Is Seafood Available on Weekday Lunch at Milpitas Buffet?

Yes, Milpitas Buffet serves seafood at weekday lunch. Fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid and the sushi counter are all part of the midday line. What changes is the premium end: snow crab legs are the item diners most often report as a dinner and weekend thing, and that one item is the main reason the dinner price is higher.

If you are deciding between a cheap lunch and a pricier dinner, the honest answer depends on one question: do you care about crab legs? If not, lunch gives you most of the seafood for a lot less.

What seafood shows up at weekday lunch

We built this table from diner reviews on Tripadvisor and Restaurantji and cross-checked it against the restaurant's own party tray list. Nobody publishes a fixed lunch menu for this buffet, so treat it as what usually appears rather than a promise.

Crab legs at lunch: the honest answer

This is the most searched question about the buffet, and reviews over the years do not fully agree. A June 2019 Tripadvisor review says crab legs were out on weekends. A June 2024 review mentions lots of real crab in the shell at dinner. None of the reviews we read describe a full crab spread on a regular weekday lunch.

If the answer is no, you have two choices. Go at lunch anyway for the rest of the seafood at the lower price, or move the visit to dinner. Our snow crab legs guide covers how the legs are served and when fresh trays land.

Why lunch costs less

Diners report paying around $18 to $20 for weekday lunch. A June 2024 Tripadvisor reviewer reported $32 for dinner before the senior discount. That gap of roughly $12 to $14 per adult is mostly the cost of stocking crab and heavier shellfish for the evening crowd. Full rate details are in the Milpitas Buffet price per person guide.

For a family of four, that gap adds up to around $50. That is real money for a meal where some people at the table were never going to eat crab.

Getting the freshest seafood at lunch

• Arrive close to the 11:00 AM opening. The first trays of the day are the freshest and the room is quiet.
• The noon to 1:30 PM office rush empties trays fast, which also means they get replaced fast.
• Watch for a cook carrying a new pan from the kitchen before taking the last pieces from an old one.
• Hand your bowl in at the Mongolian grill first, then eat seafood while it cooks.

Who should pick weekday lunch

Weekday lunch fits office workers on a one hour break, families with young kids who mostly eat noodles and fried food, and anyone who likes shrimp, clams and sushi more than crab. If the whole point of the trip is crab legs, dinner is the safer bet. The seafood bar guide lists everything that can appear at both meal periods.

Shellfish allergies

Shellfish shows up across the seafood trays, the sushi counter and the hot line, and serving tongs move between trays. Shellfish is one of the nine major food allergens recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If anyone in your group is allergic, speak with staff before serving yourself.

Planning the visit? The hours guide covers opening times and when it gets busy.