Wynn Buffet to re-open Thursday June 18th, 2020

My guilty pleasure each trip...wake up and pig out at the buffet

 

I like the concept, and I’m sure Wynn will do a good job with it. This will lead to imitators, and not all will wind up doing it well. Caesars Bacchanal and Cosmo probably would, maybe Aria, possibly Bellagio, but I doubt the concept would travel well much further down the food chain.

 

With a trip to Wynn coming up in July, this is exciting news to hear. Been a couple years since I’ve had the buffet at Wynn, but I know it’s one of the best. I also trust them to execute the concept, both in taste and quality as well as safety!

 

This has been done in Vegas too before, albeit on a smaller scale - Border Grill at Mandalay Bay has had their weekend 'Border Brunch' for years, where you could order unlimited small plates from a preset menu of about twenty dishes for a comparable price.

There's more dishes here, but then again there's a lot more space and staff at the Wynn's buffet area too.

I'm actually hoping that others pick this up too since at least at the places that have done it elsewhere, the offerings tend to be somewhat fresher than in your typical buffet. I do think the prices are going to go up though, since this requires more manpower and time since the customers don't do as much of the work.

I doubt we'll ever get the figures, but I'd also be curious as to what effects this has on the economics of the buffet - like is there less food waste, does the average guest stay longer/eat more, do people eat healthier (I always guilt myself to having some salad when I walk by, whereas I probably won't if I have to order it), what's the average cost to the hotel per guest (VS the money they make), etc.

 

This is basically the "family style" concept of serving. Buca Di Beppo has been doing this at Bally's with $12.95 all you can eat pasta served at your table.

 

I think that will depend on initial impressions of those trying out the new incarnation of The Buffet. I would expect people to be looking at how fast the server moves (2 hr time limit, stuffing yourself before your stomach registers that it's full is a race against time) and how fresh or stale the food served is, especially since the cook-to-order stations may or may not still be a thing.

 

"Plate real estate"... love it Carve! I definitely get my buffet property for "under $200 per square foot". (Eons, ago a realtor friend said a good value is under $200 a square foot, depending on your locale of course. Wouldn't fly in NYC or Bay area, and who knows if it's even solid advice, I just remember it from when we were house hunting like fiends... over 150 open houses till we found "the one"! .)

This really makes me wish for Vegas now. Ahhh, but "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and all!

 

I'll start by saying I'm not a fan of buffets. Breakfast is ok, but for lunch or dinner I prefer sit down, which is what this sounds like. Are all the portions small or different quantities? Sounds like a vast selection, which is buffet like. It also sounds like far more work per patron for the severs. If so, I hope an appropriate tips accompanies the meal, not the typical buffet tip.

 

Hope to redeem Wynn slots for this

 

I reached out to Wynn Slots and they got back to me quickly. Since my trip is soon, I wanted to know if they were going to be up and running the buffet or not. They pretty much said they are working on opening the buffet calendar and "bear with them". I made my reservations already and most likely if they aren't up and running by then I will use some of my other comps.

 

Intrigued. This is a more elegant solution than I expected, which was AYCE cafeteria style.

 

As a naive European guy, I thought the right etiquette was to still just tip 18-22% on the full price?

I’ve eaten at the Aria buffet last year with my wife, charged to the room as I had food credit, and the only thing weird was that I got to choose the tip up front not knowing how the service would be.

I went with 15% and the guy who served the bottomless cocktails seemed to have one mission that day: get us as drunk as possible. Literally could not finish my rum punches, before he came out with more. I stopped after 4 or 5 in the first hour

Gave the guy another $10 in the end.

Are people really tipping lower at buffets?

 

Appears to be:
1) 90 well portioned offerings
2) I'm guessing they're going to use one plate per person so they can utilize existing plates for most offerings
3) Maybe they'll let you get a double portion of something or perhaps two plates at the same time, anyone's guess at this point and things could evolve
4) I like the idea but reservations

Tipping's a very personal choice which can vary with the level of service. But buffets have gotten more confusing over the years, some used to have the waitstaff seat you, get your drinks and clear your dirty dishes. Now you can have, the hostess seat you, self service non-alcoholic fountain drinks, a separate bartending station where there's a tip jar and busboy clearing the tables. I usually tip no matter what in a buffet but not when I go starbucks where there's a tip jar.

 

Traditionally it's 15-20% of pre-tax total. If you had great service and can afford to go higher do so. Often people tip below that at buffets as you must get your own food.
Though I've seen many buffet servers work harder to refill drinks and clear tables. I can't believe I see some leave no tip at buffets. (An exception might be a buffet like Luxor where you also get your own drinks and for us had no greating or plates cleared...)

 

I think at traditional buffets most posts I've read in the past have mentioned lower amounts since servers just bring beverages, pick up plates etc. They're not taking your order and bringing your food out. Unless I'm missing something, this concept sounds like more work for a server than a regular sit down joint. Maybe not, but it looks that way to me.

 

That'll be interesting as well - will the time limit actually be enforced?

Almost all the Vegas buffets I've been to have had that 2 hour limit already included somewhere in the documentation, usually at the bottom of the bill, but I've never actually seen or heard of it being enforced in Vegas.

This person stayed for four hours just seeing if anyone would ask them to leave or make any kind of comment at the Bacchanal Buffet, but no-one ever did, and I think it will be the same at least at these higher end 'new buffets:'

https://thetakeout.com/bacchanal-buffet-caesars-palace-las-vegas-1831568052

Maybe I'll get a chance to try that out, since I'll definitely go here if no other 'buffets' are open when I come over in two weeks.

 

I think that will depend on the number of people waiting in line. Seeing as this will be one of the few (or only) buffets open in town, I would bet there will be a lot of people eager to try it out.

 

January at Bacchanal we were friendly reminded that the two hours will expire soon.

 

Wynn was using this concept with their lakeside Sunday brunch with the exception of a serve yourself seafood station, so they have some experience with this operation, I'm sure it will be well executed

 

WOW! You gots more time on your hands than I do, especially in Vegas! I look forward to giving this a shot next trip down. The plug was pulled on a meeting I was to attend in town in early March and I was looking forward to staying at the Wynn. During that reservation process, I was reminded of how much they pride themselves on service. If they're going to bring the food to me, I'm happy to tip accordingly... wouldn't be on my concern radar in the least. Neither would the size of the portions, since I can eat as much as I like.