Yaamava’ Resort & Casino to reopen buffet; expand hours at Serrano Vista Café

Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland is reopening its buffet and expanding hours at one of its new restaurants.

The Serrano Buffet will reopen on Wednesday, Dec. 8, for dinner only, resort officials said. Meanwhile, the Serrano Vista Café a restaurant that opened at Yaamava’ over the summer for dinner service, began serving lunch on Nov. 29 and will start serving breakfast Dec. 13.

The Serrano Buffet will operate from 4-10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 4-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, according to an email from Jenna Brady, spokesperson for the resort.

It’s the first time the buffet will be open to the public since mid-March 2020, when the property was still known as San Manuel Casino.

Since the coronavirus pandemic, many of the buffets at the region’s tribal casinos have been shuttered. While many Las Vegas casinos reopened their buffets, some Southern California casinos have abandoned the concept entirely, including Casino Pauma, Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, Harrah’s Resort Southern California and Pala Casino, Spa & Resort.

Buffets at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino and Valley View Casino have since reopened.

At Morongo Casino Resort and Spa, the former Potrero Canyon Buffet is being reimagined into a buffet-type concept inspired by food halls and helmed by a celebrity chef.

The reopening of the Serrano Buffet is the latest dining development Yaamava’ Resort & Casino. The recently reopened in a new location. It moved from the casino’s second floor to the first floor, near the entrance of the new hotel tower, which makes its debut  Dec. 13.

The new hotel tower features a bar and lounge in its lobby, 24-hour in-room dining, and on its 17th floor, the Y lounge, an exclusive area that provides food and drinks to VIP guests. The resort also includes a pool deck area with a restaurant, but that won’t open until the spring.