“I’ve always hated buffets - you cook food ahead of time andthrow it in a pan,” he added. “It will feel like there’s six or seven restaurants in here, notjust one buffet,” Camerota said as he organized cooking equipmentWednesday afternoon, two days before the grand opening.

It’s a little bitdifferent from the typical buffet, where there’s food on displayand you just help yourself.”Įxecutive Sous Chef Robert Camerota said he doesn’t even like tocall the place a “buffet,” in the traditional sense of theword. “All the cooking is being done right at the stations,” Bembeneksaid.

Inside the restaurant, which opened for its first meal atlunchtime Friday, a rotation of chefs prepare various styles andtypes of food, from Chinese to seafood. Without a membership card, prices range from $14.99 to$24.99. Members of Pala’s Privileges program - which is free to join -pay $11.99 for lunch and $15.99 for dinner Monday through Thursdayat Choices, with a $13.59 brunch and $19.99 dinners on theweekends. “We wanted to make surecustomers could be seated as quickly as possible, so they’re notspending their holiday waiting in a line.” “One of the things we see at most buffets in Southern Californiais that, on peak weekends, you typically wait anywhere from half anhour to 1 1/2 hours to be seated,” he said. “The real reason that we went to a larger space was for theconvenience of our guests,” Bembenek said of the upgraded buffet,which will seat 625 guests, compared with 400 in the former TerraceBuffet.

Menu for pala casino buffet dinner