Ocean Buffet — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

Ocean Buffet - Massapequa: A Chilling Experience (Literally)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

As longtime patrons of Ocean Buffet in Massapequa, my companion and I were deeply disappointed by our recent winter visit—and not because of the food. Our experience was marred by one glaring issue: the restaurant was absolutely freezing.

The Temperature Nightmare

From the moment we arrived, the indoor climate was uncomfortably cold. So cold, in fact, that virtually every diner in the restaurant kept their winter coats on throughout their entire meal. This isn't an exaggeration—we observed table after table of bundled-up patrons trying to enjoy their food while shivering.

Management's Dishonest Response

What transformed disappointment into genuine frustration was management's response to our polite complaints. After we expressed our concerns about the frigid temperature, a staff member went to the thermostat and made a show of adjusting it. However—and this is particularly egregious—we watched them walk away and noticed they had left the temperature setting exactly where it was. They pretended to help us while doing absolutely nothing.

This deliberate deception felt like a slap in the face, especially considering our history with the establishment.

A Betrayal of Loyal Customers

What makes this experience particularly bitter is our track record with Ocean Buffet. We are: Regular customers who have dined there frequently Generous tippers who appreciate good service Active promoters who have referred approximately 170 of our local employees to the restaurant (primarily during summer months)

For management to treat loyal patrons with such disrespect and dishonesty is simply unacceptable.

The Bottom Line

While cost-cutting measures are understandable in any business, sacrificing customer comfort to this extreme—and then lying about addressing the problem—crosses a line. No one should have to eat an all-you-can-eat buffet while dressed for Arctic conditions.

Our recommendation: Until Ocean Buffet decides to adequately heat their dining room and treat customers with honesty and respect, we suggest exploring other buffet options in the area where you won't feel like an Eskimo in an igloo.

The pretense of adjusting the temperature while changing nothing was insulting and showed a complete disregard for customer satisfaction. Ocean Buffet has lost not only two loyal customers but potentially the 170+ employees we've referred over time.

Would we return? Not until significant changes are made to both their climate control practices and their approach to customer concerns.

Visited: Winter 2024/2025 |...

Saw this new location and decided to dine here for an early dinner. Prices were reasonable, even for dinner. Very spacious and modern dining areas on both sides of the restaurant. Like the wine and liquor glass displays separating the dining/waiting areas and food service areas. Food buffet area is somewhat centrally located in the restaurant. Nice sushi/sashimi/raw seafood bar area with decent selection. Hot foods/hibachi/grill, salad bar, and desserts were located in a separate section where you "step down" to. Decent variety of hot/grilled food, but felt like limited selections; not sure if the hot foods area being cramped made it felt like that. Smaller section with desserts, but had a decent variety, including soft serve ice cream. Some grilled food like the pork sausage and pork belly were overcooked and a bit tough and dry. Most of the sushi rolls were ok, sashimi was very good, raw fish salad was good too. Fresh shucked raw oysters were very delicious. The roast duck had good flavor, but felt like it was cooked and sitting on the warming tray for a while and got a little tough/dry. Overall, the food was good, not great. May try again, since I have not tasted all of the dishes. Service was good. Restaurant was generally clean. Atmosphere is bright and beautifully designed, but they are visible cracks in some of the marble wall tiles in some areas of the restaurant, especially the bathroom (possibly from shoddy installation of the plumbing fixtures). Shared parking lot in shopping center, but still has a huge area all around the restaurant with ample parking spaces.

Recently dined here again, this time for lunch. Price is ~$10 less than dinner and there's not much different of what's available during dinner, except for certain meat/roasts (beef, duck, etc.), crab legs, and fresh raw oysters (instead only fresh mussels and raw clams offered during lunch). Dinner may be worth it if you prefer those dishes. Sushi/nigiri offered were ok, but felt that some rolls and varieties have been sitting for a while. Salmon skin offered in sushi section was kept cold, so it was chewy and not crisp...not the correct edible texture to enjoy. Hot foods were good and not too salty, compared to some buffets. Baked salmon was very good, flavorful, and not overcooked. Fruits and other desserts were typical buffet offerings. Although, there was a chocolate/coffee mousse dessert available that was very good. Overall, when I dined for lunch, the food had less salt/sodium (which was great), but the flavor was ok, not...

I wanted to really like this place. I pass by this place on my way to basketball and when I saw it finally opened I was greatly excited. I then started to see videos on social media from bloggers and it looked amazing. We went during lunch so the selection of all the good stuff in the videos weren't available to me. The atmosphere was very nice for a Chinese buffet for sure. Very clean and a nice layout with modern decor. Service was mediocre at best. Honestly being of Chinese descent I am very familiar with Chinese service being very minimal. Very typical if you were to ever go to any traditional Chinese restaurant. There was only one waitress that was really nice that came at the end to give my check. My water was only refilled once and that was when I asked for the check.

As for the food there were no crab legs or crawfish, which I was looking forward to. I guess for $17.99 you can't expect much. I was looking forward to the grilled meat selection like they do at Brazilian BBQ places. I dont know how long it was sitting out but they opened at 11am and I got there at 12pm and the pork and chicken were on a plate and was cold. They also have a cool hibachi section where you build your own dish and they cook in front of you. Which I didn't do because I can careless for hibachi. Sushi looked really good and was made very well. I feel like this probably was the best of the food in this place. The only issue I had with the sushi was that the rice was a little too cold where it was beginning to harden. The fish was fresh and I loved the selection. As for the rest of the hot food there it was pretty mediocre and typical Chinese buffet quality food. Large selection of fresh fruits and desserts with a soft serve ice cream machine

Nothing stood out to be exceptional or puts this place at a higher standard than a typical Chinese buffet except it being new, modern, and clean. For the lunch price of 17.99 it is worth it for sure. Is it something Id go out...