Best Las Vegas Lunch Buffet

[ike.]

I know there are a ton of Vegas buffet threads, but I couldn't find any good ones specific to lunch buffets.

My brother is getting married in LV on March 3rd, and we're arriving on Wednesday the 28th. Many of our dinners are going to be wedding-related, so we thought we'd go to a good buffet for lunch one day.

Cost is not necessarily an issue for us, we're just looking for something beyond some of the typical Vegas buffet options. We'll be on the strip that day, so I guess that'd be the main factor. And it'll be a weekday too, so long lines shouldn't be much of an issue.

Any suggestions on a good lunch buffet option?

[tgibbers]

My daughter and I go to Vegas mainly for the buffets. We have found that the Spice Market Buffet seems to have the highest quality food around and the best selection. We have been to most of them. I agree with the comments above regarding Bellagio. Very good also.

[alanstotle]

A year or so ago my wife and I had lunch Cravings, the (at that time) newly redesigned buffet at the Mirage.

Compared to the eight or so other buffets we've tried in Vegas, we thought that the food quality and taste at Cravings was quite good (better than average, though not outstanding). Their main drawback, however, was a lack of variety. They have a good variety of stations, but they have only a few choices at each station. That may be a conscious decision on their part to focus on only a few items and do them well, or it may be an oversight.

The ambiance is quite nice, since it's designed not to look like a typical buffet.

[LuigiOrtega]

Lunch buffet you say? I've had the fortune, (or misfortune to eat at every single buffet in Vegas over the last 25 years). Bellagio is the best (and costliest) weekday lunch buffet food wise. But, good luck with the wait and no ambiance. Paris, really doesn't have that many true French offerings, but they have some seafood and everything is very very good, in a unique setting. Wynn is good, but nothing special. Mandalay Bay is good, but they are the only buffet to have windows overlooking their pool. You can ask for seating by the window and it is absolutely the most pleasant atmosphere out of all of them. The Rio, who started this whole round the world food stations, upgraded their fare and is just below Bellagio in quality. But, they have more variety then anyone, and that can be a lot of fun. The truth, you can't go wrong with any of them, they each have a niche the others don't.

[JK Grence the Cosmic Jester]

If you think you can't go wrong with any of them, you haven't been to Excalibur.

[johnb]

Yours is the first apparently credible comment I've seen that that indicates the Rio is currently really good, and certainly the first I've noticed that compares it favorably to..... Bellagio? Most opinions, including my own, have been its quality is very iffy, apparently having gone downhill after its start several years ago. But I haven't been there for a few years. Just to be clear, are you saying that it was in fact down but now has gone way back up? If so, that is interesting, and news to me.

[Sacto_Damkier]

I would second the Mandalay Bay buffet for lunch, with the Wynn as a close second. While the Wynn has better food, the Bayside Buffet at MB has big picture windows overlooking the pool area - plus a chocolate fountain. I have never been to the Bellagio buffet for lunch.

[nyufoodie]

I would third the Mandalay Bay Buffet for lunch. I preferred it over both the Bellagio's and Paris ...food was fresher tasting and the room was the most pleasant of them all too.

[Dave Feldman]

The new Spice Market buffet is remarkably like the old one. My brother brought some well-done lamb kababs back from the Middle Eastern section. The rub and marinade tasted good, but it was so overcooked that I wondered if you could get some made to your preference. Yes, indeed. The server offered me some medium-rare pieces with a smile - it had some gristle and fat, I'm afraid, but it was tasty. The seafood area, especially the crabs and shrimp, were a little watery, but the Aladdin still would be one of my picks for a decent buffet on the Strip. I also went to the Red Rock buffet for lunch. Most of the entrees looked unappetizing, but the salad and especially the dessert stations were superior to Paris or Aladdin, in my opinion. Lots of pies, cut to order, with gelato, too.

[Kaisgraham]

If you are looking for a Sunday brunch buffet, hands down the best is at Bally's. I think it is open until 2:00pm. Whenever we are in Las Vegas on a Sunday morning, we always go there and it is fabulous. I would not waste a cent at the Bellagio buffets plus there is absolutely no ambiance.

[johnb]

By and large, on the Strip anyway, I would imagine that the lunch buffets would follow the general pattern in quality, ie, Wynn, Bellagio, and Aladdin are generally thought to be among the best and their lunches will likely follow that pattern. I'm glad to hear Aladdin Spice Market is back up to speed in its new digs.

The exception might be if a "normal" restaurant has a buffet at lunch only and it is worthwhile; I know of no such place, but they surely exist, certainly off the strip

Actually one that does exist is Lotus of Siam. While they do have a buffet at lunch only, there is no reason to partake of it if you found yourself there since the food from the menu is 1000 times better. So that doesn't really count.

The one major exception occurs on Sunday only, and that is the Sterling brunch at Bally's. This is fabulous, and expensive, but worth it. That may not be what you have in mind, but if Sunday is possible for you you should consider it.

[ciaogal]

Johnb....actually had lunch @ LOS this week.....the buffet is inconsistent at best. Though this week it was exceptional. The Variety and quality were stellar!
We usually hit LOS @ dinner. I happened to have an appointment in the area.
Lunch on Tuesday was very nice...They had 2 different Soups to choose from a Tom Kha w/ Vegetables...nicely seasoned and medium Hot and a Won Ton Soup. They had a Tempura Vegetable, A Curry Dish w/ Chicken, a Minced Pork w/ Mint and Basil which was fabulous. A Tofu dish, a Mixed Braised Vegetable dish, a Vegetarian Pad Thai, A Thai Omelete, Salad, Fried Bananas w/ Coconut, Curry Puffs, a meatless eggroll,......and a few more dishes.
The Line was out the door.

After this last visit I do recomment LOS for a nice Lunch Buffet option.
It is definitely a NOT MISS for dinner...but if you are in the area and want a quick, delicious lunch at a great price......

[Dave Feldman]

Just in case you or others didn't realize, everything that's available at dinner at Lotus is also available at lunch. On several recent visits to LOS, I'd estimate that 20-30% of the tables were ordering from the menu.

[GroovinGourmet]

I was in town a couple of weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed the Spice Market Buffet at the Alladin (soon to be Planet Hollywood). I used to be a fan of the Paris buffet, but our last visit it didn't strike me as special anymore. We did lunch at the Bellagio and were totally unimpressed. The Spice Market was far and away the best buffet experience I've had to date. There's plenty of variety, and everything I tasted I would gladly go back for 2nds and 3rds. At $18.85 including tax it's a dime less than the Bellagio before tax...an excellent bargain considering how much better the food is. And the service was excellent as well, highly unusual for a buffet.

[ike.]

Is that buffet under construction right now? I thought I heard of one being under construction, and I think it was Aladdin or Harrah's -- I always confuse the two.

In any event, what kinds of food stood out as being good? Sounds interesting.

[jlawrence01]

The new Aladdin buffet is open in its permanent location and the food is very good. I would choose it over Paris.

[GroovinGourmet]

I thought the Middle Eastern station was the best. The salad bar was very nice. They will do custom pizzas for you. The Mexican section was probably the weakest, but it was still good.

[jlawrence01]

I would agree that the Middle Eastern is the best and that the two employees who run that station are absolutely tops.

Also, the dessert station makes cotton candy that is truly outstanding.

[ike.]

Thanks for the reply. We're normally not buffet-goers either, but we thought it would be fun to find one out there that can be our one big meal of the day.

I gotta say though, I'm not terribly interested in the Paris buffet. I've heard that it's fairly decent, but French food just doesn't interest me all that much. At least the kinds of French food that a Vegas buffet would offer anyway.

I like your take on it though! Good input.

[sivyaleah]

I have to add, it was a spur of the moment idea - we were in Paris, and hungry.

Also if Wynn had been open at the time, most likely we would have gone there. Although I don't know if they do a brunch on weekdays - someone else will have to address that. We walked by it last time we were in town during the weekend (April '06) and it looked quite amazing. So much so, we considered going in.

[sivyaleah]

The only one we've been to, mainly because we're not big buffet people but felt we needed to try at least one, is Paris's.

I have to say, it was pretty good, and reasonably priced (for some reason, I think it was about $17 or so, this was a couple of years ago).

We preferred the items which were solely "French" style. Loved the freshly made crepe station. Cheese selection was kind of pathetic tho, considering it was a "French" buffet. Everything was clean, hot and kept well-filled and the atmosphere was nice too.

We wouldn't go back, but that is only because we just wanted to be able to say we ate at one of them - we're just not the kind of people who enjoy eating tons of food in one sitting. But I would say it was good value and good quality overall.