Las Vegas Secrets

Choosing (Picking) the right Las Vegas Buffet

Who doesn’t love to eat? I know that I do. I love Italian, Chinese, Mexican, and American food. What better place to go eat than Las Vegas? I think it is safe to say that Las Vegas is the buffet capital of the world. When planning or just discussing about Las Vegas, one of the most talked about topics is the buffets that are located in Sin City. If you’re coming here from out of town, or a local, there are so many buffets to choose from it can be confusing. Today, I’ll be going over some of my own personal rules of thumb while choosing a buffet to dine at. I also will be sharing my reviews of some buffets that I have dined at. I always think planning ahead of time will make your life just that much easier. Hopefully, by the end of this post you may be able to choose the right buffet to fit you and your parties need.

Buffet Budget

Picture this, you’re on your last day in Las Vegas and everyone in your party wants to have lunch/dinner at a very expensive buffet before leaving. You sneak off into the restroom, to peek at your budget on hand and you’re short on cash. What to do now? It’ll just be too embarrassing to tell everyone that you are short on cash. This section is designed specifically to assist you in preventing events like this happening. Generally speaking, everyone who visits Las Vegas has a pre planned budget for all their spending whether it is $100.00 or $100,000. Allocating your money resources could be an important role while planning your visit to Las Vegas. This section is primarily for those working with a budget. If you’re one of those people who have the attitude “Money is no object”, then you can skip this buffet budget section and move on to the next. First, you have to know how many days exactly you are going to be staying in Las Vegas. Next, briefly discuss with your party ahead of time on how many buffets they are all planning on attending per day. This way you can allocate your money wisely. It’s a plus if you can find out which buffet everyone’s planning on dining at. That way you can calculate your exact costs in advance and set that amount to the side including $2.00 tip (more or less per person).

Calculate it like this:

Cost of 1 Buffet : $29.99

Individual Tax: $2.00

Server Tip: $2.00 (more of less)

Total comes to be about $34.00

Timing is Everything

The topic says it all. While you’re in Las Vegas the time just flies because you’re having such a great time (well most of the time). You have to be sure to plan a scheduled time to meet up with your party at the buffet. Why you ask? The buffets at peak times have wait time just for a table. They can go anything from a 5 min to a 2 hour wait time. I’ve been in situations when we just “wing” it at anytime we’re hungry for some food but, due to bad planning have to wait in a buffet line for 2 hours. If you just want to eat at a buffet that is not that popular I suggest picking a buffet in downtown Las Vegas. The buffets located in downtown have almost no wait time because they are competing with the mainstream buffets on the Strip. To avoid some of these long lines you may want to consider attending a buffet 1 hour earlier than the regular peak times for the buffet. Try to walk by the buffet of choice early in the day and ask them when the peak lunch/dinner is and try to make it a point to line up an hour early. Remember, going an hour early can save you from any wait time for the chosen buffet and you can have 2+ more hours to spend in the evening after dinner to do whatever you want to.

What do you like to eat?

Make sure you know what you want to eat. If you like seafood, then go to a seafood buffet. The seafood buffets in Las Vegas have very fresh seafood boiled, steamed, and even fried to your liking. If you’re a seafood lover, do consider looking at the Carnival Buffet at the Rio Hotel and Casino. Find out which casinos specialize in what. If you don’t care what the buffet has then just go with the flow of the group your with.

Free Buffets?

Don’t forget to check your comps if you’ve already been gambling. Try to obtain comps for your lunch or dinner buffets if you do gamble. To find out if you qualify for comped buffets just ask the Pit bosses to check for you or ask the rewards program area for that specific casino.

Do you smoke?

Do you dislike smokers or are you a smoker yourself? If your smoker your all out of luck here. There is no longer any smoking inside any Nevada Casino Restaurant.

Do you drink?

If you enjoy drinking while you’re eating, then make sure the buffet you are attending serves alcohol. Most buffets in Las Vegas server wine and champagne.

VIP

Lastly, I’d like you remind everyone who has passed the first tier of any Las Vegas Rewards program to remember to flash your “silver” “platinum” whatever the color of your second tier card. Showing this “status” symbol will allow you to bypass almost the buffet lines for that Casino.

Bon Appetit!

Posted on August 11th, 2008 under Restaurants • Tags: Casinos, eating, las vegas buffets. •  Print This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback