I chose to have my early birthday celebration here and the Endless Dining during dinner time for…read moreabout $80 at their Surf & Turf Buffet was easily the best and fanciest buffet I've ever been to. I highly recommend making a reservation, especially if you have a large party. My group of 4 was able to get seats at the bar, otherwise we were going to have to wait about an hour and a half.
We also got super lucky with a new member scratch off, and my friend won a free dinner for 2 at this buffet which is a $160 value!! And I won enough in Blackjack to cover the rest of us, so our meal was free, girl math.
The service at the bar was lovely and very quick, so no complaints there.
The food, oooooh weeeee the food. I was genuinely shocked at how well cooked most of the proteins were considering they're cooking in large batches. Best proteins were the lobster and fried lobster. I guess I'm used to seafood boils with all the seasonings and the holy trinity, but once I switched gears mentally, could I taste the sweetness of the lobster which melted in my mouth. I was very impressed. The Dungeness crab was similar and was a very close second for me. The XO Shrimp was the most flavorful protein by far. I'm usually advertent to to shrimp cooked in large batches because it always inevitably becomes overcooked and rubbery, but the XO Shrimps were large and perfectly cooked!
The first lamb and prime rib I ate were lack luster in the cook, but very flavorful. A friend got some fresh and the cook was visibly better than what I had.
The King crab legs were a huge disappointment. Not only were they Prince crab legs, but they were overcooked so the tiny bit ofr meat was sticking to the inside of shell which made it very difficult to get it out, even with the provided tools. While I thought it was really nice that they provided crackers and extraction tools, I felt like a surgeon in OT, which in hindsight seems like a lot for some catfish King crab legs that I didn't even get to eat. Thank goodness the Snow and Dungeness clusters didn't disappoint mommy.
A dish that I didn't think much of but ended up surprising me were the mussels in a white wine garlic sauce, they were chef's kiss!! Make sure to spoon extra sauce over you shells, Kayla Tip (TM) (its trademarked can't take it hehe).
The sushi options were basic, but well made and fish tasted fresh. The zucchini fries were crispy and paired great with the Caesar dressing, thank me later. The Brussels sprouts were good to me, but even I could tell it was bit heavy on the Balsamic vinaigrette. The mashed potatoes and fried mac & cheese bites were my favorite sides, but I was on a mission and could not afford to accidentally fill up.
Desserts are typically my favorite, but the desserts here were a mixed bag for me personally. They're mostly all miniature sized which is perfect after eating your weight in not only the surf, but the turf. Have a little, have a lot, who cares.
There were several fruit based mini cakes and tarts that were packing so much fruit flavor. The strawberry cheesecake was my favorite because of the graham crackers, YUM. The mini macarons were delicious and my favorite flavors were the vanilla and pistachio. The creme brûlées were also a hit! I usually don't eat these at restaurants because I'm sensitive the acrid, burnt taste from the crystalized sugar, like they really be tasting like straight up flame torch to me lol, but I didn't pick up any of that on these so they were sweet and delicious!
If you don't have a sweet tooth then maybe the other bland and sugar-free options are for you. The apple crisp/crumble was devoid of any spices and sugar, it tasted like microwaved apple pie filling straight out of the can. The sponge cake with fresh fruits looked crumbly and dry.
Overall this buffet gets a 5/5 despite any negatives because a good buffet is hard to come by, let alone a GREAT one that's also a really good bang for your buck.