The Best Las Vegas Buffets
The Vegas buffet is no longer a $9 free-for-all, but the great ones still deliver: nine open kitchens, crab legs piled like driftwood, and a dessert table you'll regret in the best way. Here's where the spread is still worth it.
Updated June 2026
There was a time when the buffet was the whole point of a Vegas trip: bottomless prime rib for the price of a movie ticket, every casino racing to out-lavish the next. That era is over. The pandemic shuttered more than forty buffets across the valley, and the dozen or so that remain have reinvented themselves as premium, ticketed events rather than loss leaders. The good news is that the survivors are mostly the best ones, and a great Vegas buffet is still one of the most gloriously excessive meals in America.
This is the honest lay of the land for the modern buffet hunter, whether you're chasing the crown-jewel crab brunch on the Strip or the genuinely cheap local spot a few miles off it. We'll point you to the ones still standing, tell you when to go for the best value, and share the tricks that turn a pricey ticket into a steal. When you're done feasting, our Where to Eat guide covers the rest of the Vegas table, and celebrity-chef fine dining is the obvious next splurge.
The big-room buffets
The marquee names, where the price is steep but the spread genuinely earns it. Reserve ahead and bring an appetite.
Where the value lives
Drive a few minutes off the boulevard and the prices come back down to earth. These are the locals' picks.
How to make it worth it
A buffet ticket is a real investment now. Here's how to come out ahead.
- Go for brunch, not dinner at the splashy rooms; the weekend brunch and crab brunch at Bacchanal is the sweet spot of value and spectacle, and it carries you straight through to evening.
- Arrive hungry and on the early side of a meal window, when stations are freshly stocked and the lines are shortest.
- Reconnoiter before you load up: do one slow lap of every station first, then build a plan. Skip the bread, pasta and rice that fill you up cheaply and head for crab legs, oysters, prime rib and the carving stations.
- Take small portions of many things rather than a mountain of one, and pace yourself so you have room for the dessert room, which at the top buffets is half the reason to come.
- For pure value over spectacle, point the car off-Strip to the Garden Buffet at South Point and pocket the difference for the tables or a show.
Where to go next
From endless plates to the rest of the Vegas table and beyond.
Where to Eat
The full Vegas dining map, from late-night noodles to the legendary steakhouses.
Celebrity-Chef Fine Dining
The marquee tasting menus and chef's tables when one ticketed feast isn't enough.
The Strip
Where most of the big buffets live; our guide to the resorts and how to walk it.
Things to Do
Shows, attractions and the rest of the lineup to work off all that prime rib.
Common questions
Which Las Vegas buffets are still open?
After the pandemic closed most of the city's buffets, around a dozen remain. The marquee names still running on the Strip include Bacchanal at Caesars Palace, Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan, the Buffet at Wynn Las Vegas and the Buffet at Bellagio. Off-Strip you'll find value spots like the Garden Buffet at South Point, the A.Y.C.E. Buffet at the Palms and Garden Court at Main Street Station downtown. Lineups change, so confirm a buffet is open before you build a trip around it.
What is the best buffet in Las Vegas?
Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace is the one most people crown as the best, with hundreds of dishes across nine open kitchens and a knockout dessert room. Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan is the stylish, more curated runner-up, and the Wynn buffet is the elegant classic. The best one for you really depends on whether you want spectacle, refinement or value.
How much do Las Vegas buffets cost now?
Far more than the old legend suggests. The Strip's premium buffets are firmly in the splurge tier, especially for weekend and seafood meals, while off-Strip locals' spots cost considerably less. Prices change frequently and resort fees apply to your room on top, so we don't quote exact figures here. Always check the current price on the resort's site before you go.
Is the Vegas buffet brunch or dinner a better deal?
Brunch is usually the smarter buy. At the top rooms the weekend brunch and crab brunch spreads rival or beat dinner for variety, often cost a little less, and let you fold breakfast and lunch into one long sitting that carries you into the evening. Dinner brings the heavier seafood and prime-rib focus if that's what you're after.
Do I need a reservation for a Las Vegas buffet?
For the big Strip buffets, yes, especially for weekend brunch, dinner and holidays, when lines can be long. Bacchanal, Wicked Spoon and the Wynn buffet all take or recommend reservations. Smaller off-Strip and downtown buffets are more walk-in friendly, but booking ahead never hurts on a busy weekend.
Why did so many Las Vegas buffets close?
The pandemic shut down self-serve dining across the city in 2020, and more than forty buffets never came back. Many were converted into food halls, new restaurants or extra casino space. The ones that returned reopened as pricier, often ticketed, sit-down experiences rather than the cheap free-for-alls of the past.