Best Rhode Island Buffets: Ranked and Reviewed

Review

Coming in at the top is Warwick’s Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet.

Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet in Warwick offers one of the most complete buffets in Rhode Island and is better than its East Providence location in every aspect. This location has a seafood lean with most of the typical Chinese American buffet experience. The prices are low, the service is usually attentive, and the selection is diverse with many standouts.

Standouts: around a dozen sushi rolls, a large salad bar, a complete hibachi, and a dessert selection of full-sized cakes (chocolate, strawberry, flan, mousse, and cheesecake), plus unique offerings such as coconut and black forest cake squares, banana pudding, and strawberry cream cups. Lastly, they have many of the hot foods typical of a Chinese American buffet, with a seafood-leaning focus. This includes weekend crab, baby octopus, and additional shrimp dishes.

Unfortunately, the experience is held back by buffet cleanup and food consolidation well before closing, as well as employees often asking customers to leave up to 30 minutes before the posted closing time, so arrive early! However, the service is attentive before breakdown, and the atmosphere is good aside from an occasional loud family.

You can visit my full review here.

Review

Royal Buffet offers a full Chinese American buffet experience at low prices. It has everything, though the service, especially before closing, can be questionable and inattentive.

Notably, it’s similar to Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet (Warwick), with a few differences: a slightly smaller, lower-quality sushi selection and no baby octopus or crab; similarly sized and quality dessert selection, but with different items, including brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and standard soft-serve with cones. They’re a bit bigger than Hibachi Grill’s Rumford location.

This buffet has a complete hibachi station, a salad bar, and a diverse selection of desserts. It has all the staples of a typical Chinese American buffet and rotates a few dishes each week, offering unique options not found elsewhere. It’s regularly replenished, kept hot, and well-seasoned; however, the quality, especially of the hot foods and sushi, can occasionally feel stale.

Get there 2-3 hours before they close. A full hour to an hour and a half before their posted closing time, they begin breaking down stations and cleaning nearby tables loudly and aggressively. Notably, their desserts appear to be the first shelved. Not only that, if you managed to stick around 30 minutes before their doors apparently shut, you may be asked to leave. And don’t forget a good tip, because, according to many online reviews, they will hound you for it!

Needless to say, you will start to feel rushed if you arrive even just a little “late,” which dampens the experience and atmosphere.

Royal Buffet is still one of the best buffets to visit. The price and offerings are hard to beat. If you can just deal with the subpar service and the risk of being kicked out early, Royal Buffet is top-notch.

You can visit my full review here.

Review

Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet’s East Providence location is similar to its Warwick location and Royal Buffet, but a little smaller in the salad and hot food areas, with inattentive service at the tables and in the buffet area. It’s different enough compared to the Warwick location to be called a different buffet altogether.

This is a traditional Chinese-American buffet. It has a wonderful selection of sushi rolls and desserts, though it can feel limiting at times in the hot food and salad areas. If I had to compare this to others on the list, it’s slightly smaller than its Warwick location and Royal Buffet and much larger than Hong Kong Buffet.

Notably, the overall dessert selection is excellent, with tubbed hard-serve ice cream and a wide selection of traditional and sometimes unique buffet fare. The fresh sushi roll offerings are also expansive (surpassing Royal Buffet and rivaling its Warwick location) and include a variety of sauces. Hot foods are of good quality and diverse enough. Lastly, the salad bar was just okay, missing a few standard toppings and leafy greens.

Expect to ask for refills both at your table and in the buffet area. Staff seem too relaxed at times, not refilling items as needed, but also letting customers stay until and after closing. Sometimes, the food is still left out after their closing time, though a loud breakdown and cleanup begin 30-45 minutes beforehand. Lastly, the buffet is very dark and, coupled with the occasional loud family (primarily due to its location), it can get stressful.

You can visit my full review here.

Review

Seafood! Fish! Sushi! Crab! And… lobster?! How is this not first place?!

Ichiraku is a seafood buffet with undertones of Chinese American buffet influence. It has a few standard buffet foods, but it gravitates towards the many other offerings. Ichiraku is unique—it’s in its own category of buffet, a seafood-based one. Notably, they’re smaller than Royal and Warwick’s Hibachi Grill; selection is reduced in the Chinese American food, salads, and hibachi offerings.

It’s pricier than other standard buffets, likely for good reason. Their seafood is mostly above-average. The lobster—yes, lobster—is buttery and chunky. The sushi station has a fair 8-10 different rolls at slightly above-average buffet quality; the same goes for their variety of fish, crab, squid, and other seafood dishes.

They also offer tableside tea service, a fridge full of Asian-inspired drinks, and a freezer stocked with premium, unique ice creams that mimic an ice cream truck. However, some dessert buffet staples are missing.

Notably—a personal favorite: a station of different steamed dim-sum buns in bamboo baskets!

The welcoming atmosphere and exceptionally friendly staff are a plus. The restaurant is mostly quiet and well-lit, and the plates are colorfully Ichiraku-themed. However, the staff isn’t always attentive. During a visit, we had to ask for refills and for some buffet areas to be restocked several times.

The trade-offs? It’s pricey, and some of the offerings at their buffet stations are lacking. The salad bar? A few pieces of spinach and basic sides. Similarly, their hibachi area is severely limited. Some typical non-seafood buffet hot foods are also absent. The dessert selection is missing some staples like puddings, nuts, and fruit, and the hard-serve ice cream comes in bland mini cups.

Lastly, the service isn’t very attentive; however, unlike other buffets, we were never asked to leave until right at closing. Buffet stations began to close 30 minutes before the posted time. Random music selections, from loud pop to Asian classics, are played.

If you want seafood, unique desserts, and drinks, or enjoy dim sum buns, give Ichiraku a try. At its price, it’s roughly reasonable. However, if you’re looking for something more traditional Chinese American-inspired, more expensive, or cheaper, I’d go elsewhere.

You can visit my full review here.

Review

Imagine your typical Chinese American buffet. Now, cut it down several times, then make everything by hand—this is the basis of Hong Kong Buffet. Hong Kong Buffet is a very small Chinese-American buffet with a homemade feel. This all comes with its own positives and negatives.

The pros? The food feels and tastes fresh. For example, their General Tsos: instead of being extra deep-fried and saucy, feature fresher-tasting, leaner chicken and a lighter sauce. This smaller selection also comes with the caveat that much of their food doesn’t have the super-punchy, well-seasoned, fatty taste you often find at other buffets. Essentially, it’s what you’re up for—food with a homemade vibe, or do you not care and want all the flavor of a more traditional buffet?

Importantly, their selection is severely limited across all stations. In fact, it’s perhaps the smallest buffet in the state. The salad bar is a joke, with only a few bits of spinach and fewer than a handful of toppings. Similarly, the dessert station is minuscule. The hibachi? Doesn’t even exist. However, on weekends, there’s a small, dull-looking, and flavorless prime rib station for an additional price. At the very least, their sushi bar, while a little small, has a slightly higher-quality feel.

The service is mixed. They let people stay after closing, but they aren’t always attentive. Expect to request refills and ask for your table to be cleared at least a few times. Another pro, however, is that the overall atmosphere is exceptionally quiet and clean, nicely dim, and feels upscale.

Hong Kong Buffet is a mixed bag. If you want an upscale, more intimate atmosphere with limited tableside attention, and you’re willing to eat homemade but less flavorful food from an exceptionally limited selection, this is a place to visit. Overall, it’s not a bad buffet. I would just suggest that if you want a more traditional Chinese-American buffet or something with more variety, reconsider.

You can visit my full review here.