Lin’s Grand Buffet
3955 E Baseline Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85042
Lin’s Grand Buffet Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Phoenix for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Phoenix for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Phoenix for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
3955 E Baseline Rd
Phoenix, AZ, 85042 - Phone (602) 437-5088
- Website https://www.linsrestaurant.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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Kanisha S.
If you like but they said they did buffet but it's still a buffet. My recommendation is to get the Mongolian Grill noodles they customize it and it takes away some of the buffet effects
(3)Chris S.
Good food. I would come back just for the hot and sour soup. What a sinus cleanser
(5)Kim N.
I went to Lin's for lunch and I am a fan! I actually live in San Diego, CA, but I was visiting people in Ariziona. My boyfriend and I were very impressed by Lin's. Lunch = $8.50 - $9.00 excluding drinks & the best part is they have crawfish during lunch! They also had fried chicken, baby octopus, sushi, and a lot of other great food I cannot remember. The place is so beautiful! Because of Lin's, I hate San Diego's buffets.
(4)Len M.
One of the best buffets in Arizona, I would compare it to some casinos. It is new and modern, the layout is good not like the old dirty buffets you see most places that are outdated. The food selection is better then most buffets too, I still have not tried it all yet. Big parking lot which gets packed, the place is fairly large too and is its own building. I recommend it for family,friends or you can just be a pig and go by yourself, haha.
(4)laure s.
Great selection, sushi is "americanized" but still very good. Their wasabi will singe your nose hairs!! Best sweet and sour soup I've ever had. Plus, the service was excellent. We'll be back.
(5)Jun P.
Review for Lunch... Chinese food was ok. decent options. Sushi options were VERY LIMITED.. I was disappointed... Love the beignets like dessert... Services is typical of Chinese Buffet... Price is reasonable...
(3)James T.
Just another cheap buffet.
(3)Shirleen H.
I have been back 4 times. This is a nice place, the food is fresh, there is a great variety. I like that they have a Mongolian grill, fresh bakery, a small sushi bar and a large variety of dishes. They were quick to get us in and seated. We were served drinks immediately and our waitress kept them full. I was never thirsty. The dining area is nicely decorated and clean, when they get busy, which is daily due to good food and varity of food , it does get a bit noisy, but is well worth it!
(4)Jun P.
Review for Lunch... Chinese food was ok. decent options. Sushi options were VERY LIMITED.. I was disappointed... Love the beignets like dessert... Services is typical of Chinese Buffet... Price is reasonable...
(3)James T.
Just another cheap buffet.
(3)Shirleen H.
I have been back 4 times. This is a nice place, the food is fresh, there is a great variety. I like that they have a Mongolian grill, fresh bakery, a small sushi bar and a large variety of dishes. They were quick to get us in and seated. We were served drinks immediately and our waitress kept them full. I was never thirsty. The dining area is nicely decorated and clean, when they get busy, which is daily due to good food and varity of food , it does get a bit noisy, but is well worth it!
(4)Derrick Z.
as i walked in i thought to myself "wow". i figured it was probably because the establishment was new. very nice ambiance. it seems like there is alot of room around the tables and even the actual buffets. i didn't bump into anyone. the service was great. we went during lunch and it was busy with all the lunch folk. because it was busy we didn't see our server often but she did meet all our needs. the food seemed to be better than average buffet food. i enjoy going to this place because i know alot of crappy buffets in the phoenix area and this place sets itself apart from others.
(4)calvin n.
I went this for the first time with my wife for dinner since they had the GRAND OPENING sign out. This has got to be the worst buffet ever!!! the sushi were very limited, I think the sushi guy was a beginner since the rice wasn't porportional. The food were even worst. I will never go back here again. I thought this place would work for us since it's closer to our home but I will need to drive a little further to maybe crazy buffet or pacific seafood buffet.
(1)Carlos M.
Really good buffet, had sushi, chinese, and it was great.
(5)Derek O.
Lin's is a great place to go once or twice a year when you are just craving 1000 pounds of questionable americanized Chinese food. This place is like your classic mall Chinese food, but done pretty well. I've been twice and there's always lots of food, it's usually hot and reasonably fresh, and the service is above average considering how busy it is. The prices are reasonable--dinner is $10.69. Also, I am embarrassed to say it, but the buffalo wings are way good. Why the three stars? Two reasons... First, the customer base here is really... interesting. It's kind of like eating while sitting on the floor of an inner city Walmart. There are children running around everywhere, most of whom are poorly dressed. When I went a couple nights ago, I saw a fat 9 yr old boy with a "YOU SUCK" t-shirt on, and another kid about 5 yrs old with skull and crossbones logos all over his baggy sweatshirt. To be fair, most of the older clientele are just regular fat guys grubbing out at the ol' buffet, but a fair number of the customers here just exude a lack of class. Lin's has a huge pump bottle of A1 near the "steak" area. I mean really... if it's under the guise of Chinese buffet, they sure aren't trying very hard. Second, for some reason there is this intense sense of discomfort associated with being at Lin's that I can't really explain, like you just want to scarf down all your food as fast as you can and get the hell out of there. I think it's mostly caused by the crowdedness everywhere. The chairs are pretty close to each other, the people at the buffet seem ravenous and you always have to be careful to not bump into Big Momma behind you who is snatching up all the crawfish, corn on the cob and french fries she can. Nobody goes here for the atmosphere, and usually I don't care at all about things like this, but here it's extreme and you feel very rushed. I'll go back the next time I have no regard for my health or happiness and just need to gorge myself on cheap food, because the food really isn't too bad, but I would not make Lin's a regular on my list.
(3)Bryan S.
This is one of the better Chinese buffet restaurants out there. The food was very good and very fresh and they do a pretty good job of keeping everything clean. Even during the Friday night rush. My only complaint is that they need to lower the temperature. It's way too hot with all of the people there. By the way, if you're looking to try something a little out of the ordinary, try the baby octopus. I thought it was quite good.
(4)P M.
I've been here a million times. Usually I just go for lunch w one friend. This time I went with my family to celebrate my mom & sisters birthday. We were a party of 12. 3 of us were there first & asked for a table for 12. They told us they would not prepare a table until everyone was there. Once we were all there they took us to 2 separate tables for 6. That defeats a purpose of a family dinner doesn't it? I said "We don't want to sit separate." She seemed very bothered & said she would try to find a table for 12. I felt like it was very irresponsible that they would be so unprepared even after we warned them about our party of 12. Eventually we did get a table & the food was great.
(2)Jamie C.
There's always room in my life for a buffet. I must say my experience was much better than I expected it to be. The restaurant itself was very clean. We were quickly seated at noon on a Saturday. I was with a party of 12, they only allow you to put two tables together so if your party is more than 8 you will be split up. The food stations were clean as well, everything looked picture perfect. There was a Mongolian Stir Fry Station, Sushi Station, & "Bakery" (notice he italics). I sampled several chicken items and some shrimp entrees. The chicken entrees were good but they all tasted the same so whether you get General Tso's, Broccolli and Chicken, or Cashew Chicken it's all basically the same flavor- SOY. I liked the soft served ice cream, it beats having little kids try to scoop out their own ice cream like a lot of other Chinese style buffets do. I was brave and tried the Baby Octopus, the sauce was great but it was so chewy that my jaw literally started to hurt from munching so much. Didn't get to try the American food items but I definitely will have to go back and try before I write this place off. The biggest plus was the cute waiter that constantly kept our cups full.
(3)Michael M.
We LOVE Lin's, effin A Lin's. This is, by far, the best Chinese buffet in Phoenix. We look forward to going to Lin's and will go multiple times a week. We are offended by the negative blasphemous comments. If you have a negative view of Lin's, you don't know Lin's. Clearly. We love Lins... I could say it all day. We will be requesting tshirts next time we go. Haters not welcome.
(5)Todd S.
This is my first review, so as you can imagine, I really liked this place. First off, it is cheap. $11\Adult and $6\Kids (Over 4) Second, some of it was top notch. I am a huge Spareribs fan, and if you catch them bringing a fresh set out, the ribs there will compete with any I have had anywhere else. Last but not least, is choice. They have 3 rows of buffet and a cook to order section (It was okay but not the highlight). My son is not a big foodie, so it is usually hard for us to go out anywhere but an Applebee's or equivilant and that gets boring. This is not a straight chinese buffet. They had nuggets, wings, onion rings and fries just to name a few options. This means everyone in my family had something to eat and we all left happy. And leaving happy is the most important thing when going out.
(4)Mike C.
I cant believe Lin's is only averaging two and a half stars . Well they might not be five star they are close , they have a lot of good food choices clean , comfortable ,well decorated , friendly polite staff and a reasonable price. That is enough right there to say yay i am a fan. So if you like a good Chinese buffet let me recommend Lins Grand Buffet it is a very good buffet and you will see for yourself.
(4)Monica O.
Group of coworkers and I went to try Lins for lunch, and after reading several reviews, I was interested in seeing how clean the floor was, to my surprise it was clean, tables & counter tops were clean as well. We told the hostess that we were a party of 11 and they looked confused on where to put us, they sat us in the back at 2 different tables so the party got broken up, but that didn't really bother us too much. The buffet was 8 per person not including drink, I ordered a drink and it averaged about 11 for the meal. Another thing I was searching for was the enchiladas, few had mentioned that there was some and low and below I found them! Cheese enchiladas, I didn't try them but some coworkers did and they said they tasted good. The buffet offered a lot of choices for food, any picky eater would be able to find something, but the food itself was ok it wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular, and left me wanting more in flavor. Glad I went and checked out Lins but I probably will not be going out of my way to try it again.
(3)Ben C.
Very nice place, new and clean. Food is just OK. Typical Chinese buffet food, nothing new. Price is fair. Sushi doesn't look like sushi at all.
(3)Christopher K.
Great Chinese place to eat and good prices. Korean noodles are the best there.
(4)Joseph H.
The resturtant was great. they have some many different oppitions to choose from. the staff that work for this resturant are very friendly. They do not mind helping you out when when ask for something eles. The food that was at this location was great. Salad was at the cooling temputure. The hot food was at warmth temputure. That fixture hanging from the roof, when you enter is marvilous. The overall enviorment was very clean and inspection ready. My overalll experience with this location of ( Lin's Grand Buffet) was great. NO PROBLEMS at all. Will consider making recomindations.
(5)Chad M.
Food overall was good, especially for a buffet...wasn't impressed with the sushi, service was not very good.
(3)T S.
Nice, clean restaurant. Did lunch here. Long line to get in. Food options were wonderful. Food flavor was ok. Great price for lunch. 10 per adult including drink. Strange how they mixed dessert items among the regular main dish items but heck, part of the buffet alore is just searching out different types of foods to try. Must admit, for a Chinese buffet it was very good and I would go back.
(3)M G.
So we have been wanting to try this place since before it opened and finally tried it tonight. Never again! It is decently priced for buffets but doesn't come with a drink...and then you get the food and start to think that it is now overpriced. The green beans were hard, the spring rolls were bland, as were the pork eggrolls and most of the food. My daughter LOVES rice and noodles and after one bite wouldn't touch the white rice or lo mein noodles again. The "salmon" nigiri was like plastic and the rice in the sushi wasn't good either...later found out that it is the same rice for the buffet and sushi. Broccoli in the veggie delight and the beef n broccoli was pretty good but the beef was really fatty and chewy and the mongolian beef lacked. They have both hot and cold mussels, the cold ones drip a lot of water and come frozen and just get put out and the hot ones come frozen and get heated a bit, both are chewy. Popcorn shrimp has very dry breading, chicken nuggets and fries couldn't have been to good since again my daughter only had one bite of those. Out of the soups the only decent one was the egg drop soup. Even the mushrooms were kinda meh, it's like they took a random brown sauce and threw some button mushrooms in it without doing anything else. It's like everything comes in frozen but they don't even get their food from a good supplier. The baked sweet potatoes were really but they don't have brown sugar to put on them. And Tim was our server person/glorified busser, and he did a great job and was friendly...plus, we spoke with a manager and he was really nice but didn't seem like he has a firm grasp on everything and more make excuses like sundays being crazy days for them and that was why the floor was so dirty and covered with food and trash, and he did say that they are building more and already have some in other cities and states and that they all use the same recipes, so BEWARE. Lastly my guy will eat just about anything and even some of the most disgusting things and doesn't have issues with it and before we left he was already running to the bathroom
(1)Jonathan S.
Typical buffet. If you want quantity it will work for you if you want good food go elsewhere
(2)Roger J.
Good food, huge buffet one of the biggest around but a little bland to appeal to everyone. There is also a Mongolian grill inside and sushi. The sushi was not very good though go somewhere else if your a big sushi fan
(3)rich h.
4 1/2 if Available, nothing is perfect! So first I am not a buffet fan and went with my brother in law and son after we did some go cart racing up on University. Going in knowing you are going to a buffet and not a five star Chinese restaurant helps. With that this is by far the best buffet (outside the real high end Las Vegas ones) I have ever been to. The food is hot, tasty, plenty of choices and FRESH. The price is also very reasonable (I think $13ish) for dinner. Lins has changed my opinion on the nasty Chinese Buffets that surround this town! I will be back.
(4)Marla R.
I am giving Lin's 4 stars as a 4 star buffet, not a 4 star restaurant because I think there is a big difference. It's not cheap but a decent value. We paid $52 for 4 adults for Sunday dinner, including 3 fountain drinks. Although it was busy when we got there around 5:30, there was no wait. When we left at 6:15 the lobby was full of people waiting to be seated. The place is very pretty and feels a bit like a Vegas buffet. We were seated upstairs, which was nice as we were further from the noise and chaos from the lower level where the food is. The selection of foods is huge. I had a small piece of steak cooked to order and it was very thin but tender and had good flavor. The boys had several different pieces of sushi and said they were "alright." My favorite surprise was the fried sweet bananas. I am sure we will be back and make this a regular go-to place when we can't agree on what we want.
(4)Belle G.
i liked the food but after a hangover who won't eat anything! great place for hangover not have when sober. great place to people watch that's for sure!
(2)Art R.
Even though I gave this 4 stars I was tempted to give it just 3 but are giving them the benefit of the doubt having eaten there a few times. The place is remarkably clean. The food is usually very good although a few dishes, especially the desserts and Mongolian BBQ could be improved upon. I have to give them credit though for also offering steaks even though I rarely get them. On our last visit the food was as good as previous visits but will visit it again to see if it goes back to the level it ws, if not the star rating will go down.
(4)Destiny A.
You think when you see this building it is the grand daddy of all buffets. Well looks are deceiving! The place was crowded and you barely had any room to sit or walk. The food is just the same as any other buffet, had the same items only there was a section with steak. I was disappointed that it was no different then the regular buffets you go to. I did not like how the tables were all meshed together, I understand being popular but the customers should be comfortable. The price is the usual cost you see in buffets, but I wouldn't call them grand cause they weren't. Nothing spectacular don't get your hopes up.
(2)Dada D.
i went on tuesday to eat with my family for my birthday. the place is beautiful. the food was decent, however it wasnt special. they did have a ton of dishes available. there were a few glitches. empty trays, i waited for 5 minutes to get some lo mein. no noodles for the mongolian bbq. i waited for 10 minutes and they didnt replenish the noodles, so i moved on. the service was bad. the girl that was waiting on us never came to replenish the drinks, and we had empty plates on the table for over a half an hour. the manager made eye contact with me but never came over to offer assistance, or even an excuse. i will say that the manager was pitching in helping clear plates of empty tables. so after spending 55.00 i dont think i will go back. i will try another place.
(3)Teresa S.
I thought that this place was pretty great! Rand H. another great Yelper had recommended it,so I always wanted to try it. I came here with a friend to celebrate her Birthday early (crazy Schedules we have.) Anyway ,the first thing I noticed about this place is how absolutely Beautiful it is! Honestly,it has 2 of the most beautiful Chandeliers. The place is done in some gorgeous tile,and some beautiful statues as well. The food is fresh and a lot of great selections. They even have a Mongolian Chef,as well as a Sushi Chef. All very good. I wish they brought a tea pot with hot tea. But instead they bring you a foam cup with a straw and lid. But, my friend got Ice Tea and she got a glass with a straw. I thought that procedure was a little odd. Lots of parking outside, and the service was good. He kept coming to check on us. The Bathrooms however, could use a little attention. But, all in all, the place was beautiful and the food was great.
(4)Maria B.
Have been here several times, good food several choices, good for lunch and dinner. Soups, slats, sides, main dishes, desserts and sushi. I always go for sticky buns, hot wings, sour soup. Waitress always nice.
(4)Candice D.
This place was terrible it was dirty and the food was not fresh. Golden corral is 10x bettee
(1)Amy B.
I came here for dinner today with a friend of mine, and I'm glad that I did. What a great buffet! The place was large, clean, and had a huge spread of food that seemed endless. Price was fair for dinner, as it was $27 for the both of us. I was really impressed with this one. Some of the features that they have here are a Sushi station, a mongol ion BBQ area, plenty of desserts, and plenty of food for all to eat. They also had quite the desert spread as well. One of the better buffet's I've seen in town. If your in the area, definitely go check this place out. Really worth it!
(4)Rand H.
Just a mini Update this time as Jackie R. & Mike C. joined me for lunch here today. The only changes to report from last time was that they have a new Mongolian BBQ chef, but he cooked up my plate of good stuff just fine. (I like how they cut up the 3 meats like french fries... works well.) Another nice touch was chives right there by the delicious Sweet & Sour and Won Ton soups to add in. One gripe to "air." (Pun¿) They aren't offering paper towels in the bathrooms but only those nasty blowers. I stood there for a while with it blowing cold air on my hands and then finally wiped them on my shirt. THEN, how was I supposed to get out of the second door, back into the dining room, without getting more germs on them than ever from pulling the handle open? Shirt? Fine... now it's wet, pulled out & wrinkled! Minus 1 Star from an otherwise excellent lunch buffet offering up 120 tasty items today, plus sauces and dressings. :-) Weekday Lunch Buffet now $9.39/$8.46 Sr.
(4)Victoria K.
Easily a 5 star buffet. I went here yesterday (Monday) for lunch about 1:30 or so. I was greeted as I entered, paid just over $10 for lunch with a water and was seated at a table. The first trip I made was to the grill and sushi. The grill was out of noodles, but the veggies and meat I chose were done very nicely and the guy working was extremely nice. In fact everybody who worked there was really nice. The sushi was pretty good as well, with nice large rolls including a couple with raw fish. They were kept the correct temperature and was being monitored and replenished by the sushi chef. All the food that I had from the buffet was pretty good...nothing struck me as off or bad.... Of course it wouldn't be a Chinese buffet in the Valley if they didn't have some sort of tacos/ tamales/ enchiladas here... which they had enchiladas that were okay. Some of the best dishes in my opinion were the cheese wonton which was not too crunchy like most places.... the baby octopus was very tender and not overly chewy like most buffets, the baked salmon was amazing, and for desert I enjoyed hte powdered donut holes as well as a slice of chocolate chip chocolate cake with some vanilla soft serve. Most likely I will be back to this place.
(5)Michael J.
I eat here once in a while and the food is always decent. Sushi is good but Pacific is definitely better. They have lots of fried fish and shrimp that my friends and I like and the Chinese food is good. They always have some fresh fruit and they have soft serve ice cream for dessert. I'll keep coming here when I'm nearby and in the mood for buffet.
(3)Valerie M.
You come inside, stand in a line to pay a cashier about $12 per person (does not include drink), and then stand in a different line so someone can tell you where to sit. I constantly ask Why?! Why pay that kinda money when you can go to a restaurant where you'll be seated and given a menu, place an order, served, checked on, and then dishes cleared from your table instead of dishes gathering -and all for the same price. Yes, I realize you get so much more variety, but the quality??? In case you haven't picked up on this yet I am not a fan of Chinese buffet -anywhere. Quality is always sub par and price just seems to cover the excessive waste and not actual product. Oysters are dry, over cooked, and some are so bad I had to remove from my mouth. Shrimp is over done. Baby octopus were whole. That was interesting. My husband and son said the bread is really good. Lmao. You gonna make bread your meal at a buffet? More often than not my husband and I could split an entrée and still have leftovers, if we could ever agree on eating the same thing. So variety IS good, but for me this place just doesn't seem to do a single thing on their buffet really well. Unless it's the bread my son and husband seem to like.
(1)william r.
Would give -5 stars if possible. Quite frankly; wretched and horrid would be appropriate descriptors for this place. Outside grounds littered with trash, cigarettes and assorted debris for starters. I get it, it's S phoenix, but this is a horror show. The food, other than a fair soup selection, was cold, devoid of any flavor, and is simply thrown out there to feed a low rent crowd. Save your money and either go elsewhere, anywhere but here, or starve. Trust me, the latter suggestion is better than eating this swill.
(1)Jody K.
We stopped by here since we were in the neighborhood after visiting with friends. The place looks nice from the outside - similar to a large log cabin. Service was friendly inside, food was plentiful, but to me, did not taste good. It lacked a lot of flavor and quite a few food items had been sitting out for a while. I would not come back to this place as I would be able to spend my $40 (2 adults, 1 child) some place nicer with better quality food.
(2)Artemis S.
Going to this place reminded me why I don't go to these places. They should change the name of this place to Riff Raff n' Nausea; you get to be around all the rudest, most obnoxious people of S. Phoenix (the other patrons), and the food will likely make you feel terrible. I'm pretty iron-stomached and rarely prone to sickness after eating subpar food, but this place had me breaking out the Pepto, PDQ. It's just not worth it in any way. BEWARE.
(1)Arizona T.
Look. I hate to admit I even go to buffets from time to time but this is actually a pretty decent Chinese buffet. The employees were all very friendly and they were very attentive, the food was actually very flavorful and very good, it has Mongolian barbecue and a sushi station. The upside to this buffet is that you can eat as healthy or as bad as you would like. For a Chinese buffet in a marginal area of town is actually remarkably very clean. It is definitely worth checking out. There's no way to give a buffet five stars so this will get a solid four star from me. When you take into consideration the price you really can't beat it. Sidenote; I went there at 3 PM on a weekday.
(4)Michelle K.
I am only giving this place 1 star because I cant give it zero. This place is absolutely disgusting. We drove by this place a lot in the past week because we were frequenting South Mountain Preserve and with all the blazing lights outside, we thought this place was literally beckoning us to try them out. I'm already not a huge fan of buffets for hygienic reasons and because most buffets are built for high capacity food to be dished out quickly. As a result the foods in buffets are rarely ever made fresh. But there are a few I'm actually impressed with, so I cant completely disregard buffets as a whole. The outside of this place looks like a Chinese ski lodge with a neon light trim. There is nothing around it except for a Circle K across the street, so this place really stands out. Kids under 2 eat free. I kinda wish we were all under 2 years old tonight for this meal. The cashier was friendly, the host was weird about seating us and our server was probably the best part about that place. So II'll take back my first sentence, Id like to give that one star to her. The place was very busy which I thought was a sure sign that it was going to be a great buffet, but I took a good look around. A reaaallllly good look. If you took every single person that was on parole in AZ and seated them at a Chinese buffet, that's what you would get. 'Twas a bit creepy in there. Aside from that, let me get down to the food.... I took a little bit of everything. It's what I always do. The food looked weird to me, like it was purchased from the supermarket, thawed out and placed under the heat lamp for everyone. The ONLY items that looked normal were the jello (which is already a bizarre food anyway), the rice and the ice cream. That's it. The sushi was an absolute joke, fried fish was bready and greasy, jalapeno chicken/sweet n sour chicken all tasted like a packet of syrup was mixed and then drizzled on top. My son (who actually has an excellent palate) said the pizza tasted like yogurt. Like YOGURT! Quite possibly the most unsightly thing I saw tonight was a seafood blend (casserole) that looked like somebody vomited on the tray. I saw two scrapes taken from that tray. I'll say a prayer for the 1-2 individuals who ate that tonight because that was absolutely disgusting. There is so much food there and I'd love to go through the list, but to be honest there's no point. Just dont go there. Save your money and go elsewhere. Anywhere but there.
(1)Joe M.
Massive place, lots of people, a lot of food and a lots of choices. It would be hard not to find something you like for the entire family. Not sure it's the most healthy things you could eat. Lots of calories in the meal I picked. You could choose from some of the other items that might be better. They have a grill and fresh sushi. It's worth a shot. I was glad I stopped in.
(3)Olivia V.
Really shitty customer service. All the waitress did was argue with us over a drink for a 2 year old. Not coming back here again.
(1)Phisit P.
Came here for a family dinner. Service at the front was alright. We had to wait for all of our parties to get here just to be seated, but then after a while they just decided to let us seat and go eat. They had a lot of variety in foods, but in my opinion any place can and its more about quality. So, mostly everything I ate there was ok. Probably the egg drop soup and salt and pepper shrimp would be something I'd consider always getting. The best thing I would say they have is the made to order steak. Get it any way you want it. I got it medium rare and it was really tasty. Couldn't go wrong with that one. Another thing that was good and I took notice was the service on my drinks. I think their name was Andrew. He made sure our drinks were always filled even before I had to even ask. I don't know about anyone else, but to me that's always a big plus when I dine out in places. All in all, its an alright place to me for a buffet.
(3)Zack F.
I never thought I would actually use this account to review, but I didn't think I would try squid either. This place has got to be the worst place I have ever eaten in my entire life. Everything was bad about this place. The food there is minimal and none of it looks good. There is even chicken nuggets and French fires... Really? that's just how the food looks. As soon as I started eating, I can tell something wasn't right. I tried the squid, worst idea ever. Even the ice cream sucked. As soon as we were done, we walk out, and one person from the group we went with threw up right in front of the store... Uh-oh. We stopped for gas, went to the bathroom, and I threw everything up. Which I haven't done in about 6 years. It's sad cause the food at the gas station would probably have been better than that "food" at the buffet. So after spending $12 for food I threw back up in a gas station's bathroom, I rate this place a 1 star. Wish I could give it a -5 star.
(1)Nicole S.
My husband and I love this buffet. It is affordable and minus the salad, the food is always fresh. (but come on, who comes to a chinese buffet for the salad LOL) The sushi is always fresh, and doesn't taste too fishy. The fried rice is amazing! The wait staff is okay... it's a buffet, so it's easy for drinks to run dry. Also, they're fortune cookies are actually GOOD. Usually they are stale, but they must go through a lot, because they are usually fresh. All in all, we visit this place quite often, it's clean, consistent and always enjoyable.
(5)Aude O.
Not my favorite buffett. Sushi was bland and not many choices. Steak was overcooked (I told him medium rare and it was almost well done). Mongolian grill was good. The rest of the choices are your normal selection. It was quite busy, which in a buffett is a very good thing (food gets changed out faster). You do pay before you go even sit down, so be aware. Also, there is potatoe salad right by the pudding. Be careful, as I almost screwed that up.
(2)Melodie C.
Very unorganized from the get-go. When you walk in, there's a line to the door (on busy nights) that you have to wait in to pay. Then you go to another line at the host station and wait to be seated. I'm not a big fan of buffets in general, but if you are, you'll surely love this one. They have every kind of Chinese dish you can imagine: General Tao's chicken, beef and broccoli, veggie delight, fried rice....... You'll even find a few non-Chinese selections, like a salad station, baked potatoes and French fries. The dessert station was pretty weak. Carrot cake, brownies, white cake and pudding. There's also a vanilla frozen yogurt machine, although they don't offer any toppings. Who doesn't have chocolate sauce for frozen yogurt? I really have no desire to go back again.
(2)Nura A.
I used to like this place. Quality of food is not good and not much variety anymore. Very limited desserts. There were no Crab legs! I will not come back. It's sad because this is very close to my house. I might just take a nice long drive in search for better food!
(3)Jeff P.
Beyond disgusting. Food was cold. And old. If you like eating bad leftovers that have been reheated time and time again, you will love this place. Restaurant was filthy. And while we were there the manager actually turned away a party of 5 because they wanted to sit at an 8 top. The restaurant was 3/4 empty and this was Friday night at 6:30. Save yourself and never come here. Can I give it less than 1 star?
(1)Bnilla R.
Flies all over the food in the buffet and the manager was rude when we asked for a refund!! Nasty!!
(1)Lena K.
Me & my family goes to Lin's pretty often at least 1 every 2/3 weeks. Yesterday the most distinguishing thing happened, their food is always good and fresh doesn't matter what time of the day you go is the reason for us being frequent flyers. But yesterday we went in for dinner and as soon as my husband sat down on the table w/ his food ....... Roaches ....... like a battalion of then not kidding ... 6/8 came out all on in a sudden and the first one walked over his food....he stood up and spoke w/ management but this is ridiculous ...... I mean if you can see 1 you know there gutta be more but seeing 6/8 at a time .............. omg and we just walked out ......... never going back in there again.. Good bye Lin's ......... all those ppl please watch out this place are ripping us w/ higher value but they do not maintain their business.
(1)Sunny L.
I love this buffet. It is very clean and there is a great selection. I love this place for a team lunch during work time. It's close to the office, quick, and easy. They are very accommodating for a big group. I have 10 people on my team. They all loved it and had a blast. I think the best part of coming here is that you don't have to wait. You get your food right away and there is more time to socialize. I will definitely bring my team here again for lunch.
(4)Ava K.
Food was good, place was clean, service was spot on, can't ask for more!
(4)Mabel H.
Really good value. Two visits with the four of us--no one ever got sick. Let's face it--we are talking about a Chinese buffet here, so don't expect a "foodie" review like we usually give, since all of these Chinese buffets offer the same quick fare. For that reason alone our ratings scale is based upon what college professors would consider to be a "sliding scale". Therefore let us continue... We are awarding 4 stars to Lin's Grand Buffet for some specific surprises: 1.) The fried fish and fried shrimp were very good. Like, SURPRISINGLY good, especially since we are grilled fish/healthy eaters (but the grilled salmon that day was "fishy", thus the discovery of the fried stuff). Our suggestion is to try a very tiny piece of fish before proceeding further, since cooking varies from day to day. 2.) The cheese enchiladas are perfect. (Weird, right?) But we were craving them that day. 3.) Yummy "critters". Our other surprise was that our 19-year-old stuffed his face with little octopus and LOVED them. He had never had them before, either, and the whole thing started as a dare... He also piled his plate several times with the crayfish. All of it gross to us, but obviously not to him. The octopus are tiny and look like little cartoons. The crayfish are just like I remember them from playing in the creeks of Texas as a child. There is a HUGE assortment of foods here--something for everybody. Ribs are good, but not too much meat on them, chicken wings are good, pot stickers are good. They've got everything you can imagine and more. Salad bar is a disappointment. Not too many healthy vegetable toppings. Very basic stuff there, including the ever present chocolate pudding. The husband got two plates of Mongolian Barbecue, so to whoever mentioned previously they don't have this anymore, apparently they do still have this feature of the restaurant. Hubby liked it. Said the first cook "made it great" and the second cook (when he went back for seconds) "made it meh". Depends on your cook, we guess. The sushi is uninteresting and dry. Full disclosure, we didn't ask for anything specific to be made for us, so we don't know if that is an option here. Can anyone enlighten us? (Thanks.) The deserts are dry and monotonous--you know the drill on this stuff. We refuse to call the soft-serve (which comes in chocolate, vanilla, or swirl) "ice cream". It is food-grade "D" frozen "treat". Nasty stuff, eat at your own risk kind of territory. But again, our son, despite himself and God love him, kept going back for more. Blecht!..and LOL! In our humble opinion, this was the worst part of our visits. We've always had great/attentive servers. We say the only drawback is the ripped seating. When we asked for another booth on a busy night the hostess laughed and told us that all of the seats are ripped. So, come on, Phoenix! Let's sit properly, mm'kay? This can be prevented. Otherwise the place is huge and kind of cool/pretty looking. It seems clean enough. Bathrooms are new/clean.
(4)Justin V.
I've never been a fan of Chinese buffets and this place did little to change my mind on that. I was hoping to be wrong as we were greeted by a 30 minute wait for a table. Heck, this many people can't be wrong? Ummmmm... Standard Chinese buffet food but nothing imaginative or inspiring about this one. It was a nice touch to see a steak cooking station but I had to order it 3 times before I actually got mine and it still wasn't cooked right. All in all, I guess it's what I expected for a cheap Chinese food buffet but I won't be going back again.
(2)Jennifer T.
There is really good food here. That is the only reason why there is 4 stars. But I have a few problems. 1) No milk for little kids... Seriously? We come in with a 16 month old and she doesn't drink soda, or juice, barely likes water. She wanted milk with lunch, and they don't have milk. Why would you not have milk for kids?! From what I understand, they don't have juice either. 2) Everyone is crammed in there. There isn't enough space between the rows of food for people to fit through without bumping arms or other body parts - no matter how small you are. Add in that people let their kids run through and grab what they want and it makes it worse. 3) We were a party of 6 adults, one child, one toddler. They could have given us a bigger table. There was barely any elbow room. Ridiculous. The only reason they have 4 stars is because the food was REALLY good. And I mean really good. The server was always bringing refills, which was great. But I probably won't go back with my kids. So the chance I'll come back soon will be slim.
(4)jim m.
Went for lunch at 11:15 am. Everything was cold on the buffet. I ask the waitress for the manager and she said he would be right over. Never showed up. $50 for 4 people to have lunch and not being able to eat it was ridiculous. This place use to be good. I will dispute my credit card and never return.
(1)Nicole G.
4 stars : Based on Buffet Criterion (Not a $$$ Posh Dining experience). My new favorite Asian Buffet (Using Hong Kong Gourmet, Crazy Buffet, Pacific Seafood as comparison) Something there for everyone - Sushi, BBQ, Mongolian Grill, Tons of Seafood items, lots of Vegetarian Items (which is super hard to come by in general...let alone at buffet). Can we talk about the fact that the food is, actually, good? At a buffet!? Yes...and the bathrooms are large and clean. A weirdly big deal for me at buffets, but I digress. My favorite part...they're actually cheaper than a few places, by a couple bucks. I have yet to do check in on them again, as some other reviewers remark that they're inconsistent...but I sure hope that's not the case.
(4)Kanisha S.
If you like but they said they did buffet but it's still a buffet. My recommendation is to get the Mongolian Grill noodles they customize it and it takes away some of the buffet effects
(3)Chris S.
Good food. I would come back just for the hot and sour soup. What a sinus cleanser
(5)Kim N.
I went to Lin's for lunch and I am a fan! I actually live in San Diego, CA, but I was visiting people in Ariziona. My boyfriend and I were very impressed by Lin's. Lunch = $8.50 - $9.00 excluding drinks & the best part is they have crawfish during lunch! They also had fried chicken, baby octopus, sushi, and a lot of other great food I cannot remember. The place is so beautiful! Because of Lin's, I hate San Diego's buffets.
(4)Roy H.
I've been to Lin's several times, but never again. Food: The food is ok at best...standard American versions of Chinese food - everything is deep fried and/or swimming in syrupy sauce. Oh, and enchiladas (?) which were cold and obviously recycled from the previous day. In fact, many items in the steam tables are room temperature. Every single time I've gone, I've had to spit something out into a napkin. EVERY SINGLE TIME! And believe me, I am NOT a squeamish eater! And sushi? Forget it! Lin's sushi contains no actual fish! Their "sushi" consists of fake crab, cream cheese, avocado, etc. No fish were harmed in the making of this sushi! I've had much better sushi from Safeway! Service: Like most/all buffets, Lin's features "semi-service". You're allowed to serve yourself everything EXCEPT beverages. For that you must wait for a server to take your drink order. It's moronic. No complaints about the servers though... they've always been good. They also have this idiotic procedure where you pay, then have to stand there and wait for the one hostess to walk you to a table. What's the point of that!? Who knows. My guess is that they're trying to give the illusion of it being some kind of classy joint instead of the open trough in a cattle feed lot that it is. I work in this part of town and Lin's is the finest restaurant in the area, by default. It's really sad that there is NOTHING but fast food for miles in every direction. If you're up for a drive and you want a truly great buffet, I recommend Jasmine Tokyo on Shea.
(1)Cris L.
It no wonder the parking lot was empty. The service is terrible. Two hostesses in the front just chatting away with each other, asked us if we wanted a table because all their booths were dirty. The entrance of the restaurant was dirty too. Tsktsk. What a waste of labor dollars. Last time we come here.
(1)Paul W.
This buffet is just ok. For a Chinese buffet it's the best one I have been to yet, though I don't frequent many Chinese buffets. To me most of the chicken items taste very similar to one another. I have only had the lunch items so I can't speak of the dinner menu, I can say that if you want a ton of food for cheap, Lin's is for you!!
(3)Sydnie J.
The food was fantastic here and they have a huge variety of foods. If your looking for a great Chinesse restraunt this one should be at the top of your list. Yum yum yum!
(5)Ainee B.
It's OK buffet. I am a fan of pork but they don't have many :(. It's a plus for the desserts, lots more than other buffet. The space is really nice, big and cozy.
(3)laure s.
Great selection, sushi is "americanized" but still very good. Their wasabi will singe your nose hairs!! Best sweet and sour soup I've ever had. Plus, the service was excellent. We'll be back.
(5)Lydie C.
My boyfriend and I decided to come here just to try it out and, plus, it was on the way to the grocery store. Anyway, when we first walked in, it seemed to be extremely large on the outside and in the lobby area. After my boyfriend paid for our meals & drinks, we were escorted to our seats. The interior is beautiful - as well as the tables we ate on! I absolutely loved the decoration pieces - but, honestly, that's as far as I'll go with praises. While I do understand that one shouldn't have high expectations at a buffet, we were still met with disappointment. The food wasn't very good and it actually made me sick (nausea) while my boyfriend felt it as well. I'm only writing this review now because I was trying to take care of my stomach. The food was very bland period and while the restaurant itself seemed grand and wonderful - the selections weren't very diverse. It only had the minimal types of food one would expect at a $5.99 buffet. Another thing I didn't like were how the selections were laid out as well. Why was the sushi bar hidden? The Mongolian Grill would have been a nice addition if it didn't have pizza, cakes, and cookies next to it. Shouldn't the cakes & cookies be in the dessert section anyway? Speaking of the dessert, they were also laid out by the seafood - which, I personally felt, was something that majorly concerned me as a whole. This buffet was not worth the price my boyfriend and I paid for (even if we did get free refills) and for sure, we will not be going back again.
(1)Lacey S.
If I could give it 0 stars I would. This place was terrible today! The service was half assed and it was VERY hot! We asked for the manager and they sent our waitress. Worst service. We lost our appetites due to how hot it was in there. They did nothing to compensate or make things better. We had sweat rolling down our faces and backs! We brought in a group of 30 and they didn't seem to care! We won't be back.
(1)Todd G.
A fast-paced buffet with very tasty food. I arrived on a Sunday about 11:30 AM. Even though they just opened up at 11, the restaurant was already full. I had to wait in line to pay, but the wait was only about four minutes once I was seated the server came by got me my beverage and I was off to load up my plate. The selection of foods was quite vast. Everything was fresh and as I was loading up I saw several attendees bringing out more fresh food. Lin's also had a Mongolian Grill, the only downside to that was the options were limited and you don't get the choice of what sauces to add to your food. After eating my fill, I left around 12:30 PM. When walking out the line was three times as long as it was when I arrived. So my advice, get there early or during off peak hours.
(4)Len M.
One of the best buffets in Arizona, I would compare it to some casinos. It is new and modern, the layout is good not like the old dirty buffets you see most places that are outdated. The food selection is better then most buffets too, I still have not tried it all yet. Big parking lot which gets packed, the place is fairly large too and is its own building. I recommend it for family,friends or you can just be a pig and go by yourself, haha.
(4)Tony F.
Excellent food, and variety I have never been here when there isn't a large crowd.
(5)Charles H.
Some many of my friends have raved about this place and how great it is. It is obvious how different out taste buds ARE! So to start the year off my employer decided to take all of us out to eat at Lin's Buffet. How nice. The gesture that is. I normally hate, loathe, buffets because I don't want my food sitting out with people picking over it. Not cool. Well, yeah, that's just it. First, if you are gluten free or have any other diet restriction...STAY AWAY! This place has very little to offer for you to eat. I basically had veggies, fruit, and hard boiled eggs. Second, I went to the bathroom when I first arrived, and there was NO SOAP. WTF. Strike one and two. I quickly thought about how many people use the bathroom and probably didn't wash I was I appealed. After I used my pink to open the door I luckily found a colleague who had wipes or hand sanitizer. All in all mediocre food. Extremely crowded. Non dietary restriction friendly. Smh. I'm just glad I didn't have to pay.
(2)Shibli Z.
I was sure to come here a couple of times and give it a fair shot before reviewing. Service is polite but negligent. The pretty girls at the front are very polite but often won't look you in the eye. The servers are similarly polite but often will be running past your table while they drop off your drink. After all, this is a buffet place and you can't expect service much better than that. The food is extremely inconsistent but even on its best days is just okay and never really all that good. I tried the Mongolian Grill and found it to be very good comparatively and thought I had found a reason to actually come here. However, just today I went to put together a plate and found the pork all mixed up with the chicken. The beef is a very strange unnaturally beet red while the pork is pink. There was no doubt that there was pork mixed with the chicken. Unfortunately, for Jews and Muslims or others who refrain from pork, this is a show-stopper. So with the Mongolian Grill (which I acutally liked) now forever off limits, I was forced to try their other offerings. Out of everything, the only things I could stomach were Teriyaki chicken sticks, the chicken and broccoli and the beef and broccoli. The other standard "Chinese restaurant" fare like Kung Pao beef tasted like detergent on one day. The next day I tried it, it was a little more palatable but still not very good. After seeing the pork so carelessly mixed up with the chicken at the Mongolian Grill counter and with the overwhelming majority of the buffet items unpalatable, I will probably not come here again.
(2)Tricia E.
The sushi here is bomb diggity awesome. They have other good food here as well, but I found myself going back to the sushi bar over and over again. Really fresh sushi, and for only $13 (the price to dine here).
(5)Vladimir V.
Where else can you get chicken 12 ways, and all good too... This is the only place, and everything else is good also... FYI... dont be fooled by that lin's seafood buffet (stay away at all costs), its not affiliated with lin's grand buffet.
(5)Christopher B.
Lin's is an okay experience, but there are better Asian buffets out there! They have a lot of dishes that you'd find at a Panda Express, but they are really oily and the taste isn't that great. You can also find some other selections like soups, salad, fried creatures, chicken wings, a sushi bar, a Mongolian BBQ-style area, and some fruit and puddings. I was a bit disappointed with the sushi selection as most rolls had minimal Ahi and avocado. Compared to other buffets in the area with a similar price range, they are also missing snow crab legs and some more dishes with shrimp. I also found the hostesses to be overly mechanical rather than genuinely hospitable. The price for adults is $10.59/ person on the evenings AND weekends (i.e. even during lunch), and $8.29 during the week. I posted a picture of the prices for reference as there wasn't one. The quality isn't that great, but it does the job. In all, again, Lin's was an okay experience, but not as "grand" as the restaurant name implies.
(3)Brian G.
Variety is on average, no wow dishes, and all the food is prepared just about how you'd expect. No surprises, good or bad. It was busy, but I'm not sure why.
(3)Thomas J.
Wow! What a great place! Vegas style buffet Blooms in the Desert. The selection is fantastic, they have 4 different Islands of food with Many trays in each Island Grilled steaks to order, Sushi, Mongolian BBQ..........you cant go wrong. For the Price its the best buffet in town. Service has always been excellent and prompt. It always seems to be busy as well. NO Complaints from me, I have high expectations of places, this is a 5star buffet in comparison to the other options out there in the Valley and for about 11 bucks with tax you cant go wrong.
(5)Sasha K.
I usually like buffets because I'm a fat ass and I eat more than Rosie O'Donnell but this place did not tickle my fancy. The food was mediocre and it was a bit too crowded in there. With the combination of blasting A/C and screaming children, I didn't want to stay there long. I tried as much as I could aside from what was against the back wall because my lunch break was close to being over. The thing that bothered me the most was that they didn't bother to de-shell (if thats what it's called) the shrimp, it still had a full shell and all of it's little legs attached :/ So I doubt I'll be coming back here again, though I won't fail to mention if you do like coming here that they have a neat To-Go offer where you can fill a styrofoam box with a pound of food for 4.97. So I guess that's nice.
(2)Norm R.
After a visit to the Audubon Center in South Phoenix (everyone should visit this nature center - it's a great educational experience; OK, enough of the plug) and following a hot tip from Rand H., my mentor in the fine art of buffet appreciation, I went to this newly-opened restaurant for a late lunch. It's an impressive buffet establishment - spanking new, very spacious, lots of seating, more than ample parking. There is a large array of dishes from the main self-serve area, plus a Mongolian grill & steak area as well as a sushi counter - though the array of sushi is a bit limited here. The dishes are typical of super buffets and are very well-prepared. There is a large staff very efficiently attending to the large crowd. The South Mountain community finally has a good buffet in the area - good for them! And good for me, as I'm frequently in area too!
(4)Tuyen C.
For a nominal fee of $9.00, one gets to eat like Kings here. In fact, the spread of food here got me worried that the meat I was eating is not really meat (???). On top the a larger than usual buffet offerings, there is Mongolian BBQ available as a choice (included in price). Although not a buffet fan, I have to say this place knows how to get people to come back. In fact, if there's a Lin's Grand Buffet open near a Genghis Khan, I know which one will be going out of business soon. This is certainly a MOAB (Mother Of All Buffets). So if you're 16 years old, run 20 miles a day, and has the metabolism of a racing cheetah, enjoy. All others, watch what and how much you eat when you come here as it is easy to overdo it.
(4)Becca A.
Face Scale & CaveMan Grunts =) Ayeeeee! =/ ehhhhh =( eeeek! xO barf! Rice with veggies =) Sushi Station =/ All Meats (didn't try but judging appearances) =( Cleanliness =/ Fat People in there piggin' out xO Healthy options? =( Overall flavor =/ Unlimited Water =)
(2)Mandy M.
Food was cold, shrimp not properly cooked through, workers seemed to be uninterested in service, I suppose you get what you pay for though!
(1)Lacarl J.
The one star should say it all...
(1)Traci B.
This place is a definite hit or miss Chinese buffet. We've gone here about 5 times, three of those visits were worthy of 1 star, the other two visits deserved 4 stars. The last visit was horribly pathetic on so many levels, not all Lin's fault but hey, it is what it is. It was grocery shopping day, so usually we grab something quick after we unload and put away the groceries. Lin's is right around the corner, so we debate a bit on where to go and ultimately end up here. We say to each other "I hope this is a HIT night, not a miss". It was a miss, but still edible and the kids love picking out their own entrees. Here's where the demotion of stars happens, again not directly Lin's doing. A family comes in after us, maybe 6 of them. They are seated directly behind our table. After the loud belching and choice words the man and woman start to argue, spewing out F bombs here and there, threatening each other with physical harm. He dares her to get up and try to slap his face, she dares him right back...she double dares him..ooooooooh! Well I started to get a little uncomfortable with the conversation, mainly because my 4 year old and 6 year old are sponges....and my 12 year old just stares and giggles. They also had a 6 year old, I know this because that's the topic of their argument. She says "you just a baby daddy, shut your f'ing mouth, you never do bleep when it comes to him so mind your own business...blah blah blah. Suddenly she decides to chuck a heavy glass salt shaker at him with the force of an MLB pitcher, but obviously this 200+ lb woman isn't on any league, and misses. Unfortunately her aim was right at my head...it swooshed by so fast on the top of my head, whew, luckily it didn't hit me head on. Here's where I'm confused, the waitress saw this event and asked me if I was alright, I was. Not once were these animals asked to leave, or confronted by the staff. My husband had to say something to the lady but other than that it was a free for all. I'm sure we'll eat there again...just be cautious of who sits near you...and please Lin's, replace those salt shakers with the cheap plastic or cardboard ones :)
(3)R B.
$9.39 adult lunch after tax, water to drink. Lots of items, especially fresh fruit and desserts. Baked salmon, good amounts of crisp kiddie food, enchiliadas, char-siu pork ribs (yummm!), crawdads, shrimp in shell as well as battered, a sushi area (Americanized, no sashimi, but still good), Mongolian BBQ area, and a lot of the usual Chinese buffet items. Mussels 2 different ways! This is not a place for being in a hurry, but you CAN get the to-go styro. You want to enjoy this. Service is very courteous and very fast with taking your plates and refilling your water while you're getting the next plate. Someone give that blond dude a raise for his friendliness and professionalism. Absolutely no complaints about this place whatsoever, and price is right on and fair. I don't have a bad thing to say about this place, the broccoli was nice and bright, and everything was perfectly presented. I would've given 4 stars but service and the INSIDE SKINNY below puts it to 5 stars. INSIDE SKINNY: The Thai chiles in the General Tso's chicken and other dishes. What you want are the plump and darker ones moist with juice from the dish, not the flat harder ones. They're roasty in flavor and sweet, and not too hot. Well for me anyway! I love that flavor! The seeds seem to have escaped so you don't have to worry too much about those. Even if there are seeds, and there usually are, a good chomping (chew thoroughy please) is great with a few bites. HAWAIIAN INSIDE SKINNY: ONO CHAR SIU RIBS! ALSO: To go styro is $4.99 a pound. STYRO STRATEGY INSIDE SKINNY: Half inch layer of rice on the bottom to keep the juices from your other selections. A little chow mein goes well with the Thai chiles as well. Since you're being weighed out at the end, try to maximize your meat and be diverse with your selections. A little of everything is a treat. Try not to get veggies weighed down with juice, remember it's by the pound. I also like the green beans. My reasonably filled styro with mostly meat and some veggies and a little chow mein came to $9.18 but if you cram it the price can get up to $12.50. Watch out for bones, you'll pay for them by weight, but the chicken wings (regular and mildly hot but delicious) are a good grab. I get 3 per styro. Great to dash in and out to take back and eat at your desk throughout the day.
(5)Brittany L.
Probably one of the best buffets I have been too very good!! I went with a date and let me just say it has very wonderful selections for everyone including kids!! 28$ for two people on a Saturday night!! The price is kind of steep but you get your belly full every time!! Love the Egg Drop Soup and the Sushi!!
(5)NIdia M.
Yes its true one should not have extremely high expectations for buffet style restaurants however...this one is just.... blah. Some stuff was kinda good but everything else was just blah...I tried the Mongolian grill and it was kinda gross not much flavor. Out of all the Chinese food buffets I've been to this one definitely ranks towards the bottom. Oh, but the interior decor is cool :)
(2)Jasmine C.
Let me start off by saying I am not a fan of buffets. However, we were excited to try this place when it opened. We went on a Sunday night before 5pm. When you walk in you must pay for your food right away. Then you wait to be seated. We waited over 20 minutes. The restaurant is busy with a high turnover and the carpets were dirty with food scraps. The food is all sub par. Not good at all. For sushi I tried a roll with cream cheese and a sliver of green pepper. Yuck! I tried the chow mein noodles- Yuck! Panda Express is about 100% better. Tried the sweet sugar roll and it was stale- Yuck! The cream cheese wanton had an old grease taste.- Yuck! In fact the only thing edible was the broccolli and the bananas in a red sauce. A total waste of $45 for our family to eat there. My husband and I agreed to never go back. That being said my 12 year old son loved it.... go figure.
(1)Brian S.
Not bad for a buffet - I'm not generally a fan of buffets, because most of the ones I've visited favor quantity over quality. Most of it's pretty good, except for the baby octopus.
(3)Moni G.
1. Great food and selection. (For a buffet). 2. South Phoenix (my negative point) 3. Awesome looking dessert (was too full to try)
(4)G Q.
Great restaurant, it was clean, spacious and had great decor. Ive eaten at a few buffets, and this has to be the cleanest one ive been to. Food was good, hot and fresh. Lunch was around $10 plus drink. Defenitely a buffet to visit and enjoy with the family. Mon - Fri before 4pm around $10 Sat - Sun Dinner after 4pm, around $13
(5)Dave B.
I'll start off by saying I try to avoid buffets at all costs. I want to lose about 20 pounds and when you put "free" food in front of me I will eat it (yes, I know that technically I paid for it but once paid there's an unlimited supply). It's a wonder I'm not as big as a house. Having said that, my friend and I went there for lunch and were both shocked, first at the number of choices and at how good everything tasted. I was stoked to see the Mongolian buffet. Eating at a Mongolian restaurant typically costs at least as much as we paid to eat here, but I still have so many more different kinds of food to eat. I'm too lazy to name everything that I had and rate it, but I will say that I was surprised at how good the items like Buffalo wings and enchiladas were (at a Chinese food restaurant?). They of course had many of the Chinese buffet staples and they also tasted great. I really don't understand the low rating. We paid $7.99 for lunch and I don't know what more people are asking for. To have an unlimited amount of food to eat with this many food choices that are each really good on their own? I give it 5 stars because I can't imagine getting more for my lunch dollar than this. In fact, just writing about it has inspired us to go right now. PS: Please close this place immediately so that I don't go there too often. I have tightly bolstered car seats and I hate it when I can feel my "love handles" rubbing.
(5)Juan M.
A disappointment. Through the end of 2010 I drove by this location while it was being built. It opened late December with a splash by having lights, balloons, and flags. There was no not noticing it had opened. I figured it can not just be the novelty of the newness of it since the parking lot has been full every day since, there must be something good inside. The Chinese New Year came and figured what better way to celebrate than to go out for Chinese. So off we drove and decided to skip going to the Chinese Cultural Center that has some great restaurants and stopped by Lin's Grand Buffet. The entrance greets you with a great chandelier and teenagers at the register.You pre-pay for your meal and, although the place is huge, you may still wait for a table even if there are clean tables. Once you are seated a waiter. waitress in my case, will come by and ask for the type of drink to bring. (Note - They do not have alcohol not even Asian beers.) There are some great decor items in the seating/tables area, just take a look at some of the snapshots for this place. However, great decor can only go so far towards a good dining experience. One must remember this is a buffet after all and that it is inexpensive. Also the place may be pretty but the floor in the dining area are not kept clean. Now to the food, which is the main make it or break it part of any restaurant. There are vast arrays of options in hot plates, a sushi area, and a Mongolian Grill. The hot plates have almost every possible option that you will get from an American-Chinese menu in addition to items that I am assuming are there to fit with the area this restaurant is in; items like enchiladas, French fries, etc. The flavors of those items were ok but not much better than that Panda chain of restaurants. Come to think about it Panda has some better tasting ones. In essence the dishes here are uninspired and nothing new and are what you would expect from a Chinese buffet in Phoenix. The sushi is an item to skip as most people seem to not care for it so those of us who would, end up having dry pieces as they sat waiting to be chosen. Did not try the Mongolian grill area. One additional thing to point out, our drinks were not promptly refreshed. Bottom line if the reason you go to a restaurant is for pretty decor then this is your place. If the taste of the food itself is more important then forget about this place.
(2)Adam G.
Is a good place to eat if you like Chinese food not very fancy but it's a decent meal little pricey for what you get still decent place
(3)Susanne W.
Typical, middle-of-the-road, nothing special, nothing too awful Chinese buffet. Went here once with my brother, nephew, and dad a couple of weeks after it was opened. Between the four of us, we pretty much sampled most of the food there - and nothing really wowed any of us. For the price of the buffet, 99 times out of 100, I would probably rather go up the street to Panda Express.
(3)Belle B.
I've been wanting to try Lin's since they built this location on Baseline. It was always busy, so I assumed that it must be good! Wrong. The food was mediocre at best. While it was fresh and hot, it was also bland. The only decent thing I tried was the veggie spring rolls. Everything else tasted like paste. The atmosphere if you want to call it that was terrible. It was extremely loud and there were children running everywhere. I almost lost several plates of food due to some kid charging to the ice cream machine. The price was outrageous for the quality. Next time i'm in the mood for some Chinese food, i'll go to Pan Asia down the street! At least there I can have a tasty meal with flavor and there won't be kids knocking food out of my hands!
(1)Alan W.
I went for a lunch buffet on a weekday. On par w/ Pacific buffet, but nothing incredibly special. I'll be back there for dinner. Nice and clean though
(3)dawn k.
i prefer buffets to a la carte restaurants, and i love lin's! their price is out of this world given the variety of food. and the locals know it's a bargain, because every time i come, the entire parking lot is packed around noon, and you see cars circling for a space. because of the amount of patrons, the food is fresh. (i think lin's usually opens at 11:00, so if you come then, you can avoid the parking hassle). i usually just skip the rice and load my plates with fresh salad and the meat dishes. everything's is yummy, and the taste of each dish, while not top notch, is distinct from each other. my favorite is the sweet bbq pork ribs. and i usually leave some room for their fresh baked cookies and ice cream. the staff is also very friendly and respectful. thanks lin's! don't change!
(5)John W.
I was contemplating going there, so I called their phone number as listed. Rang over 25 times. Then a Hispanic lady with thick accent answered the phone "Lins". I asked her how much Saturday dinner was; $14 per person. First impressions are a lasting impression. I am not going to spend a bunch of gas and money for the 2 of us to eat after this poor first impression. I will go during the week at lunch and tell the owner about the phone call experience.
(2)Brian K.
Just what Phoenix needs, another Chinese buffet.. Actually it's a pretty good establishment. Went there on a weeknight for dinner with my partner. The prices are cheaper than most buffets but the restaurant itself and food is better than most. The selection is what you will find in most buffets but they also have steak, sushi and Mongolian grill. The only complaint we had is that the food wasn't warm enough. Wait staff/bussers were pretty diligent. This location just opened recently so it is always busy so be prepared to wait for a seat. I am not a big fan of Chinese buffets but I will definitely eat there again.
(4)Bobby W.
I've driven past this place a few times since it's just down the street, so I finally decided to stop in with a friend for dinner. I could tell they were still in their 'grand opening' phase, because the place was completely packed. When we stepped in, there were about 10 people in line ahead of us, but fortunately, the line moved very quick and we were seated immediately after we paid (~$11/person). I also saw people order a buffet take-out. You get a styrofoam container and fill the contents with whatever is out on the buffet floor. I think they charge you by the pound. The selection was vast, with the majority of dishes being Chinese-ish. They have a sushi bar, but the selection looked very limited. They also have mongolian bbq, which I saw many people line up for. One guy had a plate stacked up so laughably high that I was amazed it hadn't fallen over a few times. I spent most of my time at the made-to-order steak station. The steaks aren't very thick at all, but they're good enough for what you're paying for. The service was great. Our waitress kept our waters full, and had no problems with us lingering around afterwards to chit chat. When we got up to leave, she and the hostesses at the front gave their thanks for coming in. Lin's Grand Buffet is a decent place for lunch/dinner if you're hungry and in the mood for a Chinese buffet complete with mongolian bbq, sushi and steaks.
(3)Joe E.
I always enjoy a good Chinese buffet - there's usually a good selection of the kinds of food I like - namely meat. And there's plenty to go around here. Unfortunately, none of it was really that noteworthy. There's a huge selection, including sushi and a Mongolian grill, along with a dessert row. I focused on the basics - fried rice and lo mein, and various meats such as sweet and sour chicken, sesame chicken, kung pao chicken, general's chicken, teriyaki chicken, buffalo wings, pepper steak, and barbecue spareribs. None of it was bad, but there was really nothing special about any of it. It's a nice place, and it might be worth checking out a second time to try the Mongolian grill to see how it compares to places like YC's, but I'm not really in a hurry to go back. There are plenty of smaller Chinese buffets out there.
(3)Maria M.
we love this place Missy often asked to go right there as soon as she lands LOL she a picky eater and can find stuff she loves there....Great food!
(4)April W.
Okay this place has a odd selection of food but I guess it's to accommodate the area of the type of people who come in there. I never been to a Chinese Buffet that has enchiladas with sushi and Chinese food. over all it was good, a lot better than most buffets in phoenix. It was very clean and the waitress was very attentive to refilling your drinks. I would go back especially for the fried shrimp and some other Chinese food items..
(4)Rebecca J.
Eh. I don't even have much to say. This was a Chinese buffet, and it tasted like one. The sushi was unlabeled, which was a shame. Service was lacking--it took quite a while to get drink refills. The mei fun and vegetarian delight were both fairly good, but I'd avoid the meat if at all possible. All the meat.
(2)Tuyen C.
For a nominal fee of $9.00, one gets to eat like Kings here. In fact, the spread of food here got me worried that the meat I was eating is not really meat (???). On top the a larger than usual buffet offerings, there is Mongolian BBQ available as a choice (included in price). Although not a buffet fan, I have to say this place knows how to get people to come back. In fact, if there's a Lin's Grand Buffet open near a Genghis Khan, I know which one will be going out of business soon. This is certainly a MOAB (Mother Of All Buffets). So if you're 16 years old, run 20 miles a day, and has the metabolism of a racing cheetah, enjoy. All others, watch what and how much you eat when you come here as it is easy to overdo it.
(4)Becca A.
Face Scale & CaveMan Grunts =) Ayeeeee! =/ ehhhhh =( eeeek! xO barf! Rice with veggies =) Sushi Station =/ All Meats (didn't try but judging appearances) =( Cleanliness =/ Fat People in there piggin' out xO Healthy options? =( Overall flavor =/ Unlimited Water =)
(2)Mandy M.
Food was cold, shrimp not properly cooked through, workers seemed to be uninterested in service, I suppose you get what you pay for though!
(1)Lacarl J.
The one star should say it all...
(1)Traci B.
This place is a definite hit or miss Chinese buffet. We've gone here about 5 times, three of those visits were worthy of 1 star, the other two visits deserved 4 stars. The last visit was horribly pathetic on so many levels, not all Lin's fault but hey, it is what it is. It was grocery shopping day, so usually we grab something quick after we unload and put away the groceries. Lin's is right around the corner, so we debate a bit on where to go and ultimately end up here. We say to each other "I hope this is a HIT night, not a miss". It was a miss, but still edible and the kids love picking out their own entrees. Here's where the demotion of stars happens, again not directly Lin's doing. A family comes in after us, maybe 6 of them. They are seated directly behind our table. After the loud belching and choice words the man and woman start to argue, spewing out F bombs here and there, threatening each other with physical harm. He dares her to get up and try to slap his face, she dares him right back...she double dares him..ooooooooh! Well I started to get a little uncomfortable with the conversation, mainly because my 4 year old and 6 year old are sponges....and my 12 year old just stares and giggles. They also had a 6 year old, I know this because that's the topic of their argument. She says "you just a baby daddy, shut your f'ing mouth, you never do bleep when it comes to him so mind your own business...blah blah blah. Suddenly she decides to chuck a heavy glass salt shaker at him with the force of an MLB pitcher, but obviously this 200+ lb woman isn't on any league, and misses. Unfortunately her aim was right at my head...it swooshed by so fast on the top of my head, whew, luckily it didn't hit me head on. Here's where I'm confused, the waitress saw this event and asked me if I was alright, I was. Not once were these animals asked to leave, or confronted by the staff. My husband had to say something to the lady but other than that it was a free for all. I'm sure we'll eat there again...just be cautious of who sits near you...and please Lin's, replace those salt shakers with the cheap plastic or cardboard ones :)
(3)R B.
$9.39 adult lunch after tax, water to drink. Lots of items, especially fresh fruit and desserts. Baked salmon, good amounts of crisp kiddie food, enchiliadas, char-siu pork ribs (yummm!), crawdads, shrimp in shell as well as battered, a sushi area (Americanized, no sashimi, but still good), Mongolian BBQ area, and a lot of the usual Chinese buffet items. Mussels 2 different ways! This is not a place for being in a hurry, but you CAN get the to-go styro. You want to enjoy this. Service is very courteous and very fast with taking your plates and refilling your water while you're getting the next plate. Someone give that blond dude a raise for his friendliness and professionalism. Absolutely no complaints about this place whatsoever, and price is right on and fair. I don't have a bad thing to say about this place, the broccoli was nice and bright, and everything was perfectly presented. I would've given 4 stars but service and the INSIDE SKINNY below puts it to 5 stars. INSIDE SKINNY: The Thai chiles in the General Tso's chicken and other dishes. What you want are the plump and darker ones moist with juice from the dish, not the flat harder ones. They're roasty in flavor and sweet, and not too hot. Well for me anyway! I love that flavor! The seeds seem to have escaped so you don't have to worry too much about those. Even if there are seeds, and there usually are, a good chomping (chew thoroughy please) is great with a few bites. HAWAIIAN INSIDE SKINNY: ONO CHAR SIU RIBS! ALSO: To go styro is $4.99 a pound. STYRO STRATEGY INSIDE SKINNY: Half inch layer of rice on the bottom to keep the juices from your other selections. A little chow mein goes well with the Thai chiles as well. Since you're being weighed out at the end, try to maximize your meat and be diverse with your selections. A little of everything is a treat. Try not to get veggies weighed down with juice, remember it's by the pound. I also like the green beans. My reasonably filled styro with mostly meat and some veggies and a little chow mein came to $9.18 but if you cram it the price can get up to $12.50. Watch out for bones, you'll pay for them by weight, but the chicken wings (regular and mildly hot but delicious) are a good grab. I get 3 per styro. Great to dash in and out to take back and eat at your desk throughout the day.
(5)Brittany L.
Probably one of the best buffets I have been too very good!! I went with a date and let me just say it has very wonderful selections for everyone including kids!! 28$ for two people on a Saturday night!! The price is kind of steep but you get your belly full every time!! Love the Egg Drop Soup and the Sushi!!
(5)NIdia M.
Yes its true one should not have extremely high expectations for buffet style restaurants however...this one is just.... blah. Some stuff was kinda good but everything else was just blah...I tried the Mongolian grill and it was kinda gross not much flavor. Out of all the Chinese food buffets I've been to this one definitely ranks towards the bottom. Oh, but the interior decor is cool :)
(2)Jasmine C.
Let me start off by saying I am not a fan of buffets. However, we were excited to try this place when it opened. We went on a Sunday night before 5pm. When you walk in you must pay for your food right away. Then you wait to be seated. We waited over 20 minutes. The restaurant is busy with a high turnover and the carpets were dirty with food scraps. The food is all sub par. Not good at all. For sushi I tried a roll with cream cheese and a sliver of green pepper. Yuck! I tried the chow mein noodles- Yuck! Panda Express is about 100% better. Tried the sweet sugar roll and it was stale- Yuck! The cream cheese wanton had an old grease taste.- Yuck! In fact the only thing edible was the broccolli and the bananas in a red sauce. A total waste of $45 for our family to eat there. My husband and I agreed to never go back. That being said my 12 year old son loved it.... go figure.
(1)Brian S.
Not bad for a buffet - I'm not generally a fan of buffets, because most of the ones I've visited favor quantity over quality. Most of it's pretty good, except for the baby octopus.
(3)Moni G.
1. Great food and selection. (For a buffet). 2. South Phoenix (my negative point) 3. Awesome looking dessert (was too full to try)
(4)G Q.
Great restaurant, it was clean, spacious and had great decor. Ive eaten at a few buffets, and this has to be the cleanest one ive been to. Food was good, hot and fresh. Lunch was around $10 plus drink. Defenitely a buffet to visit and enjoy with the family. Mon - Fri before 4pm around $10 Sat - Sun Dinner after 4pm, around $13
(5)Dave B.
I'll start off by saying I try to avoid buffets at all costs. I want to lose about 20 pounds and when you put "free" food in front of me I will eat it (yes, I know that technically I paid for it but once paid there's an unlimited supply). It's a wonder I'm not as big as a house. Having said that, my friend and I went there for lunch and were both shocked, first at the number of choices and at how good everything tasted. I was stoked to see the Mongolian buffet. Eating at a Mongolian restaurant typically costs at least as much as we paid to eat here, but I still have so many more different kinds of food to eat. I'm too lazy to name everything that I had and rate it, but I will say that I was surprised at how good the items like Buffalo wings and enchiladas were (at a Chinese food restaurant?). They of course had many of the Chinese buffet staples and they also tasted great. I really don't understand the low rating. We paid $7.99 for lunch and I don't know what more people are asking for. To have an unlimited amount of food to eat with this many food choices that are each really good on their own? I give it 5 stars because I can't imagine getting more for my lunch dollar than this. In fact, just writing about it has inspired us to go right now. PS: Please close this place immediately so that I don't go there too often. I have tightly bolstered car seats and I hate it when I can feel my "love handles" rubbing.
(5)Juan M.
A disappointment. Through the end of 2010 I drove by this location while it was being built. It opened late December with a splash by having lights, balloons, and flags. There was no not noticing it had opened. I figured it can not just be the novelty of the newness of it since the parking lot has been full every day since, there must be something good inside. The Chinese New Year came and figured what better way to celebrate than to go out for Chinese. So off we drove and decided to skip going to the Chinese Cultural Center that has some great restaurants and stopped by Lin's Grand Buffet. The entrance greets you with a great chandelier and teenagers at the register.You pre-pay for your meal and, although the place is huge, you may still wait for a table even if there are clean tables. Once you are seated a waiter. waitress in my case, will come by and ask for the type of drink to bring. (Note - They do not have alcohol not even Asian beers.) There are some great decor items in the seating/tables area, just take a look at some of the snapshots for this place. However, great decor can only go so far towards a good dining experience. One must remember this is a buffet after all and that it is inexpensive. Also the place may be pretty but the floor in the dining area are not kept clean. Now to the food, which is the main make it or break it part of any restaurant. There are vast arrays of options in hot plates, a sushi area, and a Mongolian Grill. The hot plates have almost every possible option that you will get from an American-Chinese menu in addition to items that I am assuming are there to fit with the area this restaurant is in; items like enchiladas, French fries, etc. The flavors of those items were ok but not much better than that Panda chain of restaurants. Come to think about it Panda has some better tasting ones. In essence the dishes here are uninspired and nothing new and are what you would expect from a Chinese buffet in Phoenix. The sushi is an item to skip as most people seem to not care for it so those of us who would, end up having dry pieces as they sat waiting to be chosen. Did not try the Mongolian grill area. One additional thing to point out, our drinks were not promptly refreshed. Bottom line if the reason you go to a restaurant is for pretty decor then this is your place. If the taste of the food itself is more important then forget about this place.
(2)Adam G.
Is a good place to eat if you like Chinese food not very fancy but it's a decent meal little pricey for what you get still decent place
(3)Susanne W.
Typical, middle-of-the-road, nothing special, nothing too awful Chinese buffet. Went here once with my brother, nephew, and dad a couple of weeks after it was opened. Between the four of us, we pretty much sampled most of the food there - and nothing really wowed any of us. For the price of the buffet, 99 times out of 100, I would probably rather go up the street to Panda Express.
(3)Belle B.
I've been wanting to try Lin's since they built this location on Baseline. It was always busy, so I assumed that it must be good! Wrong. The food was mediocre at best. While it was fresh and hot, it was also bland. The only decent thing I tried was the veggie spring rolls. Everything else tasted like paste. The atmosphere if you want to call it that was terrible. It was extremely loud and there were children running everywhere. I almost lost several plates of food due to some kid charging to the ice cream machine. The price was outrageous for the quality. Next time i'm in the mood for some Chinese food, i'll go to Pan Asia down the street! At least there I can have a tasty meal with flavor and there won't be kids knocking food out of my hands!
(1)Alan W.
I went for a lunch buffet on a weekday. On par w/ Pacific buffet, but nothing incredibly special. I'll be back there for dinner. Nice and clean though
(3)dawn k.
i prefer buffets to a la carte restaurants, and i love lin's! their price is out of this world given the variety of food. and the locals know it's a bargain, because every time i come, the entire parking lot is packed around noon, and you see cars circling for a space. because of the amount of patrons, the food is fresh. (i think lin's usually opens at 11:00, so if you come then, you can avoid the parking hassle). i usually just skip the rice and load my plates with fresh salad and the meat dishes. everything's is yummy, and the taste of each dish, while not top notch, is distinct from each other. my favorite is the sweet bbq pork ribs. and i usually leave some room for their fresh baked cookies and ice cream. the staff is also very friendly and respectful. thanks lin's! don't change!
(5)John W.
I was contemplating going there, so I called their phone number as listed. Rang over 25 times. Then a Hispanic lady with thick accent answered the phone "Lins". I asked her how much Saturday dinner was; $14 per person. First impressions are a lasting impression. I am not going to spend a bunch of gas and money for the 2 of us to eat after this poor first impression. I will go during the week at lunch and tell the owner about the phone call experience.
(2)Brian K.
Just what Phoenix needs, another Chinese buffet.. Actually it's a pretty good establishment. Went there on a weeknight for dinner with my partner. The prices are cheaper than most buffets but the restaurant itself and food is better than most. The selection is what you will find in most buffets but they also have steak, sushi and Mongolian grill. The only complaint we had is that the food wasn't warm enough. Wait staff/bussers were pretty diligent. This location just opened recently so it is always busy so be prepared to wait for a seat. I am not a big fan of Chinese buffets but I will definitely eat there again.
(4)Bobby W.
I've driven past this place a few times since it's just down the street, so I finally decided to stop in with a friend for dinner. I could tell they were still in their 'grand opening' phase, because the place was completely packed. When we stepped in, there were about 10 people in line ahead of us, but fortunately, the line moved very quick and we were seated immediately after we paid (~$11/person). I also saw people order a buffet take-out. You get a styrofoam container and fill the contents with whatever is out on the buffet floor. I think they charge you by the pound. The selection was vast, with the majority of dishes being Chinese-ish. They have a sushi bar, but the selection looked very limited. They also have mongolian bbq, which I saw many people line up for. One guy had a plate stacked up so laughably high that I was amazed it hadn't fallen over a few times. I spent most of my time at the made-to-order steak station. The steaks aren't very thick at all, but they're good enough for what you're paying for. The service was great. Our waitress kept our waters full, and had no problems with us lingering around afterwards to chit chat. When we got up to leave, she and the hostesses at the front gave their thanks for coming in. Lin's Grand Buffet is a decent place for lunch/dinner if you're hungry and in the mood for a Chinese buffet complete with mongolian bbq, sushi and steaks.
(3)Joe E.
I always enjoy a good Chinese buffet - there's usually a good selection of the kinds of food I like - namely meat. And there's plenty to go around here. Unfortunately, none of it was really that noteworthy. There's a huge selection, including sushi and a Mongolian grill, along with a dessert row. I focused on the basics - fried rice and lo mein, and various meats such as sweet and sour chicken, sesame chicken, kung pao chicken, general's chicken, teriyaki chicken, buffalo wings, pepper steak, and barbecue spareribs. None of it was bad, but there was really nothing special about any of it. It's a nice place, and it might be worth checking out a second time to try the Mongolian grill to see how it compares to places like YC's, but I'm not really in a hurry to go back. There are plenty of smaller Chinese buffets out there.
(3)Maria M.
we love this place Missy often asked to go right there as soon as she lands LOL she a picky eater and can find stuff she loves there....Great food!
(4)April W.
Okay this place has a odd selection of food but I guess it's to accommodate the area of the type of people who come in there. I never been to a Chinese Buffet that has enchiladas with sushi and Chinese food. over all it was good, a lot better than most buffets in phoenix. It was very clean and the waitress was very attentive to refilling your drinks. I would go back especially for the fried shrimp and some other Chinese food items..
(4)Rebecca J.
Eh. I don't even have much to say. This was a Chinese buffet, and it tasted like one. The sushi was unlabeled, which was a shame. Service was lacking--it took quite a while to get drink refills. The mei fun and vegetarian delight were both fairly good, but I'd avoid the meat if at all possible. All the meat.
(2)Derek O.
Lin's is a great place to go once or twice a year when you are just craving 1000 pounds of questionable americanized Chinese food. This place is like your classic mall Chinese food, but done pretty well. I've been twice and there's always lots of food, it's usually hot and reasonably fresh, and the service is above average considering how busy it is. The prices are reasonable--dinner is $10.69. Also, I am embarrassed to say it, but the buffalo wings are way good. Why the three stars? Two reasons... First, the customer base here is really... interesting. It's kind of like eating while sitting on the floor of an inner city Walmart. There are children running around everywhere, most of whom are poorly dressed. When I went a couple nights ago, I saw a fat 9 yr old boy with a "YOU SUCK" t-shirt on, and another kid about 5 yrs old with skull and crossbones logos all over his baggy sweatshirt. To be fair, most of the older clientele are just regular fat guys grubbing out at the ol' buffet, but a fair number of the customers here just exude a lack of class. Lin's has a huge pump bottle of A1 near the "steak" area. I mean really... if it's under the guise of Chinese buffet, they sure aren't trying very hard. Second, for some reason there is this intense sense of discomfort associated with being at Lin's that I can't really explain, like you just want to scarf down all your food as fast as you can and get the hell out of there. I think it's mostly caused by the crowdedness everywhere. The chairs are pretty close to each other, the people at the buffet seem ravenous and you always have to be careful to not bump into Big Momma behind you who is snatching up all the crawfish, corn on the cob and french fries she can. Nobody goes here for the atmosphere, and usually I don't care at all about things like this, but here it's extreme and you feel very rushed. I'll go back the next time I have no regard for my health or happiness and just need to gorge myself on cheap food, because the food really isn't too bad, but I would not make Lin's a regular on my list.
(3)Bryan S.
This is one of the better Chinese buffet restaurants out there. The food was very good and very fresh and they do a pretty good job of keeping everything clean. Even during the Friday night rush. My only complaint is that they need to lower the temperature. It's way too hot with all of the people there. By the way, if you're looking to try something a little out of the ordinary, try the baby octopus. I thought it was quite good.
(4)P M.
I've been here a million times. Usually I just go for lunch w one friend. This time I went with my family to celebrate my mom & sisters birthday. We were a party of 12. 3 of us were there first & asked for a table for 12. They told us they would not prepare a table until everyone was there. Once we were all there they took us to 2 separate tables for 6. That defeats a purpose of a family dinner doesn't it? I said "We don't want to sit separate." She seemed very bothered & said she would try to find a table for 12. I felt like it was very irresponsible that they would be so unprepared even after we warned them about our party of 12. Eventually we did get a table & the food was great.
(2)Jamie C.
There's always room in my life for a buffet. I must say my experience was much better than I expected it to be. The restaurant itself was very clean. We were quickly seated at noon on a Saturday. I was with a party of 12, they only allow you to put two tables together so if your party is more than 8 you will be split up. The food stations were clean as well, everything looked picture perfect. There was a Mongolian Stir Fry Station, Sushi Station, & "Bakery" (notice he italics). I sampled several chicken items and some shrimp entrees. The chicken entrees were good but they all tasted the same so whether you get General Tso's, Broccolli and Chicken, or Cashew Chicken it's all basically the same flavor- SOY. I liked the soft served ice cream, it beats having little kids try to scoop out their own ice cream like a lot of other Chinese style buffets do. I was brave and tried the Baby Octopus, the sauce was great but it was so chewy that my jaw literally started to hurt from munching so much. Didn't get to try the American food items but I definitely will have to go back and try before I write this place off. The biggest plus was the cute waiter that constantly kept our cups full.
(3)Michael M.
We LOVE Lin's, effin A Lin's. This is, by far, the best Chinese buffet in Phoenix. We look forward to going to Lin's and will go multiple times a week. We are offended by the negative blasphemous comments. If you have a negative view of Lin's, you don't know Lin's. Clearly. We love Lins... I could say it all day. We will be requesting tshirts next time we go. Haters not welcome.
(5)Todd S.
This is my first review, so as you can imagine, I really liked this place. First off, it is cheap. $11\Adult and $6\Kids (Over 4) Second, some of it was top notch. I am a huge Spareribs fan, and if you catch them bringing a fresh set out, the ribs there will compete with any I have had anywhere else. Last but not least, is choice. They have 3 rows of buffet and a cook to order section (It was okay but not the highlight). My son is not a big foodie, so it is usually hard for us to go out anywhere but an Applebee's or equivilant and that gets boring. This is not a straight chinese buffet. They had nuggets, wings, onion rings and fries just to name a few options. This means everyone in my family had something to eat and we all left happy. And leaving happy is the most important thing when going out.
(4)Mike C.
I cant believe Lin's is only averaging two and a half stars . Well they might not be five star they are close , they have a lot of good food choices clean , comfortable ,well decorated , friendly polite staff and a reasonable price. That is enough right there to say yay i am a fan. So if you like a good Chinese buffet let me recommend Lins Grand Buffet it is a very good buffet and you will see for yourself.
(4)Monica O.
Group of coworkers and I went to try Lins for lunch, and after reading several reviews, I was interested in seeing how clean the floor was, to my surprise it was clean, tables & counter tops were clean as well. We told the hostess that we were a party of 11 and they looked confused on where to put us, they sat us in the back at 2 different tables so the party got broken up, but that didn't really bother us too much. The buffet was 8 per person not including drink, I ordered a drink and it averaged about 11 for the meal. Another thing I was searching for was the enchiladas, few had mentioned that there was some and low and below I found them! Cheese enchiladas, I didn't try them but some coworkers did and they said they tasted good. The buffet offered a lot of choices for food, any picky eater would be able to find something, but the food itself was ok it wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular, and left me wanting more in flavor. Glad I went and checked out Lins but I probably will not be going out of my way to try it again.
(3)Ben C.
Very nice place, new and clean. Food is just OK. Typical Chinese buffet food, nothing new. Price is fair. Sushi doesn't look like sushi at all.
(3)Christopher K.
Great Chinese place to eat and good prices. Korean noodles are the best there.
(4)Joseph H.
The resturtant was great. they have some many different oppitions to choose from. the staff that work for this resturant are very friendly. They do not mind helping you out when when ask for something eles. The food that was at this location was great. Salad was at the cooling temputure. The hot food was at warmth temputure. That fixture hanging from the roof, when you enter is marvilous. The overall enviorment was very clean and inspection ready. My overalll experience with this location of ( Lin's Grand Buffet) was great. NO PROBLEMS at all. Will consider making recomindations.
(5)Chad M.
Food overall was good, especially for a buffet...wasn't impressed with the sushi, service was not very good.
(3)T S.
Nice, clean restaurant. Did lunch here. Long line to get in. Food options were wonderful. Food flavor was ok. Great price for lunch. 10 per adult including drink. Strange how they mixed dessert items among the regular main dish items but heck, part of the buffet alore is just searching out different types of foods to try. Must admit, for a Chinese buffet it was very good and I would go back.
(3)M G.
So we have been wanting to try this place since before it opened and finally tried it tonight. Never again! It is decently priced for buffets but doesn't come with a drink...and then you get the food and start to think that it is now overpriced. The green beans were hard, the spring rolls were bland, as were the pork eggrolls and most of the food. My daughter LOVES rice and noodles and after one bite wouldn't touch the white rice or lo mein noodles again. The "salmon" nigiri was like plastic and the rice in the sushi wasn't good either...later found out that it is the same rice for the buffet and sushi. Broccoli in the veggie delight and the beef n broccoli was pretty good but the beef was really fatty and chewy and the mongolian beef lacked. They have both hot and cold mussels, the cold ones drip a lot of water and come frozen and just get put out and the hot ones come frozen and get heated a bit, both are chewy. Popcorn shrimp has very dry breading, chicken nuggets and fries couldn't have been to good since again my daughter only had one bite of those. Out of the soups the only decent one was the egg drop soup. Even the mushrooms were kinda meh, it's like they took a random brown sauce and threw some button mushrooms in it without doing anything else. It's like everything comes in frozen but they don't even get their food from a good supplier. The baked sweet potatoes were really but they don't have brown sugar to put on them. And Tim was our server person/glorified busser, and he did a great job and was friendly...plus, we spoke with a manager and he was really nice but didn't seem like he has a firm grasp on everything and more make excuses like sundays being crazy days for them and that was why the floor was so dirty and covered with food and trash, and he did say that they are building more and already have some in other cities and states and that they all use the same recipes, so BEWARE. Lastly my guy will eat just about anything and even some of the most disgusting things and doesn't have issues with it and before we left he was already running to the bathroom
(1)Jonathan S.
Typical buffet. If you want quantity it will work for you if you want good food go elsewhere
(2)Roger J.
Good food, huge buffet one of the biggest around but a little bland to appeal to everyone. There is also a Mongolian grill inside and sushi. The sushi was not very good though go somewhere else if your a big sushi fan
(3)rich h.
4 1/2 if Available, nothing is perfect! So first I am not a buffet fan and went with my brother in law and son after we did some go cart racing up on University. Going in knowing you are going to a buffet and not a five star Chinese restaurant helps. With that this is by far the best buffet (outside the real high end Las Vegas ones) I have ever been to. The food is hot, tasty, plenty of choices and FRESH. The price is also very reasonable (I think $13ish) for dinner. Lins has changed my opinion on the nasty Chinese Buffets that surround this town! I will be back.
(4)Marla R.
I am giving Lin's 4 stars as a 4 star buffet, not a 4 star restaurant because I think there is a big difference. It's not cheap but a decent value. We paid $52 for 4 adults for Sunday dinner, including 3 fountain drinks. Although it was busy when we got there around 5:30, there was no wait. When we left at 6:15 the lobby was full of people waiting to be seated. The place is very pretty and feels a bit like a Vegas buffet. We were seated upstairs, which was nice as we were further from the noise and chaos from the lower level where the food is. The selection of foods is huge. I had a small piece of steak cooked to order and it was very thin but tender and had good flavor. The boys had several different pieces of sushi and said they were "alright." My favorite surprise was the fried sweet bananas. I am sure we will be back and make this a regular go-to place when we can't agree on what we want.
(4)Belle G.
i liked the food but after a hangover who won't eat anything! great place for hangover not have when sober. great place to people watch that's for sure!
(2)Art R.
Even though I gave this 4 stars I was tempted to give it just 3 but are giving them the benefit of the doubt having eaten there a few times. The place is remarkably clean. The food is usually very good although a few dishes, especially the desserts and Mongolian BBQ could be improved upon. I have to give them credit though for also offering steaks even though I rarely get them. On our last visit the food was as good as previous visits but will visit it again to see if it goes back to the level it ws, if not the star rating will go down.
(4)Destiny A.
You think when you see this building it is the grand daddy of all buffets. Well looks are deceiving! The place was crowded and you barely had any room to sit or walk. The food is just the same as any other buffet, had the same items only there was a section with steak. I was disappointed that it was no different then the regular buffets you go to. I did not like how the tables were all meshed together, I understand being popular but the customers should be comfortable. The price is the usual cost you see in buffets, but I wouldn't call them grand cause they weren't. Nothing spectacular don't get your hopes up.
(2)Dada D.
i went on tuesday to eat with my family for my birthday. the place is beautiful. the food was decent, however it wasnt special. they did have a ton of dishes available. there were a few glitches. empty trays, i waited for 5 minutes to get some lo mein. no noodles for the mongolian bbq. i waited for 10 minutes and they didnt replenish the noodles, so i moved on. the service was bad. the girl that was waiting on us never came to replenish the drinks, and we had empty plates on the table for over a half an hour. the manager made eye contact with me but never came over to offer assistance, or even an excuse. i will say that the manager was pitching in helping clear plates of empty tables. so after spending 55.00 i dont think i will go back. i will try another place.
(3)calvin n.
I went this for the first time with my wife for dinner since they had the GRAND OPENING sign out. This has got to be the worst buffet ever!!! the sushi were very limited, I think the sushi guy was a beginner since the rice wasn't porportional. The food were even worst. I will never go back here again. I thought this place would work for us since it's closer to our home but I will need to drive a little further to maybe crazy buffet or pacific seafood buffet.
(1)Carlos M.
Really good buffet, had sushi, chinese, and it was great.
(5)Tony F.
Excellent food, and variety I have never been here when there isn't a large crowd.
(5)Ava K.
Food was good, place was clean, service was spot on, can't ask for more!
(4)Teresa S.
I thought that this place was pretty great! Rand H. another great Yelper had recommended it,so I always wanted to try it. I came here with a friend to celebrate her Birthday early (crazy Schedules we have.) Anyway ,the first thing I noticed about this place is how absolutely Beautiful it is! Honestly,it has 2 of the most beautiful Chandeliers. The place is done in some gorgeous tile,and some beautiful statues as well. The food is fresh and a lot of great selections. They even have a Mongolian Chef,as well as a Sushi Chef. All very good. I wish they brought a tea pot with hot tea. But instead they bring you a foam cup with a straw and lid. But, my friend got Ice Tea and she got a glass with a straw. I thought that procedure was a little odd. Lots of parking outside, and the service was good. He kept coming to check on us. The Bathrooms however, could use a little attention. But, all in all, the place was beautiful and the food was great.
(4)Maria B.
Have been here several times, good food several choices, good for lunch and dinner. Soups, slats, sides, main dishes, desserts and sushi. I always go for sticky buns, hot wings, sour soup. Waitress always nice.
(4)Candice D.
This place was terrible it was dirty and the food was not fresh. Golden corral is 10x bettee
(1)Rand H.
Just a mini Update this time as Jackie R. & Mike C. joined me for lunch here today. The only changes to report from last time was that they have a new Mongolian BBQ chef, but he cooked up my plate of good stuff just fine. (I like how they cut up the 3 meats like french fries... works well.) Another nice touch was chives right there by the delicious Sweet & Sour and Won Ton soups to add in. One gripe to "air." (Pun¿) They aren't offering paper towels in the bathrooms but only those nasty blowers. I stood there for a while with it blowing cold air on my hands and then finally wiped them on my shirt. THEN, how was I supposed to get out of the second door, back into the dining room, without getting more germs on them than ever from pulling the handle open? Shirt? Fine... now it's wet, pulled out & wrinkled! Minus 1 Star from an otherwise excellent lunch buffet offering up 120 tasty items today, plus sauces and dressings. :-) Weekday Lunch Buffet now $9.39/$8.46 Sr.
(4)Victoria K.
Easily a 5 star buffet. I went here yesterday (Monday) for lunch about 1:30 or so. I was greeted as I entered, paid just over $10 for lunch with a water and was seated at a table. The first trip I made was to the grill and sushi. The grill was out of noodles, but the veggies and meat I chose were done very nicely and the guy working was extremely nice. In fact everybody who worked there was really nice. The sushi was pretty good as well, with nice large rolls including a couple with raw fish. They were kept the correct temperature and was being monitored and replenished by the sushi chef. All the food that I had from the buffet was pretty good...nothing struck me as off or bad.... Of course it wouldn't be a Chinese buffet in the Valley if they didn't have some sort of tacos/ tamales/ enchiladas here... which they had enchiladas that were okay. Some of the best dishes in my opinion were the cheese wonton which was not too crunchy like most places.... the baby octopus was very tender and not overly chewy like most buffets, the baked salmon was amazing, and for desert I enjoyed hte powdered donut holes as well as a slice of chocolate chip chocolate cake with some vanilla soft serve. Most likely I will be back to this place.
(5)Michael J.
I eat here once in a while and the food is always decent. Sushi is good but Pacific is definitely better. They have lots of fried fish and shrimp that my friends and I like and the Chinese food is good. They always have some fresh fruit and they have soft serve ice cream for dessert. I'll keep coming here when I'm nearby and in the mood for buffet.
(3)Arizona T.
Look. I hate to admit I even go to buffets from time to time but this is actually a pretty decent Chinese buffet. The employees were all very friendly and they were very attentive, the food was actually very flavorful and very good, it has Mongolian barbecue and a sushi station. The upside to this buffet is that you can eat as healthy or as bad as you would like. For a Chinese buffet in a marginal area of town is actually remarkably very clean. It is definitely worth checking out. There's no way to give a buffet five stars so this will get a solid four star from me. When you take into consideration the price you really can't beat it. Sidenote; I went there at 3 PM on a weekday.
(4)Valerie M.
You come inside, stand in a line to pay a cashier about $12 per person (does not include drink), and then stand in a different line so someone can tell you where to sit. I constantly ask Why?! Why pay that kinda money when you can go to a restaurant where you'll be seated and given a menu, place an order, served, checked on, and then dishes cleared from your table instead of dishes gathering -and all for the same price. Yes, I realize you get so much more variety, but the quality??? In case you haven't picked up on this yet I am not a fan of Chinese buffet -anywhere. Quality is always sub par and price just seems to cover the excessive waste and not actual product. Oysters are dry, over cooked, and some are so bad I had to remove from my mouth. Shrimp is over done. Baby octopus were whole. That was interesting. My husband and son said the bread is really good. Lmao. You gonna make bread your meal at a buffet? More often than not my husband and I could split an entrée and still have leftovers, if we could ever agree on eating the same thing. So variety IS good, but for me this place just doesn't seem to do a single thing on their buffet really well. Unless it's the bread my son and husband seem to like.
(1)william r.
Would give -5 stars if possible. Quite frankly; wretched and horrid would be appropriate descriptors for this place. Outside grounds littered with trash, cigarettes and assorted debris for starters. I get it, it's S phoenix, but this is a horror show. The food, other than a fair soup selection, was cold, devoid of any flavor, and is simply thrown out there to feed a low rent crowd. Save your money and either go elsewhere, anywhere but here, or starve. Trust me, the latter suggestion is better than eating this swill.
(1)Jody K.
We stopped by here since we were in the neighborhood after visiting with friends. The place looks nice from the outside - similar to a large log cabin. Service was friendly inside, food was plentiful, but to me, did not taste good. It lacked a lot of flavor and quite a few food items had been sitting out for a while. I would not come back to this place as I would be able to spend my $40 (2 adults, 1 child) some place nicer with better quality food.
(2)Artemis S.
Going to this place reminded me why I don't go to these places. They should change the name of this place to Riff Raff n' Nausea; you get to be around all the rudest, most obnoxious people of S. Phoenix (the other patrons), and the food will likely make you feel terrible. I'm pretty iron-stomached and rarely prone to sickness after eating subpar food, but this place had me breaking out the Pepto, PDQ. It's just not worth it in any way. BEWARE.
(1)Derrick Z.
as i walked in i thought to myself "wow". i figured it was probably because the establishment was new. very nice ambiance. it seems like there is alot of room around the tables and even the actual buffets. i didn't bump into anyone. the service was great. we went during lunch and it was busy with all the lunch folk. because it was busy we didn't see our server often but she did meet all our needs. the food seemed to be better than average buffet food. i enjoy going to this place because i know alot of crappy buffets in the phoenix area and this place sets itself apart from others.
(4)Michelle K.
I am only giving this place 1 star because I cant give it zero. This place is absolutely disgusting. We drove by this place a lot in the past week because we were frequenting South Mountain Preserve and with all the blazing lights outside, we thought this place was literally beckoning us to try them out. I'm already not a huge fan of buffets for hygienic reasons and because most buffets are built for high capacity food to be dished out quickly. As a result the foods in buffets are rarely ever made fresh. But there are a few I'm actually impressed with, so I cant completely disregard buffets as a whole. The outside of this place looks like a Chinese ski lodge with a neon light trim. There is nothing around it except for a Circle K across the street, so this place really stands out. Kids under 2 eat free. I kinda wish we were all under 2 years old tonight for this meal. The cashier was friendly, the host was weird about seating us and our server was probably the best part about that place. So II'll take back my first sentence, Id like to give that one star to her. The place was very busy which I thought was a sure sign that it was going to be a great buffet, but I took a good look around. A reaaallllly good look. If you took every single person that was on parole in AZ and seated them at a Chinese buffet, that's what you would get. 'Twas a bit creepy in there. Aside from that, let me get down to the food.... I took a little bit of everything. It's what I always do. The food looked weird to me, like it was purchased from the supermarket, thawed out and placed under the heat lamp for everyone. The ONLY items that looked normal were the jello (which is already a bizarre food anyway), the rice and the ice cream. That's it. The sushi was an absolute joke, fried fish was bready and greasy, jalapeno chicken/sweet n sour chicken all tasted like a packet of syrup was mixed and then drizzled on top. My son (who actually has an excellent palate) said the pizza tasted like yogurt. Like YOGURT! Quite possibly the most unsightly thing I saw tonight was a seafood blend (casserole) that looked like somebody vomited on the tray. I saw two scrapes taken from that tray. I'll say a prayer for the 1-2 individuals who ate that tonight because that was absolutely disgusting. There is so much food there and I'd love to go through the list, but to be honest there's no point. Just dont go there. Save your money and go elsewhere. Anywhere but there.
(1)Joe M.
Massive place, lots of people, a lot of food and a lots of choices. It would be hard not to find something you like for the entire family. Not sure it's the most healthy things you could eat. Lots of calories in the meal I picked. You could choose from some of the other items that might be better. They have a grill and fresh sushi. It's worth a shot. I was glad I stopped in.
(3)Olivia V.
Really shitty customer service. All the waitress did was argue with us over a drink for a 2 year old. Not coming back here again.
(1)Phisit P.
Came here for a family dinner. Service at the front was alright. We had to wait for all of our parties to get here just to be seated, but then after a while they just decided to let us seat and go eat. They had a lot of variety in foods, but in my opinion any place can and its more about quality. So, mostly everything I ate there was ok. Probably the egg drop soup and salt and pepper shrimp would be something I'd consider always getting. The best thing I would say they have is the made to order steak. Get it any way you want it. I got it medium rare and it was really tasty. Couldn't go wrong with that one. Another thing that was good and I took notice was the service on my drinks. I think their name was Andrew. He made sure our drinks were always filled even before I had to even ask. I don't know about anyone else, but to me that's always a big plus when I dine out in places. All in all, its an alright place to me for a buffet.
(3)Zack F.
I never thought I would actually use this account to review, but I didn't think I would try squid either. This place has got to be the worst place I have ever eaten in my entire life. Everything was bad about this place. The food there is minimal and none of it looks good. There is even chicken nuggets and French fires... Really? that's just how the food looks. As soon as I started eating, I can tell something wasn't right. I tried the squid, worst idea ever. Even the ice cream sucked. As soon as we were done, we walk out, and one person from the group we went with threw up right in front of the store... Uh-oh. We stopped for gas, went to the bathroom, and I threw everything up. Which I haven't done in about 6 years. It's sad cause the food at the gas station would probably have been better than that "food" at the buffet. So after spending $12 for food I threw back up in a gas station's bathroom, I rate this place a 1 star. Wish I could give it a -5 star.
(1)Nicole S.
My husband and I love this buffet. It is affordable and minus the salad, the food is always fresh. (but come on, who comes to a chinese buffet for the salad LOL) The sushi is always fresh, and doesn't taste too fishy. The fried rice is amazing! The wait staff is okay... it's a buffet, so it's easy for drinks to run dry. Also, they're fortune cookies are actually GOOD. Usually they are stale, but they must go through a lot, because they are usually fresh. All in all, we visit this place quite often, it's clean, consistent and always enjoyable.
(5)Aude O.
Not my favorite buffett. Sushi was bland and not many choices. Steak was overcooked (I told him medium rare and it was almost well done). Mongolian grill was good. The rest of the choices are your normal selection. It was quite busy, which in a buffett is a very good thing (food gets changed out faster). You do pay before you go even sit down, so be aware. Also, there is potatoe salad right by the pudding. Be careful, as I almost screwed that up.
(2)Melodie C.
Very unorganized from the get-go. When you walk in, there's a line to the door (on busy nights) that you have to wait in to pay. Then you go to another line at the host station and wait to be seated. I'm not a big fan of buffets in general, but if you are, you'll surely love this one. They have every kind of Chinese dish you can imagine: General Tao's chicken, beef and broccoli, veggie delight, fried rice....... You'll even find a few non-Chinese selections, like a salad station, baked potatoes and French fries. The dessert station was pretty weak. Carrot cake, brownies, white cake and pudding. There's also a vanilla frozen yogurt machine, although they don't offer any toppings. Who doesn't have chocolate sauce for frozen yogurt? I really have no desire to go back again.
(2)Nura A.
I used to like this place. Quality of food is not good and not much variety anymore. Very limited desserts. There were no Crab legs! I will not come back. It's sad because this is very close to my house. I might just take a nice long drive in search for better food!
(3)Jeff P.
Beyond disgusting. Food was cold. And old. If you like eating bad leftovers that have been reheated time and time again, you will love this place. Restaurant was filthy. And while we were there the manager actually turned away a party of 5 because they wanted to sit at an 8 top. The restaurant was 3/4 empty and this was Friday night at 6:30. Save yourself and never come here. Can I give it less than 1 star?
(1)Bnilla R.
Flies all over the food in the buffet and the manager was rude when we asked for a refund!! Nasty!!
(1)Lena K.
Me & my family goes to Lin's pretty often at least 1 every 2/3 weeks. Yesterday the most distinguishing thing happened, their food is always good and fresh doesn't matter what time of the day you go is the reason for us being frequent flyers. But yesterday we went in for dinner and as soon as my husband sat down on the table w/ his food ....... Roaches ....... like a battalion of then not kidding ... 6/8 came out all on in a sudden and the first one walked over his food....he stood up and spoke w/ management but this is ridiculous ...... I mean if you can see 1 you know there gutta be more but seeing 6/8 at a time .............. omg and we just walked out ......... never going back in there again.. Good bye Lin's ......... all those ppl please watch out this place are ripping us w/ higher value but they do not maintain their business.
(1)Mabel H.
Really good value. Two visits with the four of us--no one ever got sick. Let's face it--we are talking about a Chinese buffet here, so don't expect a "foodie" review like we usually give, since all of these Chinese buffets offer the same quick fare. For that reason alone our ratings scale is based upon what college professors would consider to be a "sliding scale". Therefore let us continue... We are awarding 4 stars to Lin's Grand Buffet for some specific surprises: 1.) The fried fish and fried shrimp were very good. Like, SURPRISINGLY good, especially since we are grilled fish/healthy eaters (but the grilled salmon that day was "fishy", thus the discovery of the fried stuff). Our suggestion is to try a very tiny piece of fish before proceeding further, since cooking varies from day to day. 2.) The cheese enchiladas are perfect. (Weird, right?) But we were craving them that day. 3.) Yummy "critters". Our other surprise was that our 19-year-old stuffed his face with little octopus and LOVED them. He had never had them before, either, and the whole thing started as a dare... He also piled his plate several times with the crayfish. All of it gross to us, but obviously not to him. The octopus are tiny and look like little cartoons. The crayfish are just like I remember them from playing in the creeks of Texas as a child. There is a HUGE assortment of foods here--something for everybody. Ribs are good, but not too much meat on them, chicken wings are good, pot stickers are good. They've got everything you can imagine and more. Salad bar is a disappointment. Not too many healthy vegetable toppings. Very basic stuff there, including the ever present chocolate pudding. The husband got two plates of Mongolian Barbecue, so to whoever mentioned previously they don't have this anymore, apparently they do still have this feature of the restaurant. Hubby liked it. Said the first cook "made it great" and the second cook (when he went back for seconds) "made it meh". Depends on your cook, we guess. The sushi is uninteresting and dry. Full disclosure, we didn't ask for anything specific to be made for us, so we don't know if that is an option here. Can anyone enlighten us? (Thanks.) The deserts are dry and monotonous--you know the drill on this stuff. We refuse to call the soft-serve (which comes in chocolate, vanilla, or swirl) "ice cream". It is food-grade "D" frozen "treat". Nasty stuff, eat at your own risk kind of territory. But again, our son, despite himself and God love him, kept going back for more. Blecht!..and LOL! In our humble opinion, this was the worst part of our visits. We've always had great/attentive servers. We say the only drawback is the ripped seating. When we asked for another booth on a busy night the hostess laughed and told us that all of the seats are ripped. So, come on, Phoenix! Let's sit properly, mm'kay? This can be prevented. Otherwise the place is huge and kind of cool/pretty looking. It seems clean enough. Bathrooms are new/clean.
(4)Justin V.
I've never been a fan of Chinese buffets and this place did little to change my mind on that. I was hoping to be wrong as we were greeted by a 30 minute wait for a table. Heck, this many people can't be wrong? Ummmmm... Standard Chinese buffet food but nothing imaginative or inspiring about this one. It was a nice touch to see a steak cooking station but I had to order it 3 times before I actually got mine and it still wasn't cooked right. All in all, I guess it's what I expected for a cheap Chinese food buffet but I won't be going back again.
(2)Jennifer T.
There is really good food here. That is the only reason why there is 4 stars. But I have a few problems. 1) No milk for little kids... Seriously? We come in with a 16 month old and she doesn't drink soda, or juice, barely likes water. She wanted milk with lunch, and they don't have milk. Why would you not have milk for kids?! From what I understand, they don't have juice either. 2) Everyone is crammed in there. There isn't enough space between the rows of food for people to fit through without bumping arms or other body parts - no matter how small you are. Add in that people let their kids run through and grab what they want and it makes it worse. 3) We were a party of 6 adults, one child, one toddler. They could have given us a bigger table. There was barely any elbow room. Ridiculous. The only reason they have 4 stars is because the food was REALLY good. And I mean really good. The server was always bringing refills, which was great. But I probably won't go back with my kids. So the chance I'll come back soon will be slim.
(4)jim m.
Went for lunch at 11:15 am. Everything was cold on the buffet. I ask the waitress for the manager and she said he would be right over. Never showed up. $50 for 4 people to have lunch and not being able to eat it was ridiculous. This place use to be good. I will dispute my credit card and never return.
(1)Nicole G.
4 stars : Based on Buffet Criterion (Not a $$$ Posh Dining experience). My new favorite Asian Buffet (Using Hong Kong Gourmet, Crazy Buffet, Pacific Seafood as comparison) Something there for everyone - Sushi, BBQ, Mongolian Grill, Tons of Seafood items, lots of Vegetarian Items (which is super hard to come by in general...let alone at buffet). Can we talk about the fact that the food is, actually, good? At a buffet!? Yes...and the bathrooms are large and clean. A weirdly big deal for me at buffets, but I digress. My favorite part...they're actually cheaper than a few places, by a couple bucks. I have yet to do check in on them again, as some other reviewers remark that they're inconsistent...but I sure hope that's not the case.
(4)Roy H.
I've been to Lin's several times, but never again. Food: The food is ok at best...standard American versions of Chinese food - everything is deep fried and/or swimming in syrupy sauce. Oh, and enchiladas (?) which were cold and obviously recycled from the previous day. In fact, many items in the steam tables are room temperature. Every single time I've gone, I've had to spit something out into a napkin. EVERY SINGLE TIME! And believe me, I am NOT a squeamish eater! And sushi? Forget it! Lin's sushi contains no actual fish! Their "sushi" consists of fake crab, cream cheese, avocado, etc. No fish were harmed in the making of this sushi! I've had much better sushi from Safeway! Service: Like most/all buffets, Lin's features "semi-service". You're allowed to serve yourself everything EXCEPT beverages. For that you must wait for a server to take your drink order. It's moronic. No complaints about the servers though... they've always been good. They also have this idiotic procedure where you pay, then have to stand there and wait for the one hostess to walk you to a table. What's the point of that!? Who knows. My guess is that they're trying to give the illusion of it being some kind of classy joint instead of the open trough in a cattle feed lot that it is. I work in this part of town and Lin's is the finest restaurant in the area, by default. It's really sad that there is NOTHING but fast food for miles in every direction. If you're up for a drive and you want a truly great buffet, I recommend Jasmine Tokyo on Shea.
(1)Cris L.
It no wonder the parking lot was empty. The service is terrible. Two hostesses in the front just chatting away with each other, asked us if we wanted a table because all their booths were dirty. The entrance of the restaurant was dirty too. Tsktsk. What a waste of labor dollars. Last time we come here.
(1)Paul W.
This buffet is just ok. For a Chinese buffet it's the best one I have been to yet, though I don't frequent many Chinese buffets. To me most of the chicken items taste very similar to one another. I have only had the lunch items so I can't speak of the dinner menu, I can say that if you want a ton of food for cheap, Lin's is for you!!
(3)Sydnie J.
The food was fantastic here and they have a huge variety of foods. If your looking for a great Chinesse restraunt this one should be at the top of your list. Yum yum yum!
(5)Ainee B.
It's OK buffet. I am a fan of pork but they don't have many :(. It's a plus for the desserts, lots more than other buffet. The space is really nice, big and cozy.
(3)Sunny L.
I love this buffet. It is very clean and there is a great selection. I love this place for a team lunch during work time. It's close to the office, quick, and easy. They are very accommodating for a big group. I have 10 people on my team. They all loved it and had a blast. I think the best part of coming here is that you don't have to wait. You get your food right away and there is more time to socialize. I will definitely bring my team here again for lunch.
(4)Lydie C.
My boyfriend and I decided to come here just to try it out and, plus, it was on the way to the grocery store. Anyway, when we first walked in, it seemed to be extremely large on the outside and in the lobby area. After my boyfriend paid for our meals & drinks, we were escorted to our seats. The interior is beautiful - as well as the tables we ate on! I absolutely loved the decoration pieces - but, honestly, that's as far as I'll go with praises. While I do understand that one shouldn't have high expectations at a buffet, we were still met with disappointment. The food wasn't very good and it actually made me sick (nausea) while my boyfriend felt it as well. I'm only writing this review now because I was trying to take care of my stomach. The food was very bland period and while the restaurant itself seemed grand and wonderful - the selections weren't very diverse. It only had the minimal types of food one would expect at a $5.99 buffet. Another thing I didn't like were how the selections were laid out as well. Why was the sushi bar hidden? The Mongolian Grill would have been a nice addition if it didn't have pizza, cakes, and cookies next to it. Shouldn't the cakes & cookies be in the dessert section anyway? Speaking of the dessert, they were also laid out by the seafood - which, I personally felt, was something that majorly concerned me as a whole. This buffet was not worth the price my boyfriend and I paid for (even if we did get free refills) and for sure, we will not be going back again.
(1)Lacey S.
If I could give it 0 stars I would. This place was terrible today! The service was half assed and it was VERY hot! We asked for the manager and they sent our waitress. Worst service. We lost our appetites due to how hot it was in there. They did nothing to compensate or make things better. We had sweat rolling down our faces and backs! We brought in a group of 30 and they didn't seem to care! We won't be back.
(1)Todd G.
A fast-paced buffet with very tasty food. I arrived on a Sunday about 11:30 AM. Even though they just opened up at 11, the restaurant was already full. I had to wait in line to pay, but the wait was only about four minutes once I was seated the server came by got me my beverage and I was off to load up my plate. The selection of foods was quite vast. Everything was fresh and as I was loading up I saw several attendees bringing out more fresh food. Lin's also had a Mongolian Grill, the only downside to that was the options were limited and you don't get the choice of what sauces to add to your food. After eating my fill, I left around 12:30 PM. When walking out the line was three times as long as it was when I arrived. So my advice, get there early or during off peak hours.
(4)Amy B.
I came here for dinner today with a friend of mine, and I'm glad that I did. What a great buffet! The place was large, clean, and had a huge spread of food that seemed endless. Price was fair for dinner, as it was $27 for the both of us. I was really impressed with this one. Some of the features that they have here are a Sushi station, a mongol ion BBQ area, plenty of desserts, and plenty of food for all to eat. They also had quite the desert spread as well. One of the better buffet's I've seen in town. If your in the area, definitely go check this place out. Really worth it!
(4)Charles H.
Some many of my friends have raved about this place and how great it is. It is obvious how different out taste buds ARE! So to start the year off my employer decided to take all of us out to eat at Lin's Buffet. How nice. The gesture that is. I normally hate, loathe, buffets because I don't want my food sitting out with people picking over it. Not cool. Well, yeah, that's just it. First, if you are gluten free or have any other diet restriction...STAY AWAY! This place has very little to offer for you to eat. I basically had veggies, fruit, and hard boiled eggs. Second, I went to the bathroom when I first arrived, and there was NO SOAP. WTF. Strike one and two. I quickly thought about how many people use the bathroom and probably didn't wash I was I appealed. After I used my pink to open the door I luckily found a colleague who had wipes or hand sanitizer. All in all mediocre food. Extremely crowded. Non dietary restriction friendly. Smh. I'm just glad I didn't have to pay.
(2)Shibli Z.
I was sure to come here a couple of times and give it a fair shot before reviewing. Service is polite but negligent. The pretty girls at the front are very polite but often won't look you in the eye. The servers are similarly polite but often will be running past your table while they drop off your drink. After all, this is a buffet place and you can't expect service much better than that. The food is extremely inconsistent but even on its best days is just okay and never really all that good. I tried the Mongolian Grill and found it to be very good comparatively and thought I had found a reason to actually come here. However, just today I went to put together a plate and found the pork all mixed up with the chicken. The beef is a very strange unnaturally beet red while the pork is pink. There was no doubt that there was pork mixed with the chicken. Unfortunately, for Jews and Muslims or others who refrain from pork, this is a show-stopper. So with the Mongolian Grill (which I acutally liked) now forever off limits, I was forced to try their other offerings. Out of everything, the only things I could stomach were Teriyaki chicken sticks, the chicken and broccoli and the beef and broccoli. The other standard "Chinese restaurant" fare like Kung Pao beef tasted like detergent on one day. The next day I tried it, it was a little more palatable but still not very good. After seeing the pork so carelessly mixed up with the chicken at the Mongolian Grill counter and with the overwhelming majority of the buffet items unpalatable, I will probably not come here again.
(2)Tricia E.
The sushi here is bomb diggity awesome. They have other good food here as well, but I found myself going back to the sushi bar over and over again. Really fresh sushi, and for only $13 (the price to dine here).
(5)Vladimir V.
Where else can you get chicken 12 ways, and all good too... This is the only place, and everything else is good also... FYI... dont be fooled by that lin's seafood buffet (stay away at all costs), its not affiliated with lin's grand buffet.
(5)Christopher B.
Lin's is an okay experience, but there are better Asian buffets out there! They have a lot of dishes that you'd find at a Panda Express, but they are really oily and the taste isn't that great. You can also find some other selections like soups, salad, fried creatures, chicken wings, a sushi bar, a Mongolian BBQ-style area, and some fruit and puddings. I was a bit disappointed with the sushi selection as most rolls had minimal Ahi and avocado. Compared to other buffets in the area with a similar price range, they are also missing snow crab legs and some more dishes with shrimp. I also found the hostesses to be overly mechanical rather than genuinely hospitable. The price for adults is $10.59/ person on the evenings AND weekends (i.e. even during lunch), and $8.29 during the week. I posted a picture of the prices for reference as there wasn't one. The quality isn't that great, but it does the job. In all, again, Lin's was an okay experience, but not as "grand" as the restaurant name implies.
(3)Brian G.
Variety is on average, no wow dishes, and all the food is prepared just about how you'd expect. No surprises, good or bad. It was busy, but I'm not sure why.
(3)Thomas J.
Wow! What a great place! Vegas style buffet Blooms in the Desert. The selection is fantastic, they have 4 different Islands of food with Many trays in each Island Grilled steaks to order, Sushi, Mongolian BBQ..........you cant go wrong. For the Price its the best buffet in town. Service has always been excellent and prompt. It always seems to be busy as well. NO Complaints from me, I have high expectations of places, this is a 5star buffet in comparison to the other options out there in the Valley and for about 11 bucks with tax you cant go wrong.
(5)Sasha K.
I usually like buffets because I'm a fat ass and I eat more than Rosie O'Donnell but this place did not tickle my fancy. The food was mediocre and it was a bit too crowded in there. With the combination of blasting A/C and screaming children, I didn't want to stay there long. I tried as much as I could aside from what was against the back wall because my lunch break was close to being over. The thing that bothered me the most was that they didn't bother to de-shell (if thats what it's called) the shrimp, it still had a full shell and all of it's little legs attached :/ So I doubt I'll be coming back here again, though I won't fail to mention if you do like coming here that they have a neat To-Go offer where you can fill a styrofoam box with a pound of food for 4.97. So I guess that's nice.
(2)Norm R.
After a visit to the Audubon Center in South Phoenix (everyone should visit this nature center - it's a great educational experience; OK, enough of the plug) and following a hot tip from Rand H., my mentor in the fine art of buffet appreciation, I went to this newly-opened restaurant for a late lunch. It's an impressive buffet establishment - spanking new, very spacious, lots of seating, more than ample parking. There is a large array of dishes from the main self-serve area, plus a Mongolian grill & steak area as well as a sushi counter - though the array of sushi is a bit limited here. The dishes are typical of super buffets and are very well-prepared. There is a large staff very efficiently attending to the large crowd. The South Mountain community finally has a good buffet in the area - good for them! And good for me, as I'm frequently in area too!
(4)