Nines Global Buffet is the newest addition to the range of buffet restaurants in Cambridge. Taking over the former quarters of the Chinese buffet Lucky Star at Cambridge Leisure Centre, the restaurant prides itself on offering dishes from around the world – the menu features 200 freshly prepared dishes for dinner and 100 for lunch. With the eat-all-you-can buffet costing between £7.99 for a weekday lunch and £15.99 for a weekend buffet, a Michelin-star dining experience is hardly to be expected; rather, as is usual with buffet restaurants, Nines Global Buffet serves quantity over quality.

Yet as you walk in, there is an air of class that sets Nines apart from your stereotypical buffet restaurant. Gone are the stuffiness and feeling of omnipresent gluttony associated with eateries. The décor is light and fresh, with elegant furniture and neat serving areas separated by theme.

Despite excellent presentation, the food itself is not that different from a standard buffet experience. Although Nines is branded as ‘global’ the focus is largely on South-East Asia: Thai, Chinese, and Japanese cuisines are featured heavily, while the paella, pizza, and pasta, supposedly representing Spain and Italy, feel like an afterthought added to nominally meet the description of ‘global buffet’. In the dessert section, the global touch seems to be lost altogether, with brownies, ice cream, and chocolate fountains forming the core of the sweet treats on offer. Apparently whoever added ‘global’ to the name of the restaurant understood the term as a dichotomy between Asian savoury dishes and Western desserts.

As for the selection of dishes, the self-service area is fairly unimaginative. Old favourites such as sweet and sour chicken, prawn toast, and various stir fries take centre stage. The starter section falls likewise into the realm of bland, with a heavy emphasis on the deep-fried variety of appetiser. That said, a welcome touch of variation comes from the Japanese dumplings – the custard variety being particularly scrumptious – and from the assemble-your-own crispy duck and pancake wrap, with a lovely set of fresh garnishes.

Although the menu is disappointingly standard, the quality of food is for the most part up to scratch. The meat in the Thai green chicken curry is beautifully tender, and there is a large selection of vegetarian dishes that go beyond quorn or tofu based replications of the meat option. It is a shame that this otherwise good quality fails in the sushi and dessert sections. The dryness of the sushi rice raises questions of how long the dishes have been on display on the conveyor belt, while the flavours of the desserts merge into a uniform sense of artificialness.

Where Nines does really deliver on the culinary front is the made-to-order stations, preparing teppanyaki, BBQ, and noodles to your taste. The noodles, made from fresh dough as you watch, exceed all expectations: the freshness and non-artificial flavours reach the standards of an à la carte restaurant, and the help-yourself garnishes add an exciting touch to the dishes. I must also give kudos to the customer service at these stations: when the five minute waiting time for my noodles turns into fifteen, the station manager kindly promises to come over to my table to notify me when the dish is ready. Whether this would work at a busier time than on a weekday evening, I don’t know, but at least at a slightly off-peak time the service goes beyond impeccable. In many ways Nines is a standard all-you-can-eat buffet; yet, the freshness of the décor, friendly service, and made-to-order stations make it well worth a visit and the hike to Cambridge Leisure.