Since I had a $500 comp for a dinner (once a year) as a Harrah's 7 Star
member, I took 6 people and went to Bally's Sterling Brunch in Vegas. This
is Las Vegas's most expensive brunch, now costing $85. The Las Vegas
Advisor coupon booklet has a $20 off coupon by the way (good for up to 2 people
each).
We have been to the brunch several times before, but hadn't gone for about
2 years. Due to the recession the long line of people waiting to get in is
now gone. Also they no longer overflow into the Chinese restaurant, but
only fill the main restaurant. Obviously the increase in price and general
decline in numbers of tourists has led to the buffet serving less than half
the former number of people. We saw a couple of small tables that
remained empty, so you possibly can now get in without advance reservations,
though they are recommended.
The Sterling Brunch is on Sundays only, in the Bally's Steakhouse.
We noticed several changes since the price has gone up and people have gone
down. They no longer serve whole lobster halves, but instead serve big
(probably African) lobster tails. They also have added steamed Alaskan crab
legs, but they are hard to break with your fingers. The desert area is
noticeably smaller, with a lot fewer desert selections. But they do still
serve banana's foster, or cherries jubilees, or crepes - these vary from
week to week. They have also added a lot of chocolate lollipops, but have
fewer of the various desert choices. Still the desert selection looked great
and drew "ahs" from our guests.
One of the main attractions (at least for me) of the brunch, is the
unlimited caviar. However it is now pretty much hidden from view, so many people
may eat and not even be aware of it. This seems a sneaky sort of cost
savings! You have to ask the woman who behind the sushi counter for it, and
the portions in the small cups are much smaller than they used to be (but
you can ask for more). The bilinis strangely are now super tiny - too small
really to put the caviar and fixings (such as egg, onions, sour cream etc)
on. I don't know why they did that - weird! They also have toast points
for the caviar. The domestic caviar seems to be of good quality, but we've
noticed it can vary from visit to visit.
The sushi also is almost hidden from display, and the variety seemed less
varied than previously, with a few rolls, tuna, yellowtail, etc., but salmon
and eel were no longer there (though there were salmon rolls).
Other highlights of the buffet included a nice salad seleciton, with both
yellow and red tomatoes, 3 kinds of soup (lobster bisque was one choice),
cold lobster claws and cold shrimp, bowls of fresh fruit including
strawberries and rasberries and blueberries and kiwi and mango, etc., fresh omlettes
that can be made with lobster and cognac, prime rib, lamb chops, salmon,
and more.
Also, you get unlimited champagne of pretty good quality.
I did miss the whole lobster, since the lobster tails were not quite as
good. But I love caviar, and did all sorts of decadent things with the
stuff, such as putting it on top of sushi and lobster tail.
One drawback was worse service than previously. Different servers seemed
to float around, but when we gave drink orders for coffee or soft drinks,
etc., they often failed to show up until we repeated orders. The servers
also didn't automatically refill water glasses, and let empty dishes pile up.
There seemed to be an adequate number of servers, so I don't know why
their service was so sloppy. Strangely, I've found service at much cheaper
buffets, such as at the Palms, superior. This seems an odd oversight for an
$85 buffet.
Whether a buffet with such good quality items is really worth $85 is a
matter of choice, but the food is really good. If you have extra Harrah's
comps while in Vegas, this is one place to spend them, and taking 6 people out
to dinner for your 7 Stars Dinner, seems like a good option. Our friends
greatly enjoyed the buffet, despite the spotty service issue.
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