*Image: DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru*
> Quick view: Makan Kitchen at DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru has added Thursday to its seafood dinner nights. The Season's Seafood Dinner Buffet runs Thursday to Saturday, 6.30pm to 10pm, at RM168 nett an adult and RM88 nett a child, with buy 4 free 1. Bookings are open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 19 December. Then the restaurant switches to an Ultimate Seafood Dinner on 24 to 26 December and a New Year's Eve dinner on 31 December, both at RM198 nett an adult and RM99 a child. Book on Makan Kitchen's official reservation page, or see the hotel on DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru's official site.
Every price, date and dish below comes from the restaurant's own booking engine, which we checked night by night from 9 November to 2 January on 8 November 2026. The sums are ours.
What changed, and why it matters
Until now, Makan Kitchen served its seafood buffet on Fridays and Saturdays only, as our JB hotel buffet price guide recorded. Weeknight hotel dinner buffets are rare in the city. The new Season's menu adds Thursday nights at the same RM168 price and keeps the buy 4 free 1 deal. That makes it one of the few hotel seafood buffets in central JB you can book on a weeknight. It helps if you want to avoid the weekend Causeway jam or the Friday crowd.
The booking page lists these highlights for the Season's menu:
- Malaysian welcome grilled lobster with percik sauce
- Fresh Irish, Japanese and US oysters
- Seafood on ice: tiger prawns, black mussels, scallops, yabbies, slipper lobster and sea snails
- Slow-braised Tualang honey-glazed beef short ribs
- Seafood mala hotpot and oxtail assam pedas
- Pistachio raspberry entremet and salted caramel chocolate tart
On Fridays and Saturdays the engine also still shows the older Seafood Dinner Buffet slot (lobster percik, sashimi, seafood paella, mala seafood pot), at the same RM168/RM88 with buy 4 free 1. Both appear side by side, so pick the Season's slot if you want the newer menu.
How to book, step by step
- Open the reservation page and pick a Thursday, Friday or Saturday up to 19 December.
- Choose Season's Seafood Dinner Buffet (6.30pm is the first slot and 9pm the last).
- For a group, mention buy 4 free 1 in the booking notes and ask how it is applied at the table.
- For Christmas, choose Ultimate Seafood Dinner on 24, 25 or 26 December. For New Year's Eve, choose New Year's Eve Dinner on 31 December.
Worked examples
- Five adults on a Thursday: pay for four at RM168, so RM672, or RM134.40 a head. Without the deal it would be RM840.
- Ten adults for a year-end team dinner: if the deal applies to each group of five (the page does not spell this out), you pay for eight, RM1,344, against RM1,680.
- Two adults and two kids: buy 4 free 1 needs a fifth diner, so you pay the full RM512 (2 x RM168 + 2 x RM88).
- Same family at Christmas: 2 x RM198 + 2 x RM99 = RM594, or RM82 more than a December Thursday.
Christmas and New Year's Eve
The Ultimate Seafood Dinner (24 to 26 December) keeps the oysters and the seafood-on-ice line and adds a festive roast table. Expect citrus-brined whole roast turkey, classic beef Wellington, slow-roasted OP ribs, herb-crusted salmon and truffle mac and cheese tossed in a Parmigiano Reggiano wheel. Desserts include tiramisu log cake and a Noël cherry chocolate shot, and Santa Claus and the Cookie mascot make an appearance.
The New Year's Eve Dinner (31 December) leans towards carving and grills: whole smoked beef brisket, honey harissa-glazed lamb leg, grilled sirloin, beef ribs in Malaysian spice, and a Johorean botok-botok red snapper Wellington. A Saint Honoré rounds it off.
For comparison, TROVE Johor Bahru's Christmas buffet is RM118 nett for adults on its early bird to 8 December, then RM158. It is cheaper, but it runs on 24 and 25 December only, and DoubleTree's oyster and seafood-on-ice line is the bigger draw for seafood fans.
Who it suits, and who should skip it
It suits groups of five or more adults, who get the biggest saving, and seafood lovers who want oysters and lobster without a weekend booking. Singapore visitors staying in the city centre will find it close to the CIQ.
Skip it if you are a couple. Buy 4 free 1 does nothing for you, and RM336 for two is a full-price hotel buffet. Families with small children should ask about the child rate first, since no age band is published.
Fine print that trips people up
- The deal does not cover the festive dinners. Buy 4 free 1 is printed on the RM168 buffets only.
- No Season's slots between 22 and 31 December except the festive dinners, and the engine showed no dinner buffet on any Sunday to Wednesday date we checked.
- Two menus share 25 and 26 December. The regular RM168 Seafood Dinner Buffet slot also shows on those nights alongside the RM198 Ultimate Seafood Dinner, so confirm which one you booked.
- Prices are nett. Service charge and tax are already included.
