I haven't been to OCB in probably 6-7 years, but I had a coupon for a $5.99 lunch buffet and thought it would be worth a shot. First, the place was at least 70% septuagenarian. This made going through the line to pay take 10 minutes. Every customer had to chat up the host for a minute or two. I accept that it is a generational gap, retirees I give you free reign at the OCB and Denny's, but please knock that shit off at the post office and gas station, please. I promised myself that I wouldn't gorge myself on shitty food, because that is why I stopped coming here in the first place. In case you haven't noticed, a filibuster proof majority of the patrons here are morbidly obese. I couldn't resist. I started off nice, a mixed green salad with cantaloupe. They actually had decent greens. It made for an all around good salad bar. I love the multiple beverage options, because who doesn't want a coffee, Mr. Pibb and ICEE to drink with their meal. Of note were the mini cheeseburgers with fried onions, the Louisiana Chicken, and the tater skins in cheese. The taco bar wasn't bad either. I made the mistake of eating way too much and now I feel like I'm going to explode. It is impossible to come here without heading over to the dessert bar, so even as full as I was, I went for the build your own ice cream sundae and a cookie. They have gummy bears as a topping, which is new to me and should have been done years ago. Most of their pies and cakes looked like piles of steaming dog shit. All in all, not a bad lunch. I think regular price was something like $8.50, not sure that it is worth it, maybe if you are really hungry. The place was really clean, the buffet was well stocked and the employees were friendly. The sound system is set to Rocking to the Oldies.
(3)
Bruce M.
The took steak off the menu... guess the board members and general manager weren't making enough money to afford their million dollar homes... probably won't be coming back
(1)
Michelle N.
Do not go here! They have a special seasoning they put on every dish including the desserts, and it's called SUCK. We went for dinner on Sunday and everything except the drinks was awful. The fried chicken was soggy, the vegetables were cooked down to mush, anything with cheese had a slight vomit flavor behind it, and the desserts were overly sweet or dry. I don't know where they order their food from but it shouldn't be eaten by any self respecting human.
(1)
Janette M.
Our family of five, all seniors, dined there for lunch yesterday, Monday, and since we ate after 1 PM we were delighted to receive a senior discount for all of us. Nice plus. Had not been there since the new menu and we were all very impressed. Everything was just delish and you know with five of us dining, we sampled a lot of food. The best thing about our whole dining experience there, besides the food, was our very friendly server, Jon. He was just a delight. We just loved chatting with him but he was very conscientious about his job so did not chat with us too long, ignoring his work. We cannot wait to go back and chat with him soon. Four of us live in Mpls area and one lives in Waseca so we came down to visit him and drove to Mankato for lunch. Our Old Country Buffet in Maple Grove is not half as good as yours. Keep up the awesome everything your doing!!! Jon is the best!!!
(5)
Dallas G.
This place can be a hit or miss. I tend to find it is best when it is really busy and even more so on a Sunday. All-in-all though if you want to guarantee that everyone at the table will leave stuffed, and you are not going to spend a lot of money to get there, then this is the place to take the family. It always has a good selection of food for everyone and the staff is normally prompt at keeping the food stocked.
(4)
Jill S.
OCB has always had a certain standard that i came to expect not great food but alright food when you didnt want to cook. Theid level standard that i used to hold them to is no longer being met. The interior has been remodeled and it looks great, the downside is that they have changed a number of their dishes and the food is not very good. With the new warming system most everything is luke warm at best, you can see the cost savings attempts in a number of ways such as corkscrew pasta for the spaggetti mac and cheese and everyother dish that had pasta in it. The single portions look crusty and old. The shepards pie looked and tasted a step below canned dog food and that was the recommendation of our server! Not going back....ever....
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Street Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : No Waiter Service : No
Dan S.
I haven't been to OCB in probably 6-7 years, but I had a coupon for a $5.99 lunch buffet and thought it would be worth a shot. First, the place was at least 70% septuagenarian. This made going through the line to pay take 10 minutes. Every customer had to chat up the host for a minute or two. I accept that it is a generational gap, retirees I give you free reign at the OCB and Denny's, but please knock that shit off at the post office and gas station, please. I promised myself that I wouldn't gorge myself on shitty food, because that is why I stopped coming here in the first place. In case you haven't noticed, a filibuster proof majority of the patrons here are morbidly obese. I couldn't resist. I started off nice, a mixed green salad with cantaloupe. They actually had decent greens. It made for an all around good salad bar. I love the multiple beverage options, because who doesn't want a coffee, Mr. Pibb and ICEE to drink with their meal. Of note were the mini cheeseburgers with fried onions, the Louisiana Chicken, and the tater skins in cheese. The taco bar wasn't bad either. I made the mistake of eating way too much and now I feel like I'm going to explode. It is impossible to come here without heading over to the dessert bar, so even as full as I was, I went for the build your own ice cream sundae and a cookie. They have gummy bears as a topping, which is new to me and should have been done years ago. Most of their pies and cakes looked like piles of steaming dog shit. All in all, not a bad lunch. I think regular price was something like $8.50, not sure that it is worth it, maybe if you are really hungry. The place was really clean, the buffet was well stocked and the employees were friendly. The sound system is set to Rocking to the Oldies.
(3)Bruce M.
The took steak off the menu... guess the board members and general manager weren't making enough money to afford their million dollar homes... probably won't be coming back
(1)Michelle N.
Do not go here! They have a special seasoning they put on every dish including the desserts, and it's called SUCK. We went for dinner on Sunday and everything except the drinks was awful. The fried chicken was soggy, the vegetables were cooked down to mush, anything with cheese had a slight vomit flavor behind it, and the desserts were overly sweet or dry. I don't know where they order their food from but it shouldn't be eaten by any self respecting human.
(1)Janette M.
Our family of five, all seniors, dined there for lunch yesterday, Monday, and since we ate after 1 PM we were delighted to receive a senior discount for all of us. Nice plus. Had not been there since the new menu and we were all very impressed. Everything was just delish and you know with five of us dining, we sampled a lot of food. The best thing about our whole dining experience there, besides the food, was our very friendly server, Jon. He was just a delight. We just loved chatting with him but he was very conscientious about his job so did not chat with us too long, ignoring his work. We cannot wait to go back and chat with him soon. Four of us live in Mpls area and one lives in Waseca so we came down to visit him and drove to Mankato for lunch. Our Old Country Buffet in Maple Grove is not half as good as yours. Keep up the awesome everything your doing!!! Jon is the best!!!
(5)Dallas G.
This place can be a hit or miss. I tend to find it is best when it is really busy and even more so on a Sunday. All-in-all though if you want to guarantee that everyone at the table will leave stuffed, and you are not going to spend a lot of money to get there, then this is the place to take the family. It always has a good selection of food for everyone and the staff is normally prompt at keeping the food stocked.
(4)Jill S.
OCB has always had a certain standard that i came to expect not great food but alright food when you didnt want to cook. Theid level standard that i used to hold them to is no longer being met. The interior has been remodeled and it looks great, the downside is that they have changed a number of their dishes and the food is not very good. With the new warming system most everything is luke warm at best, you can see the cost savings attempts in a number of ways such as corkscrew pasta for the spaggetti mac and cheese and everyother dish that had pasta in it. The single portions look crusty and old. The shepards pie looked and tasted a step below canned dog food and that was the recommendation of our server! Not going back....ever....
(1)