Bacchanal Buffet (Dinner)

Okay, you knew this was coming...  How could we not visit a Vegas buffet while we were in town?  To be honest, I'm not that excited about spending that much money on a buffet when I can spend just as much on a delicious composed meal at another restaurant.  But just for research purposes, we hit up the infamous Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar's Palace.  If you remember, I've been here before in 2019, albeit only for lunch.  This time around, it was for dinner with Eileen, Jacqueline and Roanna.  We made a reservation, just to ensure we weren't waiting in line for too long.

Once seated, we made a game plan of hitting all of the food stations and bringing them all to our table at the same time.  For me, I went straight for the Sushi and the selection was pretty average considering the size of the buffet.  Don't get me wrong, this was pretty much in-line with the Wynn, but with that being said, I would've liked to see more items.  For the things I did get, the fish quality was good while the sushi rice was just a tad on the softer side.

So right next to the sushi, we found the Chinese food station where we found some dim sum, roast duck, frog legs, bang bang shrimp, gai lan with beef, XO chicken, black pepper beef and char siu ribs.  This was a decent selection of food that was overall well, decent.  I liked the frog legs because they were almost juicy despite the deep-fry.  Duck was way too salty while the char siu rib was quite good.  Bang bang shrimp was crispy and sweet and the gai lan was not overdone.

Next to the Sushi, we found a small section dedicated to Filipino food.  Nice to see that as it is not something you would normally find at an international buffet.  We found things like Lumpia, Pork Skewers, Sawsawan and Whole Roasted Pig.  The lumpia was crispy with a moist flavorful filling while the skewers were sweet and well-charred, albeit dry.  Roast pig was solid where you could choose fattier portions or lean parts.  The sawsawan was the perfect dip for the heavy meats.

On the topic of meats, we found a large selection at the Carvery.  This included such things as Slab Bacon, Smoke Brisket, Honey Baked Bone-In Ham, Grilled Tri-Tip, Beef Steamship, Prime Rib and Turkey.   Yah, that was a lot of meat and most of it was quite good.  I found the meats to be tender, especially the prime rib, brisket and turkey.  The tri-tip was a bit chewy while the bacon was rather lean (as evidenced in the picture.  That truffle gravy for the chicken was superb.

So what is a Vegas buffet (or any good buffet for all that matters) if there isn't any Seafood?  Well, they had lots of that in the form of Snow Crab, Dungeness Crab, Lobster Claws, Shrimp, Mussels, Kimchi Baked Oysters, Whelks, Clams, Octopus Salad and Seared Scallops.  I would say the crab was pretty spot on with proper textures, but the lobster claws were rubbery and far too overcooked.  I don't have a picture of it here, but the scallops were really good while baked oysters were buttery.

One of the more unexpectedly good stations was the Mexican food. The best item was the Birria Tacos which were presented on a large circular grill.  They were full of tender beef and drenched in broth and fat.  Naturally, this was messy and tasty.  We also found Al Pastor, Surf & Turf Vampiro Tacos, Chicken Tinga Tostadas and Sonoran Street Dogs.  Not pictured was Elote Locos, Achiote Roasted Chicken and Menudo.  All of these were good and hey, who doesn't like a good menudo?  The crunchy Duros and Chicharones were also a nice treat.  Purple and aromatic, the Ube Horchata was also good. 

A few more items included a Bacchanal Slider, Devilled Eggs, Smoked Salmon Mousse and Pizza.  The best thing of the bunch had to be the selection of pizza.   There was Meat Lovers (the square pizza), Prosciutto & Arugula, Chicken Pesto and 2 that aren't pictured here in the Smoked Salmon, Brie & Apple and Margherita.  Crust was thin and crispy while there was a bevy of toppings.  Particularly enjoyed the pesto as it had the most flavour.

There was also a selection of Mezze and some Toasts.  Personally, I wasn't really into this section and it was more filler than anything.  Not that it wasn't good, but if you are paying $89.00, you need to go for the more expensive items!  There was also a noodle station that featured Pho.  It was actually decent with a mild broth, but chewy noodles and tender slices of meat.  Near the Mezze, there was a selection of Charcuterie which looked great, but I really had other things to eat!

Onto Dessert, there was an enormous selection that included Mochi Donuts, Creme Brulee, Berry Cheesecake, Strawberry Shortcake, Vanilla Cupcake, Lemon Tart, Pandan Mousse, Double Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Cone, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Cinnamon Roll, Cookies, Ube Chiffon Cake and Portuguese Tart.  Yes, that is a lot to unpack there and in reality, most of them were quite solid.  I enjoyed the lemon tart because that is one of my favs and this one was tangy with a firm shell.  Upside down cake was sticky and sweet while the cheesecake was creamy.

So we got most of the other desserts (plus a repeat of the ube) including Banana Cream Pie, Mini Donuts, Tiramisu, Vietnamese Coffee Coupe, Vegan Strawberry Cake, Passion Fruit Tapioca and No Sugar Added Blueberry Cheesecake.  I didn't try all of these, but the banana cream pie was quite good, very aromatic and not overly sweet.  The NSA cheesecake could've passed for a regular one.  To end, we got a made-to-order Apple Walnut Crepe.  Oh this was really good.  The crepe was warm, soft and a bit chewy.  All the sweet tanginess on top was a great match and the nuts added crunch.  Okay, that was a ridiculous amount of food and really, we didn't even try all of it!  There was a Korean section with KFC and some American dishes including Mac & Cheese right beside the carvery.  Just like the last time I was here, the selection is incredible and the general food quality is decent with all things considered.  However, for the price, one could have a composed sit-down meal at a nice restaurant.  Would you get the quantity of food at the Bacchanal?  Of course not.  So it really depends on your personal preference.  I do know that it reaffirms my belief that it is better than Wynn at the very least.

The Good:
- Biggest selection of eats in Vegas
- Decent eats
- We had excellent service

The Bad:
- Would've liked a better selection of sushi
- Too bad no King Crab, but I'm sure that would've made the cost over $100
- Lobster claws were not very good