The Buffet at M - Disappointing
First, I am not a fan of buffets; however, my in-laws are and have been interested in trying the M's buffet for quite some time. We had heard very good things about the M's buffet with favorable comparisons to Bellagio and Wynn. So, last Tuesday we broke down and made the trip to the South end of the valley.
The wait to pay at around 5:30 PM was approximately 15 minutes. Once we were in the "seating line" we waited another 35 minutes as we were a party of six. Note: the wait was much shorter for parties of 4 or less, as you would expect.
Once seated, we all took a walk around the entire venue to see what was being offered. It was fairly standard fair with a wide variety of ethnic foods available to include Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, etc. The variety was excellent, the quality was not. The seafood, regardless of the choice was overcooked - think rubber bands for the calamari and erasers for the mussels. The salmon was gone when we arrived and was not replenished during our stay - the station was open with the salmon skin remaining as a reminder of what was once served. Neither my wife, daughter or I finished our first plates and didn't bother with seconds. My in-laws were braver, but came back disappointed from their second trip as well. Many of the items offered were left under heat lamps far past their prime. They were in this condition when we arrived and remained that way until we left. There were a few bright spots - the Tri-Tip and Prime Rib were decent and the dessert bar - the kids loved the gelato - was OK.
One of the gimmicks at the buffet was "all you want" beer and wine with the meal. Suffice it to say the one glass of Cabernet I had was more than I wanted, given the quality. Oh well, at $23 per person what can you expect?
Service was good, with used plates (can't say empty because they never were) taken within a minute or two. Beverages were replenished periodically.
At the end of the meal I asked everyone to rate the experience on a scale of 1-10. The highest score, from someone who LOVES buffets, was a 5 with the lowest being a 2.
When we left the buffet the line outside was quite long and I estimated they would be waiting at least 45 minutes before being seated, regardless of party size. Either the M had a very off night or our expectations were too high. Either way we won't be going back.
-----
Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV
-
Obviously it's a matter of taste, and also what you're looking for in a buffet. Studio B at the M Resort is my favorite Las Vegas buffet, and I would say the same even if they were all priced the same. Wynn is great for interesting, gourmet dishes, but I find that after my first pass through there really isn't much that I'd like to have seconds of. At the M Resort, the selection is so huge that there's always something good to go back for.
-
-
monku
Jun 19, 2010 09:55 AM
There is no comparison between the M Resort and Wynn Buffets. Wynn buffet probably would have cost $34 and from the price you paid at the M it doesn't sound like you went to their seafood buffet which I prefer.
M Resort Buffet seems to be busy all the time because locals get free or deeply discounted offers. If you requested more salmon they probably would have put more out. I find most of the stuff to be fairly fresh.›3 Replies-
re: monku
You are correct, the seafood buffet isn't offered on Tuesday.
I inquired about any local specials, but was advised there weren't any available. I suppose you have to belong to their Resort Club to get them.
I wouldn't have presumed you would need to ask the establishment to put more of any item out. Seems to me they should either take the station out of commission or keep it replenished without customers asking.
-
re: Philber
No local specials, but they do have a thing where if you rack up a certain amount of points using your players card (can't remember the number of points at the moment) on their video poker and/or slot machines during the course of a day you get a free buffet. If I recall it's only valid Mon-Thur.
They had that special running for a while and the buffet line was almost always pretty full. Then they stopped the promotion for a while and the buffet line was almost always empty. Recently they have reinstated the promotion and the lines are long again.
As for the buffet itself, it's hit or miss although it's never been what I would call excellent, and certainly not in the same league as the Wynn or Bellagio buffets as far as overall quality.
-----
Bellagio
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV -
re: Philber
monku
Jun 19, 2010 03:51 PM
Differences like the Wynn serves Alaskan king crab legs and huge shrimp and M Resort serves snow crab legs and smaller shrimp. I do give points to the M Resort for the free beer and wine and all you can drink espresso bar.
If you signed up for their players club card you get $2 off anytime you use the card and/or any other playing discounts you accumulate. Last time I went was 2 days after Christmas and waited 2 hours because all these locals had these 2 for 1 coupons they had to use up before the end of the month.
It's an oversight on the part of the staff when they run out of items or they don't look fresh, never any harm in asking.
At a casino buffet I insisted they bring out another prime rib when it was down to the well done portion. I knew the carver was trying to get rid of the well done portion. I told her you're going to bring out another anyway, bring it out now.
-
-
