15 New York Seafood Buffets People Cross Town For On Craving Nights

There’s a special thrill in planning a night built entirely around seafood, when the scent of grilled shrimp, cracked crab, and buttery lobster tails makes the trip feel justified before you’ve even parked.

Across New York State, from city rooftops to coastal town buffets, these fifteen spots celebrate abundance with style and heart. You’ll find sushi rolls made to order, oysters shucked at the counter, and steam tables shimmering with everything from clams to calamari.

Each has its own rhythm, some polished and white-linen, others loud and joyfully casual, but all share the same promise: a table full of ocean flavor and a reason to linger. Bring an appetite, a friend, and a little patience. The feast always rewards the wait.

1. Mizumi Buffet (Little Neck, Queens)

There’s a charged hum here, the kind that makes you instantly hungry. The lights glint off glass trays piled with crab legs and oysters, and the air smells faintly of sesame and soy.

Sushi chefs work fast, stacking tuna, eel, and avocado into neat rows beside trays of steaming short ribs and salt-and-pepper shrimp. The balance between Korean, Japanese, and pan-Asian flavors feels effortless.

It’s chaotic but charming: crowds, chatter, and the sound of clinking tongs. I left stuffed, smiling, and already plotting my return.

2. Sea & Sky Feast Buffet (Flushing, Queens)

Start with the grilled oysters, they hiss on the metal as chefs brush them with butter and soy. The chilled counter nearby is stacked high with crab clusters and sliced abalone, all gleaming like jewelry on ice.

Flushing has a long history with ambitious buffets, but this one pushes for modern spectacle, sleek interior, marble counters, precise presentation. It feels almost theatrical.

Go early. Lunch hours are calmer, the seafood rotation is freshest, and you’ll have space to linger without elbowing your way through the lobster line.

3. East Buffet & Restaurant (Flushing, Queens)

It’s loud, bright, and full of movement, servers darting between long tables, plates clattering, families laughing. The smell of garlic and ginger pulls you toward the Cantonese station before you even see it.

Rows of sautéed clams, sweet-soy shrimp, and ginger-scallion crab sparkle under the lights, and the dessert bar hums quietly in the corner. It’s abundance in motion.

Honestly, I love the messiness of it all. It’s imperfect but generous, the kind of place that feeds you and somehow feels like part of Queens’ living pulse.

4. DJ’s International Buffet (Garden City)

You can smell the sizzling from the parking lot; grilled shrimp, soy-slicked chicken, faint sweetness from teriyaki glaze. Inside, the buffet stretches endlessly: sushi rolls, crab legs, crawfish, short ribs, and shrimp tempura crowd the counters.

Opened over two decades ago, DJ’s has become a Long Island institution, known for both seafood and sheer variety. Regulars swear by the consistency, everything arrives hot, refilled fast.

Best move: show up on a weekday lunch. Prices drop, crowds thin, and the food turnover stays brisk and fresh.

5. Flaming Grill & Supreme Buffet (Baldwin)

Steam fogs the sneeze guards as trays clatter into place, fried squid, garlic crab, broiled salmon. The smell alone pulls you toward the hot bar. Across the room, sushi chefs line up rolls with speed that’s hypnotic.

Flaming Grill’s been around for years, part of the wave of pan-Asian buffets that hit Long Island in the early 2000s. Locals come for familiarity, big portions, bold seasoning, low prices.

If you go around 5 p.m., it’s a sweet spot: family crowd, quick service, and every tray perfectly replenished.

6. Flaming Grill & Buffet (Newburgh)

There’s something surreal about watching neon lights bounce off metal trays of lobster tails and glazed shrimp skewers.

The scent shifts from fried to floral as you pass through the dining room’s mix of sushi, hibachi, and dim sum stations. The mood is suburban joy, families, laughter, kids racing with soft-serve cones.

Newburgh’s location draws both commuters and road-trippers who stumble in hungry from I-84. I’ll admit, it’s not fancy, but I love its honesty. The food’s solid, plentiful, and proudly without pretense.

7. UMI Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet (Staten Island)

A swirl of steam greets you at the door, each table glowing with its own bubbling pot. The hiss of broth mixes with the quiet clatter of tongs and laughter.

Here, the experience is about rhythm: drop in mussels, stir the shrimp, scoop out vegetables, then wander to the sushi counter for a refill of rolls. It’s dinner as choreography.

Go early evening for peak freshness. Later hours grow hectic, and the broths lose their clarity beneath the crowd’s enthusiasm.

8. Crab House Brooklyn, Contactless Seafood Buffet (Brooklyn)

The concept still feels futuristic, buffet dining without the shared tongs. Instead, trays arrive sealed and steaming, lifted from a glowing conveyor. Crab legs, shrimp boils, scallops, even sushi boxes glide under lights like edible exhibits.

Born during pandemic dining shifts, this place turned safety into spectacle. The staff refines each tray before release, keeping everything tight and temperature-true.

If you’re visiting, book online first. Seats fill fast, and walk-ins rarely land a prime slot near the fresh rotation.

9. 7 Kitchens Buffet, Turning Stone Resort Casino (Verona)

Every weekend the seafood spread feels like theater—cracked crab, cedar-planked salmon, heaps of peel-and-eat shrimp glowing under warm lights.

The resort setting heightens it: polished counters, servers in motion, the faint hum of slot machines beyond the glass. Turning Stone’s culinary program started small in the early 2000s and grew into this grand, multi-station production.

Locals treat it as part of the getaway itself. I love it most for the contrast, you feast endlessly, then step out to still country air that smells of pine.

10. Seneca Niagara Casino Buffet (Niagara Falls)

There’s a strange harmony between the sound of the nearby falls and the clatter of plates inside this buffet. The air smells of butter and lemon from the crab trays, and everything glows slightly under casino light.

Crab legs and steamed shrimp anchor the spread, joined by herb-baked fish and sushi rolls that appear faster than they disappear. It’s pure spectacle, high-volume done right.

Arrive before sunset, early birds enjoy both the freshest seafood and an easy stroll to the illuminated falls after dinner.

11. Empire Buffet (Syracuse)

Snow crab legs, fried shrimp, and sautéed clams dominate the first counter, surrounded by every comfort food imaginable. You can feel the upstate pride here, unhurried, practical, and unpretentious.

This spot’s been part of Syracuse dining circuits for over a decade, the kind of place where generations gather for birthdays and post-game meals. It’s less about luxury, more about routine pleasure.

Skip the first rush, go mid-service. Staff refills constantly, and the fried items stay crisp without the buffet fatigue.

12. Grand Super Buffet (Rochester)

The sushi counter hums like an assembly line, chefs slicing avocado ribbons and flicking crab meat into rolls with balletic precision. Across the aisle, trays of scallops, crawfish, and tempura glisten.

The place feels lively but not frantic; warm lighting, steady chatter, and the quiet joy of people eating exactly what they want. It’s part of Rochester’s weekend rhythm now.

I underestimated it before visiting. The seafood’s fresher than I expected, and the crab legs alone were enough to reset my standard for upstate buffets.

13. China Buffet, W Henrietta Rd (Rochester)

The first thing you notice is the clinking of trays and the citrusy scent of lemon shrimp. Then come the visuals, mussels glistening under light, whole fish steamed with ginger, sushi rolls cooling in neat rows.

This buffet’s been part of Rochester’s dining fabric for years, quietly surviving trend waves. It’s an old-school kind of reliable, and locals treat it that way.

For best results, go early in the evening; the turnover is fast, and the seafood counter stays crisp, not soggy.

14. Albany Buffet (Colonie)

Rows of crab legs and tempura shrimp line up beside sweet-chili salmon and hibachi noodles, the colors almost theatrical. The scent is heavy with soy, garlic, and heat.

Opened during the early-2000s buffet boom, Albany Buffet became a steady gathering place for big groups and post-work dinners. It doesn’t chase fads; it doubles down on comfort.

Honestly, I like that about it. It’s straightforward, noisy, generous, and it feeds you like someone who assumes you’ve had a long day.

15. Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet, Buffalo/Williamsville (Williamsville)

At the sushi bar, knives flash in rhythm as chefs slice salmon with clean, quick precision. To one side, trays of oysters on ice gleam beside tempura vegetables still audibly crisp.

The house specialty, a buttery crab roll with roe on top, owes its texture to warm rice and freshly whipped mayo, a small technical triumph.

Regulars here have a habit: first sushi, then crab, then soft-serve. It’s oddly ritualistic, but after one visit, I understood why, it’s the perfect arc for indulgence.