Hibachi Grill Buffet — Restaurant in Riverside

First time here but certainly will not be my last. As far for buffets go, they tend to have a reputation of old, cold, dry, and sometimes smelly food. The Hibachi Grill Buffet is the complete opposite of this. From walking in to leaving, you feel welcomed in their establishment.

As you walk in, you're greeted by the host who is very welcoming. To the left you see a little aquarium with different koi fish. From the lobby you are able to see the entire buffet line.

As you start looking around you notice the food looks fresh and hot. From the fried shrimp to the desserts. Keep in mind they have a cook to order section where you pick your ingredients and give them to the guy at the flat top. Once your plate is done they will ring a bell for you to pick your food or you want wait and watch while your food is being cooked right in front of you. When I got back to my table it was time to dig in.

I got some fried rice, asparagus, coconut shrimp, baked salmon, hibachi chicken, honey chicken and lastly some tempura sushi rolls. Everything tasted FRESHLY made, not chewy like how buffet food tends to be.

Service was great. Our server always passed by our table every 5 min and just checked in to see if we needed anything. The manager on duty passed by our table as well to check to see if everything was going well.

Restrooms were clean, a little graffiti in the stalls but overall very clean.

Overall: (1 poor - 5 excellent) Food: 5 Service: 5 Cleanliness: 5

Would definitely recommend!

We went on a Tuesday evening around 430, so maybe at most there were 10...

The hostess charged us dinner price without letting us know in advance when she showed us to our table. We thought we were lunch customers so we didn't choose any items tagged as "dinner customers only." But when our check came, we saw we had been charged dinner price instead of lunch price. When I asked why, they said they start charging customers dinner price 30 minutes before the dinner time starts. So their web site says dinner time starts 3:30, their food tags read "dinner customers only after 3:30" but they start charging customers dinner price at 3:00. I told them it was not fair they charged us dinner price when we had been very cautious not to get any dinner tagged items that by the way were many, leaving us with few choices. I expressed my disagreement, but they insisted it is the way they work and were notably upset with my complaints. At the end they offered a discount and we ended up paying less than the original check but it was quite uncomfortable to had been forced to clarify the point with them. They were not nice at the end and made us feel terrible, ruining with their attitude what should had been a pleasant family time. We finally told them it was not about the money but about the way they work. If they have menu prices published, they should stick to them or have a note or the hostess letting you know how their schedule...

I came here when it 1st opened. It was so good. Kept coming back about 3-4 times a year. It was still good. Now? Not as great.

Got the hibachi, served up my own serving, and when the person cooking the food asked if I wanted it spicy I said no. He then proceeded to put not 1, but 2 scoops of spicy sauce in the noodles. This made it inedible...

Decided to go again, maybe he didn't hear me the 1st time. Grabbed my portion of food, then gave it to the man to cook... He started, then left. He came back with a huge plate of food (3x my portion size), took my food off the grill, and threw it away. He proceeded to clean the grill, Then cooked that plate and handed it to me. It was missing things, and he replaced them with other things.

I'm super disappointed since the buffet wasn't too bad. Some thing we're a little old and weren't as flavorful as other Chinese buffet I've been too. Atmosphere was nice, the redecorated, but was confusing since they used a ton of Japanese traditional art work instead of Chinese??? I mean they serve sushi, but American style.... I thought this was a Chinese buffet.

Used to love this place, but I don't think I'll come again with this much...