Buffet V

Chinese Restaurant in Holborn
Buffet V image
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No longer at this address

Our records show that Buffet V is closed.

Address
40 New Oxford Street
Holborn
London
WC1A 1EP
Map
Cuisine
Chinese
Region
Holborn
Nearest Station
Tottenham Court Road
0.22 miles

User Reviews

Gary
from Liverpool

Jun 14, 2011

I just ticked "Would you recommend to a friend" but let me qualify...

I would recommend it to a vegetarian friend

There are a whole community of meat lovers, whose idea of a 'Chinese Meal' involves stuff coated in sticky sugary sauces, and a good dose of MSG additives.

Those people are already catered for in a myriad of Chinese restaurants, around London.

I would not recommend 'Buffet V' to those folks.

Being 'mostly vegetarian' I choose to eat meat a couple of times a year and mostly eat a non-meat diet.

When I visit London, I search out Buffet V and similar 'vegetarian buffet restaurants', as they offer me a reasonable cost, filling, varied meal - I love it.

Long live Buffet V, and I look forward to my next visit to London.

Name: Gary
Location: Liverpool
sunkith

Dec 24, 2010

I am a Chinese and I was disappointed by Buffet V. Above all, they cheated. There are no sign of vegetarian food on the door. Obviously, the only reason they do that is to save a lot of cost. To be fair, the food and the atmosphere is not that bad, but I was annoyed by their cheating. So, go there only if you are a vegetarian and willing to pay 6.58+service for a salad bar!
Anonymous

Apr 13, 2010

I went to see Hairspray and was trying to find somewhere to eat when I was ushered inside by a Buffet V staff member. He told me it was a "Chinese Buffet" but when I got inside & approached the food I realised that it was vegetarian only & wondered why the gentleman at the door wasn't forthcoming with that info. Never-the-less the atmosphere was really nice and the restaurant was nicely decorated, so I decided to keep an open mind about the food. Sadly, the only thing my mother and I were able to palet that night were spring rolls, samosa's and nuts for dessert! The food was ALL cold - not tepid but actually cold! Much of the dishes had an acquired taste (to say the least) and were also slimey. Many people around me were leaving more than half their plate. I'm not at all picky about what I eat and I love Chinese and other foreign foods but I can truly say that this was the WORST meal I'd ever eaten and I felt that I'd been led to the restaurant somewhat deceptively. I've given it a 2 star, simply for the decor and NOT the food. I've eaten at Chinese Vegetarian Buffet's since this night and I can truly say that Buffet V is DISMAL!
Anonymous

Aug 13, 2009

I love Buffet V. Its V as in 'Vegan/Vegetarian', the other reviewer's surprise that there wasn't duck, chicken or meat is explainable by the fact that *its a vegetarian buffet that doesn't serve meat!*. I hate to tell him/her that the "reconstituted non descriptive meat" is actually wheat gluten/seitan, a vegan non-tofu meat substitute.

Its great if treated as a salad bar. Comfortable, inexpensive, and I think truly tasty. If you go there expecting a product that they don't deliver, a traditional chinese place with a full chinese resturant, then obviously you'll be disappointed. You also wont eat that kindof buffet for that sort of price in central london.
Anonymous

Mar 25, 2009

I went here because I had vouchers from The Times so it would only cost a credit crunch busting fiver each before checking out Frank Skinner at the Lyric on Shaftsbury Ave. Bargain! Immediately I was disappointed to see it would have only cost extra £1.50 each anyway - hardly a saving a Times reader is too concerned about. The second disappointment was the buffet itself. The novelty of a huge bowl of peantus soon wore off and the platter of chilli brussel sprouts confused me, the reconstituted non descriptive meat scared me, the lack of unrecognisable chinese dishes intrigued me (is this what it's really like in China perhaps?!) but ultimately, the taste of whatever it was I was eating bored me. Not a single duck pancake or beef in black bean sauce in sight. No chicken balls with that gloopy red sauce you hate, but suddenly, missed. Fans of chicken in cashew nuts and cripsy shredded beef, STAY AWAY. This is a Chinese buffet for folk who don't care what they shovel into their mouth, have never watched Jamie Oliver's school dinners, and quite possibly, don't eat REAL Chinese food - you know, the kind we order drunkly on a friday night muttering something about MSG. Chinese food for chinese truckers, perhaps. If you get sucked into a blind date and want the night to end as quickly as possible, take them here. The staff are pleasent, but you can't mistake the look of guilt in their eyes as they painfully watch you place your first morsal in your mouth. It's quite fun to see their feably disguised pain turn tentatively into surprise as you take another bite. Great food for taste-masochists, who don't suffer from IBS!
Anonymous

Jan 31, 2009

The guy who was 'serving' us could barely understand english...Ok no worries there. We hoped the food was gonna be better than the service...however how wrong were we! It was DISGUSTING. The food was cold and had no taste....and no labels. I have no idea what I ate there. Never am I stepping foot there again. Good luck if you decide to eat there.
Anonymous

Jan 15, 2009

The service was OK but the food is diabolical. We were really looking forward to a chinese meal before we went to the theatre. Well there wasn't one dish which you could recognise (none of the dishes were labelled) and most of them were cold. I ended up having a plate full of salad and my husband ended up going to McDonalds before the show. I would definitely not recommend this to anyone.
Anonymous

Dec 22, 2008

At first , prices seems to be low since they propose an "all you can eat " buffet for 6.90 £ ( Sunday)
But in fact , your plates are just filled with insipid stuff .
Service is not included in price , despite it is a self .

Another point : They don't accept credit cards , I had only 19.60£ on me , but the bill was 19.80£ : Tolerance zero , they only indicate me the nearest cash dispenser .

Our neighbours claims also for poor quality and service pricing .

A restaurant to avoid .