Festa Buffet

My husband and I tried the Sunday brunch yesterday and were mostly satisfied. I tend to go for the basics — eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy and eggs Benedict being my usual choices, and I can generally only handle one plateful before I’m stuffed. All of those thing were top-​notch except the Benedict, because what looked like eggs Benny was actually salmon on a croissant with a poached egg and Hollandaise. The croissant didn’t hold up to all the moisture, and I’m not a big fan of salmon, but that said it was still pretty tasty. I (barely) managed to stuff down some Bananas Foster for dessert and it was heavenly. My husband liked the shrimp tempura, the BBQ pork, a concoction of salmon and shrimp marinated in what tasted like pico de gallo (but was clear in color — no idea what it was, but it was yummy), and most of the desserts he tried. He thought the crab legs were just so-​so and didn’t care for the quinoa at all. The coffee was excellent — something that always surprises and pleases me.

Variety! Variety! Variety! This buffet has a full range of flavors. Good quality for a buffet. The seating was nice, casino staff is always welcoming. Would like to come back.

So if you’re used to Las Vegas buffets, lower your expectations if you’re headed out to this buffet for the first time. After all… this buffet is in Tucson… you know how I feel about Tucson!
At any rate, I really enjoy taking occasional outings to this particular venue. It makes you feel like you’re out of town and the food is always reliable quality-​wise. Now, the quality is not 5 star type, but it’s good for a buffet experience. The food is warm to hot, there are a lot of options, and the employees are pretty good about switching out new supplies when running low.
As far as variety goes, it ranges between traditional prime rib/​chicken/​salmon and mashed potatoes to Mongolian chicken and lo mein to broccoli pasta Alfredo. Desserts? You got it. Bread pudding, bananas foster, pies, cakes, crème brûlée imitations, etc. Salad? Yes. But like I always say, who the heck gets a salad? Soups, cookies, breads, cheese, fruits, pizza, potatoes, mac and cheese, soda, soft serve, etc. etc. and so on and so forth.
The seating area is quite lovely. Chandeliers hang from the center of the ceiling, There are several huge booths and numerous smaller tables to sit at. It’s pretty classy for a buffet of this size. I’ve been to many (MANY!) buffets in my life, so I am a fair judge, in my opinion. And my opinion is always right, in my opinion.
Now, keep in mind, this is NOT the buffet at Wynn. It is NOT Bacchanal at Caesars Palace. It is a buffet at a small casino in Tucson, AZ. For that reason, for the ambiance, for the décor, the variety. I give it 4 stars.
Based on when you go, you can expect to either walk right in, or wait in a line for up to an hour. It’s really based on the time of day and holidays that may be taking place when you go.
My advice — Go prepared to wait around a while for an okay meal and an hour of gambling. And hey, if you win at the tables, you’ll probably cover the cost of the meal. Can’t complain about that!
I hope you like my pictures. :)

Great gf experience at this buffet. The chefs came out directing what was okay to eat, what to avoid, and provided sauceless ribs. There are so many options to choose from, ranging from prime rib, nigiri sushi, fajitas, and variously made shrimp to taco salads. I look forward to trying their seafood night on Thursday. I’m not sure I’d stop in just to eat here as its a bit pricey but if staying at hotel, attending concert, or gaming it is quite convenient, and worth a try.

Very nice selection on the Sunday Buffett. Good service. Some of the food could have been a little fresher but overall very good. Best part was the crab and fresh raw horseradish.

Really liked the food hated the waiters had to get up and ask for a refill bc otherwise I would have not gotten one I enjoyed seafood thru just hated their costumer service.

This place has seriously gone downhill since the last time I was here a few years ago. My husband and I used to come here a few times a year, and the food and service was great! The best little desserts ever and quality, tasty food. Not anymore.
When we first arrived and paid for our Sunday brunch ($ 28 per person), we were waiting to be seated for a full two minutes… at 5:30pm in a nearly empty dining room. Four servers stared at us from the sides, standing and doing nothing, and there was no hostess in sight. I don’t see any reason why one of them couldn’t seat us. Finally, the cashier herself sat us.
The entrees we tried were dry (sitting too long) and some were over and under seasoned. For example, the lo mein *looked* good, but there was absolutely no flavor. There was a breakfast «quiche» that in no way (other than it was pie shaped) resembled quiche. It wasn’t even like a frittata, which might have redeemed it. It tasted like someone made hard-​boiled egg pie. And it was gross.
The desserts used to be the highlight of the buffet. The desserts today were hit and miss. The chocolate cupcake was moist and delicious but the frosting too sugary. The ice cream cones were stale and chewy. Something masquerading as a sopapilla was dried and stale. The cherry cobbler was great (though I’m not a fan of walnuts in a cobbler crumble). The selection has diminished as well.
We will not be returning. I’m wishing I had my $ 56 back.

Got ripped off 5 mins after checking into the hotel…
False advertisement
They had a «Gems & Jewels» special for lunch and dinner starting from 2÷1−2÷12. $ 15 per person for lunch, $ 19 for dinner.
They charged me $ 28 per person. I asked why?
They said, «today is Sunday brunch». But look at your advertisement? I took a pic of the charge and the advertisement.

I have been there for seafood night and brunch. If you want to save money on brunch just go to golden corral. i mean the seafod is cold and i dont want cold crab legs. honestly the only good thing about brunch was the smoothies!!! i had like 4 of them! everything else was meh. the server was rarely at our table and i think she quit because we never saw her again after the second refill. the seafood buffet is good i guess. paying 20something dollars i expect more from just 5 dishes to choose from. At the end of the day i have gone back and everytime im always eh about the outcome. but you at least have to try it once.

$ 25 per person. For that kind of money, the décor needs an overhaul, the servers need training in how to actually provide service and the food? Well there are lots of choices. We were there on Saturday night for the Luau. Some of the food was delicious, meaning the freshly prepared lamb and roast, the potstickers cooked at the station as well. The desserts, while plentiful, were dull and stale. Obviously not made fresh. You shouldn’t serve a freshly roasted Lamb and the offer cheap commercial bulk desserts. Plus a glass of wine will be extra, so I went with the flavorless Ice Tea instead. The inconsistency here was glaring. A few freshly prepared delicious dishes alongside a bunch of wholesale boxed food heated (in some cases not enough) up. Will not eat there again. Too bad, as the hotel and casino are quite nice.

Sunday night buffet. Had it not been comped, I would have asked for a refund. Not much selection. What was available was cold and had been sitting out a while. It all also tasted like it had once been frozen. Pretty awful and pretty bold of them to charge $ 19 for cold pre-​packaged frozen food.

I will start by saying, I read reviews about the Thursday night Seafood Buffet in advance and was a little hesitant to go at first BUT my hubby loves seafood so we gave it a try. SO glad I ignored the negative reviews which seem super off the mark.
We have been to the other casino buffets in Tucson, and this one FAR exceeded our expectations. First of all — you WILL get what you pay for. Yes it is $ 28 per person BUT if you are over 50 or have a club card you get at least 15% off which brought our bill down to roughly 22 per person plus tax. Totally worth it.
The service was REALLY good, they were very attentive in keeping our plates cleared, drinks filled up and just being nice and friendly.
The food was off the charts (for Tucson in particular) — high quality, not anywhere near the ‘golden corral’ quality this town is used to. The dessert area was FANTASTIC… it was all homemade and they had TONS of stuff to choose from — Bananas Foster, Bread Pudding, Cobbler, Ice Cream, Cake Pops (this was my favorite), Cookies, Cakes, Pies…
As for the seafood — HOT and COLD Crab Legs… yes they are snow, BUT they are big and with TONS of meat. They also had oysters, mussels, cold shrimp (big ones with just the tail on so NOT a lot of work), scallops, fried shrimp (the BIGGER ones, not those little tiny ones), ceviche, and other seafood dishes including a couple choices of fish. The one thing their website advertises that they did not have was the crawfish or crab claws. They also had a nice selection of sushi to choose from as well.
In addition to the dessert and seafood — they had a salad area, soups, a carving station and pizza area (really good pizzas, five or six different choices) and a section with some good chinese food that included sweet and sour shrimp.
We will definitely come back here and are glad that we ignored some of these negative reviews… not sure what these people were expecting but this is pretty damn good for Tucson.

This casino is a very nice casino but the buffet was off tonight. The pork ribs were too dry and the dry rub wasn’t tasty. The sushi was okay but mostly rice and vegetables. I enjoyed one with eel on top. Most of the dishes looked like they were sitting in their pans for a long time. But the desserts were great, loved their apple pie. The beef they slice was good too. $ 19 includes a drink but we got in free for signing up for the Sol club membership,

Good place for Tucson. The food is good and they have a better variety compared to the other casino buffets. Closer to a Vegas buffet. Sunday’s is brunch buffet, yay mimosas included. It is very pricey especially Sunday’s brunch for Tucson. I hate that they don’t have a kids price. Paying about 19 to 25.00 for kids is crazy when I don’t even eat my moneys worth how could they. I love casino del sol, but they need to change this.

Went in for dinner. Food was just OK. Most it it had been out for at least 30 minutesit looked like. I tried their tamales, the green chili tamale was pretty good. The beef tasted like it had been sitting there for a day at least, dry and hard. The short ribs in red chili was fairly good, but mostly bones and little meat left. Would not try again.

My first time here and we went on a Sunday, so we were able to have a mimosa brunch :) Overall it was a great experience but a little pricey. Unless you are planning on drinking your moneys worth of mimosas, plan to go any other day of the week. I also didn’t like the fact that they don’t have a kids rate so somehow paying $ 25 for a nine year old just felt wrong. The quality of food seemed to be above average from other buffets that I’ve been to and they had a great variety of foods from build your own omelettes, a pasta bar, chinese food, mexican food, seafood section including crab legs, oh and they even have menudo! Couldn’t tell you the next time I plan to revisit since I’m not a big fan of buffets and there wasn’t anything «to die for», but I’d recommend to a friend.
Breakfast $ 9 per person
Saturday 7am-​10am
Sunday Brunch $ 25 per person
Sunday 9am-​3pm
Lunch $ 15 per person
Monday-​Saturday 11am-​3pm
Dinner $ 19 per person
Monday-​Wednesday 4pm-​10pm
Friday & Saturday 4pm-​11pm
Sunday 4pm-​10pm
Seafood Thursday $ 28 per person
Thursday 4pm — 10pm

we were at del sol for a concert and the husband’s entire family wanted to do a casino outing. before we left for AVA, we came to festa buffet for dinner.
i don’t know how much the buffet was because my mother-​in-​law treated us. the food is alright. you definitely can eat a lot at this place.
the wait staff was quick to take our drink order and bring us silverware. i probably should have started with a different choice, but i really wanted pasta.
i stood at the pasta bar for probably about 6 – 7 minutes before the cook acknowledged me. i understand and i can see that he was putting together a pizza to go into the oven, but at the very least, let your customers know that you’ll be right with them. so when he finally came over to ask me what kind of pasta i would like i was growing very impatient. by the time i got my penne pasta and sat back at the table, the rest of the family was on their seconds.
i wasn’t very hungry and didn’t eat much after i had my pasta. perhaps next time i’ll try something different.

I have tried Festa three times since it opened in November 2011. I think I now have a fair assessment.
What I like, in summary:
1. The butcher cuts of pork and sausage have been nice; steaks can be, at times, dry.
2. The desserts look absolutely lovely (not sure about the taste; I do not like desserts).
3. Though it is a buffet, it feels more like a restaurant.
4. Waiter service is pretty reliable.
5. Wine offerings are decent. Love that Festa has wine specials and that it serves B.R. Cohn (one of my favorite vineyards).
6. The salad bar is wonderful! I love that they offer boiled eggs.
What I dislike, in summary:
1. Seafood night on Thursdays is a bit insane. The line, and competition for seating, is not worth the stress.
2. Glad to see sushi offerings, but they tend to be lacking in both variety and flavor.
3. I love the idea for the meat and cheese platter, but the cheese can get somewhat dry from sitting out.
I will certainly go again. I cannot imagine I would go during Festa’s seafood night, but it is worth another visit.

This was the 3^rd restaurant we tried during our stay at Casino del Sol. We had the Breakfast buffet. It was OK. Your standard breakfast fare was available… Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Omelet station, etc.
The line for the Omelet station was long. My recommendation is that you place your Omelet order first, then go around to the other stations to fill up your plate. By the time you’re done, your Omelet will be done and you’ll have a nice, hot Omelet to go with your plate.
There was no line the morning we went, which was a Saturday. The service was pretty good. Our drink glasses were kept full and our server checked on us often to ensure we were ok.
Overall, a decent buffet experience.
Return Factor — 60%

I love this buffet for Sunday Brunch. If you are a crab lover you will quickly understand why this is a 5 Star review. We are talking KING CRAB LEGS and CLAWS. I cannot find any buffet, anywhere, that serves King Crab Legs. Don’t misunderstand, I am not confusing snow crab with these. The Crab legs here are premium legs that you might see at the grocery store for $ 25+ per pound. Sunday brunch is served from 9am to 4pm and the current price is $ 23.00 per person. If unlimited crab is not enough, champagne is also included at no extra charge, as well as jumbo shrimp, oysters on the half shell, sushi, prime rib, made to order omelets and the list goes on.
I am almost afraid to post this review in fear that the casino might wise up and replace the King Crab with a lesser quality, so let’s just keep this review between you and I.