Where Winners Eat: The Best Casino Restaurants in the US

_{From buffets to fine dining, these casino restaurants across the US prove that you don’t need to win big to eat like a high roller.}

Some people would say that all the fun of going to a casino is in the gambling. It’s in the thrill of watching those reels spin, or in the focus that goes into perfecting your poker face. And sure, yeah, gambling is great (we have to say that, we’re literally a casino site), but there’s one thing that’s even better: food. 

When you think of casino restaurants, there are probably two things that come to mind: elegant, fine dining establishments, and buffets overflowing with delicacies like crab legs. But there are actually lots of other dining options at casinos all over the US - you just need to know where to look. From $3 beer and hotdog deals in Vegas, to $500 gourmet plates at top-rated steakhouses, every type of foodie is catered for. And that’s not to mention casual bites like burgers, pizza and tacos, and late-night snacks. 

But where can you go to find all of this delicious food? Casinos.com team to the rescue, again! We’ve made it our mission to find the best casino food options in the US. While we would have loved to have sampled every restaurant ourselves, we couldn’t quite swing that, so we headed to Tripadvisor to see what real guests had to say. We looked for mentions of particular words like “quality food”, “delicious” and “perfectly cooked”, to rank casinos on our scale and let you know which are the best of the best.

So, which casino do you think will top the list? We can almost guarantee that your guess is wrong. As it turns out, the best foodie destination isn’t a fancy casino in Las Vegas or Atlantic City! 

We’ve been to a whole lot of casinos in our time and we’ve tried a lot of different food, but we have to admit we never quite saw this one coming. Right at the top of our foodie list is Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in California, with a huge score of 93.82% based on 592 keyword mentions. 

The casino is home to around 10 dining options, including a steakhouse, buffet, noodle bar and even a bakery. More than 120 of those reviews mentioned the buffet! So, let’s dig in, if you will. “Great room, good food, great time” was the title of one review, while another said “the noodle bar and vintage steak house are amazing, the food is delicious and if you’re gambling they give food vouchers”. Sounds like a win-win.

Next up, Tulalip Resort Casino received a score of 88.83%, with 512 mentions of the word “restaurant” and 316 of “buffet”. From casual burgers and tacos, to a carvery and a sportsbar, it seems that this casino has something for everyone. 

One review said “The environment, the service, and the product, at the Tulalip Bay Fine Dining restaurant could not be surpassed by any North American restaurant we have enjoyed over many years”. 

Now, if that isn’t a shining endorsement, we don’t know what is!

Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in New York came in at third on our list. The word “restaurant” came up over 600 times and “buffet” over 400, which seems like a good start. This casino features a resort, spa, entertainment, nightlife and of course lots of dining options including a steakhouse and a casino bar. 

The Three Sisters Restaurant and the Western Door Steakhouse were both called out as having “delicious” food, while one review praised the room service, saying “We ordered room service for dinner and it arrived in 20 minutes with everything hot and cooked perfectly”. 

Rounding up the top of the pack at number four, we finally have a Las Vegas casino, but it’s not on the Strip. Red Rock Casino got a rating of 86.94%, thanks to a total of 4292 keyword mentions out of 4937 reviews. 

According to one review “We never went thirsty or hungry. The hidden gem is lunch at the Sand Bar Grille. The Dole Whip dessert is a must”. 

And speaking of hidden gems, someone mentioned the high-end sports bar, the Yardhouse, which is also a hidden gem on the Strip. We highly recommend the Dragon Fruit Margharita. 

And are there any casinos that foodies should absolutely avoid? Well, you can make that decision for yourself, but according to Tripadvisor, the worst of the worst is Horseshoe casino in Baltimore. Just 3,000 out of 24,000 reviews mentioned one of our keywords, resulting in a weak score of 12.98% on the Foodie Scale. 

But how bad is it, really? Only two reviews used the words “perfectly cooked” and five called our gourmet, so we’d say it’s pretty bad. One person said “Trust me, just skip it. Depressing. Bad food. Bad bars. It’s quiet because no one is winning”. That pretty much sums it up. Another review said “Food places are not conducive to the clientele”, which sounds like a euphemism, but for what? We’re not sure. 

While the lowest-rated casino for foodies was in Baltimore, we were surprised to see that most of the other locations that scored low were in Vegas. And a few instantly caught our attention. 

Second from the bottom of the list was the Luxor in Las Vegas with a rating of 15.78%. And come on now, no one goes to the Luxor for the food. But with just 18 mentions of the word “gourmet” and only 12 saying food was “perfectly” cooked, it sounds like something might be very wrong indeed. Unfortunately even a lot of these actually began with “the food is not gourmet”. One review said “Went to one restaurant Diablos and the food was precooked. It was awful, not fresh at all”, while the buffet came under fire for serving dry deep fried chicken. 

Receiving the title of third worst casino for foodies, we have the Luxor’s neighbour, the Excalibur with a rating of 17.15%. Having been to that buffet, we can confirm that it’s not quite as good as say, the Wicked Spoon or the Baccanal, but it’s not that bad. Right? Right?? 

_{17.15% feels harsh. You won’t catch us saying no to bottomless mac and cheese. (Image: Excalibur)}

Well, Tripadvisor reviewers thought it actually was that bad. “Terrible, embarrassing, sad, pathetic”, in fact, according to one review which went on to say “ Paid $33.00 a person for a buffet that is only open for brunch because they don’t do enough business. Half of the buffet is shut down and the other half has food that is semi cold and old. No taste whatsoever”. 

And now onto a few honorable mentions. 

What do you mean, the Cosmopolitan ranked eight from the bottom, with a rating of 24.27%? Have none of these sad little reviewers ever even been to Secret Pizza? Have they not waited in a whopper of a line for Eggslut? (Don’t worry, it’s quicker than it looks.) Or perhaps they’re all just upset that Holstein’s closed down and now they have to venture to - shock, horror - the Arts District for buffalo chicken dip. 

Reviews of the Wicked Spoon buffet were a little bit mixed and in general people weren’t impressed by the dining options in the casino. According to one review, “restaurant choices are a bit limited, especially if you want a casual meal. Their cafe is overpriced”. 

And what about Planet Hollywood? Ranked seventh from the bottom, in an absolute shocker. You can’t tell us you’ve never headed to the lifesaver that is Earl of Sandwich after a long night. Fine dining at its absolute best. And what about Gordon Ramsey Burger? Have these people ever tasted that blue cheese burger? 

Anyway, while over 1,000 reviews called out “restaurant”, “dining” and “breakfast”, there were only single digit mentions of "perfectly cooked” and “Michelin”. One person said “Room service delivery charges are ridiculous, so $90 later I got one of the worst burgers I've ever had. Gordon Ramsay can keep his gourmet chef burgers, I could have gotten one better at a Denny's”. Ouch. 

Methodology 

Casinos.com utilized Tripadvisor reviews to do an in-depth analysis of phrases associated with food to determine the casino with the best foodie experiences in the USA. We calculated the percentage of mentions in the total Tripadvisor reviews.

Keywords tracked: restaurant , buffet, steakhouse, dining, breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, fine dining, cuisine, delicious, tasty, gourmet, michelin, perfectly cooked, quality food, amazing food, best food, foodie

Fair Use Policy

The data and graphics on this page are free to use as long as proper credit is given by linking to the original article.

Still hungry? Discover the top-rated online casinos that serve up entertainment as satisfying as any five-star meal.