TOPS Buffet in Manchester

Absolutely rotten. Everything tasted of fish and was watery. We watched one member of staff eating with his hands licking all his fingers then touching the pizza with his hands. The chocolate fountain is watered down, all cakes are frozen. The carvery section had a whole a fish on it with its eyes just staring into your soul (think it was trying to tell us to leave while we could) there was no meat just a bowl of pineapple, a traumatised fish and a plate of mash potatoes drier than the Sahara desert. Tables are all sticky the whole spots stinks and the receptionist looks severely depressed. Spoke to the manager and he went in to the back then came out about 20 minutes later and told us he was counting how many plates of food we had and we weren't getting a refund. I said did you noticed they were all still full of food (I had 3 plates because I was trying to find something edible) all 3 plates were still full and he said he didn't care. Avoid the place at all costs I wish I'd popped in mcdonalds and saved myself £25 quid.

Ok, what a funny little experience. From the burnt and chewy beef to the neon orange chicken. It was an adventure of realising that I am a picky person or do I not like bad food. The ice cream and the cakes yum. The sushi is horrible don’t touch, something in the rice.

Nothing blew me away in here apart from the ribs. The Chinese food was better than the Indian or pizza. Cakes and puddings were very nice.

Good dishes,amazing service from staff,nice location

No toilet facilities available!!! How is anyone ment to enjoy their food. When I approached numerous members of staff they had no answer but sorry there is work happening behind. This is extremely unacceptable.

Everything was hot and very well presented. One of the best buffets we’ve had and very cheap!

Great variety of food. Service was impeccable. Did get very busy.

Foods looked oily! Need to cook more non-oily foods like steam or boiled!

Absolutely perfect. My wife loved the experience

Fantastic place for a good feed

Food was great, good selection of choice. Drinks were a little pricey.

Acabo de llegar el jueves 21 de noviembre por la noche, hace 0 grados afuera, pero hace más frío adentro. Todo el mundo se sentaba con sus abrigos comiendo, y los inodoros eran como OMG tan frío. Hablé con los dos hombres de la mesa. No les molestaron. Tomamos su dinero. No eran culos y ni siquiera se disculparon. La comida no era genial, todo caliente, había estado un par de veces antes siempre estaba bien, pero esta noche fue el colmo nunca volverá. Les pedí a los dos hombres que miraran a todos comiendo con sus abrigos puestos.

A great place to dine, plenty of choice

Very good food,value for money. Friendly staff,really recommend, diversity of food.

Great buffet lots of options always be topped up and fresh

Went to tops on the 30th Oct 2024 with my partner and her 2 daughters one which is 13 yrs old. When we got there to pay was told that we would have to pay an adults price £21 for a 13 yr old. So don't know where you can class a 13 yr old has an adult. We wasn't happy. Once in just felt like that it was all rushed. Also ordered the drinks and not even had a drink and there was straight back for pay. Attitude of the staff was not great. Couldn't eat our food in peace has they always keep coming to the table. There was also hair on mine and my partners stake that we ordered. Shocking service and over price £21. We won't be going back there again.

The food 🥘 is nice , but the stuff they could smile a bit ,I know it’s busy but smile is free.

About a year ago, I tried their pizza in Luton during my visit, and it instantly reminded me of home in Pakistan. Since then, I hadn’t tried anything else all year because I couldn’t find that authentic Pakistani touch anywhere else. Now, I’m thrilled that they’ve opened a branch right here in my own city, Manchester. When I visited, I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat two, but I was so tempted that I ordered two anyway. I’m so glad they offer an Asian-style pizza with a Pakistani twist. The aroma, the taste everything is exactly as it should be.

Booked a table we are all 16 wouldn’t let us in we just wanted to eat food

1st time but won't be last ...fantastic food and service

Tops is an excellent open buffet with delicious food, especially the seafood. My whole family loves dining here, and the variety is fantastic. Always a great experience!

Yo y 2 de mis amigos venimos aquí para la comida anoche y no fue una experiencia agradable bastante de la comida sabía mal cocinada y simplemente no está bien y nuestras fantasías eran completamente planas y ahora los 3 nos hemos despertado esta mañana sintiéndonos absolutamente horrible vomitando y todos tienen cabezas golpeando

Good value for money, food was nice all round with plenty of choice. Drinks service was good.

Food really good except the sushi is not good

My friend made a booking for us for yesterday evening at half 6. However, when we arrived it was impossible to get into the restaurant with people claiming to have been waiting for about 40 mins (this was just the outside queue, there was an additional queue inside). What is the point of having a booking system if people can’t get into the restaurant for the time they booked? I understand weekends can be busy especially during the evenings but that is shocking.

It's an all you can eat world buffet, I knew I'd struggle not eating meat or fish, and I wasn't wrong. What little bits I did find were as expected, average for the type of restaurant, I'd give it 2 stars simply for lack of vegetarian options, I've given Tops 3 stars because the front of house staff, they were brilliant, The rest of the family loved it and would probably give it five, but they're not as fussy as me.

Been coming here for around 15 years but food choice and quality seems to have gone down in my opinion, don't let me put you off if you have never been before it's just me comparing it to previous visits

staff are so friendly and welcoming, food is very tasty

So been to tops few times over the years, last time I had food poisoning and now went back as been long time talking things will change. Had little amount of food and been sick when I got home. Services was lot of crap slow as anything and no want to order drinks as you have to do it yourself. Not worth the Money or services 1-10

Arrived at 9 when they close at 10 and was told by the girl on the desk in a condescending manner that “we’re closed” while literally eating and licking her fingers. Never had a more random obnoxious experience. The staff seemed like they were taking the piss and not happy to be there.

Very poor quality food and at 9pm the desert select was very tired and not at all appealing looking :( Have been here before and food was much nicer looking and a lot fresher so not sure if just gone down hill a lot or jus this visit but either way would not recommend at all

When we arrived the girl at the front desk could not have been more helpful, we were offered a look at the dishes before paying our diner entry fee. There was plenty of food, however due to the time we arrived we were advised they would not be replenishing the dishes. The food in the bain Marie was tasty although a bit dry. The staff taking the drinks orders really do need a course on customer service. We did have an okay experience at the end of the day for what we paid we probably could have had something better elsewhere.

Some of the food was not cooked and not much option

There is something for everyone and very affordable

absolutely terrible. got food poisoning from the chicken, went with other people and most of them who also ate the chicken said they feel sick. thrown up the day after, whilst we were there there were flies hovering around all the food. drinks are a ridiculous price and definitely not worth it. staff are rude and pressure you into buying drinks saying things like 'are you buying drinks now or later' when we didnt want one at all and constantly coming over to us when we made it clear we didnt want a £4 pint of coke. ended up ordering one anyway to get them to go away and they still found a reason to come over to us, pressuring us to leave when we had around 30 whole minutes left in the buffet. staff must be bored out of their minds to want to harrass a group of teenagers. definitely avoid. awful food and terrible service. stay clear.

The staff is so rude. No way I am coming back here. Very bad experience

Racist restaurant. I'm white. The black waitress took drink orders from blacks, but we had to go to the bar as whites.

If you are hungry and don’t know what you want to eat, go here! It is a little loud as it is a huge hall, not really a romantic place. A huge variety of food and drink the all you can eat menu is £24 drinks not included, for an adult.

One of the best buffets I have had! Great salad selection (the grilled pineapple is a very welcome addition!) and plenty of meat choices including lamb ribs. Deserts are fantastic too. Tap water is also available but not noted on menu.

I Don’t Often Write A Review About Anything But This Time I Have Too This Is Probably Worst Experience I Ever Had In Tops They Put Us The Most Cramp Place As Possible They Were 11 Of Us Went I Bought Some Candles And Sparkle Candles To Use For The Birthday Cake They Use They Own Because It Might Set Off The Fire Alarm And Not Even One Person Came To Us If You Wanted A Drink So We Had Water Where The Food Are And One Of My Friends Who Went Tonight Bring Sick When She Came Home Definitely Won’t Be Going There Again Any Time Soon

I recently visited Top Buffet in Manchester, and it was a great experience. The sheer variety of food was impressive, with stations offering everything from Indian curries to Chinese stir-fries and even freshly made sushi. I loved being able to try a bit of everything, and the quality of the dishes was surprisingly good for a buffet. The atmosphere was lively but not too crowded, and the staff were attentive, making sure everything stayed stocked and the tables were clean. It’s a fantastic place if you’re dining with friends who all have different tastes or just want to indulge in a little bit of everything!

Really lovely experience, food is always cooked fresh. Not usually an issue, slight issue with undercooked pizza dough last night, mentioned it to staff who took it off and recooked a new one and let me know immediately. All other food was amazing. Teppanyaki, carvery, pizza, sushi, Chinese, Indian... allsorts!

Some good food on offer, decent amount of dishes.

Veggie options ain’t the best. We Got stuck in an area which must be an over flow due to wheelchair not being able to go on the main floor , it’s a bit grim up there and the wheelchair user was unable to access the food area to pick what food the wanted, felt a bit discriminatory See attaché photo of the seating area where fabric was ripped and seen better days

The place was Jammed pack, quick service for drinks, waiting in line for the buffet 😋 all in all was a good experience

This place is huge! Well worth a visit if you like buffet dining

Shocking is not the word!! My 13 year old daughter who is a full time wheelchair user gets told she can't use the lift to access the food because her wheelchair is to heavy!! DISCRIMINATION to disabled people!! I will be taking this matter further and making sure everyone knows !! Very upset THANK YOU for ruining my daughters day! 😡😡😡😡

Lovely place with a good atmosphere, however, the food choices are limited, no sea food, dessert table had no fresh fruits and cakes were frozen inside.

Llegó a las 21. 20 , se le dijo en el escritorio que dejaron de sacar comida a las 22 . 00 y cerrado a las 22. 30 . Entré, estaba sentado. Bebe órdenes donde se toma. Llegaron los tragos. Recogí un plato de con un poco de sushi y un tazón de pollo y sopa de maíz dulce de lo más pequeño. Subí al mostrador de teppanyaki pedí filete y calamar, 10 minutos de espera. El calamar tenía un sabor extremadamente pescado (no como sabe el calamar) Me encanta el calamar y lo he comido durante más de 20 años, esta fue la primera vez que no he podido comerlo, sabía mal. Volví a levantarme, para que me dijeran muy groseramente (a los 22 años. 00 ) que la comida estaba siendo empacada y no podríamos conseguir nada más. Para añadir insultos a las lesiones no pudimos usar el baño ya que los cerraron a las 22. 00 (o antes) . Con más de una hora en coche a casa, sintiendo hambre, sintiéndonos desesperados por ir al baño, y preguntándonos si terminaremos con una intoxicación alimentaria... ¡¡se mantendría el 100 % alejado!!

I recently visited TOPs World Buffet in Manchester, and my experience left much to be desired. From the outset, the restaurant was uncomfortably hot, making it difficult to enjoy the meal. The temperature inside felt more like a sauna than a restaurant, and it seemed like the air conditioning was either malfunctioning or simply not up to the task. The food itself was substandard, lacking in both quality and freshness. Many of the dishes tasted bland and unappetizing, and it was clear that some had been sitting out for far too long. Despite the wide selection, the variety didn’t compensate for the overall lack of quality. To make matters worse, the service was frustratingly disorganized. I had to ask five different staff members just to get a pair of chopsticks, and no one seemed to understand my request when I asked for a small mixing bowl for the wasabi and soy sauce. Without a bowl, I ended up having to pour the condiments directly onto my plate, which ruined my meal as everything became overly saturated and unpleasant to eat. The atmosphere was chaotic and noisy, more akin to a school canteen than a restaurant. The tightly packed tables and high noise levels made it difficult to relax and enjoy the meal. Overall, my visit to TOPs World Buffet was disappointing. The uncomfortable heat, subpar food, disorganized service, and chaotic atmosphere make it a place I would not recommend or visit again.

Food wasn't nice. Most of the Waiters were sweaping the floor with the brush and was serving with the same unwashed hands. honestly.

Loved being able to choose a wide variety of food, everyone in the family happy even the picky ones. Toilets not very clean despite there being a lady by them with a tip jar, and the place was noisy too - recommend headphones for those with sensory issues. Went on a Saturday and would happily go again

An amazing buffet restaurant with a plethora of different dishes and deserts

Not worth the money £21.5 “dinner” and same boring food that you would normally find in a Chinese buffet, boring desserts and dry sushi. Ice creams and individuals cups

Brilliant food, brilliant atmosphere and a regular place that we visit. Great place to fill your tummy.

Myself and my husband came for the first time and were not disappointed. The food is outstanding and so much choice. It was all cooked really well and tasted freshly made. It was really busy but that was because it was a Saturday night so I think we’ll try and weekday next time. The staff were friendly enough but just wanted to get your drinks orders and then get your money. You pay for the food before you’re seated and drinks are pay as you go table service. Would recommend and will definitely be returning.

Great value for money. Excellent variety and outstanding quality food. Friendly staff and a great atmosphere. I would say book in advance as it gets busy. Excellent value for money.

We went on the 23rd of August for my 21st birthday. It was a party of 6. The blonde woman on the front of house who took our money was really rude didn’t really greet just demanded our money. We spent the first 45 minutes enjoying our food until the youngest of our party (10) began feeling sick and immediately went to the toilet and threw up. There was a lovely woman who sits in front of the bathroom entrance who came in and checked up on us. After we had left the bathroom we got our stuff and left. As we are walking literally around the corner to the Q car park, the youngest is still violently throwing up every few steps and that’s when it becomes apparent something is wrong because another person in our group begins to do the same. We now have two people throwing up. We all go home. I then get a message around 9-10pm in our groupchat starting up a conversation saying that everyone else is being sick and even experiencing diarrhoea. My youngest brother is still experiencing this too. Me and my partner went to bed before waking up around 12-1am throwing up and having bad stomach. I suffer from Crohn’s disease so this was even worse and is still evident not just with me but everyone. We all have made a report to Manchester City council food hygiene report line. I rang up at 12pm today on the 24th to ask for the manager, where the front of house woman said he is a meeting, he will reply to my email ive sent when he is free. I have just rang up at 2:47 pm for an update on wether the manager is free. The woman on the phone was disgustingly rude and said “yea well it’s a long meeting” I then have told her to inform the manager we have contacted city council and she replied “well haven’t had any complaints apart from you lot it’s probably a virus” I have contacted 111 last night and they say it is most likely food poisoning and for us to make our way down to a&e if it gets worse or wait till Monday for the gp to do a stool sample. I then say to her it’s not just us, you can read the reviews online there is multiple people experiencing the same thing. I would like to speak to the manager not front of house. She then says ok and that is the end of call. My brother and partner also said they seen a family picking the food up with their hands and just been downright disgusting. We are all so upset as it was a birthday party and want a refund haven’t got much hope for it especially with the way we have been treated.

The restaurant was very crowded with not much space between the tables. The selection of food was OK but it all tasted very salty. The staff were very polite, which was the only positive from the overall experience! The toilets were quite untidy - I would not revisit the restaurant, unfortunately

never had a cold sore in my life i ate here yesterday and have woken up with one on my mouth🤢i’ve been near nobody that has a cold sore or has even recently had one and im not one to share a drink or anything like that i feel sick🤮

I was in Manchester for a conference and I went for dinner at TOPS with some work colleagues. The food was a fixed price (£21 per adult) and there was an excellent selection...indeed far too many types of food for me to possibly eat in one sitting, but what I selected was nicely cooked, tasty and served at the right temperature. The dishes were being regularly restocked and topped up and everything looked fresh and appetising. I didn't try any of the desserts, instead sticking to various Asian dishes in one part of the restaurant. The restaurant was busy and the seating was a little 'cosy' but it wasn't really a problem. Drinks are not included in the price. It's decent value for central Manchester if you are feeling hungry enough to have a few platefuls. Overall a pleasant dining experience.

The food is delicious with plenty of options available. The pricing is more than fair, the drinks in here have always been awful with off brand cola/lemonade/orange add that taste like dish water. We just generally get the water from the fountain near the back.

Eveyone will find something for themeselves

Great place to eat, was a bit busy so had to wait for a bit. The drinks service was very long, had to wave and ask twice. The food was set up and some really nice. Felt the price was quite a lot for the amount eaten. Had a normal size meal. The deserts didn't even touch all looked bad.

Only four stars because the drinks waiter kept pestering to be paid for the drinks rather than return when we had finished eating. That was the only negative.

It’s buffet with a lot of food. For the price, it’s ok quality of food.

One of the worst dinners I've ever had. Poor quality

Excellent buffet with lots of choice: Indian, Asian, grill, pancakes, etc. There is something for everyone! A bit noisy atmosphere though.

Lovley place well priced good choice if dishes. Very polite attentive staff clean classy will defo return. A pleasure to gobusy but yet not noisy

I personally prefer vegetarian food and there were many options for me. Water is free! The mushrooms are awesome

Very varied food for all tastes, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Italian. We are missing some fish and seafood. The desserts are excellent. The waiters are great.

Definitely do not recommend, food is not great, price speaks for itself. Do not waste your time.

Went here after an event with friends and family, paid and took us to our table, it was hot! We were pushed in all 10 of us on a table with tables and chairs all around us, it was very busy loud and hot! Said we only had 1 and half hours to eat up! Felt so rushed and when ordered drinks they were straight on us to pay whilst eating our food. Que for toilet was long! Que for steak table was long also, constantly being bumping into people getting up out of seats and whilst going getting food, the food was ok, good variety with some food hit and miss, the lady who does the sprays of Deodorants near the toilets was sooo lovely!! She helped us with the long ques at the toilet. Such a shame as we may have come back but i don't think we will this time

Arrived today for the 1st time, a party of 5, a staff member put 3 x double tables together which resulted in manager being unhappy. Lovely food, nice atmosphere. MANAGER was EXTREMELY RUDE, ARGUMENTATIVE, & IGNORANT - has selective hearing also. 1 of the waitresses was also ill-mannered. Asking us to pass plates to next table for her yet forgot her manners. A simple please really makes the difference. Manners are free.

Really nice place - exceptional choice of food. Loads of halal options and clearly marked. Very enjoyable time. Will definitely go again. Price really good too.

The finest buffet we have been to

Wide variety of cuisines, tasty, the teppanyaki is great. Staff attentive. It’s a very chaotic place though and sadly this is to do with people letting their kids run wild around the place. The staff there need to get a grip of that if the parents/guardians can’t, and also stopping them messing around with the food at the buffet.

Really bad food wouldn’t recommend. Genuinely worst buffet I’ve been too

The staff were quite decent. Always cleaning the second a chip would fall on the floor as we went to get more they would collect our finished plates quite impressive. The trays of food was never empty. However wen we 1st sat down the server was stood over us waiting for our drink order. I got panicked and ended up ordering a shot by accident but we told them and they quickly changed it into a proper drink. Not totally there fault but would prefer if they gave us a sec to read the menu. The food was awful all of the meat I ate was very dry and some was rubbery. The pizza was dry as anything. It was not great I wouldn't rush back. Everything I had from the dessert section was vile. They're was a list of the treats however wasn't next to the cakes so couldn't tell wich was wich. The marshmallows had been sat for so long and tasted awful. Would not recommend save ur money and go somewhere else.

Only thing good about this place is the marshmallows and chocolate. Awful food

It's a very good atmosphere but the price isn't very good

Took hubby for a meal with my winnings from chester racecourse the day before

Really nice meal, waiters attentive, prices good.

We had some higher expectation of the place based on the website and marketing, Food: some average some bad, some quite nice The cutlery were cheap, and they felt as such, however somehow I can't blame them. Ambient/location was quite nice to luxurious which shows the potential of the place, excluding the table signs which we had to hide as they were miserable... management please. Overall it was a fairly nice experience, and we'd love to see some higher quality next time even if that means raising the price, as this has Huge potential.

Busy, plenty of choice for food

Nothing Special, infact I was quite disappointed, a lot of the food was stale and dry, real shame for the money they charge.

Great buffet restaurant, we had lunch @ £22 each and there’s nothing they don’t have, good quality too- drinks are reasonably priced too I had the Indian lamb curry think it was one of the nicest I’ve ever had, the prawns in my vid were delish too The only criticism is some staff need to cheer up a bit, some were I’d say slightly grumpy Desserts are another level too so save some room

not the best buffet but not the worst🤷‍♀️ good points : staff upon entry with the tickets were welcoming, they have lots of options of different foods alot of different chinese food choices compare to the likes of cosmos. the lady at the pancake section was lovely and the pancakes there were great! bad points : some of the food was very cold, i served up a bowl of sweetcorn soup and it was stone cold with no flavour. there is to much signs about food waste to the point where its off putting and makes you uncomfortable. any sensible person shouldn't be ram packing the plate anyway if it wont get eaten😅

Very busy but once you're in and sat down make sure you're hungry! Would recommend a visit. We pre booked which I would also recommend. Not a bad place but the usual cattle market type service, i.e. people barging in front of you etc. and as it is buffet you always wonder about kids touching the food.

Wouldn't recommend this place. Worst buffet I have ever been. Never going back.

Lots of choice but very basic dishes. Some of the dishes looked like they were cheap cuts of meat, fatty and extremely chewy. We were packed in like sardines, very busy place . It was ok but wished we had made the effort to go into China Town as it’s only a few streets away. If you want mass produced , cheap, refillable food, this is for you. Anything more special, go to CT

Food was okay, nothing special and most of the food was hard and cold. We found a long blonde/white hair IN our doughnut, baked into the dough. When we raised this with management they just said sorry and took the plate of food. They said that none of the people in the kitchen are blonde and they all wear hair nets, so it must've been a customers hair, which doesn't make sense as the hair was inside the doughnut. Not happy at all with this, made us feel ill and put us off our food.

Ok I definitely won’t be going to this place again first time and last being honest if only my partner seen the view he’s been a few times with his family and today he was treating me for a meal with the mothering law and my daughter and it’s my daughter first time my partner and my daughter and my mothering in law had belly acen and went to toilet a few time I didn’t eating much as just everything I tried was ever cold too fatty salty some of the food was bland the moral of the story last nights warmed up food basicly and ever in last comments. not one staff came to the table to see if the food ok or did we need anything to get up to go bar ask for drinks and the security guard standing at the door as we was crossing the road the security guy on the door had his hand in his pocket scratching is privates so yes who goes here please read comments before u go I won’t going again Please please please don’t go To this place and yes the food is disgusting and desserts jelly there’s no flavours and the banana and custard and peaches and pinaapple looked like it had been there for days no thank avoid avoid BIG LETTER DONT GO HERE!!!!

Food quality has gone down hill, definitely would avoid.

Very elegant all you can eat restaurant in the heart of Manchester with affordable prices and large variety of tasty foods.

Some of the food was lovely but others were less impressive. The servers would come while you’re eating to clear plates instead of doing it once you’d got up for more food, they also interrupted us while eating to pay for our drinks. Had a fly on my straw in the drink and they changed it for a new drink as soon as we asked.

Very good service. The food is also very tasty.I highly recommend

My 1st time visiting TOPS based on a recommendation and i couldn’t fault it. There is a time limit and at 1st you think you’re going to be rushing but 1 hour 30 is more than enough time to eat as much as you like without rushing. The variety of food was fantastic and was always being topped up. The desserts weren’t really as exciting as the main courses but that was fine with me! Would definitely recommend.

Expensive and the food wasn't up to standard disappointed the tikka masala was big square chunks of chicken and the sauce was like pee water no flavour and beef in black bean sauce the meat was too thick like grizzle no spices I could go on.

Dreadful. There were small children running everywhere, even climbing up onto the buffet areas trying to get the food - which is on trays! All Chinese and Indian food was so spicy it was inedible. Really disappointed for £21.00!