Riverbank Chinese Buffet Restaurant

Reviews

• Bruce K.

  star star star star_border star_border 11 June 2026

  Once again, sidelined by my inability to bypass a Chinese buffet at mealtime. Riverbank is a very short walk from the Norwich railway station and is located in an area with several other restaurants and nightlife spots. Lots of neon in the window, there's no missing the purpose.
  
  Pay first (unusual for me) and then order drinks, which are brought to your table. The have a couple of beer selections and several spirits in a tree for accurate pours. I skipped both and they seemed to have no issue with a glass of tap water. At that point, I hit the lines.
  
  Reasonable selection of Anglicized Chinese entrees, including beef in black bean sauce, (yellow) chicken curry, vegetarian lo mein, spare ribs, maryland chicken, etc. Most were decent and not overly sauced or covered in batter. The lemon sauce and the sweet and sour are helpfully in separate trays so that you can bathe your meal to your taste.
  
  The highlight of Riverbank is their teppanyaki. A separate small buffet of raw meats (chicken, beef, prawns ("shrimp" in American) and pork) plus a selection of vegetables, you load it up on your plate and bring it to the special grill window, where the chef cooks it for you. It's almost Mongolian barbeque, but more like a stir fry. While the chef does the spicing and sauces, at least you get to decide on what you want in your mix. (Tip: the beef pieces aren't the absolute best cuts - go with the chicken or prawns.)
  
  Dessert is the usual for Chinese buffet - vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream, some canned fruits and a chocolate sheet cake. Nothing very special, but it was sweet enough to seal the meal.
  
  A good option with set prices (I recall lunch is around £7 and dinner was £14) if you're looking to stuff yourself silly with a variety of flavors and textures. My Chinese craving was satisfied, I would return.

• Keith B.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 29 May 2026

  I visited this place on a rainy lunchtime in December - at 2.15 pm and was warned that they close at 3.00 pm.  That was fine ... BUT it didn't excuse the awful food.
  
  The soup was all but tasteless; the Beef Curry was at least 50% gristle (it's not nice having to extricate large gristly pieces from your mouth and put them back onto the side of your plate); the vegetables were over-cooked yet tough and the only choice was broccoli and carrot slices or mushrooms; the ice cream came in three flavours - vanilla, strawberry or chocolate and was not good quality.
  
  All in all a very unappetising experience.  (Then of course - as predicted the vacuum cleaner was dragged out and started up at 2.55.  Nice).
  
  Never again.
  
  How I miss the Malaysian Buffet Restaurant in Timber Hill.  Now THAT was a lesson in how good that food can and should be.