Golden Corral Buffet & Grill — Restaurant in Pasadena

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my profound disappointment with a recent dining experience at your Golden Corral establishment in Pasadena, TX on August 21, 2025, around noon. My grievance pertains to the egregious conduct of the manager on duty, whose interaction with my mother was nothing short of reprehensible.

Upon politely informing the manager that the fried chicken was not freshly prepared and regrettably cold, my mother was met with an utterly unprofessional and discourteous response. Instead of addressing the concern with appropriate customer service etiquette, the manager engaged in a heated argument, threatening to eject her from the premises and questioning her patronage altogether. This behavior is particularly egregious, as my mother's feedback was a constructive attempt to improve the quality of your offerings.

The gravity of the situation was compounded by the fact that a waitress corroborated my mother's assessment of the chicken's condition. Despite this verification, the manager persisted in his belligerent demeanor, publicly berating and insulting my mother in the presence of other patrons and staff. Such behavior is not only unacceptable but also indicative of a severe deficiency in leadership and customer relations skills. It is my firm conviction that an individual exhibiting such a lack of professionalism and decorum is unfit for a management position. I urge you to take this matter seriously and consider the implications of retaining an employee who so flagrantly disregards the principles of customer satisfaction...

First, they TOLD me the strawberry lemonade was sweet, so I bought it but couldn't drink it. Since I paid $3.75 for it, separate from the buffet, so to be told if I want to take it with me i have to pay an extra $1.25 for a to go cup?! Not ALLOWED to pour it in my own empty cup. Unacceptable. Food on the buffet was okay but not even warm except items just put out. The Dessert part was disgusting (I will post pictures) the ice dessert was pure liquid slosh that they told me I could NOT have a cup for and if I wanted it I could drink it from a bowl. Puddings were liquid goo. I fully expect to end up with food poisoning. Servers were great, the only positive part of the experience. The MANAGER was extremely RUDE and did NOT have ANY desire to improve my experience. She actually said she didn't CARE what i wrote about my awful experience. Personally, I would fire an employee who represented MY company in that way. Guess Golden Corral doesn't care if their managers provide decent customer service as long as they get your money!

Update 6/20/25 they reached out to me after reading my review...though they did not care enough to reach out when I submitted a review directly to them where no one else could see it. Apparently my review is not detailed enough and they want me to tell them more about my horrid experience. Because what I already told them wasn't bad enough I guess? I did, but I am not holding my breath that anything will be done...or improved...we shall...

I like this place. I grew up celebrating my birthdays and the odd occasions here. The restaurant is generally clean with friendly staff. You can even ask them to sing happy birthday for your friends if that's what you're looking for.

Quick heads up. My experience is limited to dining in and small parties. I personally have not done take out or used reservations, but those are also options.

The details

The food always manages to stay consistently good, and they cycle it out regularly. If you catch a stale batch, you can point it out to the staff, and they'll help you out.

Variety is nice, and you will generally find something you like. Though the choices are more southern comfort foods than anything else. There is a salad and dessert bar along with the grill. Be aware that the menu changes for its breakfast, lunch, and dinner hour. Plus, whatever specials are going on.

If you need to plan ahead, you can check out the website. It will give you the local menu and any specials going on by location.

Accessibility wise, they have booster seats for kids, wheelchair friendly parking, and extra parking in the back of the building. If you need more info, then calling them up is your best bet.

It's not the cheapest place, but I feel the price is reasonable enough. However, be prepared to pay around $20/person for weekend dinners. If you want value, then grab breakfast on the weekdays with lunch being the next best bet. Kids eat free, and seniors get...