Plates International Buffet (Closed)

Plates International Buffet is the newest buffet to hit the city. It’s located southside on Calgary Trail and recently opened last month. They claim to be “Edmonton’s premier buffet restaurant & bar” which I can say is partially true. There is a huge selection of food, most of which seemed freshly made. There has also been a comparison to Vegas style buffets. I’ve been to countless Vegas buffets from higher priced ones such as Bellagio and The Cosmopolitan to lower ones such as Flamingo Hotel. I would say that Plates is one level above Flamingo. The interior is clean and modern.  Although the actual buffet area was well-lit, I didn’t enjoy how dimly lit the dining area was though. If compared to a Vegas buffet, I remember being able to actually see my food when I was eating it.. (okay it wasn’t that dark but you get what I mean). The service was friendly and very attentive. Overall, Plates is definitely nicer than other buffets in Edmonton.They reflect this in their price points. I recommend going on a weekday evening rather than weekend ($42.95 vs $49.95/$54.95). It’s basically the same food choices with the exception of some additional seafood offerings on the weekend. Lunch and brunch buffet is also offered. 

The “international” part of their name is not very reflective. Majority of the buffet is Asian food. I don’t mind Asian cuisine but I would’ve liked to see more diversity such as Indian, Mexican, etc. Honestly, this buffet is only worth it if you like seafood, sashimi, and/or sushi. It’s also the first thing you’ll see when you enter the buffet. For seafood, there was shrimp, crab legs, BBQ squid, and mussels. On the weekend, garlic oysters are one of the seafood additions. 

Sashimi and sushi can get very expensive when you’re dining out so it was kind of nice to see it offered here. They also had salads such as seaweed salad and crab meat cucumber salad. 

Other Asian foods that I saw were typical Chinese food such as fried rice, chow mein noodles, ginger beef, green onion cakes, and deep fried wontons. Hot dim sum was offered as well. There was also pho noodle soup and tom yum soup made to order. 

For my first plate, I tasted their non-Asian food. The mini metal pans reminded me of how food was served at Wicked Spoon in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas! I had mac & cheese, seafood linguine, chicken fingers & waffle fries, baked cheese ravioli, and potato skins. The potato skins were my favorite except you usually don’t go to buffets for that! The pasta was mediocre, the creamy sauce for the linguine was too watery while the ravioli just didn’t taste that pleasant. The ravioli was dry. The other foods are just average as well. I did try Asian foods which I found to be only okay.. nothing to rave about. The sushi and sashimi were freshly made right there. 

I was disappointed by the dessert bar. It looked delicious and spectacular. Just like the rest of the buffet though, it wasn’t anything special. There was a variety from cakes to macarons to ice cream.

I had a creme brulee, vanilla panna cotta, and 2 scoops of ice cream. The creme brulee was enjoyable. It was smooth and creamy. The vanilla panna cotta was literally tasteless. I didn’t taste anything, only felt the texture of it when I tried eating it. Their ice cream tasted like ice cream you’d find at a grocery store. 

Overall, I did not get my money’s worth at the buffet. There is a wide selection of food to choose from but not everything was tasteful. Honestly, it depends on food preference. Like I said before, if you like sushi or seafood you’ll really like this buffet. I am not the biggest seafood lover therefore I was expecting more variety in the food. I’m pretty sure it’s the highest priced buffet restaurant in Edmonton as well! I’ll leave it up to your own judgment to decide if you should give Plates a try.