Hee Been Asian Bistro Buffet Now Open

(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) There’s no shortage of variety at Hee Been Asian Bistro Buffet, a new restaurant located between Crystal City and Potomac Yard at 3600 S. Glebe Road.

Hee Been’s nearly 80-foot-long dinner buffet features some 85 different items representing three different types of cuisine: Korean, Japanese and Thai. The buffet offerings include soups and salads, a wide selection of freshly-prepared sushi and sashimi, hot and cold noodle dishes, grilled-to-order steaks, various types of seafood and Korean specialties, plus fresh fruit and desserts (tip: try the cold cinnamon tea).

The family-owned restaurant has been off to a relatively slow start since its Christmas Day soft opening, thanks in part to its inconspicuous location. Hee Been is located at the back of the off-street cluster of eateries and shops on the ground floor of the relatively new Eclipse condominium building in the far southeast corner of Arlington County. Though in close proximity to busy Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1), the restaurant’s existence is hardly noticeable to anybody who doesn’t live in the Eclipse.

Hee Been, with its modern interior and soft background music, is open for both lunch and dinner. The weekday all-you-can-eat buffet prices are $14.99 for lunch and $26.99 for dinner. Weekend prices are a couple of dollars higher. The lunch features most of the selection of the dinner buffet, we’re told, minus some of the higher end items like the crab legs and grilled-to-order steaks.

In addition to the buffet, Hee Been offers a la carte options like Bento boxes and bibimbap. The restaurant also has a full bar with beer, wine and cocktails. Among the specialties are Korean beers like Cass and OB and bottled drinks like Bek Se Ju and Chum-Churum. A happy hour menu, still in development, promises beers as low as $2, cocktails as low as $5 and half-priced wines.