Tradewinds Buffet

Prior to Covid the breakfast buffet was always a hit for us. Stop the nonsense of being called an “express” buffet this is nothing more than what a typical hotel would offer as a free continental breakfast. I remember the days of made to order omelets, breakfast burritos, full salad and fruit bar, loaded up desert area full of all sorts of different pies. They used to even offer some lunch foods during the brunch buffet. Every station used to be full of stuff. Now just scrambled eggs, sausage patty’s, breakfast potatoes, biscuits and gravy, pancakes and bacon for the hot stations and why they do this at the same lineup at 2 different stations doesn’t make sense. You get get cereal/yogurt along with some fruit that’s been placed in a plastic cup too. They don’t even run the soft serve ice cream machine during the breakfast hours. I loved the look of the old buffet they had before they remodeled it to a modern look and I get not going to back to back but the buffet figure it out treasure island. Either do it right or shut it back down. You have proven in the past you can be a good buffet. And by reading other reviews it sounds like the dinner services aren’t much to rave about these days either

We visited Treasure Islands Buffet yesterday for Seafood night. 3 Critics went. I have been to the buffet before for seafood night. Last night a few things disappointed me. No oysters, only clams were fried and chewy, mussels were still way to cold like it was removed from a freezer and I love love mussels and seafood. Now for the rest. Treasure island buffet Shrimp- fresh and deveined Salmon- smoked very fresh Salmon with lemon and pesto- very good and fresh Clams- very chewy Corn with pepper- could use butter Prime rib- depending on how you like it. Mine was like medium couldve been alittle more done but it was good. Mash potatoes- tasted like any mash potatos Beef gravy-pretty good not a thin gravy Mussels with ranch- cold like was frozen for a long time, wasnt bad with ranch. You can also see in the picture 2different colors that show old and new mussels. Crab-3 leg sections- very fresh, I deshelled and added butter… very delicious Fruit crisp-pears, cherry’s were in it, not hard and warm delicious Chocolate cheesecake-very fresh, was in desert case When you go to the buffet if you have a reservation you go to the ladys with ipads. If you dont have reservations you get put on waiting list and stand in line. The decor looks awesome when you first go in to pay, I did snap a couple of pictures but wasnt allowed to take more. Lady who was trying to find us a table was trying to put us way to far away. We have a critic who is in a wheelchair and no way she could go that far. A waiter cleaned a table and we asked to have the front table closer lady wasnt happy but agreed. Waitress was nice and friendly and was good at getting refills and emptying our crab bowl.

First time visiting since pre-COVID and will not return. Ruth’s Chris prices with Old Country Buffet feel. Definite decline since COVID. Salad bar was a scary mess, whatever the mixed salads were looked as if they’d been untouched for hours. The prime rib was good but the carver sliced off deli sized portions, and tossed on the plates and acted put out when I requested an end section. And desserts were non existent. Service staff was friendly.

Without a doubt the worst buffet my wife and I have ever had. For $35 a piece on a Friday night, we expected much more than what was there. Prime rib was the only thing being offered that could justify anything close to that price but, That. Was. It. Everything else was run of the mill old country buffet dishes. Desserts was a choice of coconut cream pie, ice cream from a machine, apple pie and some mushy bread pudding. That was it. Absolutely not worth the price

Went on a Friday night specifically for prime rib. First time experience. Food isn’t too bad (maybe slightly better Golden C***) but not as much of a selection as I imagined. Seems overall quality of the place declined post-pandemic according to recent reviews. Prime rib is unfortunately well done. Wish it was medium rare. BBQ ribs and baked chicken was tasty. Dining area is clean and standard. $32 per person is a bit steep for what they offer and is about 45 minutes away from twin cities main area.

Like… what the actual hell did I just eat? I paid $32 to torture myself. I swear, I’d legit rather eat my own crap than whatever that thing was supposed to be. The food looked dead, smelled dead, and honestly, I’m pretty sure it was dead. Everything was cold, slimy, and tasted like sadness. I wouldn’t even serve this to someone I hate and trust me, I hate a lot of people. It’s giving “dumpster behind a gas station” vibes, but like… worse.

DO NOT COME HERE! It is not the same buffet it was before the pandemic. Literally more than half the items are no longer there (see pictures: no more ice cream instead replaced with a condiment stand, no more soup and half the salad bar stuff gone). It is now $32 per person which is about $7 higher than it was, with less than half the items it used to have. If the taste was good I could let it slide but they couldn’t even get that right. I never throw food away but I could not finish my food because it was so salty and bad. The prime rib used to be soft and delicious but is now gamey and fatty. Even the coffee was awful and tasted like water. I can confidently say this is probably the worst food experience I’ve ever had, which is disappointing because it used to be a great place with a lot of options, variety, and reasonable prices. Please don’t waste your money and go elsewhere. Feel like I was scammed.

It's a buffet so it's hit or miss. I got handed to him they served lutefisk and liver and onions. I'm not a fan of liver and onions and I've never had lutefiscuit ever tasted good. I tried the lutefisk and it was slimy so once again disappointed. I'm not sure what good ludophist is supposed to taste like. I kept going back for the shrimp though cuz I love shrimp. And the desserts were very good. Our waiter was excellent. Constantly came over and refilled our drinks and asked us if there's anything we needed. Very surprised by the service.

So nice to eat at the tradewinds buffet because there's such a wide variety of food for any taste or culture. It is a very clean facility.

They food is always hot and fresh even at the end of the night you still can find good things on the buffet

Great food. The food is fresh and very delicious. Although the Buffet is kind of pricey.

Very nice service. Their staff is very accommodating for seating and they provide assistance, if you need it, to get your food from the buffet to your table.

The buffet is back - 3 stars. 1) HOURS: It's back but it's different. First of all, the days and the hours are limited. I'm not going to lay it out here because it will probably change next week. I'll just say that you should check the website (or call) for current times. They aren't open as many days of the week or as many hours of the day as before the pandemic. Check before you get in your car. 2) RESERVATIONS: A reservation is recommended. They aren't kidding about this. We arrived with a reservation so there wasn't a problem. But the couple standing in line right behind us did NOT have a reservation and they were NOT let in. Bummer. 3) CASH: You can't pay cash for the buffet. This actually pissed me off - a lot. I'm amazed that a casino (yes, a gambling casino) won't accept cash and official US Currency for the stupid buffet! What the heck? Haven't they read what it says on our dollars? It says, "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE". Now they have some ridiculous overly complicated digital kiosks up front to pay. They're so goofy, so complicated, and so poorly designed (not intuitive at all), they had a full time staff standing there to help people figure them out. For what they paid for these lame machines, they probably could have employed a small army of real human cashiers with basic cash registers. Stupid. 4) FOOD: The spread of food is way different than before. The huge ostentatious displays with mountains of food are long gone. They have a lot. But what's on display is pretty sparse. On the other hand, I don't think they ever let any food run out. It looks different but it's probably a lot more efficient and less wasteful. Just a guess on my part. 5) DECOR: There's a huge re-design. It looks nice. It has a modern, minimalist, clean, geometric look that we're so familiar with these days. 6) LOW CARB: It's super easy to eat low carbohydrate...Keto, Ketovore, or Carnivore at the buffet. You just keep going back to the meat and the seafood. Overall, I'm going with a simple mid-range "okay" rating of 3. It didn't knock my socks off. But it did the job and I left with a full stomach. And not accepting cash still bugs me. Do better, Treasure Island management. -Maxx

We went there for the seafood buffet. It was alright. There wasn't a lot of options as I remember but the crab legs were decent.

Too high a price for the limited selections. Dessert area is really bare most of the time and serving size is very small. Far cry from what it used to be. What items they serve are tasteful and good presentation.

The foods varieties were limited compare to pre Covid. The price had increase more but less foods. Ti now have snow-crab claws back on the menu on Thursday but only 3 items for Asia dishes, roast beef with mash potatoes gravy, fried chicken, beans and corn, shrimp cocktail and salad bar with fruits and limited varieties of desert such as pies (2-3 kinds), cheese cake, bread putting plus 1-2 more items. The service was good and the place is clean but the floor in the buffet area is sticky. I gave 3 stars because the food could use more variety like pre-Covid.

Crab buffet review. I was so excited that AYCE crab was back. Made reservations weeks in advance. There wasn't a wait even for those that didn't make reservations. It's pricey and after tax it was around $110 for 2 people. But crab has skyrocketed so I get it. But the crab quality was hit or miss. It definitely was getting over cooked and dry. We did happen to find a few fresh batches that were decent. It would be nicer if the snow crab was sweeter and moist. The shrimp cocktail was good. Our server was really fun and nice.

Everything is good. Plenty of variety. Desserts are great to try. Service is friendly every time we go.

Went to Trade winds for the first time with some buddies last night. The crab was so awesome. I had never really had good crab legs. The buffet selection was very impressive with everything from fried chicken, salads and even cut to order Prime Rib. The service was very good. They made sure we had drinks and the crab shell bowl was always emptied before we needed. The dessert area was also something that was impressive. It is hot and cold desserts with everything from French silk pie, which is my favorite to a seasonal pumpkin bread pudding. If wasn't super loud for a buffet it's size. The one thing that got me was the restroom wasn't really big enough to accommodate the size of the restaurant. Overall if you like crab and buffets at casinos it is worth a try.

Amazing food and service the cleanliness is perfect they maken your food is great and they put a smile face

Not worth the wait and money a normal day at the buffet but add crablegs when you hear seafood imagine diferent type of shrimps and more stuff not jus crab legs

The prime rib was a perfect medium-rare and very tender. The peel-and-eat shrimp were large and fresh. I loved the pineapple upside down mini bundt cakes. I'm so happy that I had reservations on a Saturday show night. I would suggest reservations on any night. Our line wasn't very long, and it got in quickly. The other line was crazy long all night. I think the only downside was the self-service machines to pay. Thank goodness there were people to help. So many people were confused and having issues. It was easier to print out a ticket from the kiosks for complementary buffets.

The buffet is not nearly as it was before. But it has improved since it returned. It was nice to eat with silverware and not plastic. The prime rib was outstanding. The salad bar was phenomenal, the dessert selection was good. No baked potatoes, no fried clams, could do without the oriental station the selection was not impressive. Why a taco bar? Paying $$$ which by the way has increased dramatically price wise does not warrant a taco bar! Staff was attentive and friendly. I think a big draw when u go to a buffet especially at a casino is to get a bargain which helps in the cash flow to gamble more.

Crab legs were cold. Not much variety since covid. At least they had prime rib during seafood night but not very flavorful.

the salad bar was great and the choice of entries was very good. The casino now has enough staff to check us in a timely manner.

Good was amazing and the staff was very attentive to us. We did the am you can eat seafood buffet. The only thing I would have liked better is if we could have eaten a little earlier.

I enjoyed going to the casino and then going to have dinner, especially seafood night. I rate tradewinds buffet at a nine.

all u can eat crab! only one in town now! plus they got other foods also. sometimes the crab is a bit salty but wait for the fresh one and it'll be perfect.

Fast, hot, and good. Great server- he was very attentive. We did the Thursday seafood buffet

The food is consistently horrid. The last 3 visits no one came to our table to see if we needed anything. We were seated and were one our own. No one came around. We got our own pop and coffee.

Good variety of food. Always has the best fried chicken I have ever had. Mashed potatoes are always creamy and the gravy is my favorite Brown gravy . Services are good, they usually are right on top of refills getting your pop

Our group visited the seafood buffet at the Trade Winds Buffet on Thursday evening. We had reservations and discovered the wait time to seating was the quickest it has ever been. The service was phenomenal and the crab was beyond our expectations during it had been 3 years since our last visit. My only regret is that their online reservation system will NOT allow future reservations. Whats up with that ????

I really enjoyed the lay out. Food was good. Service was good. Definitely going again

Good food a little bit of a cluster something the reservation system non the less the food is delicious and the staff are friendly and helpful.

Food wasn't as good as it was pre covid. Less options for a hefty price. Line was well organized now however.

I must say we were there at 4:15 reservation and the person that checked us in was great! Also the person helping with pay at kiosk. crab was great! I thought they had a good handle on the process. i know this was their first night back but the reservations needs a lot of work. we were getting texts on reservations we didn't even make. Also there's a certain group of people that heap their plates full ( like u can't go back) that ruin it for others. No consideration for others and they are rude. maybe you could put a sign up that says only allowed 4 clusters at a time. This is a big turn off for those that following rules. Other than that, the staff was exceptional.

Selection was a little scarce for the price. The food we did have was good though. Prime rib was good, Chicken was a little dry but still worth it. Service was also great!

Squash was overcooked with little seasoning.No sugar free options for dessert . Line was extremely long to get in for others who did not have a reservation. The whole self kiosk is a joke

Hot, freshly stocked, tasty food. Pleasant worker served drinks and cleared plates. Clean, bright dining area. Only complaint - they didn't accept cash to pay the bill - how unAmerican!!

The Buffet is very good!! I'm soo glad they were able to bring it back!! We haven't had such good buffet in a long time!! Looking forward to enjoying it on New Year's Day!!

The crab leg is great as always. We had a reservation so did not need to wait and the line for the crab was not bad at all. The down side was that the options for the rest of the buffet were minimal if that. If you want anything but just crab leg I wouldn't recommend this for you. The desert option was limited as well and tasted stale. It is nothing like how it was pre Covid. But all in all for the crab it is good.

Great deal for the quality of crab legs you get-wish their options for non seafood eaters was a little more robust but what's out there is good. Service was a little willy-nilly; some "servers" are really attentive, others were so-so. Setting was busy, as any buffet is nowadays, but we were tucked away so it was great!

Absolutely love the new reservation ability. Servers were slightly prompt. Restaurant pretty clean considering the massive amounts of people shredding apart crab legs one after another. Flavor of food was delicious! A bit expensive, but you could really take advantage of it if you come hungry.

Great food ... glad that they reopened the buffet! Always a great variety of food options

Took 1 star off for the PRICE and 1 star for not having soup selection or ice cream with fixings. The attendants where awesome! Always asking to take your plates and asking for drink refills, the cooks where always present and engaging. Went on Friday 11/7/23@7ish and it wasn't busy. If your expecting pre Covid or Vegas style buffet your going to be disappointed. $32 for Prime rib, big chilled shrimp,pot roast, chicken tenders, potato bar and dinner rolls but who needs more? I would go back on a cheaper day.

Went with my husband for his birthday. We went to enjoy the seafood buffet. Not what I was expecting. There's only 2 options to pick from crab legs or prime ribs. I was hoping for a better selection of food and desserts for over $65 a person including tips. The online reservation was a plus, we didn't have to wait long, that was the only thing I can think of for positive.

The food is awesome. Compliment to chef/cooks Seafood nights are best in Minnesota. Great variety of foods. Great place to bring friends. Great atmosphere. Could get 5 if the price wasn't ridiculous but well worth it.

Great prime rib. Was disappointed with deserts being bought instead of baked but was worth the money either way!

Seafood Buffet is back for the last Wednesday and Thursday of the summer months. All you can eat crab and prime rib plus other seafood. After 10lbs of Crab and 2lbs of Prime Rib I won't eat until winter.

Food was good. The reservation system is pointless. You wait in line to check in, then you wait in line to pay, then you wait in line to be seated. Take out a few steps an collect payment and people can seat themselves. Count should be easy. Golden Corral does it flawlessly.

Very good crab legs! With reservations, there was no wait and the buffet was nice and enjoyable without crowds

Delicious food! Service was not good! I am sure if we had another waitress, we would have had a better experience!

Food was bleh, service was excellent, ambiance was nice, price for buffet is needs to be $15.00 cheaper for the quality.

Crab legs that's all folks. Tradewinds buffet came back depressed and more so let us down. Customer service was great except for the lady cutting the prime rib on Thursday 3/28/24 5-6 pm, she was rude and seems unhappy to do her job.

Good food and nice servers love the seafood, definitely worth the price. I've went twice since tgey reopened used to go all the time as a kid.

The buffet is only open Wednesday thru Saturday for dinner 5pm-10pm only so it gets very busy so do yourself a favor and make reservations or you could be waiting a while to get in. They also have their famous seafood buffet which is only available twice a month plan on paying over $50 a person but but after experience it you'll agree it's well worth the price.

There just isn't enough options to chose from. The prime rib is good but not awesome like it used to be . They don't offer ham anymore. The Buffett was kept filled so you didn't really have to wait but the choices were very simple. No longer have the fry bread and very little Asian dishes . Just not worth 32.00.

I was shocked at the size of these crab legs! Definitely worth it!! By far the best food experience at treasure island. Get your reservations.