Fortune Buffet — Restaurant in Toms River

Where have all the buffets gone?! There used to be so many Chinese buffets in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Slowly, they have all died off. Covid pretty much put the last nail in their coffin.

So, I did some research on any remaining buffets in my area. Golden Corral doesn't get a very good rating. There's one in Brick that also has mediocre ratings. I found Fortune Buffet through a Google search and it had mostly favorable reviews. So, my girlfriend and I decided to drive 30 minutes south on the Parkway to give this place a try.

They advertise dinner as starting at 3:30pm. We figured, get there at 3:30 and the place won't be crowded as that's a fairly early dinner time. Well, we walked in and the place was crowded. I guess people were still finishing up the lunch offering. At least there was no line and we were seated at our choice of either a table or a booth (we chose a booth).

Fortune Buffet takes one down memory lane of all the places I used to frequent before they closed. There are many food stations to visit as well as a Sushi and Hibachi bar. You can easily pile food on a plate and then come back for seconds and thirds until you eat yourself silly.

Dinner is very cheap at $15 per person with drinks costing extra. Oh, and for someone bringing drinks to your table they expect a tip on top of that.

Thing is, you get what you pay for. The food is mediocre at best. Egg rolls tasted soggy, as if they sat in the tray for hours. The meat dishes were tough in texture. I love Peanut Butter chicken, but it was hard as a rock. With the ability to try so many different items, you will find a few things to enjoy but in all, most everything tastes like it has been sitting around more than it should.

There is ice cream for a dessert, but that often comes with a long line as people have to slowly, one-by-one, scoop into barrels of hard ice cream to pull out small portions and then repeat the process. I think an ice cream machine would have worked out better. It would speed up the process and everyone loves soft-serve ice cream. This is the first buffet I visited that didn't have a machine.

The other dessert offerings? Pretty bad. There was a cheesecake that was horrific. A tray of chocolate cake had fallen over and nobody came to fix it. The cookies and cream puffs were mass-produced. Nothing bakery quality here.

Listen, I'm moaning about the quality of the food but it's exactly what I remember about the buffets I used to visit in the 90s and early 2000s. They were an inexpensive means to load your plate with food that was edible enough to enjoy. It wasn't great food by any means, but if you were hungry, it was pure satisfaction.

Service was pretty good. The Chinese ladies wear masks so it's hard to understand them. However, I do love the fact they gave us a choice of seating. My girlfriend stated that the place didn't seem very clean. Me, being a guy,...

This is my go-to dinner spot out. If you're like me, a variety is almost always in order. My appetite aside, I mostly enjoy the variety of flavors and dishes that are on my list of favorites with the freshness that never disappoints! They're here at this location seventeen years.. one more year, and they're in the golden league!

The hibachi table is prepared with ingredients you select and is prepared to order by the nicest. Professional chef's preparation is delivered piping hot - what I honestly really appreciate most! The sushi and different California rolls are always incredibly fresh and delicious. These two selections for me make the visits most memorable. Not to say I don't indulge in the chafing dishes - over 50 of them - but in my review I wanted to say how I appreciate they never run low on anything (constant replenishment ensure it's hot from the kitchen and fresh). This place is always immaculate as well.

Favorites: Mussels in black bean sauce.. Steamed shrimp - fresh and big shell-on. Steamed rock, blue claw, king & snow crab legs. Clams on half-shell.

4 soups.. mushroom/tofu; new-england clam, egg-drop, and wanton (fresh scallions to add) - also great dumplings.

Chinese musts: General Tso's Chicken Chicken in garlic sauce with peppers.

American fare: mashed and roasted potatoes, pizza, Kielbasa, fried chicken, sliced tenderloin steak, ham, and succulent roast pork!! 3 different Steamed Fish dishes - salmon, snapper, sole and fluke, or sometimes bluefish.

Macaroni salad; cole slaw; chicken salad, lettuce/tomato; tomato/cucumber salad; picked radishes, thin seaweed; Beets; hard boiled eggs. Green and red bean gardiniera..

Nice desserts, especially 6 flavors of fresh self-serve iced cream sugar/waffle cones, cakes, cookies, key-lime pie, roasted nuts, fruits, brownies, sweet plantains, banana cream, tapioca.. I can't list everything in the dessert tables any more than the hot chafing dishes. Trust me, everything here is the real deal: anything less and you would be cheating yourself. Come hungry! Leave 100% satisfied! Bon-appétit!

If you liked my review, please give it...

We were staying at a motel in seaside for a couple days, and met an older gentleman who became our friend. He kept asking if we wanted to come here. I'm not usually a big buffet fan but this was place was AWESOME. It has a very good selection.. their fried rice is amazing, chicken wings just right, shrimp was spicy if I remember correctly, which I dont usually like but for some reason whatever spices they use had me going back for seconds. they have a great selection of food- especially the desserts! They also have a salad bar which I know plenty of people appreciate. The sweet tooth runs in our family. We brought our almost two year old (and they do have height chairs, parents!) And she ate their tapioca pudding and their chocolate pudding which was amazing. They have kid friendly food like French fries and other finger foods and such. Unfortunately I didnt get to experience their dinner portion of the restaurant (which is only a dollar more) but we were too filled up! The people are nice and very accommodating to specific needs. The prices were great for the amount of food they serve, and because it's all you can eat. You CAN NOT bring food home with you after eating. That's how most buffets work. Their prices are for eat in customers who want to go ALL IN while out to eat, for a decent buck. I think adults are 12 or 13 dollars (I'm not positive) for the lunch types of food. And as I stated before it's a dollar extra to hit up the dinner food bars. I would give 5 stars but their height chair didnt have straps so my almost terrible (jk) very excited two year old kept standing up and trying to reach over the table, which made my dining experience a little more difficult to enjoy personally, but my husband and our elderly friend really enjoyed themselves, and so...