Are All-You-Can-Eat Restaurants Worth It?

Author and Photographer: Kallie Hoffman

There is an element of excitement that coincides with dining at an all-you-can-eat restaurant, especially when one goes with friends and family. Individuals are provided the opportunity to pay a one-time base fee in exchange for unlimited access to anything on the menu. These restaurants, which are not buffets, but simply places that allow customers to continuously order different items, appeal to individuals with an unruly appetite and those who want to try a new dining experience when they finally find the time in their busy and chaotic schedules to go out to eat. However, it is often the case that all-you-can-eat restaurants are extremely expensive, so most people do not even end up eating their money’s worth, and many will comment that the food is not of the highest quality. Still, there is always more to the overall dining experience than just the taste of the food, and there is something to be said about the ambiance of a restaurant. To investigate the question of whether AYCE restaurants are worth it for customers, I did a deep dive into three Chicago favorites: Brazilian Steakhouse Fogo de Chao, Chinatown hotpot restaurant Happy Lamb, and Hyde Park’s very own Shinju Sushi.

Fogo de Chão

Fogo de Chão is a popular, upscale Brazilian steakhouse with multiple locations across the country. I decided to try the restaurant this year with a large group of friends as a way to celebrate the end of an amazing summer and to toast all of the new friendships and memories we had made. From the moment we entered the restaurant, there was a feeling of sophistication, as the tables were lined with clean white tablecloths, the waiters dressed in all-black suits, and all of the customers wore high-end clothing. The AYCE option was extremely pricey at $60/person but included complete access to over 15 cuts of meat and the vegetable and soup buffet bar. At Fogo, the way to signal to the waiter that you wish to start the experience, is to turn over a small clip at your seat to the green side, signaling "go." From there, waiters rush to your table to offer you different selections of steak, pork, chicken, and more. Although the restaurant will strategically try to fill you up on the cheaper, lower-quality meats, make sure to ask for the better cuts. To me, the clear winners were the filet mignon, the pork ribs, and the Brazilian sausages. The filet mignon was delicately roasted and cooked to perfection with a juicy and tender flavor; the pork ribs had the ideal amount of fat to highlight the high quality of the meat, and instead of being smothered in a barbeque sauce, they were left plain so you could actually taste the flavor profile of the meat. Finally, the Brazilian sausages were small and cute, amazing to just pop into the mouth, and there was an excellent balance between the crispy exterior and the soft, fleshy inside.

In addition to the meats, take full advantage of the buffet bar. There is an incredible selection of roasted vegetables, different salads such as corn-cucumber and Caprese, and a specialty soup of the day that is served with house-made, extra-buttery garlic bread. Personally, I definitely ate my money’s worth, as I kept experimenting with different meats and going back to the buffet, but for most of my friends, they would have been better off ordering something standard from the menu. Despite the high cost, it was an overall amazing night with delicious food and a ton of laughter. This is not exactly an every-weekend sort of restaurant, but I definitely recommend splurging at least once and treating yourself to a Fogo experience.

Happy Lamb

Happy Lamb is an AYCE hot-pot restaurant in Chicago’s Chinatown. For a set price of $24/person, customers can choose between 1-2 bases for the soup and a wide variety of meats, vegetables, and noodles to dunk into the base and cook to their personal liking. The restaurant has an interesting system for ordering, in which people check off the items that they want on a notepad and hand it to the waiter, and the food comes out in increments to prevent people from over-ordering and to add to the dining experience. To make the most of your time, I recommend getting the split broth, which means you will be able to sample the best of both worlds and see for yourself what items go better with the specialty spicy broth or the original pork bone marrow broth. Then, there is such a wide variety of different foods to choose from for the table, so you might as well sample anything that even sounds remotely interesting or something that you always wanted to try but never wanted to spend the money for, on the off chance that you did not like the taste. The hand sliced beef and prime-aged lamb are two of the higher quality meats and you can really taste the difference once you cook them in the broth. Everyone at the table loved being in charge of what we were putting into our bodies, and it was fun acting like a chef for once. The meats were so light and simple (not dressed in sauces or seasonings) that we needed to get multiple orders for the table. The green vegetables such as broccoli and baby bok choy took longer to cook and did not take the flavor of the broth as well as other items, but surprisingly, the sweet corn became very soft in the hot base and was a great switch from the meat-heavy meal we were enjoying. 

Finally, one of the highlights of Happy Lamb and what differentiates it from other Hot Pot places is the selection of different noodles. The wide bean noodles are a healthier option but get a tad too chewy at the center, and the glass noodles are a small portion and have a fairly neutral taste. The best are the long and stretchy udon noodles, a house special. Not only do they slide right down, but it was entertaining watching my friends dig them out of the deep broth with only a small serving spoon. I had an amazing time at Happy Lamb hot pot, as there is something empowering about constantly ordering different items and checking their names off a large list, but in the future, if I want to satisfy my hotpot cravings, I will probably go to a different place. I do not think that the cost was worth what I ate, and there are definitely other restaurants that focus more on the quality of the meat and the method of how it is cooked. For reference, if you want a fun experience and great food, I definitely recommend Haidilao Hot Pot!

Shinju Sushi

  Shinju Sushi is a staple restaurant in Hyde Park and a place where many UChicago students go for a fun night out with friends that does not require making the journey into downtown Chicago. Most people would say that at $22/person for dinner, it is a little overpriced, and because they are dealing with sushi and a significant amount of raw fish, the fish is expected to be of lower quality, but there is a reason why Shinju always has a long wait for a table on Friday and Saturday nights—and that is the experience. Similarly to Happy Lamb, customers are given a long piece of paper on which they can check off what they want and can keep reordering until satisfied. You have to pay for what you do not eat, and depending on the waiter, he or she can be extremely strict about this rule. The miso soup and edamame are classic starters, and they are relatively small, so they will be a great warm-up for your stomach before the sushi entrée. At a typical sushi restaurant, most people would order 2-3 rolls for themselves, but at an AYCE restaurant, this is not the time to skimp, and instead the perfect opportunity to have a little fun and experiment with different meats and fishes. 

For non-hardcore sushi fans, I recommend the vegetable roll, as the combination of the avocado, cucumber, and asparagus is exceptional. In addition, the sweet potato tempura is lightly fried and, when paired with the subtly sweet sauce on top, is almost like eating a dessert for dinner. From there, you cannot go wrong with the classic spicy tuna or California rolls, and to be honest, coming from a NY native where good sushi is ubiquitous, I could not even taste the difference between this sushi and the sushi from back home. By the end of the meal, we were definitely stuffed to the brim, and we had left a few pieces of sushi on our plates, so my friends and I spent the next few minutes laughing as we played a little game where we contemplated forcing even more food down our throats, discreetly disposing of the extra rolls in our napkins or bathroom garbage, or swallowing our pride and just paying the cost of what we did not eat. Also, despite feeling physically unable to move after the meal, we still found extra room in our stomachs for dessert and happily accepted the free ice cream (vanilla or chocolate). All in all, we probably would have been perfectly content just ordering what we specifically wanted off of the menu and paying less money, but we had a great time, and there is no doubt that Shinju is a must-go for UChicago students.

Final Thoughts

In general, AYCE restaurants might not be "worth it" from a strict cost perspective, and there are so many amazing restaurants in Hyde Park and downtown Chicago where you can find great food without having to pay a large sum. However, these AYCE places are great for fun nights with friends, and trust me, if you love to eat and/or simply come hungry, you can 100% get your money’s worth. AYCE does not need to be an every-weekend sort of excursion, but every once in a while, live it up and do something different!