Starlight Casino

The Buffet at the Starlight Casino has reopened. There are some teething pains. There was a lineup when I went in shortly after opening time. There weren't too many people in line, but it took an inordinate amount of time to clear that number of guests into the restaurant. I know that there are teething pains with any reopening, and I know that there are special consideration for a restaurant in a casino, but still, it seems an odd thing not to have addressed in advance.

The casino does give discounts to their Elite guests. I'm not sure whether this means guests who have lost a lot of money, or guests who have paid for the elite privilege. There were some people who obviously felt that they deserved Elite status, and didn't get it. There were also people who didn't understand the directions given by the hostess. (To be fair to them, her directions weren't every clear.)

One thing that I found rather surprising was how many tables in the seating space are reserved. Reserved for whom is not clear.

Of the seating that *is* available, the booths around the outside of the restaurant were heavily favored for occupancy. I suppose if you're going to be in a casino everything that you do is just a little bit "under the table."

There are signs around the casino that say you should understand how the games that you are playing operate. The same could be said of the buffet. For example the omelette station, which makes omelettes to order, isn't the usual kind that one finds in a brunch buffet. You do not, for example, tell the chef what you want, and then wait for your omelette. No, you write down what you would like on an omelette on a slip of paper which is in a little holder at your table. You then give this paper to one of the serving staff. (Why you have so many serving staff around a buffet is another mystery.) The serving staff take your omelette order, give it to the chef, and sometimes later your omelette is delivered to your table. That is, if you put the correct table number on your slip.

As you enter the restaurant you would expect that the beginning of the buffet is where you would start to load your plate. The beginning of this buffet is the dessert section. The desserts consist of various cakes, a tray of cream puffs, a few slices of fruit, and a number of tubs of either Jell-O, rice pudding, or taro pudding.

This is followed by the section of the buffet where you can pick up plates and cutlery. How you were supposed to collect your dessert I don't know. Well actually I do know: you go back for it later.

Then there is the salad section. Salads is followed by soups. After the soups there are what might be considered main courses. There are mostly Asian dishes in this category. This section is then followed by breakfast foods, which include pancakes, hash brown potatoes, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and beef stew.

It's more than just the payment to get into the restaurant that needs a little work. The pump for syrup for the pancakes which is situated immediately after is pretty much non-functional. If you pump it hard and slowly you might get a teaspoon of syrup out of the dispenser.

Overall this buffet is barely a cut above what you would find for breakfast in any standard motel that serves more than a continental breakfast. The range is not extensive and the quality is not fantastic. Honestly you can get pretty much equivalent quality of food and variety from uncle Willy's.

The quality is not bad and the price isn't excessive given that it is an all-you-can-eat buffet. Quite possibly the quality and range of the foods are significantly increased for the regular buffet. The brunch buffet is only on Sunday and only from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

I like this casino! Good selection of slots and lots of tables too. Gets pretty busy Thursday-Sunday and has some plexiglass left up but not as much anymore. They have a buffet too on the weekend but it’s a bit pricier for my liking and selection (I wish they’d charge $25 instead of $30. That being said - the F&B staff there are very kind!

Best Casino in the lower mainland period. Beautiful off track horse racing area with both Australia and Japan races. Good roulette tables plenty of one arm bandits if you like slot machines. Vintage 60s Nevada look and feel. This is what a casino is supposed to be like.