Best cheap places to eat

[Pixie Dust]

Can anyone give suggestions for good cheap food that will suit a "large" family of 8. We've never tried buffet places before. Which are the best?

[james weir]

The Golden Corral is very good,Ponderosa,and CICIA'S PIZZA.

[grottyrotty]

The Ponderosa is good for a buffet meal.

Our fave tho is the Golden Coral. You can see their prices on their website. They do different "themes" each night eg Mexican night , BBQ night, fish night etc, but the basic food remains the same - very good choice. We like GC for brekkie too.

Deb :wave:

[TrueBlueAngel]

Sizzlers too.

[loadsapixiedust]

Cici's LBV is $3.99 for all you can eat pizza, pasta and salad. Golden Corral and Sizzler are buffets at reasonable cost.

[paul11000]

We didnt like sizzlers. Not a buffet place, but we like Friendlys for a good cheap meal.

[hotchef]

How can they produce food for that price, is this typicla of buffet prices?

thanks

dan

[terrierlady]

we are a large party 14 in total and I'm hoping and believing these lovely people on here with there comments on Golden Coral etc as to fed that Lot for 2 weeks will break us otherwise!!!1 trust you all.:spin:

[dw52151]

We took 5 kids and Golden Corral was everybodys favourite. The great thing about it is that it is truly all you can eat - the kids loved going up for not only food but desserts AND icecream. Drinks are free refills too (soft drinks and coffee). Just takes the pressure off.

Great for adults for salad bar, steaks cooked to your liking and a lovely choice of veg and meats.

Enjoy.

[hotchef]

what is the price of the goldern coral???

thanks

Daniel

[BigBob]

Hi,
Golden Corral Breakfast... $6.99 including drinks
Lunch........$6.99
Dinner.......$10.99 drinks $1.79 refillable

Vouchers are available for $1 off each breakfast, and $2 off Dinner

Just got back and had loads of meals there, not the cleanest of places, but for what you pay can't gumble.
We also had our Lunch 'on the house' on our last day.

Hope that helps.

BigBob

[batleyboy26]

We also love GC at LBV and on our last trip we went about 3 - 4 times over 3 weeks. This time I have so many restaurants I want to go to (after being recommended on here) that I have only managed to pencil it in once for an evening although we are staying very near to it. We will probably have a few breakfasts there.

[Pixie Dust]

Thanks for your recommendations.

We've been to Sizzler and Ponderosa before but never even heard of Golden Corral. Is there one on International Drive? If so, where abouts?

:spin: :spin: :spin: :spin:

[LizzyBear]

How can they produce food for that price, is this typicla of buffet prices?

thanks

dan

A few factors: The servers are paid a very meagre wage (around $2 per hour) cos they're expected to make up their pay in tips, the meat will probably not be the best quality and likely full of hormones (there are less laws governing this in the US than here) and things like drinks are dirt cheap anyway so the markup will be pretty sizeable.. Bf was saying most places over here alone can get a barrel of 'coke syrup' for £25 which can make hundreds and hundreds of cups worth. I'm sure there are more but these are the ones i've learnt of. It's a similar reason Disney can afford to offer free dining promos, food is a cheap commodity.

[uklad23]

Also they use cheap plastic plates and glasses which have a longer life and are cheaper than crockery and glass, the fruit and veg is all cheap GM food which is often larger and much cheaper, most of the food is pre prepared and comes frozen allowing for no trained chiefs and very few kitchen staff to prepare the food. One example is scrambled eggs on the breakfast buffet, you will not find one fresh egg in them as they are made from powdered eggs as it's cheap and easy to make. All the meat is frozen as is most of the veg when it arrives.

[Cheryl Lynn]

For reasonable prices and child friendliness I'd say Golden Corral for breakfast and Ponderosa for evening meal :wavey:

[D15NEY]

Sweet Tomatoes is great as well!

[Rigstig]

For a change from the normal fare of burgers and pizzas etc, try Cracker Barrel. We tried them for the first time this year, normally would pop into Denny's for something cheapish, but Cracker Barrel IMO is far better.
Tends to do a lot of coated chicken etc , but all cooked in Southern style. Can get mash potato and veg here as well.
We had 2 adult meals, 4 kids meals which were big enough for an adult, 2 coffees, 4 hot chocolate drinks, 6 huge icecream sundaes and complimentary corn bread and biscuits with butter, fruit jelly and honey. Went 5 times last trip and never paid more than $55 + tip.
They will defo be getting some more of our custom next July.

Stuart

[Rigstig]

Also they use cheap plastic plates and glasses which have a longer life and are cheaper than crockery and glass, the fruit and veg is all cheap GM food which is often larger and much cheaper, most of the food is pre prepared and comes frozen allowing for no trained chiefs and very few kitchen staff to prepare the food. One example is scrambled eggs on the breakfast buffet, you will not find one fresh egg in them as they are made from powdered eggs as it's cheap and easy to make. All the meat is frozen as is most of the veg when it arrives.

I spent 10 years delivering food etc to branded restaurants, Little Chefs and large store cafes [Woolworths , Littlewoods] here in the UK and believe me, what you list above is no different to what you get here in the UK, and look what you pay here:angry:
A head chef in the UK has to look at making a minimum 65% gross profit on the food he prepares in his kitchen.
Another reason for the frozen goods and prepared veg is for timesaving and therefore less staff even though Prep'd food costs a lot more than unprep'd. You would be surprised at the number of top restaurants that use pre prep'd veg and desserts especially at weekend when it is busiest.
Also to make everything from scratch in the quantities they would need, some restaurant kitchens would need to be the size of a factory.
All those lovely chocolate cakes/ gateaux etc are ready made and delivered frozen, even pre portioned into even cut slices.
Ask for a plain Omalette [sp] at a Little Chef, and they cant do you one because the the mushroom omalettes they do sell come ready made and frozen in boxes of 20. You wont even find a pan in the kitchen, if it cant be cooked on a griddle, deep fat fryer or a microwave oven, then they cant cook it.

Stuart

[minniemouse]

Another place we have found amazing value is Perkins. It is not a buffet, but they have a huge menu with 'home style' dinners such as meatloaf, steaks and salads and the usual burgers and pizza. Also have some amazing muffins and cookies in the 'bakery' They also do a breakfast menu, though We have never tried it. Try the website, perkinsrestaurant.com I think. We often find the bill lower than a buffet type place.:spin:

[BONZO]

Try Chillis (http://www.chilis.com/) - cheap but quality food and great service!

[debbie73]

Yes there is a Golden Corral on international drive.........its at bus stop 23 on the I drive trolley :wave:

have fun

just got back on Saturday and I'm missing it already :cry:

[doryfan1]

Thanks for your recommendations.

We've been to Sizzler and Ponderosa before but never even heard of Golden Corral. Is there one on International Drive? If so, where abouts?

:spin: :spin: :spin: :spin:
there is one on i drive, at the bottom end near the harley davidson shop and the wallgreens supermarket. we stopped down that end at the comfort inn and ate at gc a few nights, for what you pay it kept everyone in our family happily fed and watered and we ALL like different foods. make sure you pick up the coupon books in the entrance or exit before you go to the till, there are allways money off vouchers for gc. :wavey: oh and the beer is expensive. :pgig:

[dee slack]

Try Chillis (http://www.chilis.com/) - cheap but quality food and great service!

I'm lickin' my lips after reading the menu!

Y'know, I don't think we'll have enough days to try all the eating places I want to after reading these boards!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[filharmonic]

all sounds very interesting but at golden corral you can watch the cooks making the cakes, pies and desserts so obviously they dont come pre made wouldnt' think the meat is frozen either you can tell by the colour of a steak if it has been frozen or not and the ones at the g c look fresh to me i think its just a case of pile em high sell them cheap - you can also save a bit of cash by looking through the discount books for money off vouchers - take a bit of time as the deals in them are not all the same. if you want a buffet meal i don't think you can beat them ponderosa western sizzler ect don't come close. if youre looking for one on the i drive there is one on the corner of i drive and sandlake its not easy to spot its behind a gas station opp the big mcdonalds

[Rigstig]

Try Chillis (http://www.chilis.com/) - cheap but quality food and great service!

Thanks for the link Shaun. Never been to Chillis before, but I do like the look of whats on offer.

Heres the link for Perkins, got some different stuff there also
http://www.perkinsrestaurants.com/home.html

Stuart

[eeyore88]

GC, Sweet Tomatoes and Chilis, are our fav places:thumbs-up

[mickey house]

We have tried almost all of the cheapo breakfast buffets mentioned on here, and i would rather have bread and jam for breakfast. To be fair, you cannot expect great quality at a $3.99 eat/drink all you want breakfast buffet. If you are not very fussy, you will be fine eating it.

Our personal choice is Dennys, although it is more expensive, it is better quality food, and you actually get served at the table (not a buffet breakfast), so you won't feel like an extra out of the film Oliver waiting in line for your breakfast.

I would agree that cracker barrel is worth a visit especially if you like jacket pots.

[filharmonic]

we went to chilli's last week and it was awfull starters were ok when they brought the main meals my wifes order was wrong told the waiter he said our server would come and sort it out about 5 mins later she came told us she thought the order was right but she would check(how rude) came back said the missing item a steak would be wih us in 3 mins arrived about 10 mins later and was very undercooked the other meals for our party were luke warm at best we left most of the food when the server returned i told her we were not very happy she just quickly cleared the table came back with the check slapped it on the table and left came back picked up the payment without a word and never returned we diddnt leave a tip at all told the guy on the door why but he realy didnt seem that interested either it wasnt as if it was even a busy night the place was nearly empty - wewere talking to a waitress in the golden corral next morning nad before we had told her what had gone on she said dont eat there the service is awfull - so it wasnt a one off my advice dont eat there go to the outback food and service is much much better

[Sean_and_Sue]

We went to GC on 192 on Sunday morning, used to love it, but don't think we'll go again. Food quality has gone down and the plates are getting more scratched:nonono:
Went to Sizzlers yesterday and it was far better. Clean, better choice and service from people that seemed to care.

Had a great meal at Chiili's last night down at Champions Gate and waiters were funny and entertained the kids:D Best meal........so far:thumbs-up

[susan1]

ponderosa manage to keep there meal porices down by buying food with a short see/eat by date on it. it uis def not out of date though. the ponderosa opposite old town is o.k. as are the ponderosa and golden corral on the 192 west. the golden corral on the 192 east and by uni8versal are dire!

[tiggerpooh]

We went to GC on 192 on Sunday morning, used to love it, but don't think we'll go again. Food quality has gone down and the plates are getting more scratched:nonono:
Went to Sizzlers yesterday and it was far better. Clean, better choice and service from people that seemed to care.

We also had the same experience in August some of the plates at this GC were also dirty,We went to Sizzlers just down the road and had a good experience.

[LargerBaloo]

As long as you like Pizza CiCis is unbelievable value. We ate there a few times as a family of four and All the Salad, Pasta, Pizza, Pudding we cold eat as well as all the soda we could drink and our TOTAL bill for 4 used to come to $23....even now i find it hard to believe

[floridanuts]

hi pixie dust the gc on i drive is on the junction of sand lake rd behind the (bp i think) petrol station . behind walgreens and over the road from mcdonalds. its the best buffet meal that i have had in florida. we have tried all the others.we have not had a cracker barrel but we had a bob evans on the way back to the airport and that was very good.

[floridanuts]

:) hi pixie dust the gc on i drive is on the junction of sand lake rd behind the (bp i think) petrol station . behind walgreens and over the road from mcdonalds. its the best buffet meal that i have had in florida. we have tried all the others.we have not had a cracker barrel but we had a bob evans on the way back to the airport and that was very good.:grin:

[Steve&Jan]

For chinese it as to be dragon court on lbv mon thru fri 11:30 - 16:00 $6.95 mcdonalds gourmet restaurants wonderful, nice one on sand lake road.

[cotton]

Check out the report on Dragon Court Super Buffet at LBV here

http://www.wesh.com/consumernews/10073723/detail.html

:nonono:

[curlywurly]

The servers are paid a very meagre wage (around $2 per hour) cos they're expected to make up their pay in tips,

I thought that there was a minimum wage of at least $3.38 for tipped employees? ANyway I know this is still pretty diabolical.

If each family leaves a minimum tip of $5 (and could be more for a larger group) I would think on average each server could get through about 15/20 tables, thats $100 a day!

[flikflak]

Has to be Sweet tomatoes all the way - I could have eaten there once a day every day and been sorted!! Great food and great value!

[Rigstig]

we went to chilli's last week and it was awfull

Could you please elaborate and say which outlet this is.
We have been looking at the Chillis menu and we are putting it on our list of possibilities. I wouldnt really want to go to one that has bad reports though.

Thanks

stuart

[filharmonic]

it was the one on the 192 must be around marker 10 or 11 i think. it was truely awfull

[JazzyDuck]

Golden Corral and Sweet Tomatoes get the thumbs up for buffet style meals,
loads of things sure to find something even for the fussy eatter.

last trip did try sizzlers but it was worse than the year before so didnt go again and totaly avoided the pondagrosa.

[angel191078]

Hi

If you like Italian food I have to recommend Olive Garden. The quality and value for money is superb. We went 4 times on our last holiday.
Just Great

[*Sommer]

Yes there is a Golden Corral on international drive.........its at bus stop 23 on the I drive trolley :wave:

have fun

just got back on Saturday and I'm missing it already :cry:


which direction is that please on I Drive? I don't know bottom end from top end.

[filharmonic]

the golden corral is on the corner of sand lake road opp the huge mcdonalds its hard to spot its behind a gas station

[Citrus View]

which direction is that please on I Drive? I don't know bottom end from top end.
Driving away from the Convention Centre and Wonderworks but before you reach Wet and Wild.

[Amyrlin]

I thought that there was a minimum wage of at least $3.38 for tipped employees? ANyway I know this is still pretty diabolical.



There is, it went up recently, but it usually works out that it is all taken in tax.

[ariel2006]

Another vote for Golden Corrall...espcially breakfast!!

[filharmonic]

if you only want a snack/takeaway checkers or wendy,s are realy good and so cheap when we went seemed to order loads of stuff bill was around $14 for 4 of us

[stationeryguru]

We love Golden Corral as there is a wide choice and lots of salad & veggies if you are in to healthy eating (the desserts are to die for but don't tell my Weight Watchers leader!!).

[geordie39]

IMO good and cheap dont go together in orlando ,all the buffets we had were of poor quality ie shoneys sizzlers golden coral ponderosa i wont be eating in any of them when i return you get what u pay for at the end of the day

[gezza41]

Hi Pixie Dust,
Golden Corrall, Ponderosa,Dennys and Perkins are very good value for money and if you want to go a bit more expensive then have a meal at the Black Angus.

Enjoy

Gezza

[AuntyA]

I have to agree with Golden Coral (I-Drive) and i'm sorry but we almost lived in Ponderosa as my DS LOVED it, if we said we were going anywhere else he sulked :confused2 :d:

As for Cici's I really loved that place, for 3 of us we paid $18 and as someone else mentioned earlier this included desserts, salad and drinks, the pizzas were just amazing, i wish we had 1 over in the UK, far better than the overrated and overpriced pizza hut :spin:

[shellbenjosh]

Is there are GC on the 192. If so were is it??????????

[laulau]

my vote go's to ponddarsoa and sizzlers:d:

[Sean_and_Sue]

Is there are GC on the 192. If so were is it??????????

Its near the Sherbeth road turning...wouldn't go there though

[dibbaholic]

Its near the Sherbeth road turning...wouldn't go there though

Pray tell, where would you go? Take your point about the plates, but if you go elsewhere you pay double!:nonono:

[TH1]

We have tried the Ponderosa and (following recommendations on here) the Golden Corral for breakfast. In both cases, I must say that I didn't like either...too frenetic, food not great plus you have to watch grossly obese people (all nationalities) tucking in to ice cream with smartie toppings at 7 o'clock in the morning. Each to their own ... and all that...but it did put me off my ham and eggs! Personally, I would go for Dennys or the Crackerbarrel BUT avoid these on a Sunday morning as these seem to be very busy then.
To save money, make sure you pick up the coupon books as soon as you arrive - take two or three for a party of your size and organise yourselves to take full advantage of the discounts.
Water in the parks will also be expensive, so stock up at Publix or Walmart with ice, a polystyrene box and a multipack of water

[Citrus View]

If you really want to go American and you see one while driving around try a Whistle Junction. Very cheap for their buffet and all the Americans use them

[filharmonic]

we tried most of the golden corrals and we like the one at lake beuna vista best

[diannepoxon]

ponderosa, good food and dead cheap, steak is cooked just right, and the buffet has everything, nice puds too,
just returned from orlando on wed, and used different ponderosa and all are good, but not for the waistline, dread to think how much weight I have gained,
regards
Dianne

[UncleLatch]

The thing we found about Sizzler's was that if you don't just stick to the basic buffet and have a entree as well, it doesn't work out all that cheap.

[martyboy]

We have tried most of the buffet places but found GC Best.

However we tried two New restaurants this year Bob Evans(pork chop and mash,etc) and Applebees,(very similar to tgi's at half the price)both were superb value.

Worth a vist in my opinion!