What is Buffet Mode?
1.
During a shared meal, where various dishes are on the table at once (for example tapas), instead of taking a fair share of the different foods available, helping yourself to large portions of the choicest foods, piling the plate as in a buffet.
This will will leave fellow diners disgruntled when they realise all the spiced meatballs, prawns, anchovies and roasted aubergines are on your plate, but they will be too polite to complain in front of you.
"I am NEVER going out to dinner with Alex again!"
"Why not?"
"We ordered six different dishes to be shared between us and he took all the choicest bits from all of them. His plate was piled so high! He totally went into buffet mode, the greedy hog!"
See