The New York Buffet That Was Just Named One Of The Best All You Can Eat Spots In The State

Do not fill your first plate. That is the rule here, and breaking it gets easier than you think.

Four floors above the street, the Manhattan skyline is already competing for attention before dinner starts. Then you realize how much food is still waiting beyond the first station.

New York does not make restraint easy here.

The smarter move is to wander first. See what is coming out hot, notice what everyone else keeps returning for, and save room for the things you did not expect to want.

Seafood may change your plan halfway through.

Dessert definitely will. A chocolate fountain waits near the finish, which feels almost unfair after everything else. The real trick here is making you curious enough to keep changing your mind.

A Fourth Floor Feast With A Skyline View

Most buffets settle for fluorescent lights and a sneeze guard. Not this one.

The dining room sits four floors above the street in College Point, Queens, with wide windows that let daylight spill across the tables.

On a clear afternoon you can spot the Manhattan skyline from a window seat. That view alone separates the place from every strip mall buffet you have visited.

The room itself is generous. Large tables handle big families without anyone bumping elbows, and the layout gives you room to walk between stations without a traffic jam.

Servers move through quickly, clearing plates and refilling drinks even when the room fills up. That kind of attention is rare in an all you can eat setting.

People often describe it as one of the largest buffets in the city, and the scale shows the moment you step off the elevator. Stations stretch across the floor in clear sections, each one with its own focus.

The modern feel matters too. Clean surfaces, bright lighting, and organized lines make the whole meal feel calmer than you expect from a room serving hundreds of hungry guests at once.

Meet The Buffet In College Point

Now for the name. The restaurant is called The Buffet, and you will find it at 20-07 127th St, 4th Floor, College Point, NY 11356, inside a building that also houses a hotel.

Signage is modest, so first timers sometimes circle the block before spotting the entrance. Once you find the elevator, the rest is easy.

Years into its run, it still pulls crowds from across Queens, Brooklyn, and beyond.

Getting there takes a little planning. Coming from Manhattan usually means a train to Flushing Main Street and then a bus, though drivers have an easier time, since the hotel lot downstairs validates two hours free.

Street parking a block away is often available too, which softens the trip for anyone bringing a carload of relatives.

The neighborhood itself is quiet and residential, which makes the buzz inside feel like a happy surprise. You walk in from a calm block and land in a room humming with conversation.

For a place this far from the subway, the steady crowd says plenty about what waits upstairs.

Peking Duck Carved Right In Front Of You

Ask regulars what keeps them coming back and Peking duck tops the list. The duck gets hand carved at a station, skin burnished and crackling, meat still warm from the oven.

Watching a chef work the knife is half the fun. The line moves, the plates fill, and the smell alone earns a second trip through.

Duck at a buffet usually means something sad and dried out. Here it holds its texture, with skin that still gives that satisfying snap when you bite down.

Braised pork belly often sits nearby, rich and yielding, another dish that draws repeat visits. Between the two, the carving area stays busy through most of service.

Portions at the station are measured out, which keeps the supply steady for everyone waiting behind you. A little patience pays off.

Pace yourself here. The duck is tempting enough to fill a plate three times over, and there are seven more sections waiting.

Regulars tend to head straight for the duck on their first lap, which tells you exactly where to start.

Sushi, Sashimi And The Raw Bar Run

Seafood fans tend to camp near the cold section, and honestly, who could blame them. A Japanese sushi bar anchors one side of the room, turning out rolls and sashimi throughout service.

Sashimi variety is the real draw. Thin slices arrive chilled and clean tasting, with several kinds available at once.

Beyond the sushi, a raw bar holds oysters and clams resting on ice. Both show up frequently in guest conversations, which is a good sign for anyone who judges a buffet by its shellfish.

Crab legs appear too, along with whole stone crabs during certain services. Cracking shells at a buffet table feels indulgent in the best way.

Soy poached fish rounds things out for people who prefer their seafood cooked through and gently seasoned.

Timing helps. Arriving early in a service window means fuller trays and shorter lines at the cold stations.

Bring an appetite and a strategy. Load small amounts across several visits rather than building one towering plate.

On busy nights trays can empty faster than they refill, so grab what you want when you see it.

The Live Teppanyaki Grill Show

Sizzle has a way of pulling people across a room. The live teppanyaki grill sits in view, where a cook works ribeye steak, shrimp, and salmon over a hot flat top.

You point at what you want and watch it cook. Few things beat food handed to you straight off the grill.

Hibachi choices give the meal a made to order feel that most buffets never attempt. The steak comes off with char on the edges, the shrimp curl up fast, and salmon holds together nicely.

Lines form here during peak hours, especially weekend dinner. A short wait is normal and usually moves faster than it looks.

Wok tossed Dungeness crab also lands in the rotation, a dish that feels more like a restaurant entree than buffet fare.

Go when the room first opens if you want the grill mostly to yourself. Late seatings work too, since crowds thin out toward closing.

The grill gives the meal a rhythm. Eat, wander, order something fresh, sit back down.

It keeps dinner from turning into a single heavy plate.

Dim Sum Worth Circling Back For

Small plates carry big weight in Chinese cooking, and the dim sum section proves it. Shrimp dumplings show up with translucent wrappers and a clean snap of filling inside.

Beef short ribs with black bean sauce bring a deeper, saltier note. Sticky rice with chicken sits heavy and comforting, wrapped and steamed.

What makes the dim sum here notable is that it lives alongside sushi, hibachi, and a raw bar. Most places pick one lane. This kitchen runs several at once.

Regional Chinese specialties anchor the hot side of the room, which is why guests often mention that the food leans authentic rather than Americanized.

If you arrive expecting lo mein and crab rangoon, adjust your expectations upward. The cooking here follows a different playbook.

Steamed fish, fried rice, and a rotating set of meat dishes fill out the hot stations, giving plenty of room to explore.

Take two dumplings at a time. That way you taste more without stranding food on your plate, and the steamers stay fresh for the next round.

Dessert Station With A Chocolate Fountain

Sweet endings get real attention here. A chocolate fountain flows at the dessert station, with marshmallows and mini churros nearby for dunking.

Crepes are made fresh while you wait, folded warm and handed over. That single detail elevates the whole dessert run.

Soft serve comes in green tea and vanilla, and the matcha version has a loyal following. Cakes, pastries, and fresh fruit fill out the rest of the display.

Cotton candy also makes an appearance, which delights kids and quietly delights plenty of adults too.

Sweet soups add a traditional touch for anyone who grew up with them, a nice counterweight to all the chocolate.

Save room. Easier said than done after duck and crab legs, but the dessert area rewards restraint earlier in the meal.

Best approach is a small sampler plate. A little cake, a few fruit slices, one crepe, then finish with soft serve while it is still cold.

Kids especially love this corner, and it turns the last twenty minutes of dinner into the highlight of the night.

Timing Your Visit Like A Regular

Smart planning turns a good meal into a great one. Lunch runs from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM every day of the week.

Dinner starts at 5:30 PM. Sunday through Thursday it closes at 10:00 PM, while Friday and Saturday stretch to 10:30 PM.

Last seating happens 45 minutes before closing, so do not roll in at the final bell and expect a table.

Weekends fill up fast. A Saturday lunch around 12:30 PM can mean a wait, sometimes stretching past half an hour during peak hours.

Weekdays offer breathing room. A Monday evening feels almost private compared to the weekend rush.

Reservations are accepted only for parties of ten or more, and everyone in the group must be present before the table is given.

Special holiday pricing applies on certain days. The restaurant stays open all day on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year’s Day, and Christmas with a special menu.

Arrive right at opening for the shortest lines and the fullest trays. Early birds eat very well here.

Why Queens Keeps Sending People Upstairs

Reputation travels by word of mouth in New York, and this one has traveled far. More than 2,600 people have rated the place, which is a mountain of opinions for any restaurant.

Families book big tables for birthdays. Groups of friends make the trip out from Flushing and further.

Part of the appeal is range. Salad bar, soup, carving station, seafood, Chinese hot dishes, raw bar, fruit, and desserts each get their own zone.

There is even a section with kid friendly items like chicken nuggets and fries, which keeps picky eaters happy while the adults explore.

Vegetarian dishes appear on the hot line too, so plant eaters are not stuck grazing the salad bar all night.

Value depends on your appetite and your curiosity. Eaters who wander and sample widely tend to leave grinning.

What earns the spot its reputation is scale paired with ambition. A room this large could coast on quantity alone, yet the kitchen still carves duck by hand and folds crepes to order.

That effort is the reason people keep making the drive.