It's safe to assume we've all felt the pinch of rising costs lately. When it comes to dining out, the dollar just doesn't seem to stretch as far as it used to — especially when lunch for two can feel more like you're feeding a family of four.
Rather than break the bank, consider an all-you-can-eat restaurant.
Sure, there's an element of excess when it comes to bottomless dining, especially when a solitary fee gets you unlimited access to a plethora of food (and sometimes drink). But when it comes to getting the most for your money, there's perhaps no better option.
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While some restaurants deliver their all-you-can-eat deal with a buffet, others simply keep doling out the dishes until you've reached your fill. Recently, we took a deep dive into a number of area favorites to determine which endless options are truly worth the indulgence.
Whether you're training to become the next Major League Eating champion, or simply want to cash in on some of the best dining deals around, here's our picks for the best all-you-can-eat restaurants in Palm Beach County.
Affordable Seafood at Crazy Buffet
West Palm Beach residents looking for a dining deal often head for Crazy Buffet, one of the city's longtime spots for an all-you-can-eat buffet of seafood, sushi, Asian-inspired dishes, desserts, and more.
Don't miss the specialties you'd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere, including Peking duck, chilled snow crab legs, and shucked oysters. You can even choose your own meat, vegetables, and seafood for a customized hibachi experience. A bar serves domestic and imported beers, liquor, and exotic co*cktails.
The best part, however, is the price. Over the years Crazy Buffet remains one of the most reasonably priced, especially during weekday lunch when the buffet is priced at $14.99 per person ($7.99 for children ages 3-10). Dine during dinner Sunday through Thursday, and the price is still an affordable $24.99 per person ($11.99 for children ages 3-10).
2030 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561-616-9288; crazybuffetgrill.com
Unlimited lobster at The Station House
Every off-season, this 32-year-old Lantana seafood restaurant kicks-off what is perhaps the area's most coveted all-you-can-eat specials of all. On select nights — typically one night a month from June to October — the Station House offers diners an unlimited lobster deal.
Served from 4:30 p.m. to close on the designated day, the special is priced at $125 per person (dine-in only, of course), and gets diners as many one-and-a-quarter pound cold water lobsters as they can tackle. No fancy sides, the deal applies to lobsters only. Paid reservations are required. Insider tip: the restaurant's "Lobster Lovers Club" members get early notification to the next all-you-can-eat lobster deal, and anyone can join for free here.
233 W. Lantana Rd., Lantana; 561-801-5000; thestationhouse.com
Gourmet buffet brunch at Spoto's Fish & Oyster
The new ownership at this Palm Beach Gardens haunt has added a number of upgrades, but the restaurant's all-you-can-eat brunch — which includes lobster, oysters, and stone crab (when in season) — is perhaps the best. Offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday, Spoto's bottomless brunch is a truly sumptuous affair. Priced at $79.95 per person, diners can choose from a multi-tiered display of the restaurant's most popular plates as well as raw bar items like oysters, shrimp, crab legs, and hand-rolled sushi.
Meat carving stations, traditional breakfast baked goods, and desserts are also part of the spread. For the imbibers, there's also endless mimosas, Bloody Marys, and sparkling wine.
4560 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens; 561-776-9448; spotos.com
Bottomless sushi buffet at Ichiyami Buffet & Sushi
On busy nights and weekends, expect a line at this Boca Raton all-you-can-eat buffet, where sushi and hibachi-style dishes are the main attraction.
Diners pack into the dim-lit dining room for Ichiyami's buffet-style array of more than 200 items, a continual assortment of fresh-rolled sushi and slices of sashimi; seafood including co*cktail shrimp and steamed mussels; hot hibachi-style fare; and a long list of familiar Asian dishes like General Tso's chicken, pan-fried pork dumplings, or fried rice.
The buffet is open for both lunch and dinner, with prices ranging from $16.95 to $30.95 for adults, and $7.95 to $15.95 for children (price varies by age)
145 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 561-395-7977; ichiyamisushi.com
Endless Chinese hotpot at K&L 98 Hotpot
Traditional Chinese hotpot is the focus at K&L 98 Hotpot in Boynton Beach, where customers can create their own meal masterpiece using a variety of ingredients. A spacious, open dining room offers communal seating, each with its own hotpot and a front row seat to a conveyor belt of ingredients that allows diners to nab cups of Napa cabbage, plates of enoki mushroom, or bowls of uncooked dumplings as they drift past. Like most hotpots, customers can choose from a half-dozen flavored broth bases to simmer and cook their meal using the buffet stocked with meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles — even a number of specialty Chinese ingredients.
Pricing is fairly straightforward, $31.95 for adults ($16.95 for children ages 5-10) for both lunch or dinner. Finish a meal with the dessert bar that includes scoop-your-own ice cream, bite-sized pastries, and fresh-cut fruit. The menu also offers beer, wine, sake, and soft drinks.
1035 Gateway Blvd., Boynton Beach; 561-530-3588; kl98hotpot.com
All-day fish fry at The Hive
Don't let the name or the lackluster streetside façade of this Lantana restaurant deceive you. Beyond its simple exterior lies a sprawling waterfront eatery with a bible-like menu to match. Situated on the southern edge of Lake Osborne, the indoor/outdoor dining area — matched by a cozy indoor bar and massive lakeside tiki bar — presents the perfect place to enjoy the Hive's plethora of upscale bar food served in heaping (and we mean really, really generous) portions.
Daily "buzzer" specials and early bird options are a big draw here, but when it comes to savings, nothing compares to the all-you-can-eat Friday fish fry. Available all day long, and priced at $17 per person, the first plate arrives with side of coleslaw and fries alongside a massive filet of farm-raised grouper, fried fresh-to-order in using a housemade batter.
If you can clean your plate and still want more, the fish (not the sides) will keep coming, one filet at a time, until you've had your fill.
2412 Floral Rd., Lantana; facebook.com/thehive618
Continuous carved meats at Texas De Brazil
This nationwide Brazilian steakhouse chain with a location in Palm Beach Gardens lets you indulge in one of the most meat-forward all-you-can-eat menus around. Priced $40.99-$50.99 per person, the true draw here is the flame-cooked meats, each carved tableside by a team of servers who roam the dining room ready to refill plates.
Choose from a variety of cuts like picanha, leg of lamb, and parmesan-crusted pork loin, then pair your protein with the endless salad bar or steakhouse sides that include lobster bisque, Brazilian cheese bread, mashed potatoes, or rice and beans. Not a meat lover? The option to stick to the restaurant's massive salad bar is nearly half the price ($21.99-$31.99 per person), allowing you to fill up on traditional build-your-own salad ingredients as well as Texas De Brazil's signature add-ons like couscous salad, smoked salmon, goat cheese terrine, prosciutto, and pineapple carpaccio.
4645 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens; 561-293-4866; texasdebrazil.com
All-you-can-eat ribs at Dune Dog Café
North county residents love Dune Dog Café for its family-friendly outdoor ambiance, famous Junkyard dogs, fresh seafood, and — for the savings seekers among us — the weekday dinner deals. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday each offer their own special, but you can't go wrong with Monday's Rib O' Rama.
Starting at 4 p.m., the restaurant's sauce-slicked baby back ribs become an all-you-can eat special priced at $23.99 per person. Served with a choice of two sides, this meal is a literal steal — if you can handle more than a full rack in one sitting, that is.
775 N. Alternate A1A, Jupiter; 561-744-6667; dunedog.com
Daily lunch buffet at Taste of India
This all-you-can-eat buffet in West Palm Beach offers up the best bang for your buck when it comes to Indian food. Like many Indian restaurants, the Taste of India off Okeechobee Boulevard has a generous buffet. But unlike some other Indian restaurants, this smorgasbord is available daily (11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; noon to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday) and affordably priced at $14.95 per person during the week ($19 per person on weekends).
The buffet will get you access to a variety of hot and cold dishes that include meat, vegan, and vegetarian options that pull from the restaurant's extensive menu of tandoori, Indo-Chinese specialties, biryani, and street food-style items. They're served alongside rice, naan, paratha, condiments, and select desserts.
7766 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561-721-8600; tasteofindiawpb.com
Nicole Danna is a journalist atThe Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at nicoleadanna@gmail.com. Help support our journalism.Subscribe today.
