Mandarin

Mandarin has built its name on an all-you-can-enjoy buffet experience that spans more than 100 dishes across stations for salads, soups, grill and teppanyaki, sushi, pizza, and desserts. The Chinese-Canadian classics anchor the spread: General Tao chicken, sweet and sour chicken balls, honey garlic spareribs, wonton soup, and Shanghai noodles. Sushi chefs work in-house at their station, and the grill turns out seasoned meats with prime rib added during dinner service.

Dinner service is the fullest expression of the buffet, with prime rib as the centrepiece. The rest of the hot line reaches beyond the expected, with baked teriyaki salmon, shrimp dishes, beef with broccoli, and barbecue spareribs filling the trays. The dessert station gets as much attention as the mains, offering crème brûlée, Black Forest cake, cherry cheesecake, lemon meringue pie, and honey twists that keep people returning for another round. A bar program with cocktails, sake, beer, VQA wines, plus mocktails and smoothies, rounds out the experience.

Mandarin is built for group occasions. The dining room is spacious and lively, and the service is known for clearing plates without being asked and keeping drinks topped up. Reservations are recommended, especially on holidays and weekends. Sign up for the Mandarin Dish newsletter and a visit with three paying adults can include a complimentary birthday buffet for the celebrant. Kids ages four and under eat free with a paid adult, making this a workable pick for extended family birthdays.