Mandarin Restaurant

I have to agree with Ashley G. I also don’t expect dark meat in chicken balls! There are much better places in Orleans (take-​out)

Pretty cool place! We went on Valentine’s Day for 12:00, seated right away. The hostesses were enthusiastic and told us all about the restaurant, new items, and Chinese New Year.
Upon sitting we were given a hot towel– a nice touch :)
The servers were attentive, and busy! It’s a busy place, they work hard!
The food was good, refilled often so it was fresh and Not dried out. Most dishes were seasoned well, not plain.
Definitely a lot to choose from, a little bit of everything, sushi, meat sliced to order, pizza, fries, stir fry dishes, chicken tenders, lemon chicken, etc
Also lots of desserts — even pink cotton candy ! Cakes, pastries, cheese cake, fresh fruit, ice cream bar with a few cool toppings (smarties, sprinkles, chocolate sauce.)
Spacious but still crowded. A little tough for anyone who doesn’t like busy crowded areas.
Lunch for two people plus two soft drinks 50 $. Free refills on soft drinks.

The customer service was excellent from beginning to end. I was seated in about 15 minutes. The food was fresh and delicious and I can’t wait to visit again.

overpriced and below average food quality

I will keep this review short and sweet. Overpriced ($ 30/​weekends) bland food (besides the home made sushi rolls, desserts, and hot and sour soup).
They claim to be vegetarian friendly, but you will be stuck eating at their salad bar, having garlic bread and soggy steamed broccoli.
Now don’t get me wrong. They have a lot of variety of foods, but I prefer QUALITY over quantity. For $ 30.00, I’d prefer to spend my money elsewhere.
P. S. they also claim that they have a cotton candy maker, but there was no one working that station on a saturday night (boo)!
P. S.S. servers were great and attentive with taking care of our table; that was the only highlight of the night.

Best buffet ever ! The whole family enjoyed it specially during the holiday season :)

The place is very clean, food was very good and friendly servers, definitely will come back again

I decided to go here with one of my friends because I wanted to see what all the hype was about. As soon as I walked in we were greeted by two staff members who looked up our reservation and sat us within two minutes. Being that it was our first time the hostess explained the buffet assortments they have before seating us. While being lead to our table we were welcomed to the restaurant by other serving staff. Within a minute of being seated our waiter came by with warm clothes and told us about their drink specials.
I started with the salad bar and some sushi and all of it was great. The next step was trying the hot chinese food buffet and everything I tried was well cooked and tasty. The staff was constantly bringing out new food which is always what you want to see at buffets. Next I had prime rib and mashed potatoes because well why not. They also have quesadillas, pizza, grilled meats, dumpings, teppanyaki grilled meats and more. Basically there is something for everyone.
The Dessert bar… well I should say bars. there is an ice cream station, a buffet with an assortment of cakes and fruits and tarts and everything imaginable (even crème brule and trifle in shot glasses) along with another bar with croissants and breads and waffles, marshmallows, chocolates, everything under the sun.
As we were finally full to the brim (let’s be honest, I was full halfway through but kept eating anyways) our waiter came back again and got us our bills quickly and they also asks for comments and concerns. The staff was clearly very well trained and the food was hot, tasty and fresh.
We got another hot cloth to wipe our hands before we left. Also they give you cotton candy as you leave and that is really what gives them the 5 stars. I am excited to go back but would definitely go again on a monday-​thursday as the buffet is 23.99 vs. 30.99 on fri-​sun and holidays.
Definitely worth a trip out and also definitely try and make a reservation as the place is quite busy!

Save your money. Very poor quality of food. Hint: dry top layer on items should not be and sushi rice should warm and not pre-​made and kept in a fridge

So the Mandarin Restaurant Buffet chain has finally come to Ottawa. I had lunch here today with my parents, brother, sister-​in-​law and little niece ($ 15.99/person for weekday lunch and $ 2/​child under 4). For what it is (a large chain restaurant that serves Westernized Chinese food) it is quite good.
This place is brand spanking new, so it’s very clean and proper. It’s fairly spacious. The staff are incredibly friendly and very attentive (waters are re-​filled constantly and dirty plates are removed promptly). All staff greet you with a smile and seem genuinely happy to be there. Our server was Thomas and he was really great.
The food is very similar at all Mandarin Buffets (I’ve been to several in the GTA and the one in Niagara Falls) and this location is no different. Lots of selection and the trays are continuously being filled. Everything that should be hot is piping hot and everything that should be cold is appropriately cold. The food is mostly Westernized Chinese food (sweet and sour chicken balls, shanghai noodles, lemon chicken, etc.) but they have some non-​Chinese food as well (french fries, onion rings, pizza, etc. They even have a roast beef carving station.) They also have sushi and other popular Japanese items like panko shrimp and seaweed salad. Their dessert selection is much larger than at most buffets. They have many cakes (with some sugar-​free options), pies, pastries, scoop ice cream, soft-​serve frozen yogurt, cookies, squares, fresh fruit, pudding, jello and much more.
They don’t have dim sum items though. It would be awesome if they did. At the end of your meal they give you a feedback form for suggestions. I suggested they serve dim sum items. Fingers crossed that they will in the future :)
The food is really good. A lot of people I know knock the Mandarin Restaurant Buffets for not being «real Chinese food.» Well, they don’t claim to serve authentic Chinese food. Right on their website they say they serve «Chinese Canadian fare» and the picture on their business cards is sweet and sour chicken balls with that bright red sweet and sour sauce on it! So for what it is, it is excellent. The food is not overly greasy or overly salty. The meats are lean and not full of gristle. In my opinion, the food is much better than at Manchu Wok or Tiki Ming.
There is a bit of a corporate feel to all Mandarins, which is not really a critique, more of an observation. This location in particular appears to work like a well-​oiled machine. I think they are doing a fabulous job.
This place gets a thumbs up from me! If you love «Canadianized» Chinese food, you should check this place out.
It’s located in the strip mall at Tenth Line and Innes, next to Reitman’s (same plaza as Metro, not Farm Boy). Lots of free parking.

This just opened last week.
Location, parking, decoration: excellent
Waiting time to be seated: long, but they are the new kids on the block and everybody wants to try
Price: slightly over priced (maybe 3 or 4 more dollars than similar places)
Service: the place is crawling with nice waiters
Food:
–hot food is hot. Therefore no lukewarm items. Great.
— it’s basically all the same items as any other all-​you-​can-​eat place. No surprises here
— either my taste buds are out of whack but I have noticed that the buffet is much less salty then most. Very good in my book, but that’s for you to judge
Overall I’d say its above average but I was expecting food items that I never tried before. Something to make them stick out. But essentially I cannot complain.
If Unilocal allowed it, it would be 4.5 so I guess I’ll be nice and give a 5 since im there now…
Definitely a place to try.