Review: Spice Market Buffet

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I can’t believe I had never eaten at the Spice Market Buffet until last month.  Aside from the fact that it makes the top 5 buffet lists of just about everyone who has an opinion about Las Vegas, the name alone would be a draw for me.  The words ‘spice market’ conjure up images of crowded Cairo streets lined with shops selling colorful textiles, Egyptian jewelry, aromatic perfumes, and bags nearly overflowing with bulk spices.  Except I’m fairly certain the spice market in Cairo doesn’t have flat panel TVs airing cooking shows from the Food Network.  All in all, the name of this buffet was more fitting when the hotel was the Aladdin, with its Middle Eastern theme; not so much now that it is Planet Hollywood. 

The Spice Market Buffet is located down a set of escalators just inside the Miracle Mile entrance to the Planet Hollywood casino.  Standing in the very long line at 11:30 am, I was a lone forty-something surrounded by groups of twenty-somethings.  Many looked as though they had just woken up. As the line crept forward slooooowly, I looked at the food-related movie posters adorning the walls:  Fried Green Tomatoes, American Pie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and my favorite, Big Night.  Merging the themes of food and movies was a cute idea for a buffet located inside Planet Hollywood, I had to admit.  But then, I’m easily amused.  I turned to watch the cooking show on the nearest TV.  I could almost smell the sauted garlic and onions in the gleaming pan on the stovetop.  A girl behind me said “They’re trying to make us hungry.” It worked.

Finally, I made it to the cashier. Because it was Saturday, I paid the brunch price instead of the regular lunch price.  The higher price covers the cost of champagne which comes with your brunch, but I’m not a champagne drinker, so that’s wasted on me.  Luckily, I had a $5 off coupon that I’d found online. I was seated in front of the Asian food station, surrounded mostly by groups, though there was one other person eating alone in addition to me.

The dining room is a comfortable space, with padded chairs at the tables, a warm color palette and contemporary decor.  After being shown to my table, I made the rounds of the buffet stations, of which there are many: Mexican, Middle Eastern, Asian, Italian, American, Seafood, Salad, and a Dessert station.  The stations pretty much wrap around the whole back of the room.  They feature white ceramic tile and gleaming stainless steel, with little designer touches to set each one apart from the others, such as clay pots at the Middle Eastern station.

I’m a light eater, so I knew I had to go easy on amounts in order to sample as much as possible.  Of course, I had to try the shrimp and the bacon.  To me, shrimp and bacon are the barometers by which I measure whether a buffet is good or not.  Any buffet that screws up those two things shouldn’t be serving food at all.  On this count, Spice Market passed the test.  The shrimp was fresh and firm (not limp) and the bacon thick and crisp.

Among the other foods I sampled were tabouleh, chicken in curry sauce (great sauce, but the chicken was too dry), crab rangoon (not the best I’ve had, but decent), a kung pao chicken that was very tasty (not as spicy as traditional kung pao), mongolian beef and lobster pasta.  These last two dishes were by far the best I tried.  The Mongolian Beef was slightly spicy, with crisp-tender vegetables, and the lobster pasta was a penne pasta in a creamy lobster sauce that was just heavenly.  Had I known this ahead of time (oh, for a little clairvoyance once in a while!), I’d have had a meal composed just of the mongolian beef and lobster pasta.  Overall, though, I wasn’t really wowed by the food.  I was a bit disappointed with the selections at the Middle Eastern station, which didn’t appeal to me as much as I’d hoped it would.  It featured fairly standard fare like tabouleh and hummus and samosas–which I like, but I’d already had the crab rangoon and bacon, and I didn’t want to push my luck with another fried item.  My metabolism isn’t as high as it used to be.

For dessert, I bypassed the cotton candy and decided to have a piece of watermelon, along with a fruit tartlet and chocolate mousse. Of the three, only the mousse stood out as exceptional.  It was very rich in flavor, but much lighter and fluffier than traditional mousse.  It was too sweet to finish all of it, though.  The tartlet surprised me.  I expected it to have a key lime pie filling; instead, it was filled with a (too) sweet whipped cream.  The fruit on top was good though.  I should have ordered a fresh fruit crepe, but as I’ve said before, I don’t like waiting for food at a buffet.  If I wanted to wait for my food, I’d go to a restaurant.

On a scale of solo-friendliness, I’d give it a 7.   If you’re in your twenties, and you’re looking for a buffet where you might meet other twenty-somethings, this would be the one.  I’ve been to many buffets in Vegas, and this one had the youngest clientele.  In summary, this is a good buffet with a wide variety of dishes, some better than others. Given the variety and quality of options, I’d say it’s worth the price.  But it did not replace the Bellagio Buffet in my heart.

For days and hours of operation, see the Spice Market Buffet website.  Breakfast is $14.99, lunch is $18.99, the champagne brunch is $25.99, and dinner is $27.99.