Golden Corral Buffet & Grill — Restaurant in Tucson

Worst restaurant i have ever been to. Staff was so rude and nasty to me and my girlfriend we walked out. Tried to use the app but the cashier wanted to hold my phone instead of just scanning the code on the app.Took my phone and closed the qc code window on the app and said i had no points and refused to take $5 off my bill for signing up with the app. Then the manager came over and said they have nothing to do with the app. And again refused to take the $5 off my bill. I showed them the notice on my app that said we get $5 off our next visit from signing up on the app. Even asked they look at their own receipts which states you get $5 off your next visit of $25 or more right at the bottom of it. Nope. They still refused to honor the discount from the app. At this point im done arguing, i told my girlfriend lets just leave. The cashier then accuses my girlfriend of throwing straws at her, which never happened btw. Then as we are leaving both the cashier and the manager that came over started yelling nasty remarks and really sarcastic things at us from the register. No other restaurant i have ever been to in my entire life was as unwelcoming as the staff at TGC that day. The next day i got an email from the general manager of that specific golden corral (22nd st.) we had gone to. I send my phone number and Peter Salcido calls us and we talk about our experience. Peter apologizes for the way we were treated says he has training he needs to do. Big understatement. He looks up the receipts to see what happened with our transaction. It turned out we weren't spending enough for it give us $5 off. The offer we had was $5 off $25 or more when you sign up with their app. The bill came to $27 and some change. Peter says we were not spending over the $25 minimum. Even though they were asking me to pay over $27 i was somehow not spending at least $25. Peter even commented that our bill was short $1 and forty something from being able to get the $5 off my bill. Even though i was being charged over $27.

Should the staff at the golden corral on 22nd st in tucson az been able to figure this out? Maybe if they weren't so busy mocking me for trying to save money with the app. Or closing the scan code screen on my phone then acting like i was trying to rip them off cause i didn't have any points to get $5 off. Or accusing my girlfriend of throwing straws at them the manager could have fixed the problem or found a work around, but they were too busy being disrespectful to even look at the transaction let alone trying to fix it. I was a criminal trying to rip TGC off $5 and nothing was going to change that.

After my conversation with peter we never heard back from golden corral. Peter said he would send us some vouchers to make up for our lousy experience but now its over 2 months later and we received NOTHING.

I honestly hope some good will come from this review, but as for me: I will NEVER set foot in any golden corral again, or ever recommend them...

This was our first time back to this Golden Corral since before they had the fire and shut down. I was curious how they were going to handle the social distancing and what changes were made to the "buffet-style" experience. The actual website mentions social distancing, tables being removed to create better spacing, etc.

Well there was no social distancing in the line...that was about 15-20 people deep. Everyone was wearing a mask with the exception of one lady and her son. We finally get to the cash register and when asking about military discount, I'm told it is for active duty personnel only. I guess that retirees and veterans that have served aren't worthy enough at this location.

Forget about tables being removed for spacing. The area we were placed in had no tables removed, in fact there were extra tables pushed together to accomodate some of the larger parties. Literally, no matter where you were seated, you could reach out and touch someone at an adjacent table.

They did have disposable gloves for people to wear whenever they went up to get food. But once again, everyone was so jam packed waiting in line that social distancing was impossible. The person cooking the steaks was fairly busy, but couldn't get my wife a well done steak to save his life. The cakes (particulary the carrot cake) was extremely dry like it had been sitting out for hours. The food overall seemed subpar compared to the previous times I had been here.

The only positive thing I can say is that the waitress that was assigned to my area was killing it. She seemed to the only person servicing that entire back area and despite it being jam packed she seemed to always be there with drink refills and there removing the...

Golden Corral is not a restaurant. It’s a psychological experiment disguised as a buffet. You don’t go there because you’re hungry — you go because something inside you broke, and now you need to see how far you can fall with a plate in your hand.

You walk in, and immediately the air changes. It’s thick. Oily. It smells like gravy, bleach, and moral compromise. You grab a plate that’s been through more trauma than most marriages, and you just… start piling things. Fried shrimp. Mac and cheese. Something that might be lasagna, or might be regret baked at 350 degrees.

And everyone there has that same look — that dead-eyed, blissful acceptance. Nobody’s talking. Nobody’s smiling. Just people chewing slowly, like they’re trying to forget something. It’s like a casino, but the currency is sodium.

The salad bar exists purely for irony. Nobody’s ever touched it. It’s there as a visual gag, like a reminder of what vegetables looked like before America gave up.

You see a guy stacking brownies like a Jenga tower. He’s shaking. He’s sweating. He’s one spoonful away from spiritual collapse. And yet, you think, yeah… I get it.

Then you go back for round two, because your brain’s stopped sending signals to your conscience. It’s not hunger anymore — it’s momentum. You’re shoveling steak tips like you’re digging your own grave.

By the time dessert hits, you’re questioning the whole human project. Why do we do this? Why are we allowed near soft-serve machines unsupervised? And yet… you’re happy. Not real happiness — just that blissful, post-carb numbness where you can’t tell if you’re satisfied or dying.

Golden Corral isn’t just a place. It’s a state of mind. A sacred space where shame and...