Golden Nugget Chinese Buffet

Been to a lot of buffets. This one is average. The food is decent. The place is dirty and nasty.

I cant lie. For the price and size of the place. It has better food than these larger buffets. Bottom line. My stomach had no issues all day. Like other buffets might do to you.

After driving through here for many years i finally caved in. The only reason i tried this place was because of curiosity. Being from L. A I crave the ghetto chinese places, and thought this was it. I was skeptical and nervous to go in. Seeing no cars and only two people but still made it in and paid. ONE STAR TAKEN OUT — $ 9 and change for food and drink at 3:30 pm. I thought this was on the higher price considering the place and food choices… The food was good (not amazing) and seemed freshed. Seems like they are constantly cooking (people probably come for take out). You can’t expect much from service here and that cane to light. Dead serious faces no smiles and i knew they were talking about me because they all saw me probably thinking i was undercovered Health Inspection as i had just gotten off work and still dressed up. Heres the reason i brought it down to 2 Star review. The place was filthy. Dirty floors and tables. Walls are dirty. The place needs a serious cleaning!!! The whole time eating i felt uncomfortable worried i would see a cockroach. Dont be alarmed none ever came out. Clean the place and seriously this will be a 4 star Unilocal restaurant. I don’t give it 1 star because i did like the food. But sadly i will never come again. As i write this i hope i dont get sick. P. S — eat at your own risk inside. But if u really want to try it get it to go.

This is by far the one and only best Chinese restaurant in Arizona I have yet to find anyone even close then golden nugget everything they serve there taste so good there building ain’t much to look at but dont let that fool you i dont know what I would do if they ever closed down I have been going here for over 20 years now.

It really helps to come here when they’re busy and the food is turning over quickly.
Also the owner is a jerk. One time over a year ago, I dined in and ordered a drink. The soda fountain is behind the counter so they have to bring it to you. I had already almost finished my second plate of food and still didn’t get my drink. When I reminded them about it, the woman gave me attitude so I asked her for a refund for it. Which she gave me begrudgingly. I don’t think that was unfair considering I was just about done eating and they still hadn’t given me the drink I paid for.
To this day, they are most unfriendly whenever I come in. And I know it’s because of that day I asked for a refund on a drink. But I do like their staple items, so I still go here occasionally.

Spurred on by my friend Ryan C.‘s review, I decided to give this buffet a try today. I didn’t expect much, especially since I came in at 2 PM. My first glance of the inside of the place made me immediately wonder whether I should immediately leave and eat somewhere else — after all, there’s a Los Reyes de la Torta down the street — or take a chance and stay; I decided to do the latter. As you can see from the pics I posted, it’s definitely not a fancy place. In fact, it’s quite the opposite of a glitzy and spacious super buffet: small, cramped dining area, limited menu with some dishes that did not look very appealing, and only one soup (egg drop, natch). But whereas some super buffets have a large array of attractive-​looking but often bland menu items, the food items in this place, in spite of their somewhat unappealing appearance, are fresh and good-​tasting! What a surprise! My friend Ryan was right. In all, I had a really satisfying meal here and learned that sometimes you really can’t judge a place (or its food) by appearances alone.

Goldent Nugget has a name that mashed together the names of two of the raunchiest pornographic magazines in mass publication, so I really expected very little from them.
It was a surprising visit, though, with fresh food and a super low cost.
It is sad to see the other review judging this place against the other «super buffets» nearby. It’s truly an apples to orange popsicles comparison.
If you want to go to the giant place with crab legs and junk for $ 12.99, go ahead.
If you want the kind of buffet you got in 1981, this is the place to get it, for a 1981 style price, too.
Does this menu sound familiar?
fried chicken, sweet&sour pork, egg foo young, pork fried rice, egg rolls, beef&broccoli, sweet&sour chicken, jello, pineapple, hot tea, get the idea?
The thing is, that even early sunday afternoon, this little old school hold-​out was hopping with business when the other two giant buffets nearby were full of screaming kids and gluttons piling crab legs six inches high on their plates as if they don’t know they’re allowed to go back for more.
Golden Nugget staying so busy means a lot. There are many regular customers coming back. The food rotates quickly and stays fresh.
Sure, the prompt, no-​frills service from the host/​cashier/​server/​owner/​? guy borders on downright surly. However you do not bother setting foot in a place that looks like this if you need 5 star service.
The food was REALLY GOOD. There was a more authentic seeming dish made with chicken and spinach in a garlic sauce that was more super than anything in the super buffets multiple steam tables of repetitive dishes.
I just wish I would have gotten the number of the doctor that advertises making house calls, posted on the wall here at Golden Nugget. Not really a good sign to see this sign… but hey, I have a few bucks I saved since I didn’t go to the super buffet.
The people getting take out buffet reallly got their moeny’s worth, too, since the lady dishing out the food REALLY piles in as much as she can fit.
[cash only]