Quality Buffet for Under $10 and BEER INCLUDED?! (GrandVilla Casino Buffet)

An unlocked beer fridge

There is no other place in Vancouver that has buffet that you can go to for around $12 (for lunch or $19ish for dinner) and get food that is of this quality.  Sure, there are many buffets like Uncle Willy's which is relatively the same in terms of pricing but the quality is like comparing night and day. There are two buffet locations (at least the ones that I've been to, which are the ones in Starlight Casino and Grand Villa Casino) and they both are run by the same company so the pricing and food selection is almost identical. In addition, you don't need to gamble to eat here (like for me, I don't gamble). For this review, I'll focus on my most recent visit to the Grand Villa Casino for lunch.
There's a free shuttle that can take you from Metrotown to Gilmore station right to the casino. They have 2 for 1 deals sometimes (which means you can be dining here for $7 per person), and I would go with my mother or friends. We took the shuttle from Metrotown to the Casino and on the shuttle it was all full of retired people. The minute we got off the shuttle, there was a bit of a feeding time at the zoo feeling with everyone trying to rush off the bus at the same time to go to the buffet.

Assortment of soups

   Once you pass security on the second floor with your ID, the buffet is conveniently located on the second floor. Since we were here only for the buffet, we went straight to the line. There we had to register our names. The host took down our names and then gave us a pager (I am not sure what to call those, but it reminded me of the ones doctors wear at the hospital). The wait was about 20 minutes, so we headed up stairs to see if there is a place to hangout until our pager beeps.

The pager thing

Your greens and carbs

   Upstairs, there are machines that are beside the entrance where you can swipe your Encore Rewards Card (If you don't have one, I recommend getting one because you get a discount at the Buffet) to ballots (I don't even know what this is for) and sometimes it spits out a 2 for 1 coupon at the buffet.
   After 20 minutes, our pager beeped and we headed back to the Buffet. Using that 2 for 1 coupon, we got in for around $7 per person. It didn't take long before we were seated and able to go and grab food. It's worthwhile to note that I probably bring down the average age of the whole dining area by a ton (in other words, everyone here is pretty old...). When it comes to entrees, they have a set of two types of soup (usually one meat and one vegetable). After the soup, there is a salad bar section where there is an assortment of cold salads (such as potato salad, macaroni salad and cold noodles). They also have things like lettuce and condiments that accompany it. After the salads, is the entrees which usually includes rice, vegetables and some sort of stir fry and fish. When we were there, there was macaroni and cheese and tortilla chips. The tortilla chips tasted a bit moist because it was inside a chafing dish and just absorbing water. There was also fish (but I tend to avoid fish because I wasn't sure if it was farmed - farmed fish poses a health risk).

Salad

Tortilla and zombified dinner breads

   On the other side of the dining is the drinks and desserts section. For the first time, I saw a cooler with BEER! I am not even kidding, it was unlocked and it seemed like you can just grab one. I am not sure if it's actually included in the buffet (but you can check if you go). It was next to the coca cola machine, unlocked...  I am personally not a fan of alcohol so I didn't drink it at all and didn't bother asking, but it was cool to see what you can get for less than 10 bucks. The desserts section is also pretty good. They have a wide assortment of cakes and also things like cream puffs. My favourite dessert however, is the ice cream. I love to put my ice cream inside of my ice cream.

Got to feed that sweet tooth

Keep feeding that sweet tooth, just don't get cavities

 Overall, I love this place. Even though I don't eat everything because a part of me is health conscious and my butt screams each time I eat too too much, I love the fact that you can choose whatever you want to eat here. The cons are that you can't really bring family here because it's 19+ and that I am not a big fan of gambling. However, for what you get out of the price you pay for, it is definitely worth your trip!