Ponderosa Steakhouse — Restaurant in Florida

This has to be one of the worst food experiences we’ve had in a while. Before I get into what made it a poor meal at any cost, I have to point out the confusion between ordering an entree just to have the buffet included (or you can just get the buffet). Wouldn’t it be easier just to have a buffet with an up charge to offer protein options that aren’t on the buffet? The positive notes: Cost, the overall cost was quite reasonable and competitive if you just consider the buffet itself and ignore the oddity of ordering an entree, of which the buffet is included. My daughter and son’s fried shrimp were prepared as expected, though battered instead of breaded would have made them just a bit better but they were cooked properly. The salad bar was also quite good! My wife and I wished we had made a second trip to the salad bar instead of wasted any other space on anything else. The service was also really great, our server was quite attentive and entertaining. Their fountain Diet Pepsi mix ratio was quite good compared to most fountain Pepsi settings. The Negative notes; basically everything else. Right away we noticed a lot of the food was not fresh and quite dried out (meats, rice, beans, potatoes, etc.) had all been sitting out under heat lamps and on chaffing trays for some time or maybe refrigerated over night prepared the day before or ahead of time and just set out as is, without stirring, etc. to mask that fact. The steaks we ordered (part of the odd entree with a buffet option) were gray, mealy, and basically inedible even when dipped in copious amounts of sauce (which we rarely use on any decent steak). It looked more boiled than grilled even though it had “grill marks” on them. The sweet potato we had with it was more tasty but very tiny. No sense in wasting a big potato when the buffet is included I guess. Finally the desert bar “looked” enticing when we walked in and scoped the place out. Sadly, when we finally made it over there to finish off our meal, most of the items were also dried out, or cake mixes, and even the soft serve ice cream machine hadn’t solidified the ice cream enough to be more than thin milkshake consistency. Our server felt bad about an accidental spill on our table (we weren’t even there when it happened) and moved us to another table between buffet visits, all good, no issues there but with everything else, we WON’T be returning. I can’t recommend this...

Came into Orlando on vacation Growing up as a kid ponderosa used to be in my Hometown Growing up... Me and my wife were arguing about where we are going to eat at all day long I finally convinced her that we were going to go to this restaurant Paul neurosa and she said oh they were good when we were kids... Little did we know we were setting ourselves up for the biggest disappointment of our vacation.. We arrive at the restaurant that looks like it's from the 1980s we get inside it says no refunds on the buffet that should've been a huge red flag. We paid almost $20 a person to be so disappointed And let down almost $4 for a drink. I tried to defend my decision for us to go to ponderosa over other restaurants But that Slowly becoming harder harder the food was terrible There was no flavor in anything the black beans were sitting there crusty the chicken wings weren't even chicken wings not even a small bowl to put ranch to dip in the salad bar was a joke the ranch dressing was so thin it had no flavor The meat loaf on my plate fell onto the ground and that was a blessing from God that I didn't eat any of it The selection of food was a joke and not a funny one.. My son ate broccoli and would not eat anything else he said the food looked disgusting and that's an 8-year-old by woman and playing the whole entire time only eating a for you chicken Wings and talking about how it is a terrible place to go as I tried to defend it... The restaurant was in terrible condition there was food all over the ground The service was bad the drinks were watered down we were allowed to have 3 napkins for our whole table. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant till my worst enemy I can see why this place is Going Out of...

We used to go to Ponderosa all the time when I was a kid, and we happened to see this one in Orlando and stopped in, purely for nostalgic reasons. The food wasnt much to write home about, but not bad either. The entree portion size is kind of small, but each entree comes with the food bar, which easily makes up for it. Even the kids stuff. One of my kids got a hot dog meal, but then found the pizza on the buffet and ended up taking home the hot dog! There were a couple not so great things. Like they were out of many things, obviously understaffed, and a few things on the bar weren't great, such as really runny "cheese sauce" and soft serve that was more like icy milk. My steak tips were medium well instead of medium. Same with my dads steak. Not a deal breaker, still had good flavor. I got a baked potato and it was cooked perfectly. We got the famous Vernon for our server and he was an absolute delight! He was in the best of spirits, joking with us and our kids, and helping us in any way he could. I felt bad for the woman working the front. I didn't catch her name. She was dealing with some not so nice people, and trying to run the register and put in orders on her own. But she was still nice and helpful with us! The wings on the buffet were unexpectedly really good! If I went again I might consider just getting the bar and eating a nice salad and some various things I liked off of that! If you are in the area, and don't mind an older, not so fancy restaurant experience, stop in! It's also attached to a bargain gift/Disney store if you are into that...