As much as I hate buffets, dining with a family of picky eaters, children, and explosively large appetites, sometimes make them a necessary evil.

After my first trip to Kama in the Entertainment District, I scored a 15% off frequent-diner card. I passed the card to my sister, and after a few visits, we both became obsessed.

We strolled in and waved that card in the air like we were royalty.

We had no shame. No shame.

And why not: all-you-can-eat Indian food, a guaranteed 15% discount, and half-price off for children under 12? Pretty good reason to start a new family dining tradition.

For a year of visits, the food was reliable, the servers — even for a buffet restaurant — were attentive. Not 5-star service, but no complaints. We were getting a discount, after all.

However, at a recent family gorge fest, the regular staff was absent. Whether it was a case of new management, a group vacation, or flight of key staff, it didn’t feel like the ol’ Kama anymore, Toto.

In place of our usual, efficient host was a man fiddling with glassware, barely acknowledging our entrance before crawling out from behind the counter to sit us down.

After a long wait, he brought us three orders of lassis even though we had only ordered one. When we pointed out the error, he whisked the glasses away, as if we had played a prank on purpose.

Their food reflected the same level of haphazard attention, with the pakoras tasting like they’d been double-fried. The channa masala was runny. The tandoori chicken, cold. Water refills were difficult to pin down, too, which made the dry, chewy naan a bit of a task to digest.

The camel’s back was broken, however, when the server suggested that 50% off for our one child would replace the need for the 15% discount card. We’d always received both.

The one thing that could’ve saved the day had failed us. The card had run its course.

Sigh.

Any buffets wanna host a regular group of five diners? Kama need not apply.