The best buffets in Vegas for feasting on the Strip

The extravagant plates match the extravagant setting at the Wynn buffet, where towering arrangements of flowers and fruit rival the Jenga tower of plates you assemble with every trip to the buffet line. Matzah-crusted fried chicken, ribeye steaks sliced to order, upscale tacos, and ahi poke are just a few of the 120 must-try items from the long counters and 15 live cooking stations. Come on Friday or Saturday for a fantastic seafood lineup, and check out the potato pancake station, serving latkes to order topped with smoked salmon, wagyu beef, and blueberries. It might be the single best item at any buffet in Las Vegas.

Carnival World has been considered one of the top Las Vegas buffets ever since it first opened. After things became mundane, the staff shook new life into the menu, which now offers more than 200 different dishes from all across the globe and a plethora of homemade pies for dessert. Yummy indeed.

Widely regarded as the best “locals” buffet, this spacious eatery at the off-Strip M Resort is worth the drive to the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard for a reasonably priced array that includes unlimited beer, wine, and espresso drinks. And the food? It’s plenty tasty. Build the perfect meal out of tacos, calzones, pho, dim sum, and fried chicken. Pro tip: Ask the meat man to grill the prime rib. A game changer.

Part of the Palms’ resort-wide renovation has been the reinvention of its buffet into A.Y.C.E. (pronounced “ace”), a sparkling new destination built around wood-fired grills, rotisseries, and smokers where you can eat as healthy as you want or throw your diet to the wind. With local-friendly pricing and a vast array of individually portioned dishes like mac ’n’ cheese, chicken pot pie, and poke, you can stuff yourself silly without blowing your Vegas restaurant budget.

Border Grill’s weekend brunch isn’t your typical buffet. There are no stations to browse, no pre-warmed plates to pile high with this and that, and no chef-coated attendant slicing through a giant piece of meat under the heat lamps. What you’ll find instead might be even better: a selection of made-to-order, Mexican-inspired small plates perfect for mixing and matching into the brunch feast of your dreams. Lobster cachapas? Secret pancakes? Diablo fried chicken? Short rib hash? Yes, yes, yes, and hell yes.

When Wicked Spoon opened at the Cosmopolitan, it was a revelation: a cool-kid buffet where giant chafing dishes of limp pasta were replaced by individual portions of creative plates. While other buffets have caught up, this wide open space is still a delight, where diners navigate the floor, picking up plates of shrimp and grits and pumpkin risotto alongside big-ticket items like carved Italian sausages and seafood scampi made to order. The dessert station features excellent gelato with flavors as universal as pistachio and as unique as Thai tea.

This Wynn classic has migrated from its former home at Country Club restaurant to new digs at David Walzog’s Lakeside. What hasn’t changed? The party vibes, thanks to a live Dixieland jazz band and the fantastic food. Fill your plate with fresh oysters, king crab legs, and more from the buffet stations, then order a la carte dishes like lemon ricotta pancakes, crab cake eggs Benedict, and steak frites. Finish things off at the dessert station to end your morning on a sweet note.

Often considered the best buffet in the world, Bacchanal Buffet offers an onslaught of deliciousness from morning to night. Indulge in red velvet pancakes and fresh-squeezed juices for breakfast, then move on to dim sum, street tacos, crab legs, at least six different Asian soups, and a rotation of individually portioned salads made with golden beets, sweet and sour watermelon, and more. Then, there is the carving station: A heaven made of smoked meat to be devoured right before checking out dessert. Survey the gelatos, sample a fresh crepe, and save room for the baked-to-order chocolate lava cake. This is a buffet worthy of the opulence expected from Caesars Palace.

Like the hotel it is housed in, this all-you-can-eatery aims to keep things classy. Expect cuisine from all over the world, from Italy to Japan, served across different stations and prepared, mostly, right in front of you. You can also opt for the gourmet dinner, which includes caviar with house-made blinis, king crab, and leg of lamb.

A local favorite, this suburban spot on the west side of town offers a banging dessert station, an awesome discount for military members on Mondays, and tons of delicious brunch items, including blintzes and polenta eggs Benedict. The hickory smoked pork ribs are on the menu a few times a week—make sure to order them when available.