Moderation thy name is not Bellagio. No, I'm not talking about those dancing fountains. Not the ceiling of Chihuly blown glass blossoms in the lobby. Not the elaborate conservatory. I'm taliking about that damn buffet, the Vegas staple of every casino hotel operation in town. But this being the Bellagio, there is an especially huge spread here with dishes you wouldn't expect in a buffet line.
And therein lies the problem. I just don't think Eggs Benedict should be lumped by the dozen in a chafing dish or French Toast wedges getting arid as the Sahara under heat lamps. In fact, everything had that warmed-over, slightly mushy texture that never quite satisfies but somehow satiates because you'll be damned not to get your thirty-dollars' worth of food. One thing I have no complaints about is the service. The army of waitresses is at the ready refilling coffee cups and juice glasses and picking up the dirty dishes.
The lines move as quickly as you would expect when people are overwhelmed by choices. If you read the guidebooks, the Bellagio is often mentioned as serving one of the best buffets on the Strip. Oh really. It appears bulimics have less choice in Sin City than originally thought.
FOOD - 3 stars...quantity makes way for a relative mediocrity
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...something of a pig trough in an Italian villa
SERVICE - 4 stars...they keep those dishes moving
TOTAL - 3 stars...accommodates our worst excesses...but at least for a fixed price