The Friday night seafood buffet at South Point is so popular, the first time we tried to get in, the line was two and a half hours long. That got our attention. We also know an LVA member who goes to this buffet every week. Yes, every single week. Could it be that good? How good could it be? Recently, the opening time was bumped up from 4 p.m. to 3 and we heard that the wait time was cut in half. So we determined to find out for ourselves.
Now we know. But first, about the line.
When we arrived at 3 p.m. on the nose, the line was back to the escalators. It moves forward around 50 feet to the front of the buffet and another maybe 20 feet beyond it, then wraps around and comes back the same 20 to the cash registers. We expected the line to move quickly when the buffet opened, but it didn’t; at least it wasn’t around the corner and all the way back to the race book (another hour at least) like it was the last time we checked. From the escalators, it took 20 minutes to get to the front of the buffet (under the sign), then another 30 to make the turn and get to the head of the line.
At a bit before 4 after a 55-minute wait, there were plenty of available tables when we got in.
Meanwhile, the back of the line had moved up a lot. At 4 p.m., the wait looked to be perhaps a half-hour (and we’ve heard from others that’s usually the case). The bottleneck at the 3 p.m. opening is over and tables are still available. We kept an eye on the line and around 4:10, the end was well on the near side of the cashier, maybe 20 minutes long.
Anyway, once seated, plated, and reseated, it was exactly an hour from end of the line to food, glorious food.
And the verdict on how good it is: OMG! What a buffet!
There’s no lobster and that was just fine with us; with the immensity of the seafood selection, we didn’t miss it at all. Check out this line-up of ocean delicacies: steamed cracked crab legs, cold Dungeness crab claws, cold cracked snow crab legs, three kinds of salmon, oysters Rockefeller, clams, peel-and-eat and fried shrimp and shrimp ceviche, cioppino, swai, tilapia, fried cod, black-bean calamari, and more, plus live-action stations of shrimp tacos and build-your-own pasta with red and white clam sauces, and Manhattan clam chowder, which we can’t remember ever seeing at a buffet.
A line inside is always 10 deep for the big crab legs and if you want to see gluttony, even for a buffet, watch as people empty entire steam-table trays of crab on as many plates as they can balance. Meanwhile, the Dungeness crab claws are there for the taking, no waiting, and are as good as we could’ve wanted.
But it’s not just the voracious crowds and variety of seafood that astounded us. Check out the rest of the choices: fruit and melons; Caesars, potato, BLT, caprese, jicama, chicken, and spinach salads and four soups; beef broccoli, pad Thai, barbecue pork, sweet and sour, Chinese vegetables, egg rolls, fried and steamed rice, etc. at the Asian station; pizza, calzones, sausage and peppers, chicken parmesan, and the pasta station for Italian; the usual Mexican; house-smoked garlic salmon, maple-glazed salmon, ribs, rotisserie chicken, and prime rib at the carvery; even a Mongolian grill with beef, chicken, and shrimp and all the toppings!
After so much variety and so many good things to try, we were loaded down and had room only for one return trip for seconds, when we usually go back three or four times. All we had any room for again were the smoked salmon (excellent with horseradish sauce) and the crab claws.
For dessert, an action station serves warm apple strudel, along with a half-dozen pies, cakes and cheesecakes, brownies, eclairs, crème puffs, cookies, soft serve with toppings, the perfect choices to top off the pigfest.
Oh, and did we mention you get two tickets? One ticket equals one drink (beer or wine) from the bar.
All that for $45.95 (plus tax and tip) with a club card, an insane value (especially considering that the marginal MGM Grand brunch buffet is only $9 less expensive).
On our way out at 5, the end of the line was all the way back to the escalators. By then, the buffet was completely full, people weren’t leaving, and when they did, it took some to clean the tables, so the wait was back to at least an hour.
We say the play is to come right at 4 p.m. and hope for the best. But however long you have to wait, this buffet is all that and more.
