The old Mirage buffet was one of my favorites, but this new one is even better with a coolly elegant room, tons of high quality food, and enough variety to satisfy even the most picky of eaters. The dining room is of the cavernous communal variety (meaning one big room with lots of tables) but it’s done in such a mod-meets-high-tech style that I can forgive that. Sleek lines mesh with warm coppery colors to create an inviting, upscale, and lively space worthy of the fine dining selections they serve.

There are eleven cooking stations scattered along the fringes of the room. As usual with buffets, the exact menu items change so I won’t go too deeply into specifics but when I visited there was a barbecue area with ribs and bacon topped pork roast (pork topped pork, genius!), a wood-fired pizza oven, cooked on the spot Chinese entrees like pot stickers and garlic chicken, south of the border entrees including enchiladas, hand-mixed-to-order salads, a sushi section, a carving station, and much more.

There’s also a full bar inside the buffet, which of course costs extra, but adds a unique touch.

A fantastic dessert station with delicate pastries, pies, and amazing hand scooped Italian ice cream makes a perfect capper to the meal. Desserts are often underwhelming at buffets, the theory being (I presume) that once everyone has loaded up on the entrees they won’t have room for sweets. This buffet was done with people like me in mind, who will ALWAYS find room for dessert. Seriously. Always.

But as mentioned at the beginning, this ain’t no cheap all-you-can-eatery. Meals here will run you between $12 and $25 depending on what time of day and day of the week you are visiting. Ouch. But look around. Unfortunately those prices are not outrageous for a Strip buffet these days.

If all you need is fuel you can save yourself a lot of dough by going elsewhere but if you’re going to pay these kinds of rates for a buffet you’re getting into Bellagio and Paris territory. I’m happy to report this buffet rivals them for quality and overall experience so now you have another choice when making your dining plans.