sycuan casino buffet – san diego / el cajon

Sycuan Casino is far away. Out in the boonies past El Cajon. Once you get out there, there’s nothing else out there. So they better have some good food options there, otherwise people won’t stay there forever spending their nickles and dimes. Suffice it to say, the food has to be at least decent.

My boy and I visited Sycuan Casino to get a taste of their buffet. They’re running a special now through Memorial Day – the $16.95 buffet now costs only $10, and includes Prime Rib on the menu. My boy liked this idea very much. I liked it, too, but probably not as much as he did.

I’ll have to say though, the majority of the food I tried at the buffet was excellent. There were not very many low points, just an overall surprise at how good everything was. We stood in the “Prime Rib” line as I like to call it (“Carving Station” is what they called it, but no one seemed to be getting the roast turkey that was also up for grabs). I also filled up my plate as much as it would go, filling in every little space on my plate.

Sycuan Casino Buffet - San Diego, CA

I got a nice piece of Prime Rib that they stuck on the grill for a few minutes to cook it up a little more. It was excellent meat – very tender, cooked just right, with those nice little charred pieces around the edge. Other items I tried: macaroni and cheese with chicken – it was okay, I wasn’t really in a mac n cheese mood though so I left most of it on the plate. The Swedish meatballs were cold by the time I ate one, and that instantly turned me off. The stuffing was delicious, had a good amount of herbs and veggies and was just the right texture. The mashed potatoes and gravy were excellent. The big pan they brought out makes it look like they’re instant mashed potatoes – but come on, here. They don’t screw around with this. They’re real mashed potatoes and they were good. The other two things on my plate are a biscuit and gravy – not outstanding because it was kind of cold – and corn on the cob – it’s corn. It tastes good. The end.

Sycuan Casino Buffet - 2 - San Diego, CA

I also wanted a few bites of some other items even though at this point I was getting pretty full. I got some of the creamy pesto bow ties which were to die for – so delicious and creamy, I had to force myself to stop eating it otherwise my stomach might have burst. I also tried the bacon vinaigrette spinach salad (again, totally tasty – bacon vinaigrette is a brilliant idea) and some steamed veggies to make me feel like I was eating something that was good for me.


They also have a crap ton of desserts and an ice cream station – with real ice cream, not soft serve – for your sweet tooth. I tried one tiny little lemon tart because I made some cheesecake that was at home waiting for us and didn’t want to miss out on that (though, I was still too full by the time we got home that I didn’t have any). The lemon tart (sorry, no photo) was a little piece of lemony goodness. Very good.

If you feel like driving far away and stuffing yourself silly, this is an excellent place to go, especially for only $10. It’s just about worth the cost of gas to come out here for such a divine meal.

Sycuan Casino
5469 Casino Way El Cajon, CA 92019
(619) 445-6002


2 thoughts on “sycuan casino buffet – san diego / el cajon

  1. Sycuan Casino Buffet is EXCELLENT! We go there especially after Pow Wow and just LOVE everything. The desserts are TDF. The selection is great. I barely get through the first station and miss the far one because there are too many delicious and exciting foods! A tiny bit goes a long way to making you satisfied. GREAT PRICE. During Pow Wow, you have to wait in a rather long line, but it is worth the wait.

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