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

I applaud the Wynn for re-establishing its buffet, but can not get on board with this concept. Coming in a hungry hobo, I want to be tantalized by visual food offerings, not what's on a paper menu. Part of the fun was perusing the various stations and prioritizing your eating strategy.
I don't want a wait person acting as a buffer between me and the food. Additionally, there is a guilt trip over turning them into track runners. The poor dishwasher also got their work load doubled with all the extra plates, bowls and cups.
I don't want a pre-portioned mentality and agree 100% with aformentioned comments on taking smaller portions. I even go so far as doctoring my food along the buffet line, so as to eliminate high salt and fat content. A beauty of self-serve is the opportunity to nutritionally enhance one's meal.
There is plenty of creative mixing and matching that can be done and wait service takes this away. As the sole purveyor, I had a vested interest of what went on my plate. A wait person does not share my enthusiasm, nor does he or she have the time to do anything but offer robotic service.
Small detail, but I prefer one big plate with several items on it instead of separate servings. Case in point - a piece of prime rib, with its juices and horseradish bleeding into mashed potatoes. Or, a bunch of greens topped with watermelon and blue cheese crumbles. So many different combos that meld flavors together could be found in pre-Covid buffets.

 

I was at the Wynn buffet on Saturday night a got some pictures for you guys. My opinion is similar to chef's above, but having no other option, I consider this adequate for Vegas buffet fans. Service speed varied. I would order 5-6 items at a time to try to speed things up. While the time limit is 2 hours, I was there for about 2.5 hours and simply because it took too long to get the food. Portions were small, but you could order "double" orders to make up for it.

 

I like my food "wet" and those pics of individually-plated portions smack of dryness.

 

I guess you are going to have to wait, or skip the buffet . That is how they are running it , I personally think you are getting your money's worth. But that is my opinion.

 

So if you pay when you’re done, do you have to be sure to leave before 3:30 for the brunch price? Usually pricing is based on when you start eating. Anybody know how they’re doing pricing?

 

Thankfully I reserved a table for Sunday. There is nothing available now until July 14th.

 

I noticed they don't offer reservations at 3:00 or 3:15, presumably because they transition to dinner at 3:30.
But if you book a reservation at 2:30, will they kick you out after an hour, or can you stay until 4:30?
If you can stay until 4:30, would you still order off the brunch menu after 3:30, or switch over to the dinner menu?

 

I'm all in on this kind of buffet. Everything looks superb, not that you'd expect anything less.

Can't wait to try it next trip, and hope it lasts until Xmas

 

I can’t imagine they kick you out and I can’t imagine they keep two menus going, so they have probably done the math that the minimal number of people arriving between 1:30 and 2:30 who will stay until 3:30 is not a burden, financially.

 

That's darn good question. Hoping that someone can come up a definitive answer by October!

 

Apparently they charge you what is essentially an averaged price.

 

Monday thru Thursday, they are offering an early bird price of $44.99 between 3:30 and 5:00

 

I went on Sunday. Staff was very friendly and although its not a buffet more as an all you can eat concept I did like it. I can see there being less waste in my opinion.

The only thing i didn't like was the beef ribs I kind of found them dry.

Prime Rib and then lamb chops where my favorite.

I would definitely go back.

 

Edited with more details

I got to try the new buffet concept. The staff brings the food to tables as soon as the orders are placed. The staff that bring the food to your table is not the same as your waiter/waitress. They definitely don’t slow down orders or play any games that you typically see with other AYCE seated establishments.

What I noticed is that the waiter/waitress is trained to notice when you want more food. If they see your table is empty or you're looking at the menu, he/she will come over and ask if you're ready for more food. Although I wasn't grabbing the food myself, I felt I was able to order as many items as I wanted without limitation. My waitress seemed very happy to help whenever I wanted to order new items or re-order a few dishes I've already tried. The way they are plating each dish seems to make them very appetizing as well.

The menu has been digitized so that you simply scan a QR code on the table and you browse the menu on your phone. However, I see some folks that have requested paper menus as well (likely one time use due to COVID).

Payment is due at the end of your meal rather than upfront before being seated.

I would definitely go again. People that are not on board with this new style should definitely try it first before giving judgment.

 

Seeing that image of the banana sticky toffee pudding is making me hungry here. My favorite dessert on a Vegas buffet

 

Every report I’ve seen on Wynn buffet since reopening makes me want to go try! I was just there for 8 days and didn’t do it like an idiot.

 

Well, I guess I will plan to make a reservation before 5:00 and get there early for dinner...I think the new dinner price ($59?) is rather high since they have fewer items than they did on the old buffet..

 

I went to the Wynn buffet again last Saturday night. In comparison to the opening weekend, the speed has increased significantly. That was the major issue for me the 1st time. Also certain dishes were increased in size. For example, the shrimp cocktail now comes with 3 shrimp per serving (used to be 2) and the crab legs plate comes with twice the amount of crab legs now.

 

It was kind of disappointing. Not sure if the ones we got sat out for too long or what, but they were both kind of dry. My friend described it best when she said it tasted like a muffin. The tapioca was my favorite of the desserts we tried.

 

I just might have to give it a try next month!