It was bigger than I expected when we first arrived! The atmosphere is nice and there’s tons of seating areas. The staff were also very friendly and attentive! We enjoyed a lot of the food offered, but I especially recommend ordering a beef pho noodle soup! The broth was delicious! Overall I’d say this buffet was one of the best we’ve been to so far! :)

Me and my family normally eat at this establishment from time to time and generally enjoy it. Tonight it was very poor on service and food. The food was sub par cold and mushy. Definitely not fresh. I get it it’s a buffet but come on I could have eaten at McDonald’s and been more content. Pictured next to the rice grain is what looks like a maggot. I had concern and told the staff afterwards, they proceeded to take a while to come back to the table and tell us “beansprout” and set a whole beansprout on the table. Then the waiter who was very nice gave us the check and it was 60 dollars for 3 meals. I definitely am not going to be coming back and I hope they improve their quality and service.

We went to this restaurant at approximately 7pm. We were not impressed with the selection of entrees. Most of the food was seafood (mussels, fish, some shrimp, etc.), most others used chicken. There were ribs- which were full of bone fragments- not safe for adults or kids. The chicken in most cases was dried out. I love seafood but seeing the peel and eat shrimp, mussels and other seafood laying out and having eaten other protein which was not hot (temperature) I was afraid to try it. The restaurant looked nice and clean, the server was very nice. There was a puddle of water at the end of one of the buffets, slip hazard. For two with a tea, it was $40. Definitely not worth the expense. Very disappointing

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Duuude… this buffet is EVERYTHING. Like, I walked in hungry and left a different person.

Food: Insane. So much food. It’s fresh, it’s tasty, and there’s so much of it. I kept thinking I was done, then saw another section I hadn’t hit yet. And the desserts? Bro, don’t even get me started.

Atmosphere: Chill vibes, plenty of room to just sit back and vibe out with your plate(s). Not crowded or rushed – you can really take your time on the food journey.

Service: The servers are awesome. They’re super quick with drinks, and they clean up the table fast so you’ve got space for more plates. Respect.

Bottom line: if you’ve got the munchies, this place is gonna change your life.

Food was OK. Tons of variety. Good, but not great. Steamers made food appear hot, but it was tepid at best. The best part of the buffet is the freshly made dishes. Prices weren't bad, but going up October 1st. Staff was pleasant and attentive to drink refills. If you are looking for a good variety of decent Asian dishes, it's pretty good.

For buffet, this has it all. Golden Corral's got nothing compared to the quality and variety found at an Asian fusion buffet like this one. Nearly everything I tried was full of flavor, and the price is just right. To get the most out of a buffet, it helps to come in with a plan. If you know what you like, you can dive right in with the portions you're used to. But if you're here for variety, start by sampling a little of everything on your first plate. Then, you can go back for more of your favorites. And remember, there's always room for Jell-O!

We arrived at 8 PM on a Friday night.
Most of all the popular items were empty or almost empty, which meant that was left was dried out and old.
I ask someone if they were putting out more food, he never really answered.
So I waited, still noting hot or fresh was added. I saw a lady who was cleaning the buffet area so I ask her if more food would be coming. She told another man who was cleaning as well to go get peel and ear shrimp, that's one of the items that I wanted. So I waited, still no shrimp. So I just stand by the buffet, she had to ask him again to go get it, finally! But NY this point, im just mad.
At 14.99/person, I expect there to at least be egg rolls?
Not sure we will be back.

We are traveling through Asheville and the kids wanted Chinese food. We headed to Yao for dinner. All 13 of us.

The service was amazing. The best I have experienced at a buffet restaurant.

The food was hot, fresh, and readily refilled. The selection is HUGE.

5 stars is based on exceeding expectations. I am not comparing Yao’s to the Japanese meal we had at the Ritz Carlton last month. Yao’s does a great job at executing their purpose.

Traditional buffet style with a variety of food options. Food is priced by weight and is very affordable.

Not great. They seriously need to do some repairs.
Get better lighting.
The food was ok. But the place just felt nasty.

There were so many buffets of food here It was crazy! And sushi! Lots of great food!

We went to this restaurant at approximately 7pm. We were not impressed with the selection of entrees. Most of the food was seafood (mussels, fish, some shrimp, etc.), most others used chicken. There were ribs- which were full of bone fragments- not safe for adults or kids. The chicken in most cases was dried out. I love seafood but seeing the peel and eat shrimp, mussels and other seafood laying out and having eaten other protein which was not hot (temperature) I was afraid to try it. The restaurant looked nice and clean, the server was very nice. There was a puddle of water at the end of one of the buffets, slip hazard. For two with a tea, it was $40. Definitely not worth the expense. Very disappointing

The servers are friendly and accommodating!

Great clean buffet, 3rd time here

What a selection of great Chinese food!!! My favorite is rice broccoli chicken, salmon too. The owner's and staff are very friendly and courteous!!!

Everyone there was friendly, and the buffet was great.

Love to eat here. The food is so good and the people are so friendly and nice.

Me and my family normally eat at this establishment from time to time and generally enjoy it. Tonight it was very poor on service and food. The food was sub par cold and mushy. Definitely not fresh. I get it it’s a buffet but come on I could have eaten at McDonald’s and been more content. Pictured next to the rice grain is what looks like a maggot. I had concern and told the staff afterwards, they proceeded to take a while to come back to the table and tell us “beansprout” and set a whole beansprout on the table. Then the waiter who was very nice gave us the check and it was 60 dollars for 3 meals. I definitely am not going to be coming back and I hope they improve their quality and service.

All you can eat Thai / Sushi restaurant.
This place is huge!!

Food was dry, not flavorful, and chewy. Plates were dirty. There were 2 "clean" plates stuck together with a yellow mass of food that I touched. Food bars were not replenished regularly and it wasn't even busy. In the end it was $70 for our family of 4!!!!!!! Do not eat here, it is way overpriced for the less than mediocre food and dirty plates.

Love this place

Food was ok but they take along time to refill what has ran out in the bars ,waiter was very friendly n always keeping an eye to remove plates n refill our drinks good waiter

The food was good but we had to wait for the sushi

Very large buffet with plenty of choices

Sadly, Yao has gone downhill over the last year. All meals are now $16+ "dinner rate."
Many of the serving dishes were enpty, and we never saw them refilled.
Despite all that, the server was sweet and on top of refills, and what little massaman curry I could pick out was good.

Really surprised the value here for what you get! Amazing.

Excelente

Holly our server is outstanding ! Best experience I've ever had at Yao Buffet. She is a bright addition and a keeper. Thank you Holly ! We will be back. Food great as always.
Thanks to the entire staff !

Excellent everything, even at an off time.

It was very clean, the staff was friendly and food was delicious! Great choices too! We will be back!

The reason for the food rating is because in the 8 years I’ve been in this area, I’ve only been here twice, and though the food tastes good, both times I got rather sick afterward.

They only have bottled drinks because of the water issue caused by Helene. Pepsi, Starry, Diet Pepsi and water. The food was a bit dry but it was late and they did end up bringing more.

Mostly chinese buffet with some sushi items

Wait this place is really good - I’ve eaten at my fair share of Chinese buffets and this one is up there

Food tasted like it Was 10 hours old been sitting out all day. Not fresh at all. It is no good to tell anybody. They just use the excuse that it’s just been slow all day so they just leave the same food on the buffet. The manager behind the cash register is asleep. Will not be going back! Poor quality for food and price was def not worth it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Duuude… this buffet is EVERYTHING. Like, I walked in hungry and left a different person.

Food: Insane. So much food. It’s fresh, it’s tasty, and there’s so much of it. I kept thinking I was done, then saw another section I hadn’t hit yet. And the desserts? Bro, don’t even get me started.

Atmosphere: Chill vibes, plenty of room to just sit back and vibe out with your plate(s). Not crowded or rushed – you can really take your time on the food journey.

Service: The servers are awesome. They’re super quick with drinks, and they clean up the table fast so you’ve got space for more plates. Respect.

Bottom line: if you’ve got the munchies, this place is gonna change your life.

Great sesame chicken, would have liked a little more flavor in the egg rolls, the coconut shrimp was awesome.
The coffee cake was amazing, as well as banana pudding, and vanilla cake.

Very friendly and quiet atmosphere. My new favorite place to eat a v

For buffet, this has it all. Golden Corral's got nothing compared to the quality and variety found at an Asian fusion buffet like this one. Nearly everything I tried was full of flavor, and the price is just right. To get the most out of a buffet, it helps to come in with a plan. If you know what you like, you can dive right in with the portions you're used to. But if you're here for variety, start by sampling a little of everything on your first plate. Then, you can go back for more of your favorites. And remember, there's always room for Jell-O!

Very good food

Really good Asian fare food

Idk what changed but this place was better in the past. None of the food was great but they was busy, but me and the family wasn't impressed. We won't eat here again it might be great for some just not us.

Absolutely delicious my favorite Chinese buffet 😋

This place is aesthetically pleasing, but the food is just okay.

This place is gross and the health score was 85!

I was there tonight. Waited an extended time for chicken wings. Peanut butter sauce for the spring rolls were completely out when you go for dessert. The chocolate and butterscotch sauce was totally empty. The empty bottles were there still there . A staff member named May was very rude when you asked her about replenishing items that were out, Everyone else there are very nice servers.

on Sunday, we arrived at 7:30 and I had to close, but they received us hospitably and allowed us to have dinner

Love it! So good

Es rico y hay variedad de comida

Watch out this place made me sick. I had to vomit before I left. I did not notice the 88 sanitation grade until I was leaving the restaurant. Our waitress serving us was nice though.

It was bigger than I expected when we first arrived! The atmosphere is nice and there’s tons of seating areas. The staff were also very friendly and attentive! We enjoyed a lot of the food offered, but I especially recommend ordering a beef pho noodle soup! The broth was delicious! Overall I’d say this buffet was one of the best we’ve been to so far! :)

Liciuos

Absolutely amazing!!!!🙏😘

The food and service quality has gone way down hill since the last time we ate there. Their sanitation grade has declined too. Don't plan on going back no time soon.

Much better than the shogun buffet. It is a solid place to go for a good meal.

As far as buffets go Yao is pretty solid. Big spacious building with a good amount of options to choose from. My own gripe is that their sushi selection is only rolls and no nigiri. I really like their shu mei. All in all I'd give the place 3.5/5 stars.

Food was dried out or not restocked at 7 p.m.. I went to management and politely ask for a refund. Less than a quarter of our plates were ate and only received 1 plate discount out of 3 and was rudely talked to. I will not go back after years of going to this place to eat. The food, the management and the cleanliness has went downhill over the past 6 months. I strongly did not recommend this place.

We are traveling through Asheville and the kids wanted Chinese food. We headed to Yao for dinner. All 13 of us.

The service was amazing. The best I have experienced at a buffet restaurant.

The food was hot, fresh, and readily refilled. The selection is HUGE.

5 stars is based on exceeding expectations. I am not comparing Yao’s to the Japanese meal we had at the Ritz Carlton last month. Yao’s does a great job at executing their purpose.

First and foremost take my review seriously I just received the best customer service at this restaurant they fix my food that way I wanted egg foo young is the best in all of Asheville special shout out to May treated me like I was celebrity she made everything work out for me I was on a trip out of town this made the trip very noteworthy I will be coming back I just hope they continue the great service. I can't wait to bring my family

The food was so awful I ended up having 5 full plates left on the table when I left because everything I tried was so bad. It was dried out, and either bland or had a weird flavor to it. Also half the choices were empty and didn’t get restocked. This place also has an 87 health score which is super rough.

This place made me sick to my stomach after eating there. Probably the worse Asian buffet I’ve ever been to. At first, this place gave me a good impression because of the interior and the location. The noodles weren’t tasty and it was very dry. The only thing that was tasty were the crystal shrimps. Also, the desserts were pretty bad as well… they serve like pink icing in a small cup which was random. Overall, this place has potential but the food’s needs to be more fresh. Also, I dislike they gave me a check so early when I’m not finished.

I've been here twice so far. Top 5 best buffets that I have been to in the states.

Many delicious food options that don't take forever to replace when low or out.

Sushi is really good as well compared to other buffets I have been to recently.

Service is great and staff are polite and attentive.

Hands down, the best buffet East of the Mississippi river!

It was cool. Will go back when it's not crowded.

Visited 3pm on a Saturday. Best Chinese buffet I've had in a long time. Dining area was clean and well maintained. Restrooms were nice and clean. Good price. So many buffet choices... the pineapple chicken was my favorite. Definitely would go back. We recommended it to someone before we left town.

We go here to see Nancy, our waitress friend. The food is not as good as before covid, but I understand it is hard to balance food costs in today's world. Again, it's still good, just more package tastes than handmade.

Buffet style restaurant, but you can order off of a menu if you wish. Sit in Nancy's section, she will keep your drinks full and your dishes cleared.

Very clean with excellent staff. The bar has a large selection of great food. The grill is perfect 👌

Service was great. Most of the food and sushi was gone and they didn’t replace it in the time we were there even though it was well before closing.

I drive an hour just to go here, it is that good

the food here is just about inedible, the fish tastes old, as soon as i bit into my sesame chicken the meat CRUMBLED, like it was a cookie legit crumbled. they were cross contaminating fish, transferring cooked crab rolls onto plates with raw fish rolls. then when we asked to get our nearly untouched food comped because we couldn't eat it, the servers mood changed and she had an attitude with us even after explaining that there was something off about the food.

Goo's food good service

Clean,good services

Food poisoning !! Beware! I have been sick for the past 2 days with bad food poisoning.

Excelente place

all the food is reheated and just bland, the cream cheese in the sushi was old and almost made me throw up! none of the employees really speak to you except to ask your drink. 2/10

GOOD FOOD AND SERVICE NICR ATMOSPHERE GOOD

They see food was amazing I really enjoyed the spice it made everything nice

The food was good but the service not that good and it was clean so it is good

I am vegan and have many options. I love the sweet and sour soup, too.

Big buffet

Large assortment on the buffet and the prices aren't bad.

Make sure to go to the back first! I wish I had seen the sushi sooner!!

It was pretty good, I've had better but it wasn't bad

Great food , prompt service , clean environment! Love this place.

Pretty standard, large, Chinese-buffet.
Nice servers.

The food hadn't been replaced recently, a lot of it was burnt. The salad bar is very limited, very large lettuce pieces and whole pepperoncinis and whole olive, no toppings like seeds or croutons other than cheese... the sushi was good but basic, the chicken was dry. This place has the potential to be great, we did come after most people were done with church around 3pm so it could have just been the time of day.

Mediocre. Was hoping for better.

Went there to eat lunch the food was amazing the staff was incredible and very polite made sure we were seated at a clean table and taken care of. Although, boyfriend went to the restrooms and seen racial slurs written on the stalls which was very appalling, at that point we didn’t feel too safe as African Americans we know it’s not the staffs fault we didn’t put any pressure on them but we did let them know it looked newly written and to just be aware. Other than that again the food was fresh hot and delicious for a good price for a buffet and the staff was very understanding and are hard workers they should get paid more and receive bigger tips in my opinion.

Great Asian buffet. Food was great and hot, and lots of selections.

Food so delicious!I like to come here a lot a best buffer I had

This is by far the best Asian buffet I have ever been to. So many food options including Thai dishes as well as a variety of soups including fresh seafood soups. Sushi is very good too. Absolutely love this place. Very clean and good service.

I got here just before the lunch hour. Plenty of food out. Not many customers yet. I had the buffet and sampled a little bit of everything. I am not a picky eater. Not sure what the rules are with reheating food and putting it back out, but there seemed to be quite a few trays out that were reheated. There is no way freshly cooked food would be rubbery that quick. The different chicken trays were beyond chewy. Some of the sauces were overcooked. Not sure if it is crab rangoon or just rangoon. Didn't taste any crab. Rangoon had very bland taste. The sautéed mushrooms had an odd taste other than mushroom. Fried rice was good. Restaurant was very clean. Employees were friendly.

There buffet needs to be hot the food Was cold

First time here for me, my partner recommended it after her first visit! The place is huge and the seating capacity is incredible. They had a great variety of different styles as well as a plethora of vegetarian dishes. We got take out from the buffet and literally had two meals each for $22+tip (weighed boxes). The establishment is very clean and everyone we encountered was super helpful! We will definitely be back!

Have tried 3 other Chinese buffets since moving to Asheville area two years ago. This is the only one that is worth repeat visits. Lots of choices, fresh, hot.

They didn't replace empty containers quick and some of the food was not hot. My sister said the fish was good so if this were a seafood restaurant I guess they would get 5 🌟. Staff was respectful and it was nice and clean.

Love the pepper steak and curry chicken. Great price for all you can eat.

It's pretty good it's ether very good or ok I do like it here especially the pokemon vending machine like u can't beat that lol will be back

Only giving two stars because of what this place used to be. When I was a kid I went here and this place was amazing. Throughout the years this place has went up and down. My most recent visit was just plain awful. Had a hard time finding enough decent food to make a plate.

Food was cold and bland. Didn't have any flavor at all to us. Cold and hard. Don't waste your money

My family loves a chinese buffet. We stopped going here because of the food quality and really had hoped it had improved. The waitress was wonderful and friendly. This will be the last time I try, I'll drive to Hendersonville or Brevard in the future.

Food is excellent and plentiful. Delightful experience

Love it and everyone was great and treated everyone good

The food is always good and gresh

I liked the place and the people that own it and the people that work there, work very hard. However, since I'm a local I've watched this place grow from a small building to the place that they're in now. Years ago, the food was always hot and piled on high. But since covet things have changed there. They only put out a little food at a time and when that's gone they'll put out more. But to be fair, everyone is cutting corners and it's still a great place to eat. If you like sushi Yao is the place and the soups are excellent. Unfortunately, as hard as they work, the only one getting rich is the landlord. I'm sure the rent is at least $15,000 a month. Ya got to sell a of food and turn a big profit to make that nut. Now, with all that being said, do I recommend you eating there? The answer is YES.

Really great buffet; good price and wonderful service. Loved ot!!!

Service is great and staff are friendly but food is atrocious, just extremely past date food waiting in heat wells for way too long made me sick to my stomach save your money eat elsewhere

So many choices! Everything was good and I sampled a lot as did my dining partners.

Very enjoyable and best of all, we had great waitress.