Royal Buffet — Restaurant in Windham

You your family and friends have made a great choice in choosing to go to the royal buffet.. I have gone to many Asian style buffets in my life, yet this location raised the bar of my expectations to a point that any other buffet has reached.

First the speed and cleanliness is top notch.. Often when you go to buffet style places, the service takes a back seat.. Everyone knows part of how such places afford to do large amounts of food is a lack of focus on staff. Not here, although a language barrier can exist, their wait staff are constantly buzzing about, grabbing dirty dishes, bringing drinks and generally trying to be helpful.

Second, is the food they have a wide line up of choices and many of them taste very fresh.. I would argue plenty of made to order takeout places are put to shame by Royal Buffet.. One unique feature was they introduced a hibachi station before it was trendy, as such their chef is truly quality. You can't go wrong with fresh noodles made to your liking.. Another thing which blows my mind is how many dessert options they have, not merely an ice cream machine they have a large freezer with hand packed ice cream.. Not just cookies but fresh pastries, not just cake, but a chiller with mousse and cheesecake.. I must say, leave room for dessert.

Third the nearby competition.. Having gone to school at Eastern Connecticut State University I tried many nearby Chinese places and to be honest not a single one was close to Royal Buffet.. Often when people would suggest going someplace else whether it was takeout or a more premium sit down i got into the habit of saying why not just go to the Royal Buffet, it has never failed to...

Great food. Never gotten sick from them in over 15 years. They even let you do takeout. The staff are excellent- they seat you and then leave you alone, which is amazing, in my opinion. I prefer to eat my food in peace, and not be interrupted by some teenager trying to beg for tips. The atmosphere is awesome - super cheesy amd tacky, just like a Chinese food buffet is expected to be. I absolutely love it. Plus the music is awesome and never overly loud. Very atmospheric and immersive and the lighting is just right, nice and moody feeling. The tables are always clean. The bathrooms are always clean and have a very contemporary look to them. The only complaint I have is that the carpets and some upholstery needs redoing. Other than that, it's fine. Not super super clean looking but it is clean enough, for a place that's as busy as this place is. They are never understaffed and they very rarely run out of food. Their staff are also helpful, never rude. The sign outside could get redone, as it looks slightly dated. The same with the exterior of the place. Lots of parking, though, plus a bench outside to sit and wait or, if you do, to smoke. Bench should be maybe another 5 feet away from the door but it's a double doored breezeway entrance, so it doesn't make a big difference, anyway. Overall, I would recommend this place, as they deliver exactly what they advertise - cheap Chinese American food at a reasonable price, and as much of it as you can eat, if you want to. Decent quality and decent experience....

I'd stayed away from Royal Buffet after a bad experience several years ago, but a friend recommended I give them another try and now I've been a regular customer again for about a year.

Yes, this is a buffet, with the kind of generic entrees you'd find in most Chinese take-out restaurants in the US. There are also a few American entrees and a decent selection of fruit, pudding, pastries, and ice cream. If you go during the peak lunch or dinner hours (the place is huge and I've never had to wait long to be seated), the food is fresh. The food tends to sit in the steam table and overcook when business is slow, so at mid-afternoon some of the entrees may not be very appealing. There's enough variety that I can always find something I like, but this is why I rate the food only "Very Good".

The buffet also includes all-you-can-eat sushi--nothing exotic, but with several varieties to choose from. As with the other food, the sushi is not as fresh at off-peak times. But, really, it's about as good as you have any right to expect from a Chinese buffet. I've had much better sushi, but not at this price.

Finally, there's a Mongolian barbecue style setup that's also included with the buffet. I've never tried it, but it seems to be popular at dinner time. At the very least, I'd expect this option to be fresh any time of day.

You get all this for about $7 at lunch and $10 at dinner. So, even though Royal Buffet may not be a reason to drive to Willimantic, it's well worth a stop if you're...