The first time I went here which was a couple of months ago, I was impressed. The quality of the food was very good. I couldn't wait to come again. Then I did. I came back with my husband the second time and tale-tell signs were when the lines were long and too many people. We were debating of going somewhere else but decided to go to my chagrin. There were so many people menacingly jumping in the way to get food. Ill-mannered children with no parental guidance rudely cutting in front of me to get food. Surprisingly the food was not that great this time. They did not have a variety of food items as they did last time. To make matters worse, the plates they call themselves washing and restocking were filthy full of remnants of food. Other people noticed as well and kept placing the plates elsewhere with old food still attached. Gross!! There were hardly any utensils. Obviously, the staff was not properly trained or prepared to deal with a large crowd that day. When I went to a different known chain buffet back in Houston, it was a remarkable difference in the quality of food and service. Not sure if I'll come back; if I do it will be on a weekday. If I don't visit the Lake Charles area on a weekday, then I'll never return here again. But if I never see this place again, it will be a day too soon.
(2)
Greg H.
Good selection of foods, both battered & fried and non-battered items. Good salad bar. Good selection of roast, ham, steak, fish & chicken.
(3)
Heather M.
My favorite thing at Ryan's is the steak at night. But here's the odd thing - it totally varies from night to night! A went about a week ago, and the steak was thick, charred on the outside but juicy and tender on the inside, with an appropriate about of fat, and the steak was cooked to order. I went two night ago (I know, what kind of person goes to a buffet twice in a week!), and the steak was thin and tough, salty, and WAY overcooked. I prefer my steak cooked medium. I requested medium and found that the steak was cooked to the point of being grey. Yuck. It was also EXTREMELY salty. So I went back up and asked for a rare steak cooked with no salt. What I received was another salty piece of meat that was cooked brown throughout. So, basically, not at all what I asked for. I do not enjoy most of the other cooked meats on the buffet. The meat cooked in sauces tends to be way too salty. The fried chicken is extremely popular, but not an item I like. The sides can vary. Of course, the mashed potatoes are great, but the carrots have a sweet glaze that I find disgusting, and the corn is absolutely warmed from a can. The mac and cheese is a few pieces of macaroni floating in a soup of cheese sauce. I think the salad bar is high quality, and the soft-serve is way better than it was, say 15 years ago. (No more gritty yellow vanilla "icecream." Now it is soft and white like at McDonalds.) Overall, I think you do well for your money, and everyone can find something they like.
(3)
Casey C.
Ahh yes.....ol' Ryans...or Fire Mountain...or whatever name they choose to portray this year....my grandmother's absolute favorite restaurant. The food isn't terrible, it is typical cafeteria style cuisine. The age of patrons here range so wide that they have to prepare their food with everyone's taste in mind, which is impossible to do so the food ends up being bland, nothing to write home about. I do love the salad bar here, the food is satisfactory most of the time, and the desert selection is nice. I've experienced better buffet's at pretty much any casino I've been to, but for a place open to the public, this will do nicely when I can't make my mind up where I want to eat, or I want something quick, or I want something not to expensive. I've been to Ryan's Steakhouse all over the region and this location could use a little better management. Although the servers are nice, they could be a bit more attentive. It seems that they turn a blind eye to the condition of the spills on the floor. It would be nice if the pies on the desert bar were thawed before putting them out...oh, and if your legal team could swing it....someone to generally oversee the bars themselves to keep kids from touching food or spilling ice cream all over the place....sort of like a buffet bouncer or a bar bodyguard, I'll let you guys work out the name. Although I originally had a two star rating here, I went ahead and bumped them up to three because kids eat free during certain times and I really like the breakfast buffet on weekend mornings. So what the hey....
(3)
Edna L.
I like it, but my husband doesn't so we won't be back. The steaks were well done and salty. We would have preferred them more medium and with much less salt. I liked that the salad bar had mixed greens and not just iceberg lettuce. The baked chicken was very good! The best part was their rolls, served hot, soft inside with honey butter, melts in your mouth, we asked for a 2nd basket!
(2)
Charlene T.
Food was plentiful, and good. Table attendants friendly. Floor was sticky, carpet was sticky, bathrooms were dirty, concerned me about the cleanliness of the food preparation areas.
(3)
Rick E.
Sorry Ryan's but I have to do it - this place is the reason I hate buffets! Everyone there is eating like pigs and I've never seen more wasted food in my life! The buffet was filthy and I went through three Forks before I found one that didn't have dried food on it. The place was pretty packed so it seems they're doing well, hopefully they're not relying on me coming back because I sure won't!
(1)
Alan Y.
This place smells awesome outside... So good you get hungry to eat all of the great food inside. Then you walk inside Ryans and the smell is not as pleasing. As a matter of fact it is the polar opposite to the great smell outside. Do you want a lot of subpar food and a reasonable price? Then this is your place. If you are only in it for great food, then keep on driving...
(3)
Steve C.
This place is worst then the posted say. The green salad bar well let's say there's nothing green on it. Everything was old and starting to turn bad. If I was 80 years old the food would be good but nothing had any flavor to it. This place never heard of salt and pepper or even better Tony's seasonings. The wait staff was just going through the motion to look like they where doing something. Best thing I can say about this place is stay away, just move on down the road. In fact just down the road is a great place to eat southern spice now there's some good home cooking.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Ashley D.
The first time I went here which was a couple of months ago, I was impressed. The quality of the food was very good. I couldn't wait to come again. Then I did. I came back with my husband the second time and tale-tell signs were when the lines were long and too many people. We were debating of going somewhere else but decided to go to my chagrin. There were so many people menacingly jumping in the way to get food. Ill-mannered children with no parental guidance rudely cutting in front of me to get food. Surprisingly the food was not that great this time. They did not have a variety of food items as they did last time. To make matters worse, the plates they call themselves washing and restocking were filthy full of remnants of food. Other people noticed as well and kept placing the plates elsewhere with old food still attached. Gross!! There were hardly any utensils. Obviously, the staff was not properly trained or prepared to deal with a large crowd that day. When I went to a different known chain buffet back in Houston, it was a remarkable difference in the quality of food and service. Not sure if I'll come back; if I do it will be on a weekday. If I don't visit the Lake Charles area on a weekday, then I'll never return here again. But if I never see this place again, it will be a day too soon.
(2)Greg H.
Good selection of foods, both battered & fried and non-battered items. Good salad bar. Good selection of roast, ham, steak, fish & chicken.
(3)Heather M.
My favorite thing at Ryan's is the steak at night. But here's the odd thing - it totally varies from night to night! A went about a week ago, and the steak was thick, charred on the outside but juicy and tender on the inside, with an appropriate about of fat, and the steak was cooked to order. I went two night ago (I know, what kind of person goes to a buffet twice in a week!), and the steak was thin and tough, salty, and WAY overcooked. I prefer my steak cooked medium. I requested medium and found that the steak was cooked to the point of being grey. Yuck. It was also EXTREMELY salty. So I went back up and asked for a rare steak cooked with no salt. What I received was another salty piece of meat that was cooked brown throughout. So, basically, not at all what I asked for. I do not enjoy most of the other cooked meats on the buffet. The meat cooked in sauces tends to be way too salty. The fried chicken is extremely popular, but not an item I like. The sides can vary. Of course, the mashed potatoes are great, but the carrots have a sweet glaze that I find disgusting, and the corn is absolutely warmed from a can. The mac and cheese is a few pieces of macaroni floating in a soup of cheese sauce. I think the salad bar is high quality, and the soft-serve is way better than it was, say 15 years ago. (No more gritty yellow vanilla "icecream." Now it is soft and white like at McDonalds.) Overall, I think you do well for your money, and everyone can find something they like.
(3)Casey C.
Ahh yes.....ol' Ryans...or Fire Mountain...or whatever name they choose to portray this year....my grandmother's absolute favorite restaurant. The food isn't terrible, it is typical cafeteria style cuisine. The age of patrons here range so wide that they have to prepare their food with everyone's taste in mind, which is impossible to do so the food ends up being bland, nothing to write home about. I do love the salad bar here, the food is satisfactory most of the time, and the desert selection is nice. I've experienced better buffet's at pretty much any casino I've been to, but for a place open to the public, this will do nicely when I can't make my mind up where I want to eat, or I want something quick, or I want something not to expensive. I've been to Ryan's Steakhouse all over the region and this location could use a little better management. Although the servers are nice, they could be a bit more attentive. It seems that they turn a blind eye to the condition of the spills on the floor. It would be nice if the pies on the desert bar were thawed before putting them out...oh, and if your legal team could swing it....someone to generally oversee the bars themselves to keep kids from touching food or spilling ice cream all over the place....sort of like a buffet bouncer or a bar bodyguard, I'll let you guys work out the name. Although I originally had a two star rating here, I went ahead and bumped them up to three because kids eat free during certain times and I really like the breakfast buffet on weekend mornings. So what the hey....
(3)Edna L.
I like it, but my husband doesn't so we won't be back. The steaks were well done and salty. We would have preferred them more medium and with much less salt. I liked that the salad bar had mixed greens and not just iceberg lettuce. The baked chicken was very good! The best part was their rolls, served hot, soft inside with honey butter, melts in your mouth, we asked for a 2nd basket!
(2)Charlene T.
Food was plentiful, and good. Table attendants friendly. Floor was sticky, carpet was sticky, bathrooms were dirty, concerned me about the cleanliness of the food preparation areas.
(3)Rick E.
Sorry Ryan's but I have to do it - this place is the reason I hate buffets! Everyone there is eating like pigs and I've never seen more wasted food in my life! The buffet was filthy and I went through three Forks before I found one that didn't have dried food on it. The place was pretty packed so it seems they're doing well, hopefully they're not relying on me coming back because I sure won't!
(1)Alan Y.
This place smells awesome outside... So good you get hungry to eat all of the great food inside. Then you walk inside Ryans and the smell is not as pleasing. As a matter of fact it is the polar opposite to the great smell outside. Do you want a lot of subpar food and a reasonable price? Then this is your place. If you are only in it for great food, then keep on driving...
(3)Steve C.
This place is worst then the posted say. The green salad bar well let's say there's nothing green on it. Everything was old and starting to turn bad. If I was 80 years old the food would be good but nothing had any flavor to it. This place never heard of salt and pepper or even better Tony's seasonings. The wait staff was just going through the motion to look like they where doing something. Best thing I can say about this place is stay away, just move on down the road. In fact just down the road is a great place to eat southern spice now there's some good home cooking.
(1)