HomeTown Buffet

I gave Hometown Buffet a one-​star rating and I’m about to explain why. First of all, I’ve been coming here a lot and at first no problems until recently. The food isn’t all that great and when I was here last the chicken tenders were hard as a rock. A lot of their foods seemed to be over cooked or frozen. Yuck! But that’s not really my complaint. The last time I was here, I got up to use the restroom. I have bladder issues so sometimes it takes me longer than normal to use the restroom. So I come back from the restroom to the table I was at. They let somebody else sit there at my table. Not only that is they threw my receipt, my plate of food and my drink away! HOW RUDE! See but this isn’t the first time they threw my receipt away. This was probably about the 10^th time! So that’s not it. They make me some b.s. handwritten receipt and then when I went to talk to the manager about what happened, she gave me some cash out of the register and told me not to ever come back in there again! Really?! Don’t come back in there for them throwing all my shit away!!! Well I was starting to get sick and tired of them throwing my stuff away. The staff here is very unprofessional and RUDE! Don’t come here unless you want nasty food and nasty service.

My husband & I enjoy food we don’t like to judge by the looks but sadly it’s not fresh, tasty, & it’s not worth it$$$. Even though this isn’t in the same category of food at Souplantation its better & worth your money!

Went there for lunch. Food was bland and the selection was very very limited. Don’t expect to eat any roast beef, ham or ribs. Your lucky to get chicken and some fish (probably Tilapia). I thought Hometown was trying to make a comeback, and was going to make things right but boy was I wrong. We won’t be returning anymore.

The price and location was right for me, not to crowded on saturday morning at 9:30 am I found a seat, The restroom was clean when I went to wash my hand before eating, the food was hot and there was plenty, I had Eggs, sausages, grits w/​melted butter, hash browns, ham, french toast and blueberry pancakes, I ate my vitamin and was good all day till dinner. the line for eggs to your desire was always long so I could not get sunnyside up, scrambled soft or eggs benedict like I went there for. hella good for crumb snatchers they were all over lol I like kids I would take them here to eat

I can say this is the first time I ever visit a good hometown buffet in the whole San Diego and have really good and fresh food. They served a lot of different variety of food and was got great experience from the manager Joseph I will definitely give credit to him because he was checking all tables making sure everyone was having a great dinner. Definitely recommend this location to everyone for a variety of good food.

Food is ehh ok. Service is not good. The meat carver is a nasty perv!!! He was making sexual comments to my little 12 yr old sister who was dressed decently. Saying things like «ayyyy mamasita» constantly staring and boobs and butts very inappropriate behavior!!! Bathrooms are DIRTY!!! Desserts are gross. Mac n cheese is good.

Honestly, you get what you pay for in terms of food quality. A meal here costs the same as a combo from McDonald’s, but there are a few shining eats to choose from. My review is specific to this location. What’s mostly wrong with this location is things the management can fix, and not the food. I used to come here all the time when I was a kid and the quality has gone down tremendously.
Hardly any of the name plates matched the food placed below it. For the most part it’s easy to see what type of food is out and I’m not picky by any means, but I can see there being an issue for someone who might have certain diet restrictions. Corn chowder being listed as clam chowder, not labeling chicken or other meats. People with seafood allergies or vegetarians may have something to say for all the misnamed food on the line. This could only be an issue for lunch as I’ve come for breakfast and everything was labeled correctly for the most part.
Another pet peeve is how the staff at this location automatically assume you speak Spanish and greets you as such. My family is not Hispanic but we are constantly addressed in Spanish for most of our visits. Even the waitress would keep speaking Spanish to us even when we made it quite obvious we don’t speak it. I don’t mind it too much but that’s just a case of not paying attention to your customer’s needs, regardless if the majority of your clientele is Spanish-​speaking. It’s inconsiderate to us, to say the least. The wait staff also takes a little too long to clear your plates. I understand being understaffed but when I don’t see you, I don’t know what else you’re doing.
Regardless, the price is right and the bevy of coupons we receive bring us back. I definitely only try to come here during the breakfast, as it is pretty decent with lots of choices, but lunch and dinner are pretty sad. Breakfast is the only meal worth paying for at this Hometown Buffet location.

Waiting in line a very rude customer gave Ruben the cashier a hard time. Ruben asked the older customer for ID to prove it was his birthday and the older customer had a fit and walked out with his red faced wife in tow.
Ruben the cashier held up well.
The steak was not hot, mashed potatoes and gravy we’re great, cheese cake was worth paying the price of admission. Had 3 slices.
Chichen was ok.
The waitress was great Sonia.
Thanks

This place is just nasty.
The food is either overly seasoned or under seasoned.
Everything looks oily greasy. just gross. I would never come back.
Do not waste your money here.

Like a lot of these other reviews… hometown buffet is just… is. its a buffet place that dosent really concentrate much on flavor. I do love the Mac & cheese, their dinner rolls, the salad bar is great!! and of course can’t forget the desert section. Hometown focuses a lot on their eldery customers so I think maybe that’s why a lot of the food tastes bland and flavorless. The staff is okay. Reasonable but nothing to wow over. I do like when they give samples tho. The strawberry jello with coconut flakes and I think it’s with cool whip is so good!!! and the plus is that they have coke… love coke!!! Ohhh and the meats that they cut for you are pretty good I always get the roast beef. But my kids love hometown and I like it from. time to time so I will keep on returning

In total, ive been here probably 7 times in the last 5 years. Not my favorite place to go, but it was alright. Id give it a 3stars. I went last week and spent around $ 30 for just me and my fiancée. That was outrageous! I shook it off and went to get my food. The food was either bland, cold, over cooked or undercooked. The ketchup is in a bucket where u have to scoop it out with a spoon. Wtf??? The mashed potatoes were horrible, the gravy was cold. The pizza was bland, the stale was room temp at best. The only thing that was the same was the ice cream. Never coming here again

The food is bland. The spaghetti had no flavor to it, literally eying empty carbs. The only good thing I had here was their jello. And the horchata water. So come on down if you are ready to have a bland and flavorless meal!

I went with my family to eat dinner it was a horrible… We had no server 60% of the tables weren’t bus including ours. every time I got to get food they didn’t have food out there in the buffet area. I had to go sit and wait for the food to come out. Top 15mins… the buffet sucks now also the restaurant its self does…

Went here for breakfast this morning. Food was okay. They had the typical breakfast stuff like eggs, sausage, waffles, doughnuts, etc. This location seemed bigger than the one on Dennery Rd. The lady who cleared our table was nice. She did a good job of taking our dishes away.

Good food. Nice and clean. Nice ladies working. Good price and loads of variety. Don’t expect top notch food for ten bucks. You get a Lot of value, though. THEY ALSO HAVE HEALTHY CHOICES!!! Chula Vista is a dump filled with strip malls of fast food you see in every other townbwith nothing to eat but greasy food. At least HB has healthy options!

I hadn’t been here in years. Came here for dinner with my visiting grandparents who loved it years back before the remodel. They offer a discount for Seniors which was nice. Sucks that drinks are sold separately. They should really just charge a flat fee to include drinks. I don’t even know how they monitor that.
As far as customer service goes, the cashier was very friendly and hospitable (1 star for that). Pretty much after that, we had no interaction with staff. We placed our empty plates on a nearby vacant table because no one came to pick them up like they used to back in the day. I can’t believe there is a place for a tip on the receipt. For what?! We gave one as usual, but it was certainly not earned.
Beware of the silverware. My spoon had hardened food on it and I nearly gagged. Yuck! Bathrooms are decent which surprised me.
I remember Hometown Buffet being one of my favorite family restaurants as a kid, but as an adult… eek, not so much. If you’re already not crazy about buffets, this place will sadly remind you of why.
Nonetheless, it’s kid friendly and reasonable price-​wise for a large group and you can expect no surprises on the bill. I enjoyed my company and I left full, but I don’t plan on returning.

Way better food from about two years ago. Some of the food was a bit salty for my liking but overall very tasty. Only thing I can’t stand is my gente letting their kids run around yelling across the dinning area. But it is Chula Vista sooooooo… I definitely appreciated the new slushy machine for my son. He loved it! Dessert was a «ok». I had the one of my favorites, apple crisp with vanilla ice and got cup of joe. I was very pleased. Two years I ate here and was disgusted! But then again I was around 7 months pregnant and probably not the best judge.
Id come again for sure.

Came here three years ago, and came back because of a mail-​in coupon. Never liked it 3 years ago, and didn’t enjoy my recent visit. Hey, dude on the commercial who guaranteed «we’ll make it better» — You need to close this place down. This place needs a lot of help.
Food doesn’t look appetizing whatsoever. I couldn’t stomach majority of the food. Their «pies» tasted rancid and repelling. Please don’t ever use the word «fresh» to advertise. Chicken wings had an awkward rubbery and tough texture, and bland to the core. Bright yellow nacho cheese didn’t taste anything like cheese. Rice wasn’t cooked properly, some were dried while other rice dishes had an epic failed attempt for «dirty rice». I could go on and on.
I could see why this place gets so deserted during lunch hours. It’s sad that corporate isn’t fixing these problems. It’s not the food, but the furniture need to be updated and carpet needs serious cleaning. The carpet has an unenlightened scent of black mold and there’s water damage on the ceilings.

Since a star score needs to be given to actually review, I am giving this establishment an undeserving one star. This place is a negative 10!
Customer service: poor to non-​existent; the middle-​aged, female manager who was there that one dinner we came lacked any kind of customer service skills, and any kind of managerial skills. She was on her personal cell phone while customers were walking in; water pooled on the ground, and this manager literally just passed by it like it was nothing; there were no signs to warn people either. Customers bring in income for employees, and a manager that acts like that — unfriendly, cold, no smile, as if customers are obligated to kiss up to her since she’s a manager and all — seriously?! Not something I want to keep coming back to especially when I pay for food that they will receive income from.
Food: WOW, this place by far takes the cake for the WORST food ever! Stale bread, soup empty and dirty with left over dried up in the chutes; salad bar selections were old, stale, and just disgusting; chicken, steamed vegetables — stale, old, and just plain horrendous!
Unless this place actually replaces that manager, and makes some serious changes on the quality of food they serve — we will never return to this place again!
I’d rather eat crackers and ketchup at home than return to this place.
DISGUSTING!

What possessed me to go here? No idea. I walk in and immediately it is overcrowded, kids literally running around and screaming with food all over their faces. We find our table, I make my way to the buffet line, only to see there are no plates… anywhere. A line begins to form waiting for plates. I wander to the salad bar area and grab a salad plate. Most of the food is gone, almost gone, or so hard around the edges I can’t scrape it off the pan.
I set my plate down at the table and head over to the drink area. No cups. Anywhere. A line begins to form waiting for a cup, I notice a trend with this restaurant. I head back to the table and begin to eat. Popcorn shrimp, salty. Mashed potatoes, salty. General Tsao’s Chicken, salty and sweet. This place was a salt lick on my plate.
We head out to the car. On my way, a guy nearly runs me over in the parking lot. Very reminiscent of Tijuana. I haven’t been here in at LEAST 10 years, now I remember why. The remodel doesn’t mean better experience.