USA TODAY 10Best
Get your all-you-can-eat fix at the 10 best buffet restaurants in the US
Best Buffet Restaurant (2023)
Buffet restaurants are popular across the United States for good reason. They're affordable, convenient and offer a variety of dishes and cuisines to suit different tastes and preferences. That makes them a great option for a group outing on a budget. These 10 buffet restaurants have been voted as the best in the United States for their quality offerings at an affordable fixed price.
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No. 10: Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen - Mt. Hope, Ohio
Located in Mount Hope, Ohio, Mrs. Yoder’s Kitchen is a cozy country restaurant. It serves wholesome Amish dishes a la carte alongside its lunch and dinner buffets. In addition to traditional Amish fare, the eatery serves burgers and sandwiches.
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No. 9: Dooky Chase's Restaurant - New Orleans, Louisiana
Legendary Creole chef Leah Chase – who was the inspiration for Princess Tiana in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" – serves down-home dishes at Dooky Chase's Restaurant. Located in New Orleans, the art-filled eatery offers a popular lunch buffet (that changes daily) with local staples like gumbo and red beans and rice.
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No. 8: Brook Shaw's Old Country Store - Jackson, Tennessee
Brook Shaw's Old Country Store sets the scene for nostalgia in Jackson, Tennessee. It's part old-school ice cream parlor and part buffet restaurant in a general store setting. The eatery serves Southern dishes like fried chicken, turnip greens, baked cinnamon apples, black-eyed peas and sweet potatoes.
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No. 7: Gogi Time - Oakland, California
Located in Oakland, California, Gogi Time is a cheerful restaurant with all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and à la carte entrees. They offer a lot of delectable side dishes, such as Korean pancakes, kimchi pot stickers and japchae noodles. They’re also known for their great beer and soju.
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No. 6: Pancho's Mexican Buffet - Texas
With a few locations across Texas, Pancho's Mexican Buffet is an iconic Tex-Mex eatery and all-you-can-eat buffet. The most popular fare here includes sopapillas, enchiladas, tacos, tamales, rice, refried beans, guacamole and flautas.
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No. 5: North Country Steak Buffet - La Crosse, Wisconsin
Located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the North Country Steak Buffet offers a casual, family-friendly all-you-can-eat buffet of American fare, with burgers, steak and pork chops that are cooked to order. Other buffet options include salads, a taco bar, hot sides, soup and a variety of delicious desserts. Sunday brunch is also popular.
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No. 4: Shady Maple Smorgasbord - East Earl, Pennsylvania
Shady Maple Smorgasbord, claiming to be "the largest buffet in America," serves delectable Pennsylvania Dutch dishes in East Earl, Pennsylvania. The well-prepared comfort food is offered on a 200-foot-long smorgasbord, and the space is designed to offer a cafeteria-style ambiance. A gift shop is open to visitors, and their birthday specials are popular.
Photo courtesy of Thomas E. Strauss, Inc.
No. 3: Miller's Smorgasbord - Ronks, Pennsylvania
Miller's Smorgasbord is a warm and homey restaurant in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It offers a soup and salad buffet in addition to its popular traditional smorgasbord buffet. Options on the latter include Swedish meatballs, Lancaster County chicken corn soup, chicken and waffles, baked ham with cider sauce and Pennsylvania Dutch shoofly pie. Expert Danielle Fear comments, "Best fried chicken and corn I've ever tasted."
Photo courtesy of GoodLifeStudio // Getty Images
No. 2: Casey's Buffet - Wilmington, North Carolina
Casey's Buffet is a popular, no-frills restaurant in Wilmington that’s known for its BBQ. In addition to BBQ and fried chicken, its lunch and dinner buffets offer dishes like potato salad, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, sweet potato souffle and pan-fried okra. Desserts include bread pudding and cherry cheesecake.
Photo courtesy of zoranm // Getty Images
No. 1: Der Dutchman - Sarasota, Florida
Situated in Pinecraft, an Amish neighborhood in Sarasota, Der Dutchman is a popular restaurant offering a daily buffet that combines quantity and quality. Diners can enjoy a wide variety of options, including their unique dish of noodles over mashed potatoes.
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The Experts
Allison Tibaldi
Allison Tibaldi is a travel and food writer based... Read More
Allison Tibaldi is a travel and food writer based in New York City. She has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne Australia, Toronto and Los Angeles. She studied early childhood development in graduate school and firmly believes that travel is the best education. She writes for numerous publications including CNN, Travel Channel, HGTV, am New York, Emirates Open Skies, Family Traveller and Travel Weekly.
Allison Tibaldi
Allison Tibaldi is a travel and food writer based in New York City. She has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne Australia, Toronto and Los Angeles. She studied early childhood development in graduate school and firmly believes that travel is the best education. She writes for numerous publications including CNN, Travel Channel, HGTV, am New York, Emirates Open Skies, Family Traveller and Travel Weekly.
Catherine Parker
Catherine Parker has a passion for travel that’s... Read More
Catherine Parker has a passion for travel that’s driven her across North America, visiting all 50 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces, six Mexican states along with top destinations in the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Logging close to 100,000 miles behind the wheel, Catherine has explored 43 of the 63 U.S. national parks, 10 Canadian national parks in addition to national parks across the world. She is always willing to stop the vehicle for a great hike and has even been chased by a protective mamma bear. As an awarding-winning journalist, she contributes to U.S. News and World Report, Trip Advisor, Popular Science, Chron.com and Meredith Media’s Family Fun and Chicago’s Suburban Family. Her writing was featured in the onboard Alaskan travel guides: Compass–The Onboard Magazine of Holland America Line and Disney Cruise Line Wonder Onboard Guide. Catherine also contributes to several Texas magazines as a monthly contributor well as online travel publications. Catherine publishes a family travel website, CarfulOfKids.com. She lives in Central Texas in a 100-year-old house with a menagerie of animals and adult-sized kids.
Catherine Parker
Catherine Parker has a passion for travel that’s driven her across North America, visiting all 50 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces, six Mexican states along with top destinations in the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Logging close to 100,000 miles behind the wheel, Catherine has explored 43 of the 63 U.S. national parks, 10 Canadian national parks in addition to national parks across the world. She is always willing to stop the vehicle for a great hike and has even been chased by a protective mamma bear. As an awarding-winning journalist, she contributes to U.S. News and World Report, Trip Advisor, Popular Science, Chron.com and Meredith Media’s Family Fun and Chicago’s Suburban Family. Her writing was featured in the onboard Alaskan travel guides: Compass–The Onboard Magazine of Holland America Line and Disney Cruise Line Wonder Onboard Guide. Catherine also contributes to several Texas magazines as a monthly contributor well as online travel publications. Catherine publishes a family travel website, CarfulOfKids.com. She lives in Central Texas in a 100-year-old house with a menagerie of animals and adult-sized kids.
Cheryl Rodewig
Cheryl Rodewig is an award-winning journalist... Read More
Cheryl Rodewig is an award-winning journalist specializing in travel. When she’s not planning her next trip – preferably to a waterfall or garden – she’s putting her MBA to use crafting marketing stories for brands. You can read her words in Thrillist, AARP, USA Today, Insider, The Guardian, and all over cherylrodewig.com. She loves it when people reach out on Twitter and sometimes Instagram.
Cheryl Rodewig
Cheryl Rodewig is an award-winning journalist specializing in travel. When she’s not planning her next trip – preferably to a waterfall or garden – she’s putting her MBA to use crafting marketing stories for brands. You can read her words in Thrillist, AARP, USA Today, Insider, The Guardian, and all over cherylrodewig.com. She loves it when people reach out on Twitter and sometimes Instagram.
Danielle Fear
Danielle Fear is one of the UK’s most recognized... Read More
Danielle Fear is one of the UK’s most recognized and trusted cruise bloggers and is better known to her audience as CruiseMiss. As well as maintaining an award-winning cruise blog, she also works as a freelance writer, content manager and social media professional covering all aspects of sea travel. Having embarked on more than 75 sailings, including 2 world cruises, it’s fair to say that Danielle knows a thing or two about cruising.
Danielle Fear
Danielle Fear is one of the UK’s most recognized and trusted cruise bloggers and is better known to her audience as CruiseMiss. As well as maintaining an award-winning cruise blog, she also works as a freelance writer, content manager and social media professional covering all aspects of sea travel. Having embarked on more than 75 sailings, including 2 world cruises, it’s fair to say that Danielle knows a thing or two about cruising.
Dave Stamboulis
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer... Read More
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer based in Bangkok. Born in Athens, Greece and growing up in the U.S., Dave first discovered Bangkok while on a 45,000-kilometer bicycle trip and moved there for good in 2005. Dave's photos have appeared in publications around the world. He's the author of Odysseus' Last Stand, which received the Silver Medal for Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to working for Fodor's Guidebook to Thailand, he is the author of 500 Hidden Secrets to Bangkok, and his travel stories and photography appear in publications around the globe.
Dave Stamboulis
Dave Stamboulis is a travel writer/photographer based in Bangkok. Born in Athens, Greece and growing up in the U.S., Dave first discovered Bangkok while on a 45,000-kilometer bicycle trip and moved there for good in 2005. Dave's photos have appeared in publications around the world. He's the author of Odysseus' Last Stand, which received the Silver Medal for Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers. In addition to working for Fodor's Guidebook to Thailand, he is the author of 500 Hidden Secrets to Bangkok, and his travel stories and photography appear in publications around the globe.
Jamie Davis Smith
Jamie is an attorney, writer and photographer. She... Read More
Jamie is an attorney, writer and photographer. She was born with deeply ingrained wanderlust and has visited 45 countries and counting. She often brings her children along for the adventure and is passing her love of travel on to the next generation. Jamie has written for Insider, Fodor's Travel, Yahoo, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, Viator and Reviewed among many other publications. Jamie is from Philadelphia and now lives in Washington, DC, where she takes advantage of everything the region has to offer. Jamie can be reached at jamiesmithwrites@gmail.com and can be found on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Jamie Davis Smith
Jamie is an attorney, writer and photographer. She was born with deeply ingrained wanderlust and has visited 45 countries and counting. She often brings her children along for the adventure and is passing her love of travel on to the next generation. Jamie has written for Insider, Fodor's Travel, Yahoo, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, Viator and Reviewed among many other publications. Jamie is from Philadelphia and now lives in Washington, DC, where she takes advantage of everything the region has to offer. Jamie can be reached at jamiesmithwrites@gmail.com and can be found on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Melissa Locker
Melissa Locker is a freelance travel, lifestyle,... Read More
Melissa Locker is a freelance travel, lifestyle, and culture writer and world-renowned fish telepathist. You can learn more about Melissa at melissalocker.com and connect on Instagram and Twitter via @woolyknickers.
Melissa Locker
Melissa Locker is a freelance travel, lifestyle, and culture writer and world-renowned fish telepathist. You can learn more about Melissa at melissalocker.com and connect on Instagram and Twitter via @woolyknickers.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.