Hunan's — Restaurant in Kearney

Ugh.

Okay, so this used to be one of our favorite spots to eat in town. Let me say that first and foremost. The change happened with ownership though, and blargh.

The first thing, mind you, was all of this took place at around the afternoon on a Saturday and the place was just almost completely empty in the parking lot.

Huge red flag #1.

That's such a big red flag and if you need to read on, then best of luck.

Red flag #2: We were greeted at the register and asked for our party size and we were promptly seated. Before we got to go sit down though, I noticed right next to the register that they're offering discounts to customers in exchange for five star reviews.

So we got to the table, and gave our drink order to the server. We went to go get our plates and when I picked mine up, it had encrusted food stuck to the plate.

Anyways, I was confused where the rice was, because I always loved their fried rice. Well the fried rice is now like 10 feet away from the white rice. So I go over there, and it's obviously old food. Just like a lot of other things on the buffet.

I go over to get the General Tso Chicken, which has always been my favorite, and I load up my plate. I sit down, eat a piece of chicken, and immediately almost want to leave.

The reason? The texture of the chicken is best described as an almost melted gummy bear coated in a very weird sauce. Nothing I've ever been accustomed to at this restaurant.

"Maybe it was just this one piece", I thought. So I tried another, and another. I tried five separate pieces throughout my monster of a helping, and they all had the same texture.

So I went to my drink that I ordered. Took a sip, and it was not Dr. Pepper. My wife ordered Pepsi. She took a drink of mine, and said "Yeah it's not Pepsi, but it's not Dr. Pepper either".

I tried to eat other foods there as well, just to make up for the time, and almost everything just tasted absolutely awful. The only thing that kind of stood out was the vegetables, as they were the only redeeming quality.

Back to other things that happened. I tried to get the "Shrimp Tempura", and the tongs were scorching hot. For some reason someone thought putting metal tongs over a buffet that is constantly pushing out hot steam was a good idea. I literally had to pull out a few pieces with my hands because of how hot the tongs were.

By the way, while sitting at our table I saw a gentleman get a plate from the top of the stack, and his too had food encrusted on it and he tried scraping it off.

I'm honestly just blown away by how bad this place has become. It was a lesson that we had to learn the hard way, but it'll definitely be a lesson we...

A Disappointing Return to What Was Once a Favorite

Like the previous reviewer, this used to be one of our favorite spots. After moving to Denver, we were excited to return to Hunan's in Kearney for dinner, eager to relive fond memories.

However, from the moment we arrived, something felt off. The empty parking lot was our first red flag, though the "Open" sign encouraged us to go in. Once inside, we realized we were the only customers—and, in hindsight, that should have been our cue to leave.

The menu has changed significantly since our last visit. Items that once came as part of a meal are now priced separately, and at noticeably higher prices. Soups are no longer included. We started with hot tea, but the teapot and cups looked quite dirty—beyond what you'd expect from tea staining. They clearly needed a thorough cleaning.

I asked if I could order a small cup of wonton soup, a longtime favorite, but was told only a large bowl was available for nearly $8. I ordered it anyway, but was very disappointed. The broth had an unpleasant burnt sesame oil flavor, and the wontons were rubbery, thick, and far from fresh. It was not edible.

Next, we ordered egg rolls, crab rangoon, and chicken lo mein with vegetables. The egg rolls and crab rangoon were overly dark, as if cooked in old oil or possibly refried. The lo mein came without vegetables, and the chicken was rubbery and had an off taste.

Throughout the meal, no one checked in to ask how things were. We barely touched our food, and unfortunately, after spending $40, we left feeling very disappointed.

This is no longer the Hunan's we once loved, and sadly, we won’t be returning. We cannot recommend this restaurant based on our...

We ate the hot pot side of the restaurant. We were excited. The server was rude for the start. Handed us a sheet and we marked down what we wanted. Didn’t get a few of the items we marked and got a few items we didn’t mark. I think what would make it a better experience is instead of buffet style where the price is super high and they won’t let you take your left over soup home, that they should charge a lower price and limit the items that can be chosen and have an additional charge for any add ons. Like let’s say charge $19.99 for 2 meats, 3 vegetables and one noodle options and anything after that charge $1.50 per item or whatever and let them take their leftovers home!! You would have Happy customers and less food waste then!! Take away the buffet option and do it that way. That way nothing goes to waste. I felt so bad that our soup was being tossed out. And both our pots were still full. We assumed we would be able to take it home when we left. I’ve been to other hot pot spots and that’s the way they did it and we got to Take our soup home. Other then all of that the food was great. The attitude of the server could have been nicer. He seemed like he was fed up with life and it was our fault. I hope that take this suggestion, it is a...