Chapter 7: Dining in Las Vegas 7.1: Restaurants: The choices you have 7.2: The legendary Las Vegas buffet 7.3: Sunday brunch 7.4: The best gourmet restaurants 7.5: Finding a restaurant

7.2 The legendary Las Vegas buffet

It seems everyone has their list of favorite Las Vegas buffets ...and we are no exception. Buffets are one of the best values in Las Vegas! Each has several food stations serving different types of food from around the world. Over the years, we have been to just about all of them.

Although it can vary a little, breakfast is normally served from 7:00 to 11:00 a.m., lunch 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and dinner 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. (Brunch: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ...usually on weekends.) We are listing the prices, but they change frequently. (Sometimes the weekend price is higher than Sunday through Thursday.) Children get special discount prices ...under 4 years old are generally free.

Assuming that you are staying on or near the Strip or downtown, here is a buffet list by area. (Our favorites? We particularly recommend the mid-strip Aladdin, Paris, and Bellagio buffets.  And we were pleasantly surprised by the Dishes Buffet at TI on our last trip.)  Worst Las Vegas buffets?  Circus-Circus, Excalibur and the Imperial Palace.

Hint: Get to the buffet dining room early. First you will beat the crowds and won’t have to stand in line ...or at least not as long as you would if you went at peak time. And secondly, if you get there around 10 a.m., you will pay breakfast prices for lunch. And if you arrive around 3 p.m., you will get dinner for lunch prices.

Center Strip Buffets

Aladdin - “Spice Market Buffet” - Breakfast $12.99, Lunch $15.99, Weekend Champagne Brunch $20.99, Dinner $23.99. (Food here is almost gourmet in quality! Huge selection. Rated “Excellent” by 2005 Zagat Survey. Chefs prepare some specialties to order.) - Telephone: (702) 785-9005.

Paris - “Le Village Buffet” - Breakfast $12.95, Lunch $17.95, Champagne Brunch $24.95, Dinner $24.95 (Featuring dishes from five French provinces in a very nice village setting.) - Telephone: (702) 946-7000.

at the Bellagio

Bellagio - “The Buffet at Bellagio” - Breakfast $13.95, Lunch $17.95, Champagne Brunch (Sat.-Sun.) $27.95, Dinner $25.95, Gourmet Dinner (Fri.-Sat.) $33.95. (The most beautifully decorated buffet room and highest quality American, Italian, Chinese and Japanese cuisine in town! Much is cooked to order.) - Telephone: (702) 693-7111.

TI (Treasure Island) - “Dishes Buffet” - Breakfast $12.00, Lunch $15.00, Dinner: Sun.-Thurs. $20.00, Fri.-Sat “Swanky Dishes”: $26.00 - (Newly renovated - Nov. 2004 - buffet looks great! Six food stations. - Telephone: (702) 894-7350.

at TI (Treasure Island)

Circus-Circus - "Circus Buffet" - Breakfast $8.49, Lunch (Mon.-Fri.) $9.49, Dinner $10.49, Brunch (Sat.-Sun.) $9.49 - (This is a popular -especially with the kids- and huge buffet that seats over 1,000 people. Certainly not my favorite, but hard to argue with the thousands that eat there daily. Recently renovated.) - Telephone: (702) 734-0410.

Luxor - “Pharaoh's Pheast Buffet” - Breakfast $10.75, Lunch $11.25, Dinner $16.95 (We kind of like this place. Eat in an archeological “dig” deep under the pyramid.) - Telephone: (702) 262-4000.

Rio - “Carnival World Buffet” - Breakfast $12.99, Lunch $14.99, Champagne Brunch or Dinner $22.99 - (Las Vegas Review Journal repeatedly says this is the best Las Vegas buffet. Get there early or be prepared to wait in line.) Telephone: (702) 252-7777.