Husband has been wanting to try out Feast Buffet & Banquet in Woodbury ever since we saw signage that it was coming almost a year ago. While we moved to South St. Paul last fall before Feast officially opened, we used to live down the street and were excited to see something different coming to that space, a space that has seen quite a bit of restaurant turnover through the years.

Full disclosure, it took some convincing for me to go.

1. I don’t particularly like buffets, because my eating style just isn’t exactly conducive. I get full pretty quick, but then can have a snack a few hours later, whereas at a buffet the goal is to eat as much as you can immediately.
2. As a marketer who used to be a marketing manager for a restaurant group, I find it sketch that I have yet to find their official website and/or social media accounts. There are quite a few sites saying they carry their menu and many influencers/websites who have covered their opening on Google, but I want my information to be official.
3. Last fall, some of the local foodies I followed posted some concerns and not the best experiences, so I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it.

With all that on the table (#dadjoke), we decided to go for dinner on a Tuesday night. Overall, while I did enjoy some aspects, it is probably not somewhere we’ll go back to. My full review is below.

Food:

They have the restaurant split into buffet sections. There is Dim Sum, Sushi, Desserts, Hibachi, a place where you can order Pho or Ramen, an area with rice and Lo Mein, etc.

For $36 a person, I think the most value is had in the sushi section. Instead of having to commit to a single roll, I enjoyed being able to try one of everything. I almost only ate sushi, but I felt it was important to see what else was there for a more robust review…

Now for the Minnesota nice, yet honest, part of the review: I know how tricky temperature regulation is in a buffet, so I want to give grace, but unfortunately they failed. The cold things were actually cold (yay), but of the foods I tried, the ones that were supposed to be fried, like the wontons, were soggy and “hot” foods like rice, cheese sticks, and some of the meats were cold.

I did end up getting 3 plates worth of things to try and did my best to finish most things, but some just weren’t to my taste. I’d say I’d give the food a C (Sushi a B+), but my husband would have rated it lower.

He enjoyed trying the frog legs (I couldn’t try it, things on bones already make me sad and that just wasn’t for me 🤢), but he tried more of the meats (pork belly, prime rib) and his note (besides the temperatures) was that he noticed most things tasted like fish. This could be our ignorance as we do understand that fish oil is a key ingredient in many asian dishes, but it was surprising to have that taste in all the dishes except the desserts. He was also really disappointed with the consistency of the tapioca pudding as it was like soup.

Drinks:

Soft drinks came included with dinner, but you can also get some alcoholic drinks.

Atmosphere/Service:

The inside does feel very upscale, especially for a buffet. They have stunning light installations and lots of light up signs which make me think, fondly, of street markets.

For the cost of the buffet you are able to have 2 hours of dining and there is someone roaming and clearing out old plates constantly. We saw quite a few families here and it seems like a great way to let everyone pick a little of something, just truthfully, for the price, we wanted a bit better quality.

Feast Buffet & Banquet
1690 Woodlane Dr
Woodbury, MN 55125
Photo of hours below