The Grand Buffet

Was just up there, the buffet has been re-​modeled. It looks great. The food has been upgraded also, seems like more choices, the dessert area rocks. Everything was good.
Very pleased with the new remodeled Grand Buffet

For a buffet the food here is pretty good. Better than most, better than you’d expect.
Prices for breakfast are really good.
GET THE ICE CREAM. THE ICE CREAM IS A MUST!!!
The dark chocolate with some coconut flakes… Mmmmm!

We’ve been waiting for this buffet to re-​open for quite some time. At one time, about 10 – 12 years ago it was our very favorite. At that time they had a great chef and all the food was so well prepared and just delicious… well, as with everything, that changed. We stopped going because it just got so bad. We actually stopped going to the whole place… casino, hotel, etc. It all got really bad.
Now they have new owners and they’ve really turned the place around. The new remodel is really terrific… the whole casino/​hotel has been transformed.
About 3 – 4 months ago we started going back, thanks to a renewed effort on their part to get some of their old customers back, I think. We started getting a lot of free offers… free rooms, free play and food deals.
Since my hubs is a big buffet fan, we started off trying the one they stuck downstairs while the regular buffet was being remodeled. That was not so good.
Finally though, on our last visit, the new Grand Buffet was open. We tried it twice for dinner and once for breakfast.
It’s very clean, new and modern looking. Very nice.
Some of the food was really good. some of it was just OK. Overall we liked it with a few exceptions.
Here are some of the Pro’s and Con’s for us:
Pros:
~The prime rib was some of the best we’ve eaten in the Reno area in a very long time. It was melt in your mouth delicious.
~If you’re into meat, they have quite a few selections at the carving station… brisket, turkey, sausage, steaks, bbq ribs, etc.
~They have a few different items, like a little Indian food… the Naan was delish.
~Fresh pasta station is nice… you can grab items from the salad bar and ask the cook to add them to the ravioli or pasta of the day.
~Really nice salad bar.
~They have a large selection of soft drinks that I believe you can help yourself with or have your server provide.
~ Good Gelato station.
~The service is excellent. Every server we had was spot on doing their job.
Cons:
~Overall the set up is a little disjointed/​disorganized. Things are not where you expect them to be. Instead of keeping related items together they have things spread all over. For example, one of the selections in the TexMex area was Carne Asada, next to it a small pan of folded up flour tortillas but all the condiments that you would normally expect to be in the same area were scattered. The salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, etc were all in different places. I missed most of them so wound up eating a pretty dry carne asada soft taco. I noticed later that the sour cream and shredded cheese were in the soup area… have no idea why… the salsa, guacamole, sliced olives, green onions, etc were spread around the salad bar… I noticed people (including myself) wandering around looking for things that should have been conveniently located and weren’t.
~Biggest complaint we heard from other people was there wasn’t enough of a selection of foods. The Mexican & Chinese foods shared the same area and there were no more than four selections of each. Small seafood area. The Italian section had 2 pasta dishes and pizza. It shared it’s space with the Indian food and that was minimal selection, maybe 2 items. None of the stations had an abundance of choices, except the carving/​bbq area. Maybe they’re trying to cut cost/​waste by not offering as much of a selection but most people go to a buffet for a reason, because a big selection is exactly what they want. We heard several people at various tables complain about this, they didn’t feel it was worth the money because there weren’t enough choices & since they’ve raised the prices, cut back on the comps, they weren’t happy.
~The breakfast buffet had some nice items but again was on the skimpy side. It cost about $ 16 per person, weekday, and there really wasn’t all that much. Donuts & danish were dry & hard. They provided a 4 slice toaster with some mini plain bagels & sliced bread, but 2 slots of the toaster didn’t work so you had to stand in line to get a couple slices of bread toasted, again while your other food is getting cold. A modern, upscaled buffet like that should provide a more professional grade toaster.
~The desserts, with the exception of the Gelato station, were really disappointing. Lots of little pudding/​mousse style mini servings. None of them very good. Mostly artificial whipped cream, flavorless things. No good cakes, pies or anything of quality. We were disappointed because we had some really good desserts at the buffet they set up downstairs when this one was being remodeled. It was the only good thing at that buffet so we were looking forward to having a nice dessert at the new place. Didn’t happen.
Overall the food we ate was good and we would go back but I can see why some people would think there was not enough of a selection, especially for the price.

They recently renovated the restaurant and it really looks nice and is very spacious, but they have basically the same staff that makes even delicious food taste bad. The table staff are very courteous and checks on us regularly.
I should point out a few reasons for my rating.
The food quality has continued its downward spiral, even in the new space. It used to be really good and delicious. I’m not a buffet fan, but this restaurant was the only buffet I frequented in over 6 years. The food quality and kitchen staff began to be noticeably poor once they moved downstairs to the temporary location in one of the conference centers. The food was excessively dry, undercooked, too salty, and not fresh tasting.
Since they’ve renovated and reopened as the Grand Buffet, they increased the pricing from around $ 20 to $ 32 and now do not accept the discount for player’s comp (we used to get the buy one get one free buffet). And if you use a player’s coupon, you cannot pay using your player’s comp. For the same price, I can get a more filling dinner at Harrah’s Hash House a Go-​Go with beer included.
All that aside, the food quality is the reason for their poor marks. You should never leave a buffet still hungry and that is how I felt as I left the Grand Buffet.
Think I will need to find a replacement restaurant when coming back to the Reno area.

It had been a while since I visited this buffet, back when it was called Elements. I thought I would give it a try since it had been too long. The service was good and the décor inside is nice. What I didn’t like is that they have a lot less options to eat now. I was expecting a lot more given this is Grand Sierra Resort and have a higher budget than other casinos. I really wished they offered non-​minute maid juices, but oh well. The atmosphere was nice and not loud. Overall, I would have preferred more options and the desserts could be better. If you’re in Reno looking for the best buffet, I suggest looking elsewhere.

Honestly. I’m a bit disappointed here and not with the food…
My husband and I used to use our GSR Platinum card to get the buy one get one free coupon to the Elements Buffet every single week.
Then the buffet closed and re-​opened downstairs… which we all know wasn’t the best.
Now it’s reopened again! And after the renovations as The Grand Buffet I couldn’t wait to try it!!!
I’ll start with the positives…
I do love the look and the new lay out is very nice compared to what it used to be. The waitress, or the one we got, was on top of everything. She apologized saying «they were alone» so I am guessing either they didn’t have enough people working after the opening or people called out sick? Either way I didn’t notice because of how well she did.
I enjoyed the many new stations. Mediterranean station is my favorite… there was a chicken shawarma with Tzatziki in little cast iron things. Those and the brisket Mac N cheese in the same holder… Amazing. Reallllly good. Also, kettle cooked chips in the soup area is genius. The new ravioli sauté station… WOW. So. Soooo…good. We discovered you can bring items from the salad bar to be put in our pastas… peas and bacon anyone? This is all better than it used to be at least.
Now to the cons though…
While I really enjoyed all the new mini casseroles… The cast iron they had it in was actually pretty heavy to carry with one hand. My left hand had a massive surgery and has pins in it now which makes it very weak. Anyone with wrist/​hand problems in their left (or plate carrying hand) will find trouble here… And they’re hot too… So heavy and hot cast iron means I’m carrying ONE at a time… And at a buffet, I want to be able to carry more…
The coupons. As I said before, we used the ‘buy one get one’ buffet coupons very regularly. It was a good place for the family to go and get to eat whatever they wanted (not arguing over what to eat that night) the buffet has it all!
Well, now it’s too expensive without our ‘buy one get one’…and the hostesses at the buffet said they’re trying to get rid of all locals coupons completely for the buffet?! There is only a 5 $ off now which at 20.99 $ a person on the weekdays still puts us out 45 $. What used to cost 25 $.
It’s because of this that we decided we will try to find a new ‘locals’ buffet offering better deals. Maybe the Atlantis or Nugget offers deals to locals still that are better than this and when they’re the same price, well.
Atlantis is better and kinda always has been so if they offer good locals deals too… We will just switch to a whole new Hotel/​Casino to frequent… we are looking into players cards and the deals that come with them around town because if I’m truly being honest here… one of the reasons we came to GSR so often was the buffet.
All in all… it was four stars for me before… And because they’re getting rid of the players card locals deals to the buffet, we may actually not come back.

My husband and I normally go to Harris Buffett when we are in Reno. This trip we are Staying at GSR so we decided not to try it. I was disappointed and which we had just gone Harris as usual. The selection is minimal and the quality is poor. I ended eating a salad and fruit. I will say they do have a large dessert selection. However, it is not enough to make up for the lack of food in general. We won’t be back.

With the recent remodel came a slight alteration to their schedule. They now open past the time I can get in before work, which sucks because now the ever-​expanding (excuse the pun) ranks of the Fat Boy Club can no longer feast before work. I’m sure the food is still good though.

This place just reopened yesterday and we got lunch which was great!
Today we had to come back for breakfast and another great meal! Everyone was super friendly and greeted us as we walked by. Jonathan was our server and he was very nice and stayed on top of everything we needed. Salvador and Lupe also helped bus our table and they was awesome!
I highly suggest the country gravy — it was so flavorful! Some of the items were a tad over cooked like they had been sitting out, which was odd cause we got there right when they opened, but not a huge deal! We loved the make your own omelette bar.
Great buffet option now!

Downward spiral
Ugly drab ballroom
Food like conference food
Kicker they have my table to someone else after 1 plate. Guess that’s my exit signal
Prime rib no longer tender, but taste like cow rear end… Chinese food here still sucks.
Hope I don’t get sick… That would be nice

Absolutely horrible. Food was cold, plates were filthy, I cannot tell you how many plates we had to set aside to get to a clean plate. We felt like we were eating at a homeless shelter. I understand they are remodeling the buffet upstairs, but it’s in a conference room downstairs and the food was beyond disgusting.

Set your expectations low. Actually probably better to not have expectations. Most of the food was cold because none of it comes out fresh or is cooked/​prepared in front of you like most restaurants or buffets. There’s no counter. Just a row of tables where you serve yourself. The roasted meat like the prime rib sits under a food lamp and everything else is kept warm in the metal pans.
Most of the food tasted like frozen food reheated. Snow crab legs were mushy and kept on ice? Not sure why it’s served that way. They did have steamed crab which was slightly better. Salmon was made with saffron butter which was decent.
Only thing that was good was the ice cream. Hard to mess that up since it all comes pre made in buckets.
With the 2 for 1 special, price probably speaks for itself. $ 21.99 per person for dinner. Just paid for a fancy TV dinner… buffet style. Yum!

The existing location is currently under renovation so they have moved into a temporary location downstairs in the bequest rooms. Because of this the ambiance is very bland do paired to the experience upstairs. I’m sure once the renovation has finished it will be top notch and deserving of more stars. The food itself is as good as it was in the permanence location which in my opinion is deserving of a higher star rating. Once they are done with the Reno I’ll have to reevaluate my review.

I would give this 3.5 stars. This was an average buffet and I think it is in-​line with the average price for an all you can eat buffet ($ 16.99 for adult, $ 10.99 for kids (under 10 yrs old)). We went on a Thursday which was All American theme. I wish we were around for the Friday Seafood buffet. There was a pretty good selection, given the price.
They had pulled pork, pork chops, and ribs; I didn’t try the ribs but the pulled pork was flavorful and not full of fat. My favorite was the prime rib and Yukon Gold mash potatoes. The prime rib was cooked perfectly and was very tender and juicy. The horseradish was super spicy which I mixed w/​sour cream which made the prime rib even more enjoyable. The prime rib was as good as what I’ve had at popular expensive steakhouses.
The shrimp cocktail also has a nice jalapeño kick which I supplemented with the boiled (peeled yourself) shrimp — which I had a few servings of and loved!
The green salad bar selection was pretty large and everything was fresh. They also had a taco bar — which I was too full to try.
As Unilocaler mentioned, there was a big ice cream selection (I think 10 flavors). I sampled 4 flavors and they were all good. The other dessert selection was nothing special (chocolate, red velvet, and carrot cake; brownies, assorted cookies).
Other favorites among our family was the potatoes gratin, fried chicken (super crunchy outside and tender inside) and pork chops.
In my opinion, the price matched the selection; the buffet did not offer a wide selection of other cuisines like Italian pastas, Chinese stir fry and noodles, sushi, etc. that you would typically see at other all you can eat buffets at $ 25+. Everyone in our family found a few things they really liked. Also, our waiter was also very attentive and kept our drinks filled and plates cleared.

This is the worst buffet I have ever been to in my life. This place makes hometown buffet look like a five star restaurant. Literally after my first bite I want to throw up. Also they are temporarily operating out of a ball room with no way other than cheap chafing dishes that makes the food hard and dry. I really want my money back but since it’s $ 16 I don’t feel like going through the hassle just want to leave before I gag.

We’ve been here to eat a few times. It’s decent, but not cheap. A very average buffet.
However, their new (temporary?) location in the basement is terrible! I can’t believe we paid $ 60 to eat there. The variety of food was dull. Food was lukewarm. It’s very poorly laid out. Worst of all, they ran out of plates. We just stood there for almost 10mins waiting.
Skip this one!

Buffet was great. Prime rib was awesome. Crab legs and seafood were good. Ice cream selection top notch for a buffet. I recommend this buffet.

As a locals, it is 2 for 1 with coupon when you swipe your card in the kiosk.
They are working on renovation of the original buffet, so they temporary located downstairs. Huge space with good number of tables. Clean carpet and tables. Small buffet with very limited variety of choices that include the basic buffet stuff (salad, pasta, fruits, Mexican food). In addition to smoke briskets, turkey and sausage. No more wonton soup station and pizza :(
The ice cream was a treats.
Very friendly staff. They meet and greet with a huge smile. Service was super good.
After all was OK for only $ 5.

This was the most expensive buffets I have tried and literally the worst one!!!
Very poor quality, dirty and wet plates. I found a hair in my food (mac and cheese) and could not eat. Salmon was too salty.
In general the food quality was too low for the price. Not recommended at all!

a buffet is a buffet & quite frankly they all taste the same.
I dined in on a Saturday night when they served prime rib. the prime rib was huge & looked absolutely delicious but when I sliced it up, it was really bland. it didn’t even taste like they put salt or pepper on it. it was really tender though. the mash potatoes were smooth and the green beans were tender but overcooked.
they also had a great variety of desserts, which was nice considering thats my favorite part of the meal. lol, unfortunately all the options were overly sweet, dry or looked old.
we were able to use our points to get a buy one get one free, which was great but even with that, I think I’ll dine else where during my stay at the Grand Sierra.

This Buffet sucks,
I mean the food qualit is decent, but how about some variet its so small and the have mostly asian dished and then the basic buffet stuff. Sure the price to get in is cheap but once you see how small the selection is you’ll see why.

Definitely will not win «best buffet in Reno» award.
I enjoyed:
— The prime rib. This is probably the best part of the whole buffet. It was really juicy and cooked to the perfect temperature. When I got up to get my 2^nd and 3^rd plates, I always go back to the prime rib station.
— They had so many different flavors of ice cream! I’m shocked because usually, buffets have only the soft served machine, and maybe a couple special ones in the freezer like mango or something. But this place has, addition to what I just mentioned, cookies & crème, dolce de leche, mint choco-​chip, etc etc. Yummy!
— The salad was pretty decent. I usually never get salad at a restaurant, but hey, my new years resolution is to be healthier, so here we go!
I didn’t enjoy:
— the canned fruit. Really? It was very obvious they came from a can. Com’on.\
— …pretty much everything else. Besides what I mentioned above, everything was mediocre/​disappointing. I walked back and forth around the buffet because nothing looked appetizing.
Bottom line, it’s an average buffet, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

Very pricey! I have points so it was free.
The fried shrimp and oysters were very good. Fresh, abundant and un-​sneezed on.
The salad was a little wilted but the fresh cordon bleu and roasted turkey with horseradish saved the day.
The waitress was nowhere to be found but who cares as long as I get to pile my plate full of fried sea critters.
I have been to a ton of buffets and this one stands at a solid 4 for food and freshness.

I’ll preface my review by saying that normally I’m not a big fan of buffets. However, when my hubby and I had family in town and they were staying at the GSR, it was recommended we go here. The family was already there so I couldn’t change their minds.
I did not pay, but I believe the price is $ 20 per person and you can pay an extra $ 5 for filet and a few other higher-​priced items. I wouldn’t say this is a bad price, especially if you consider it’s a buffet and you could stuff your face for hours. I wasn’t really interested in many of the items they had out, mostly because the food looked like it had been sitting too long. I would say about 60% of the food did not look appetizing. I opted for a salad, which was a-​okay, and also tried the soup bar. Now, this I was actually impressed by because you can add what you like (spinach, meat, veggies) and whoever is working that station will cook it for you on the spot. I thought the broth was seasoned well. My hubby had steak (I can’t remember the cut) and he said it was actually cooked pretty well.
For the night I was there, they seemed to have quite a few options for dessert. I got the soft-​served ice cream (because it totally reminded me of the one we had at my college as an undergrad) and a few of the chocolate-​covered marshmallows. Because these weren’t really anything special, I have nothing to rave about. However, nothing was wrong with them either.
Overall, Elements seems like an alright option if you want to go the buffet route.

Was alright. Prime rib was juicy but everything else was just decent. It’s what you’d expect from a buffet.
For regular price I wouldn’t come here but if you get it cheap it’s not bad at all. Their crab was good and some things were tasty like the mushrooms.
Just sign up for a club card and you get credit towards the buffet depending on what you «spin».
Anyway wouldn’t come back!

I guess my review is a bit biased because I’m a vegetarian, and it’s pretty rare for a vegetarian to get a decent meal at a buffet. We had a buy-​one-​get-​one, so I really can’t complain about price or value. We were seated (with a highchair, too!) quickly and each food station was piled high with steak and various types of seafood. My dining companions were not of the vegetarian persuasion, but didn’t seem too impressed by their entrees either. One piled her plate with crab legs, then went back for something different because they weren’t very good.
I had a plate of deli-​style macaroni salad, seaweed salad, and kimchi. Since I wasn’t really in the mood for bread or salad — all the other pasta options had either trout or shrimp.
Dessert was nice — we all split a piece of cheesecake.
The employees were nice and service was quick. All told, it’s a «OK» buffet, though I don’t think I would ever pay full price for it. Based on the number of players cards being swipes, I don’t think many people do.

This buffet is pretty awesome, especially for $ 10.99 + tip for breakfast. I do wish they left some breakfast items out as they transition to lunch for late brunch people. The selection is your standard American breakfast food, with lots of variety. Everything seems clean and fresh (for a buffet). The service is friendly and the line to get in moves efficiently.
Bathrooms: Outside the buffet area and on the casino floor, which makes things inconvenient.

Everyone got choices
Going to the Casino? Yup
Gonna play Keno? Nope
Poker? Yup
Joker? Nope
Buffet? Yup
Today? Nope
Are you a winner? Yup
Loser? Nope
Prime Rib? Yup
Need a bib? Nope
Asian dishes? Yup
Delicious? Nope
Good deal? Yup
Magnificent meal? Nope
Dessert station? Yup
Take reservation? Nope
Under twenty buck? Yup
Servers suck? Nope
Everybody got choices
But I never go broke-​no, no, no
Imma stay get money– yeah, yeah, yeah

I’m not a huge buffet person, but since I had a free buffet comp we decided to check it out. WOAH!!! Mind was blown. there are like 10 different stations of food. all looking fresh, vibrant, and DELICIOUS!!!
The servers were the best I’ve ever seen. I want to have every restaurant I’ve ever stayed in take lessons from these guys. They kept all drinks full, tables cleared of dirty plates, and checked in with us just the perfect amount. They work very hard for their money (or at least ours did with the crowd he got dealt) so please don’t be cheap and tip your servers!
Every bite was wonderful. The fried shrimp tasted a bit frozen, but you can’t win them all. The prime rib. literally melted like butter in our mouths. I mean we seriously stopped and talked about it for like 10 minutes. while we were chewing that is how good it was. The dessert station was completely stocked and loaded the entire time. and I snagged the last banana crème pie. well before he cut up another one and put it out. *laughs* The crust was graham cracker goodness. not that fake non-​flavored stuff… could’ve used a few more real banana slices/​chunks though.
Salad bar — wow. I mean WOW! I had an entire plate full of just salad that’s how many options and (REAL BACON for the bits) fresh goodness there was. I mean literally mouth watering over a salad. SAY WHAT!!!
The seating is a bit cramped though and located on one side while the buffet is on the other so that. if you get seated furthest from the buffet you are talking at least a crowded 3 – 5 minute walk. Worth every step!
We will be coming back again for sure… maybe not for the GSR hotel or casino experience. at least the food!

I’m not a big buffet person, but this was in our hotel, and friends had a BOGO deal or discounts with their platinum or legend status, so couldn’t complain that for $ 12 I had a decent buffet experience.
They have several stations, and the food was mediocre at all of them. They have a build your own phở bar which everyone loved, and to me, the broth and wontons were good, but the noodles were god awful. Surprisingly they had good kimchi and it went with the phở well. I had several slices of wood fired pizza, it reminded me of young school days, so not great, but nostalgic eating it. I liked the build your own nachos bar, not that it was anything great, but the fact that they had one. The oysters looked horrible, so I saved myself from getting food poisoning.
Waitress was attentive with refills and providing napkins. The bussers come constantly, but I saw them spill phở soup all over my friend’s chair and as she walked away, I asked her to clean it. She dabbed his napkin on it as if nothing happened.
Just an okay buffet, but for Reno hotels, it seems on average with what’s around.