Restaurant Review: Hometown Buffet in Rancho Cucamonga, California

We were given free coupons to Hometown Buffet yesterday. We wanted to break the monotony of eating at home, so the coupons gave us that extra motivation to eat out at the local Hometown Buffet in Rancho Cucamonga located in the Terra Vista Center. We couldn't resist the two free kids meals the coupons offered us. In an effort to save money, we usually reserve our restaurant dining experience for the weekend but we wanted to take advantage of the 'savings' that the coupons could provide us. Our kids were excited after we told them that we were headed to Hometown Buffet that Tuesday evening for dinner. Given the opportunity to eat "all-you-can-eat," two free kids meals, to not have to cook and wash dishes, how could we resist? It was a good deal.

We entered the restaurant and found the place about 90% full. They must have given out alot of free kids meal coupons. We placed our order with the cashier: two adult meals and two kids meals, then presented our two free kids meals coupon expecting phenomenal savings. Before we looked up to glance at the sign with the meal prices, the cashier calculated our total. Well trained as she was, she cheerfully said, " You total is $23.68." Alarmed, my husband and I both looked at each other; it was as if we were telepathically saying, "What?! $22.68?!" For some reason, I was expecting a total closer to $15 for two adults especially since we had the two magic coupons for the kids meals. But we went forward anyway -- our kids were happy to be there, we were all hungry & we were there already.

As we walked away from the cashier, the sign with the prices was more visible. It read (more or less):

BREAKFAST -- Adults $7.49, Kids $0.60
LUNCH -- Adults $6.99, Kids $0.60
DINNER -- Adults $10.99, Kids $0.65

Since we were there at dinnertime, our coupons saved us $1.30. Woohoo! Should we have just stayed at home for dinner? We were so surprised at how low the cost of the children's meal was in comparison to the high cost of the adult meal. When we first got the coupons, we admired Hometown Buffet for fostering family time by encouraging families to dine at their establishment at a significant discount. After seeing the actual prices, I couldn't help but feel like a fish that was just reeled in on a fishing pole and the coupons were the bait.

We can't complain about the food. The endless supply of delicacies was amazing: on the tables, we found roast beef, barbecue ribs, corn on the cob, spaghetti, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, pepperoni pizza, chicken noodle and vegetable soup, corn bread and more. Also, the spread of desserts was huge with carrot cake, tiramisu, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, cream puffs, bread pudding, apple pie amongst the selection. A wide variety of beverages could also be found to satisfy anyone's thirst. I went for the orange juice that tasted similar to that of "Orange Julius" while my husband opted for the horchata.

Overall, the experience at Hometown Buffet was pleasant. Our waitress was very nice and accommodating. Our youngest daughter accidentally bumped her glass with her elbow, spilling her milk all over the table and her seat. Saving my daughter from further embarrassment, our waitress was so sweet and did not even make a fuss as she cleaned up the spillage for her. The waitresses were giving away helium filled balloons to the children as well.

I would definitely go back to Hometown Buffet for the food and the child friendly service...but because of the pricing difference, maybe not for DINNER.