12 New York All-You-Can-Eat Seafood Buffets That Locals Swear Are Worth The Long Line
New York City runs on hustle, appetite, and the occasional willingness to stand outside a restaurant for twenty minutes while strangers discuss their strategy for conquering a mountain of crab legs.
All-you-can-eat seafood buffets have become something of a local sport, where patience is rewarded with endless rounds of lobster, shrimp, oysters, and enough melted butter to float a small boat.
These spots don’t rely on gimmicks or tourist traps.
They survive because regulars keep coming back, dragging friends and family into the fold, insisting that yes, the line looks long, but trust me, it moves fast, and the crab is incredible.
I’ve spent more evenings than I’d like to admit standing in lobbies that smell like Old Bay and garlic butter, watching people emerge victorious with sauce-stained bibs and satisfied grins.
That’s the magic of a truly great AYCE seafood spot: the wait becomes part of the experience, a small toll before you enter shellfish paradise.
So grab your stretchy pants and a sense of adventure, because these twelve buffets are where New Yorkers go when they’re ready to eat like there’s no tomorrow.
1. Crab House — All-You-Can-Eat Seafood (Midtown East, Manhattan)
On a busy Midtown evening, you can spot Crab House from the clusters of people waiting outside in bibs and plastic gloves, already joking about how much crab they’re about to put away.
Located at 135 E 55th St, New York, NY 10022, this spot has turned the traditional buffet model on its head. Inside, servers work the room with giant metal bowls piled with snow crab, Dungeness crab, shrimp, clams, and scallops, all included in the fixed-price, all-you-can-eat spread.
Instead of a steam-table buffet, you check off your picks and everything comes out hot and made-to-order.
Regulars talk strategy: go easy on the sides, save room for the crab rounds, and don’t be shy about re-ordering favorites.
Come at prime time and you’ll likely wait, but locals insist that endless buckets of fresh, cracking-shell crab make the line worth it.
2. Crab House Times Square — Premium Seafood AYCE
Times Square isn’t exactly known for subtlety, and Crab House’s newest flagship leans into the drama: chandeliers, plush seating, and tables groaning under towers of lobster tails, oysters, shrimp cocktail, and sizzling fish arrive as part of a fixed-price premium seafood buffet at 218 W 40th St, New York, NY 10018.
Here, all-you-can-eat really does mean unlimited.
The menu runs from raw bar staples to grilled whole fish, plus the same crab-heavy favorites as the Midtown original.
Weekend evenings feel like a celebration, with big groups clinking glasses between rounds of lobster and crab.
I once watched a table of eight go through what must have been twenty pounds of shellfish without breaking a sweat.
Reservations help, but even if you show up to a queue, the promise of an over-the-top seafood feast right off 7th Avenue keeps people happily waiting.
3. Crab House Brooklyn — Coney Island Contactless Seafood Buffet
Steps from the boardwalk and Cyclone at 1223 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224, Crab House Brooklyn feels like it was built for post-beach appetites.
Instead of a traditional buffet line, this Coney Island spot runs a contactless buffet: you tick boxes on a disposable menu and endless rounds of snow crab, lobster on premium tiers, scallops, salmon, mussels, and more arrive family-style at the table.
Locals love that everything is cooked to order, so the crab legs still snap and the seafood comes out sizzling rather than sitting under heat lamps.
With two-hour seating limits and a flat price for huge portions, it gets packed on warm nights and weekends.
People still line up along Surf Avenue, trading ride stories and game-planning the menu before diving into one of the city’s wildest AYCE seafood experiences.
4. Xi Yue Hui Seafood Hot Pot AYCE (Sunset Park, Brooklyn)
Xi Yue Hui at 828 64th St, Brooklyn, NY 11220 doesn’t look like a classic buffet, but its all-you-can-eat seafood hot pot feels like a bottomless feast.
For a flat per-person price, tables fill with platters of lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters, fish fillets, and sashimi-style bites ready to be swirled through bubbling broths.
Downstairs, large parties sing karaoke between dunking crab legs into spicy broth, and staff hustle more seafood to keep up.
I remember my first visit: I underestimated how quickly you can plow through a lobster when it’s cooked right in front of you in fragrant, boiling broth.
Reviews note that weekends are packed and reservations are smart if you don’t want to stand in the doorway listening to sizzling pots and watching other people’s lobsters go by.
For locals, that wait is part of the ritual.
5. Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet (Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn)
At Umi, located at 3839 Nostrand Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235, the word buffet barely covers it.
This Sheepshead Bay favorite combines an all-you-can-eat sushi bar with steam tables, a hot-pot corner, and trays of crab legs, shrimp, and fried seafood that locals know to hit early and often.
The dining room hums with families piling plates high while friends trade recommendations on which rolls and seafood dishes are worth a second round.
Online reviews and recent photos show snow crab, lobster specials, and constantly refreshed trays, plus a steady stream of neighborhood regulars.
On weekends, the entryway fills with people waiting for tables, but the crowd moves quickly.
Most guests emerge comparing crab counts and vowing to come back with an even bigger appetite next time.
6. Mizumi Sushi & Seafood Buffet (Little Neck, Queens)
Mizumi at 231-10 Northern Blvd, Little Neck, NY 11362 has long been a Queens go-to when someone in the group says I want sushi and someone else says I want crab legs.
The expansive buffet line features rows of nigiri and rolls, tempura, grilled items, and plenty of seafood ranging from shrimp and clams to rotating crab leg offerings under a classic all-you-can-eat format.
After briefly shifting its concept, the restaurant brought back the full buffet, and locals happily returned to loading up multiple plates at a time.
Families camp out at big tables, kids wander wide-eyed past the dessert station, and regulars know exactly which corner of the line hides the freshest rolls.
When the parking lot fills and the lobby gets crowded, people simply settle in, confident that once they’re seated, the seafood rounds won’t stop.
7. Sexy Crab – Hicksville (Long Island)
Sexy Crab in Hicksville at 828 S Oyster Bay Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801 feels like the moment a seafood boil restaurant meets an all-you-can-eat game plan.
For a fixed price, diners check off rounds of seafood boils, including snow crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, and more, plus sushi and appetizers, bringing an AYCE twist to the Cajun boil trend.
Boiling bags hit the table steaming and fragrant with garlic butter or house spice blends, and staff encourage you to keep re-ordering until you’re truly done.
Locals love coming in groups, wearing gloves and bibs, and turning the night into a friendly competition about who tapped out first.
The dining room fills fast at dinner, and walk-ins sometimes hover by the door watching trays of crab pass by, a strong hint that the wait is well worth it.
8. Sexy Crab – Levittown (Long Island)
A short drive away at 3345 Hempstead Turnpike, Levittown, NY 11756, the Levittown outpost of Sexy Crab brings the same all-you-can-eat energy to another Nassau County crowd.
Here, the AYCE menu leans heavily into seafood boils packed with crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, and mussels alongside sushi rolls and fried seafood bites, all ordered in waves rather than scooped from a steam table.
Neighborhood regulars talk about coming just for the crab and end up losing count of how many rounds they’ve ordered.
Service tends to keep pace with the demand, but weekend dinners often see a line forming as families and friend groups gather in the vestibule.
Once seated, though, it’s all about cracking shells, comparing spice levels, and seeing how far you can go before surrendering your bib and admitting defeat.
9. Shaking Crab Bronx — All-You-Can-Eat Lobster & Seafood Buffet
Shaking Crab’s Bronx location at 2179 White Plains Rd, Bronx, NY 10462 adds a big twist to the brand’s signature Cajun boils: a full all-you-can-eat lobster and seafood buffet option.
Guests choose the AYCE menu and then keep the rounds coming with lobster, snow crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, corn, and potatoes all arriving in saucy, shareable bags.
The room buzzes on busy nights, with gloves snapping on and tables stacked with shell buckets.
Their own site notes that the AYCE lobster seafood buffet draws big crowds, especially at peak hours, and regulars recommend advance planning or early arrivals.
For Bronx seafood lovers, that wait outside on White Plains Road has turned into a neighborhood tradition, a prelude to one of the borough’s most indulgent shellfish feasts you can imagine.
10. DJ’s International Buffet (Garden City, Long Island)
On Long Island at 1100 Stewart Ave, Garden City, NY 11530, DJ’s International Buffet has quietly built a reputation as a something-for-everyone all-you-can-eat spot where seafood plays a starring role.
Inside the large dining room, you’ll find piles of shrimp, baked and fried fish, mussels, and rotating specialties like crab legs and seafood pasta alongside hibachi, sushi, and comfort-food mains.
The buffet format is classic: pay one price, then make as many trips as your appetite allows.
Families come for birthday dinners, office parties fill long tables, and locals swap intel on which night the seafood selection is at its fullest.
Lines form around holidays and weekend evenings, but regulars say that once you’re in, the sheer variety and the chance to circle back for just one more plate of shrimp makes the wait fade fast.
11. Seafood Mania Boil (Oceanside, Long Island)
Seafood Mania at 234 Merrick Rd, Oceanside, NY 11572 doesn’t do a traditional buffet line. Instead, it turns the entire restaurant into an all-you-can-eat seafood party on designated nights.
Their All You Can Eat Seafood Fridays lay out a fixed-price buffet menu with snow crab legs, shrimp, mussels, calamari, oysters, scallops, ramen, corn, and potatoes, plus an upgraded option that folds lobster tails into the mix.
Guests mark what they want, the kitchen cooks everything to order, and servers keep the rounds coming during the 90-minute dining window.
Social feeds show packed rooms, karaoke nights, and mid-week all-you-can-eat snow crab specials that locals gush over.
If you arrive right at prime time, you might find yourself waiting with other regulars on Merrick Road, trading tips on which sauce to pick before diving in headfirst.
12. Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet (Bronx)
Just off the Grand Concourse at 200 E 161st St, Bronx, NY 10451, Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet is enormous even by buffet standards.
More than 250 items cycle through the all-you-can-eat bar: sushi, hibachi stir-fries, American comfort food, and plenty of seafood, including shrimp, fish, clams, and, on select days, snow crab legs that draw special attention from regulars.
It’s the kind of place where people pile plates high, sit down, then immediately start planning the next trip to the line.
Families from across the Bronx treat it as a go-to for birthdays, while budget-minded diners love the affordable weekday AYCE pricing.
At peak hours, the lobby fills and the line can snake through the Concourse Plaza mall, but locals shrug and say it’s a small price to pay for as much seafood and everything else as you can handle.