Rate Vegas

On November 07 2008, Jaime wrote:

Delicious food and great service.

On February 03 2008, Hepcat79 wrote:

I must say that this is my favorite buffet to date. My wife and I have been enjoying woderful cuisine in Vegas for years and this is the best buffet for your buck. The only down side to this wonderful buffet is the lack of sweets. If you are going to spend the money this is a good one to invest in. The Wynn is also good, but I recommend that you get a players card and earn the points for a free buffet for 2.

On November 14 2007, Stan wrote:

We ate dinner here. If you like the Old Country Buffet, you will probably like Cravings. We didn’t. This is not a quality food buffet. We would recommend paying just a little bit more and going to a quality buffet. Service was not bad.

On November 28 2006, mike_ch wrote:

This buffet cost me about $17.95 for lunch, which is about $3 more than the TI buffet next door. The extra money is worth it. At TI you’ll get pre-sliced turkey sitting under heat lamps, but here you get a genuine carving station serving turkey and prime rib (not roast beef like the less expensive buffets.) That alone is worth $3 in my eyes.

This could be the best buffet on the strip but only depending on your tastes. If you like seafood and don’t want to do the Rio’s seafood buffet, then come here. If you want a bar built into your buffet, then come here. If you want custom gyros and paninis made to order, come here.

If you like desserts, avoid because the selection here is very short and truly disappointing since the TI buffet has unique dessert offerings. If you like large international sections, you should avoid this as well and go to either Bellagio for Asian and Sushi or to Aladdin for other regions like latin or middle eastern.

The room is quite large like an ultra-contemporary cafeteria and it can be very easy to forget where you’re sitting. If you’re alone, get ready to remember what the people sitting next to your table look like so you can identify your own place while wandering around lost. Because of the size of the room and the popularity of the buffet, the staff is often overworked and while the staff at my table were efficient within their means (they had a lot of tables to look after), other staff didn’t appear to be putting as much effort into it, so YMMV.

On November 22 2006, kiki wrote:

George Jetson meets Mrs. Brady and they cook together. WHAT is up with the 4 lb. plates? I was cracking up watching the customers walk with the salad bowls, which weigh more than the plates! This new buffett has gone the way of TI. Gaudy and gouging.

On May 19 2006, RateVegas.com User wrote:

I can’t really say anything about service. the lady seating me was very nice, but after that I didn’t see much of anyone.
The food was okay, but nothing outstanding.

On February 16 2006, RateVegas.com User wrote:

It was just okay.

On November 28 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

It was GREAT!, even better than the Buffet at Wynn. This is my new favorite buffet here in Las Vegas. And by the way if you want a cheaper version of Cravings, try DIshes in TI

On August 21 2005, kenoman wrote:

We tried the Mirage Buffet for the first time on our last visit in July. It surpassed our expectations. My wife and I truly enjoyed our dinner and the atmosphere. The food was somewhat eclectic but still had your basics, prime rib, etc and was VERY good. The service was excellent and they paid very close attention to making sure your glasses were filled and your empty plates were taken away. This is another Vegas buffet that we will return to.

On August 16 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

My wife and I go to Las Vegas three or four times a year and the Mirage has been our favorite place to stay. She really likes the pool and I really like the European Roulette. Mirage used to be the home of our favorite restaurant, Renoir, now sadly closed. The shows and special entertainment have been consistently top notch. We love everything about the Mirage . . . except the new Cravings buffet.

What were these people thinking? The Mirage has always had one of the best themes in town. The unity of the tropical ambiance was always one of its strongest appeals. The volcano, the atrium, the rainforest, the huge fish tank, the secret garden, the tiger display, the pool, the casino, even the tram to TI, are all part of a unified coherent themed environment. In the middle of all this, what do we have? An overly chromed barren monstrosity.

I could get past the jarring, incongruent, and intrusive décor if only the food would compensate for it. Sadly, it doesn’t. Many food items in a Las Vegas buffet are difficult to do wrong. Keep the hot food hot, the cold food cold, even the lower end hotels like Excalibur and Monte Carlo can do that.

When you go to a place like the Mirage, you are paying for and have a right to expect, more. In the build-up before Cravings opened, one of the central selling points was that the food was to be cooking right there, not transported in from central kitchen. Cravings was given two opportunities to shine; rotisserie chicken at lunch and prime rib at dinner. The chicken we had was dry and overcooked, not just once but every day. Prime rib should be cooked so that people who want well done can get served from the exterior portions of the cut and people who want rare can get served from the interior portions. I prefer mine medium rare and I’ve been consistently able to get it that way at every other buffet in town including the old Mirage buffet.

At dinners on to separate trips to town, the rarest I was able to get my prime rib was medium well. The Mirage is still our favorite hotel but now we have breakfast at the Caribe Café and lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. When we were there two weeks ago, half the dinner restaurants were hidden behind temporary wallboard for remodeling so we went off-site for dinner. We stayed three days at the Mirage and five days at the new Wynn across the street. We’re middle class folks and the Mirage is a better value for us; please Mr. MGM, fix the buffet. It should be Cravings, not Loathings.

On July 02 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

We have made it a point to visit the Mirage buffet every time we visit Vegas. It WAS the most outstanding buffet on the strip. However, the newly revamped, Cravings, is terrible. If you aren’t into Asian food, that wipes out half of your choices. Don’t like not being able to make our own salads at the salad bar. Someone makes it for you so you are unable to add the amount of toppings (a little or a lot) that you want. The dessert station consisted of steam table pans with rice pudding, bread pudding and Cherries Jubilee (more like canned pie filling. The only pie selections were sugarfree. You can find a better dessert selection at your local Sizzler! The food was lukewarm at best. The decor of Cravings makes you feel like you are eating at the food court in al mall. The price increased to 23.95 per person for weekday dinner. Evidently went to the hoity-toity designer of this monstrosity because they aren’t spending the difference on wait staff, chefs or food. Cravings is definitely on our NO GO list from now on. Hated it!

On June 16 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

I have eaten here twice in the past 9 months. Once for lunch and once for dinner. TERRIBLE is all I have to say. For the price you have hardly any selections. The food is not hot much less that eatable. There was no flavor to any food that I tried.

On February 22 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

The redesign of the Mirage buffet, now called Cravings, is totally out of synch with the hotel’s ambience. Eating there is like being in a hospital cafeteria. Ugly stainless steel and even uglier seating. Get your desert from an auto-mat like arrangement. Oh boy. The food is average and not worth the increased price. Who wants to travel to Las Vegas and eat in a cafeteria. I’ve been going to the Mirage for years and can’t believe how they’ve ruined the buffet. I’ll never eat there again.

On February 17 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

While the newly remodeled buffet is quite a beauty to look at, I think this buffet lacks FOOD. I’m a meat and potatoes person and I felt that Mirage didn’t really have much of regular normal food to offer. If you like exotic dishes then this is the buffet for you. Okay to try once, will not be going back.

On January 26 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

BRING BACK THE OLD BUFFET!!!The snotty Cravings is just a fake buffet,The food is absolutely tasteless,or if it tastes some,it’s all the same taste,no matter if it’s fish,meat or whatever.At 24.00 plus tax for dinner you’ll better off at Mandalay bay buffet,but hurry before MGM take over and screw everything up….cheap people.
I will never ever eat at Cravings,or neither any MGMMirage property buffet…..thank God Wynn is about to open…...curse you MGM!!!

Andrea the italian vegas veteran

On January 17 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

Extremely disappointed with the new Mirage buffet, Cravings. In the past, we always made the Mirage Buffet our first stop upon arriving in Las Vegas. The food was great and buffet was reasonably priced. We were so disappointed to learn that they had “revamped” the buffet but we read a review on the drive up that heralded it as a great culinary experience. We went for dinner. It was obvious that they are trying to snow the public with PR into thinking that Cravings is an improvement. Believe me, it’s not! The decor is now garish, cafeteria style and the ambiance is cold and impersonal. This buffet is way overpriced. You now get less food and at a lower quality for more money! Service was slow to start. Looks like half the staff has been let go. Had to ask 3 different people just to get water. Once we were assigned a server, she was very attentive. However, with the exception of the crab legs (which used to be much larger), much of the food was dry and tasteless or junk (Pizza, fried, and greasy dishes). Sampled some Sea Bass that had absolutely no flavor and was very chewy. Desserts have been scaled WAY DOWN. They had rows and rows of Strawberry Shortcake, but no chocolate cake like they used to. No Sugarfree Lemon Meringue Pie. Variety of desserts used to be fantastic. Now, they have only a few things. The only thing that stood out was the Gelato. That was superb, but it did not make up for the overall HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! We will never eat there again.

lr

On January 06 2005, RateVegas.com User wrote:

For a buffet, the food was excellent. I would rank this buffet up near the other top buffets in Vegas – Paris, Bellagio, Alladin. The selection was large, and the food was fresh and delicious. The wait to get in can be really really long. Try to go off-hours, not the prime breakfast or dinner hours.

On December 18 2004, mesa wrote:

Enjoyed the layout kept it from getting real crowded. Nice variety and some very good pizza and I ate way to much deserrt.

On December 13 2004, Mikeynla wrote:

This is NOT your typical buffet, but to me, that is ideal! The layout is very different than that at most buffets. The decor is gorgeous. The food is excellent. We were there for Sunday Champgne Brunch and actually sat at the bar (bypassing the long line to get into the buffet!) At the bar, our champagne refills were instant, which is another plus. The selection of sushi, dim-sum, seafood, and traditional brekfast fare (though not as greasy as in most buffets) were my favorite stations. Many will be disappointed because this is not your usual fried-foods buffet. But I think it is a very welcome addition to the LV dining scene. Up next: Dishes at TI!

On July 13 2004, angreda wrote:

If you aren’t into foreign foods or seafood this isn’t your place. Ice cream was good though. Service was great. had a new drink before the other one was gone. Plus they explained what food was where for us.

On June 29 2004, Hunter wrote:

This past weekend I gave the new buffet at The Mirage, Cravings, a try.

I went for dinner on a Saturday night and the line was long… By walking up to the counter and sitting at the bar, I was able to bypass the line and pay the bartender.

Located in the same space as the old buffet, the layout and décor have been dramatically re-worked.

Food stations are in a U shape surrounding a seating area.

Stations include typical ‘high-end’ buffet fare, such as sushi, salads, shrimp (fried as well as peel and eat), pizza, beef, chicken, a small Mexican food station as well as several soups.

All of the items that I tried tasted fresh and were served at the proper temperature.

I paid $20.50 for dinner and I felt that the food, while probably a notch below what I would expect at Bellagio, it is significantly less expensive (Bellagio is now up to $35 for weekend dinner buffets).

On June 04 2004, dlmoe wrote:

After reading all the great past ratings, we went for dinner expecting the food to be some of the best of our visit to Las Vegas. Nothing could be further than from that. After 6 days since it reopened, service was good but the food was very disappointing. There was no distinctive flavor to any of the dishes. The prime rib for $5.95 at the San Remo was 10 times better. The selection of seafood consisted of three little two and one-half wide openings in the wall for snow crab legsand boiled shrimp. The shrimp didn’t look good enough to try and the crab legs were so awful that I had to wash my hands three times to get most of the smell off. The selection was about half chinese and the other american. Will not go back. There are two many better places to eat.

On August 11 2003, jkimel wrote:

After standing in long lines at buffets at Paris, Bally’s, Rio and Flamingo Hilton we were pleased and suprised to find no wait at the Mirage buffet. The meal was good, though the service was non-existent. It was not up to the quality level of Paris, but if you’re looking for a buffet you can get into with spending half your day standing in line, this might be the one.

On June 08 2003, bnsf600 wrote:

This is an above average buffet. Sometimes you have to
peel your own shrimp and I couldn’t find the drawn butter, but
they have a great salad selection with lots of toppings.
Their dessert offering is good, but not as good as the
Bellagio. They have the stand roast beef, turkey and
ham butchers with potato and such. Nothing exotic, but
the food and fruit are fresh. Service is great as they
move quickly to get the plates out and the drinks filled.

On May 31 2003, roberti805 wrote:

Not the super buffet that Bellagio is but still very good.

On February 28 2003, Hunter wrote:

Once the best buffet on the Strip, the Mirage Buffet is no longer at the top of the heap but it is still no slouch! One good thing is that the prices aren’t astronomical.

On January 06 2003, RateVegas User wrote:

One of the best buffets around, I think. Breakfast beats Paris and virtually any other buffet except for Bellagio. Dinner is very good, but if you want the best dinner buffet, go to the Aladdin or Bellagio. But I don’t feel you’ll go wrong here.

On August 14 2002, RateVegas User wrote:

On past trips I’ve been very happy with Mirage’s buffet, in fact it was probably my favorite strip buffet. In July however, I was very disappointed with the lunch buffet. Not sure if we caught it at a bad time or if quality and service has went downhill. Service was slow, menu was limited half the stations were closed, much of the food was semi-cold and nothing looked appealing. I used to love the peeled shrimp, but this vist only half were peeled and the shrimp were mushy. Even the desserts weren’t nearly as good as past visits. Harrahs buffet was much better and cheaper too.

On June 23 2002, RateVegas User wrote:

Had lunch here and was very pleased. Would’ve liked some drawn butter for the crab legs, but hey!... No complaints; well worth the price.

On October 30 2001, RateVegas User wrote:

As usual, Saturday brunch was terrific.

On September 17 2001, RateVegas User wrote:

Food was good, but the line to eat was very, very long

On August 08 2001, RateVegas User wrote:

The lunch buffet is awwwwsome! You can get everything from prime rib to sandwiches. The lines are not to long and the service is very good. Try thr lunch buffet, I think you will enjoy it!

On July 04 2001, RateVegas User wrote:

Three words: FRENCH TOAST “STICKS”!!! Can you believe it? The Mirage Buffet was serving FRENCH TOAST STICKS when we ate brunch there! Frozen sticks (just like Burger King serves) were being served at room tempature – NOT EVEN EDIBLE!!!). Over-priced, poor service, we won’t be back. We’ll stick to the brunch buffet at PARIS!!!

On April 15 2001, RateVegas User wrote:

Saturday brunch was excellent, and the waitress kept the champagne glasses filled, and removed plates promptly. Service was actually better than at Bellagio.

On January 28 2001, RateVegas User wrote:

This is my second visit here, and have yet to be let down by the mirage buffet. Everything was delicious except for the margaritas. The free drinks you get while playing tasted better than the ones that you pay for. Excellent selection and variety and everything was fresh. Worth the $14.95 dinner price.

On December 20 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

As usual with any Wynn property, very friendly staff. The waitress promptly brought refills and cleared away dirty dishes. the Lunch buffet was very good. The food was fresh and constantly being rotated. Their was a little of everything to choose from. Asian foods, to mexican, to traditional American. The line to get in was fairly long, but the food $9.95 was well worth the $9.95 lunch price. Can’t wait to eat here again.

On June 11 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

This buffet was expensive but the best buffet I’ve been to in Vegas:the food,atmosphere & service were all great! We’ll eat there next time we visit!

On June 11 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

This buffet was expensive but the best buffet I’ve been to in Vegas:the food,atmosphere & service were all great! We’ll eat there next time we visit!

On May 28 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

Had the lunch buffet and thought it was very good.Lot’s of choices and pleasant service.Great dessert selection.

On May 16 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

Found the selection and food quality fantastic. Service was fast and friendly.

On May 08 2000, RateVegas User wrote:

This buffet was good (better than average) but not as good as some others like Bellagio. Some parts of the breakfast food looked like it had been sitting out a little too long.