The cost of eating out is rising. According to the National Restaurant Association, the Consumer Price Index's "food away from home" index rose by over 8% from January 2022 to January 2023.
Because it costs more to eat out, many patrons see eating out as more of a special occasion. Therefore, they want to make sure that they get their money's worth when they do venture out.
One way to attempt to do this is to dine out at an all-you-can-eat restaurant or buffet. Luckily, the sunshine state has plenty of options to choose from and, according to some reviews, some options are good choices and of high quality.
Of course, what one considers the "best" restaurant will be subjective, but food websites and reviewers have weighed in, as follows. Note that some options are quite pricey while others are reasonable.
The Favorite of the Daily Meal: The food website The Daily Meal published a list of what it felt was the best buffet in each state of the United States. For Florida, it chose Breakers Palm Beach, a restaurant that opened all the way back in 1926. Although not technically an all-you-can-eat restaurant, Breakers turns into one for Sunday brunch when they serve opulent options like beef tenderloin, pate, caviar, sushi, and breakfast staples like decadent omelets and over 30 desserts. There are views of the ocean and a harpist. As you might imagine, this doesn't come cheap at $195 per person, but the Daily Meal felt the cost was justified due to the quality.
The Florida Favorite of Taste of Home: This food website's Florida favorite wasn't brunch. It was seafood served at Boston Lobster Fest in Orlando. The site praised the fact that you have over 60 options from which to choose, such as custom-cooked fish, clams, snow crab legs, and oysters. There's also a dessert bar, a salad bar, and a raw bar. Although this option is cheaper than Breakers, it's still a bit pricey at $64.95 per adult.
The Favorite of Love Food: The food website Love Food picked Coral Gables' POC American Fusion Buffet and Sushi. The site loved the variety of this buffet - over 100 items and the fact that the chef here is classically trained and has worked at Nobu. Many Yelp reviewers said the food was of high quality and the buffet was kept clean. Plus this option is arguably reasonably priced at $17.99 for lunch and $29.99 for dinner.
The Reviewers' Favorite: Now that we've heard what the food experts have to say, let's take a look at which restaurant had many highly-rated reviews on both Yelp and TripAdvisor. Luckily, this choice has locations throughout central Florida - Fred's Market in Plant City, Lakeland, and Riverview. The food here is southern cooking and there is plenty of it. They offer staples like ribs, fried chicken, catfish, a daily special, macaroni and cheese, skillet cornbread, salad table, and dessert table. The cost is reasonable, at $19.49 for unlimited trips. Reviewers raved about the fried green tomatoes and peach cobbler.
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