Restaurant Review: Golden Corral in Lynchburg, VA

Golden Corral used to be the kind of place where you could order food and they had a buffet. I hated this place back when you could order food because the service was so bad. A few years ago, they moved to their current location and changed how they do things. They are now completely a buffet restaurant with steaks and everything on the buffet. After 4pm, it is $9.59 (buffet) and $1.55 (beverage) + tax to eat there. The price is decent, but I really hate Golden Corral because both the service and the food are equally bad.

I've only eaten there once since they changed over to being only a buffet. I went with some of my father's family for his birthday. Maybe part of the problem was that I hadn't eaten there and didn't know where everything was. But I had an unusually hard time. At least I didn't have to pay for this horrible meal since my aunt paid for me.

Their steaks look so good when they are advertised on television. Supposedly, they are sirloin just like Ryan's has on their bar. However, Golden Corral's steaks are dry, over cooked, and taste horrible. I absolutely hate flat iron steaks, and these are so much worse. Note: I haven't had those new steaks that they have been advertising on television.

I found the baked potatoes on the bar, but there weren't any condiments to go with them. Who eats a baked potato without butter or sour cream? Usually, in situations like this, I would sit down and have the waitress bring me some sour cream. However, I didn't want to do this in front of my critical family for them to comment.

I don't know if Golden Corral still does this, but when we ate there, they would announce the birthday of the person over the intercom system. However, they forgot to do this and had to be reminded.

The rolls were hard and weren't very good. The dessert bar didn't look very appetizing either. Mostly they had desserts like ugly flat brownies. And there was some rotten fruit on the bar too.

My grandmother picked at her food. She doesn't usually eat much anyway, but she seemed pickier than usual. I also remember her saying that the cookies were old and hard.

My mom ate at Golden Corral one Thanksgiving and she says that the food was superb. Since I've only eaten at Golden Corral once since all these changes took place a few years ago, I don't know if these problems are typical for them. But, you can't go by my mom's recommendation considering she was there for a holiday. If you want a good buffet restaurant, I recommend Ryan's in Lynchburg. They are also located on Wards Rd. Golden Corral just doesn't do it for me; I'd rather eat at home.