April C.
Yelp
I'm more of a quality over quantity kinda person so most of the time all-you-can-eat buffets do not impress me. People at buffets act like greedy savages as they pile a shit ton of food on their plates knowing that they're most likely going to leave most of the food uneaten :( So as you can probably tell, my review is going to be biased based on my already established opinion on buffets.
So how did I end up dining here despite of my slight dislike for buffets you might ask? Well,
my parents decided to invite me to 下午茶 and since I've never been to Okura Taipei, I thought it would be pretty nice to check it out. :) But since this review is completely based on the buffet on the 2nd floor Continental Room, I won't comment on the decor/display/hospitality of the hotel.
Compared to the buffet at Le Méridien, Okura's buffet is not as grandiose nor does it offer as many options. If you've been to The Le Méridien, you'll know that the buffet is pretty decked out. Okura however, does offers a nice salad bar with your fresh leafy greens, shrimps, tuna salad, mashed yams, beans etc. There's also a western section (quiche, risotto, bread..), a Japanese section (soba, sukiyaki, sashimi...) as well as a noodle station where they cook your noodles with your choice of toppings.
The desserts consists of Haggen Dazs ice cream, fruits, cheese fondue, and many small cakes and pastries. One thing that worth mentioning is that there's a crepe station where you get your crepes freshly made with fruits.
Although the food is average for a buffet, it's not bad at all. I'm not sure if I would come back though, but for a first timer it's still worth to come check it out.
Moving on to the service... I wouldn't say that I'm disappointed with the service, but for a five star hotel, I sure am unsatisfied. The sushi station guy seemed annoyed at us when we used the wrong chopsticks for the sashimi. He "instructed" us to use the right ones. The rest of the staff, although friendly, didn't seem professional enough in terms of greeting and approaching the customers. To add on that, my mom and dad got two chipped coffee mugs (at different times) the manager, however, came to apologize twice and got my mom another cup of coffee, which was a really nice gesture. Also, the coffee and the earl gray flavored Haggen Dazs ice cream were misplaced, hahaha. Whatever, there were delicious nonetheless.
So based on this dining experience, I am giving Okura 3.6 stars. This however does not reflect on the service or the stay at the hotel!
So... If you're planning on coming here, be sure to come with an empty stomach like I did, and get ready to eat a obscene amount of Haggen Dazs ice cream.