The Great Food Exposition

A fellow foodie of mine suggested this place to us, so when my parents visited us last month we figured taking them was the perfect excuse to finally check it out!
I will start of by saying that the service at the hostess station where you pay is potentially horrific. Unfortunately, it is obviously staffed with some people who simply shouldn’t be allowed to talk to guests because not only do they not care, but they will argue and talk back to you. But hopefully you won’t have the same experience — fingers crossed.
Now this buffet is by no means the best buffet in the country. But it probably is the best in St. Louis. They have a pretty decent sushi station along with the usual lunch options you might expect. But I think dessert is where they really shine. Their gelato is actually pretty great! And they had some pretty great chocolate mousse on this particular day.
I’m sure we will visit again!

This is the one of the few buffets that I have been to in the area on a regular basis! My friends and I came to take advantage of the Fisherman’s Wharf Special that they were running for the month of March. When they are running any type of special like this, the line will be a little bit longer and it will take about an hour to 1.5 hours to get into the buffet. The food at the buffet is always good. For this special, they had all the crab legs you could eat and plenty of other seafood to indulge in! My friend likes their pizza a lot! I like to hit the meat station to see what they have prepared! On this night, I sampled their pork tenderloin, baked salmon, crab cakes, breaded shrimp & mussels! All were very good! If you left any room for dessert, I highly suggest getting some of their ice cream!

I have to admit, for a casino buffet I didn’t expect much to start with. In that regard — I was not disappointed. We got there a little after 7 p.m. and the parking lot was not that full compared to when we were at the Casino on a Sat night, but we still waited in line about 30 minutes to get seated.
The entry way is actually pretty nice looking, but they have these over sized very large lantern looking lights which are big enough to be considered an eye catching «feature». But they looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The glass in them was actually cloudy because they needed cleaned that bad. To me that is just an indication that they just don’t care that much about the place.
First full disclosure. They had a «Fisherman’s Keep» celebration going on which meant they had all you could eat crab legs. And they were putting them out by the bucket load, and people seemed to be loving them. But neither my partner or I are into busting apart our dinner at the table, so we passed on the crab legs. And maybe that would have made the whole dinner and changed my rating. Based on what we did try — we were not impressed. Some things were actually pretty good, but there was a lot more stuff that was awful.
I’ll start with the good: Our server was awesome and very attentive. For the food, the stuffed crab shells had lots of flavor, but they were luke warm and dried out from sitting under the heat lamps. The breaded fried shrimp was very good and crisp. The roast turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and Kielbasa were solid. They had a gelato ice cream bar that was awesome.
Now the bad: The mac and cheese was like wall paper paste, the spring rolls were awful, the pot stickers were greasy hard and had no flavor, the sweet and sour sauce was no good, the fried clam strips were rubber, the shrimp scampi was swimming in a bad tasting grease, the skin on the fried chicken was limp and soggy, There was a strip loin that I didn’t even try because it looked brown and dry. The crème brûlée was indelibly sweet and had an unpleasant flavor. There was a white marshmallow shaped dessert on a stick we thought was a marshmallow dipped in white chocolate, but it was some white thick paste that we could not identify at all what it was shaped like a marshmallow dipped in some hard white coating — not good.
Our dinners were free because we had 2 comp’d buffet tickets from gambling in the casino. Otherwise, it would have been $ 30 per person. (Though maybe for the all you could eat crab legs that would be worth it.)
After this experience, I would never go back for a paid meal. Though I’ve heard the brunch on Sat and Sun has all you can drink mimosas for only $ 18. We probably would be willing to give that a shot for that price.

Like most casino buffets, this is a large and diverse buffet of tantalizing sounding food. And to be sure, when they first opened, it was surprisingly good. However, on my last 3 visits I found everything poorly prepared and wished I had taken my money and just bought a decent dinner elsewhere.
I get that their target market has often lost all their money gambling and seeks to feel like they won by eating FAR more food then they paid for. So if «doubling down» on sodium saturated entrees and barely warm pans of reheated side dishes is the goal, then you will find no shortage of opportunity here.

Came here for my birthday, huge mistake! Food was gross, mostly seafood which I do not eat & what little chicken they had to offer was covered in pepper or a spicy sauce, neither of which I am able to eat. The one good thing they had was a little cart serving hamburgers & hotdogs. What food I was able to eat was hot. Staff was a bit lacking in friendliness had to ask three times for one of the chairs at our table to be taken away to accommodate a handicapped friend so I just pulled it into the middle of the floor so the server could deal with it. Had to repeatedly ask for refills that never showed up, plates never taken away from table. I will never be back & I tell everyone I know or come into contact with about my experience here. Hopefully it will save someone else some the horrible experience I had.

My wife and I frequent this buffet, especially on AYCE crab leg night. It is definitely our favorite buffet and IMO the best one around St. Louis.
Like I said, we usually come in on Wednesday nights during their AYCE crab leg special. It is roughly $ 30 a person and it includes the whole buffet, your soda, and endless buckets of snow crab legs.
We have visited well over a dozen times and have yet to have bad service. The server is always polite, attentive, and eager to help if we need it. The buffet is always delicious. There is the occasional cold item or a certain food that has been on the bar entirely too long, but that’s a rarity. My favorite, besides the crab legs, is the Asian section. They have potstickers and spring rolls that are incredible. And once you are done indulging in crab legs, sushi, and brick oven baked pizza, visit the dessert area. Whoa. The dessert area could take someone’s entire trip alone. So many choices, so much ice cream, so definitely leave room.
The only two negative things I can think of is 1. If you happen to get stuck in a long line, be prepared to wait. A line that tends to move quicker in other restaurants, takes a very long time here. I’ve waited over an hour before. For a buffet. The second thing is that because the place gets so incredibly busy, the servers are very busy. Which sometimes leads to plates piling up. Sometimes it can get out of hand and I’ll ask someone passing by to take them. Not the servers fault, they are just slammed and trying to be attentive to everyone equally.
Overall this place is the bees knees. Great food, great employees, and not too bad prices for what you get. Check it out and afterwards, you can try your luck at the casino!

For what it is — a casino buffet in south city STL — it’s pretty tasty. You pay at the front and let the cashier know what you’d like to drink: Milk, soda, juice, lemonade, coffee, etc. Then you stand to be seated. The whole process takes anywhere from 2 – 15 minutes depending on how long the line is. There are the following sections of the buffet: soup, salad and bread bar /​sushi bar — he used to take custom orders but last time we were here he refused /​pizza /​asian influenced type food like fried rice, dumplings, orange chicken etc /​meat area with different offering nightly? when we went it was rotisserie chicken and some type of steak. Not sure, not a steak fan. They continuously were putting out more as this is a popular option /​there is also your standard selections like mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, pastas, mac and cheese, all sorts of vegetable combos. Really pretty standard fare. They also have a pretty legit dessert area with gelato and a serious amount of other sweets and treats. I do not have a sweet tooth (I prefer chocolate milk or plain chocolate ice cream as a dessert) but my sweet husband absolutely loves this spot. He loads up on all sorts of treats. Last time I was here I started with a small salad, then had a few pieces of avocado sushi, then got a plate of rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes (not too salty surprisingly) and green beans, & finished with a nice plate of fruit. If I had the same in a restaurant, I’d certainly pay 20.00 (Tuesday night price) for all that selection and variety. My husband, who has a good appetite, really gets his money’s worth.
It’s clean, the décor is nice (not overwhelming) and you have a server who brings you your drink and subsequent refills. We had Barbara and left her a nice tip because she did a great job, always had a smile on her face and brought my husband what seemed like a million refills.
I think Wednesday is crab leg night. Yum.

This buffet restaurant is attached to River City Casino and is usually used to bait heavy gamblers into the building. It is a fairly large buffet with a reasonable variety of choices. An extra large salad bar and many ad hoc items that are fried and not always the freshest.
However, they usually have a couple of key items that make it worthwhile. for example they offer all-​you-​can-​eat crab legs most nights for $ 23.95 with all of the other buffet items still available at that price and you really can’t get that anywhere. It’s fresher than the local Chinese buffet crab and its on par with a chain restaurant quality (Red Lobster/Joe’s Crab Shack — not the best, but not the worst) and let’s face it… it’s the Midwest. It’s hardly Crab-​legville. So, if you are craving crab legs and lots of them, this may be one of your better bets in the area for quality related to price. Prime rib is another goody that they offer on a regular basis. It’s NOT Vegas so I’m not sure how fair it would be o compare an isolated Midwest river casino offerings to a land where the food options and casino options are endless.

This place was small, overcrowded but the burgers were worth it. You have to stand in line to order. They yell out when they get a tip, again you tip before you get your food. Not a fan of that… The down side is it cost to order onions, tomato and lettuce. I asked for grilled onions, and they were raw… very bad. The burger was tasty.

Gonna start this off by saying that yes it is a buffet but that should not stop you from checking this place out. I am mostly a fan of the brunches that occur during the weekends, and usually only come here during those times. Now, I have been to the lunches and a few of the dinners but the brunch are what keep me coming back time and time again. The endless champagne drinks and the delicious made-​to-​order omelettes are part of the charm for me. However, the other options of food are generally delicious and are not like most buffets that sit for long periods of time, no the food here is quickly taken by patrons and refilled quickly by friendly staff.
Me, I’m quite the fan of their sushi. Yes, Sushi! I usually get the side-​eye from some of my friends when I tell them that but every time I have come here, i see the staff making fresh sushi and they usually will explain to those whom do not know what is in a roll. Sushi makes this girl here very happy! Good sushi makes me get a few every time I am here! Yum!
I also do like their gelato, oh boy, I know that I should not be having any but I always just have to have a little every time I am here!

As long as you don’t delude yourself into thinking this is one of the top-​notch Vegas buffets I think you’d be perfectly satisfied here. I’ve been here several times as my family likes to do its fair share of casino brunching. Is it the best food I’ve ever had? No. Do I care? Not really.
If you are coming here to gamble then I don’t see a problem stopping in for some grub. I’ve only been to brunch here so I can’t speak to their dinner offerings. I usually stake out the Asian section with visits to the salad bar, cocktail shrimp, and dessert stations. I think they have a pretty good salad bar and I really like the smoky Caesar dressing. I will note that the cooks could do a more thorough job cleaning the shrimp. .. nothing says yum like having to clean the digestive track out of your shrimp before you eat it. I know it has to be done, I just don’t want to do it if I’m paying for my food to be prepared.

Awful went tonight T-​bone night asked medium rare it was dark and tough as leather never again

Thought we’d check out this buffet, knowing the extravagant buffets I’ve been to in Las Vegas, to make a comparison. The cost was $ 17.99 per person, there are no senior discounts available, it was full price. The salad section was fresh very tasty and really good. The breads next to the salads were cold rolls, cold cornbread, nothing was hot or even warm. Everything else from here was downhill. Asian section was very middle America Chinese, not «Asian», egg rolls, breaded hot chicken with sweet /​sour sauce, etc. Meat section had a very basic fatty prime rib, fried (and very over dry) fried chicken, ham and something else. There was basic sushi, I didn’t have that, I don’t usually eat seafood unless I’m on the coast where I know it’s fresh from that day. Desserts were ok, a few good things, gooey butter cake and cheesecake, cookies, etc. There was also a pizza bar and a gelato bar with about 20 flavors. For the five of us the bill was $ 96.00 including iced teas. We added another $ 15.00 tip to the waitress so $ 111.00 total. To me, this was one notch above a Golden Corral, it had no resemblance to Las Vegas in any way. Just so you’re prepared. Next time I’ll choose a nearby restaurant in St. Louis for a lot less money and food not cooked in factory assembly line style.

Read this and repeat after me:
«Teusdays are two for one!»
Well, at this place, every Teusday, if you are a club member, is a two for one special at this Casino buffet. If you have a party composed of two, then its much more affordable than Golden Corral with much better food choices.
The prime rib at this place is absolutely amazing and I recommend the salad bar.
The dessert choices are also pretty nice, and I definitely recommend the crème brule and the chocolate mousse dessert that has a chocolate breading bottom and is dipped in dark chocolate. Its an extremly rich dessert item. And, (kaching!), no germ filled disgusting chocolate fountain.
The staff is also very expedient at refilling your drink orders.
Very recommended and its a place I try to come to rarely because I can get way too fat!

Being that I consider Las Vegas my home away from home, I’ve experienced my fair share of buffets over the years. Sadly, The Great Food Exposition does not compare to those massive eateries in Sin City. The variety and the food itself are both just average.
Of course, they still have have several different stations with limited selections at each: Chinese, Italian, sushi, seafood, a carving station, salad bar, and desserts. The food items are really just hit or miss on what is good and what is not. I personally enjoyed the salad and desserts the most. There were plenty of toppings to choose from when making my salad, and all the little mini desserts were almost too pretty to eat… almost!
They have specials on certain nights of the week where you can grab unlimited crab legs, prime rib, or steak and shrimp for a decent price. My husband and I happen to get buy one get one free coupons from time to time, and that is personally the only time I think it’s worth it to come here.