The gargantuan new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace is open for business!

The $17 million, 25,000-square-foot buffet is already wowing guests with its nine open kitchens and an overwhelming variety of dishes, more than 500 distinct menu items in all. This blog is fairly sure it’s never eaten 500 different things in its lifetime. So, wow.

Warning: The number of food photos in this blog post may cause you to bite into your keyboard. We're OK with that.

Yes, that’s an individual-sized portion of lasagna. We predict your world will be rocked.

Don't fill up on bread.

We keep hearing how the Bacchanal Buffet “redefines the Roman feast,” but honestly, if someone from ancient Rome visited this buffet, they’d have an out of body experience. Let’s just say that if a Roman feast were a snowflake, the Bacchanal Buffet is an avalanche.

This blog's vote for the best sliders in Las Vegas. No kidding. Buffet haters can now start officially eating their words.

Entering the new buffet is an exhilarating experience, and let us tell you, up front, your visit needs to be done with a solid strategy in mind. Keep these two words in mind: Pace. Yourself.

There are lot of “small plates” at the buffet, but they won’t feel small after you’ve had 10 or so. (We love the small plate concept, as it appears to significantly cut down on wasted food. Big win, says this Las Vegas blog.)

"Small" is relative when you're in Sin City.

It’s sushi time!

Made-to-order, all-you-can-eat sushi. No, you're not dreaming.

Each of the buffet’s nine stations is like its own restaurant. And, yes, we counted them. There’s Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, American, Seafood, Pizza, Deli and Dessert.

Honestly, we’re not even sure why we listed “Dessert” last. If you don’t plan carefully, you’ll never make it to dessert. Pace. Yourself.

Feel free to skip ahead to the fancy desserts, already. Las Vegas doesn't judge.

One of the best things about the food at the Bacchanal Buffet is that much of it (about 80%) is prepared by a team of chefs, right in front of your eyes. Made-to-order means it’s as fresh as food gets.

Deliciousness in the making.

Also, unlike so many buffets, these chefs talk to you. No, really. You can ask questions, and they smile and have a wealth of knowledge about the food you’re eyeballing.

It’s the most interactive buffet experience we’ve ever witnessed, and we’ve witnessed many, many buffet experiences, trust us.

Bacchanal Buffet fact: Pasta made-to-order, with love, is even more awesome than regular pasta. Thanks, Belinda!

Each new food station delivers surprises. One of our favorites: There’s a wood-burning stove in the Italian area.

They've thought of everything.

Beyond the expansive menu offerings, the Bacchanal Buffet is also a wonder of interior design. Three themed dining areas are built around glass, wood and steel, using reclaimed and recycled materials. See more.

Oh, and if you can’t find a plate, look down a bit. Plate shelves are built into the counter faces at each food station.

Seafood station, baby.

Our only other observation about the lay-out of the restaurant is that the feng shui might need to be tweaked around the dessert station. We couldn’t find an easy path for our 17 trips. We managed, and it certainly didn’t deter the delighted guests.

You remove the little thingy and strawberry syrup comes out and fills your life with joy. "Adorbs" in Pinterest parlance.

Some of the design elements are utterly mind-boggling. For example, the walls are filled with thousands of decorative glass items, including more than 3,600 glass jars filled with edible items, themed to the station they decorate.

We’re happy to report the staff at the Bacchanal Buffet is friendly and helpful, an essential part of any exceptional buffet visit.

Told you. Fancy!

So, are you ready to take on the new Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars?

It’s open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Prices are $19.99 for breakfast ($16.99 for Total Rewards loyalty club members), lunch is $24.99 ($21.99 TR), weekend brunch is $31.99 ($28.99 TR), weekday dinner is $34.99 ($31.99 TR) and weekends (Friday and Saturday) dinner is $39.99 ($36.99 TR).

Yep, the dessert crepes are made-to-order, too, of course. Work that powdered sugar, Stephanie.

The Bacchanal Buffet is included in the popular Buffet of Buffet pass (multiple buffets for 24 hours) for a $10 additional charge.

Oh! And as if all the amazing food weren’t enough, we’ve learned the Bacchanal Buffet offers all-y0u-can-drink beer and wine for an additional $15.99. Ask your server for details.

Enjoy our exclusive, massive photo gallery of the Bacchanal Buffet! A buffet this big commands our biggest photo gallery ever. (Seventy-five photos, and we felt like we were just getting started!) You’re very welcome. We must recover now.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Las Vegas Casinos, Las Vegas Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. To leave a comment you must be 21 years of age or older.