Big Apple Buffet — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

Terribly disappointing.

I ‘d like to say from the jump that the service was on point. The staff were friendly and attentive, promptly collecting used plates and topping off beverages.

I took my kids here for lunch, as we’ve been itching to find a decent buffet since our old haunt closed. In hindsight, we should have split before being seated. The restaurant smells like old dishwasher, musty and sour. The seats are disintegrating and patched with duct tape. The carpet is well-worn, and the lighting is conspicuously dim. Overall the first impression was not great, but we do our best not to judge a book by its cover. We pressed on.

The appetizers and soups were either largely flavorless or tasted off. The soy sauce tasted off, home brew perhaps? The wings looked bad, and the sushi looked old; I didn’t touch either. The General Tso’s and sesame chicken were swimming in a thin, watery sauce. I didn’t try those either, but the kids did (brave souls). Neither child liked either dish.

After the first plate, the younger one opted for fruit for the remainder of the meal, with happy results. The older child went after the sushi, but wasn’t satisfied with anything selected. The rolls were reportedly either slimy, dry, or off.

The black pepper chicken and “hibachi” chicken were essentially the same dish in different trays, but both tasted fine. The chicken teriyaki was off, so I didn’t finish that.

Speaking of hibachi, there was a hibachi bar along the back wall (raw meats and veggies ready to be cooked), but there was no one manning the station. So… raw meats and veggies were just sitting out. It wasn’t very inviting so we skipped that, too.

On to dessert - the banana pudding tray was scraped mostly empty for the duration of the meal, which was a bummer, but there were other options. Those little square cake pastry things you find at just about every buffet were present, and were tasty and moist. The coffee flavored one was genuinely delightful.

The men’s room was not the worst I’ve seen, but it wasn’t going to win any awards for cleanliness. It had soap & paper towels, so points for being properly stocked.

I’d like to reiterate that the staff were friendly and on top of the service. Additionally, the restaurant was busy and most everyone was happily eating on a Friday.

One adult, one teen, and one child? We were charged for three adults, plus fountain drinks. It came out to $46 plus tip. Ooof.

Big Apple Buffet was terribly disappointing. I had high hopes, based on the reviews, but don’t think we’ll be back. Our search for a new go-to...

Normally I try to stay away from Chinese Buffets after getting food poisoning once from another buffet in another state about two years ago. I also had a Florida State food inspector tell me to stay away from Chinese buffets, but my father-in-law loves these places and wanted to go there for Father's Day.

This was our first time at the Big Apple Buffet and it looked like most of the Chinese buffets I had been to in the past. First, let me say that I did not get sick after eating here at the writing of this post. The service was also very good. The food was mediocre at best. After eating at the buffet, I decided to go and use the grill option where you put what noodles, vegetables and meat you want on a plate and they grill it for you. The cook overcooked my beef and chicken to the point that it was like shoe leather but I figured it was better to be overcooked than undercooked. They have ice cream that you serve yourself, but if you have ever seen all of the unsupervised kids trying to dish up hard ice cream, you can imagine what germs that spreads. Anyway, we all ate until we were full and I then went up to pay for the meal. I had a coupon that did not have any restrictions about using it for Father's Day for $2.00 off for two buffets purchased. There was four of us but I only tried to use one coupon. There also was a cardboard sign covering the normal price sign that said Father's Day Special and stated the adult buffet was $13.99. I was the only one in my party to get a soda drink as everyone else just got ice water. To my surprise, my bill came to $62.08 and the manager said he would not take my $2.00 off coupon tonight because it was Father's Day even though I told him that no where on the coupon did it state there were any restrictions for Father's Day or any other time. He refused the $2.00 off coupon so I just paid in cash and no receipt was given back. We left the restaurant and I started thinking about what we were charged and since the regular prices were covered by the Father's Day special prices sign, I could not see what the regular dinner buffet prices were. I went online to their website and surprisingly enough, their regular dinner buffet is $12.99 a person. So the Father's Day special is actually a dollar more than the regular price. Some special that is. Needless to say, my father-in-law can go back there on his own if he wishes to. The rest of us will never go back. If I want mediocre food, I can go to several other places where I would pay a lot...

First, let me state, I normally will not post a bad review on a business. If the food isn’t great, I won’t go back. If the service isn’t great, I won’t go back. However, what happened today was absolutely beyond words.

I go to a lot of Chinese buffets. They are all pretty much the same, same food, same desserts, etc. This place was no different. A lot of variety in the foods, however a lot of the buffet was empty because it was a little later in the afternoon. Price is average to what you will pay for a lunch buffet, bathrooms and dining room all fairly decent, service was ok.

My husband and I arrived around 2:30 for a late lunch after running errands. It was close to 3:30-3:45 when the waitress brought us our bill. She stopped, after laying our check on the table, and looked at the table. She then asked my husband, if he got the shrimp from the dinner buffet. He was confused as to the question and wasn’t sure how to answer. The waitress, without waiting, grabbed a napkin, and scooped up the three pieces of shrimp from his plate, and walked away. SHE GRABBED THE FOOD OFF OF HIS PLATE.

SHE GRABBED FOOD OFF OF HIS PLATE!!!!!!!

I was sitting at the booth, dumbfounded, not quite knowing what to say. After I got my composure together, I walked to the buffet table, saw the shrimp, DID NOT see a “dinner” sign at the shrimp. I walked to the front and explained what happened to the hostess, who was the only person in the front. Asked her to walk to the back of the buffet with me, she pointed out the “dinner” signs. I explained to her, I understood those are for dinner customers paying a higher price. We walked together to the shrimp dish, which did NOT have a “dinner” sign on it. I told the hostess what the waitress did, to which the hostess did not have anything to say.

I waited about 10 minutes, and then went to pay the bill, and told the lady who was checking me out, what had happened. Again, nothing. No apology, no acceptance as to the completely rude behavior. NOTHING.

Obviously, it goes without saying I will not be going to this place again. Not because of the actions of one rude waitress, but the lack of in-action from the management to...