I think I am starting to like sushi... The Journey has so many great options. It can please even the pickiest of eaters, although if you want your money's worth you better try it all. I am not a sushi expert, and I have not had it anywhere else, but I am told that this is a very high quality place to get it. I will try anything, and most of the items on the menu are delicious to me. I love that I can get a steak along with my fried rice and crab rangoons. The service is always great. You can't give the place lower stars because it is popular and is always packed, but every place has its haters.
Review Source:Definitely quantity over quality, as stated before. Â This place was PACKED for lunch, and at $10.99 for all-you-can-eat that seems like a good deal, especially for the huge variety of food they offer. Â And then you look at the food, and then you taste it. Â I am giving it two stars, because the sushi was actually not bad, and as others have said, the huge crowds mean pretty frequent turn-over of food. Â They actually serve steak here. Â Yeah, tough gristly steak. Â The chicken kebabs and shrimp salad were OK. Â The crab rangoon and "spring rolls" were terrible. Â Everything just looked so tired and tasted mediocre-to-bad. Â Add to that the extremely tacky chocolate fountain and people and children milling around all over the buffet area . . . Â Unlike others, we had really friendly and pretty attentive service.
Review Source:This is quantity, not quality. I went with friends who wanted to go. I don't eat most of what they serve so I was going to have a big salad. Salad bar was fine and looked fresh but the mixed greens were sitting in at least 3 inches of water. If I had a salad spinner, I would have used it. Since I didn't, I ate the iceberg. I tasted a few of the desserts and NONE of them were good. Bland, dry and not sweet enough. Too many other better looking places in the area to waste the time, $$ or calories here.
Review Source:I was a first-timer. I love me a buffet! I am indecisive; I love choices! I heard from someone that this place was great, so a friend and I went for lunch. IT IS A STEAL!!! Most of the food was very good. There was sushi (not the best or most fresh sushi I have ever had, but still doable for the price and selection); chinese food, various meats, a salad bar, American food (mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, etc), and a dessert bar, including a chocolate fountain. A few of the items I had were not hot, but tasted good. I did taste a piece of mackerel nigiri, which I had to spit out. It was so tough and chewy, I would have never gotten it down. Because of Jemmie's review, I made sure to place the tongs on the plate! They even have signs!!! I'm trying to think of any standouts, but there wasn't really anything. OOH! I retract that! They had really good chicken wings. They were just plain fried chicken. IDK what was so special, but it was good. Â Due to all the meat selections, my friend Libby dubbed it "The poor people's Fogo de chao."
I actually broke my "no chocolate fountain" rule (cesspools! I'm tellin' ya), and it was good. Sidebar: I literally saw a kid eat a piece of banana from a stick, then use that same stick to to stab another piece of food and put it into the fountain. For reals(yet, I still ate it). Also, it wasn't so much a 'fountain' as a large vat of liquid chocolate. There was no fountain apparatus. Serious highlight of the trip: they had DIET DR. PEPPER. OMG.A buffet, lots of choices (even if most are meh), and diet Dr. Pepper. There was so much to choose from!!! I am dying to go back for dinner and try the prime rib, and see what else they could possible add!
The Journey is a great buffet with incredible food and service. The place is very nice and very high class. When I first walked in it was just brilliant. The hostess greeted me and it was very breath taking. For an all you can eat buffet, the price is actually very reasonable. The food was delicious and the chocolate fountain was so amusing. Their food had so much variety such as American food, Chinese food, and Japanese food. Some of our favorites would be the snow crab legs and sushi. The Journey gives you a feeling as if you are on a journey. I suggest everyone to go there because it is worth it. It can't get any better than this :)
Review Source:Rule #1: visit this place on weekends. The turnover is huge so very likely fresh food will be served.
Rule #2: try to avoid the sushi especially the ones with raw meat . And dont risk you health by trying the marinated raw seafood.
Lots of MSG in the food.  If this place opens in a bigger city like Chicago, I wouldnt be surprised  if it closes in couple months.
Came here for dinner while in town visiting! Â Food was good, reminded me of a buffet you would see in Vegas. Â They had a hard time keeping up with plates and crab although they weren't that busy in my opinion. Â Quality was still great. Â My review reflects 5 stars because I am factoring in the company of people that I was at the restaurant with! Â Will definitely return and recommend!
Review Source:I'm a frequent customer to The Journey who will be a lot less frequent. I usually have a high tolerance for crappy service, especially at ethnic restaurants - it's one of the things that makes them more authentic (I'm ethnic so I can say that). But The Journey doesn't just have crappy service - they have aggressively hostile and rude service.
Try this experiment... Go to The Journey, go to the sushi line, pick up the tongs, grab some sushi rolls, and then put the tongs neatly back onto the plate of sushi rolls instead of the Plate That Is Reserved for Tongs.
OMFG. If you didn't know better, you'd think that you just took a huge steaming dump onto the plate of sushi rolls. The sushi-making dude who speaks no English will grunt in your general direction, gesticulate angrily, and then put the tongs so hard onto the Plate That Is Reserved For Tongs that it makes a loud clangy sound and everyone within eyesight of the circus sideshow turns to see it. Translation: "MF'er!!! put the f'ing tongs back onto the f'ing Plate That is Reserved for Tongs!!!!!!!"
After you're done with that experiment, try this experiment: Go to a plate of sushi rolls and, instead of picking the one that is in the very front - maybe because the one at the front is smaller, has too much rice, has a booger on it, or maybe it's just because you're the paying customer and you don't have to have an explicit reason - pick another one. The reaction from the sushi chefs will be more severe than if you had just burned down an orphanage full of screaming orphans using cute furry puppies as kindling.
What's amazing is customer after customer were either visibly insulted by the above and/or laughing at the stupidity of it, and they don't get the message. In addition, it's not just the employees - I saw the owner of the place do the same things.
How long can you display contempt for your customers before your customers get the message?
Hands down one of the best buffets I have ever been to. My fiance and I go here at least once a month and we both love it everytime! Lunch is cheaper than dinner but sushi is available at both so no biggie if you just want really great sushi. The staff is always friendly to us most likely because we are regulars lol. There is sooooo much to choose from that if you can't find something you like then it has to be YOUR own taste in food lol. The dessert bar is good and fresh. Lunch is usually less crowded than dinner but dinner offers more food choices. The chocolate fountain I would live in if they let me :)
Review Source:The Journey gets a 2, not for the food, but for the service!!! Ohhhh dear! Â
One time I came here for dinner with a few guests from out of the country and I couldn't believe it but the waiter actually came up to us and kept sighing loudly and finally told us to hurry up and leave in a very arrogant mannar (so much for catching up with good friends). Â I thought that the way he handled the situation wasn't professional at all. I found out later that they do indeed have a 2 hour limit and enforce it quite strictly during the weekends. Â This incident happened about 2 years ago.
Fast forward to a few days ago when I came again with friends from out of town. Â The entire time I was feeling nervous about the whole "you must leave" situation. Â Half way into our meal (maybe 30 minutes or so) our waiter brings us the check and I take it. Â He STANDS there as I get my credit card out and sign (Don't they usually go away?), then snatches it up from the table (Don't they usually pick up the signed copy after you leave?). Â After the waiter took the bill and punched in his tip, we stopped getting refills on our water. Â It was like they were sending the message loud and clear "once we get our tip you're on your own" Â GOLLY! Â
I think their wait staff really need some training on appropriate serving behavior. Â
BUT to tive them the credit, the food is great for indy. Â I enjoy the food a lot (which is why I keep going back)... I think I would enjoy it EVEN more if I didn't feel nervous that a waiter is going to rush me out every time I go.
Stopped at the Journey while in Indy for the 500. Wish this place was closer to home because the food here was great. This buffet has it all. The Sushi was a step above other buffets I have been at. They also have Korean beef which was quite good. The dinning room here is quite interesting with its naticial theme. It is almost like you are at a buffet on a cruise ship. The service here was also great. My ice tea was never empty and they were quick to clear the plates. The most popular item on the buffet was the crab legs and they never ran out. I was quite impressed by this because people would take a full plate of them each time they went up. The desserts were also great. They even had a chocolate fountain with various goodies to cover in chocolate. This is one of the best Asian buffets I have been to.
Review Source:THE JOURNEY YO!!!!!! Â Man, sushi was unbelievable b, mad delicious son. Â Straight up, for a buffet, it don't get no better than this joint in Indy. Â Coming from the small fishing village of Los Angeles, I thought sea food out here was garbage... then I took a journey. Â Hella clean environment too!! Â I came in and was like WHAAAAAAAAT!!! Â Them ninja bitches is mad racist tho, my wife and I, and a couple of amigos from south the border were sat next to the regsiter with ninjas all around. Â Guess they thought we'd steal or some such ish, that's why their sterotypin assess got no tips. Â Fuck them ninja bitches.... but the food was mad scrumptios yo, and that's word yo, straight up b, straight up.
Review Source:The Journey is certainly a unique concept in Indy. Â It's a blend of an Asian-style buffet with some American fare and a chocolate fondue fountain. Â The place is always hoppin' and sometimes it can take a while to get seated. Â It covers lots of culinary bases, but unfortunately the food is all really bland and tasteless. Â The sushi is really subpar and all the food is just lacking in flavor. Â I guess they have to sacrifice this in order to make things in mass quantity. Â Certainly come here if you skipped breakfast and want to pig out for a huge lunch (and then subsequently pass out in a food coma), but otherwise I'd skip this place.
Review Source:The Journey is an experience...that's for sure. Â I had heard great things about this buffet (and after all, I am a fan of buffets), and had been interested in trying it. Â What better time to try a seafood buffet than Lent? Why is the Journey great? Â First, it's huge! Â I had to take several laps around the buffer before choosing what I wanted. Â They seemed to have everything! Â I found the sushi to be very tasty with a wide variety of offerings. Â I also enjoyed the swordfish and salmon. Â I did not venture into any of the chicken dishes or Chinese selections, but they also looked excellent. Â I was impressed with the quality of the food. Â But, with that being said....
....The Journey is overpriced. Â Way overpriced. Â The dinner buffet should be priced at $12.99 and include a soda with that price. Â My bill was over $23.00. Â The food is good, but not that good. Â
The Journey needs to beef up their salad bar a bit. Â While it is certainly a better salad bar than a typical Asian buffet, it is lacking. Â I also found the desserts to be lacking. Â Chocolate Fountain? Â Wow! Â Seriously, where is the soft-serve machine?
I'm sure I'll venture back into the Journey at some point. Â Overall, the experience was worth it.
How did I not review this yet?
Effing magic. It is that simple. We do road trips out to this place, unlimited sushi that I would say goes toe to toe with most sushi sit downs, the cooked meat products are all top shelf, all of the vegetables are awesome. I can not say a single bad thing about the Journey other then it gets swamped (one time it took us 45min to be seated) and that it isn't in Columbus Ohio.
MAGIC.
This is a buffet. It's divided into five islands. There is a huge salad bar, dessert bar, sushi/sashimi/udon bar, traditional American cuisine (prime rib, right down to pizza or mac & cheese), Chinese, and Asian.
The food quality is generally very good. There is a lot of seating, and for different sizes of groups ranging from two, thru many booths, to large tables. It's all buffet, all the time.
Some of the offerings suffer from batch preparation. The snow crab (not king as listed elsewhere here) is overcooked, but not bad. Same goes for other offerings like the tuna sashimi which had been frozen too many times, and was grainy in texture.
The sushi maki rolls, however, are pretty good, and there are some imaginative rolls, too. The American-Chinese and Asian Islander (fried banana, kim chee, tasty mackeral) were pretty good. The dessert bar is good, as is the salad bar.
But they're not excellent. The variety is very good. Few people would be unhappy here. Wait staff is attentive and plentiful, and even if the parking lot looks full, there is probably space inside; seating is huge-- even though food rarely ever runs out. No single thing is excellent or extremely memorable if you're a "foodie", but nothing is awful, either. Just very good. There is something here that will satisfy almost everyone but the most orthodox vegan. Warning: this place isn't really vegan compatible unless you're into rabbit food.
Pretty much your standard Asian buffet, and really nothing special.
The place is huge, with lots of space for plenty of people and numerous large parties. It was also decently decorated and wasn't too difficult to navigate. That being said, the food is what matters here and that is where this place falls flat.
There was a pretty mediocre selection of seafood and a decent selection of sushi, both of which tasted pretty bland overall. It was quite a drive to get out here, and I can't say I'd ever do it again.
Here in the midwest, there is a constant trend of inexpensive Asian buffet places with subpar food, and this is simply one more to add to that list.
I fear that most Americans out here have never really tasted great Asian food, and are instead stuck believing that this mediocre tasting stuff (like the stuff here) is the best that there is to offer when it comes to Asian food. What a sad thought.
So curious to try this place after reading the reviews. Â I should have known that buffet-style anything would be the ultimate sacrifice of quality for quantity. Â Sushi and maki OK. Â There was a little eye-brow hair on my maki roll and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the meal. Â The maki rolls were very heavy on the rice and cream cheese, very little actual seafood in the rolls. Â The fish on the nigiri looked kind of plasticized, no glistening fresh sashimi here. Â Chinese noodles overly greasy, orange chicken with old tasting chicken meat. Â Dessert choices and quality were lacking. Â The food was very very average. Â The only good thing about this place was the service. Â The waitress was very attentive and cleared our plates swiftly. Â
I am just not a buffet person in general, so that was probably my first mistake. The second mistake is that we came for the dinner which was 19 dollars per adult. Â To me, not at all worth it given such average food. Â Husband who doesn't usually complain about anything also felt the same way. Â Needless to say we would not "Journey" back here especially since there are so many great Japanese restaurants in the immediate area.
The Journey holds up, visit after visit. Go for the deal at lunch unless you're flush and you want the extra seafood (lobter? crab? sushi?) that comes for the dinner price.
If you don't like Asian food, you can eat a LOT here because they have great pizza from their stone oven and great sliced beef and chicken and mac n cheese and a whole slew of non Asian food.
The Asian food is great too.
Everyone talks about the chocolate fountain, but I can take it or leave it. I really like the crepes made while you wait, but they could zhuj those up a bit with higher-end fillings
My only complaint is that too many of their GIANT plates are chipped or cracked. I understand those plates are custom ordered with the Journey logo and must be expensive, but chipped  plates make me think about places to harbor germs.
Hands down, the best buffet in Indianapolis. They have a huge selection of food for everyone's taste buds. The lunch is very reasonably priced, but they do not have crab legs for lunch. The dinner price is ok, it always seems to be going up too. I believe it is 17.99 now but is very  much worth it. If you are not a huge crab leg fan then go for lunch, great deal.
Kids love the chocolate fountain, but I wish parents would monitor their children better and not let them run wild and stick their hands in it. Oh well, not the restaurants fault.
Their sushi is very good for a buffet and always seems to be fresh. Overall quality of food here is very much worth the price.
For a buffet, this place is legit. Â The Asian food tastes quite good, and very fresh. Â They are constantly cooking up something fierce back there. Â The selection is quite good too - cooked goods, your normal, cold bar, fondue, carving station, noodle soups, sushi...
The docking of the star is for the dessert. Â All buffets should have either scooping ice cream or soft serve. Â Here, they scoop it into a bowl for you in a freezer. Â No good. Â I didn't even eat any =(. Â
Otherwise, well worth it!
The Journey really isn't all that. Â It's overpriced and very often ridiculously crowded. Â I think their main selling point is OMG SEAFOOD because to people inland "seafood" somehow equals "gourmet and high-class."
The selection isn't that much wider than 8 China Buffet, though it features more Western food, and the sushi is a slightly different assortment (though they do have my favourite, spicy crab mix). Â It's a little like Harvard--living off its own hype without a whole lot of actual substance to back it up. Â If I want a Chinese buffet, I'll go to 8 China Buffet.
This place is "all the rave on the north side" as I tell anyone who hasn't been there before.
Honestly in my opinion its an upscale glorified chinese buffet. On the weekends the parking is usually hard, & its pure pandemonium trying to get through the other diners trying to fix your plate in the buffet lines.
The food IS good! The plates are bigger than the average buffet plates. They also offer things that you don't get at your everyday chinese buffet. They have sushi, & you actually see the chefs rolling it. There is a chocolate fountain that you can dip wafers, marshmallows, fruit, whatever you want into. I had fried crab legs once when I went for lunch. They do have american food on the buffet as well.
I would recommend you go at lunch & save yourself some money the only difference is a few items of food.
*Also as a note to the sushi lovers they do have sushi on the lunch menu.
I enjoy going to The Journey. Â A huge variety of Chinese, sushi, Korean, seafood, American, boat of fruit and salad bar, and dessert with even a chocolate fountain. Â Lunch prices on Sat. & Sun. (not on holidays) are a great deal.
Sat. & Sun. lunches have authentic Asian foods. Â I love the beef short ribs, flounder, asparagus, duck, and sushi. Â They have beef BBQ ribs, Chinese green beans, seaweed, soups, pizza, garlic bread, etc. Â Sometimes they change the menu.
Because I was attending with a large group, I recommended reserving a private room.
The decor is excellent. Â The restroom could use a little improvement.
A must-eat restaurant!
the staff could be more friendlier.... they seem to be annoyed...
BUT still my most favorite sushi place in the world! the chocolate fountain is the friggin bomb! sushi is forever fresh and made over and over again continusly during ur visit.
best time to go is lunch time cuz its 7.99 and at dinner u get the same exact dishes as lunch but u end up paying 20 bucks at dinner.
Journey is a high end buffet wanna be. They're a little cheaper than your usual Todai, Nori Nori, and Korean buffets, but the food is not nearly as good.
For some reason my parents love this place, and whenever I go home to visit, they take me there. Sure, I can tolerate eating there, the food isn't THAT bad, but in my opinion there are so many better places to go to! They have a mix of western and Asian dishes. They have pizza, fries, chicken fingers, cold seafood, fruits, desserts, teriyaki, fried rice, spring rolls.... etc. You can probably find any of your common buffet dishes here. But they're all just OKAY.
The decor is not too bad, the place is spacious, and service is good.
The one thing that I enjoy at Journey's is the melted chocolate fountain where you can dip strawberries in. :]
The Journey is a great place to take your parents or grandparents. Â For a family-style buffet restaurant, it isn't terrible. Â As a person actually interested in high quality, tasty food, I wouldn't come here unless someone else really wanted to go. Â Not surprisingly, it gets really crowded on the weekends, and you'll probably have to wait for a table.
They had a big selection of Chinese, Japanese, and American food. Â Everything was bland. Â The sushi was suspiciously warm. Â I didn't bother to eat more than one bite of any of the dumplings. Â The two things I did enjoy were the cheesy baked crab and the seaweed salad in the Japanese section, but I wouldn't pay full buffet prices just for seaweed salad and baked crab. Â Some of the baked fish looked good, but I never got around to it. Â
I wouldn't mind going back to The Journey, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.
"gurl, you have to check out journey's".... for some reason when annette was telling me about it i thought it might be a bar. (it's annette, hello.)
i'm not really big on buffets. the only buffet i've been to that i really enjoyed was at the rio in las vegas. and plus there's the fact that i don't really eat much when i go to buffets (i know, crazy coming from a self proclaimed face stuffer..huh huh, face stuffer..back to the review) it seems like a waste. those things aside, d and i decided to go check it out last week for our anniversary. (hey, we were tired from moving and HUNGRY, next year we'll go eat somewhere more elegant. )
located in the northeast (i'm beginning really regret not looking into homes in that area--tasty asian foods. grr) it was a little bit of a drive for us (okee, so it's not like ca where everything is 45mins away.. in indy everything is 20mins away.. hahah) but it was worth it. i love the fresh decor, cozy booths (face stuffing.. mmmhmmm) and cute little asian waitperson that served our drinks and whisked away our dirty dishes in a blink of an eye. seriously, i was talking to d and look down to fork (they were out of chopsticks!) the last sushi on my plate but the plate was gone.
food was surprisingly good. every time we try a new place and i don't have to say "it's not like in cali.." it's a good thing. sushi, crab legs, fried goodies, fresh fruit.. mmm it was all good for $18.99/per person. and i heard it's $10 at lunch... here's hoping they open one downtown.
we'll definitely go again. :) who's in?
I've heard a few people rave about this place, so we decided to check it out. I'm not a big buffet fan for a multitude of reasons, but I figured for $18+ per person, it might filter out the typical buffet-goers. I was wrong.
The food was decent. They had a pretty diverse selection, but it seemed like a glorified "Super China Buffet" kinda place. Sushi, lots of fried seafood, fried rice, lo mein, etc... Â They had a chocolate fountain, but I didn't even indulge...I was thinking too much about how often it was cleaned.
The staff was friendly, but there were a couple of kids running around while their parents could care less. It was annoying. Yes, we have kids, but we would not let them run amuck. I saw the staff eyeballing the girls, but no one said anything to the parents...I'm sure it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
If you're into buffets, then you'll probably like this place.
The Journey is one of the better buffet's in the city that I've been to. Â I'd say the star of the place is the sushi buffet. Â There is about 30 different varieties of sushi, from different maki rolls to nigiri to sashimi, theyve got it all. Â The rest of the buffet features the traditional chinese buffet favorites as well as an american-style food section if youre not into the chinese aspect. Â They've also got king crab legs and sometimes have a carving of prime rib as well depending on what day or time you go.
I've never been to the lunch buffet but people say its basically the same thing but with a slightly limited menu, i.e. no prime rib carving and less sushi. Â All in all you pay about 18 bucks per person and it includes unlimited trips to the buffet and a drink. Â It sure beats your run of the mill sub 10 dollar buffet but its definitly not top of the line in any aspect.
Went here this past weekend and OMG was I in heaven. Â The BF and I loved it. Â We went on a Sunday for lunch and the food was to die for. Â They sat us down and we just looked around because we weren't sure of the buffet etiquette. Â Didn't take us long to adapt. Â I had everything from Sushi to fruit. Â And to make it better it was totally cheap. For two of us the bill came up to $23.00 w/o tip. Â
Next time I'm in the Indy area, I'll be back :)
We were there literally 10 minutes ago and Im still stuffed, so while no dish stood out as amazing, there is still a good variety to try from. I had the miso soup, spring rolls, some sushi rolls, sashimi
(which was rubbery,) other random things, and some sort of leg thing that i couldnt figure out how to eat (since seafood for me usually equates to fish and chips.) The chocolate fountain was fun to play with and the staff were very friendly. While the food was ok, i gave it a 3 out of 5 because of the many options and we want to go back. Better than Golden Corral anyday.
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