Former buffet area at Harrah’s casino is filled with new restaurants & more amenities
What was the former buffet space at Harrah’s Gulf Coast now is a smoke-free area with new restaurants, a new layout of the casino floor and a new poker room.
Caesars Entertainment, parent company of Harrah’s Casino Biloxi, did away with all the buffets in its casino resorts during Covid-19 and adopted the policy not to bring them back.
That left a large space to play with at the Biloxi casino and the opportunity to add amenities.
Management chose to go smoke-free in this area, replacing the carpeting through the casino, rearranging the games for better flow and relocating the poker room to this area.
A new-style food court was created, offering the flavors of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, a taste of New Orleans, a new Asian restaurant and an ice cream spot to top it off.
Many of the people who stay at Harrah’s Gulf Coast fly in on one of 15 to 20 charters each month. They come from Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin — and other areas that don’t already have direct flights to Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, said Nicolas Breaux-Fujiita, the casino’s vice president of marketing.
These visitors along with local customers were asking for more food options and the food court concept gives them the seafood they crave, he said, along with cajun food without the trip to New Orleans.
The new food court incorporates the existing Steak ‘n Shake into the mix of flavors.
The new restaurants are:
▪ Port 17 — The menu is divided into starters like crispy calamari or firecracker shrimp tossed in a sweet and spicy salad, salads served in a large shell bowl and topped with grilled salmon or shrimp, plus a variety of entrees like snow crab legs or boiled shrimp.
Wings come in traditional or boneless, glazed with a choice of six sauces and mild to spicy hot — “Like a wing outlet,” Breaux-Fujiita says.
For a taste of cajun, customers can order shrimp etouffee or go a step up with a pair of crab cakes topped with etouffee.
“Portion sizes are very generous,” Breaux-Fujiita said. Emerging as the favorite at the new restaurant is the Port Platter that combines fried catfish strips, oysters and shrimp. It’s the highest priced item on the menu at $22.99.
Port 17 is open weekdays from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m.
▪ Scoops - hand-dipped ice cream shop is just a step away and mini-donuts made on site will be added soon to sweeten the offerings
▪ Beach Wok is an Asian restaurant, open weekends starting Friday. It’s “wow” dish is surf and turf fried rice with Gulf shrimp, prime beer and local vegetables. Customers can order favorites like sweet and sour chicken or lo mein. Or they can try Vietnamese coffee or roasted coconut juice for something different.
This restaurant also has a sweet taste of New Orleans for dessert or a snack of fresh beignets topped with a caramel drizzle. It’s open from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday.
