Calypso’s Buffet

Took my husband here for his birthday. It was ok, nothing to write home to mommy about.

While not the best buffet I’ve ever been to, I don’t really understand the one star reviews.
Dined here on a Saturday afternoon for lunch with the family. We were just passing by on our way to Dubuque and the mother in law wanted to see if anything had changed since the last time she was there.
We arrived at the buffet right as it opened at 11:30 and were seated immediately. I believe it was around $ 11 for adults and they had a kids price as well, which I wasn’t expecting since we were at a casino.
There were lots of choices on the buffet, with the most choices being on the dessert bar. If I was simply reviewing this place based on dessert, it would have been 4 stars. I’ll start with the cons first: ranch salad dressing tasted off, the mac and cheese also had a strange flavor, and although I was super excited about the taco bar, I was sadly disappointed in the flavor of the ground beef. Wins were the giant rolls and the pizza was standard fare. Loved the desserts, including the soft serve machine and coconut macaroons. Also gotta give a shout out to our lovely server who kept all 9 of us with filled drinks and took our plates away quickly.

Calypso’s Buffet located inside the Isle of Capri Hotel/​Casino was a huge disappointment. The Hotel, other than the lack of ventilation in the bathroom, was a good experience. Comfortable beds, a beautiful bathroom, and nicely decorated rooms will not disappoint. Unfortunately, the bland flavorless food at the Calypso Buffet ruined the entire stay. I have never tasted so many dishes with no seasoning, or inadequate seasoning. Robert Irvine would have a cow if he tasted the food coming out of that kitchen by people dressed in Chef’s attire. I thought about recommending this place to Robert for a makeover, but Casino management should be smart enough and have deep enough pockets to fix this problem by hiring an actual Chef to run this operation. Apparently, with the gamblers receiving free meals for their patronage, the plan is to get you back to the one arm bandit as soon as possible to finish drinking your dinner. Remember, gambling in a drunken stupor is dangerous to your pocketbook. What’s sad is that I can’t recommend one item from that buffet. I now understand why certain establishments make you pay for your food before being seated. Otherwise, they may never get paid. I sure wish I had convinced my wife, daughter, and grand daughter that Unilocal’s 2 ½ star rating was reason enough to shun this establishment.
I still can’t believe you served the first tasteless pizza including the burnt char on the bottom. I will also never forget that tasteless gelatinous mess that they call Coconut Cream Pie. My first bite was tasteless Vegetable Beef Soup. Chef’s please apply at the front desk with a real piece of Coconut Cream Pie. I sure wish I had my money back since I don’t gamble, I rarely drink, and the cancer stick has never touched and destroyed my taste buds. I have only one question. Does the hotel own and operate the restaurant? If so, does management ever eat in the restaurant and taste the fare? If not, why? If so, how can you serve such non inspiring fare to customers? What percentage of the food on the buffet is prepared from scratch? Do you think your hotel would be busier if you improved the food at the Calypso? I have been in management for 35+ years in various capacities without a management degree. My previous dining experience and my common sense tells me that you need help. I visited your restaurant and hotel on June 1, 2015. Who is wearing the blinders and can’t see this? Suggest someone from management start asking your customers what you could do to improve their dining experience.

The smell of this place alone should keep you out. Food looks old and unappetizing. I think so many people eat here because they get it free by gambling. I would not recommend this place.

This is for the breakfast buffet and 3 stars is probably very generous. Eggs were hard, hash browns were loaded with nasty grease and the gravy was terrible and this was shortly after they opened so it wasn’t because the food had been sitting in the warmers.
I am not giving it one star because there was fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, etc.

Buffet is always good. Minus 2 stars for the omelette lady. She’s mean. I don’t know if they put her there to discourage people from getting an omelette or not. But it works. She scares me.
Traditional casino fare at a decent price. Can’t go wrong here, unless you cross the omelette lady.