One Of The Biggest Seafood Buffets In The US Has Over 170 Items To Choose From (And It's Not In Las Vegas)

Imagine an enormous all-you-can-eat seafood buffet surrounded by whimsical themed attractions, memorabilia, and multiple dining rooms — which city pops to mind? Las Vegas, of course. But in this case, the bright lights and desert sands of Nevada's famous Sin City are far, far away. The Original Benjamin's Calabash Seafood restaurant sprawls along North Kings Highway in the South Carolina coastal city of Myrtle Beach, serving more than 170 buffet items with seating for 1,000 diners in 11 themed dining rooms.  

This lively spot easily landed on Tasting Table's list of the largest buffets in the U.S., based not just on square footage but specifically on "an extravagant array of items that are constantly replenished." The Original Benjamin's definitely fits the bill. This restaurant has been serving Myrtle Beach locals and visitors since 1986, with a decided focus on Lowcountry flavors and regional Calabash-style seafood — essentially meaning a whole lot of lightly battered and golden-fried sea creatures.

The current buffet menu goes far beyond a few trays of fried shrimp and fish. Alaskan Snow Crab takes center stage, though a parade of offerings march through the kitchen on a regular basis, from fried oysters to scallops, flounder, peel-and-eat shrimp, steamed mussels, shrimp Creole, calamari, shrimp and grits, blackened mahi-mahi, teriyaki salmon, tilapia, bourbon maple trout, and clam chowder, to name a few. The seafood also has some worthy competitors: down-home Southern fare, fixins, and desserts. That's before even factoring in the eclectic nautical attractions tucked into nooks and crannies of this sprawling enterprise.

Before moving past briny seafood pleasures at The Original Benjamin's, it's worth giving a shoutout to the array of crabby concoctions on the buffet menu. In addition to the ever-present standard crab legs, other renditions include Cajun crab legs, blue crab, crab cakes, deviled crab, crab rangoons, crab imperial, and likely more as dishes rotate in and out.

Then there's the Southern fare with Carolina flair, featuring specialties such as fried chicken, barbecue pork ribs, pulled pork barbecue, mac and cheese, sweet tea collard greens, creamy corn pudding, mashed potatoes, cheese grits, and fried okra. The restaurant also operates carving and pasta stations and an in-house bakery churning out daily fresh breads, cobblers, puddings, cakes, and more. Seafood and produce arrive largely from local fisheries and farmers. 

Food isn't the only thing over-the-top at this venue. The eatery serves double duty as a nautical attraction harboring a Dry Sea Aquarium with enormous models of famous ships and mounted sea life such as hammerhead sharks, great whites, and marlins, plus a nautical museum, a pirate's corner, and a hands-on nautical adventure world for kids. Customer reaction is generally positive, with The Original Benjamin's earning a 3.9 out of 5 rating from 2,973 Tripadvisor reviews. Recent Tripadvisor reviews include a repeat visitor calling food options "out of this world" and praising the endless crab legs. Less enthusiastic diners have criticized the roughly $50-per-person price and reported occasional problems with food temperature or crab leg quality.