Golden Apple Buffet — Restaurant in Saint Charles

The Golden Apple Buffet took over the space of a Chinese restaurant that was previously there that went out of business due to COVID-19. The restaurant space has been completely remodeled. Although there is plenty of regular and handicap ♿️ parking, most of that parking was used by patrons. We had to park 5 rows away. There is plenty of seating in the restaurant. However, the restaurant was still crowded despite us arriving at around 2 pm. on Sunday, July 13, 2025. The decor is bright and cheerful. The staff is well trained, enthusiastic, and cheerful. We were seated almost immediately when we arrived. Our waiter, Made, greeted us cheerfully at our table to take our drink order. He came back quickly with our drinks. He came back periodically to check on us to refresh drinks and to remove used plates. Made did a great 👍 job. The food is very good and is available buffet style. The food is frequently replaced and is very fresh. The sushi bar had varieties of sushi I had not seen before. The food for the hibachi grill was well stocked and fresh. The available food includes many Chinese and American dishes. Peel and eat shrimp was abundant. My only complaint is that it was difficult to have a conversation because it was very loud from other conversations. It would have been helpful to have sound absorbing material in the walls to reduce the noise levels. There was also a video game that loudly played the same music over and over again. All of the tables I saw were for four people. The restaurant can easily accommodate parties of four. Tips are included in the bill for parties of six or more. I noticed on their website that reservations can be made, but it did not look like that was necessary for four or fewer people. This place is definitely not suitable for a meeting. There is a standard fee for the buffet. There is also a one-time change for drinks. Meals are paid at the table at the end of the meal. Varieties of salads, fruits, and desserts are abundant. There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options available. I can not comment about Kosher or Halal. Someone more knowledgeable about those those issues should comment. People with food allergies and other dietary restrictions need to ask the staff. People exiting the restaurant told us that they have been there multiple times. My wife and I plan to return at...

This was an EXCELLENT buffet!! It was quite crowded BOTH times I went. The first time I went, I needed to wait in a RIDICULOUSLY long line AND waitlist. You may have to be careful on the weekends (especially), because you might encounter a SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER SUPER long line and crowd of people just trying to get into the place before YOU (thus, I will get back to this issue in a second)!

But, the buffet itself was EXCELLENT and one of THE BEST!!!!! It indeed has LOTS of food!!! They have everything from sushi to everything you'd get at most Americanized oriental buffets (hence, this goes to my point at the end - keep reading)! Plus, they have a station where you could find things for them to cook for you.

I didn't have ANY complaints about the food, the service; the place itself was nice, neat and HUGE!!!! Plus, the price was reasonable!

But, the crowd?????? This is my only BIG gripe!! The CROWD was RIDICULOUS!!!! It was WAYYYYYYYY too many people with HUGEEEEE lines to get in!!! Plus, of course with crowds, there may be all types of people from normal people, to ghetto to the Jerry Springer types!

Is this place worth waiting for if there's a HUGEEEEEE line of at least 50 PLUS people waiting to get into this place before YOU like it was when I first went??? I'd say a loud and clear: HELL NO!!

Why? Because this is NOT the only Chinese buffet in town!! Sure, this is the biggest Chinese buffet I've seen (in Missouri)! But, there are other Chinese buffets that have PLENTY of food too and nevertheless, much of the same food. For example, there's Hibachi Grill, Hokkaido, Joy Luck Buffet to name a few!! There's also the Golden Corral; while not oriental styled food, it is still an excellent buffet too!

So, if you could get in, then GREAT!! But, I DO NOT recommend staying on a wait list of 50 or more people just to get into this place!! If you're on such a waitlist, go elsewhere; unless you don't mind waiting for a SUPER long time!!! Otherwise, IF you COULD get in, then this is an EXCELLENT buffet, and I have NO complaints about the buffet/restaurant itself!

Hence, this is an AWESOME buffet!! But, my gripe is the potential wait list and crowded atmosphere that...

After hearing so many wonderful things about this place we decided to stop in for dinner last evening to check it out. As most other reviews had warned, YES, there was a line out the door! We thought by going at 6PM on a Monday we would hopefully avoid this, but we were wrong. However, it only took 14 minutes for the 2 of us to be seated. I did notice that parties of 6 or greater, some as many as 20, were getting upset because parties of 2-4 who came in after them were being seated before them. Possibly this place should have a “call ahead” policy and/or a designated area for larger gatherings in these situations. Just a thought. (?)

We travel nationwide and frequently visit buffets, especially those that include a make your own pho, hibachi station and a sushi bar. This is by far the biggest place we’ve ever been to with the greatest selection of Chinese and American selections available. Everything was fresh at all times since it was constantly being replenished. I especially enjoyed the salt & pepper crab claws! The seasonings make me want to go back another time and hog the entire pan! Haha! Obviously, I won’t do that because there are to many other goodies staring right at me and wanting to destroy my caloric allowance for the entire month! Our server was fantastic as well; quick to refill our drinks and remove the plates we were finishing with. Apparently it was a big night for birthdays as well. We enjoyed hearing groups of servers playing their instruments and joyfully singing Happy Birthday to “Youah” about 8 or 10 times in the 90 minutes we were there. We had a blast! My only regret is that they did not have wheel barrow service available to get us back to our car when we were ready to head back home! Obviously we will be back very soon. My husband’s “Medicare Birthday” is on August 22nd. Hope to...