Spread Buffet

I’m only giving The Spread Buffet at Horseshoe Casino one star because it won’t let me give ZERO. We have come to this buffet many times and, while it was only okay, it was at least palatable. We always go on the night they serve crab legs. We went tonight only to be told that they switched their crab leg night to Sunday.
Tonight was barbecue night. Blechhhhh! 90% of the food was cold and so overly salty, I needed to drink a gallon of water afterwards to dilute the sodium that was accumulating in my system. My husband is known to eat large quantities of food. I mean, really HUGE quantities of food. He went thru the buffet line twice and didn’t even eat half of what was on each plate.
I receive free offers for their buffet every month, but I will not be returning any time soon. I’ve never left a buffet feeling hungry; tonight was a first. As mentioned in another review, the manager was non-​plussed about the whole thing. She offered to give us free pizza (from the buffet) for our troubles. Really? You want to give us free bad food after eating the bad food we just ate? No, thank you. I realize this is a buffet and not a five-​star restaurant, but I’ve eaten at many buffets where they had exceptional food.
The only redeeming quality of The Spread are two of the hardest working servers I’ve seen in a long time — Darlene N. and Elise. They are both very attentive and take pride in their work.
Bottom line: Don’t waste your money or the precious lining of your stomachs on this garbage. My husband said he was fed better in the Marines. We have always enjoyed the seafood buffet at Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, IN and Belterra in IN.

Oh Cincinnati, How I cry for you and your sub standard dinning experiences. This place is rank. I wouldn’t eat here for free let alone $ 27. Seriously any other food is better than here… anything. Get a frozen red Barron pizza and Taco Bell and that would be a better buffet. …never again

Granted, we went on a Wednesday night but more than half the food we ate was at the wrong temps. The hot food was lukewarm or cold and the desserts that were supposed to be cold were warm. So much for an anniversary dinner. Don’t plan on coming back here.

Very disappointed with their Friday night dinner. I would give this buffet zero star, but it is the dessert section that I decided to give one star. But who would pay $ 28 for dessert?! I came here mainly for a seafood dinner, not dessert…
The food photos uploaded here are very misleading. The «Rhineland» where I expected to find German foods like brats, potato pancake, goetta sliders, are nowhere to find. I only found bland, generic cafeteria foods in this section like fried chicken, some kind of cauliflower dish that looked not appetizing, a carrot dish that tasted sweet. (Really really disappointing…) The baked fish was dry and bland. (So this is the so called «seafood» buffet!?)
The «Asian» section was awful! They served sushi that night, but what I found were simply messy, crumbled sushi rice on the plate. During our dining, nobody cleaned the plate and provided new sushi. The kimchi soup was just gross. It tasted like something made from regular kimchi, water, and potato starch…(awful!) Sweet sour shrimp tasted like recycled fried shrimps mixed with some sweet sauce… (Really bad…)
Photos uploaded here show that they serve raw oysters. But nope… No oyster but just over-​cooked «cocktail» shrimps, which did not look like and were not served like cocktail shrimps…
The snow crabs were fine, and I guess this was the ONLY item in the buffet that was worthy the price. The rest of the food was really bad…
The Italian section – just pizzas, an undercooked zucchini dish, two pasta dishes… Disappointing.
The dessert is the only decent section in this buffet that was worth the money. I tried several of their dessert items like key lime tart, champaign and rose cake, tiramisu, peanut butter blonde, bread putting. All of the desserts were good. They were much more carefully and sophisticatedly made.
I really think this casino buffet ruins the reputation of what a «real» casino buffet is supposed to be like. I lived in a casino town in the west for 7 years, and I just know what a real casino buffet should be like. $ 28/​person for generic bland cafeteria food is really not right. I felt regret and will never come back.

They have more options on the buffet than the buffet at Scioto Downs but the food was not fresh and they were out of quite a few items that were advertised (that were never replenished the whole time we were there). We were there at 8pm on a Saturday night so it wasn’t a slow time. The servers were very friendly and overall it was a good experience but not worth almost $ 30.

I have to put a disclaimer out there that I am currently pregnant and picky (no pizza or pasta). I think that they are a bit pricey, as I’m not sure that anyone could ever get their moneys worth ($ 19 for lunch after taxes, etc…). They had a decent offering of food choices, but their dessert options were the real stars! Graeters ice cream, homemade crepes, along with various other desserts. I’m not sure that I will be back soon just due to the cost.

Last Tuesday morning, I presented my research at a conference in Cincinnati. The talk went well, and I wanted to celebrate by having an awesome lunch. I saw that the Horseshoe Casino had an all-​you-​can-​eat buffet, so I decided that feasting at Spread would be the perfect place to go to treat myself.
On weekdays, the lunch buffet costs $ 16. I got a pint of Moerlein IPA as well which cost $ 4.
After getting my beer from the bar, I proceeded to explore the buffet before filling my plate. They have several sections in their buffet including Rhineland (what I’m guessing is locally popular food like fried chicken and Reuben sandwiches), the Marketplace (lots of meat!), Asian, Mexican, and Italian sections.
The list of things I chose included: Brisket, ham, sausage, mashed potatoes, paella, gnocchi, quesadillas, tacos, green beans, and mac and cheese. Everything was amazing, but I wished I had taken smaller portions of everything just so that I could try more items.
After waiting a while for my food to digest, I headed over to the dessert area. I asked one of the employees what dessert he would recommend, and he said that I should get the Graeter’s ice cream. I had never had Graeter’s before, but now I understand what the fuss is about. The ice cream was incredibly rich and creamy, and it was one of the smoothest ice creams I’ve ever had. In addition to the amazing ice cream, I had some little tarts with a bourbon pecan base and mousse on top. It was a truly decadent dessert.
For me, what really makes this buffet five stars instead of four was the service. Everyone was extremely nice and seemed to take pride in the food at the buffet.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Spread Buffet and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Cincinnati.

A coworker and I decided to try Spread for lunch one day while at work. I noticed they had mixed reviews but thought that we could give it a try to see if was truly bad or good. First of all, if you want to go and have the freshest food and not have to wait, lunch time during the work week is it. We walked straight up the the counter to pay and everyone was very friendly and helpful. We were immediately seated and our drinks were out right away. The restaurant had maybe 15 – 20 people inside. It was virtually empty! All the food was extremely fresh and all very tasty. Mexican station was on point and the brisket was excellent! We have already scheduled another team meeting here since we loved it so much! $ 15.99 for all you can eat lunch and a soda can’t be beat. I would recommend to all my friends and family.

I’d heard mixed reviews about this place so I wasn’t in a rush to try it. However, a good friend had complimentary passes to try it so I finally went this past weekend. I actually enjoyed it! Not everything was my cup of tea but much of it was!
Fridays are their Seafood Night. So along with their regular menu, they have plenty of fish, shrimp, etc. Their salmon w/​butter sauce made me drool! You’d try to go back for seconds or thirds and it would be GONE! Their greens w/​pot-​roast was also very tasty. The mashed potatoes were delicious. And they offered several wonderful desserts. Their vanilla-​butterscotch gelato being my favorite.
So overall, I was pleased.

Delicious weekend dinner buffet. I have only been once and it exceeded my expectations. $ 28 is a lot, but not crazy for a good meal. It is large, clean, and offers many different options. Just what you want from an upscale buffet. I would return.

It’s a casino buffet. Not as good as Vegas but better than the other places around here.
Stand outs: Great mashed potatoes and the roast beef was actually really good. Don’t do kimchi unless you can do kimchi.
The desserts were a BIG let down. They looked so good but were so mediocre.
GREAT service! They kept our glasses full and our table empty.

I’ve only had their lunch buffet but it was very good. Not as much option as Hollywood;s buffet but the quality of food is better. Dessert is also better than Hollywood’s. #Graeters
Looking forward to going back for their dinner Buffet!

I love this place! Especially now that I’ve gone to other casino buffets and had a chance to compare, I appreciate this place even more! First off, it’s at LEAST twice as big as the others I’ve been to. There are several different sections, or types/​styles of food. Secondly, saying that the quality is better would be a major understatement.
Some of my favorite things that I’ve gotten would be the brisket, the prime rib, the sausage and the house made chips. And then there’s dessert… as far as I’m concerned, the only word you need is Graeter’s. I usually just stick with Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip. However, it’s really cool that they also offer Madisono Gelato, a locally made gelato. There are MANY other desserts offered — cakes, cookies, mousses, cheesecake, bread pudding, pies, bars, tarts and even freshly made crepes.
Finally, I would strongly recommend lunch over dinner. As far as I know, dinner time has different themes and might offer special things like certain seafood. But I’m not much for seafood and I’d rather pay half the price.

I have mixed feelings about the Spread. If I could actually give it 3.5 stars I would. Overall I had an enjoyable experience, except that I stuffed my face so much I felt like I was going to throw up for several hours after (that’s obviously on me though). I liked that the buffet was split into different stations containing different styles of food, It was like the Epcot of buffets. I was a little disappointed that each station had kind of a small selection though.
There weren’t really any major good or bad things. We went on Saturday so there were a ton of crab legs. I will say that they did a good job of keeping those crab legs stocked. Overall, it was kind of expensiveish, and the food wasn’t bad, but it didn’t blow me away or anything. The atmosphere was nice, but also crowded and noisy since it’s in a casino.
In the end, I would come back if my friends wanted to go or something, but It probably wouldn’t be high on my list of suggestions.

I really wanted to love it here but the food was just okay. The service was pretty good here, but it was a little pricey for the quality here. All the food looked really good, but it just didn’t taste that good… there was nothing too outstanding about the experience or the food.

I hate buffets! Gross! But, I am surprised to say I am addicted to this one. The chefs work behind the stations, so I feel it is pretty fresh. A great value for decent food. The crab legs on the weekend aren’t all that, but I’d go any weekday for the Mexican (fresh pico, great steak) meatloaf, and graters ice cream!

Though it is not the greatest, Spread Buffet did exceed my expectations for a buffet.
When my boyfriend mentioned that we should try the Spread Buffet, I was slightly confuse. First, I had just landed in Cincinnati for my vacation and was looking to try a local staple. But you know what, I wanted to be adventurous; and so on a Saturday night we ate to our hearts content.
Spread has the typical casino buffet layout, there are various stations dedicated to specific cuisines. I was able to tackle each one and I found the Asian cuisine most lacking. I mainly stuck to the craving station and crab legs. The prime rib was pretty good and most of the food was okay. To me, nothing stood out or was terrible. All the desserts looked beautiful, but I found them to be okay. Our server was great! She was attentive and constantly around when we needed her.
Overall, Spread Buffet is not a bad deal.

I wish I could give The Spread 4 stars. They have lots of options. Presentation was great, especially on the desserts. Unfortunately, the actual execution of many items left much to be desired. With a little work, they could reach 4 or 5 stars.
For my first plate, I walked around getting a little bit of everything. Big mistake. By the time I got to my table my food was room temperature. I would suggest trying one or two stations at a time. This way everything stays warm.
The two best things I had were the «oven roasted potatoes,» in the Italian section, and the fried chicken from the Rhine area. I put quotation marks around the potatoes because they didn’t have a sign. I really enjoyed their texture. The potatoes also had a great sweet and savory mix. Sweet form the onions and savory from the garlic. They were the only thing I got seconds of. The fried chicken was really good too. Nice, crispy skin. The breading wasn’t too thick or too thin. Even without the skin, the meat had great flavor. It almost tasted like rotisserie chicken. They have a carving station with several meats. I didn’t see any empty items.
Now for the duds. The mashed potatoes had little flavor, and were gummy or pastie. It was nice having a full sized burger at a buffet. Unfortunately, the meat was well done and dry. The bun was dry on top, and soggy on the bottom. The mini make your own fajitas are a great idea. Nothing is covering the tortillas. Making them hard and stale. Nothing in the Asian area looked that good. The pizza was sad. The cheese and outer crusts were dried out. Pizza should have melty cheese. The cooked broccoli was bland. About half the dishes didn’t have signs.
Dessert are beautiful. For me, the best was the New York cheese cake, Irish cream and the peppermint ice cream. I liked the sweet cookie crust with the tangy cheese cake. The Irish Cream was similar to a pudding. Hard to describe but nice. The peppermint ice cream had a very strong peppermint flavor. Many desserts were too sweet, even when scraping off the extra whipped cream. Too many to individually name. While pretty, the chocolate medallion with the casino logo didn’t enrich any of the dishes. The tiramisu was a strange mix. The lady finger on the bottom was too thin and resolving. The cream on top tasted like they added flavors to their regular whipped cream. The filling in key lime tart was gritty. It may have been made from a powder. The Exotic Vanilla Mouse did not taste like vanilla. It tasted like bitter fruit.
My waitress was nice.
All the misses are fixable. Hopeful they will improve. This has the bones to be a great buffet. At $ 16.99 for lunch I expect more.

This is a sad review for me to write. I was really looking forward to having something like this in Cincinnati.
We went the The Spread a couple Friday’s ago for dinner. We arrived at 7:30 and waited in line until 9:00pm before even reaching the cashiers desk to get in. We literally waited an hour and a half for dinner. I was in shock and looking back I’m not sure why we did? I think because my family had not seen each other in a while and we didn’t want to admit that this was spoiling our plans for the rest of the evening. The manager was handing out mini bottles of water to us an apologizing while we waited in line which was nice, but that did not make up for this horrendous wait.
Once we got in, I thought «I will eat anything at this point!» Let me start with the positives: It was crab leg night and they had all you can eat crab legs which were great. And that is where the positives end.
Now if variety is what you are looking for, sure, they have tons of it. They have everything from comfort foods like fried chicken and mac and cheese to stir fry and tacos. I was in utter SHOCK when I saw the kind of shape this food was in… for it being 9:00 and still quite in the dinner rush mode, most of the food lay sadly under heat lamps forming a film over top of them. When I got some rice my fork barely cut through the top it was so hard. The mac and cheese was the worst I have ever eaten in my life. It had formed a greasy film on the top and was ice cold.
The chicken was so dry, I took one bite and could barely swallow. I am not exaggerating. My boyfriend and I looked at the giant plates of food we got, piled high with different things and said to each other, «I don’t think one thing on this plate is actually edible.» You don’t have to have the highest quality of food, but when you are at a place of business, at least have the decency to serve hot food. Many of these dishes were not even luke warm.
The only reason for the two stars instead of one is because the crab legs were the only thing we could eat. Thank god that my dad was paying for dinner that night or I would have been seriously upset. This was one of the worst customer service experiences and dining experiences my family and I have ever witnessed. When we left my dad (who is a chef) looked at us seriously and said, I really hope no one gets sick tonight. That is the kind of condition this food was in.
We will never be back.

One of the worst buffets I’ve ever tried. The food was college cafeteria quality and nothing was memorable, aside from the desserts (graeter’s ice cream and the cannoli were good). I could hardly fill up my second plate because nothing looked appealing.
The only reason I’m giving a 2 star instead of 1 was because I had a 50% off lunch coupon, so spent only $ 8. Still, I would rather spend that amount to get a decent burger from bobby’s burger palace.