Dragon Buffet — Restaurant in San Antonio

I had seen the sign up as it was remodeled, and then someone mentioned it was open. I had been unimpressed with the previous buffet that was in the same location, but there was mention that it was totally different. So I made a visit while in the area.

Initial Impression Immediately on entry, it was clearly apparent the whole place had been redone. The back wall had a grill, and off to the side was a bartender. A bright blue round buffet at the center of the restaurant gave the buffet a totally different look. Fresh chairs and tables, wall décor ect, made the place look so different you would never suspect it was even the same building you had been in before.

Food Items I returned with a plate and made my first selections. The baked seafood was the first item I tried, it was pretty good, very tender, the cheese was baked nicely, all the flavors pretty even, temperature was hot, and tasted freshly made. Next up the steak pieces. Again, pretty good, they were tender, cooked about medium, well seasoned and juicy with a sweet glaze on them. I ate a few pieces of sushi, none really impressive, some general chicken, sautéed garlic green beans, and rice noodles, everything was decent to good. On a return trip I picked up 2 salt and pepper shrimp out of curiosity, as I've noticed its an item that is either average or very good at buffets. The batter here was perfect, it was crispy, salty, and I actually enjoyed the outside more than the shrimp inside. So far everything was good. The baked custard was good as well, the shell crispy and flaky, the custard light and sweet. I noticed there were only a few of these out at a time, and it appeared they were being freshly replaced.

There were many items I didnt try, Cajun seafood boil, soups, fresh rolls, octopus, ribs, seafood salad, and much more. I didnt even make it to the grill to see if there were steaks.

Wait Staff Issue Service was a bit spotty, my waitress only came by once while I was eating, and towards the end of my meal used my table as a bus station while I was getting another plate. They left other peoples cups on my table even after they saw me return, something I've never had happen before. My drink was only refilled once, and the wait service was probably the biggest issue with my visit. I know for some people seeing a stack of dirty plates being put on their table while still dining would have been the end of the meal.

Service: 7/10 Variety: 8.5/10 Flavor: 8.5/10 Value: 9/10 Décor: 9/10

Overall Impression Despite the issue with the waitress, I would return here, as I hope she thought I had left, and this isn't a common occurrence. Compared to the other buffets in the city, this one is probably in the top 3 for variety, flavor and price. I would say theres maybe 2 buffets I would rank above this one, but one of them costs much more, and this one is a close 2nd to...

This visit occurred at 11:00 a.m. on a Sunday.

The food itself is typical Asian-American fare. This is a buffet "in the round": One ends up where one begins and can spin around the wheel an infinite number of times without needing to hop from station to station as at some other restaurants. Both the inner and outer parts of the circle allow traffic, and there are trays of food inside, outside and in the center. Sushi and dessert stations are at the rear of the store next to one of the entrances to the main buffet, and allow one to step over, take from the station, and enter right back in the roundabout with no fuss. Hinged covers keep the fruit and desserts protected from flies. The ice cream station offers only strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate chip. The grill and the bar are located at a corner farthest from the dining room. The steak served at the grill was cooked on a metal grill that seemed somewhat cool in temperature. The meat was pale in appearance and did not have a proper sear to it. It was cooked to the order requested (medium rare) Most dishes looked fresh and tasted good but the tempura-batter fried items were slightly soggy. The vegetable dishes were crispy and brightly colored. Sauce based dishes were of Good quality, with sauce that was neither too runny nor too congealed. The meat and veg in these dishes were slightly overdone and had a tired appearance. The steamed (white) rice was of Excellent quality. Once more: this is average buffet fare and tastes like it; very bland unless specified as spicy.

Take-out is available, and is priced per pound, rather than at a flat rate. Steak, seafood and skewers are not available for carry out...not even at a higher price. The dining area, sushi preparation station, grill, and lobby were all clean. Tables were kept wiped, and there was no food debris on the floors. Workers kept the trays at the steam tables replenished with no need to wait for anything to come out of the kitchen. Bright colors and tasteful lighting made for a pleasant atmosphere, along with canned music that was at just the right volume. The cashier station is cramped and does not accommodate a large number of people with customers backed up into the entrance area which is not climate controlled. The cashier smiled and made eye contact and was attentive throughout the process. She handled the line of customers efficiently. The server was equally attentive and kept the drink cup filled and the table cleared of used plates.

Four stars for the new Dragon Buffet. The food is simple and not exotic, there is something for everyone to eat that will be to their liking, and the ambiance is open,...

First Off we noticed there were already reviews for this restaurant before it was even open so if you see a lot of 5 star reviews check the dates cause it barely opened mid June.

Second we walked in and were very confused we told the waitress we had a party of 11 and they told us to sit down. So we followed them to our tables and sat. But then I asked well where do we pay? And then they gave us a bunch of attitude because we hadn’t paid yet but we literally were told to sit at a table right when we walked in So then we had to go back and pay. The cashier didn’t give us all the tickets she said she would give them to our waitress so we didn’t worry about it then a bunch or different waitresses kept coming up to us asking for the ticket while we were just trying to get our food we informed them that the cashier had them and they made it seem like it was our fault that we didn’t get them even tho the cashier told us she would give it to them…. Then the waitress assumed we were confused because of a language barrier and tried asking us in Spanish as if we were lost but we all spoke English so I’m not sure why she tried to change languages on us..

After clearing it all up they then tried sitting half our party in the opposite side away from us because they said they seated us wrong after we had already gotten our food. We refused because this was already a big problem their staff created

After the rocky start we finally got to sit and eat the waitress was then very attentive and kept our drinks filled and area clean.

The food is mediocre everything was the correct temperatures which was good. They only had like 3 types of desserts and some jello and fruit. There were alot of seafood options that were good and something unique was the fried frog legs.

they didn’t have steak yet which was kind of annoying and it was very warm in the building.

I don’t think it’s worth it and probably won’t be...