HomeTown Buffet
reviews and complaints

We went to salinas location on sept 7, 2013 at 5:30 pm for dinner for my daughters birthday. We have been going to this resturant since it first opened. We spent $80 for the meal which was not what we paid for.
He chicken was overcookeda s well as the ribs. No steak at all but they advertised it. No glasses for drinks, no cones for ice cream. Most of the food trays were empty % nobody was refilling them. Nobody ever came to the table as a server and never cleared away the dirty dishes.
This was an overall bad experience and I dont think I will be returning to this resturant

Food is gross. Manager last dont give a shot about anything. Beef undercooked after i request well done. No plates for food as they sent washer home. Was told to use cold salad plates which were splattered with dressing. Bathrooms were nasty. Mens room. Urine on floor, toilet paper all over. ### gaskets thrown about. All while the lady manager at HB #707 chit chars with 3 other girls at register. Im disgusted with HB. They need to look at Golden Corrals model of business. Im still mad. Fish was dry, nothing was good.

This was the most disappointing trip to eat out that I've ever experienced. The food was all old except for the Sprite Zero I had to drink with my meal. The fish was disgusting, cold, dry and old. The salad bar was messy with food floating in the dressing and toppings. The fried chicken was even old. There was lipstick on my cup. The cake was even dry. There were minimal options available and the ones they did have were disappointing. I really wished I had grabbed a burger instead. I will definitely not eat at that location again.

My family ate last night at the hometown buffet on sunrise in citrus heights. First, the selection for a sunday was below par! Then to look at the salad bar the lettuce was wilted, and the soups were intermixed and splashed all over. The main food looked like a food fight had happened. The floor by the food buffet was dirty, with food all over. The sodas and coffee were watered down. The beef they were serving was not rare, it was raw! They didn't have prime rib which I thought they are to have on all sundays? They had ham, sausage, and the raw meat. The manager never came to talk to us, he obviously didn't care about what was going on. I will post as many reviews about this nasty restaurant that I can. There were other complaints about the temperature of the food, they brought the thermometer and stuck it in the food on the line, rather than to take it and do it where others cannot see. Just nasty! I took pictures of the nasty restaurant, and the raw meat. Will upload later.

Miserable attitude of general manager alfred hanson-quaye when informed of the deplorable state of his bathrooms and floors

He raised his voice and treated 4 customers as if they were dirt threatening to throw them out.

If his bathrooms and floors are that dirty, I can just imagine how his kitchen is at 7 pm on a friday night... It does need an inspection from the department of health of broward county, before some poisoning accident happens.

For the protection of the general public, it is imperative that the health department inspects those premises and insists on them being cleaned as often as required to avoid any health problems that may occur in the future.

I for one will never eat in that restaurant again and will insist that none of my acquaintances go there either

This happened to me twice already. The manager/owner of this hometown buffet located in hamilton ave. San jose, ca also serves as a cashier. Not once but twice did he humiliated me because he thinks that I am pretending to be a senior citizen just to be able to get a senior discount for lunch. When I was about to pay, he ask for my id and loudly said that he does not need to see a senior discount card. I have been a customer of this hometown buffet for years when he was not yet the operator/owner. He is a nasty person who disregards a disabled senior citizen like me. If it was a complement that I don't look like a senior... That I could take. But if it is an insult, then I do not recommend this restaurant specially to seniors who look younger than their age according to their standards :)

I am not interested in your discounts or coupons no longer! We used
> your 6..99 dinner coupons last night and total came to over $21 for two
> people!
> How crazy is that?! And we were charged for my 2 yr old son 1.99 which
> we NEVER have been charged before for him to eat there. I want to say
> that I think your establishment is a rip off! We will NEVER eat there
> again! We will take our business to Golden Corral where my son ALWAYS
> eats free and our buffet is NEVER over $10. We can eat cheaper at GOLDEN
> CORRAL with DRINKS then eating at Home Town Buffet without drinks! HOW
> CRAZY is that?
>
>
> Cheryl Wright

3 of us stopped at Home town buffet in Madison on 9/27/11. We commented on the fact that none of the hot food seemed to be very hot. One member of our party cut into a piece of baked chicken that was not fully cooked, and was bloody in the middle. The manager came and talked to us and told us that we just got a piece with " a vein in it, and anytime you cut into a vein, it will bleed." He didn't seem to understand that EVERY piece of chicken has veins, but, chicken cooked properly will not bleed. I also commented on the fact that none of the food seemed particularly hot, and asked him how often the temperature of the food was checked. He said they check it 2-3 times a day. In checking with other local restaraunts that offer buffets, it seems that most places check the food temps AT LEAST HOURLY. I hope the emergency rooms in Madison are prepared for massive food poisoning victims.

Today, we had experience the most humiliating event in our lives. First, before I begin, I would like to add that we are honest people who will never jeopardize our integrity by skipping out on payment for the buffet line for a measly $13. Every Thanksgiving our family has held the tradition to have a lunch at Hometown Buffet. We were having a great time, catching up on each other's lives, since we only see each other 2 times a year. We were there on our third hour, so my brother, being a smoker, step out for a smoke. He came in, was about to drink a ocke when the store manager, Tracey Gradel, took hold of his cup and jacket and falsely accusing him at the top of her lungs that he did not pay and if he does not show proof at that moment that she would have to kick him out. Now everyone in the restaurant was doing the same thing we were doing, minding there own business and chatting with one another until she publicly humiliated our family by harassing and falsely accusing us. Since we were not able to find the receipt of that payment at that time, we asked her to check the register and she also added that they can check the camera to see if payment was done. She came back and said that it was not worth "it to do that for us" and that if we do not show proof of payment because of her laziness to investigate (I'm pretty sure that is included with job title) then they would have to kick us out. Frantically, we were looking for the receipt, we finally found it at the bottom of my sister-in-laws purse. We showed proof, yet there was no remorse for the false accusation she claimed. She was yelling at the top of her voice, and we do have eye witness of what she did. I really do need a reply back from higher management. I don't feel any conflict was resolved justly. I do think she needs to be reprimanded with her actions and undergo extensive "management" training. In addition I do feel we need to be compensated for the event that was lost this Thanksgiving day. There is a right way to approach customers that will not involve public humiliation and harassment. Webster dictionary defines harassment as "to create an unpleasant or hostile situation for especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct 2: to worry and impede by repeated raids.

Frankly she did all this and quite more. All I'm asking is for a simple and just resolution to your customers.

Yesterday, 3/25/09 I had a bad experience at the hometown buffet in lancaster, ca. My husband and I had a coupon for one free dinner upon buying one. It is our daughters 20th birthday. We took her to hometown buffet for her birthday dinner, she wanted to go on the night they have orange chicken. I called the day before we went and asked what night they had orange chicken, they said on wednesday night. Then wednesday night just before we walked out the door to go, I called one more time and asked them what was on the menu. I was told orange chicken, then I said you sure orange chicken, she said yes, then we left to go there. As they bring out the dinner food, I asked, when are they bringing out the orange chicken, then I was told they don't have orange chicken on wednesday. I, my husband, and my daughter all got upset and I told the waitress what I was told. She had the manger come talk to us, and yes, I agree they have a right to change things if they want.In this case they made tuesday the night for orange chicken from now on. The manager came out and told us it was on tuesdays now. But what upset us, is that just before walking out the door I called and I was assured there would be orange chicken. That was the only reason we went to hometown buffet that night. If we were told orange chicken was on tuesdays in stead of wednesdays, then we would have waited til tuesday, then the manager had the nerve to give us a coupon that we already get in the mail, buy one regular dinner, then get one for 5.99. It totally ruined my daughter's birthday dinner. All she wanted to eat for dinner was orange chicken and I was assured there would be orange chicken. We had no money to go there, we collected enough recycables that paid for our dinner that night. So I am trying to put in a complaint because I feel they did us wrong. My husband was so upset he could not eat anymore, it made him lose his hunger. My daughter was so upset she almost cried.

3 of us stopped in to hometown buffet in westchester, ca yesterday, july 29, 2008, which we have done many times. However, we were very upset about the lack of service/food. The regular coffee machine was empty, no ice in the soft drink machine, nobody to slice meat, no bowls in the dessert section, when asking for them, we were given what looked like little coasters. The soft ice cream machine was spitting, apparently empty. Several food containers were either empty or almost empty and it was just the beginning of the dinner hour. How could you ever figure that its worth over $11.00 to have this kind of service. I doubt if we will ever go to that one again. I have always believed that in order to make something better, the people in charge has to be told what is going on.