Is Royal Buffet the best buffet in Rhode Island? This review covers the food, sushi bar, hibachi grill, desserts, prices, service, and overall dining experience.
This spot was visited several times and will be edited accordingly. Some updates may be posted near the bottom of the page.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Low lunch/dinner prices Large food selection compared to most buffets; traditional American and Chinese American hot foods, sushi bar, hibachi, salad station, desserts, and more Food stations are expansive: sufficient sushi and raw items, desserts, and a complete hibachi and salad bar Some foods rotate depending on the day/week Restaurant and buffet areas are kept clean and organized | Buffet stations stop being refilled up to 1-1.5 hours before closing; stations start closing shortly after Food can occasionally feel stale Service can be inattentive An hour before closing time, staff start cleaning aggressively and loudly near customers who are still eating Customers may be asked by staff to check out 30-45 minutes before closing time Staff can be confrontational about tipping (according to online reviews) |
The verdict? Royal Buffet is 7/10 stars.
Review
For the price, the food can be a steal. Sure, it may initially look like your typical Chinese buffet; however, this one has so much—really, it has many more options than some other buffets, including those in Rhode Island. On top of that, they’ve had some of the cheapest lunch and dinner prices around. Essentially, if you wanted to try all the typical Chinese buffet foods without compromising some food selection or your wallet, this is the place to visit.
This large restaurant offers ample seating in a well-air-conditioned environment. The place is always clean, especially with staff often circulating to wipe down various parts of the buffet area. However service can be inattentive at times, and the buffet food quality itself can feel somewhat stale. At the very least, any time anything starts to look like it might run out, a staff member can usually be seen hurrying to refill it.
A big con is staff friendliness, which depends on when you get there. You can ask anyone for a quick refill or to answer a basic question, though servers are often too busy for anything more than a quick yes-or-no. Often, it all feels stiff, as if employees are being watched and have to stay in work mode, even when the buffet has few guests. Another part of my frustration is that the staff starts breaking down parts of the buffet up to an hour or an hour and a half before closing. Not just breaking it down either, even up to two hours before close, other food isn’t always adequately restocked, and table service can slow down.
You really start to feel like you should have been there earlier.
Most notably, expect to start being rushed out an hour before they close. By that time, the staff had already started aggressively cleaning the floors with loud power washers and hurriedly wiping down any unoccupied tables. It leaves you with an unpleasant feeling as you try to enjoy your food calmly. You’re being rushed, even though they haven’t explicitly said anything… yet. I say “yet” because there were occasions when it got so bad that we had even asked to leave a full 30 minutes before they closed! Basically, arrive early and expect them to start shutting down earlier than their advertised hours.
Onto the best bit: Food, specifically the variety. From typical American-based foods to sushi and even a dedicated hibachi, to meats, a complete salad bar to create something extra zesty, pizza and nuggets, fried and baked seafood, an entire raw bar, sugary desserts, and more. Overall, however, some of the food can feel like it’s been sitting out too long.
The hibachi is a must-visit. It’s where you can select your own ingredients and watch them cook. The hibachi alone is worth the experience, offering a wide variety of vegetables, raw meats, and more. Before they even start cooking, you’re offered a wealth of sauces to add to the already amazing grilled experience. The combinations are endless, and what you end up with is a sizzling plate of oily goodness. I could just go here just for the hibachi experience!
Onto the sushi. They offer almost a dozen different rolls, but like the other food, while the variety is pretty good, it can feel a bit stale and not as fresh as it could be. Often, the sushi has a spongy texture, as if it’s been sitting out for too long. They also lack a few basic sauces, like eel sauce, and the ones they do offer, like the spicy mayo and soy sauce, appear watered down.
After your entire dining experience, you can finally choose from their crazy dessert-based treats, including a variety of tasty sheet cakes, three different (strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla) soft-serve ice creams directly from an ice cream machine with cones, alongside other dessert selections such as puddings, pies, fruits, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie (my favorite) and more. It’s mostly average quality depending on what they have, but I guarantee you’ll fall in love with at least one option (definitely several) you’ll end up bingeing. Weirdly, though, staff tend to break down the dessert offerings first. This means that often, an hour before they close, the bulk of the desserts have already been shelved!
Anyway, I will reiterate that the variety is good, and the secret is the rotating selection. Every time I visit, a few of the selections change: sometimes it’s sheet cakes, mousse cups, and more alongside their typical dessert fare, or they might substitute sheet cake for humongous cheesecake slices and serve thick, luxurious brownies alongside other sugary treats. They even change their hot food items around (see our visit experiences below). Basically, if I somehow get bored, I can quickly run to the extra rows of desserts or new dishes to try.
Overall, Royal Buffet offers some of the cheapest lunch and dinner buffets in the state. Those prices on top of perhaps the largest selection around will spoil you silly. It basically has most of the items you can order off a Chinese American restaurant menu, or, if you’ve visited most other Chinese American buffets, it’ll have that and more. It’s a well-cleaned place, the staff is usually attentive, and the options are great.
Unfortunately arrive early, because they start breaking down the buffet and sometimes can rush you out around an hour before their advertised closing time. And, while the food is serviceable, it could be fresher overall. On top of that, please stop putting away the desserts so early, especially before the hot food items!
May 22, 2026
August 10, 2026
Experience: They didn’t kick us out early or make us feel rushed like previously, even letting us stay until after close. Not sure if this was because we arrived an hour and a half before closing (two-hour dining limit?) or because there were still a few families left at closing time. However, food consolidation and cleanup of the buffet area still began an hour before close. Our server was inattentive throughout dinner.
A few unique options, like coconut chicken, white clam chowder, mocha mousse sheet cake slices, and crab rangoons made differently, were available. We haven’t seen these offered before, and needless to say, all were delicious. The crab rangoons were triangle-shaped instead of the usual stars, and were much thicker and creamier. The white clam chowder sported a near-perfect New England flavor profile and composition. The coconut chicken replaced the usual coconut shrimp and was equally good. Lastly, the mocha mousse sheet cake slices were light and fluffy, with a creamy mocha flavor.
September 4, 2026
Dinner service was very inattentive; we had to ask for refills every time. Buffet breakdown began an hour before closing. Notably, many of the desserts were immediately put away at this time, including turning off the ice cream machine and allowing only the strawberry to be dispensed. We had to ask for the desserts and awkwardly serve ourselves from their private fridge and freezer, where they stored the pastries. During this, we did awkwardly spill some because there weren’t any serving utensils, all the while employees stared at us.
A day later, we called and explained the situation to the manager. They denied that any of this had happened and were adamant that the buffet closes at their posted time and that they shut down the ice cream machine 30 minutes beforehand.
The unique food today was a creamy orange sheet cake addition and a lightly dressed seafood mix (imitation crab, shrimp, and cauliflower), which replaced the coconut shrimp.
They didn’t kick us out even when closing time hit; we ended up leaving 5 minutes after.
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