Wicked Spoon, Bacchanal, or...?

We want to hit one of the big, lavish buffets on our honeymoon next month. I've been researching them, and so far it is between Wicked Spoon and Bacchanal. They both sound amazing...but they also both show up in the "disappointments" thread on this board.

Which of the two would you recommend, and why? Or is there one you prefer over both?

 

Depends on how picky you are, what day you're going to eat at the buffet, and if you're going to eat there for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

 

Haven't settled on a day yet, sometime from Monday to Wednesday. Probably a late lunch...two hour time difference means we will likely be hungry before traditional dinner time. I don't think we're really "picky," but we want it to be tasty and (hopefully) worth the money. What we are hoping for is a large and interesting selection, prepared well, which from what I've read is what we would find at either place. We are aware that there will be mobs of people, and probably a wait to get in.

 

Honestly, Vegas buffets have really gone downhill in the last few years. Maybe it's the changing scene in Vegas, but they don't have the quality they used to where I could proclaim that the food they served was "restaurant quality". I've been to all the big Vegas buffets several times and none strike me as great, but then again, I consider myself very picky.

That said, if you had to go to a buffet, you would probably be best off going to the Bacchanal buffet, since their food quality is around the same level as the Wicked Spoon's, but they easily offer a larger variety of food and cuisines. While I think most of the food served at the Bacchanal buffet is of average quality, if you're not too picky, you will probably love the buffet, and you'll probably be full before you can try everything offered there. Since you're going to the buffet on a weekday and before traditional dinner time, you'll probably make it in without much wait. It will be very expensive, though ($50+ per person). Hope you enjoy it.

 

I am not as picky as iamsomedude, but I think both Bacchanal and Wicked Spoon are excellent. They've gone down in quality of late (just a bit), but are both still exceptionally high quality (for a buffet). If you're not super picky and going in expecting a seven course meal by Joel Robuchon or Guy Savoy, then I think you'll probably enjoy either.

Bacchanal might be slightly better because of a larger selection, but WS is a little cheaper and if you look around there are 2-for-1 coupons for trade/sale - although they are a little hard to come by.

I would say Bellagio is also right there in terms of quality. If you play MyVegas, you can get a 2-for-1 pretty easily as well. Just something to keep in mind.

Have fun and congratulations on your impending nuptials/honeymoon!

 

Tough call, both are very good. I prefer Bacchanal but not by a lot.

 

Based on my limited experience (once at each place, back in 2013) I would say for a honeymoon extravaganza, definitely Bacchanal. It really is fun and over-the-top, with a ton of choices, which is sort of the point of a buffet.

I'm not a Robuchon/Savoy-type foodie, so what do I know?--but I thought that nearly everything I had at Bacchanal (and Wicked Spoon, for that matter) was tasty. My wife and I spent a solid two hours there for a late lunch, just slowly trying lots of things. It was certainly our last meal of that day!

 

Please don't give any few comments an over-importance (including mine)... you can put the finest restaurant in town in a thread and there will be a few who give it the oft used cyber term "Meh". I'm not really sure if they really feel that way or it's just fun to take the opposing side. I completely disagree that Las Vegas buffets have gone downhill in recent years. I think the quality and quantity of choices is better than ever... with a price that goes right along with it of course. I will also state that I don't consider myself "picky" either... I have fun at these places and enjoy the incredible spread of tasty treats available. My favorite is actually Bellagio, but either Bacchanal or Wicked Spoon would fit your bill. IMHO. Hope you have a GREAT honeymoon visit and meal!!!

 

There's no doubt that some people love to be contrarians. They'll take the opposite side because they love to "debate". I used to be married to one of them

 

I vote Bachannal. It is pretty darn swell. Don't get me wrong, Wicked Spoon is a winner as well. Let's draw the metaphor to those two particular buffets as perhaps Bachannal=Boardwalk and Wicked Spoon=Park Place on the Monopoly Board.

Having said that, I haven't been to Wynn in a long time and I've never been to Aria. I am merely comparing the two you mentioned.

 

First off, congrats on the marriage!

My wife and I are coming to town for our 10th anniversary in a couple weeks, and Bacchanal (as always) is on our list of things to do. If you go into it understanding what it is, you won't be disappointed. I have never been disappointed with it, the food is very good, there's anything you could possibly want, and there is no way you'll get to everything! There are certain dishes there that really you can't get anywhere else, in addition to fairly standard buffet fare. Not everything on the buffet is amazing, but then again not everything on every menu in town is either.

Some people will rag on anything, and sure, its a buffet, not a gourmet meal, but I have been far more disappointed after dropping hundreds of dollars at some of Vegas' "premium" establishments, then I ever have been at Bacchanal.

That being said, Wicked Spoon isn't bad, but if I were doing one, it would definitely be Bacchanal.

 

Have done both...I am not a buffet fan, but got these free last year. I was surprisingly pleased with both.
Wicked Spoon had wonderful, inventive food.
Bacchanal also had tasty food (maybe slightly less inventive) & a remarkable assortment of fresh seafood (crab claws, crab legs, HUGE peeled shrimp).
Edge to BB for seafood & a lovely venue (the ONLY buffet that I would say that about!)

 

Great post. Cosmo, Wynn, Bellagio, Caesars are the current buffet kings. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Nick

 

Congrats on your marriage! We just celebrated our 28th anniversary at Cosmo July 11.

I've been to both Wicked Spoon and Bacchanal several times. I get a 2for1 deal every day at Wicked Spoon with platinum tier there and I can't even get my husband to go anymore. He really dislikes it. I think it's okay, but only okay. If you want seafood then choose Bacchanal -- great crab, and huge peeled shrimp. Wicked Spoon crab legs have been very small, spindly, and watery each time I've been there.

Both can get pretty busy, so get there early or at odd times or you'll be standing in line for a long time (unless you have gold or platinum status at Cosmo or diamond/7 Stars at Caesars).

 

I was fortunate/unfortunate to have the opportunity to eat multiple times at the Wynn buffet when it was at its peak. While their selection wasn't as expansive as Bacchanal's, the Wynn's buffet had a very unique selection of food of very high quality-I could say that the food they served was something I would happily order at a sit-down restaurant. Because of those experiences, I ended up holding all Vegas buffets to that impossible standard, which unfortunately, none meet anymore, including the Wynn buffet of the present. I should probably qualify all my buffet reviews with this statement.

 

The bolded is so far from my experience in May. I left the buffet honestly wondering what all the praise was about. It was great if you love seafood or asian, but for the rest of the fare I found choices to be minimal. If you do go save room for dessert because there the offerings were excellent.

 

Thanks for the replies, advice, and congratulations everyone Gave me some great points to consider. We are kind of playing things by ear for this trip, not getting our minds set on any specific choices yet, for either restaurants or shows (we're gonna hit the tix4tonight booths every morning) so we're very open to ideas and suggestions, and any help we can get is awesome.

I just started playing a few days ago...been pretty much letting it run on my ipad while doing other things, and have earned enough points for the 2-for-1 dinner at Bellagio, so that has definitely jumped into the mix

 

How is Spice Market Buffet? It showed up on Groupon today, and I'm wondering whether that might be an option.

 

Wow! I must be the odd man out. Bacchanal is no longer my top choice for the following reasons.

- Prices for Buffet are out of line with the quality of food. Yes they have added some higher end items on weekends, but their other food items asian, prime rib, seafood and mediterian food have really suck to low quality levels
- The Crowds. Caesars is such a large property and is accommodating to children that the buffet is overwhelmed with people. This impacts wait time. On a non busy weekend in May I literally waited in a line 20 people deep for 8 to 10 minutes for the carving station.
- Reduction in selection. Cheese, Bread and Desserts are top notch. That being said the rest of the offerings are way less diverse than they used to be, and no where worth the asking price.

My recommendations:

- Spice Market still a quality buffet, but not as high end as say Wicked Spoon, Bellagio, or Wynn. High on the value for dollar though
- Wicked Spoon. If the wait is not long or you can get a line pass, I still think this one beats out Bacchanal by a slight edge.
- Wynn Buffet. Still the standard in food quality to compete against, They still put out a high quality product there.

 

Planet Hollywood is my wife's preferred place to stay so we normally eat this buffet several times over the course of our weeks stay. We only go at breakfast time and I've always enjoyed it and I'm not a big buffet fan. In May we went a little later and they started transitioning over to lunch so I tried the lunch offerings instead of breakfast and was pleasantly surprised. The prime rib was wonderful.

Mark