are not the Moldy or White Fluffy things on the cake , the white thing are other type of cake frosting maybe just a little touch or what ever. This is what they say . We are 6 people all got bad vision . I didn't tell her we took a photo. We just say ok this is what your explanation . We just left with 10% tips for the waiter. She did her job . When we left before the cake was back on the bar , it only 30% amount left not like when we just come in it was full of cake on the big plate.

PS this is my first time write the review and I will copy this to my Yelp ( also first time ) and I can upload the MOLDY CAKE photo there and recipes. My wife stomach diarrhea all day (7/20/2016) She love seafood and she eat most is seafood that day (7/19/2016) I just have a couple time extra other regular day(7/20/2016)

Tips for eating at buffet: When more crowded food more fresh When you try to complain something always take the photo before showing to them If somethings on your plate is bad or hair, or anything you ask new one PLEASE remember keep the not good one until they bring you a new one and than give it the bad one to them . You really don't know is the same...

My son and i ate there tonight for the last time. Food- they never switch their menu up. If you eat there today they’re going to have the exact same stuff if you come back next month and the month after. The lo mein noodles aren’t shortened at all when they’re prepared which leaves them all over the place and hanging out of the container laying on the counter. The chicken and beef dishes are tough. They advertised that they had horchata. It was flavorless with suspicious froth on top. I switched to sprite. None of their condiment bottles are kept cold. They sit out on the counter all day. The bottle labeled “mustard” was an off orangish yellow. I got the stuffed crab. The shell broke in half in my hand when i picked it up to eat it and it tasted off. Like spoiled off. I spit it out and put the remainder in the shell bucket on the table. The chocolate cake and carrot cake were from Costco and delicious.

Service- the young lady that greeted us and took our payment was very polite and warm. The server didn’t greet us. She was quite rude. The only time she spoke was right before we left. She never smiled or seemed happy to be there or happy that we were there. She literally tossed a stack of napkins on the table. Wouldn't say a word but stood there staring my son and I down until i realized she wanted to know what we wanted to drink. First telepathic waitress I’ve ever had. She consistently would carry the drinks back a little to high with her finger close to the brim for my liking. The staff doesn’t care that the patrons chose to come there when they could have gone elsewhere. They don’t care about the experience. They just don’t care.

Atmosphere- the men’s restroom was atrocious. An overwhelming smell of sewage and excrement hit you as soon as you walk in. The middle stall had feces smeared all over the front of it. My son used the bathroom before we left and he noticed the stall and was even more disgusted than i was. We had been there for an hour at that point. Which says to me the bathrooms aren't being properly maintained. I was suspicious about the rags they use to clean the table. They're reusable. Not disposable. Soaking wet with lord knows what (they don’t use a disinfecting spray like everywhere else). Dishes are always streaky. They have a good dj on friday nights. The chairs are ripped. The tables are wobbly. The ownership and the staff have no respect for their own establishment or the community they’re serving. For what you pay to eat there($20 per person) it’s not worth it.

As soon as i got home i felt ill. My stomach was upset and i felt hot and lethargic. That’s the last time i gamble with my life at Rio Buffet. The servers don't care about the food, cleanliness, or the patrons that spend their money there. The bathroom is unhygienic. God only knows where your soft drinks are coming from. The health department absolutely needs to give this place...

The concept of an all you can eat buffet fits well here. The place has a bar and a karaoke section its not upscale or low end you are getting what you pay for,. The sushi was definitely questionable and being though asians own the place should give you cause for thought.[ I HAVE NEVER SEEN GRAY TUNA].Somethings were not properly chilled and the servers looked like they were offended when you asked for assistance or wanted them to remove the excess dishes from your table. Watch when they serve you i noticed that no one washes there hands and when you are served a soda its from a uncovered pitcher that sits from anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes depending on the number of people being served. No one in the kitchen wears hair nets or gloves, which gave me pause for thought. The floor was slippery and when I brought it to several peoples attention they looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. We said thank you and was very polite often but they looked offended and never said you are welcome or any kind word. When we entered there was a gentleman who was intoxicated arguing with the cashier while the security guard just looked on like this was everyday activity. The only eating utensil they give you is a fork in a napkin, I guess you have to ask for anything else.Interesting note I watched the kitchen staff consume the fresh crawfish they just cooked while they gave the paying customers the pre-heated older ones.It is place you may only get one chance to eat in, so i would recommend hand sanitizer, tums, prayer and you try the lunch time fare because if you try dinner you may not see breakfast!!![ THE BATHROOMS ARE TERRIBLE THEY SMELL LIKE CONSTRUCTION SITE JIFFY JOHNS AND YOU PROBABLY WANT TO PUT ON A BIO HAZMAT SUIT...