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Riverbank Chinese Buffet
Unit 4a, Riverside Leisure Park, Wherry Rd, Norwich NR1 1WX, United Kingdom
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Ja
Review №1

Terrible , not been here in a couple of years and its a shadow of its former self . Dont think I spotted one thing there thats home cooked just all bought in premade frozen rubbish , like a kind of chineese Macdonalds , very poor quality food , seemed like it had been our for hours , were both big eaters and both left an entire plate didt go for seconds , deserts all cheap bought in rubbish from macro , had empty glasses and mains plates and soup plates all left on our table full whole we tried desert nothing cleared , massive waste of money dont waste your time , literally one of the worst places Ive ever eaten in , Expensive , frozen food at best .

Pe
Review №2

Great staff and great food

Da
Review №3

I dont understand the hype about this place. Its like a poor quality take away shop in buffet. Food barely have taste. Service is poor. Be sure you receive your drinks early on otherwise it wouldnt be served to you.

An
Review №4

My husband managed to take me out for lunch and loved the thought that he had treated me! However the truth of the matter is he fancied a Chinese and did not have to book such. Such a cheap skate but love him.

Ri
Review №5

Unfortunately, the quality does not match the price. The food is very simple and shallow in taste. It is reminiscent of some „bizarre Chinese Mcdonalds” where we will not find flavors.Food is not refilled on time ... so you walk between emptiness and leftovers.For so many years the same food does not any one change. Norwich needs real restaurants and flavors from all over the world.

Am
Review №6

Really nice welcome and looking forward to trying this recommended place.But, not great. The food selection was very limited and if you liked black bean sauce, that was about it.I hope it was just bad timing on my behalf and maybe I will return when things get back to normal. But first impressions, its not worth £13.99.

Ed
Review №7

I believe it is quite a good place. The food is tasty and the selection is good as this is just a chinese buffet. The only thing was the lack of the side dishes for me.

Vi
Review №8

Kitchen couldnt cope with the demand. About half of the dishes were finished and not replenished whilst we were there, which was a real shame. Wouldnt bother going again. It was OK at best.

lu
Review №9

I was quite disappointed as I love a buffet and I always loved the Chinese buffet but when I went this time the food didn’t taste as good as it used to. I did have selection of things but wasn’t as good as it used to I think. Everything else about this place I still like but will still go back hopefully that was just a one off

AS
Review №10

Was clean and tidy not alot to choose from on the buffet section and the desert area was empty / ice-cream machine was broken and only 4 deserts of which not much was left. I will go back but Ill check befor I go though and was a nice evening.

Li
Review №11

Although they do have social distancing in place there is not much done to enforce it.Upon arrival we were informed that although they had alcohol advertisements & actual bottles all over they couldnt serve any to us. Sadly they did not warn us before hand when we booked and there is no notices on display either. Was rather disappointed.Food was relatively nice.

Sa
Review №12

Lovely hosts and fabulous all you can eat food. Really enjoyed our meal - thank you

Be
Review №13

Really good sweet and sour chicken. Friendly staff. Drinks were a bit pricey but thats expected at a buffet.Especially love the COVID rules. No children allowed to get their own food and everyone needs mask and plastic gloves.

Ha
Review №14

Food was ok, for a buffet its well stingy!!! This is what was left of the dessert section (cant add image but it was the slops of what was left of a Eton mess), when I asked the manager if this was all we have to choose from, she said yes and looked at me as if I was the one being rude haha

Mi
Review №15

Great offs friendly staff, overall a good time for relatively inexpensive cost

Si
Review №16

Was proper buzzing to go here then i was in bed with a bad belly for days! no thank you - would not recommend

Ri
Review №17

Absolutely love coming here! Have been many many times, Feel as if Im getting great value for money as the quality and flavour of the food doesnt taste corporate at all

Da
Review №18

Luv this place.Food is always hot and yummy.Theyve done really well with the social distancing.Staff are friendly and polite.Cant wait for the tepanyaki to re-open too.

Ne
Review №19

Excellent food and reasonable prices. Plenty of choices and constantly being replenished. Couldnt fault anything

Su
Review №20

Excellent choice of foods. I prefer night time buffet as they do meats and prawn etc. I also enjoy afternoon buffet especially if Im in city doing shopping. Well worth the price.

Em
Review №21

Fresh food, table service and value for money.

Tr
Review №22

Food ok poor selection pay upon entry NO SERVICE I would give it a miss I found the manager blunt with little manners nobody tells you how or where to order drinks the worst buffet I have visited

ad
Review №23

Cheap and good value

Ke
Review №24

Went at lunchtime, not much choice, long waits for food to be refilled

Th
Review №25

Good food, reasonable prices and good service

Pr
Review №26

Good. ALMOST authentic. Been back to this place today and this establishment definitely & consistently affords customers diverse choice and high quality authentic Euro-Chinese cuisine at commensurate prices.

Br
Review №27

Super food reasonably priced,very very friendly staff and ownersWould recommend 👍👍

PH
Review №28

Very safety conscious, and great food as always. See you again.

La
Review №29

Good hot food, not a great selection of desserts though

Ke
Review №30

Great tasty hot food, shame because of the times that no alcohol with the self service buffet. Gloves were a faff, personally I think sanitised hands prior to entering buffet area would’ve better.

Gr
Review №31

Lunch time a bit low on choice but what was on offer was tasty

Ro
Review №32

Lovely choice of food.Our party felt at home 🇨🇳.Will be returning at a later dateNo alcohol due to covid though this wasnt an issue as our group tend not to drinkWould recommend. 5 🌟🤩

Do
Review №33

Great place delicious food perfect place to fill yourself with Chinese and desserts

Ca
Review №34

Really good food, tons of choice and a good dessert bar too

Cl
Review №35

Visited yesterday to be told our 13 year old was an adult apparently 9 year old and over are classed as adults the food wasnt that great and quite a few of the different dishes where empty when we went up

Ni
Review №36

Enjoyable and tasty value for money

An
Review №37

Food didnt seem as fresh as it used to be and less variety, maybe was due to Covid restrictions

Pe
Review №38

Not much variety, and not much flavour to the dishes. Friendly staff.

Ni
Review №39

Good food 🍛 great desserts 🍨 nice drinks 🍸

Ge
Review №40

My favourite Chinese restaurant! 🙂

Ol
Review №41

A homeless man would turn his nose up at this food, absolutely rank, little to choose from and 2 out of 4 people got food poisoning. If you are debating wether to go please dont.

Ar
Review №42

Clean and rules are simple to follow. Customer service at the reception can be better but the food is always good and tables, bathrooms and food stations are always clean when I visit.

Ch
Review №43

0 stars...... the method they use to keep everyone safe seems like a sensible solution to the current pandemic however... have someone elses food delivered to our table and a minute later having them come and remove it and take it to the correct table (we could have done anything to it). I am also very disappointed to see No allergy information or details of ingredients as you are no longer allowed to see what you are wanting to eat and when I questioned this I was just told not to pick them items which left no items to choose from in my opinion. I had no opinion but to request a refund. We stayed so that my Girlfriend and her friend could eat with her 18 month old daughter and the poor service just kept coming. Firstly the information we had to put down for them to pick our food wasnt really looked at and it seems as though they delivered to the table what they think youll like and if what you wanted was there they seemed to again just give you what they think youll like. When delivering some food to the table they then lent right across the table rather than walking around or they made a suggestion Ill leave this here the opposite side of the table to the customer but right in front of a an 18 month old. When they did decide to put the food in front of the correct person or take away empty plates they dont seem to mind again leaning across the table and now leaning in the plates of food. There seems to be no excuse for the service given here. I am so disappointed to see the lack of care and to top it off I am told by my Girlfriend the food is terrible and cold and it has just turned into an expensive plate picking lunch paying nearly £10 per person and £3 per coke...... not even a knife to make out chicken nuggets easier to eat.... in my opinion its not even worth half what we paid.

pa
Review №44

The worst buffet meal I have ever had the food was Luke warm and not a lot of veg choice my other half has been ill today meant to be travelling for 3 hours but had to book 1 more night b&b won’t be back sorry

Ka
Review №45

Good value for money, food good.

St
Review №46

Always lovely food and plenty variety

Ro
Review №47

Very good food .

ch
Review №48

Very limited choice of food

Co
Review №49

Friendly staff, nice layout and decor, slightly confusing ‘Covid one-way’ system.Food was average at best; Singapore noodles were bland, chow mien was bland, fried rice was bland...Cha Sui pork was however fantastic, as was the sweet & sour chicken.Staff were very slow to replenish depleted Bain-Marie pots, resulting in disappointing waits.Very disappointed there was no dim sum on offer.

Ca
Review №50

Nice food, great views.

An
Review №51

This has to be one of the worst places I have eaten. At the age of 57 I have eaten in all sort of places, including Russia. I can honestly say if this was the last place on earth, I would never come back here. I think the 1 star is over rating the place. Very little choice of food and the quality is quite poor. But thats my review. If you want to risk wasting some money and take the risk feel free

Be
Review №52

Good Value, Nice tasting Good Variety of Food.

th
Review №53

Really lovely staffing team; excellent array of chinese buffet to choose from; consistently refilling buffet to meet high demand; would be 5 stars if they had more vegan options for the minority (i.e. plain rice, soup, chips not fried in meat sauce) 🌿

Da
Review №54

Only half the menu available but thats understandable the food and service was fine.

Ma
Review №55

Food was disgusting I will not be returning.

Jo
Review №56

Nice buffet Chinese, will be visiting again next time Im in Norwich

V
Review №57

Ensure you make a reservation at busy times or you will be either disappointed or given a time frame in which to eat. Staff are very efficient at clearing your empty plates and bowls, usually as soon as you put your cutlery onto your empty plate, which adds to this rushed feeling. Kitchen staff are excellent at refilling empty containers so you dont have to wait long if something runs out. There is an area where you can have some meats cooked to order, though you may want to cut through the chicken if you had that to ensure it is thoroughly cooked as some of our groups chicken was on the pink side. The rest of the food is quite generic in a takeaway style with no real surprises and the seating is very open plan. So if youre hoping for something romantic find somewhere else to dine.

Fu
Review №58

Teppanyaki isnt running due to COVID-19.

ad
Review №59

Very poor worst all you can eat I have been to no duck had poor variety of food, hardly any desserts! Wouldnt go again very disappointed

Ca
Review №60

Really is an all you can eat experience! Lots of different and tasty dishes to choose from to please all ages of family members. The staff are very accommodating and will let you bring birthday cakes in if you are celebrating.. Plus there is all you can eat dessert too.

Ce
Review №61

After a long trip from Manchester, we arrived to have some food at 21.00 hours on Monday, they told us they were already closing, the timetable on their website and Google maps state a different closing time.

Review №62

Good food and nice view to the river. More importantly, feel like having meal with friends and family around. If you want a quiet spot, staffs will take you there, if you want a bit bustling one, you will be still satisfied.

Be
Review №63

Bland, very few options at lunch time, everything had kind of the same taste. Would not recommend at all. You’re better off by going to Cosmo: more Chinese (and Asian in general) food options, same price, way better quality.

ro
Review №64

Seems to have been nicely made over since I last went. They are pretty varied in the food offered and value is there if you arrive hungry! Better range of dessert that similar buffets. Seems clean, efficient and pleasant place to chat whilst you eat

Fi
Review №65

Great selection of food to choose from. The mains are all well prepared and kept warm. The only aspect I found lacking was the deserts section, otherwise a great place.

Ja
Review №66

Pretty simple. You eat all the Chinese you can. Place is clean and food is nice. Great place for an affordable all you can eat meal!

Jo
Review №67

Very poor nothing available for what you paid

An
Review №68

Just been there recently, very good food , i like that they cook the fresh chicken or fish in front of you. Desserts, ice-cream, everything you want. I recommend to everyone. Enjoy!

La
Review №69

Food was brilliant. Desserts were amazing. Customer service was very good. Definitely be going back here. Best Chinese all you can eat.

Ke
Review №70

Its a standard Chinese buffet. Staff are friendly and food is what you expect. Reasonably priced but there again its nothing special. Lunch prices are lower than evening but there is restricted choice for lunch.

Ju
Review №71

Plentiful, tasty & piping hot chinese food on a buffet system. Larger selection of dishes in the evening, which is more expensive, but still pretty good for a lunchtime selection too, but desserts tend to be more limited. Still good value, whichever you choose.

Be
Review №72

The tepanyaki here is a must, some of the nicest food in the building. The noodles and rice are always standard but nice enough. Reasonable food. Meat dishes good quality but can be dry. Duck for the pancakes is often dry, sometimes inedible. A better station to build your pancake would be good. Drinks expensive. Good service and for an all you can it its one of the better ones. If youre into quantity its perfect, if youre into quality, try the Canton instead.

Ad
Review №73

Excellent food cheap value worth a visit staff are very friendly and I go more than once a year. There lunchtime is very good but if want all food to be out then dinner service at night is best as have a chef there that will cook in front of you if say what you want as I had the pork chop and it was absolutely amazing. The dinner service is all you can eat to . Wiĺ highly recommend this amazing restaurant

ja
Review №74

Good selection of main course dishes to choose from. Meat and fish cooked to order, very nice. Dessert selection disappointing. Aimed at children rather than adults. Shut early-ish at 10 pm we had to move on to look for somewhere else for coffee.

Al
Review №75

Absolutely excellent service, possibly the best service I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Food was just as good too! Made for a lovely birthday meal.

Ja
Review №76

Had the lunchtime menu so wasnt so varied but cheap enough and still tasty

Ni
Review №77

Staff are good and there is a variety of food to eat which is all delicious! Would recommend if wanting a Chinese buffet.

Ar
Review №78

Always a great place for a family meeting. Daytime menu is half price... Less choice but all good and tasty.

JA
Review №79

All you can eat at £7.99 (lunchtimes) is excellent value for money.Good selection of food (twice as much in the evening but price is £13.99).There is also a great selection of desserts consisting of ring doughnuts and cakes as well as ice creams and fruit 👍🍜🍚🍦🍩😀

Ly
Review №80

Oops...What has gone wrong. Lunch time...limited for the vegetarian. Mostly meat/chicken dishes available. All I can have is some noodles and rice. Yummy for me hey...I love seaweed but they dont do it. There were no fish dishes at all. Pots were empty before more was brought out. My husband stood waiting for ages for his favourite to come out. Lunch times...disappointing for me. Friends dont want to meet/eat there. Shame. You used to be good.

Da
Review №81

Enjoyed our lunch , booked a table and good job as very busy. Havent been here for years but pleasantly surprised decor nice, food hot, tasty and fresh, service good, tables cleared regularly, cutlery tables and plates clean, lots of variety. Will definitely go back. Value for money.

UK
Review №82

Poor selection for vegetarians. The staff very kindly offered to make me something with vegetables in but when it was brought out, the whole thing was so oily, everything on the plate was shining. Desserts are nice, but proceed with caution if you dont eat meat.

Ed
Review №83

Good food most of the time, with only one or two times where some of the food seems to have been a bit old. The decor is quite generic, but the room is big and open. The restaurant is noisy during busy times.Overall, the prices are very attractive, especially at lunch time.Service is decent, even if sometimes the plates and glasses are removed a bit fast. Whether one sees that as efficiency or as an intrusion is a matter of personal taste, undoubtedly.Thoroughly recommended for a quick, filling lunch. The location near the station and the city centre makes it perfect for a cheap lunch before travelling or moving on to other business in the city centre. For a nice, quite, relaxed evening dinner however, there are probably better options out there.

Ku
Review №84

Wow my first one star review and never hoped this day would come. When you are charged for your meal before being seated in a quite establishment you know somethings wrong, the worst tasteless food I have ever had and an horrendous choice of non Chinese style dishes.... Never again!

Sa
Review №85

Real value for money. Lunch is cheaper, but less dishes. Drinks arent too over priced. Well cooked and great tasting food. Staff very helpful. I had been wondering (not very) aloud what teppanyaki was when randomly a few minutes later a waiter arrived with a sample plate of THE best tasting salmon and steak I had ever had the privilege of eating! Three trips later of salmon and king prawns, I had to admit defeat! Will be visiting again very soon :-D

Bi
Review №86

Lovely family meal out. Food was very enjoyable. Staff were very attentive. Great experience all round

Ph
Review №87

Good location, good quality food, but keep changing food around

ch
Review №88

Not good. For £14.99 per person. You can get a better take away. I wouldnt recommend it.

As
Review №89

If you like authentic Asian food then go elsewhere. Food is mediocre at best. Lots of dishes were quite dry. The only positives were it seemed clean and you really can eat as much as you want.

Li
Review №90

Food was cold

Li
Review №91

Went during the week hence very quiet fantastic food,very large selection and can re visit buffet as many times as youd like.I have only one minor complaint,the food wasnt overly hot once youd chosen and returned to your table,apart from this it was excellent worth the money and certainly worth visiting for a meal.

As
Review №92

Food quality was good for a Sunday afternoon. Only problem was the duck was quite dry. Very happy though!

St
Review №93

Good quality choice of food. Staff member overcharged me. When asked for receipt to check lady questioned me asif was in the wrong. Checked and overpaid for +1 adult.Food quality 5* service not great. Willing to try again.

Mi
Review №94

Buffets usually lack quality but this one is up there. Nice staff. Quick refills and even the frying chef had smiles.

Ke
Review №95

My kids love going here for celebrating things like Birthdays

Ta
Review №96

How this place has an average of more than 3 stars really beats me. The food was somehow all dry. The selection was uninspiring. The restaurant itself is in need of some TLC. I feared for my life touching the toilet door handles (the mens one was also broken). The music was a joke! Silence would have been better.

Al
Review №97

Nice food for an all you can eat

Jo
Review №98

Chinese buffet style restaurant. Eat as much as you like. Good range of food which is often topped up. Staff are helpful. Price is good.

Ol
Review №99

Absolutely awful food- spring rolls had no filling, the egg fried rice had no egg, the deserts were stale. I was hoping the ice cream machine would make up for it but it certainly didn’t. The counter tops were messy. Customer service was appalling!! I emailed about my experience and they weren’t apologetic at all, and didn’t even offer a refund. They certainly didn’t take my complaint seriously. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant or ever return back.

Mi
Review №100

Excellent value for money with super choice for all the family

Information
100 Photos
100 Comments
3.7 Rating
  • Address:Unit 4a, Riverside Leisure Park, Wherry Rd, Norwich NR1 1WX, United Kingdom
  • Site:http://www.riverbanknorwich.co.uk/
  • Phone:+44 1603 612323
Categories
  • Buffet restaurant
  • Chinese restaurant
Working hours
  • Monday:12–3PM
  • Tuesday:12–3PM
  • Wednesday:12–3PM
  • Thursday:12–3PM
  • Friday:12–3PM
  • Saturday:12–3PM
  • Sunday:12–9PM
Service options
  • Delivery:No
  • Takeout:No
Health & safety
  • Mask required:Yes
  • Staff required to disinfect surfaces between visits:Yes
Accessibility
  • Wheelchair accessible entrance:Yes
  • Wheelchair accessible seating:Yes
Offerings
  • All you can eat:Yes
  • Late-night food:Yes
  • Vegetarian options:Yes
Dining options
  • Dessert:Yes
Amenities
  • Good for kids:Yes
Atmosphere
  • Casual:Yes
Crowd
  • Groups:Yes
Payments
  • NFC mobile payments:Yes
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