Friends have told me for years to give this place a shot. I finally got around to it. The place is huge! Make sure you check out all the food before you decide to fill your plate. There are so many choices you could easily miss something by filling up early. There is a gift store downstairs that is also well worth the visit. read more

Drove here from NJ for Lancaster trip and was anticipating our lunch here, left underwhelmed. 3 Adults for Lunch on a Saturday -$97 , pretty costly for a buffet that served food equivalent to salty trash. They shuttle you in like the cattle in nearby fields, lines in the front followed by more lines to get seated, felt like I was going to be in escorted to the grill to be prepped for consumption. Everything was salty, tough to chew, canned style vegetables (more salt). I should have known better what to expect with a buffet style meal but had high hopes the quality of food would be better, reminds you of school lunch / cafeteria crap. Not worth the price. The gift shop was massive and had lots of "gifts" or items to buy for yourself. Don't waster your time coming here for lunch, go somewhere else that is local and better quality of food. Also the waitress was picking her teeth and digging in her mouth in between clearing off used plates/cups from tables. The soft serve icecream machine was the best part. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Front entrance - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

All I have to say is RUN don't walk to this place. It is unbelievable. The amount of food options there are-- come with an empty stomach. The service is simple, you pay at the front and then you are seated depending on whether you want a booth or table. We arrived right at 4:00PM on a Friday, so we were able to have the full dinner experience with all the stations. It realllyyyyy fills up after 5, so get here right at 4. The set up is a typical buffet set up-- but the amount of food and stations. Words don't do it justice. I would love to come back for breakfast. Can't wait to eat here again!!!! read more

Hey friends! My boyfriend wanted to spend his birthday at America's largest buffet. And let's just say we are already planning our return trip! With over 200 feet of food, Shady Maple is an unforgettable experience. From the sweet treats to made-to-order meat stations, this is now my favorite buffet. The made-to-order meat stations feature cheesesteaks, burgers, sausages and steaks! All cooked to your liking, right in front of you, how cool! The buffet bars are stacked with salad bars, seafood, soups, sides, fried food, baked food, you name it! I truly enjoyed the range of options here. There's plentyyyyy to drink. Slushie machines, coffee, soda stations, tea/lemonade, fresh milk from their farms and milkshakes machines! The sweet treats are endless; pies, cakes, build-your-ice cream bowls and more! Customer service: Okay, not super friendly Prices: $33/person on a weekday. Plus free birthday meals! Plenty free parking Atmosphere: family-oriented Make sure you also check their gift shop on the lower level. I hope you enjoy! read more

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We visited Shady Maple Smorgasbord tonight as a party of 6. It was a breeze getting through the line and after a short wait with the hostess, we were seated and ready to eat. The sheer size of this buffet can feel a little overwhelming at first, so I'd definitely recommend taking a quick lap to scan all the food and drink stations before diving in. There were a lot of highlights: lobster & shrimp bisque, endless salad bar (great variety), strip steaks with mushrooms & grilled onions and fried chicken were all absolutely delicious. We also loved the rice, French fries, baked and sweet potatoes. For dessert, the key lime pie, cheesecake, shoofly pie and ice cream were all hits and the local birch beer was a fun bonus. A couple of low points: the mixed vegetables were undercooked and unfortunately, no one in our group enjoyed the mac & cheese. Overall, a great experience with tons of options; we'd definitely come back. Thank you! read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Shoofly pie!! - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

This is a prime example as to why humans are the greatest species on earth. To come up with such a flawless idea as this one truly encapsulates the genius in Homo sapiens. The world's largest buffet truly lived up to expectations. I haw not felt this much joyful glee waiting in a line since I was at Disney world. Nay since I was a toddler. The food here made you crave that at home cooking while scratching every desire to fill your stomach as much as possible. If I didn't have things to do after this trip you would have had to roll me out of here with how much I wish I could eaten. Worth the visit. Worth every penny. read more

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Food was good but nothing too spectacular as I thought it to be a really massive buffet. The buffet is split into 2 parts which have the same food as the other. There is a grill station that featured burgers (juicy), cheese steak which was disappointing and weird flavor, sausages, corn cakes and potato cakes. The fried chicken was good too. There are dessert options with pies and ice cream. There are lots of seating, staff are friendly, very old retro vibe. No need to tip. Bathrooms clean, and you pay first at the counter and leave once you are done. They have a huge store downstairs, a supermarket behind the restaurant, and a furniture store. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Buffet food. - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

My wife and I tried this restaurant while passing through town and it was great. The restaurant is clean, all though it's a buffet personal ate at all stations cleaning continuously so everything is kept clean. They had 8 bars that I counted not including the steak and grill areas. They also have every drink available coffee, cappuccino, milk, juice, soda and so on . This is a top notch buffet. The service was excellent although all they do is keep your empty plates removed. I would definitely recommend trying this restaurant. read more

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Everything was pretty good. Nothing too exciting, not really sure what the hype is all about. Most of the food has flavor but it's basic mass produced buffet food. Senior discount starting at 59 yrs old. Fast process to pay and get in. Pay then wait to get seated. Tons of food and dessert options. Monday is steak night. The three options of steak were good. The steak wasn't bad. Relatively tender but way over seasoned so it was hard to taste the actual flavor of the meat. read more

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People hate on smorgasbords for all sorts of reasons. Yes its not 5 star Michelin food (its not supposed to be). BUT it has a VARIETY of food and gives you a taste of Lancaster County. If its your birthday you get a free meal when you go with someone purchasing. To be honest, compared to other Lancaster County Buffets, their price is the most reasonable! I actually prefer their breakfast Buffet, but we recently went for dinner. Tons of seating, we went on a Friday Dinner Rush and it only took us about 10 minutes to get seated. Just some of my top picks and highlights: Steaks made to order Milkshake station The dessert bar Icee machine Potato pie Brown Butter noodles Fried chicken Corn casserole And don't forget the PIE! If you are visiting, just do it and get a taste of Lancaster County! Two huge aisles of food with different items going each direction, check both! Every night has a special, seafood night, steak night, etc...pick your favorite! read more

2 stars: I tried scrapple for the first time. Either it wasn't good for what it can be or I just don't like scrapple no matter where it's made. The baked hash brown casserole was very underwhelming. 3 stars: Bacon and sausage link was fine. I would expect both to be this good from any reputable buffet. 5 stars: I loved the omelette station (egg whites and all the veggies; no cheese). The hash brown wedges were pretty good, as was the French toast. And they had 100% pure Vermont maple syrup Overall, good value but overhyped. To get the best bang for your buck you gotta know what's good for your tastes and load up your plate on those items. So, pretty much like any buffet. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - French toast, egg white omelette, fried hash brown wedge, baked has brown casserole, sausage link, bacon, scrapple. - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

This definitely blew every other buffet I've been to out of the park, due to size and variety but also quality. The place is huge and I don't think I got to try everything but I really enjoyed the steak off the grill and the local fountain soda flavors like white birch beer. It was my first time trying it. Came during dinner on a Saturday and there was a small wait, but definitely a lot of people. Definitely worth the try as a tourist. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

Stopped in with the family to have lunch. Let's just say you have to go here hungry! Cause it's a lot of food and the food is delicious. The kids had a great time here and of course eating all the ice cream they wanted and desserts. Service is ok it's big and can get crazy packed. So might be slow getting something at the table. The decor is old but that's the charm of the place. Also down stairs they have a huge shop. Go check this place out. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

Absolutely amazing, food was delicious,didn't taste like buffet food. We went Prime Rib night (Wednesday) awesome. Thank you very much from California. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

So my husband heard about this place from a coworker so we finally tried it with his family. This place is gigantic. There was so much seating & parking & the building was huge. We got there around breakfast so we got to try a little bit of breakfast before they transitioned to lunch. It wasn't super busy on a Thursday at 10am but as we stayed there, crowds started coming in at around 11:30am. There was a lot of sides and desserts but not many pescatarian or vegetarian options since the cuisine seems to be more meat heavy. As for the food, nothing was amazing but nothing was bad so it was average all around. But the staff was nice and the food was pretty consistent for having so many people each day. read more

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The largest buffet in the country. I saw this place on YouTube and added it to my bucket list. I was in Allentown, PA and decided to drive an hour to experience this firsthand. Ambience - the place is HUGE. From the outside, it looked to be the size of a Costco warehouse. I'm told that the seating capacity is 2000 people. The decor is oddly similar to Old Country Buffet but 20 times larger. There were about 10 buffet stations and 4 grill stations. We came on a Saturday night and it was about a half hour wait to get seated. Food - it was a really large variety. The ribeye steak was surprisingly good for a buffet. I was partial to the pot roast and fried chicken. The desserts were a hit, especially the apple cobblers. TL/DR: it lives up to the hype in terms of size and variety. As long as you set your expectations accordingly (I.e. this is a buffet, not 5 star steakhouse) you can't go wrong for $30. Should definitely visit and experience it if you are ever in the area. read more

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This place is humungous.... Very country old fashion buffet experience. The variety of food is literally everything you can imagine from classic Turkey dinner style to pastas fried chicken/fish jerk chicken cheesesteaks pizzas salad bar dessert bar with all types of puddings and pies an ice cream station different grill stations.. make sure you go hungry and it seems to always be busy it's was around 2:30pm on a Friday and there was a line for a table but fast service. I can imagine it gets even busier definitely a good experience. There's a huge gift shop on the lower level. read more

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We had a wonderful visit at the largest smorgasbord in the country. I watched several YouTube videos to understand how things worked. There is a chance you will wait in a long line just to pay for your meal. Everyone in your party must be present before you can be seated. We arrived early for lunch. I was able to pay for our party before we were seated. While we waited for one of our guests, we visited the gift shop and looked at all the displays in the front area. I signed up for the free shopper card which earns points for every dollar spent. An employee in the gift shop suggested to redeem the dollars earned in the stores. Since we will return, I'm going to keep collecting points. Use the card when you shop and eat. If you arrive between breakfast and dinner, you might get to sample the remaining breakfast items that haven't been swapped out yet. The lunch crowd gets full. There are approximately 2,000 seats in the dining areas. The servers are nice about explaining how things worked. Take want you want. Eat what you take. Use new plates every trip. We wanted to try as many Amish dishes as we could. The corn, stuffing and stewed tomatoes were wonderful. There are so many food stations. Meat and fish are cooked in front of you. The salad bar has many toppings. The vegetables take an entire section. The dessert area has ice cream, pie, cookies and cake. Make sure you check out each area. I was excited about my vanilla shake but then I discovered the pumpkin ice cream. It was delicious. There are multiple drink stations. The condiment areas have lots of items. Try the Amish butter. There are fun photo opps outside. We saw mums and pumpkins for sale. The front lobby has a small flower counter. Visiting early was convenient. We arrived before the lunch crowds. When our full party was together, we bypassed the front line and entered the seating line. Your receipt reserves your table. This was a wonderful experience. I look forward to a return visit. The gift shop is downstairs. read more

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This place was better than I expected and worse than I expected. First, they do a great job at moving people. You enter the line to pay first and then enter another line to get seated. Their system works well in moving as many people as possible and as fast as possible. Quite efficient. If you see a huge line, it's not as bad as it looks. If you have 5 or more people, they put you in a different line to be seated. There's also two different lines to be seated. After paying, if you stand in the left line, it's for a booth only and the section isn't that large. The line to the right is booth and tables and that one moves faster. Second, they gave a level 2 charger in the parking lot that charges 10 cents per KWH for Teslas on a Saturday night. Convenient and we got 15-20 percent from parking to leaving. Okay, now the ups and downs. The variety of food is quite large, but it's not as large as you think if you compare it to Vegas. They do have repetitions from one end to the other end. So although it's a large place and it appears like they have a lot, it's smaller in variety than expected. The quality of food is better than expected. The NY strip was soft and tender. The salmon was well cooked and the sauce was good. The cat fish with Cajun rub was quite delicious and the smoked brisket is so soft and tender and delicious that we both agreed that it was better than ordering it at a BBQ specific chained place. I focused on the items on the grill and they were delicious and the people handling the grill were super nice. For the price, the items on the grill made it worth it. They are heavy foods and I filled up quite quickly. We left satisfied. read more

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I love the shop in the basement, their farmer market supermarket and of course their buffet is a no frills but staple ... I recommend going for all the side places they offer besides the AYCE. You can literally spend the whole day here. We did. This was our side trip stop prior to going down to Atlantic City read more

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My brother's family took me and my son here because they said we must experience the experience. And so we did. Come wearing your stretchy pants & loose clothing. Don't dress up, you'll stand out. Be patient and ready to follow the rules of entry... line up like cattle. Start thinking about all the food you could ever want for brunch and make your strategy. It's a buffet. A huge buffet. The food is good and you have to have a moderate tolerance for other people also wanting food. Slow down, make sure you chew. Wash it down with water, coffee, chocolate milk or ice cream. Watch the people, because the people watching is good. I had fun but I'm fairly sure they lost money on me because despite all my strategizing, I only had 2 small plates of food. I guess I'll have to come back to try the rest! read more

Good quality food with a lot of variety. This was our first visit to Shady Maple, even though I've lived in Central PA a good portion of my life. We went for breakfast and overall we were very impressed.  Service was prompt and friendly as the whole organization of the place operated like a well oiled machine. The first thing that stood out was the cleanliness of the place and serving areas.   They also provided plastic gloves to use while serving through the lines, if you wanted.  The food was good quality and was very tasty! Having lived in LasVegas for several years, we became accustomed to the mass produced buffets there. Fortunately, the quality of food being served at Shady Maple surpassed many of the Vegas buffets.  I would definitely recommend stopping by Shady Maple. read more

Food was fresh and service was very good. I liked the selection of foods. Standouts were the roast beef and the whoopie pie. This was the best value buffet that I have ever eaten at. What would have made it five stars was a shorter wait time to get into it. read more

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This was pretty fun for dinner. More like an experience + dinner. It's a big buffet - the novelty itself is worth it. But I was driving through PA and had to check this out and it is a whole Mecca in the middle of cornfields. There are 2 separate buildings in the front for every consumer and grocery good you may need on your way out, but towards the back is the star of the show. Get ready to wait in line, but they have the logistics down pat. The line moves quickly, pay includes soft drinks and gratuity, then a second line to be seated, then you're off. Check out everything before grabbing a plate so you don't fill up and miss something. A lot of the food is regional, so pick something more unique if you want to try something new. There are also grill stations for steaks, fish, and hamburgers. Getting this cooked to order is a great place to start. This place was packed on a Saturday, but there are repeated stations so nothing was ever empty or had a line to get. I do have to give a nod to the coffee machines: they had an English coffee cappuccino I had to get 2 cups of even when I was getting full. There is also a local soda machine (Tractor), juices, milk, a milkshake machine in addition to regular sodas. The desserts feature all sorts of pies. The shoo fly pie is traditional for the region, but I actually thought the Boston cream pie was the best one. They also have a section of gluten-free desserts if needed. Downstairs is also a massive gift shop, so leave time just to roam through. I wanted a little souvenir that said Shady Maple on it, and a nice cashier pointed me to the right area, which was super helpful. There is a lot of cool items here that you could do all your holiday shopping in one place. There aren't a ton of high value items here, but the food was good, even though it was packed, things moved slowly, and it was fun navigating all the stations. The price was also only like $30 a person max on a Saturday night, but it's cheaper on other days. That's not bad for a meal and drinks at any other establishments. There is also horse parking outside if you need to hitch your wagon to a post. read more

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Wow!! What a treat! I am describing this restaurant as the Disney of Buffet. Came here for the first time today for lunch. 30 per person plus tax and 12% tips. Definitely not cheap compared to other buffet restaurants. However, the amount of food I get to choose from was simply mind boggling. There is no way our stomach could hold all those food. I felt so lost looking at all the choices. Everything I tried tasted wonderful. My only complain was the strip steak was too tough. My husband said the hot dog was only so so. Other than that everything was good. Really love the coffee. The dessert area and drink stations were also amazing. Will come back next time with a birthday person. Will also try to explore the store next time. read more

We heard the hype and honestly it didn't really live up to it. Yes the place is huge and the staff is kind and friendly but the food was just alright. It was just like any other buffet you've been to. I will give them their flowers with the amount of options. But, when quantity is better than the quality there's going to be a problem. I will say the desserts and beverages options were impressive. Overall, I would come back. read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

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It's been on my bucket list because it's touted as America's largest buffet, boasting 200 feet of buffet offerings, with many Pennsylvania Dutch style dishes, and can simultaneously feed 2,000 people. Upon arriving at the place, I must admit it exceeded my expectation. This gigantic banquet facility is lavishly furnished and decorated. I was immediately drawn to the many 3-D carvings hung on the wall. Oh, and look for the impressive Giant Cuckoo Clock towards the banquet hall! The check-in/cashier area is larger than any Las Vegas buffets I've been to. Luckily we went for a Wednesday lunch, and we were spared of the full wrath of crowd and long lines. Lunch for adults are $19.99 each, or $23.59 with taxes and automatic 12% tips. Once you paid, the immediate seating line is for booth only, or you can go towards the right for table and booth seating. The former seat you closer to the buffet but you may have to wait longer; the latter is more popular so line is longer but you get seated faster. The amount of dishes is indeed impressive. Make sure you visit the 3 grills first which is located in the back by dining rows 1 & 2. There you'd find the "star" dishes for the day. There are 10 long freestanding stalls of buffet foods. The drinks and desserts surround the stalls at both sides and both ends. There are additional offerings that are detached from the main buffet area: Extra Thick Milkshakes, Slushies/ICEEs, and condiments stations. I counted and there were 26 condiments sat on the 20+ feet counter! Some of the more unique or surprising offerings during our visits are: Stuffed Pig Stomach, Crab Cakes, Fried Oyster, Ham Balls, and Chicken Croquettes. The choices for drinks are out of this world. Any kinds of fountain drinks and juices you can think of, they've got it, including White Birch Beer, Nitro/ Cold Brew Coffee, Kiwi Strawberry Juice, Sarsaparilla, etc. Soft serve ice cream with full topping bar where you can enter a contest for making impressive sundaes. I've never had Black Berry and Strawberry soft serves before today. Countless dessert choices, and I was told to and did ask for the Lemon Meringue Pie and they brought out from the back for me. And they are known for donuts as well - look for the Cookie & Cream Donuts! While the vast selection of foods was impressive, we felt the quality was unfortunately not equally as impressive. By and large, most of the dish were below my expectation in terms of taste. The Fried Shrimps and Ham Balls did raised my eye brows, but not much else did. That said, this place is absolutely worth a visit. Though in the middle of nowhere, it is an impressive operation on and of its own. You can spend an entire afternoon there - after your gluttonous deed and admire and decors of the banquet halls, you can visit the big gift shops downstairs, and the Farm Market on the backside of the parking lot. PS. And don't forget to say Hi to Ray at booth #49 who has been coming for 40 years. read more

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Finally got to cross off the largest buffet in America from my food bucket list! I have always seen videos of this place and finally took the trip to check this place out. This buffet is the largest in America (by size) and is serving lots of hearty classic American/country food with a focus on Pennsylvania Dutch dishes. They have wide range of different meats and tasty sides dishes like brisket, fried chicken, cheeseburger casserole, etc. My personal favorites were the ribs which were fall apart tender and surprisingly their stewed cabbage. Overall the quality of the food was pretty good with a good amount of variety and unique dishes. This is a great buffet for the value that will be sure to leave you stuffed. A bit out the way but definitely worth a visit if you are a foodie! read more

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I heard about this place and really wanted to try it. We live a few states away but today we finally got here! Its huge!! They not only have tons of food but a large gift shop as well! It gets very busy but they are really good with their system. You pay for your food and pick a line for either booths only(us) or tables and booths. The dining area is so big you have numbers to remember where your table is. You are seated and they tell you how to find your way around and then you're off! So much food! They had steak and ham and hamburgers and brisket and ribs and chicken and lots of veggies and salads and desserts galore! Rolls and soups and salads and more! The unexpected thing i loved was the dried corn which reminded me of a corn pudding. Everything i had was yummy! Downstairs us the endless gift shop! Its huge! Such a fun stop and such yummy food! We loved it! read more

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Shady Maple Smorgasbord has been a family staple ever since I was growing up. We would always come out to Lancaster multiple times a year and we would ALWAYS have to stop here first for the breakfast buffet. I've personally never tried their lunch or dinner buffet, but I do know that the restaurant is consistently packed all the time! The restaurant is very nice, the dining room is big and has multiple rooms available to sit in. After paying, you walk down the hallway to the host who will seat you in the dining room. The price of the breakfast buffet is $13.99 plus tax. This price is not bad at all because it gives you full access to everything on the bars as well as the stations. The have about 4-6 bars that serve everything you can think of for breakfast. They have 3-4 full of food items and 2-3 full of desserts and pastries. They also offer two breakfast stations, one for pancakes and one for eggs/omelets. The pancake station is my favorite, you can choose any toppings that you want on them and they make it fresh right in front of you. You can also choose if you'd like regular pancake batter or sweet potato batter. The egg/omelet station is also very nice, they have many different options to pick from and they cook it so fast and it is super fresh! If you're visiting Lancaster, definitely go check out Shady Maple! After you're done eating they have a huge gift shop downstairs as well as a farmers market and the Good's Store located adjacent to the restaurant in the parking lot. read more

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After eyeing this place for a long time, we finally got the chance to stop on a return trip to Pittsburgh from New Jersey. I first learned of Shady Maple from a video online, and have wanted to stop for a few years. Our travels lined up with their hours, and we were able to stop on a Tuesday evening about a month ago. When we got there, it was a little after 7. The information online said they would start to shut down at 8, but we decided that we were still going to stop since we were in the area. It was definitely not to capacity, but still lots of groups eating. The price varies depending on both the time of day, and the day of the week that you visit. We were there on a Tuesday for dinner, which is seafood night. For two people to eat the buffet, it was around $70. This included the $29.99 price, 12% service charge, and taxes. Everyone working that day was very nice. We had a kind server, and all that I interacted with throughout the restaurant were friendly and willing to answer any questions. The buffet line is long - it spans the entire length or the dining room. There is also a separate carving station and grill off of the main line. Though, if you enter in the middle and head down either way, you will get everything there is available. They have everything presented twice, so if you walk the entire length of the buffet you will see all offerings twice, if that makes sense! I recommend taking a walk through without a plate first to really see what the offerings are, and then make a place from there. Truly there is so much that you need to sort of plan what you want before you get it! We tried as much as we were able to from all parts of the buffet. Some of our favorites were the brisket, the bisque, the cold shrimp, and surprisingly the ham balls. They were an unexpected winner for us - truly a must try if you are dining here. Additionally, we tried several desserts. The winning dessert was the blueberry cake with the cream cheese-type icing. It was so incredible, I wish we could have bought an entire cake of it. I will be thinking about it until we can make another trip out. It is amazing to me that most of this stuff is homemade and prepared in-house. It is apparent that this has grown to a different level over the years, but to be able to maintain that kind of service with their food is really awesome. I would recommend making the stop here if you are able! Next time, I hope to get there earlier to have more time to enjoy the food, and also to be able to try their breakfast. I have heard great reviews about it, and look forward to trying it sometime. Really enjoyed our first trip to the infamous Shady Maple Smorgasbord! read more

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Big buffet to stop for road trips breakfast and lunch. Love the great food they serve when on tours read more

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Very impressed by this buffet! We were seated quickly and service was great. Everyone was very friendly. This is the largest buffet in America and it certainly lives up to the hype! I have never seen such a variety of breakfast foods before. I was able to enjoy eggs, bacon, hashbrown casserole, blueberry yogurt parfait, a Boston cream donut, peach pineapple oatmeal baked, and some grapefruit. They also had an enormous selection of juices and coffees. Especially for a buffet, this food was very tasty and fresh. I was stuffed after the buffet and am would 110% return! Very nice ambience, the dining area looks like a fancy hotel! read more

Shady Maple Smorgasbord - My large plates! - Do-It-Yourself Food Near Me - East Earl, Pennsylvania

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Food food food!! We came during lunch... the selection is amazing. I recommend the following dishes: ham balls - think a sweet and savory ham meatball. Great balance Fried chicken - crispy and moist but the crust needs a bit of seasoning Seafood croquettes- large deep fried hushpuppy. Perfect amount of seasoning locked inside a deep-fried dough ball Old fashion pot roast- tender and juicy braised meat. Scalloped corn - sweet... awesome side. Not so good: Had to try the Shoe Fly Pie. Honestly, I am not a dessert person, but I am not impressed by this. Front of house is friendly and simply amazing... she pointed us to the shortest line... no wait at all. Table staff is attentive, but not personable. She cleared used dishes, but did not engage otherwise read more

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Definitely an experience driving here all the way from New York to visit America's largest buffet. We came here for my boyfriend's birthday which was cool because his meal was free and was given a birthday coupon booklet that he could use throughout the vicinity. This area is massive with its own gift shop, supermarket, nursery etc. and you don't have to worry about finding parking. AYCE price is cheap and there's no tipping. The food isn't amazing but it's hard to beat the value. Everything is refilled frequently and food was served hot. Tables are constantly being bussed so you don't have to worry about plates piling on your table. Don't forget to get desserts and explore the drinks too. We were obsessed with birch beer (similar-ish to root beer). If we lived closer we would definitely visit on a Wednesday to experience Prime Rib Night. We wouldn't mind making the trip out again especially since we had a lot of fun shopping produce at the supermarket, picking up fresh flowers at the nursery, and picking up souvenirs at the gift shop. read more

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Bit of a drive to get here but worth the one-and-done trip! Massive food hall, countless options, locally-sourced ingredients, and unbelievable great value. We came in mid-morning and paid the breakfast rate right before the lunch changeover swap happened. With that price (or even the standard lunch pricing) I highly recommend you to visit and make a day out of Lancaster, PA starting with Shady Maple. Highlights were the grill stations serving up wraps, burgers, and cuts of prime rib and brisket. Also enjoyed trying the PA/Amish-specific dishes. Too many options for dessert to count but I liked the green-plated ones without added sugar. The carrot puree and the gyro bar were also interesting. All of the food were generally pretty good if you tamper your expectations. You are coming here to be wowed by the variety of options (its a buffet, duh). But also come here to appreciate the interesting 3D art made by one of the Amish founders. You'll see it scattered around the halls and on the main lobby. Walk off your food coma downstairs at the massive gift shop/everything store. Plenty of knickknacks and things you didn't know you wanted but definitely don't need, haha. read more

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I loved going here--it's truly a place for everyone. As the largest buffet in the nation, it absolutely meets expectations. This is a 2-in-1 review because I went on a Saturday, then came back just a few days later sampling the dinner menu both times. The wait was surprisingly short considering how many people were there. Once you're inside, it feels akin to an all-inclusive cruise: quick turnover, indulgent, and endless options once you've paid your ticket. The amount of protein available is excessive in the best way, and the variety is not bad. (They change the menu everyday) Highlights for me were the strip steak--requesting how you like your steak cooked is encouraged--and the eclair pudding, which has lived rent free in my mind all week. If you're hungry and want to experience a little bit of everything, this place is it. read more

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This place is absolutely fantastic! I visited this buffet with my family and parents from Bucks County, and yes, it is entirely worth the drive. It has to be one of the largest all-you-can-eat buffets anywhere, and gosh darn it, the food is incredibly good. Even after moving out to California years ago, I still meet people out here who have heard of this place. If you're looking to indulge in an incredible dining experience, this is a must-go destination. So worth it! read more

This place really speaks for itself! It's AMAZING! Absolutely MASSIVE! Has basically any food you could possibly want and all of it is delicious. Plenty of room for everyone to enjoy comfortably. There is a huge shopping area downstairs. The staff is always on the ball and helpful. I think everyone needs to come here at least once. I've been here many times. lol Be sure to check it out! If you leave hungry there's a SERIOUS problem. read more

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Typical American fare with a mix of local Amish cooking. The food was a hit or amiss. Lots of dessert and drink options. Huge dining hall and by far the biggest buffet restaurant I've been to. We trekked down here for the experience. It's different for sure when it comes to its size, but may not return for the food. The staff were great though. read more

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