12 Mistakes You're Making When Dining At Golden Corral

Golden Corral Buffet & Grill is a feast for the eyes and, of course, the mouth. It's a buffet, after all, and there are countless dishes to suit every preference. With this in mind, it can be easy to go ham when you arrive and make some silly mistakes, i.e., filling up on low-cost items, ignoring the freshest dishes of the bunch, or simply showing up at the wrong time of day to match either your monetary or selection preferences. Not anymore, though. We are going to put a stop to common Golden Corral blunders today, at least on your end of the equation.

I rounded up a list of mistakes people everywhere are making at Golden Corral Buffet & Grill so you can ensure you never fall prey to them again. When done right, the restaurant gives you a ton of bang for your buck, nearly endless food selections, and, hopefully, a good time as well. So, commit the upcoming missteps to memory, and you'll be able to maximize every experience you have at Golden Corral moving forward. Hooray! And also, who's hungry?

As it turns out, the best way to start any visit to a buffet is to peruse the offerings, and that includes when you are at Golden Corral Buffet & Grill. That's right. Before you even think about snagging a plate and loading it up, you should take a minute to observe what's happening with the food displays. Walk down each row of the line, pay attention to what your options are, and most of all, take note of what appears to be fresh. That way, you can ensure you get the best the buffet has to offer with every plate. It also enables you to weigh your options and hone in on all of your favorite dishes before filling up on other things.

It is also wise to look and see which stations are the cleanest, so you can prioritize them. Adversely, you can also choose to avoid messier areas of the buffet, at least until they get some much-needed attention from the staff. Who knows? They might even bring out a fresh plate of food in the process, and that's always a plus.

One of the best parts about visiting Golden Corral Buffet & Grill is that you get to eat to your heart's content. You also get to do it at a reasonable price, and in this economy, who can argue with that? Even so, there are ways to stretch your dollar even further when you visit, and they don't include you filling up on low-cost items. Carbs, like bread, pasta, and rice in particular, are foods to be wary of. We all love them, so it's easy to make a beeline in their direction. However, this would be a mistake. They cost pennies to make, and they are incredibly filling. Actually, Golden Corral is hoping you do exactly this, so they can save some money, but you are smarter than that.

I'm not saying you should avoid carbs entirely when dining at Golden Corral. I'm ride or die for them, so I would never. Still, it's best to show some restraint (easier said than done) and populate your plate with a wide variety of different foods. If not, it may be hard to say you truly got a good value out of the experience, and you are savvy. So, make sure to save most of the room in your stomach for less filling foods that cost a bit more to make. You can always make yourself pasta, bread, and rice at home anyway.

In addition to pursuing the buffet line when you first arrive, wise Golden Corral diners will also keep their eyes peeled for staff members bringing out new trays of food. Actually, it'd be a big mistake not to.

No matter how busy Golden Corral Buffet & Grill is at the time of your visit, chances are good that a few dishes have been sitting under the heat lamps for longer than ideal. During peak hours, you encounter less of this, but either way, yuck. You can typically tell by the appearance, but it isn't always obvious which options are rapidly deteriorating in quality. That's why it's best to pay attention, so you can see which ones are being refreshed and grab them while the getting is good.

I'm not saying you should jump up immediately and abandon the plate in front of you when you see a fresh tray come out, but make note of where it goes, and swing by the next time you go through the line. If you do, you'll know you are getting the freshest foods available, and they will be at their highest quality.

Another common mistake people make at Golden Corral Buffet & Grill is not giving high-dollar food items the attention they deserve. Yes, the restaurant is known for offering an inexpensive, filling option for meals, but it only gets cheaper when you prioritize the most expensive fare on the buffet line. Umm.. consider my attention grabbed.

Each Golden Corral location is a little different, but one pricy item you can expect to find everywhere (at least during dinner time) is sirloin steak. Actually, it's one of the brand's signature offerings. As you probably could have guessed, making sure to get your fill of it will help you stretch your money further, and you can even make sure you get your Golden Corral steak cooked to your liking. Other high-dollar items include things like seafood, fried chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, and baked chicken. You're likely to find some elaborate desserts as well. Go for these items over things like rice, pasta, bread, and plain old soft serve ice cream, and you'll be well on your way to getting the best value possible every time you visit. Done and done.

With all of the rich items offered at Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, like steak, scalloped potatoes, mac and cheese, and more, it can be easy to overlook fresh veggies. The ones on the main part of the buffet are often pretty lackluster as well. They usually look steamed and underseasoned, and an overall unpleasant way to enjoy veggies — I'm looking at you, corn, peas, and carrots. However, thinking this is your only path to veggies is a mistake you don't want to make on your next visit. After all, Golden Corral does have a salad bar.

Most of the items on Golden Corral's salad bar are raw, so you know they are fresh and nutritious. If not, they'll at least show some obvious signs, like wilted leaves and a soggy texture. So, if you want to get more vegetables, and fresh ones at that, don't overlook the salad bar. It's a great place to supplement your meal with options that will not only fill you up, but also give you some vitamins and nutrients. If you like ranch dressing, even better.

Oh, fried foods. They are freaking tasty. We all know that. However, focusing on them at Golden Corral, and them alone, is a common mistake many recommend avoiding. It's not just GC, either. The same goes for all establishments of this sort. Why? Well, for starters, fried foods are one of the worst things to eat at a buffet. Unfortunately, they don't hold up very well under heat lamps. Whether we are talking about things like chicken wings or breaded options, the longer they stay under the lights, the more the texture declines. While this can be said for most foods, fried foods in particular suffer more because the crispy exterior we love is the first thing to go.

As the texture of fried foods left under heat lamps deteriorates, so does the flavor. So, really, it's a lose-lose. Obviously, if you see a tray of freshly fried offerings come out, that's the ideal time to cash in. However, if not, your best bet is to stick to other fare until you do. That's okay, though. There are plenty of options, and many of them are not fried. In addition, filling up on fried foods isn't something your stomach will thank you for, regardless of quality. No shade. I love fried foods as much as the next person, but everything in moderation, right?

Golden Corral is a buffet, so it's a free-for-all on many fronts. However, that doesn't mean you can simply do whatever you want once you walk through the doors. Just like any other establishment, there are common etiquette rules you are expected to follow. It's unlikely you'll get a formal reprimand — although side-eye isn't off the table — but not minding your p's and q's is a mistake you don't want to commit.

One of the most important buffet etiquette rules to follow is giving other diners and staff members plenty of personal space. You don't want to hover or rush anyone. Give them all the time and room they need before pushing your way into an area. Another serious faux pas is touching food and not putting it on your plate. Gross! If you touch it, take it. Additionally, when you use tongs and other utensils, put them back where you got them, not with a different dish. Cross-contamination is frowned upon, so steer clear.

Last but certainly not least, do not let your kids run amok inside Golden Corral. They need help at the buffet. Give it to them. When left unchecked, kids can easily become a hazard to other people moving throughout the restaurant, make unnecessary messes, and fail to follow other common courtesy rules. Of course, they can also bother other diners. GC is not a playground. Don't let your kids treat it as such.

At Golden Corral Buffet & Grill, the time you choose to visit makes a massive difference. Not understanding this is a major mistake. First of all, if you prefer the freshest food, going during peak dinner and lunch hours is best. This may feel counterintuitive because it's often wise to visit other restaurants during slow periods, but at GC, an abundance of people is beneficial — it results in the food being refreshed more frequently. Nice!

Knowing what hours you can get different meals is also essential to achieving Golden Corral success. For example, you don't want to go in for breakfast only to find out lunch is on the buffet and so forth. The specifics vary a bit from one location to the next, so you'll have to call your local spot to get exact times. However, for the most part, breakfast is served from 7:30 to 11 a.m. and often a little earlier on the weekends. Some regions don't offer breakfast during the week at all (like where I am, in Denver). Moving on to lunch, Golden Corral typically stays on the buffet until 4 p.m. Pro tip: If you are after the signature sirloin steak, it isn't on the lunch menu, so you'll have to wait for dinner, which typically runs from 4 p.m. until close.

Golden Corral features an array of seafood on its buffets. You can find everything from fried shrimp to lobster, and more. That's one of the many perks you get when dining at the restaurant. However, expecting it to be fresh is a mistake. It won't be. It is a far cry from some lavish Vegas buffet. It's the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill. The food is acceptable, but it isn't splurging on fresh seafood fancy. The price alone should alert you to that. If it didn't, consider yourself warned.

The fact that Golden Corral's seafood likely won't be fresh doesn't mean you need to avoid it entirely. Actually, go ahead and dive right into it if you want. Just make sure to manage your expectations. There's nothing wrong with frozen seafood, per se; it just doesn't hit the spot quite like the freshly caught stuff. So, as long as you know what you are getting into, no love lost. The texture will be a bit more rubbery than a premium option, but it's still seafood. Yum!

When you visit Golden Corral & Buffet, it is a time to indulge. I mean, once you pay, it's all "free" after that, so going a bit overboard is in order if you want to make the most of your money. Still, it can be quite wasteful if you load up plates repeatedly and don't even come close to finishing them. Do yourself and the restaurant a favor and don't be that person. It's simply unnecessary. After all, an abundance of food waste sucks. Plain and simple.

A great way to minimize needless food waste on your end is to start your meal by tasting items, not going all in before you even try them. That way, you can have a couple of bites and decide if you like the food in question enough to eat more. If so, go back to the buffet and get as much as you want. If not, though, you can skip seconds and hopefully avoid frivolous food waste along the way. Plus, you'll save room for the things you truly like the most. Winning on both ends!

Like so many other restaurants these days, Golden Corral Buffet & Grill has an app and a rewards program. Forgetting this, or simply opting not to take advantage of these services, is a major mistake savvy diners, like you, want to avoid. Not only does the app enable you to check things, like specific dining hours for dinner, with ease, but it also enables takeout orders (yup, they are a thing, but more on that later).

Golden Corral's Good as Gold Rewards Club also comes with a handful of perks you don't want to miss out on. When you join, you get a free beverage, occasional coupons, and a special birthday bonus. If you sign up through the app, you also get a $5 reward just for setting up the account. After that, you also earn one reward point for each dollar spent. Then, when you reach 100 points, you get a $10 return to spend at GC anyway you like. Heck yeah! With all of this in mind, leaving the extra bonuses and points on the table sounds like a horrible idea, so make sure to sign up before your next visit. If not, there will also be handy QR codes and friendly staff to assist you in accomplishing the task while you are there. Still, doing it before you go will allow you to focus on the good stuff when you arrive. 

The final mistake people make at Golden Corral is thinking that just because it is a buffet, you can't order takeout. As it turns out, this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Golden Corral Buffet & Grill offers several takeout options, and they all bring you a taste of the good stuff without having to take the time out of your day to dine in-house. Well, at least not their house.

For starters, many Golden Corral locations offer a "Weigh & Pay" form of takeout that allows you to load up a box yourself. Then, as the name suggests, you pay based on the weight of the container. The establishment also offers delivery through third-party services like GrubHub and a pickup option with pre-set options, including individual meals, family meals, the famous fried chicken, steak, whole pizzas, and more. 

While this all sounds great, especially if you have a hankering for Golden Corral Buffet & Grill and simply don't have it in you to go out on the town, don't get it twisted: This does not mean you can take leftover food to-go after dining at the establishment, so don't even think about requesting a box for it. I'm sure the staff gets the question all of the time, and chances are good they despise it when people jokingly ask about wrapping up their leftovers.