Ponderosa Steakhouse

Best server ever! I wish I could remember her name but she was on point with everything. This one is very different from the one on Thompson and Emerson, on the south side of Indy. The brand stood up to it's name. The buffet was clean and everything was fresh. There wasn't much of a crowd when we went. I don't want to to say that was a factor in the service and quality of food. Apparently, my father is a regular at this location. Being that he's a trucker and a veteran, he knows where to eat. So he brought us, and I enjoyed it. Now I'm fighting sleep! He ordered the 10oz ribeye, I was absolutely jealous. I will return. I crave the beef !

This is still a buffet, but not as we know it. It is cafeteria style. There are very friendly young people at all of the food stations ready and eager to serve you. You can go back as many times as you like, but they have the plates and will put what you want on them. You can say a lot more or whatever you want to say. I know it has hurt their business. Not much business at all on a Saturday night. I will also say I was quite disappointed in the pea salad, bean salad, and broccoli salad. They were all so bland. The cucumbers and onions were also extremely bland. I will save my breath and save you from reading as we just learned that this weekend is the last for this restaurant. They are closing!! The workers are very upset.

Pizza and chicken nuggets seem to be okay. Felt sick as soon as we left. The chairs seem like they've been there forever. The ceiling tiles are yellowed. The manager is still in training by some high school girl. Not a fan. Wouldn't have come but I had a free lunch buffet. We won't be back.

Can't help but frequent the restaurant, the food is very fresh. The service was warm, and I felt at home. You'll love it!

I have always lived Ponderosa. My family and I were here on July 4th. It wasn't very busy. The young man filling the hot bar was putting the old food on top of the new food. When I asked the server to mention this to the kitchen manager she said that's the way they do it. Apparently they've never heard of holding times and cross contamination. The server not only argued with me about this being wrong she didn't offer to get the manager. No I didn't ask to see the manager because I've recently gotten my hair cut and didn't want to perpetuate the stereo type.

Haven't had Ponderosa since I was a kid. For $40 my husband, daughter, and I got a buffet with steak. Food was served hot and delicious. Server was on point, fast & polite. Not to busy for a Friday. Drove to this location from Indy for the quality of the restaurant. Will definitely be back.

Ponderosa, how I have missed you. I dont' care if people refer to you as "Ponde-GROSS-A", I will always hold a special place for you in my heart.

A co-worker and I checked out Ponderosa for lunch today. I have been craving their chicken wings for a while now, and I decided to give into that craving today.

AMBIENCE- ok, who would have guessed a Ponderosa would be packed on a Thursday lunch? This place probably accomodated about 100-150 people or so, and there didn't seem to be that many open tables when we went. WOW. Outside of that, pretty clean, nothing flashy by any means. It's pretty much what you'd imagine any American buffet to look like.

SERVICE- Our server (Sally) was prompt with our drinks as well as clearing out our dishes. Not very engaging, I guess there isn't too much of a reason when it is a buffet. Plus for as busy as it was, I don't really blame her.

MENU- so to add a buffet to any entree, it's about $2. What I love about Ponderosa (that grosses many others out) is that you can cut their steaks with a fork, plus they drench them in butter. Not the highest quality steak by any means, to further illustrate this, Thursday happened to be all you can steak day for $12.99. You could also get all you can eat shrimp for $12.99, or both all you can eat steak and shrimp for $12.99. Yeah, it's like that.

FOOD- So Ponderosa doesn't have near the amount of selection as bigger buffets such as your Old Country Buffet, Ryan's, or Golden Corral. They basically have a salad portion, hot entrees, a "country" section, and dessert. This didn't matter to me, as all I was really interested in was their chicken wings. Seriously, if they just had chicken wings and rice, I would think the buffet was solid.

Their other food as you might imagine is just ok. They had meat loaf, salisbury steak, meatballs, mac n cheese, fried chicken, etc.... all your typical American buffet staples. I did like their dessert bar as they had dirt pudding and an ok bread pudding (my co-worker seemed unimpressed with the bread pudding). Again, nothing to write home about.

OVERALL- on the chicken wings alone, I would say check it out. I get a bit nostalgic when I have them, as it takes me back to the early 90's and the many MANY graduation parties that used to serve them. But where else can you add a chopped steak to your buffet, for just a $1.

Celebrity Rating- Jean Claude Van Damme (his early years)

I'm not a fan of buffets, but this may be my exception. I was concerned I was never going to eat while driving for what seemed like 20 minutes following my cousin to her restaurant of choice. Only to end up at Ponderosa. I thought they were all closed. These were booming when I was younger Ryan's, Sizzler and Ponderosa were the ultimate home cooking buffets. And if you're not feeling like spooning your food from beneath those heat lamps you can get your meal cooked to order separately. I decided to get both. Shrimp and fries and the buffet for and extra $2.50. I filled up on salad and chicken drummies which were really tasty. Our waitress Sasha was upbeat and super helpful. My only drawback were the desserts. There was a wide selection, but I just didn't have a taste for them. Maybe because I was so full from the entree/buffet. Definitely will go again when I'm in the area.

While travelling we stopped for the night in Greenfield, IN. At check-in, my husband found a coupon for 15% a check at the local Ponderosa. Since it was only a mile from the hotel, we decided to go there for a quick meal. The buffet was phenomenal. Not only was the salad bar kept below the chill line of the counter, but the plates were chilled as well. The hot foods bar was constantly tended and the foods were timed to be removed if they were there 'too long' under the warmer lights (don't you wish every restaurant did this?) There were two separate hot bars and a whole wall of dessert foods. The only reason I didn't give this a five star, is that it IS a casual family restaurant and not a foo-foo date type restaurant. I would highly recommend it.

They had fresh delicious food with quick and friendly service. This gives me hope for the restaurant because the last time I went here was a terrible experience