All you can eat buffets

[Sugarcookie1]

I don't generally mind these. There's a Chinese we go to every now and again which is all you can eat and generally ok. But today I went to a different one for a family birthday and it was totally different.

For a start, it was about six different types of food (none done nicely) with hyper children running round everywhere and tables full of adults saying practically nothing to each other but just shovelling mouth full of food after mouth full of food into their mouths.

I guess it just shocked me. I love food, I love eating out but this was meaningless overeating just because the food was there. Not just adults, but older children too (I'd say aged eight upwards) Massive piles of food on their plates, most of it left because there was no incentive to eat it. Leave it, someone else will take your plate and you can go up and get more even if you're full. So so wasteful and just, to me, the wrong way to approach food.

AIBU? What's everyone else's thoughts on these places?

[usualsuspect333]

I love them. I must be a blob.

[riverboat1]

I had forgotten the Pizza Hut Buffet, which is ironic since I used to work there when I was a student.

We worked out how much an individual customer would need to eat for pizza hut to stop making a profit on them and just break even to 0. It was something ridiculous like 50 cups of coke and 3 large pizzas.

We also knew all the items with narrowest profit margin, like the chicken and prawns on the pizzas, the red pepper on the salad bars...and we'd always make a point of ordering those items on our free staff meals...

[Chandon]

I have never been! Curious to try now

[MarmiteMania]

Went on an all inclusive cruise this summer and I'm not generally an oinker but came back half a stone heavier

[rookiemater]

There's a good one near us. If you pick correctly then you can get a great quality healthy meal as they have fresh fish on the teppanyaki and you can make up your own noodle bar. Sadly I generally eat too much .

It's great because we can bring along DS without having to go to an Italian or pub type place as DH likes spicy food.

[JennyBlueWren]

I like them because I can try different types of food or things I'm not sure about. When I first went (as a student) I did see it as a challenge and would eat too much but soon learnt from that.

[YourMaNoBraBackOfMyCar]

We go to redhot world on deansgate in Manchester. It's multi cuisine (Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Tex-mex, American) it's reasonable although certainly not the cheapest. We don't go very often as its very busy. The dessert section is amazing.

[MrsHathaway]

Our Indian does a good one. Small batches of a few things, bubbling away on small burners, so no fear of dodgy tummies.

The AYCE price on Sunday afternoon is about the same as one main meal there at any other time. So you have got your money's worth if you have one plate plus a poppadom. Once we sstarted thinking that way, we stopped gorging and started enjoying.

I like a spoon of lamb saag, a spoon of chicken jalfrezi and a spoon of chicken korma, with some naan, some salad and an onion bhaji.

The other massive benefit is that there's no hanging about - you can eat straightaway without worrying about the kitchen time. Matters hugely with small, fidgety children.

[IneedAwittierNickname]

I live our local all you can eat. Weedy lunchtimes don't cist much more than macdonalds for the 3 of us.
But Im not a food expert having spent much of my life absolutely skint.
And I'm a blob so all you can eat suits me fine!

I never leave more than a couple of mouthfuls though and always converse with my companions.

[sharonthewaspandthewineywall]

Picturesinthefirelight Sat 15-Nov-14 18:10:48
We often go at 12noon just when they open. We find its quieter & cleaner then & the blob families haven't got there yet.

nice

[pineapplecrush]

Pizza Hut used to do one which was really good if you stuck to the pizzas as they were brought out fresh and bubbling hot. I would avoid most of the salad bar though as things could get a bit congealed and like another poster said, rice can go off a bit. Remember being in London where one student paid for the set buffet price and he went up time after time feeding his pals sat at the table with a coke! They often bring out the worst in people though and can be depressing seeing plates of untouched food.

[fatlazymummy]

I occassionally have a buffet at the pizza hut with my kids. I find thats ok because it means I don't have to order a whole pizza and waste most of it. I wouldn't mind trying an Indian buffet.
I've looked at the Taybarn menu, and it doesn't tempt me at all, other than the salad. Just seems really bland and boring to me.
As for people piling their plate high, I would find that a bit off putting to be honest, so they're probably not for me.

[kentishgirl]

I don't usually like these - cheap poor quality food, hordes of greedy people, kids sticking their fingers in everything.

There are 3 specific ones I do like. One is the local Indian restaurant which does a buffet Sunday afternoon only - the food is delicious, never seen more than about 10 people in there, and they cook small amounts so it's always lovely and fresh. One is a big chinese buffet but they do it extremely well, good ingredients, plenty of choice, lots of raw ingredients you can have freshly cooked, very nice quality food and although it's big it's also on the pricy side so you get people and families who actually want to enjoy a nice meal rather than stuff in crap. There is another Chinese where I don't think the food is quite as good but although it's all you can eat for one price, again it's not all that cheap, and they cook to order and bring to your table.

[LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett]

DH has been to Brazil and apparently the walking around with fresh food thing is just how they do it. DH loved Brazil.

[WalkingInMemphis]

Generally though...they're not somewhere i'd go for a 'nice' meal. But the food is OK in the ones I've been to.

I do enjoy Taybarns. Mainly because I like odd combinations of food, you know...sprouts next to sweet&sour chicken, with a Yorkshire pud and coleslaw on the side (that is an actual combination I have had btw).

Taybarns is fab for the dc. Get in, eat, get out. Enough healthy (or healthy-ish) choices and they love choosing their food themselves.

[Wowthishurtsalot]

Fixed price and all you can eat. Lacking on the buffet part but otherwise same deal

[TheAlias]

I know what that poster means Walking. We have a couple here that advertise themselves as "buffets" where they have taken buffet to mean "all you can eat for a fixed price". You order what you want from the menu and as many dishes as you want, but you're right, it's not a buffet.

[Wowthishurtsalot]

The one I go to is all you can eat but cooked to order so no waste. It's bloody lovely

[WalkingInMemphis]

We used to go to a lovely chinese buffet. You orders from the menu for a fixed price, so all the food was fresh to order

Er...isn't that just a restaurant? Where's the buffet part of that?!

[Sugarcookie1]

Kiffykaffy - I have huge appetite, I love food, but I also love the social element of it and the joy of ordering something nice and waiting for it to arrive. In these places, there's no real conversation because it's all about hoovering up what you've just selected so that you can go back for more. I didn't enjoy the food because 1. It was soggy and tasteless and 2. I was pre-occupied with what else was out there, so almost wasn't concentrating on what I was currently eating

I do appreciate these places are good for children, especially in terms of getting them to try new foods, but this was a huge food factory churning out shite for the masses.

[Carrierpenguin]

I hate them. They seem to be invitations to shovel as much cheap food into your mouth as you can. The concept is fine but the practice isn't good, lots of greed and waste, poor quality. I'd rather have one dish that is good quality.

[Kiffykaffycoffee]

meat
overcooked

[Kiffykaffycoffee]

YANBU that sounds grim! It's self selecting though isn't it, the people who have large appetites love them and people with smaller appetites don't see the point.
Carveries are the worst though, tough mest, soggy overlooked vegetables festering under the hot lights, and you have to get it yourself

[500smiles]

Oooh I fancy a Chinese now...

[TaliZorahVasNormandy]

There used to be an Aroma in the next town, gutted when it shut down.