Palms Buffet Review (Vegas): Best Budget Buffet in Vegas
Palms Buffet Review (Las Vegas) Update 2021 (for hours and prices scroll down). As you can imagine in Vegas many buffets are now temporarily closed, including this affordable gem with something for absolutely everybody. Previous review: WOW! Still the very best budget buffet in Vegas. Remodelled, beautiful and comfortable dining area coupled with what tastes like good quality food ingredients, all well prepared, crowned by great service. The buffet at Palms was always one of the best affordable Vegas buffets and it certainly provided an oasis to the nearby Gold Coast guests, since the buffet at Gold Coast is one of the very worst in Vegas and the Rio buffet is either too expensive or, unfortunately, not open until dinner. The new ownership (Palms is now part of the Station casinos) has indeed taken this great little buffet to new heights and I think all of you will love it. Affordability and great food is now back on the menu. We simply love this buffet and we wish all budget buffets learnt from this buffet.
Their ‘brother’ (now part of the same group, the Station casinos) Red Rock may be a decent contender, but the Palms buffet is now more ‘gourmet’ and it’s so much more easily accessible from the Strip that… It has the edge in terms of viable options for Vegas visitors. We have a video showing you this buffet (updated) as well as how to get here (which is really easy, fast and affordable).
How we found it originally (our lucky day): I was staying at the super affordable Gold Coast Hotel and Casino and I was bored with eating at their very cheap but far-from-good buffet; I was also tired of paying the higher price of the Rio buffet. I could have gone to the Strip or I could have gone all the way to the best Vegas buffet of the moment, Studio B at M Resort. But I was a bit tired and lazy. I really wanted somewhere close-by and affordable.
Thus, I went to Palms, just across the road from the Gold Coast and a short walk from the Rio. Their price was excellent, slightly over eight dollars for lunch (all you had to do was sign up for their players card, which is free of course). I was hoping to eat a somewhat edible buffet, at least better than the horrific (yet very cheap) buffet at Gold Coast. Well, I was thrilled! It made me wish I’d come to eat here every time I wanted to spend a modest amount for lunch, dinner or for any weekend brunches (which are usually expensive at most other resorts). It is a truly great buffet, especially so if you consider its price.
Palms Buffet Review: Breakfast. The best part of this delicious affordable breakfast buffet are their freshly squeezed grapefruit & apple juice. People help themselves almost fighting for them so hurry since they are taken away the second the approach lunch time. 
Egg lovers will park for good here. Here you will find every exciting way you can think of cooking eggs and… Much more. From delicious quiche to delicious eggs Benedict to ham and eggs to Frittatas, every dish is well prepared, as well as in a good restaurant.
I would say that for breakfast you will have an egg feast as well as the usual you can expect everywhere else only… Much better prepared! For breakfast, I would not go to any other affordable breakfast buffet and I would probably prefer to eat here to most other Strip buffets in Vegas.
Dishes served gourmet style: some of the dishes here are served in cute small metal pots and bowls, in a gourmet-style which is now quite trendy in Las Vegas. But, delightfully, here the gourmet look is matched by the taste and the efforts. On our most recent trip, they were serving mouth-watering tuna poke (never eaten a better tuna poke in my whole life!) and mouth-watering fried squid (fried in what tasted like excellent, good quality, fresh oil) in a very light and delicious batter.
Palms buffet review: Food Stations: I love the way they created their stations. On the far left you have a very nice ‘Revival‘ station (where you find the fresh juices for breakfast), namely the ‘super healthy’ station devoted to “wellness, power-boosting super foods and speciality vegan, vegetarian and anti-inflammatory cuisine,” including “rainbow chard hash and cauliflower and quinoa grits,” but in short with really innovative and tasty ideas. Here for lunch they serve delicious pasta dishes made of vegetables rather than wheat (super healthy idea), among other things; you will also find delicious hummus for lunch and dinner. Other stations are Roastery, Greenery, Hearth, World Pan, Smoke & Fire & Sweet & Light. Dishes change a bit, of course, but everything I tasted was perfectly cooked and perfectly presented/served, something that most Vegas buffets (especially the budget ones) have forgotten how to do.
All traditional dishes that North Americans expect at a buffet are here, some with a gourmet twist. For example, the ‘Smoke & Fire‘ station has delicious BBQ options. There are plenty of meat dishes overall and some very good vegetarian dishes. Obviously, for the very low price (see below), you cannot expect crab legs for lunch unless it’s a special holiday or weekend, when you can also enjoy craw fish, mussels and other seafood options. However, there is always a mouth-watering seafood option like the delicious walnut sauce shrimps (I am still dreaming about it)
Palms Buffet Review: Dessert. the dessert station is bigger than in the past and it offers, besides traditional choices like (well prepared) bread pudding and soft serve ice-cream, it also extends for those seeking more, with delicious mini cinnamon rolls (the smell as you walk along is mouth-watering), real chocolate & cream croissants and gelato (Italian style ice-cream, lighter & healthier than traditional ice-cream) with exotic flavors like cappuccino, spumone (as well as great fruit sorbets and traditional options like chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream).
The Salad station (“Greenery”) is a middle island and, although it does not offer what they did previously such as delicious Tabbouleh & pre-tossed Caesars and Greek Salad (I wish they were brought back), it offers good quality artichokes. Apart from that, the salad section is of the ‘make-yourself’ kind as with most ‘cheap buffets’, with lettuce (though better quality here than at other budget buffets) and various toppings & dressings. Here you will also find good (real, fresh) pre-cut fruit (the omnipresent water melon, melons and pineapples); at breakfast this station is quite plentiful with traditional hot and cold cereal with various toppings. For dinner, here you will also find soups and broths, mostly traditional like chicken and tomato soups.
To summarise this Palms Buffet Review, well done to the Palms for providing a truly affordable yet very good buffet, albeit small! It is a rarity this days! Well worth walking from Bellagio or Caesars (20 minutes walking normally) or, if you cannot put one foot after the other, catching the 202 bus on the Flamingo road side of Caesars (very frequent, the best way to get there unless you have your own car) or the free shuttle from mid Strip (from Palms to Forum Shops at Caesar’s, or from the nearby Gold Coast and Rio to Bally’s or the Harrah’s resort respectively – more on this further down). I would come here often and definitely during those weekends or holidays when other buffets are ridiculously expensive. I would avoid eating at other budget buffets (mostly awful these days, in comparison) with a very mild exception for Golden Nugget if I happened to be downtown.
The biggest drawback is as with other budget buffets, there is no self-serve drinks section (something you can now find at many mid-range Vegas buffets), something I prefer now as I can drink as much as I want without having to ‘beg’ the server. But, because it’s such an affordable buffet, I tend to ‘forgive them’ more happily.
Palms buffet review: Service. The service at Palms is generally good and courteous. With the Grand Opening, they were over the top attentive to each customer.
How to Get to Palms: Palms is on 4321 W Flamingo Rd. It’s a very short drive from mid Strip, practically in the same area where Rio and Gold Coast are. As you drive on the Strip, once you reach Bellagio you turn left and keep driving for a short distance. You could even walk (about 20 minutes from Bellagio/mid Strip, which is handy if you don’t want to spend money for cabs after the shuttles stop running, in the early hours of the morning). There is a regular bus service (202) just outside Caesars Palace (the Flamingo Rd side); this is our favourite way to get to Palms. Palms are now offering their own free shuttle (but always double check with them, because they keep changing it) to the Forum Shops at Caesar’s. The following video can be viewed full screen if you prefer
Palms Buffet Review Hours & Prices
Monday to Thursday:
Breakfast Mon-Sat 8am – 11am $12.99 $10.99
Lunch Mon-Sat 11am – 4pm $15.99 $13.99
Dinner Sun-Sat 4pm – 9pm $21.99 $19.99
Bottomless Mimosa Brunch Sun 8am – 4pm $21.99 $19.99
* Fri & Sat 4 p.m.-10 p.m.
Sign up with their players card (it’s free, just go to the club booth inside Palms casino) and you will get a discount, though this may change (so always call if you want to double check prices and hours).
Another great aspect of the A.Y.C.E buffet is that there is NO break between breakfast, lunch and dinner, unlike at most other budget buffets.
Palms Buffet Review Hours & Prices for Holidays:
Sunday:
Brunch – 8am to 4pm $19.99 with their players card (the same as with any Station resort, you can sign up for free at the Players club booth)
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options buffet in Las Vegas.
Please note that Vegas buffet prices change often with little notice for different reasons, so always double with with them. (702) 953 7679
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I have new videos for this buffet. Check the ‘Vegas Videos‘ section.