What Bacchanal is
Bacchanal Buffet opened at Caesars Palace in 2012 as a $17 million statement that the Las Vegas buffet could be a serious restaurant, and it has topped nearly every "best buffet in America" list since. It closed for most of 2020 and 2021 and reopened after a renovation that reorganised the floor into a series of nine kitchen-stations — Mexican, seafood, Asian, carving, pizza and pasta, salads and charcuterie, a dedicated dessert kitchen and more — with chefs cooking to order in front of you. The claim is 250-plus dishes at any given time. The room seats around 600 and still fills.
It is at the far end of the Caesars Palace casino, beyond the Forum Shops entrance and past the sportsbook, and is a genuine ten-to-fifteen-minute walk from the Strip entrance. Do not book it on the assumption that it is near the front.
What to eat: the stations that matter
With 250 dishes the trick is to ignore 200 of them. Prioritise: seafood — snow crab legs (at dinner), shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, ceviche and the made-to-order seafood dishes; carving — prime rib, lamb chops, and whatever roast is on; the Asian station — dim sum, hand-pulled noodles or ramen bowls made to order, Korean short rib; the Mexican station — fresh-pressed tortillas and street tacos, better than they need to be; and the dessert kitchen — macarons, mini cakes, soft-serve and a crêpe or gelato station. Skip the pizza, the pasta and the bread unless they are genuinely what you want. The breakfast-hour French toast and the chilaquiles are the brunch standouts.
Made-to-order items are the key differentiator over cheaper buffets: if a chef is standing at a station, that is where the value is.
Prices in 2026
As of 2026 and subject to seasonal change, Bacchanal prices sit roughly in the $65–75 range for brunch or lunch and $80–95 for dinner and weekend brunch, per adult before tax and tip, with children's rates for ages roughly four to ten and under-fours free. A drinks package for bottomless beer, wine and mimosas adds around $20–30. Holiday weekends and major event dates carry a premium. Caesars adds sales tax and, at some outlets, a small concession fee; a 10–15% tip is expected. Always verify the day's price on the Caesars Palace site, which lists current meal periods.
Caesars Rewards members get a modest discount at the base tiers and a priority line at Diamond and above — worth a look if you have status from any Caesars-branded casino anywhere.
Wait times and how to beat them
Bacchanal's queue is the stuff of legend: ninety minutes to two hours on Friday and Saturday evenings and at weekend brunch, thirty to sixty on weekday evenings, and often under twenty at weekday opening. Beat it four ways. Line pass: sold at the host stand and sometimes online for roughly $20–30 per person; a separate short queue and the single best purchase on a busy day. Reservations: Bacchanal has run a reservation system at various times; check the Caesars site, as the availability changes. Caesars Rewards Diamond or above: priority line included. Timing: weekday opening, or the last hour of a meal period on a weekday, when the line has dissolved (though stations are being cleared).
Once seated there is no strict time limit, but the restaurant reserves the right to ask long-stayers to move on when the line is heavy.
Which meal period to choose
Dinner is the full show and the only period with crab legs and the complete carving and seafood spread; it is the meal Bacchanal is famous for. Weekend brunch runs breakfast items alongside most of the lunch stations and is the party option with the drinks package; it is also the longest queue of the week. Weekday lunch is the value choice — most stations at a $20-plus discount — and the shortest line. There is no separate breakfast-only period at present; brunch covers the morning. For a comparison of meal periods across all the premium buffets, see best buffets.
Bacchanal versus Wynn versus Wicked Spoon
Bacchanal wins on variety, made-to-order stations and sheer scale. The Buffet at Wynn wins on the room, a calmer atmosphere and a slightly higher average dish quality, and takes reservations — see the Wynn guide. Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan is smaller, brunch-and-lunch only, with individually plated portions and a quarter of the queue — see the Wicked Spoon guide. Rule of thumb: Bacchanal for your one big buffet dinner; Wynn for a leisurely brunch with a reservation; Wicked Spoon if you want a good buffet lunch without a two-hour production. The Bellagio buffet next door is a fine fallback when Bacchanal's line is absurd.
Tips and mistakes to avoid
- Buy the line pass on a weekend. Two hours of your trip is worth more than $25.
- Do not eat anything else that day. Go hungry at 5pm and you will get full value.
- Start at the seafood and carving stations at the back; they are the expensive items.
- Ask for a fresh tray if something looks tired; the chefs are cooking constantly.
- Allow three hours including the walk from the Strip, the queue and the meal.
- Pair it with the Forum Shops or the fountains rather than a show — you will not want to sit in a theatre afterwards. See the Strip guide for what is nearby.
