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Harrah's
Lake Tahoe
Forest
Buffet Review
South Lake Tahoe has a
limited number of casino buffets due to the small number of major
hotel-casinos (4) in the area. The Forest Buffet at Harrah's
hotel-casino has some great features, but is an overall average
buffet. We mention the limited number of buffets in the
area, as compared with the huge amount of smaller motels and
time-share properties that bring a steady traffic into the South
Lake Tahoe buffets.
Harrah's Lake Tahoe
Forest Buffet has tremendous views. The buffet is on the
18th floor of the hotel and has sweeping views of Lake Tahoe and
the Sierra Nevadas. With most buffets on the casino floor
having no view (or windows) of any kind, the views alone make this
buffet a unique experience. At other hotels, the top floor
restaurants are reserved for luxury restaurants such as Llewelyn's
at Harvey's and other similar steakhouses or high-end romantic
restaurants. The views at the Forest Buffet are top grade.
The food at Harrah's
Forest Buffet was average. Having been to every Reno buffet,
this buffet would rank in the middle range of buffets in the area.
The food had all of the usual turkey, ham, prime rib, salad,
desserts, Asian food, Mexican food, and side dishes. While
the food was tasty and hearty, the variety and quality were not in
line with top Reno / Tahoe buffets. The salad area was small
and the desserts were not totally fresh.
The service in the
dining area was very good. Our server was prompt, courteous,
and attentive to our needs.
The waiting process for
this buffet however, was below-average. As you approach the
buffet, signs noting "45 minute wait from this point" and "25
minute wait from this point" give you an idea what you are in for.
Arriving on a low-season Tuesday night at 5:30 pm, it took us
almost 30 minutes to pay and get seated. We were quite
troubled by being seated in one of very few inner areas that are
afforded little or no view of Lake Tahoe. Since the buffet
was not busy and there were empty tables elsewhere, we inquired
regarding reseating and were denied reseating in a view area
(90-95% of the restaurant's seats have the great views).
In addition, the hostess
was not cheery, made no eye contact, and was extremely slow.
In comparison to other Reno / Tahoe buffets that have up to 5
hostesses, all wired in with electronic seating monitoring,
scanning for empty tables, etc, this was a highly inefficient and
slow seating buffet. We would be highly concerned regarding
the waits that could be encountered at this buffet on a weekend or
ski / summer season night.
The food lines at the
buffet were in a single station. Ie, any one food dish was
only presented once at the buffet. Most larger buffets
present food dishes in 2-3 different areas to minimize lines and
wait times. This buffet had issues with moving diners
through the buffet lines efficiently that manifested themselves in
diner's pushy behavior and attitudes.
The food leaned heavily
on carbohydrate items (potatoes, rice, bread, stuffing) and fried
foods. There was no custom Asian wok area where foods are
made to order, and the one carving station (prime rib, turkey)
served the entire buffet. The salad bar had a very basic
selection of vegetables, iceberg lettuce only, and very few
prepared salads. There was little or no seafood of any kind.
To sum it up... great
views.... decent food.... but expect to spend a long time
waiting to be seated and more than the usual effort to get your
food. If you don't have at least two hours to spend stuffing
yourself with relatively heavy food, a diner or casual restaurant
in the area might be recommended. An additional highly
recommended alternative (double the price @ $30) is the Harvey's
Pacifica Seafood Buffet located right across the street and also
owned / operated by Harrah's.
Estimated Prices:
- Breakfast $8
- Lunch $12
- Dinner $18
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