KING BUFFET — Restaurant in Town of Poughkeepsie

First time stopping at King Buffet. Reminds me of the all you-can-eat buffets at the casino; I’m undecided if I’ll come back. For starters, I despise blatant examples of racism (everyone working here looks to be of Asian decent. Why do our elected representatives NEVER talk about these types of blatant examples of racism in society? Am I to believe that not a a single black, white or Spanish person applied or that a language barrier is to blame for their hiring policies? Whatever. Next, most of my food was cool or cold (I even tried to pull from the bottom of the pile). Some of the food looked so old I didn’t dare try it. The crawfish had no taste. Sushi tasted bad (hopefully I don’t get sick). Sweet and sour chicken was hard. Chinese donuts were hard as a rock, I couldn’t even crush it with my fingers, and there was something in the bottom of my drink. Still, the variety was excellent. Lastly I should mention the price...I’m asking myself if this experience was worth $22.99?

UPDATE: December 25, 2023 I decided to give Kings Buffet a second chance. I went back Christmas night and the food looked fresh, tasted fresh and my food was hot. My interpretation is that buffets are better when their crowded, because more foot traffic means quicker turn over of the food (it’s fresher and hotter).

(UPDATE) March 7, 2025 Third time here. Food is cold to room temperature. Not sure how they get away with that? The safe play here is to NOT come in when the parking lot is empty because they’re not turning over the food fast enough.

(UPDATE) June 14, 2025 Fourth and last time ever. Same as last time, food was cold. My stomachs also been messed up since eating here four days ago. I’m done....

Wife and I came here on labor day around 5pm. Wasn't busy at all. We saw all the poor reviews about them not having trays full of food and food being over cooked and cold. Every try was filled to the brim even by the time we left it was much busier. The only thing I did notice that some of the seafood was kind of cold but since it was just mainly shrimp and snow crab legs that wasn't really a big deal for us. All the Chinese food was hot though. We didn't get any of the Sushi but it didn't really look that great tbh. Chinese food was great like the beef and broccoli/chicken and broccoli, Lo mein, beef spare ribs, and fried chicken wings etc. they had butterfly shrimp with garlic which was really good along with salt and pepper crab $ calamari. The snow crab legs kept getting refilled in a timely manner and my wife and I had 3+ plates. The staff was nice. The only food that we didn't care for was the food in the center by the grill where they had fried shrimp, broiled shrimp, steak, and chicken. The steak looked good but was really tough and had absolutely no flavor. My wife did try the bourbon chicken and said it was good. Bill came to $68 with tip. The manager was really nice too as we were leaving he insisted that we take a small ice cream cup with us even though we were beyond full. Everybody that lives in the area as well aware of this place and the Hudson buffet in Fishkill and I have to say that the king buffet in Poughkeepsie is decades ahead of the Hudson buffet.. The only thing I would recommend to the owner is to use heat lamps instead of LEDs keep the food a little bit warmer but like I said it wasn't really that bad as most people were making...

Were I able, I’d give their food 4 and a half stars but half stars wasn’t an option and to take it a step further, I’d give an overall review of 3.75 out of 4. That would be the fairest grade that I could give. Sammy was an incredibly accommodating host and our waiter Jason was much the same. Our group was a party of eight plus a baby so we were a handful. All of our requests were answered and everything went smoothly. We felt that all of the dishes we tried were seasoned just right and that the selections were adequate for the $24.99 dinner price tag. The one gripe we did have was that the plain crab legs were cold (Try their wonton soup by the way. It’s quite good). Sammy, the manager remedied this by having our waiter reheat them which did the trick. Another is that the sushi could’ve been a bit fresher. It wasn’t spoiled or anything, just a little stiff from sitting out atop a cold plate. I’m sure that in the near future we will be coming back. One of my sisters came all the way from Waterbury, Connecticut with her husband to join us so her expectations were high. It’s safe to say that they were happy with their experience and are looking forward to a return trip. I really hope that the third time (for this particular location) is the charm for this place as it’s two predecessors Golden Corral and International Buffet both failed miserably. I hope Sammy, Jason and company remain here for years to come. It really was a great place to ring-in the New Year. Thank you Sammy and Jason. Thank you King Buffet staff....