‘Mullet Review’ star rates Chinese buffet in Oa Ridge

Mullet Review, aka Brandon Elliott, known for his TikTok series, “Eating at Every Chinese Buffet I Can Until I Get Food Poisoning,” has made his way to East Tennessee.

He visited the Golden Oak Buffet, 401 S. Tulane Ave., in Oak Ridge recently and gave the restaurant 4.2 out of 5 stars.

His recent visit to Oak Ridge was Day 81 of his trip to eat at all the Chinese buffets he could before he gets food poisoning. He also visited four Chinese buffets in Knoxville.

What did the social influencer like and dislike at the Golden Oak in Oak Ridge?

The macaroni and cheese.

“(It’s) possibly one of the best mac and cheeses” he’s tasted on his channel, he commented on his video. He later added he’d come just for the macaroni and cheese.

Other comments? He liked the restaurant’s entrance with the waterfall and “the sky” and the clean bathroom. He called the potato salad “very yellow,” and after eating it, said it wasn’t like the potato salad you buy at Kroger, then wondered if East Tennessee even knows about Kroger – which is located just a few blocks away from the Golden Oak.

He liked the crab ragoons, but didn’t like the stuffed mushrooms. He thought the fajita chicken tasted like Cincinnati chili, and said area residents probably didn’t know what that chili tastes like.

Elliott said reviewers on Yelp have gave the Golden Oak 3.5. He also commented on the lines of customers at the restaurant.

If you decide to watch his video, note that he likes to use casually and frequently use the “f” word.

On Sept. 3, Elliott posted Day 85 of his Chinese buffet series. He was standing outside of Osaka Hibachi & Sushi Buffet on Chapman Highway. He has since visited four more locations in the Knoxville area.

Elliott starts each video by telling viewers how many stars that day’s Chinese buffet has on Yelp, then shares how much the buffet costs for two people.

After trying the food, Elliott gives his own review, ranking each buffet out of five stars. During his Knoxville trip, Elliott gave one of the buffets he visited a rare perfect score.

What Knoxville restaurants did Mullet Review visit?

Starting on Sept. 3 and continuing through the weekend, Elliott visited multiple Chinese buffets in the Knoxville area and shared his reviews.

Day 85: Osaka Hibachi & Sushi Buffet, 4009 Chapman Highway, Knoxville

Day 86: China Wok Buffet, 5453 Washington Pike, Knoxville

Day 87: Grand Buffet, 6612 Clinton Highway, Knoxville

Day 88: Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet, 9645 Kingston Pike, Knoxville

Day 89: Golden Oak Buffet, 401 S. Tulane Ave., Oak Ridge

Mullet Review’s favorite Knoxville spot was his third stop, Grand Buffet. The Clinton Highway restaurant earned a rare five-star rating and high praise from Elliott.

“This is a five-star buffet. This is a Golden Corral disguised as a Chinese buffet, has all the good parts of the Chinese food and all the good parts of Golden Corral, and they just kissed and made whatever the (expletive) this is,” Elliott said at the end of his meal.

Elliott’s suspicion that the Grand Buffet location was once a Golden Corral was correct. The chain buffet once operated out of 6612 Clinton Highway until it closed in 2020.

The Grand Buffet even had one of Elliott’s favorite items to eat at a Chinese buffet: pizza.

Who is Mullet Review, aka Brandon Elliott?

Elliott, known by the nicknames “Hot Blonde” and “Mullet Review,” is a mailman by day and began posting food reviews in June 2024, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. He stopped by Lori’s American Grille in Goshen, Ohio, outside Cincinnati, and his reviews took off from there. His reviews have grown to restaurants mostly in the greater Cincinnati area, but Elliott reviews spots across the country and has amassed a large following.

Since posting his first video over two years ago, Elliott’s videos have grown. In 2025 he was listed as the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Top 8 Content Creators of 2025.

Between his Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet and Golden Oak Buffet review videos, Elliott posted a video thanking his followers and said he couldn’t believe nearly a million people were fans. Elliott recently surpassed 800,000 followers on TikTok.

Elliott began his Chinese buffet series in May 2026 at Ginza Buffet in his hometown of Milford, Ohio.

Afton Pratt covers trending and breaking news for The Knoxville News Sentinel and Tennessee. She can be reached at ampratt@usatodayco.com. The Oak Ridger’s News Editor Donna Smith contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: ‘Mullet Review’ star rates Chinese buffet in Oa Ridge