Thanks, mosburger.

By the way, I went to the Sunday Brunch and the Peninsula, Chicago yesterday. The service was disappointing. Our server was not attentive at all, and a bit condescending. The food selection was not as expansive as I would have like (I guess I'm spoiled by the spectaucular buffets at luxury hotels in Asia) but the quality was first-rate. Overall, I didn't feel I got my $60 (plus tax/tip) worth.

If any of you do visit Chicago, try the lunch buffet at both the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton. It's served Monday-Saturday. The food is excellent and a bargain at $24 including desserts.

Do you have any comments to share on your buffet experiences?

Please share with the FT DiningBuzz gang as we praise the surprisingly good ones and warn off each other from declining or inconsistent ones.

Who knows, you might even be able to share info on comped buffets or exceptional experiences - it occasionally happens!

I'll start with one in Sydney (some fellow residents have possibly tried this one too):
Stamford Grand, Sydney (North Ryde)

Pros:
The food was well-presented and fresh, with a fairly good variety of seafood;
Excellent, well-trained, attentive but not pushy service where nothing is a problem. (an exception here ^)
Not crowded, not a huge buffet and restaurant but reasonable ambience - something highly unusual for a buffet ;
Good selection of wines to complement the seafood;
A wine buffet (!) for those wanting to try around eight Australian wine varieties, from at least two wineries.
Good value with a special offer (easy to find it, or PM me);
Piano bar! Who'd expect this? A la carte and buffet restaurants faced onto this lobby/piano area. ^

Cons:
Non-seafood selection not very large on seafood nights (but that's expected);
Indian selection not so great (or a very good match with the seafood);
Chocolate dessert fountain, for those who can't eat Aussie chocolate;
20 mins north of city - would need a car until train line opens late 2008.

Overall, this was a surprisingly great buffet, in an okay location/hotel, much better than restaurant/club options and better than some city options, too.

For FTers who are willing to travel, I'd highly recommend this place - and am happy to try it again if further reviews are requested.

the second one almost counts as a buffet in my mind, considering there was so much, and it was all included (especially the water)

The only way I'd eat at a buffet is if a high-paying client invited me. Otherwise, forget it.

In defence of this thread - rather than nasty bainmarie buffets, I was thinking of hotels and some restaurants that offer decent quality meals and food that is similar to their a la carte fare.

Indian and Chinese restaurant (locally) offer some very good quality banquet meals for small groups - some of the hotels I frequent have offerings on special occasions - fresh food served in courses or set up as a seafood buffet.

For example, the Hilton Kauai's seafood buffet was great for a few dishes but absolutely unapetising for the rest, while most of the 4* Las Vegas hotel buffets offered a few decent options.

Okay, I've made some poor buffet choices but there are a few notable heroes of seafood buffets/banquets - and there are a couple of Indian and Chinese banquet exceptions to the ordinary rule, for parites of four or more.

The Rehearsal Dinner for my wedding party (which was a long time ago BTW), was at the New Orleans Manor in Nashville. It was an expensive seafood buffet and it was excellent. At the time they actually had Maine lobster tails on the buffet, as well as, a number of other seafood delights. The restaurant itself was in an old mansion built sometime in the 1800s. So it had a very nice atmosphere as well as some very good seafood (even though it was a buffet.)

Now that you have me thinking about that, the next time I visit family in Nashville, I may have to make a trip to to the Manor and see if it is still as good as it used to be.

The Sunday brunch at the Penninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills is fantastic,caviar(real and not the pasturised,shelf stable gunk)gorgeous seafood and meats,spetacular sushi(made fresh with a sushi chef right there)and desserts that are top of the game.
It is reallllly expensive-over $100 per with tip.That does include all the medium shelf (real)champagne one wishes.
And it is a very elegant setting.

I'm not a huge buffet person -- admittedly, I haven't been to TOO many -- but I remember REALLY loving the outdoor dinner buffet at the Peninsula Bangkok. I was there about 3 years ago. Great grilled lobster tail, something I would never think to (or want to, normally) eat at a buffet. The whole thing was YUMMY!

I also love the breakfast buffet at the Grand Formosa Regent in Taipei, but probably more for the variety than for being able to truly label the food "spectacular." (It's very good though, I just doubt such a spread is unique in Asian hotels.) Salad, sashimi and dragon fruit to start the day. Now that you bring it up, I might dream about that tonight!

The last buffet I peeked at was at the Borgata in Atlantic City and that was enough for me.

The all you can eat sushi scene in Las Vegas is incredible.
Yama Sushi next to Albertsons on Maryland/Flamingo is one of the best.
For less than $25 ( $20 for lunch!) you can order freshly made ikura (salmon roe) with quail egg, eel, all sorts of nigiri, numerous rolls including an amazing eel roll called double dragon - eel tempura on the inside, eel and avocado on the outside. The menu also includes several salads, hamachi kama ( yellowtail cheek - incredible taste) and the standard tempuras,tonkatsu, teriyaki etc.

I remember frequenting a Japanese restaurant in Canberra who offered all you can eat for a mere 5 or 6 weeks back in the mid 90's - I like to think I had smething to do with the change in policy!

Last time I visited the parents in Taipei, they took me to a Japanese style buffet called Jagoya. Very up-scale, very good food. Cost was about $30/person but worth every dollar.

I used to love the brunch buffet at Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans... awesome food.
Back in 01, my friend and I went to this brunch buffet near the waterfront in DC. Didn't think much anything except for the wide food selection. We ate until we were about to explode... then the bill came 40 bucks a head... To this day that is the most expensive buffet I've ever had.

But here's a nice story:
Newly opened chinese buffet near SFO, maybe 3 weeks old. Amazingly wide selection of food, some real good sushi, along with an ocean's worth of seafood... I mean whatever swims in the Pacific was there, dead and fillet (is there a past tense for "fillet") on the counter.
So my buddy and I are eating up a storm when while knawing on some seaweed he breaks his tooth! Don't know how or why but we asked for the manager. All he said was that my friend neede to be careful when he ate. He was furious! He refused to pay for the food, threattened to call Cali Health Board, wanted the name and number of the owner, and their insurance information. At some point, because of literally NO concern whatsoever by the restaurant staff, he asked the guy speaking as a manager whether he was legal or not in the US. At that point the manager got furious. He threattened to call the police and my friend said don't bother, i'll call them for you. So he does, police comes, talks to the manager, runs our IDs for warrants and then tells us that we have to pay for the food. Well, needless to say we haven't been back there anymore! Too bad though cause the food was really good.

The manager of that establishment has probably not forgotten either - maybe you and your friend should go back and see.
That's a nightmare for the owner/manager - unbelievable!

I'd expect little service at a buffet, aside from the food being kept in edible condition and customers reminded to be hygienic.

Hygiene (re. food handling and customer behaviour ) is an issue that makes me most wary of buffets.

Seaweed at a buffet? That's the last thing I'd eat - if that's their best food, it's not worth it!

^ to the Sunday brunch buffet at Henrietta's Table at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA. A beautiful selection of food, and all of it interesting and very fresh.

to the Mother's Day brunch at NOMI in the Park Hyatt Chicago. $100 a person, not including tip, and it was the EXACT SAME brunch they have for $55 on other Sundays. It didn't even include a flute of champagne for my mother, much less the others in the party. To top that off we had many service issues (croissants on the buffet, but we had to ask for jam; the tea I ordered was opaque and bitter because they stuffed ten cups' worth of leaves into a one-cup pot; etc. etc.). What a ripoff!

Can anyone recommend anywhere near the Bellaigo, preferably walking distance - I have heard they do it for $25 do you get a lot for that?

Thanks
Andrew

Bellagio's own buffet is pretty decent though not as good as the early years of when it first opened. For dinner it will cost at least $38, lunch can be had for around $25.

Otherwise, go across the street to the Planet Hollywood (previously Aladdin) buffet.