We ate our meals at Atlantis in one of about five different places. Three of the establishments at Atlantis are buffet style, all you can eat. These are somewhat expensive (as most things in the Bahamas were) but the food was better than average for a buffet, with many things to choose from, including fresh seafood and beef entrees. I especially enjoyed the conch bisque, which was on the buffet at all three. Each of the three had a lot of the same things; however, each also had its own dishes as well. Like I said, there was a lot to choose from, so in one week's time it didn't get old.

One of the other two places we ate at was a bar and grill (Atlas) just off the casino - we liked this place the best. It had an American style menu, with steaks, burgers and chicken. Everything was good. Make a reservation at Atlas or be prepared to spend an hour to 90 minutes in the casino waiting.

The Deli was located next to the marina. The menu is what you would expect from a deli, except that they did have menu items that wouldn't have been at a kosher deli. The food was good, the service was fast, and the atmosphere was more casual than the other places.

All were very good. I would not suggest that you pay for the meals in the all-inclusive price. The price at that time was like 80 dollars (USA) a day. You could eat cheaper than that, by eating some meals away from Atlantis and due to the fact that lunch was not included in the price. The all inclusive only covered breakfast and dinner. If you planned on eating all meals at Atlantis and eating breakfast and dinner at the buffet style (as they were more expensive than Atlas, the Deli, etc.) places the whole stay, then the all inclusive might make more sense.

The best in the resort and worth every dime. The lobster and filet were the best I have ever had, waitstaff extremely attentive, and we even took small children. Best dining experience I've had in years.

Although I'm not patently opposed to resorts and resort dining, the food at Atlantis was definitely not a highlight. Beyond that, when traveling with my family group, I face certain dining restrictions. My father is on a low fat, low sodium cardiac diet. Neither parent is very adventurous and both consider Asian food creepy. Mom once said "they eat cat, don't they?" when I was raving about a local Indian restaurant. She has since tried, and enjoyed, chicken tikka masala, however progress is slow.

With these limitations, some restaurants were automatically off limits. These included Mama Loo's (Chinese; though we had cocktails in the lounge there) and Five Twins (Pan/sushi).

Still, while at Atlantis, we sampled a variety of the almost 20 dining options and for the most part, the food and service were disappointing.

Most mornings, we ate breakfast at Sea Grapes which was the breakfast-serving restaurant closest to our rooms. As we were on the Atlantis meal plan, we lined up each morning to check in and would subsequently be hustled through to a table, often wordlessly and often in the most isolated part of a rather rast dining room.

Here you'll find your typical breakfast buffet: omelets made to order, all variety of breakfast meats, cereal, yogurt, french toast, pancakes, coffee, tea, juices. The food was all fine, but the buffet could have been in New York, Vegas or anywhere. Whether this was or was not what Bahamians eat for breakfast, I'll never know.

One day when we couldn't get reservations at any of the other restaurants, we were forced to eat a buffet-style dinner at Sea Grapes. Again, the food was fine, but rather than a plate full of mismatched items such as pasta, ham, stir fry and pizza, I personally would have been much happier sampling some local specialty.

If you too aren't fond of buffet-style meals, steer clear of Marketplace and Water's Edge which offer virtually the same assortment as Sea Grapes. Rather than dissing Atlantis' restaurants one by one, I'll instead point out instances where we received pleasant service. During our first night, we received complimentary cocktails and drinks at Villa d'Este for our check in troubles. The Villa serves decent, but not spectacular, expensive Italian food. We spent our final night dining at Fathoms which serves largely steak and seafood. I remember the service at Fathoms as especially friendly and attentive and the food was quite good.

In sum, think hard before investing in a full Atlantis meal plan. I would have much preferred eating only a few meals within the resort, choosing instead to find local establishments on Paradise Island and Nassau. But if convenience is key, get a meal plan and call ahead (before you arrive in the Bahamas) for reservations as they book up fast.