Note: The Mirage has closed after 34 years, with the last day being July 17th, 2024.
If you are looking for an affordable buffet offering in Las Vegas that does not have many stand-out features, then the Cravings Buffet at The Mirage is your go-to option. The Buffet has most of the offerings that you can expect from a high-end hotel buffet but lacks a few stand-out features.
You can visit the Cravings Buffet any day of the week since it is open from Monday to Sunday with breakfast, lunch, brunch, and dinner meals.
Note: The Cravings Buffet is currently closed. Be sure to take a look at their listings to know of any closure updates and new developments.
You can expect delicious, well-cooked, and world-famous meals from the Cravings Buffet ranging from Italian cuisines, Asian, American, and Mexican meals. There are also seafood selections, salads, and desserts, to mention a few. There are lots of stations in the restaurant which also offer a 15% discount to military personnel.
We will take a look at the features of the Mirage buffet to know how it came to be as popular as it is. We will also dive into the environment’s ambiance to give you a clear picture of what you can expect when you visit the restaurant. Their menu will also showcase their buffet offerings for adults and children to help you budget in advance.
The Cravings Buffet Features
The Mirage Hotel
The Mirage Hotel is home to various attractions in Las Vegas. It has been a famous attraction in Sin City for decades, and very few other hotels have the same reputation as Mirage. There are at least a thousand things you can do here, and the attractions in the Hotel are endless.
The main attraction that makes the Mirage stand out is Sigfried and Roy’s secret garden and dolphin habitat. This is where you can go swimming with dolphins and come face to face with them while exploring other creatures in the sanctuary, like leopards and white lions.
The Mirage has a Casino floor for those who want to explore the gambling culture of Las Vegas. You will find all sorts of stations for poker, slots, and table games to quench your gambling thirst.
Moreover, The Still is a sports bar located at the center of the Mirage Hotel and boasts over 8,000 square feet of sports junkie heaven. You will not miss a sporting event on the 27 different flat-screen televisions.
There are 16 different restaurants in the Hotel which include the Cravings Buffet, the Roasted Bean, Starbucks, Blizz Frozen Yogurt, California Pizza Kitchen, Paradise Café, LVB Burgers and Bar, Carnegie Delicatessen, Samba, Stack, The Still, Japonais, Pantry, Portofino, Fin, and Tom Colicchio’s Heritage Steak.
History
The Mirage Buffet has been in operation for over two decades providing classic buffets to satisfy your cravings. The Buffet is getting outranked these days with other high-class places like the Buffet at Bellagio, Buffet at Excalibur, and the Buffet at Luxor, which has a massive 30-foot salad bar delectable carving station, and homemade pizza station.
Cravings offered unlimited wine (chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, and white zinfandel) and beer (Bud Light or seasonal beers) in the same packages as the Buffet. Still, they recently changed their menu to exclude alcoholic beverages as well as tax and gratuity. The good news is that the prices of the buffet meals are still moderately affordable, unlike the shocking prices at the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace.
The opening of the Mirage Hotel in 1989 helped boom the Las Vegas Renaissance that made Sin City what it is today. In fact, The Mirage Hotel was the largest Hotel in the entire world at the time of its opening. Moreover, the real gold dust used on the gold windows of the building left visitors with awe and amazement at the beautiful architecture.
The restaurants in the Hotel such as the Cravings Buffet were opened to cater to the all-hungry gamblers with all-you-can-eat buffets. The eateries are well priced across the board to make sure their guests eat at their leisure and enjoy the fantastic casino floor.
Environment
The Mirage Buffet has an open layout design for their stations in the entire place and the modern décor adds a great ambience to the area. The location is very convenient for those who may want to try Mirage Hotel’s various gambling sections on the casino floor.
Furthermore, the moderate prices of the food make it a great choice for those who want to spend more on the casino rather than the food. The average price at the Mirage Buffet is between $18 and $35 for any of the breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner meals.
The Buffet has eleven international stations with different cuisines ranging from American and Italian stations to Latin American and Asian stations. The drinks are self-serve, and there are a couple of servers in the various stations.
The servers are not as many as they used to be, making it hard to serve a lot of customers in time. On the upside, there are large selections of drinks which are now in juice machines and coke freestyles. Moreover, you are allowed to walk through and check out all the stations before you decide to order anything from the menu.
The managers and staff impress lots of customers with their friendly and helpful nature. The service and atmosphere that they create are comfortable and very welcoming, especially to first-timers who want a little bit of guidance.
Related Read: The Mirage Restaurants
The Mirage Buffet Menu
The Cravings Buffet at the Mirage Hotel is open for breakfast from Monday to Friday, starting at 7 a.m. and ending at 11 a.m.
The price for the breakfast buffet is just $15.99 for adults and $11.99 for children. Kids under the age of 4 are allowed to eat all they can at Cravings Buffet for free without any other charges or costs.
On the other hand, children who are 11-year-old or older are expected to pay the adult prices. The children’s menu prices apply for kids between the age of 5 and 10. For lunch buffets, the price for children is $16.99 and $19.99 for brunch. The dinner price for kids is $21.99, and it applies throughout the seven days of the week.
Adults can enjoy weekday lunch buffets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at just $20.99. The adult price for the weekend brunch buffets is $25.99 and is only open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner during the weekday is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at just $30.99. From Friday to Sunday, the dinner buffet costs an extra $2 and is open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
As stated earlier, you cannot get unlimited alcoholic beverages anymore and have to pay $12.99 for the all-you-can-drink package. The package does include the beloved unlimited Bud Light, unlimited seasonal beers like Goose Island IPA, and various wines like Sparkling Rose, Merlot, Moscato, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
However, the package only lasts a maximum of two hours, so make sure to take full advantage of it. For those who do not want alcoholic beverages, there are over 150 Coke products to choose from and several stations that serve tea, coffee, milk, and popular juices.
Note that the prices do not include wine and beers or gratuity. Additionally, Las Vegas adds an extra 8.25% sales tax on all the prices mentioned above, but this does not significantly increase their prices.
Here is a summary table of a few stations and what they have to offer:
| Station | Sample Menu Items | |
| 1 | Salad Bar | Deli meats, cheeses like harvarti cheese and smoked gouda, already made salads, toppings, fruits, and soups. |
| 2 | Carving Station | Honey glazed ham, turkey, succulent prime rib, horseradish, turkey gravy, roasted ribeye, and cranberry sauce. |
| 3 | American Station | Roasted and fried chicken wings, hot dogs, onion rings, flank steak, cole slaw, and fries. |
| 4 | Italian Station | Chicken Piccata, Cheese tortellini, pasta, pepperoni pizza, grilled vegetable pizza, chicken pizza, and other related pre-made dishes. |
| 5 | Seafood Station | Shrimp cocktail, salmon, seaweed, cioppino, crab legs (only on weekend brunch and weekday dinners), and seafood bouillabaisse. |
| 6 | Latin America Station | Nachos, taquitos, fajitas, and chilaquiles just to mention a few. |
| 7 | Asian Station | Sushi like the tropical rolls, octopus nigiri, and jalapeno rolls, steamed rice, fried rice (vegetable and egg), eggplants, and Asian chicken pasta salads. |
| 8 | Desserts | Danishes, pies, cakes like white chocolate raspberry, cookies like the peanut butter chip cookie, and gelato dispenser machine. |
The above sample menu items are just a few of the many selections that the Mirage Buffet offers. They are subject to change at the discretion of the management, and you may have to check in with the restaurant for any food item changes.
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Buffet tips at The Cravings Buffet
You want to get the most out of buffets and all-you-can-drink offerings at the Cravings Buffet. To do this, there are a couple of things you may want to adhere to take full advantage of the packages:
- Make sure to scan the buffets before you settle on one. You can do this at Cravings to see how different stations match the others before picking your favorite.
- Avoid carbohydrate-filled foods like fries and pasta as much as you can since they will fill you up and deprive you of better items.
- Ensure you have the dessert meal in mind so that you can save room. The goal of the Buffet is to enjoy as many items as you can, and desserts can be the best meals to top up your full stomach.
- Note any extra charges with the Buffet, like charges on wasted foods and extra food items.