Foods from Emerald Buffet

Comments

2012 Aug 4
My parents used to take me to this restaurant frequently when I was a kid. Back then it was still called DuBarry's, and I remember that the food was cheap (as expected) but good enough for the price. It's been about 15 years? The place looks the same; dumpy, with more wear, and with a different name. Needs renovations BADLY. The price has gone up and the food is nowhere near worth it anymore. The bathrooms are gross and falling apart. Walking into the dimly lit bathroom I felt like someone could jump out and mug me.

We felt like cheap Chinese food so we went again. In this most recent experience we decided not to return. If we had known of the price increase we wouldn't have bothered in the first place but we didn't find out until we got the bill.

The food was better when it was cheaper... surprisingly? Most of the dishes are greasy meat. Low quality, fatty, bony chunks of meat. Wouldn't touch the previously frozen western foods like french fries and onion rings (for people who think chicken balls and greasy stir fry is too exotic). The tiny Vietnamese section is awful (I love real vietnamese food). I wouldn't touch the sushi if I was wearing a hazmat suit. I had to search for a clean plate a couple of times because there was food stuck to some of them. A lot of the stuff we were trying we couldn't finish eating because it was so bad.

They were closing at 9 and we got kicked out at 8:20. We were finished anyway but our waiter was extremely, uncomfortably socially awkward and it just made it worse. I felt gross after leaving and thinking of all the crap I just ate.

Restaurant has an aura of give us your money and leave. They just don't care about their food.

2010 Sep 8
Went last night with the GF and my sister. We were all let down by this place.

We were greeted at the door by a ho-hum hostess if you want to call her that who said she's tired because she's been working since 10:30 am (it's now 7:30pm).

Nature called first thing after we sat down and let me tell you the bathroom was the most horrific thing I have ever seen in any restaurant. The floor looked like it had never been cleaned. Ever. I avoided touching anything and I nearly took my GF and sis and left but the GF had already gotten an egg roll so we stayed.

The food has really gone down hill since it was formerly Du Barry. It was evident that serving fresh food is certainly not their focus. Some foods were cold and had obviously been under the heat lamps all evening.

I was actually scared to eat anything which was not fried fearing the kitchen would be as dirty or dirtier than the bathroom. The buffet was dirty and although the buffett closes at 9:30 we felt rushed by all the staff vacuming and cleaning tables right beside us. (at least they appear to vacum the carpet floor somewhat with a shop vac).

Servers and employees looked miserable. So did the food. I would never go back to this place again unless we were on a dirtiest bathroom in ottawa tour.

2010 Jul 3
This is my first post but certainly won't be my last.

I've had both good and bad meals in this city but this was probably the worst.

Even for a buffet, this was disgusting.

My wife and I felt nauseous as we left and ashamed that we actually ate in this restaurant.

I can only assume that the kitchen is as dirty as the dining room. The floor around our table was covered in old food and any horizontal surface was sticky to the touch.

The buffet was totally unhygienic and unsupervised.

Just wanted to caution anyone thinking of seeing why the parking lot at this place is always full that the food is horrendous. At $16.50, you're better off getting nauseated at the food court at rideau centre.

I wish I were dead.

Our search for palatable Chinese food in Ottawa continues.....