eating in las vegas on a budget?

[dzneprincess]

I know I am late with this but yeesh. We just got here late last night. We are at the wynn right now and it was 30 bucks pp at the brunch/lunch buffet. !!!!!! Any budget friendly eateries here on the strip? We are staying at the marriot grand chateau across st from planet hollywood casino. Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Tia

 

[soccerchick]

We stayed at PH and walked to the drug store (CVS maybe) and bought poptarts, donuts, granola bars and OJ.

We also did the hotel Starbucks.

 

[Anewman]

I know the PH gives the option to skip the champagne, it does lower the price of brunch. But it is still in the mid to low $20s but it is one of the BETTER buffets IMO.

You could try the Monte Carlo a bit more mid range, or the Excalibur which is lower end. They(Excalibur) also has a $25 ALL DAY buffet pass, comes with VIP so you skip lines.

Just giving ideas in the general vicinity of the PH, Buffets especially breakfast is as cheap as it gets.

 

[Ohiodislover]

Flamingo buffet is fairly cheap, and pretty good. I love it for breakfast!

My DH lived on a food place at Bally's last trip. They served bbq sliders on King's Hawaiian rolls. He raved on them.

I'll try to think of more. Have fun!

Avoid Excalibur, and Luxor buffets IMO. They were quite yucky

 

[OK!]

There's also an Earl of Sandwich inside Planet Hollywood. You don't even want to know how thrilled I was to discover that the last time I was there.

 

[goodeats]

I don't think there's too many 'budget' options. I remember being shocked at food prices last time we were there. I find $20 for a dinner salad (i.e. the small salad you get BEFORE your actual meal) to be a little offputting. Granted that was at Mix, but still. And $15 for a mixed drink?! Ridiculous. We won't be back for quite a while.

 

[Anewman]

I don't think there's too many 'budget' options. I remember being shocked at food prices last time we were there. I find $20 for a dinner salad (i.e. the small salad you get BEFORE your actual meal) to be a little offputting. Granted that was at Mix, but still. And $15 for a mixed drink?! Ridiculous. We won't be back for quite a while.

Yes $15 for a mixed drink is up there...

But there are plenty of budget options, The Orleans during football games... All bars had buckets of 6 beers(including Michelob Ultra) for $6, and JägerBombs for $2

Most Bars/Restaurants have happy hour specials that beat out any places here in SoCal. And dont forget that drinks are free while at the tables.

 

[monsterkitty]

I know I am late with this but yeesh. We just got here late last night. We are at the wynn right now and it was 30 bucks pp at the brunch/lunch buffet. !!!!!! Any budget friendly eateries here on the strip? We are staying at the marriot grand chateau across st from planet hollywood casino. Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Tia

Don't you have a kitchen in your room? The Marriott Grand Chateau is our "home", so we always get the two-bedroom or the one bed-room lockoff. Both have kitchens. To make Vegas cheaper, we cook in our room. If you don't have a car, Von's delivers groceries.

If you don't want to cook, M&M World is very close so you could live on M&M's!

 

[rascalmom]

Do you have a car? In n Out Burger!

Dining at the nicer places along the Strip in Vegas is pricey. I think the buffets, in particular, are overpriced. I know people get excited over the whole "all-you-can-eat" concept, but I don't think most really eat enough to make it worth it.

We have had good meals at regular restaurants inside the hotels that were a much better value than the buffets. Most of the bigger resorts have tiered dining -- a cafe or coffee shop type place, a mid-level, and at least one fine dining restaurant.

Here are a few ideas:

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville is reasonable.

There are sandwich shops along the Strip - I know there is a Subway down around Casino Royale or Imperial Palace.

There is a 50's themed diner in the Strat that has good food. Reasonably priced & the waitstaff sings. Kind of fun.

There is a crepe shop in the Paris hotel. This is a "counter service" type place, but it is good. We also like the lunch menu at Mon Ami Gabi. A little more, but not outrageous prices.

The Forum Shoppes at Caesars and the Fashon Show Mall both have eateries. The usual chain-type places you see in most cities.

There is a place at MGM - my memory escapes me right now....either Emeril's or Wolfgang Puck. Not the Emeril's nice restaurant.....just a little "sit down" place pretty much in the center of the casino area. Prices were fair & the food was good.

If you have a car, Vegas has "normal" restaurants off the Strip that have normal prices. My dad ended up being hospitalized while on vacation there a few years ago & had 2 emergency surgeries. I spent several days there not in "tourist" mode & found regular places to eat.

Like WDW, Vegas is a tourist destination - when you are in the tourist area, you get tourist prices.

 

[Chris2597]

If you have a car go to The Orleans Hotel and Casino. They have a really good buffet that is very inexpensive. We enjoyed lunch and breakfast there.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Try out cheapovegas. They have all the budget friendly places listed.

http://www.cheapovegas.com/index.php

 

[mrsstats]

If you have a car, try to buy the American Casino guide book. Filled with 2 for 1 buffet coupons for the off strip casinos.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Margaritaville is reasonable and good food. There is a denny's across from the Mirage. also a MCD and in that really little casino (same side as Denny's ) - we called it the $1 beer place - there is a subway. We like the restaurant at Binions (sp?) downtown.

 

[lecach]

We love the steak special at the Ellis Island Casino. It's on the street behind Planet Hollywood. Looks like a dump but their restaurant (called The Restaurant) has a steak special for $5.99. Its a 12 oz. steak with a draft beer, potato and veggie. VERY good.

We also liked Battistas Hole in the Wall. Not super cheap but does include all you can drink wine.

 

[Kitty 34]

Ellis Island has awesome steak dinners for apx $6!! It's a good block away from the strip but we walked it so it's not too far.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

Burger Bar between Mandalay Bay and Luxor! It's expensive for burgers, but cheap for vegas and the burgers are fabulous!!!! really really good stuff. You pick the type of bun, the type of meat, and each topping from a slice of cheese to fois gras is indivdually priced. Add on different types of fries or onion rings. They have a full bar with extensive beer listings.

An angus burger on ciabatta bun with cheddar and carmelized onions with sweet potato fries ran about $14. They have a website if you want to look at the menu in advance.

DH ate here 3 times in one week, getting different options each time. He was at a conference for work and on per diem. Plus he loves good bar food so it wasn't a hardship.

House of Blues in Mandalay Bay was reasonable. And it's a COKE shop in a sea of Pepsi.

I don't remember prices at the Carnagie Deli in NYNY, but it might be an option too.

Best value IMO is the breakfast buffet at Paris. $15 plus tip for all you can eat, and you will NOT need to eat much of anything for lunch. We got there really late one morning and waited in line about 20 min. Bonus was after we had made a couple of trips for breakfast food, they were changing over for lunch and we tried a few things from lunch too. I normally refuse to do buffets, but really like this one. It's a must do each trip.

 

[daisax]

Another money saver is to eat a big buffet breakfast at 9 or 10 and another one at 5 or so. Two meals instead of three.

I was there last week and Mirage had some deals on fine dining -- $59.00 for 3 course meal for two at some of their better restaurants. May be more than you want to pay for casual but if you want a nice night out...

There's a Wendy's, Panda Palace and Outback across from the Mirage as well, and a food court inside the Fashion Show Mall.

There are good delis at Caesar's Forum, Mirage and Treasure Island, but they charge $$ for splitting a sandwich. However, one sandwich is way more than enough for two people, so buy one to go and take it back to your hotel.

 

[TheZue]

I don't think there's too many 'budget' options. I remember being shocked at food prices last time we were there. I find $20 for a dinner salad (i.e. the small salad you get BEFORE your actual meal) to be a little offputting. Granted that was at Mix, but still. And $15 for a mixed drink?! Ridiculous. We won't be back for quite a while.

We found that in 2006 as well. We were absolutely shocked since we had been going since 1997 and the main strip buffets used to be super cheap lures to get you in. But our last trip everything that used to be free they were now charging for, and the buffets that used be $8 at lunch were now over 20. We haven't been back and have absolutely no plans to back.

 

[kirbsam]

head north young man.

 

[Gary M]

If you have a car go to The Orleans Hotel and Casino. They have a really good buffet that is very inexpensive. We enjoyed lunch and breakfast there.

The buffet at The Orleans Hotel and Casino is good with a reasonable price see the link below. From the strip they have (as of Dec. 2008) a free shuttle between the Barbary Coast and Casino which is in the middle of the strip to The Orleans Hotel and Casino.

http://www.orleanscasino.com/dining/french-market-buffet/pricing