The all-you-can eat buffets are probably one of the cheapest ways for families to eat out whilst on holiday in Orlando. But which one do you choose and what is the food like?
When we first went to Florida when our children were small and we stayed in a hotel on International drive we often used to eat breakfast a various buffet restaurants before heading off to the theme parks. Now we stay in our villa on High Grove at the junction of US27 and H192 and the only buffet we still enjoy is the one at the Golden Corral.
Now eating at the Golden Corral could never be described as fine dining, the place is basically a café with wipe clean tables and unbreakable crockery. That said the branch on the western end of H192 has recently had a facelift and now has a much more modern feel to it. The breakfast is good value at around $10 including coffee, tea or soda with serve your self orange, apple and tropical mixed juice available in addition. There is a made to order omelette bar where the chef will cook your omelette and add the fillings of your choice, it is customary to tip the chef ($1 is fine) for the service along with the usual array of savoury breakfast offerings such as bacon, ham, sausage, beans etc not to mention the southern favourites of biscuits and gravy as well as fried chicken all included in the price. If you have a sweet tooth you can satisfy it with a wide range of bakery items such as cookies and cakes served up fresh from the oven all day long. You can get healthier items such as fresh and tinned fruit, yoghurt and cereal but hey you’re on holiday!
The lunch time selection is similar to breakfast with the addition of rotisserie chicken, chicken fried steak, pot roast etc as well as a selection of hot vegetables. They usually start to put out the lunch dishes at around 11am so if you are having a late breakfast you may get to try them out as well.
The dinner menu which is served from around 4pm also has a good selection with the addition of various seafood and steak which is cooked on the grill by a chef who will carve you a slice and cook it to your liking. There are usually other “special” items such as freshly carved beef and turkey available on various days of the week. The evening desert bar is good with cakes, pies, pastries, puddings, cookies and ice cream.
The latest addition on our last trip was the huge chocolate fountain at the end of the dessert bar that had skewers available to allow you to dip your choice of fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple or marshmallows into the lovely molten chocolate, this was available throughout the day. Marshmallows dipped in chocolate may not be everyone’s idea of the perfect breakfast but the fountain was certainly popular and not just with the kids.
As I said earlier this is not sophisticated dining but it offers great value especially for families with small children and fussy eaters.
When we first went to Florida when our children were small and we stayed in a hotel on International drive we often used to eat breakfast a various buffet restaurants before heading off to the theme parks. Now we stay in our villa on High Grove at the junction of US27 and H192 and the only buffet we still enjoy is the one at the Golden Corral.
Now eating at the Golden Corral could never be described as fine dining, the place is basically a café with wipe clean tables and unbreakable crockery. That said the branch on the western end of H192 has recently had a facelift and now has a much more modern feel to it. The breakfast is good value at around $10 including coffee, tea or soda with serve your self orange, apple and tropical mixed juice available in addition. There is a made to order omelette bar where the chef will cook your omelette and add the fillings of your choice, it is customary to tip the chef ($1 is fine) for the service along with the usual array of savoury breakfast offerings such as bacon, ham, sausage, beans etc not to mention the southern favourites of biscuits and gravy as well as fried chicken all included in the price. If you have a sweet tooth you can satisfy it with a wide range of bakery items such as cookies and cakes served up fresh from the oven all day long. You can get healthier items such as fresh and tinned fruit, yoghurt and cereal but hey you’re on holiday!
The lunch time selection is similar to breakfast with the addition of rotisserie chicken, chicken fried steak, pot roast etc as well as a selection of hot vegetables. They usually start to put out the lunch dishes at around 11am so if you are having a late breakfast you may get to try them out as well.
The dinner menu which is served from around 4pm also has a good selection with the addition of various seafood and steak which is cooked on the grill by a chef who will carve you a slice and cook it to your liking. There are usually other “special” items such as freshly carved beef and turkey available on various days of the week. The evening desert bar is good with cakes, pies, pastries, puddings, cookies and ice cream.
The latest addition on our last trip was the huge chocolate fountain at the end of the dessert bar that had skewers available to allow you to dip your choice of fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple or marshmallows into the lovely molten chocolate, this was available throughout the day. Marshmallows dipped in chocolate may not be everyone’s idea of the perfect breakfast but the fountain was certainly popular and not just with the kids.
As I said earlier this is not sophisticated dining but it offers great value especially for families with small children and fussy eaters.