First, women should learn that when a man says NO, he means NO. So I turned down the offer for a free buffet twice. I accepted it the third time just to be nice.

The buffet at Aria is on the second level, up a long escalator from the casino. It has big glass windows on two walls that overlook the pool area. There is a big U-shaped food area. Like most of City Center, there are elevation changes, so be prepared.

I got there at 11:00 on Thursday morning, just as lunch was starting to come out. They were a little slow getting that task done, so I made several nibbling trips to get stuff just as it was coming out. By the time I left, it appeared to be in full swing.

In the U shaped area, it was kinda set up in stations based on cuisine. The U shape area had a lot of blank spots and underutilized areas, while other areas were packed busy. It is not a very wide area and can get pretty crowded.

The first problem is the salad area. There are several bowls of ingredients and a "chef" that builds your salad to your preference. This may be someone's idea of a good concept. It turned out to be a big bottleneck. The chef would ask what you want, then ask how much, then ask if that's enough, then swirl it in a mixing bowl and plate it for you. I think it's overkill and doesn't work here. It kills a lot of time.

Next to that is the sushi bar with several premade selections. I wasn't going fishing that day and didn't need any bait.

Next was cold seafood. There were oysters on the half shell, king crab legs on the half shell, and peeled and deveined shrimp. The oysters and crab legs weren't thoroughly thawed. Most of the crab legs were not bad, some were frozen. The shrimp were great. They were cooked in a little Old Bay seasoning, and not raw or overcooked rubbery. I heard overheard complaints of frozen oysters.

The next station was build to order omelets for breakfast. It shut down for lunch. Next to it were 3 items. One was a chicken, cheese, and rice dish, one was veal sliders, and the last was braised beef ribs.

There were 5 separate carving stations. There was prime rib which was just okay for buffet quality. One had a roll of Portuguese sausage. One had ham which was pretty good. One had turkey breast. One carving area remained blank.

The next station might have been Indian. There were a few curry items, and other stuff I wasn't raised on. It ended with some specialty bread cooked by 3 people in a special cute stove/oven.

After another blank area, there was Italian. There was sausage and peppers, chicken cachittore, and Italian veggies, as well as a few pizzas. There were several breakfast pizzas when I first arrived. Then they started making traditional pizzas.

Then there was another blank area that might have been Mexican. It was mostly blank, but had a few salsas and guacamole.

Then there was the Asian section. It had peking duck, rice, soup, spring rolls, and maybe 3 other items.

Then there was the dessert section. It had a lot of breads, muffins, and cereals for breakfast. Most of the desserts were really small so you could try a lot of different things.

Overall, I thought there wasn't much variety in any station. I thought food quality was basic buffet. I'm so happy that I didn't pay. Service was very attentive and friendly at the tables. Service behind the food stations was almost non-existant as they were busy converting from breakfast to lunch, then everyone disappeared, except a few carvers.

The view of the pool area...One side overlooked the hot tub. The other side overlooked a patio area that was still under construction. Beyond that was more pool area. I don't think I would want to eat a meal looking at a hot tub.

I have no idea what a buffet normally costs there. Of all the new and groundbreaking and technical and advanced items within Aria, the buffet is very old school. Some problems and high marks could happen on any given day, but there are some things that need to be fixed. Even as they fix problems, the crowded serving aisle, the hot tub view, and the elevation changes might be there to stay.