Golden Corral Buffet & Grill — Restaurant in Winchester

Golden Corral - Clarify Your Price Sign! Drinks are NOT included.l.

When you enter here, you will see the price sign hanging over the cash registers. At the bottom left it says in bold, highly visible letters, "DRINKS INCLUDED".

If you have the time to figure the sign out, there is a little blue dot that is intended to attach the notation of drinks included to a special early bird seniors meal.

Perhaps because I am a senior, it was not obvious to me. It looked like a footnote to the sign that intended drinks included to be for all meals.

The idea of drinks included is especially normal given that we are in Vegas and having purchased buffets at numerous locations around the city, every one included drinks.

When we discovered we had been charged for the drinks, my wife and I sat at the table discussing this. I returned and studied the sign. But the longer I thought about it, the angrier it made me. Why would they make this "DRINKS INCLUDED" so prominent on the sign unless they were hoping people would misunderstand, get charged and then just let it go. I felt like I had been scammed.

To make matters worse, I brought this to the attention of the manager on duty who said she was sorry but could not refund us.

To be clear, we had been in the restaurant for a while before talking to the manager simply because the line for people coming in never stopped. I didn't want to hold up people who were trying to get in to eat while I pleaded my case. Finally seeing that the line was never going to end, I did take the manager away from her other duties to discuss this.

Even though we had not consumed our drinks, the manager said we had been there too long. She said "I wish I could but I wouldn't even know how to explain it". I suggested creating a satisfied customer might be a valid reason. She agreed that would be a good reason, but still refused to do it. She said "it's like if you wanted a refund on your meal, I couldn't do it after a set amount of time". I can actually understand that for food, but for drinks we didn't want or consume, I don't believe it's valid

So for the cost of about $7 which is 90% profit, this manager lost a customer. Probably for many or even most, $7 is no big deal. But for a retiree on a fixed income, it is. It was a 33% bump on the cost of the meal.

Anyway, I hope documenting my experience will prevent anyone else from a...

2021.12-22/WED_1255-1408: We had the best time here because of our server, George, who was on his section like flies on rice. He was absolutely amazing. It was a great experience from the time we walked in and spoke to Chris at the register until the time we left. Anytime George wasn't tending to his tables, he was cleaning and prepping his section - wiping down his tables and chairs, booths, filling condiments, he literally made me miss waiting on tables. That was one of the things that I noticed right away was that our booth was spotless. No greasy hand prints or remnants of the previous people who sat there. Smelled clean. Super clean section. With his attentiveness to us and his section, it was excellent. His attitude and friendliness made it a wonderful and pleasant experience because buffets can be a nightmare.

Overall, the selections and the variety of food they had out there for the price was fantastic. That's what we were looking for. Some place cheap but decent and off of the strip. This was the perfect buffet for the price. It was cafetería style so right when you walk in, you grab your drink, pay for the buffet and go find somewhere to sit. Chris at the register was the sweetest. We got there after the rush so it was cool to be greeted by him. He was funny and instructed us on what to do. All businesses should have people like these two folks. It would make business plentiful.

We decided to take a booth closer to the dessert station - it seemed more quiet there. The booth was spotless and it smelled like it was just sanitized so that was a plus. About two minutes after we sat down, we were greeted by our wonderfully attentive server, George. He saw that I had gotten chowder so after he introduced himself, he placed our silverware down and said, let me be right back so I can get you a spoon.

There was so much to choose from! I like that we had everything from the salad bar to the dessert bar. American and Spanish dishes to choose from. No al you can eat steak though. They leave that for the dinner buffet. They did have someone making hamburgers and cheeseburgers all day. That was cool. The fried chicken was delicious and that was hot and fresh, too. Nothing sat for too long so that was fantastic. There were no complaints and we'll definitely be back for dinner the next time...

I know it's a family buffet and most people and families are sceptical about dining here, but if you lower your nose a few inches and really look at the quality of the food, the abundance of choices and how it caters to almost ANYONE'S taste it can be a great experience. This Local Guide suggests making a run through of all the stations from last to first to see what's available. You can plan your own menu, stylize your preferences and enjoy a HUGE MEAL! 😋💦 LITERALLY from Soup to Nuts!😁😂👍🏼 They were running the Sirloin Steak Special the night we were there ( one per customer per visit ). I started by building a Mediterranean Spinach Salad with all my favorite veggies topped with Caesar Dressing and aged Parmesan cheese. They have a myriad of choices to build a fantastic start to your meal! Next I stacked a plate with Honeydew Melon and Cantaloupe to serve as palate cleansers in between courses! 😬 ( FANCY...Ain't I??? ) 🤣Next I had some Fan Tailed Fried Shrimp with an amazing tasting coating and fried okra with a small side of steamed broccoli and a dollup of Cocktail Sauce for a boost of flavor...😏👌🏼✨ At last, I went for the 12 oz. cut of Sirloin grilled to order and it was juicy, flavorful and prepared JUST the way I like it! Medium Well! Mmmm...along with roasted new potatoes topped with Bearnaise Sauce and roasted Asparagus with a light butter sauce. And for dessert I created my own Mini Trifle, adorned with Dark Chocolate Brownie, fresh Handmade Whipped Cream, Mini Dark chocolate morsels and Black Cherry sauce. To finish my Sweet Treat Masterpiece,😆I drizzled Hot Fudge Sauce over a dollup of whipped cream. Professional Chefs would've given me approving nod had they seen my finished product! 😂😂😂👌🏼 So other than a few crying little kids that were denied too many sweets by their Parents, it was a very enjoyable meal. I grew up having Italian Family Holiday meals. And the hustle and bustle of the restaurant brought back some fond memories as well. The staff was great and I put together a meal that could've been served in a 3 or 4 Star Restaurant roughly at the price of an average, solid food serving, Local spot for dinner. It's up to you to create, through menu content, what type of dining experience you want on any given night at your local Golden Corral!...