The buffet at Aliante Casino has a nice variety of food
and the price is reasonable if you have a coupon or discount.
In general the quality and taste of the food is adequate;
the most notable exceptions being the tough green beans and
the dressing which was mushy and lacked flavor.
The biggest problem is that the property is not well managed.
When we arrived at the buffet there were two long lines
extending into the casino, and there was no way to tell
the difference between the lines. The buffet manager should
put out signs to mark the VIP line and the general line.
After a while somebody started herding the customers out of
the casino into an area closer to the wall. This should have
been done before the line got so long. It would also help if
the buffet manager would put ropes along the wall to make it
obvious where the line forms.
After standing in line for an hour the cashier would not
accept our players card because it was the "old" style.
We had to get out of line and go to the Players Club Counter
to get a different card. The casino should have notified
patrons that their cards would have to be exchanged.
The dessert bar is understaffed. The gelato service area
alone requires one full time person. There was only one
person to handle gelato, pies, cobbler, pastries, toppings,
and everything else. Because of this the lines were long
and the service was slow.
They stopped putting out desserts about an hour before closing.
At 30 minutes before closing there were no more cookies and only
a few slices of pie left. When we left there were still people
entering the buffet, who obviously were paying for desserts that
they would never get.
The salad bar had items placed in random spots. It was impossible
to follow the logical progression of getting salad, then toppings,
then dressings. The person in charge at this buffet does not have
experience running a food service operation.