Godfather's Pizza — Restaurant in Branson

With full disclosure, I used to be the General Manager of this location under the direction of the original owners. However, I can honestly say my visit on 10/2 was utterly terrible. My experience started with a very limited selection of pizzas to choose from on the buffet. I got some thin crust and some thick crust and then went to the chicken bar to get some of, what I expected to be, the fabulous broasted chicken and sides. My wife chose some breadsticks and vegetables. I was very excited to eat at this location due to it always being absolutely delicious. I attempted to eat a piece of the Golden Butter Pan pizza only to discover it was very firm and not easily bitten. I could tell it had risen and then collapsed and then would not rise again. It was a day old pizza and was terrible. I then tried the mixed vegetables and green beans. They did not taste the same as I remembered. They tasted “off” like they were soured. I then bit into the piece of chicken I had selected and discovered it was barely warm. It also had a weird taste. My wife’s breadstick experience was awful as well. It was not the fluffy breadstick dough that was expected and was likely a substitute dough that should not have been used for a breadstick. On top of the terrible food was the total lack of service. No one came around to check on us and we cleared our own table. I am extremely disappointed in this restaurant I had once been so proud to manage. The new owners have changed recipes and decided to cut costs and it shows. I used to tell everyone I came across to give Godfather’s a try if you have never tried them. But now I cannot suggest someone spend $40 for awful food and terrible service. I hope the new owners will go back to the way things were done when David and Kathy owned it but I do not expect they will. I will not ever return and I will tell people to spend their money...

My husband and I were vacationing in Branson, debating where to have dinner the day after we arrived. He saw Godfather's Pizza and HAD to go (it's been forever since we went to a pizza buffet). There were quite a few tables full, but the atmosphere was rather quiet. The buffet wasn't loaded with pizzas getting cold; rather there were several out at all times, with new pizzas being swapped in as needed. There were a lot of good options on the salad bar, and the fried chicken & mashed potatoes etc section was a surprise (the chicken was perfectly done and very flavorful). The star of the show is the pizza, though, and it did not disappoint. I tried 3 varieties, and was happy with the flavor (crust was very good, cheese was generous, the pizzas were hot), but oh my goodness -- the dessert pizzas. We tried the Bavarian cream and the cherry lemon pizzas; they were pure decadence: dessert toppings drizzled with a glaze/icing atop a sweet crust. Also, I was EXTREMELY impressed by one of the servers. A parent at a nearby table asked about an ingredient on one of the pizzas. The server answered that the pizza did not have that, to which the parent replied "oh good, because she's allergic to it". The server immediately went on full alert and told the Dad basically: stop -- don't let her eat it. I will double-check with the kitchen, since there's an allergy involved. She returned in just a few minutes to confirm that the pizza did not contain that ingredient. People, this server CARED. You don't always see that. We had a wonderful experience; my husband said before we left that we will have to visit again before we have to go...

This location is cozy and spacious, but it's not the place for big groups to co-locate together. It doesn't mean it could not accommodate large groups, just that typical tables there seat up to four, booths around the center of the dining area, and rearranging the tables won't be easy. Did I say it's cozy?

Regarding food, it is what you would expect for a pizza buffet--pizza galore, salad bar, dessert pizzas--and then some. They also carry mash potatoes, gravy, assorted steamed vegetables (not the salad bar type of veg's) and FRIED CHICKEN.

"Best fried chicken in town," is a bit over the top for their advertising, but what other pizza buffets offer fried chicken wings, drumsticks, thighs and breasts? What I really admire about the place is the size of chicken they use. It's smaller than the typical kinds you see at fried chicken fast food joints, but it has less waste (think less uneaten parts), more taste (think seasoning per surface area), and why on earth would you stuff your face with fried chicken at a pizza joint?? Treat it as appetizer!

Notable food items: taco pizza (look for taco sauce!), loaded potato pizza (no kidding, but not a whole potato), veggie pizza, and assorted dessert pizzas!

The people working here are friendly and polite. "Yes, sir," "yes, ma'am," "your baby is precious!" Maybe that's to meet there bar of a tourist town like Branson, MO, but hey, I'm not...