The Buffet at Viejas

…went here earlier today with my best friend.
Before going into the buffet:
As we are walking up from the parking garage you can see the inside of the buffet. We were happy because the entire buffet was practically empty. You could see all the empty tables so we both thought it would be quick to get in. When we got to the entrance of the buffet there was a HUGE line of people. The line for paying was a extremely slow process. My god it took forever to get to the cashier. Mind you… it’s just about noon. Why is there only 1 cashier working? Finally, a second cashier shows up. When it’s a lunch rush… best to have 2 cashiers. Everyone was complaining. You have all these people running around to seat people and it again… took forever. Everything from how long it took to pay and how long it took to pay… was ridiculous. There were about 20 people in line. A couple of parties of 6. For some strange reason for the past 3 times I’ve come to this buffet… they don’t fill the back half of the buffet. I wonder why? That’s like keeping the good China in your cabinets and saving it for special occasions? Anyway continuing with rant…
Pros:
–it’s pretty inside. Chairs are comfortable
–they have steamed and chilled crab legs
–try the honeydew and cantaloupe juices
–clam chowder is to die for
–paninis are pretty tasty
–mimosas.
Cons:
–check in process takes WAAAAAY to long. I’ve bought a brand new car in shorter time than it took to get checked in.
–sat there for almost 2 hrs with my best friend. We got our soda drinks when we first got there. When we left, our glasses sat empty. No one had offered to refill our drinks. We didn’t even know who was taking care of our section because the waiter would only come when we were grabbing more crab legs. This was made evident when we came back to the table and dishes were cleared. No one ever introduced themselves to us.
–the crab legs are smaller than baronas. They are also cut unevenly. Seriously? Bring on the crab. A majority of the legs are cut so unevenly that you only get a sliver of crab meat. At barona… they have the crab in its own little section where you can go and just grab crab. a Here at Viejas, they have it where you’re behind a line. There’s only one pair of tongs for one person to use. it’s not a cart load like barona does it.
–please. Fix the creamed spinach. I put a huge glob of it on my plate. There was no taste to it. :(
–tables are way too close together.
–the strawberry shortcake «cake» was dried out.
Yes it is pretty inside and yes it looks better than the old buffet. I just didn’t enjoy it. To be honest, I really think the whole check in process and service just put a bad taste in my mouth about Viejas Buffet.

The buffet at viejas casino is fantastic! Great food, great service and also great price!

They accommodated our party of 36 effortlessly me our severs Aram and Kandice were excellently. The best servers our group has never had

Crabs can do with an improvement. The shell is soggy and blackish. Doesn’t smell fresh, smells like formaldehyde. Everything else is OK. Service is great. Close to parking structure.

I love this spot!!! Tracy I believe his name was, served up some awesome tacos. He chatted with me and told me some great food combos to try out. Had a blast taking my family out with everyone able to eat exactly what they wanted.

This buffet is great. It rivals many in Las Vegas (only because when you think «casino buffet»). It has a huge variety of fresh foods and a very pleasant and semi formal atmosphere. You also get all you can drink beer and wine included in the buffet price! The tap beer selection is exceptional.

Casino Buffet, with a huge selection of mass prepared food, and an equally huge wait to get in. I’m not a buffet fan so take this review with a grain of salt, actually plenty of salt because you need something to add flavor. I gave it three stars because the selection is really great. I especially liked that they had a selection of cheese and meats for a more healthy dessert as I don’t like sweets. Tons of open tables with an almost two-​hour wait? I guess they want you out gambling and not in the restaurant. The food did not have any flavor. I just don’t really care for buffet’s so I am going to stop complaining because I can’t tell what is my opinion on the format vs actuality. Go to a restaurant with a wait staff.

Went here for the 1ST time, for my birthday w/​my boyfriend, and my dad.
Even though it was a VIP line, it took about 20 mins for 3 people before us, for us to reach the front line.
Nonetheless, we were greeted by a RUDE lady named sandra/​sandy. My dad was trying to use his VIP gold member to get the 40% discount and the lady tried to accuse my dad saying, «I’m not letting you in, you just tried to use that voucher earlier this morning! You can’t keep coming in and out of the buffet!!»
Me: «Umm. Excuse me lady, we want to eat here for my 1^st time for my birthday AND we JUST got here?!»
After about 15mins of trying to convince her, and about to call the manager, she let us in, but she was NOT polite about it whatsoever, and she didn’t even apologize to my dad!
The food is just average, unlimited crab legs &cheap beer was pretty cool, but all the other food tasted bland, some of the meat were cold.
Anyways, I don’t think I’d come back ever again for a long wait, rude customer service just for cheap beer and crab legs.

We’ve been coming to this buffet for years now and the quality has always been good. 3 stars I’d say. Lately we came over more frequently since a friend gets free rooms here. Anyway, we all dug in and enjoyed the complimentary wine and beer as well. Yes, simple wine and cheap beer are included. If you like craft beer better, you pay the normal price for it, which certainly is understandable. I ate some oysters and oyster shooters as well as their prime rib and European style salami and sausage. Excellent. The reason I’m giving 2 stars is…
–EDITED– Unilocal pointed out complaints about this review and possible legal ramifications to me.
Still, I no longer see why I would take the ride from San Diego first and then stand in line for the buffet. Free room or not.

The price of the buffet is just as high as a quality restaurant in San Diego and twice the distance. The line is 2 hrs long and the cashier are painfully slow.
Save yourself the 40 min drive and the 2 hr wait for frozen food. See the photos for proof.
Edit post at 830pm 1.5 hrs and still waiting…

I’ve been here a lot of times and finally reviewing this place.
AYCE food and drinks… Yes, did you see that, I said AYCE DRINKS (Alcohol) for your drinking pleasure.
The buffet itself is alright. It used to be YUCKY but glad they did a facelift and the food is now better. My friends and I come here for the crab legs.
TIP:
Get there early and get a players card for a discount.
The line outside seems intimidating but it’s a good size buffet so be patient and it’ll be worth it.

I remember when this place used to be called the Harvest Buffet. It had a huge faux tree in the middle and a rustic atmosphere; perfect for Paul Bunyan and his flannel shirt. Food was terrible and I vowed to never return.
Fast forward several years later and holy hell Batman, what an improvement!!! It no longer looked like the Ozarks and the inedible food was banished forever!
Those that know me are well aware of my fondness for crab legs. They offer them here served hot and cold, although the hot ones require more work since they are not split. All good. I’m the weirdo that has to build a mountain of crab meat before she eats a single bite and will stab anyone around her with her fork if they touch her stash. Don’t mess with my Crab Mountain.
Desserts are tasty and held behind a glass case so the snot nosed kids that come running around the buffet can’t infect them with their cooties or sneeze on them. They also have a great array of sides, fresh fruits, crudités and the like.
Way to get fancy schmancy Viejas Buffet. Me likey and shall return!

I keep on forgetting to review this buffet and I’ve been here many so times! It’s been about a year since my last visit and there are a lot of new items this time around. They now have a bar towards the meat carving station, fresh fruit shots, and a lot more desserts! I heard that they also recently remodeled, but I’m not entirely sure. I think the best thing here are the hot crab legs! The meat is very flavorful and tender.
Service was great– our dirty plates were picked up often and the staff also sang «Happy Birthday» to my dad. Since my parents are members, our meals were cheaper than whatever the regular pricing is. Although the quality of the food has definitely improved, I still thought that most of the food is still just okay.

This place is really amazing, complimentary drinks from bloody Mary’s, beers, wines, tea and coffee… They have prime rib, crab legs, shrimp, fried chicken, cheeses, meats, soups galore, his is one of the best all u can eat for food and drinks. It is only 24.99 with the viejas card. That is like 2 drinks from downtown… Come here get ya drink and food on, go gamble and then shop till u drop haha

Let me start by saying that me giving a buffet three stars is like giving anything else five stars… I am not, generally, a fan of buffets because the food quality is not the best, I like my food really hot (and buffet food is never that), and I’m a bit of a germaphobe — I don’t like people being able to cough and put their germs on my food.
However, this buffet was VERY well laid out with plentiful options and great candy delightfully arranged as Halloween décor in ways that made me want to eat it all! The line was long and continued to grow as my friend and I stood in it beginning at around 11am. We received a 50% off coupon with the tour bus with which we came, and, I believe, you get a discount with your casino card.
This buffet provides unlimited beer, wine, Bloody Marys, and a martini option until 2pm!
There were SO many options of food — everything from breakfast to seafood (including drawn butter), pizza, a potato bar (one of my faves, complete with bacon bits, green onions, cheese, and other appropriate toppings), paninis, soup and salad, prime rib, tamales, chocolate covered pretzels and other desserts… I was impressed!
It’s definitely worth a visit!

«Pardon me, hi, where’s the sushi?»
WHAT??? You only have fried rice, hot and sour soup, some tofu dish, and beef chow fun for your Asian fare??? Okay…
«Hi, excuse me, where are your chocolate chip cookies?»
WHAT??? Why, for crying out loud, are there no cookies or sushi on a weekend? I wanna get my $ 29.99’s worth! Wait… There’s NEVER SUSHI OR COOKIES even on weekdays???
Well, there you have it folks — now you know what I look for when I’m at a buffet. It doesn’t take much to please me because just hearing the word «buffet» makes me happy but if at least one of my basic buffet essentials aren’t present… then, ya get what you get — in this case, this buffet gets 3 stars. 2 stars for the endless hot crab legs and little juice drinks PLUS an additional star for our awesome server! But if you want more selection — I recommend Pala’s Buffet, Valley View’s Buffet and Barona’s buffet — all of which have some form of sushi and cookies: P Happy eating! And good luck if you’re a gambler! :D

Update October 9, 2015
This buffet is still amazing. They offer something for everyone in my opinion. Prime Rib, Roast Beef, Crab Legs, Fried Chicken, Baked Salmon and more. Various side dishes such as mashed potatoes, yams, salads, mac and cheese, green beans, rice dishes and more.
A huge selection of desserts, fruits, cheeses and more.
Unlimited Beer, Wine, Champagne, Blood Mary’s and Margaritas (some have time restrictions contact Viejas for details).

All the beer, wine, & champagne that a person can drink, plus absolutely amazing meaty crab legs!!!
What more do you want from a buffet?
This buffet is definitely reminiscent of Vegas, but without the drive!
The only downside is that the wait time in line can be CRAZY! I don’t even want to think about how long we waited in line.

I had such high expectations since I normally go to Barona and I thought this place would be way better. Upon entering on a Friday night the wait was only 30 minutes. Was it too good to be true!!!
The first thing I tried was the crab legs which I enjoyed because it was steamed. What I did not enjoy was the Asian woman working behind that counter who was so rude and sassy. My boyfriend nicely asked how much longer till new oysters come out since there was only 1 or 2 old looking ones left and she’s like «THEYRE RIGHT THERE!!!» I’m like wow…
Everything from the salmon, pizza, coconut shrimp, ribs, and so forth were dry! Any of the seasonings or toppings for other items were extremely sour or left a bad taste in my mouth.
Get served your own sausage, turkey, ribs, pork loin… All dry and disgusting. My boyfriend has to drench it BBQ sauce just to have some flavor. Once I saw the mashed potatoes and gravy I was so excited!!! Until I got to my table and tasted it oh I almost threw up. It tasted nothing like what it was. Wow.
My boyfriend said the baked potatoe was the best thing there. We’ll probably because I cut it open and added an excessive amount of all of his favorite toppings thank you very much.
What’s cool about the salad aisle/​the more heathy bar side is that they have these little shots of flavorful fruit juice: watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, etc that’s cute and flavorful
There’s smoked bacon that wasn’t bad at all probably my favorite thing there I only wish that it was not colder than icebergs in Antartica
The panini was probably only the most «edible» and most tasteful thing in the entire buffet! What a surprise.
My sprite upon entrance was probably the post strongest purest form possible! Don’t know if that’s the fancy way to drink it or it was an accident. My sprite had 0 bubbles/​carbon or whatever. So once I took a sip it hit my throat like razors! How strange.
Since I didn’t like anything I decided before dessert to get one last plate of crabs to get my money’s worth and there was no butter. This African American woman and the Asian woman chef was arguing cause she didn’t want to make her butter! I thought she was only rude to us but no. She was rude to everyone and there formed a line for butter. Someone mentioned that if she didn’t like her job she should quit. Thankfully the guy next to her station at the pizza was nice enough to heat us up some butter and he was cool!!! The other chef was even sassy with him. Wow.
Crabs were the only good thing here but it’s not worth it if you go to a buffet just for that.
The dessert has lots of items! Cheesecake, carrot cake, cookies, and cupcakes. It was okay. Better than the entrees.
There were cops in and out this place from the back of the buffet kitchen to going to diners and that’s just too much for me.
Why I didn’t give this place a 1 star was because of the nice chef who helped us at the pizza station and because free beer and margaritas.
Will not be going back and do not recommend. Soup plantation is better.

I had a business meeting at Viejas in the morning and stuck around an extra half hour or so until the buffet opened because I love buffets and wanted to see how theirs was. I’ve been to a few others run by casinos and wasn’t sure what to expect but this one really blew me away. They have several stations with different kinds of food at each. To start, I headed to the soup, salad, etc. section, where I found some delicious artisan bread, cheeses/​meats/​dried fruits, a variety of high quality salads and soups. After that course I headed for the entrée area and found not only your usual sliced meats, but American comfort foods and dishes with some international flare. Thai noodles, fried rice, chili, crab legs (hot or cold), mashed sweet potatoes, steamed or baked veggies, the food just went on and on.
My soda was refilled frequently and I was made aware of the open bar available too. I was dining with a business acquaintance so I only got a few desserts instead of stuffing my face the way I might have otherwise, but I enjoyed the ones I did try, including the little jello cups, a variety of cookies and chocolate dipped strawberries. Oh and the frozen yogurt/​ice cream dispenser with lots of toppings.
I enjoyed my lunch thoroughly and hope I get to come back here again!