Steve
10-02-2005, 07:32 AM
The Las Vegas Hilton Buffet
By Rick Garman
It most instances, size doesn’t really matter, but when you’re talking about a Las Vegas buffet it actually becomes important. I bring this up because if you’ve gotten used to the ginormous buffets at most hotels in Las Vegas you may walk into the one at the Las Vegas Hilton and ask “where’s the rest of it?” The place is small by this city’s standards, both in terms of seating and serving areas. I visited this one on the same weekend as the Wynn Buffet and you could fit about four of the former in the space taken up by the latter. Of course the size of the bill is nowhere near as large either, but we’ll come back to that.
The dining room is nicely decorated but almost instantly forgettable, with beige and other earth tones and a few plants dominating the scheme. True, many buffets in town are equally as bland but when you have the drama of the one at Wynn, the beauty of the buffet at Bellagio, and the whimsy of the space at Luxor this one doesn’t even rank on the same scale.
As mentioned, food selection is limited. To be completely fair you will not go hungry here – there are salads, various American and regional cuisines (Chinese, Mexican, Italian), a carving station, desserts, and more – but in most instances you’ll have to make due with two or three selections of whatever type of food is in front of you instead of ten or twelve. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing, ultimately, but it’s certainly not what you have come to expect.
Everything we sampled was fine. There is absolutely nothing that offended but at the same time there was nothing that stood out. To be frank, I didn’t take the copious notes I usually take when reviewing a restaurant and by the time I got around to writing up this review I had completely forgotten what I had to eat. That isn’t the case at other buffets I’ve eaten at, where specific menu items have remained lodged in my brain, making me want to go back for more.
What I do remember is the cost. Breakfast is $9, lunch is $10, dinner is $14, and Saturday and Sunday brunch is $13. That is anywhere from a couple bucks less to nearly half as much as you’ll pay at the bigger, more fancier buffets in town (the champagne brunch at Wynn is $30). Having said that there are several buffets around that are even cheaper that I like better (Main Street Station’s Garden Court springs to mind) so it’s really a push in this category.
Ultimately what it comes down to is managing expectations. If you want a $30 buffet experience go to a buffet that charges $30. Come here and you’ll get what you pay for but nothing more.
The Las Vegas Hilton Buffet
3000 Paradise Rd.
888-732-7117
Open Mon-Fri 7am-10pm, Sat-Sun 8am-2:30pm and 5pm-10pm
Breakfast $9, lunch $10, dinner $14, brunch $13 (includes champagne)
Vegas4Visitors Column for September 12, 2005 (http://)
By Rick Garman
It most instances, size doesn’t really matter, but when you’re talking about a Las Vegas buffet it actually becomes important. I bring this up because if you’ve gotten used to the ginormous buffets at most hotels in Las Vegas you may walk into the one at the Las Vegas Hilton and ask “where’s the rest of it?” The place is small by this city’s standards, both in terms of seating and serving areas. I visited this one on the same weekend as the Wynn Buffet and you could fit about four of the former in the space taken up by the latter. Of course the size of the bill is nowhere near as large either, but we’ll come back to that.
The dining room is nicely decorated but almost instantly forgettable, with beige and other earth tones and a few plants dominating the scheme. True, many buffets in town are equally as bland but when you have the drama of the one at Wynn, the beauty of the buffet at Bellagio, and the whimsy of the space at Luxor this one doesn’t even rank on the same scale.
As mentioned, food selection is limited. To be completely fair you will not go hungry here – there are salads, various American and regional cuisines (Chinese, Mexican, Italian), a carving station, desserts, and more – but in most instances you’ll have to make due with two or three selections of whatever type of food is in front of you instead of ten or twelve. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing, ultimately, but it’s certainly not what you have come to expect.
Everything we sampled was fine. There is absolutely nothing that offended but at the same time there was nothing that stood out. To be frank, I didn’t take the copious notes I usually take when reviewing a restaurant and by the time I got around to writing up this review I had completely forgotten what I had to eat. That isn’t the case at other buffets I’ve eaten at, where specific menu items have remained lodged in my brain, making me want to go back for more.
What I do remember is the cost. Breakfast is $9, lunch is $10, dinner is $14, and Saturday and Sunday brunch is $13. That is anywhere from a couple bucks less to nearly half as much as you’ll pay at the bigger, more fancier buffets in town (the champagne brunch at Wynn is $30). Having said that there are several buffets around that are even cheaper that I like better (Main Street Station’s Garden Court springs to mind) so it’s really a push in this category.
Ultimately what it comes down to is managing expectations. If you want a $30 buffet experience go to a buffet that charges $30. Come here and you’ll get what you pay for but nothing more.
The Las Vegas Hilton Buffet
3000 Paradise Rd.
888-732-7117
Open Mon-Fri 7am-10pm, Sat-Sun 8am-2:30pm and 5pm-10pm
Breakfast $9, lunch $10, dinner $14, brunch $13 (includes champagne)
Vegas4Visitors Column for September 12, 2005 (http://)