New Harvest Buffet

We spent half the afternoon trying to find a good Chinese buffet in Knoxville. We lived here from 2009 – 2011 the first go-​around and never really looked that hard but never found one either. We have been back here for a little over a year and the same has been true. Yet, to day we were determined to find out if the Knoxville area had a decent Chinese/​Asian buffet. The ones that are usually recommended have been very disappointing (Hibachi and the one on Merchants, for instance), having come from a part of the state with much better options (West Tennessee). We were in Oak Ridge looking at another type of restaurant because we had pretty much given up on Chinese after seeking recommendations online, and then we stumbled across this place. Not having Internet access, we couldn’t look up the reviews (because if we had, we probably would have skipped by). We gave it a shot, and we were VERY PLEASED! The service was EXCELLENT, and the food was GOOD QUALITY with nice flavor and plenty of options. There aren’t tons of different buffets, but there are two long buffets with two sides. So, it’s much more than meets the eye. The cream puffs were very good! There were some flying insects over by the ice cream machine, and when I pointed that out to a server, she got right on it. They weren’t on the ice cream or anything, but just around the bowls. They were not ANYWHERE else, nowhere near the food. The atmosphere was quiet and pleasant. We’ll definitely go back. Oh, and it’s reasonably priced, about $ 9 per person plus drink. They only charged our child $ 3.39 (not counting drink).

The sushi had a «fishy» taste — that alone is deal killer.
The rest of the items on the buffet was a hit or mix. There wasn’t any consistency frog legs with Chinese batter — terrible. Some sweet shrimp (not sure the name) but it was good.
Honestly this is a gamble

Food just did not have flavor. Server never came back and only had 5 tables in the whole place. More of a selection would be nice. Sushi was good.

I absolutely love Chinese food. We went here thinking it was the restaurant my brother had suggested… We were wrong, and it was awful. First, the AC over the buffet line was out, so it was stifling. The sushi, all cooked, was miserably prepared and hard from sitting too long. The Mongolian Grille items were all discolored from oxidation caused by prolonged exposure. I tried the kimchi and the seaweed salad, the kimchi, was wrong, just tasted rotten, yes, I know it is fermented cabbage and spices, still tasted awful. The seaweed salad was extremely sour and quite fishy tasting, it was actually revolting to the palate. Several of the other items I tried, v even after these terrible flavors, primarily because I hate telling my mother she is right, She quit eating after the first bite, were just really off in taste and poorly prepared. At cashing out my mother expressed her distaste for the meal, and in true form, they charged us just saying, «I’m sorry.». Not that I mind paying, but, I’m sorry. I have to spend the rest of the day listening to my mother and how I took her to that awful place. Do yourself a favor, don’t take your mom to eat here.

Good food. Need more selection for filling items. Great sushi bar, but we also don’t enjoy deserts as much as chicken and beef.

Lunch price was upped after the remodel. Decent chance to get some noodles off the grill, which was the only thing I noticed but had only been there once before and once after.

After being closed for months, my first return visit was disappointing. Although the remodeling is nice, and a Hibachi Grille has been added, not much else has improved. Most dishes were only warm at best, and this was at 6pm on a Saturday. Dishes were flavorful and prepared well, but they weren’t kept at the correct temperature. I notified the hostess and she turned up the steam table, and when I left the food temperatures were better but still not hot, just warmer. Service was friendly and pleasant, but the food could have been better. Definitely not going to be much competition for the Super China Buffet, which is still the best one in town. Also New Harvest Buffet has a much smaller selection of dishes than most other Chinese Buffets in Oak Ridge and Knoxville. I was really hoping this reopening would be an occasion to celebrate. Sorry, it sure wasn’t for me.

Decent food in huge quantities. Service (drink sevice) is prompt and unobtrusive. As a buffet there is a decent selection and it includes sushi and a Mongolian style grill. The place is large enough that there is rarely any waiting even when busy.

In fact, most of the food are not fresh, they never wash the vegetables nor the fruits, and they often reuse the food that was left the former day. including the salad and fruit, to the pork, chicken meat and beef, they collect the meat and make new food, for example the fried rolls, be careful of the fried things, they are really disgusting if you see how they make them, the salmon roll looks good. but you dont know the salmon is the boiled salmon that was left the last night, they reuse it to make sushi, how did I know, cause I used to work there, I never eat them!

I agree with Janelle P. — This is a really good Chinese buffet. The selection is good and most of the food is pretty good. I might give it four stars if the food was just a little bit better. It is clean and the most of the staff speak some English. Better than most — but not the best.