Hibachi Buffet — Restaurant in Lakeland

I wanted to like Hibachi Buffet, but didn't. I went on a Monday evening at about 5:00 PM. The place was crowded and there was a line to get seated because the hostess was no where to be found. With so many additional employees, who were aware of the line backing up, you would think someone would have pinched in and seated the waiting customers. When we were finally about to be seated, the hostess simply turned to us and said sternly, without a smile or warm attitude, "follow me" and when we reached our table she said "your all set." and briskly walked a way.

The variety of food was small to choose from, but adequate enough. I saw they had a large slab of meat you could carve for yourself, I believe it was labeled NY Strip Steak, but I believe it was way too large to be NY Strip. Regardless, the knife you were expected to use was as dull as a true, non-serrated butter knife, and everyone including myself had an extremely hard time cutting the meat. Normally I would have spoke to someone about the knife, but it had been a very long day, and I couldn't be bothered. I just wanted to eat and leave. Once I managed to get a mangled piece of steak on my plate, I added a small chicken drum bone, some green beans, a small portion of fried rice, and an egg roll to share with my friend (since moving to Florida three years ago we have been on the search for a good egg role--and we didn't find it here). Anyway, it was a very modest plate.

The beef was tough and bland, the chicken was hard on the outside, but decent on the inside, the string beans were covered in a layer of slick oil, and the rice was neither hot, nor tasty. I was very disappointed. As seconds, I put two mushrooms on my plate, and two pieces of General Chou Chicken. I only ate one mushroom...too oily, and one piece of chicken...mostly hard breading and lacking chicken. I finished with a small cup of vanilla ice cream mixed with orange sherbet to create a faux creamsicle. That was the highlight of the meal!

It was also disappointing that at their "ice cream bar" there were no additives such as nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream, etc. And except for the steak, none of the food was labeled, not even the ice cream flavors. And don't get me started on the men's bathroom!

BTW, my friend did not like Hibachi...

I like this buffet. Me and my family used to go here regularly but there’s always something that’s wrong with this buffet if it’s not one thing it’s another, if it’s not the food tasting a bit wrong it’s the servers watching you and rushing you to up and leave before you eat more than what you paid for, even if it’s with your family members. The food here is Ok at best they used to have macaroni and cheese but they cancelled it which I was so disappointed with. The food here tastes old and stale but at least there’s variety… right? The price is $11 for one person which is normal for a buffet but too expensive for what they serve I think we’re just paying for the chandeliers and the fancy atmosphere. It’s always jammed packed in there which is annoying because I just want to eat with my family and enjoy my time not wait in a line for half an hour just for there not to be any food left! The service is not ok I don’t feel comfortable with the servers just watching me eat and trying to fill me up with drinks so I won’t eat anymore. They usually rush me by the first hour to finish my eating so I can leave even if I’m not alone. They also laugh at you and talk about you in their language in front of you and it’s uncomfortable. I don’t like some of the severs there but to each their own. The atmosphere is Ok at best because it looks elegant from afar but it is really dirty when you walk in and your actually dining, the tables are dirty and not well cleaned they have wipe marks and the floor is dirty and does not help with my appetite at - all. Also, some spatulas are not where they’re supposed to be they are in the wrong pots. It’s almost always noisy there are always babies crying out loud in the background and some angry person talking loud and yelling at their kid. Overall, I’d give this place a 3/5 -1 for food quality, and -1 for bad service. I’d leave it with a 3 just because I like buffets and it has food and the decorations aren’t bad...

I went here because of a craving for green beans and where I usually go stop serving them. So I decided to stop in here for dinner by myself. I found the atmosphere to be OK. I didn’t particularly like how it looked from the waist down. I understand that they were trying to create a nice classy atmosphere with the sky, murals, the lighting, and all of the different selections of buffet areas. however, from the waist down, the floors looked sticky and greasy, some of the plates were dirty that they had out for customers to eat, and the tables looked greasy as well.

The food was OK. The green beans were all right. Some were cooked fully, some undercooked, and some were overcooked. The seasoning was OK. I think what I enjoyed. The most was the mushrooms and oyster sauce. Those were hot and perfectly cooked. The seasoning was amazing. I also had butter shrimp and the clams. They were overcooked, and I didn’t attempt to eat any other seafood there. I also ate the lo mein. It wasn’t awful, but I didn’t get a second plate of it.

I think the worst part was the temperature. It was really hot in there, and I was sweating profusely. I almost passed out from the heat. So I had to wrap up quickly so I could leave. The service wasn’t awesome, but it wasn’t terrible either. A lot of the staff members were talking and joking around instead of working from what I could see. And quite a few were on cell phones. It didn’t feel professional.

All in all, if I have a craving for the buffet green beans, I might still go back, only if I have a craving, but I might get food to go. I doubt I will stay and eat another meal there. Not a terrible experience, but definitely an...