Recently, there is a fancy hotel buffet that went viral on TikTok that costs £82, which is around $105 in today's currency. But the question is, does it live up to the hype around it? And when it comes to locating a good restaurant, is TikTok considered to be a reliable source?
$105 Hotel Buffet
Pixabay/Engin Akyurt
When it comes to the 'luxury buffet' at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, it is difficult to know where to begin. There is the sushi stand brimming with fresh sashimi, the 'live pasta station,' the table filled with steamy curries, and the robata grill station full of tender meat. Even before they reached the desserts, folks were already eating and drinking.
It was on TikTok, a video-sharing app, that the Grove's buffet was discovered for the very first time. Specifically, an American user enthusiastically declared that they had found the secret five-star buffet just outside of London. It was reportedly the only buffet they had seen online in recent months that had received outstanding reviews.
The all-you-can-eat concept appears to have been increasingly captivating for Generation Z after the pandemic, from brunches to holidays. The bouji buffet lunch is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, with hotels being the pioneers in this regard. The concept of an all-you-can-eat buffet is being redefined by high-end restaurants like Nobu, who capitalize on the trend by offering extravagant sushi buffet packages.
On the other hand, a wide range of people frequent the buffet at the Glasshouse, an expensive restaurant in the Grove. These people include families with young children and couples in their twenties who are well-dressed and very Instagrammable. It is not extremely busy, meaning there are few lines at the food stations, and our server provides excellent service. Not only does he quickly clean away empty plates, but he also takes our drink orders.
However, the amount of wasted food is an issue that contributes to the negative reputation of buffets; nevertheless, Glasshouse's executive chef, Maarten Geschwindt, has stated that his team places a high premium on sustainability. The pre-booking approach at The Grove enables the chefs to meticulously prepare the quantity of food required for each day, hence reducing the amount of left uneaten food. During the pandemic, the restaurant only offered à la carte service; nonetheless, Geschwindt reports a significant increase in the number of reservations made after the buffet was reinstated.
It is not surprising that buffets like this one are proving to be so popular in TikTok, which is dominated by visuals and offers an environment in which excess fosters interaction. Yet, these meals served in the Hogwarts style are also the stuff of dreams for children, particularly regarding dessert.
Read Also
Is TikTok Considered a Reliable Source for Finding a Good Restaurant?
TikTok's food recommendation is a hit-or-miss. Indeed, short films on this application are not always able to completely convey the atmosphere of a restaurant, and it is also accurate that recipe content is not always user-friendly. Regardless of how you feel about how TikTok and culinary culture have come into conflict, the two are now unavoidably linked. Additionally, it is changing not only the restaurant industry but also how individuals utilize the Internet.
According to research published by Cloudflare, a content delivery network, in the latter part of 2021, TikTok was the most visited domain of that year, surpassing market giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and even Google, which had previously held the title. TikTok's mysterious algorithm is surprisingly good at recommending information users like to watch. As a result, members of Generation Z have begun using the app as their preferred search engine.
Based on a national study, about 36% of TikTok users have dined at or placed an order at a restaurant after viewing a TikTok video promoting the establishment. Furthermore, the app's consistent ranking among the 'Top 10 Most Downloaded' on the App Store and its more than 65 million monthly active U.S. users, 1 billion global users, and 1 billion monthly active TikTok users indicate that the rapidly growing social, mobile app is influencing the dining habits of a significant number of consumers in the modern era.
