Rancheria Buffet

2 stars for the obvious good deal. All you can eat lobster sounded amazing… until you actually started eating it and it was dry.
My family waited for roughly 3 hours. The waitresses were friendly, and the people serving food were very welcoming and nice. The food was meh. They never ran out of crab and lobster and both were meaty, but there was really no flavor (+ it was dry) so you had to dip it in something. The prime rib was tough and insanely raw. Nothing else really stood out to me at all. There weren’t a lot of options. The ice cream machine was broken but they fixed it (the bubble gum flavor was disgusting). I left unsatisfied. Not worth the wait.

Step 1: First things first, get a ticket!
Step 2: Gamble until the time presented on the ticket
Step 3: Start lining up as time approaches
Step 4: Eat lobsters
Step 5: Continue to eat lobsters
Step 6: Eat as many lobsters as possible
Step 7: Go to the bathroom and repeat Steps 4 to 6.
For $ 30, it ain’t bad. Other than lobsters, they have prime rib, king crabs, oysters and shrimp. Hence, called the Fisherman Wharf’s Buffet. The crab was my second favorite. All in all, I ate about 10 lobsters, WHOLE LOBSTERS ^_​_​_​_​_​^
I’ve had my fair share of oysters and the oysters there were NOT fresh at all. MUST AVOID AT ALL COST!
Overall, it’s an okay buffet considering it’s an Indian Casino. However, my favorite would still go to Pala’s in terms of presentation, quality and variety.

Yum! I just moved to the county and I enjoy the excitement and fun the casino provides, but the food is so delicious. I highly recommend trying out the buffet. They have everything!!! Would have given a 5 star but the server wasn’t the friendliest.

The best food in here is not lobster even it is all you can eat. Lobster is way over cooked and so salty. It tastes like chewing plastics.
Good:
Prime rib
Clam chowder: it is so creamy and has tons of clams in the soup.
Chocolate mouse
Raw Oyster
After we got home, me and my boyfriend had food poisoning. We had been drinking Gatorade and going to the bathroom for the night.

Went here for an early mothers day lunch.
The food looked great, tasted great. Lot’s of selection. I’m not gonna sugar coat this as there are plenty of pictures and reviews raving about the place. We left happy…
That is, until we felt the effects of food poisoning. It wasn’t just a rare isolated case. My entire family got sick with a fever and the runs.
Eaters beware.

If you love LOBSTERS!, then this is the place and it’s ALL YOU CAN EAT!!! We got there about a half an hour early and there’s already a line, so they will give you a number.
OMG they have:
Prime Rib
King Crab
Snow Crab
Raw Oysters
Fried Shrimp
All these is definitely worth the price. I would make sure I save my appetite. I know I eat like a pig, but I train like a monster lol. I don’t dip the lobster in butter because that would just make you full. They lemon an cocktail sauce for dipping. They let you add 2 lobster on a plate (not like Boomtown with just only 1 lobster). I love to eat and this buffet was definitely worth it.

Very disappointed in the establishment as a whole. Back in 2006 this was the place to come. Incentives for being a new member, incentives for not coming in awhile, discounts on dinner even at the classic level!
We just moved closer to this casino and decided to visit for dinner. Big mistake. No incentives and when I asked the employee looked almost disgusted that I even asked! We showed up for dinner at 6:45 and was told nothing till 10:15!!! How is that dinner??? We left… And unless things change we will take our time and money elsewhere. Red Hawk, Black Oak and Tahoe would be well worth it after this experience.

So if you’ve kept up with my reviews, you can see I know a thing or two about buffets and how to approach them… The weekends at this buffet place is all-​you-​can-​eat seafood! And I’m a huge fan of seafood.
Don’t expect the Maine Lobster, but it’s all you can eat lobster, 3 at a time when you go up. They also have King Crab, snow crab, and raw oysters. Then you have the typical stuff you’d see at a buffet, like prime rib, stuffed mushrooms, fried shrimp, etc…
But I stuck to the lobster, king crab and raw oysters. Those 3 were awesome. I tried a little of the prime rib, which was just okay. I did not really eat anything else, no fillers like rice, and if anything, took small bites of our party’s food if I was curious.
We bought our tickets to the buffet at around 2pm and came back to eat at 5pm. Not too sure if this was a good strategy, because the line wasn’t that bad at 5. But as we exited around 630ish, there was a big line. Our servers was nice and helpful and picked up our empty plates promptly as they can. At no time was there ever food that ran out. Every item appeared to be fully stocked!
so good, want to come back, but must eat «clean» for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to.

LOBSTERS!!! Pretty good for the closest lobster buffet. Heard about the long lines so I wasn’t looking forward to it but to my surprise there were only 8 people in front of us when we arrived. Well it was a Sunday. Guess there’s a promotional where lobsters are served Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for now. Besides the lobsters they also had king crabs, dungeness, snowcrab legs, mussels, oysters, shrimp, prime rib, stuff crab mushrooms, salmon, etc… Heck even the fried rice has seafood in it. The desert area, even though I didn’t have any, looked good. They had crème brûlée, chocolate covered strawberries, numerous cake pies and what not. After 5 lobsters I was stuffed.
It’s not a very big casino however if you were to bring kids along there is a lounge, a non-​smoking area, that they can hang out and offers complimentary drinks for them. There they can connect to the casino wifi and watch on their phones or tablets. They do, however, require an adult to stay with them so you’ll have to switch turns with the spouse.
So bring the family and enjoy. I didn’t give it 5 stars because that is taken up by Bacchanal Buffet in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Everyone knows why you come to this buffet: LOBSTERS!
The lobsters itself were pretty overlooked. The meat from the claws came out to be only an inch of meat lol it’s pretty sad. I got tired of lobster after like 3 lobsters but that’s just me.
You have to buy tickets and stand in line to get into the buffet because tickets always run out. The food is good but I don’t think I’d wait that long again.
I’m giving it 4 stars because it’s relatively cheap for an AYCE lobster joint + all the other foods.
My parents love this place but they always like most buffets soooo haha.

Here is one the best seafood buffet, love coming here for lobster n crab on Saturday, service was great. Only problem is 3 hours waited.

Last night on a whim my husband and I decided to try the Fishermans Wharf all you can eat lobster.
Other than a terrible wait of 2 hours, they apparently seat on a ticket basis… weird…never had that
The food and service was excellent.
If you go, get there early so you get seated at a decent hour.

Not worth the wait! I’ve been here 3 times because my mom likes lobster but let me tell you. It is not worth it.
First off, if you come around 3 you’ll get at least a 4 – 5 hour wait. If you come after 3 the wait just gets longer and longer. This is smart on the casinos part, they purposely do this ticket system instead of letting people wait in line so that they will spend money at their casino.
The food. $ 30 for some decent lobster? I’d rather get my own for cheaper or spend the same amount at an actual restaurant. The other food is all DECENT… Just whatever.
I can’t prove it but the day after I threw up 5 – 6 times and I’m pretty sure I got food poisoning from here. Take that with a grain of salt though, since I can’t point fingers since I’m not sure. But last time I came I didn’t feel so good either.
If there was no wait I would probably give this place a 2 and ½.

Best in Northern CA!
Came here on a Saturday and feasted on their All-​You-​Can-​Eat Whole Lobster at the Fisherman’s Wharf Buffet. It was a different experience for us meaning we didn’t know that there was a number system. It was a good thing hubby checked around 4p and was given a ticket to line up at 9:56p! We were lucky that a friend of his gave up their seating for 8:17p so we were able to get in a little sooner. Even when we started to line up at 8:17p there was still the long line that wrapped around the entrance of the buffet area as you inch your way towards the cashiers. That took a little over an hour. We finally got around to eating at 9:30p, imagine that, and by this time we were super hungry. The buffet had no shortage of whole lobster and crab as advertised. We indulged in a crab fest featuring wild caught Russian Red King Crab and Northern Pacific Snow Crab… they also had clams, oysters on the half shell, prime rib and other international specialties. This is offered only on Fridays and Saturdays for $ 29.95 (check for hours of operation). They offered seating near the area (for people who are just waiting to be seated or for those who no longer want to lose any more of their $$ from gambling while waiting for their time slot to come up! LoL)
The buffet on Sunday was much cheaper at $ 16.95 but just as good and delicious with herb roasted prime rib, flat iron steaks, BBQ tri tip steaks, grilled rib eye steaks and crab and lobster claws among other dishes in their menu. Sundays are their Steak Lovers Buffet from 4:00p to 9:00p. There was no line and we were seated immediately.
The buffet restaurant is all the way in the back section of the casino at the Rancheria Buffet. Enjoy!

Came here with my wife on Friday night kinda late cause we both got off work later than anticipated and dropped off our son at her folks to spend the night for our date night. We were meaning to try a new buffet at a different casino so we thought we’d try Jackson Rancheria for size. The commute didn’t take too long perhaps 10 – 15 minutes more than say Thunder Valley but far less traffic. If it had been a straight shot it’d probably be about the same spot. When we got to the register at 8:35 they told us we wouldn’t even be in line until 9:46… So they gave us a card reminding us of the time we need to be ready to be in line. It’s convenient because we were able to explore the casino at our own pace. As the time drew near we got back round 9:39 and since the line wasn’t too long so they let us in line earlier than the card said. The line took about 20 minutes then we were seated round 10:03. Dining room is smaller… Perhaps twice as small as TVC and was why the wait seemed to take forever. The food selection is smaller but every buffet plate we piled on was succulent and fulfilling. Lobsters, Dungeness Crab (though chilled I’ve miss them so much), blackened catfish, salmon, fried coconut shrimp, prime rib, and grilled tri-​tip all were among my favorites. Pictures may help but the taste met our satisfaction. TVC has nothing but sugar-​free dessert… Though Jackson Rancheria has a small sugar-​free section we’re so glad the soft serve wasn’t sugar-​free and there numerous cookies brownies and chocolate covered fruit were decadently addictive. We cannot wait to come back again for more. Overall 4 stars for the Rancheria Buffet!

I rate this buffet a 3.5 stars for the following reasons and based on my experience and what I ate:
— Once you’re in line, it goes by pretty fast.
–Staffs were nice (we were helped by more than 1)
–Lobster was delish! It was not rubbery but rather, perfectly cooked to my taste. We brought our own pepper sauce which served a very good purpose :)
–I mainly ate seafood. I liked the lobster and snow crab legs the best. They were quite meaty. The feeling when you successfully peeled it and you are left with a chunk of meat is Awesome!
Not so great:
–Pasta dishes were okay; kind of plain to my liking.
–Desserts– nothing stood out for me.
29.99 per person was worth it. If you love seafood, I would recommend this place.
I’d recommend if you want to eat by the time they open at 11 am, then get in line at 1030 am.
We purposely went early to get tickets but for 4 pm so we can go wine and beer tasting in between in the Amador area. Do it!!!
The casino floor does not have a bar for you to lounge around at. Bar upstairs do not open until 4 pm so the wine and beer tasting we did was a good idea.

FULL LOBSTER AND PRIME RIB AND A HUGE DESSERT TABLE?!
Why have I only found out about this place now?! I came here to celebrate my parents wedding anniversary! It was heaven!!! I came here around lunch time. Price was $ 29.99, Senior Citizen (55+) $ 26.99, & children $ 20. Under 3 is free!
TIP:
–wait time is ridiculous! Get there early! Drop someone off before parking to reserve!
If you come after 2/​3pm… Good luck with the line! If you have a big party, wait time is even longer!
When you walk in, the place is very roomy with buckets on the tables for the shells. There are different areas of food! Asian, America, Italian, South of the Border, DESSERT.
TIP:
–skip the rice & crab. Why? Because you can always eat crab at home! & EAT THE LOBSTER & PRIME RIB! It’s worth more of your money!
–you can ask for a bib!
I’m excited to go back to try the rest of the desserts. I wasn’t able to try the pies & cakes. But I was able to try the crème brûlée, chocolate, Oreo Rice Krispies!
You must come out!

Want to have a bang for your bucks? This was our first time to try or even go here in this casino. Me, my wife and my mother in law came here to check it out. Although my mom have been a few times, this was the first time me and my wife came.
This buffet is complete, they have all you can eat lobster claws, crabs legs and prime ribs, that’s their specialty. Not to mention the other choices you can have from salads, soups and desserts.
The food was suprisingly tasty (I always think buffets has MSG overload to make you feel you full) any I couldn’t have enough of the lobster claws and crab legs. It was tasty. I been to numerous casino buffets and this place is up there, the quality of service and the quality of the food makes you want to come back. I say this is too 3 of the regional casino buffets here in Northern California as far as food is in my Opinion. The price is not bad also.

⁵⁄₅ stars
ALRIGHT, where can you get AYCE FRESH whole lobster for about $ 30/​person? YES, HERE!
We took a trip out here to just eat LOBSTERS. I was able to consume 6 whole lobster. That’s pretty much all I ate. I took a couple dessert plates, but they were just OK.
Tips: (We came on Saturday)
1) Get there around 10:30am. The buffet opens at 11am.
2) Get in line to get your seating ticket. They have different seating blocks. Once they are full, you have to wait for the next seating block. In other words, even if you arrive at 11am, you may have to wait until 12pm/​1pm before you’re seated.
3) Get in line to pay.
4) Head straight to the lobster area. You’re allowed 3 lobsters at a time.
NOM NOM NOM! Enjoy
I can probably only come here 2x a year. haha

5 STARS — If you are a seafood and Meat Lover OR you have a sweet tooth!
4 STARS — If you are a meat lover OR seafood lover
3 STARS — If you are neither.
LUCKILY FOR ME I AM SURF AND TURF FANATIC with a Sweet Tooth!!!
My wife and i came here on a holiday weekend, we found out they opened at for lunch on Saturday at 11am, we arrived about 1230pm on the Labor Day weekend. Expecting to eat a huge lunch we starved ourselves all morning with the exception of a few pistachios on the way up! We arrived at the buffet ready to devour some food! Then we were given a yellow ticket and told come back at 4:50! A 4 hour wait!!! Noooooooooooooooo!
At this point we almost left all together, there was no way i had enough funds to spur a 4 hour gambling run! We were tired and hungry and ready to eat. Our first thought was to drive back to Sacramento to eat. Then i suggested to my wife that we check out the town of Jackson and split a meal somewhere. Something to hold us over. So we went to Dickey’s in Jackson and split a meal. By the time we finished our food there, we only had about 3 hours to kill! We went to old town Jackson (I presume.) We went into place called the «The biggest Little Kitchen Store» Pretty cool store and lots of kitchen gadgets! We wasted a good hour there and invested in the local business economy at the same time! Walked down the street to «Train Town Candies» This place was freaking awesome! All the candies we grew up on as kids plus an old fashioned ice cream parlor! Loved it.
Now we only had an hour and a half to waste! Nap time! lol were getting old! We headed back to the casino, found a shady parking spot, set our alarms and took a nice nap!
RING RING RING!!! IT’S DINNER TIME!!!
We wake up from our naps and walk right into the buffet and are seated immediately! We get a table close to the food! I take two plates, but end up needing four! I load one plate with King CRAB LEGS, Another with THREE LOBSTERS another with a Huge slab of PRIME RIB and another full of HOT melted butter! Then i repeat this process two to three times until i was almost stuffed! Then i went in for dessert! I had a messy looking fruit berry pie of sorts that was absolutely amazing! Then i had some Crème Brule, which i had never had before! Amazing I can’t get over how amazing this place is! They King crab, Snow Crab, Dungeness crab, Lobster, Hot butter, Prime rib, Tri tip, salmon, fried catfish, and so much more!
We will be coming back, with friends too!