Unique Buffet Experience in a Revolving Restaurant in Hong Kong

1 What is special about The Grand Buffet Hong Kong?

The Grand Buffet restaurant is located on the 82nd floor of Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai. Given the high floor, the restaurant has spectacular views of the city’s skyline. Moreover, it’s a revolving restaurant where the entire dining floor is placed on a rotating platform.

This restaurant completes a 360 rotation every 1.5 hours, meaning that during the entire meal, you’ll be having different views of Hong Kong’s skyline. The feeling of eating here can be described as eating on a cruise ship. While it’s unnoticeable to most, those who feel particularly seasick should avoid sitting close to the windows.

2 How’s the view at the Grand Buffet?

The Grand Buffet displays unobstructed views of Hong Kong Island and Victoria harbour. You can enjoy the mountain views, and the iconic skyscrapers such as ICC and IFC and view the boats in Victoria harbour. The establishment is truly a hidden local secret that more people should try.

3 Is the Grand Buffet suitable for special occasions?

In short, yes. The restaurant has a friendly and spacious atmosphere. It is suitable for intimate lunches and dinners but also for bigger groups. All the tables are set quite far apart so you also feel like you have privacy at your table.

Lastly, the Grand Buffet caters to cake cutting, a custom message on a dessert plate and bottle opening for additional charges. So the venue is definitely appropriate for special occasion dinners such as proposals, birthdays, anniversaries, and company events.

4 How should I book a table?

The place is usually booked out months in advance especially if you’re looking for the window seat or as they call it “front row seat” on the website. Bookings open 2 months in advance at a time so if you’re looking to book in January, you must book by November.

The place is a local cult favourite so be sure to book early or you’ll not be able to find a spot. If you’re looking to sit window-side then you need to visit the site at midnight on the opening date. For instance, if I want to book for December 10^th, I must visit the website at midnight of 31^st October and then select “front-row seat”.

5 Do I need to pay a deposit?

Yes, you must pay a deposit of $200 per seat during your reservation so that the table reservation is secured. If you cannot make it on the day, remember to call 24 hours ahead of time to reschedule.

6 Is there a dress code at the revolving restaurant?

For the most part, they are not too fussed, but the website does mention not wearing sports apparel, shorts and sleeveless shirts for men.

7 How is the food?

I went for lunch and found that there is a good selection of cuisines and dishes from around the world. All the usual suspects were there from a dessert station to Japanese, continental, BBQ, Chinese, and some seafood. There were also ample choices of Cantonese dishes such as har gau(prawn dumpling), vegan shark fin soup and BBQ duck.

If you are the kind of person who loves seafood buffets this may not be your first choice though. In my opinion, the food was worth paying HKD498 per person plus a 10% service charge. You should note that prices become significantly higher during the month of December.

As for dinner, it costs around HKD800 to HKD830 plus a 10% service charge. The food is pretty similar to the lunch buffet with 2-3 more items such as prawns. Personally, I’d just go for lunch as the selection of food is pretty much the same.

8 How is the service?

The staff at the Grand Buffet was quite friendly and everyone spoke English. They showed us to our seats promptly, helped take ample pictures and attended to us quickly when we made eye contact. They made us feel welcome and even answered questions on how to book the window seats without having to be disappointed.

9 Bonus Tip! Don’t miss the elevator with the view!

At Hopewell Centre, there is a special Observation elevator that allows you to see the view of Hong Kong. It’s a glass elevator that provides 180 views of the city. There’s no restriction to getting there and you should be able to access it via the 17^th floor.

Even if you are not visiting the restaurant it’s a fun trip to take up the elevator to check out the view and go back down. I must admit I took the elevator up and down 2-3 times to get some nice shots and no one said anything! Some people even followed us to do the same.

10 Conclusion

Going to the Grand Buffet on a Saturday afternoon was a perfect chance to spend a couple of hours on a special occasion for me. Not only is the food good but the staff was friendly and the ambience was unbeatable. You get very different vibes of the views of the city depending on daytime or nighttime but from what I know daytime is better and more cost-effective. Lastly, the experience is wrapped up nicely with riding the glass observation lift as a parting memory.

I’d love to know about your experience at the Grand Buffet. Are there any other buffet spots that you’d recommend? Comment below!