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NYC restaurants are cashing in on wallet-weary diners hunting unlimited cheap eats
As food prices rise, more Americans are seeking buffet-style meals and unlimited dining. Yelp searches for all-you-can-eat buffets rose 252% from 2025, and five restaurants are drawing attention with affordable or varied offerings.
The options range from Manhattan’s Good Time, with unlimited Southern comfort food for $26.99, to Uzbek dishes at Tashkent, sold by weight for about $10.99 to $11.99 per pound. KPot offers Korean barbecue and hot pot, with prices including $36.99 in New York; Der Dutchman’s dinners cost about $20 for adults. Fogo de Chão charges $20 for its Market Table, with the full meat service costing about $30 more, and has nearly 115 US locations.
In short
- Buffet searches rose 252% from 2025.
- Five restaurants offer varied dining formats and cuisines.
- Prices range from about $11 per pound to $56 for a full lunch.
Explained simply
Buffets and other all-you-can-eat meals let diners pay a set price for access to a range of dishes, while some restaurants charge by the weight of the food. The formats vary: Korean barbecue and hot pot are cooked at the table, while Southern, Uzbek and Amish-style meals offer different cuisines and ways of serving.
Rising food prices have made the cost and variety of a meal more important to some diners. New York restaurants including Good Time, Tashkent and KPot offer different approaches, from unlimited meals to food sold by weight; Der Dutchman and Fogo de Chão also serve set-price options. These businesses are part of a wider US market, where searches for all-you-can-eat buffets have increased.