The cruise breakfast buffet on Royal Caribbean was quite good in 2015. This year I didn’t think it was as good.
The dinners were not technically buffets, but you could ask for seconds or our case the waiter brought some of the crew food (Indian) which was quite good (the regular dinners were generally good as well)
Brian
There was a New Orleans House in Indianapolis. I never realized there were others, but pretty much the same story… they had really good seafood but ended up out of business.
I’ve been go a few other good buffets in Vegas as well.
Not my own personal experience, but two of my kids (technically adults now) went on a trip to Singapore recently. My wife lived there and knew that you could get a service apartment at the Shangri-La at a decent price and have full hotel amenities. This included free breakfast. The place they were supposed to get it from was having some upgrades made so they got to go to The Lines instead. Needless to say they ate very well, and the Mimosa line was also very popular with them.
I went to a buffet a few years ago where they featured Alaskan Snow crab. It was very good with several other good entrees and I think it was under $25.00. I watched a man fill his plate with snow crab at least 6 times. This guy weighed well over 300#. Should a restaurant have some kind of limit for people like this?
Jimmy’s concerts always give good buffet. Short on beverages, tho; you have to bring extra “t”.
I think most people, myself included, view buffets as a chance to ‘beat the house’, by eating more than they could get for same amount of money at a regular restaurant. I could get a great prime rib dinner for $40 or good, not great prime rib, fish and chicken at a buffet for the same amount, plus some kind dessert on top.
Given that criteria, I’ve been to some great buffets where I beat the house by eating more, of good or very good, though not great things I could get for the same price in a regular restaurant.
In addition, at least for me, buffets are usually reserved for dining with friends that allows for something for everyone, especially being able to share to experience of sharing food without having to take it from your personal plate.
The only time I would go alone to a buffet alone was to Todai (part of a Japanese chain and now closed, though reopened under another name) here in Hawaii. Good at best, Japanese food, but a bargain for lunch at a $13 resident rate. I’d go primarily for the sushi which would cost me at least $20 anywhere else.
Anyone have recommendations for good $50+ dinner buffets in Hawaii (Oahu)? Last year around June I wanted to take my co-workers out to a good dinner with the criteria: this person doesn’t eat meat, this person doesn’t eat seafood. I’d been to and liked The Oceanarium - closed and Prince Court, which became 100 Sails and focused on Thai cuisine (not my favorite cuisine), and Hakone was Japanese, so difficult for the non-seafood eater. We could have gone to Pagoda or Makino Chaya, but that was too pedestrian.
We ended up going to 3660 on the Rise and I pre-ordered several appetizers so we had a variety, great food and a great evening. Going back to my premise stated above, the total (drinks, tax, tip) for going to The Oceanarium or Prince Court would have been about the same, but I would have felt like I got the better end of the deal if we had a buffet of really good to great food.
A quick check at what’s available now, I see 100 Sails has changed to continental cuisine and Hakone is closed. The only other choice seems to be Tbe Buffet at The Hyatt. Anyone been there or know anywhere else?
A place where I worked used to have their Christmas party at a very fancy buffet that was inside a luxury hotel. It required a jacket and tie and had carving stations for Prime rib, Spiral ham, and turkey. Also lobster. There were also other find foods and deserts. It was very very good but also expensive (I looked into going there for New Years and it was almost $200 per person).
Intercontinental Hotel champagne brunch, Doha, Qatar.
Yes they are. The lack of hot dishes other than soup and pasta disqualify them as being a buffet to me.
In fact, we’re having lunch at a Souplantation tomorrow.
John Pinette on buffets.
I can’t find any reference to the following suggestion by searching, but I recall reading something like the following: Indian buffets are better than Chinese buffets because of the way that the food is cooked. Indian food is meant to simmer and thus continues to be good for a longer time. Chinese food is meant to be cooked quickly and eaten right after being put on the table. However, I am no expert on this, so if anyone can confirm or deny this claim, I would be interested in knowing the truth.
If you are on a budget in Vegas: I highly recommend Planet Hollywood buffet. LOVED it! Lotsa variety of foods too, that was impressive. Also as a side note when Tunica MS was trying to build up their casinos, their Horseshoe Casino had a really impressive deal. Spend a certain amount at the slots (with Harrahs Entertainment membership ) attain about 40 points or so and get a free buffet that day. I’m a low roller so it didn’t take me much to get points for a free lunch daily.
This actually makes sense.
Almost one year ago, when we went to the Thanksgiving Day buffet at the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego. It was really outstanding, but you wouldn’t expect anything less there.
For me, one the keys to a very good vs just good buffet (never had a truly bad one) is how often new food is put out. I used to go to a Chinese buffet that I would rate very good (i.e. the dishes on the buffet were comparable to if I ordered at the table) because the food was made in small batches (less an a full medium sized tray) and replaced every 15-20 minutes when busy. And when they weren’t that busy, I’ve seen them remove trays that had been sitting too long and bring in smaller hot batches. I suspect part of this may be for health inspection reasons.
I’ve noticed the more expensive buffets ($50+) replace the food completely, not moving what was leftover to the new tray. Whether they do that in the back (unlikely) is another story. Also, since Japanese food is popular in Hawaii, the better buffets have custom handroll sushi and tempura (deep fried seafood, usually shrimp and vegetables) are made in small batches and never allowed to get cold.
Would having dim sum be considered a buffet, seems the only difference is the selection comes to you. If so, I’d say I’ve had some great (i.e. supposedly authentic Hong Kong style) ones.
My husband’s workplace has their Christmas party at an upscale buffet restaurant by the river in town. I have no idea how much they pay for it but it’s AWESOME. “Skip lunch to leave plenty of room for Christmas Buffet Dinner” levels of awesome. They book a couple of months in advance, which is probably necessary - it’s always packed. They have something of nearly anything you could have as a buffet - curries, cold meats, salads, roasts, seafood, pie, cheese platters, fruit platters, all sort of desserts…
32 days to go 
The key to a good Chinese buffet is turnover. The place has to be really busy so that the food is constantly running low and being refreshed with new. There was (may still be, haven’t been there in a while) a huge Chinese buffet north of Philadelphia (Huntington Valley?) that was crazy busy anytime we went there, long line to get in. Tons of choices. That’s exactly what you want to see.
Other than that, Disney World buffets always seemed pretty good (I always attributed that to their use of electric warmers rather than steam tables). Have also had a number of very good quite expensive buffets - most fo the resort hotels in Tucson had fantastic Sunday brunches.
Most memorable (and very good) buffet was Thanksgiving on the Moshulu on the Philadelphia waterfront ten years ago or so.
In 1985 I had a five week assignment at NASA Langley on the North side of Hampton Roads.
There was a “Fisherman’s Wharf” in SW Hampton, VA, and they had a $20 all-you-can-gorge seafood buffet on Friday, maybe Saturday as well. I swear the tables holding crab legs totaled 30m in length. And the whole thing was good, but not good enough for more than one visit.
That Fisherman’s Wharf closed maybe 15 years ago. No great loss. There are other places using the same name in Tidewater now, but it’s not worth a 2200km round trip to get there just for trying out purposes. (Other things might compel me to the attempt… Betsy? Debbie? Irma? Laura?)
Been to some Excellent Buffets. A few in Vegas (Rio, for one, and this tiny little place down on Boulder Highway I can’t recall the name of), Harrah’s Tahoe and the Lobster Buffet at Boomtown outside Reno.
You haven’t lived till you mow down about a dozen lobster tails with your Prime Rib. I almost felt guilty, except it was so damn good!
Wish I could still eat that much now-a-days. Too expensive to just eat like a bird now.