The Best Buffet Dessert Bars In The US
Buffet etiquette rules state that you have to wait your turn patiently in line to load up your plate. Does that still apply if you head straight to the dessert table, though? We have a go-getter attitude when it comes to dessert. So, our vote is for beelining to the sweet treats and skipping long main course lines. Of course, this is only satisfying if you're at a buffet with a superior dessert bar, and we've uncovered some of the best around.
Pudding and pastries and cakes, oh my! From luxury eateries found within casinos to down-home food spots, some seriously killer sweets are hidden in the recesses of buffets. To take these dessert heavy buffets on, you may want to skip the main meals all together. We've scoured through reviews, menus, and foodie vlogs to find the very best buffet dessert bars in the United States. Whether you're a brownie girlie, cobbler queen, or flan man, these buffets have a little something sweet for everyone ... and then a whole lot more.
Wicked Spoon in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is known for a lot of things. It's a city of lights, loss, and luck, but it is also one of the best foodie destinations in the United States. There are seemingly countless buffets throughout Sin City, but only a couple have made this list and boast something truly spectacular that is worth visiting time and time again. Wicked Spoon is located in The Cosmopolitan, a luxury hotel and casino that is known for excellent food. The upscale buffet offers carving stations and standard food items as well as more niche dish options.
The unique dishes that are offered at Wicked Spoon spill over into its dessert bar, as items are chef-made. The awesome thing about a lot of the dishes available at Wicked Spoon is that they are designed in individual servings. No scooping helpings on your plate here, just grab and go creatively designed dishes. Desserts are made big enough to satisfy, yet small enough to be able to try a handful of offerings. Various flavors of donuts, cookies, popovers, cakes, and tarts await diners here. Dining at Wicked Spoon is like going to an upscale restaurant and getting to sample the entire menu.
cosmopolitanlasvegas.mgmresorts.com
877-893-2001
3708 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109
The Nordic in Charlestown, Rhode Island
Is there really anything better than a quality all-you-can-eat seafood buffet? Seafood buffets have a hold on lovers of crab legs and lobster tail, but the buttery crustaceans at The Nordic in Charlestown, Rhode Island may come second to the stellar dessert bar.
One of the biggest plates of cannolis you've likely ever seen next to an equally large plate of chocolate covered strawberries is just the tip of the iceberg of desserts here. Chocolate cake, bourbon pecan pie, cheesecake, and lemon squares cover the dessert bar as well. With an outdoor area full of activities, farm animals, and a view of the adjacent lake, taking your many desserts outside is a whole different experience.
One of the mainstay features of the dessert bar is a full DIY ice cream station, equipped with Häagen-Dazs ice cream and a slew of toppings. Feel free to employ some of the other desserts in your ice cream ventures as well — those Ghirardelli brownies would be unstoppable topped with a scoop.
401-783-4515
178 Nordic Trail, Charlestown, RI 02813
Chuck-A-Rama in Utah and Idaho
Everyone knows Golden Corral nearly has the market cornered on chain buffet restaurants. However, there is a little chain of restaurants in the western U.S. that would put the national chain to the test. Chuck-A-Rama is a beloved buffet style restaurant with a huge variety of dishes, a practice that extends to its dessert bar. The western themed restaurant has a few locations in Utah and Idaho.
Dessert fans may just want to go ahead and skip the extensive salad bar and head straight to the dessert bar here, because there is plenty to keep them busy. The sticky buns and scones are heavy, but well worth a try with a schmear of the honey butter. These western scones aren't like the English ones, though, but more like a sweet and chewy donut-type pastry.
If you're more interested in decadent desserts, though, the chocolate brownies, German chocolate cake, and apple crisp will likely be more your speed. Chuck-A-Rama has a soft serve bar that acts as the perfect topping for half of the baked desserts here.
Multiple locations
Borgata Buffet in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Las Vegas gets a lot of love for its buffets, but what of its East Coast counterpart, Atlantic City? There is one hotel and casino that goes all out to support the gambling-fueled hunger of patrons. The Borgata Buffet features so many options you won't know where to look first. A wide variety of cakes, a couple types of brownies, bread pudding, and biscotti are just a few of the dessert options available to those dining here.
Dessert for breakfast? Obviously. The Borgata Buffet features a beautiful dessert bar during its breakfast service as well. So many baked goods and pastries, fruit, and cookies. Load up your plates with pancakes and waffles, too. Let's be real, they're full on breakfast desserts with sugary syrup and whipped cream. Throw some chocolate chips on those bad boys, and your meal has just turned into a mountain of sweetness. Even if you're not staying at the Borgata while in Atlantic City, the drive over is worth it for the buffet.
609-317-1000
1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
The Buffet at Wynn in Las Vegas, Nevada
It's so easy to find good buffets in Las Vegas, but even easier to spot the truly great ones. The Buffet at Wynn is next level, and the dessert bar within the buffet is full of options for whatever sweet craving Sin City throws your way. Desserts are portioned out on small individual plates, which means you can grab three cakes at a time without feeling like you're hogging all the sweets. With cheesecakes, puddings, and ganaches spread throughout various flavors of cake, you'll have plenty to dig your sweet tooth into.
The real showstopper at the Buffet at Wynn is the revolving gelato freezer. This spinning receptacle holds 12 separate selections of gelato and potentially other chilled, creamy treats. Each flavor looks like a different swatch on the color wheel, making the installation as pretty as it is sweet. You could eat here for every meal on a long weekend getaway and have a different flavor of gelato each time. Alongside the gelato is a selection of candy toppings. If you side with gelato in the great gelato versus ice cream debate, then this dessert bar is a must visit.
702-770-3340
3131 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109
Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, Pennsylvania
Rural Pennsylvania isn't really the place you'd expect to find a culinary marvel, but the largest buffet in the United States is right there in Lancaster County. Shady Maple Smorgasbord is not only big, but it boasts a massive variety of food and desserts. If you wanted to try every dessert available here, you wouldn't be making it past the dessert bar on your trip. Between the many kinds of cobblers, cakes, pies, Swiss rolls, and many other baked desserts, you'd be done before halfway through. That's not even mentioning the many fruits, puddings, crisps, and whatever else is hidden in the smorgasbord of desserts.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord has taken in quite a lot of hungry people and spit out full, satisfied ones. The buffet has over 35,000 reviews on Google with an average score of 4.6 stars. The massive number of reviews makes sense, as the buffet is so large it can seat up to 2,000 people at once. Still, the rating is a wildly impressive one, making it clear that quantity can also mean quality.
800-238-7363
129 Toddy Drive, East Earl, PA 17519
Casey's Buffet in Wilmington, North Carolina
Craving some real Southern food? Casey's Buffet in Wilmington, North Carolina has been putting out hot, flavorful comfort food for decades. The owner Larry Casey calls his specific flavor of comfort and soul food "memory food," which may explain why people keep coming back for a plate (or two or three). The BBQ may be one of the main draws of the buffet, but the dessert bar is hard to walk away from without diving into each offering.
If the BBQ and homemade soul food is good, you know that the cobbler, banana pudding, and cherry cheesecake are going to be hard to beat. The only issue with the food here is not having enough room to try all the desserts. Bread pudding, three types of cobbler, and ice cream to top it all off with can be found on the dessert bar as well.
In recent years, the beloved buffet restaurant has been met with some less than stellar reviews, locals commenting on how the inside of the building has become a bit dated and less than sparkling clean. It seems Casey's Buffet is improving on these conditions with new carpeting and increased cleanliness, but the food still hits the mark. Unlike a lot of buffets, Casey's offers a takeout option. This means if you're in the mood to bring their delectable desserts home, or don't want to brave a possibly dated restaurant, you can enjoy an array of cooked-with-love desserts at home.
910-798-2913
5559 Oleander Drive, Wilmington, NC 28403
Feast Buffet in Renton, Washington
While it's not quite the largest in the country, Feast Buffet in Renton, Washington is the largest buffet in the Seattle area and the sheer amount of options they offer is nearly overwhelming. The Asian seafood buffet restaurant features sushi and lobster heavily, but their dessert options seem to be endless. If you can think of it, Feast Buffet likely carries it, but the restaurant also has some surprise picks.
Cookies, tiramisu, custard, and fruit cake squares are a few of the desserts you may recognize easily on the bar. Feast Buffet also features some traditional Asian desserts. Two soup-like desserts sit in a heating pan, which can be served with other desserts like fried bananas or egg tarts.
It's either beloved or begrudged, Feast Buffet also features a chocolate fountain. This station is setup with marshmallows and other items to dip in the chocolate. With such a variety of tastes and experiences, there's something for any member of your family here.
425-235-1888
485 Renton Center Way SW, Renton, WA 98057
Miller's Smorgasbord in Ronks, Pennsylvania
Interestingly enough, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is home to two of our best dessert buffet selections. Though Miller's Smorgasbord isn't the largest buffet in the country like the other featured restaurant, it still has plenty to offer those who want to satiate their sweet tooth with plenty of pies, cakes, and fruity baked goods.
As much as we love to hear the word "desserts" uttered, we enjoy the sound of "homemade desserts" even more. Miller's Smorgasbord boasts all homemade desserts, and we love them for it. Lancaster County is Amish country, and if you're visiting from out of the area you will need to try the Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie. Not only is it a hyper local dish you won't be able to create, but the brown sugar crumble on top melts in your mouth. A scoop of local ice cream on top really sets this dessert off.
800-669-3568
2811 Lincoln Highway East, Ronks, PA 17572
The Court of Two Sisters Brunch buffet in New Orleans, Louisiana
No one does food quite like New Orleans, and a buffet style meal in the Big Easy sounds like the best idea in the world. The brunch buffet at The Court of Two Sisters pulls a lot of great things that represent New Orleans together for one experiential meal. Live jazz music over some traditional dishes of Louisiana is a great way to spend brunch.
Seafood is a big focus of The Court of Two Sisters brunch, but the dessert bar isn't too far off and is piled with cakes of all flavors. While they all deserve a try, the king cake should be one you make sure to cut a slice of. It's a traditional dessert typically eaten around Mardi Gras, with little baby figures hidden in certain slices. If you end up with the trinket, you're traditionally considered king or queen for the day. If nothing else, though, you should have a boost of luck.
Ice cream is available on the dessert bar, as well as bananas foster. The two desserts mesh well together. Trying the bananas foster with or without ice cream will give you another taste of a traditional NOLA dessert.
504-522-7261
613 Royal St., New Orleans, LA 70130
The Buffet in College Point, New York
Another large Asian seafood buffet, The Buffet in New York is similar to the other coast's Feast Buffet. Like the other buffet restaurant, it is the largest in its area and boasts a massive amount of dishes. The dessert bar is expansive, and The Buffet may even have more desserts than Feast.
Chances are that you will find at least a few desserts here that you have never had the pleasure of trying before, especially if you've never been to an Asian buffet. Luckily, the serving sizes here are pretty small, making it very possible to at least try the majority of the desserts.
The Buffet has traditional Asian sweet treats as well as standard desserts and ones you'd see in other cultural eateries. Those sweet, soupy desserts make an appearance here as well, right beside Jell-O and coconut pudding. These popular Asian desserts use flavors not common in most of America, making for a journey of the taste buds for the open minded and adventurous. Tiramisu and cannolis can be found among the various cakes, pies, and baked goods, so there are plenty of familiar options to fall back on as well.
718-886-3722
20-07 127th St., 4th floor, College Point, NY 11356
MILA in Miami, Florida
Miami and mimosas go together like beautiful people and South Beach. MILA is located just a few blocks away from Miami Beach on a rooftop, and offers an experience of Mediterranean and Japanese fusion. While most mealtimes are full service, brunch at MILA is buffet style with a generous dessert spread. Available for two hours on Sundays and only by reservation, the buffet's dessert bar is well worth the lack of flexibility. Stacks of macarons, overflowing plates of berries, and waffles await diners. Don't forget the refreshing sorbet, which would go nicely with a glass of morning Champagne.
MILA has an abundance of stellar reviews that keep coming in regularly. The rooftop restaurant has a 4.7 star score on Google Reviews that is an average of over 13,000 reviews. That is an incredible score, especially when you consider that quite a few have very detailed ravings of how great an experience that food and atmosphere are. Not all this feedback is for the brunch buffet, but MILA certainly keeps the ball rolling with its buffet offering.
786-673-8374
1636 Meridian Ave., Rooftop, Miami Beach, FL 33139
Methodology
The United States is a big place, and this is a small list that has been carefully curated. When hand selecting the dessert bar buffets for this best of list, we looked at a few defining factors.
Awe factor is certainly at play here. While not all buffets chosen here are upscale or fancy, those that are have something that makes them much more than just an expensive American buffet with shiny plates and floors. Selection and creativity are also important here. A buffet should have plenty of choices and those choices should be worthy and unique enough to be worth a place on the bar.
Taste and reviews, of course, were the most important factors that went into choosing which buffets would get a spot on this list. The food has to taste great and people have to leave not only satisfied, but also impressed with their experience there.