The Best Time To Eat At Golden Corral If You Want To Save Money

The old saying "timing is everything" quite often rings true. Whether talking about a blind date in real-life or a movie where things just seem to happen to the protagonist, timing really does have a lot to do with the way a person's story goes. In day-to-day life, that's especially true when dining.

Some restaurants offer financial incentives for dining at specific times. That's right, the same (or very similar) menu items can be had for a reduced cost, depending on when you sit down to eat. For an example of notable savings, look no further than Golden Corral.

Golden Corral is an all you can eat buffet chain that has become somewhat synonymous with that restaurant style. Golden Corral has 397 locations at present, and the first location opened in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1973. The Golden Corral website's location finder function shows they truly do have outposts coast to coast, and they call themselves "America's #1 Buffet Restaurant."

Though that last point might be hard to objectively prove, there is a way for hungry diners to find out for themselves, and for less money than they might think. It's all in the timing.

Golden Corral prices dinner for adults at $16.99 Monday through Saturday. However, those prices don't kick in until 4:00 p.m (except on Sunday, when dinner prices start at 11:00 a.m.). That means if you dine at Golden Corral between 10:45 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturdays, you're paying $11.49, which is the lunchtime price for the full buffet. 

Though the menus listed on Golden Corral's website show some different options for lunch vs. dinner (dinner offers a carving station and fried shrimp, for example), the desserts, side offerings, and many of the main dishes are offered at both lunch and dinner.

Hungry diners get so many of the same dishes on the lunch and dinner menu that it seems like a no-brainer to make Golden Corral a lunchtime destination if that's possible. Or call it a very early dinner. After all, a 3:45 p.m. reservation sounds about right to many caregivers who have sat just a bit too long for the appetizers to come before hangry toddler meltdowns ensued.

This is the best way to get that bang for the all-you-can-eat-buck when dining at Golden Corral, not counting benefits for senior citizens or children (though they do have those, and kids under three years old eat free). Even standard breakfast prices are higher at $12.99 (only on Saturdays and Sundays, as Golden Corral does not offer breakfast on weekdays) than this lunchtime sweet spot.

Like the saying goes, timing is everything. What the saying leaves out is that is especially true when it comes to a well-loved buffet chain's seemingly endless offerings.