Black Oak Café

STAY AWAY FROM THE BUFFET!!! On my first trip here we visited the Café and they were only serving from the menu, they did not have the buffet going. The menu food was pretty good, not fantastic, but good enough. Our waitress was super friendly as well so we had an overall good experience. On our second trip here with the good first trip in our minds we visited the café again, this time they had the buffet going. To start off, its super small with very limited choices (if you are vegetarian don’t even waste your time). The food quality was poor, lacked flavor, and was just all around bad. We figured it was just an off day, so when we came back for the 3^rd time we had an open mind. Again they had the buffet going, and again it was horrible. We each got one plate of food, and no one wanted to finish any of it. Of all the casino buffets I have been to, this one is definitely in the top 2 worst experiences and worst food. My recommendation if you end up here and the buffet is going, ORDER OFF THE MENU! You’ll have much better luck.

My grandpa enjoys coming up to Black Oak casino to gamble and enjoy their buffet. We usually go on Friday nights for their seafood buffet. A couple years ago their shrimp and selection of crab legs were decent tasting, not previously frozen and assuming, based on taste, they were not farm raised. But over the years the quality of food has gone down. Their basic shrimp was overcooked, was not de-​veined and tasted like it was previously frozen. The crab legs tasted old, with no flavor. The salad portion of their buffet was almost non-​existent, providing the basic amenities, like beets, beans, and onions. Yes, the buffet is small due to the size of Black Oak, but they can raise the bar on their quality of food. The great service from the waitress does not make up for the quality of food. The cake was dry and was not platted well or presentable. A plus is that they’re accommodating for wheel chairs. Also, they girl who seated us had an attitude of not wanting to be there, but I guess that is youth nowadays.

I have come here a dinner and they are really short staffed. Was hoping to do alil gambling but im gonna enjoy the rib eye. Lets seee hie long I wait.

I am surprised at the low rating I like there buffets and frequent the café. I just realize it is open ²⁴⁄₇ great…

I’ve eaten here many times but generally when we visit there is a buffet with many options — now mind you I don’t expect stellar food here but today we ordered off the menu and the only good item was the salad!
Knowing we were ordering off the menu I browsed it twice and finally decided on the crab and shrimp melt thinking to myself this will be good and loaded as the plates I saw coming out the kitchen seemed huge! I did ask the sever what type of crab they use since that does make a difference — blue crab for me ruins most dishes and was told it was Japanese snow crab… yum I thought!
What arrived before me was a grilled cheese sandwich — so much cheese!!! — with a hint of that Japanese snow crab and shrimp — it was so horrible that I had to take a picture of it to make sure I captured it to remind me never to order that again! The cook in the back should be embarrassed sending it to a patron… I thought the point was to keep me coming back to gamble! I mean I didn’t expect much just melty cheese, crab and shrimp on nice toasted bread — yes the bread at least was nice and toasty — saved me from having to cry about what I was forcing my taste buds to endure. The service was prompt and good — our sever kept the glasses filled and checked up on us hence the one star because as far as food was concerned I wouldn’t want to subject my palate to what I ate again!

Food was below average in quality… just odd recipes for basic items like the coleslaw, marinara sauce and mashed potatoes… though everything was served hot. Service was slow… maybe our server was new. We did not try the buffet that was offered because it was small, with few choices that looked appealing… definitely not the typical buffet that one normally finds in a casino… overall, generally disappointed.

My daughter and I came here expecting good quality food and friendly service. We got friendly service. The server was friendly with a smile and even apologized when we couldn’t substitute potatoes for extra veggies. Felt sorry for her actually as it was very busy and she seemed to be the only one taking orders. We ordered the sirloin steak and penne pasta (Alfredo sauce with mushrooms) with side salad and chicken noodle soup as starters. The salad was flimsy with barely anything and the soup was warm but noodles were stiff as if not cooked all the way. The steak was good, I’ll admit but the pasta was anything but. There was no real flavor, noodles were very stiff, and the only thing that was warm was the mushrooms and bread. In all, besides the steak, everything seemed like cafeteria food. Simply microwaved when needed but not even microwaved to make the food hot. We’re very disappointed.

My husband and I went to the buffet and because it was Fathers day the price was $ 25 a person. We have never been here before and we figured they might have a decent buffet. Wow were we shocked! We tried almost everything and could barely muster a bite. The food was terrible!!! Only thing that was ok was the crab– but we are not really seafood people. The meat was dry, salmon was rubbery, gravy tasted like melted butter, cakes were all dry, mashed potatoes tasted like they were from a box, the salad bar — hardly there. And I can keep going on and on. They do deserve one star because their customer service was great. We did complain about the food and the manager was very professional and made it up to us. Waiters were also kind. But they really need to work on their food!!!

Years ago I had the fish n chips. It was $ 9.99. Today I had the fish n chips… it’s now $ 14.99. But just look at what you get… and take into consideration how everything has gone up in the last 10 years or so. The fish is a nice thick haddock and the cole slaw is tasty. Honestly I don’t think I’ve had bad food here. I see quite a few buffet reviews on here, but honestly I don’t usually have it.

I have not found a better lunch deal in all of Tuolumne county than the buffet at Black Oak café. Get there when they first put it out (at 11:00 a.m.) when the baked dishes are all right out of the oven, well-​presented and nice and hot.
There is always something tasty at the carving station (a huge turkery breast, and then maybe a second item like glazed ham or tri-​tip), plus baked vegetable lasagna, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy. The salad bar is fresh, and if they have potato salad, try it. I haven’t found a better potato salad. They have nice fresh fruit, with pineapple and honeydew, and fruit in a lot of their desserts. Their vegetable dishes vary, as well as the choice in entrees.
All meals come with a beverage (they are huge!) and also the dessert bar. About ¹⁄₃ of the dessert bar is «sugar-​free», and the other ²⁄₃ is not. They offer a wide variety of cakes, puddings, tarts, bread pudding, etc. Plus they often have hot cobblers (and you can top it with soft serve ice cream. Yum.)
Where else can you get lunch, a beverage and dessert for under $ 10.00 TOTAL (and remember, there is no sales tax). Also, the servers are nice.
Also, it is a buffet. If there’s an item that you’re not keen about, try some other items and go back for what you really enjoyed.

Went with a group of people on Saturday afternoon. Most of us had the buffet. Although it looked like a nice variety, it was awful — typical for cheap buffet food. Nothing good. I had an egg dish that looked good, but the egg was like rubber and my fork couldn’t even break into it to taste it. Well I could go on about each dish, but won’t — I don’t want to think about it! They should use better ingredients and have less variety. I will not be going back.

Overall everything was better than expected. Extremely friendly and prompt service from Tom (I think was his name), who checked on us right away, reminded us to save room for dessert, and helped let us know to pay at the front. Drinks came out promptly and we were offered refills.
The menu is pretty extensive which I was pleased with, and all very good prices. Salads, sandwiches, burgers and entres– there’s something for everyone. My Mom got the surf and turf and the filet was cooked perfectly, it only came with 2 fried shrimp so barely any «surf» but a good portion of green beans, baked potato, and a side salad. The foccacia bread looked burned and was heavy– not fresh. I ordered the half Thai chicken salad, it was good but the chicken was dry, and it came with that unappealing bread. I would go back to try a burger or buffet and WHY HASNT ANYONE MENTIONED THE 24 OZ $ 6 BLOODY MARY! Mmm.

My wife and I had the Diablo burger. It was one if the best burgers I’ve ever had. Quality beef perfectly cooked, chipotle sauce, jalapeño spears, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, with a huge helping of garlic fries. This place rocks!

Standard affordable casino food. Nothing stellar, but not bad overall. The place is always busy, so perhaps that’s why the floor isn’t as clean as it could be. We only order from the menu, never the buffet. There are many menu choices, from burgers to nachos to fish to steak. Food is cooked to order and service is prompt.

We have tried the Friday night seafood buffet a couple of times. For fifty bucks for two people you would hope for tastier and warmer food.
A lot «crab». That be fake Krab. Ugh. Really? Don’t bother! Prime rib is sub-​par and tasteless.
You need a chef and quit serving pre-​frozen barely warmed food. They could so much better.
The wait staff was very nice and attentive.

Had the Sunday morning buffet and was pleasantly surprised. Prime rib, eggs Benedict, chicken fried steak, scrambles, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, fruit, sweets treats, etc. Thought it was pretty good food for a casino buffet at $ 14. I would come back again.

My husband and I ate twice at the café, breakfast and lunch, on the same day. Breakfast was a bad experience. Waitress had a bad attitude, we were one of two tables being used in the entire café and still waited quite awhile for our food, and the food was mediocre at best. Lunch was better but still not great. We did the Saturday lunch buffet. The café was fairly crowded but we didn’t have to wait for a table and our waitress was friendly and brought our drinks right away. The buffet food was decent. They had prime rib which was decent, the gentleman carving it was friendly and made us laugh, but the side dishes were not very good and no where near comparable to a Vegas style buffet. Convenient if you are there and hungry but probably the worst food of the 3 restaurants at the casino.

At first when I had their prime rib, which was a little dry, I was hesitant of this place. I was close to leaning it to 2 star. But after coming here at least 3 – 4 times a week, I’m starting to appreciate it more.
Not too large of a variety for their buffet, but the food is pretty solid. The prime rib, depending on the day is actually pretty good. They have different specials depending on the day (which can be found on their website). From my month stay at the Black Oak Casino and eating here more often than not, I can tell you that the prime rib is best on the day they serve the 10oz prime rib for 12.99. When they do the prime rib buffet for 18.99, the prime rib grade seems to be lower… or the meat is just more tough. They also tend to go a litte overcooked. So if you’re looking for tender pink meat at medium rare, expect that to run a little cooked. almost medium touching well done. But its a hit or miss. We had a group of 8 and got a medium rare for someone that ordered rare and literally a rare for another who ordered rare.
Overall, it is one of the places in Tuoloumne that I look forward to eating at. No tax too!
Props to the younger blond waitress with a straight bangs and a pony tail. has that skater look to her… She was attentive, nice and to the point on the occasions I went.
check out my pictures :)

The only time we eat here is for the seafood buffet on Fri. For the price, you can’t beat it. Love the fresh oysters, crab, shrimp & clams. The prime rib is very good! We go here quite often! Deserts are good!

Bánh Mì
A Vietnamese sandwich with shaved beef strips sautéed in a sweet and spicy sauce, topped with pickled cucumbers and carrots,
cilantro lime slaw and daikon sprouts, served on a soft French roll. TASTY!
One of the few places open late in Tuolumne County
Open 6am — 1am M-​F
24 Hours Saturday & Sunday
Can’t wait to try the Sunday Champagne Brunch