Villa Pizza — Restaurant in Mattoon

2025 Edit: This place is awful. I know a lot of people like the buffet and we did too in its original location but when we went yo the new place it was just bad. Everything is frozen or out of a can, as I suspect it was before, but somehow it feels like they did even less with it than before. Like nothing has the water cooked out of it, its simply reheated and tossed into the chafing dish. We watched a woman refill the salad bar with pre-made plastic bag of lettuce, which was whatever; until we watched her wipe down the edges of the salad bar with the bag itself. The whole place smells like dirty dishwater in there which means they are using old water and rags to wipe down what you're sitting on and eating off of. Its really a shame too. A lot of money, time, and effort went into the new place but seems like the standard for maintaining it and who they have work there is just dipping down really low. Seems to be poorly managed.

In an area with only two or three non-chain options for pizza, Villa is one of the better options. Their pizza is always consistent. Personally, I think their pizza needs a little more cheese in general and I'd like to see fresh mushrooms and fresh garlic (not jarred or canned). That's just my personal taste but their sausage is so good that using fresh ingredients really elevates a pizza. I understand that in this area it's reliable but if a place like this took a chance and featured some creative pizza options I think it'd really be welcome. Papa John's and Domino's have no business having more menu options that local places. We can't wait for their new place to open up. Their buffet was good before. If its equally as good I'd up the...

We go for the buffet. It's all I've ever had here.

Food: 4 pizzas, a cheese, a pepperoni, a sausage and a deluxe, are on the buffet. The salad bar is simple yet has some nice options. There is variety for your main course, depending on the night you go: fried chicken, fried fish, lasagna, spaghetti, meatballs, sausage. The sides often include green beans, baked potatoes sliced into pieces with melted cheese and other toppings, a soup, warm cobbler, soft serve ice cream and, lately a choice of pie or heavily sugared cheese cake.

The atmosphere is family friendly and nicely decorated. Various TV's are always playing softly in the background.

The waitresses are pleasant and probably a bit overwhelmed. Years ago, I was a waitress somewhere else, and even though they are generally bussing tables and refilling drinks, they are a bit short handed to stay on top of everything.

Personally, I think the buffet is expensive for what you are getting. It's about $15. We could order each kid their own pizza for that much. Or, get a nice meal at KFC for less. I know drinks are a real money maker for restaurants, but at this price, it would be good to include drinks with free refills. Otherwise, this feels overpriced for the food you are eating. Consequently, I don't feel it's a good value so I tend to go other places with a higher quality of food and service for the same money.

However, they do reward their repeat customers with a...

We found this place via Google when we were staying at a campground at Lake Shelbyville. One family from St. Louis and one family from Chicago. We (STL) were psyched to be able to let our friends try toasted raviolis since they don’t find many menus outside of the STL area. They were a hit with all. The pizza was yummy. We had a Villa Special and a Family sized cheese. The sauce is really good - not spicy or sweet, bold flavorful. The sausage on the Special was really good. If I were to come back I would try the special pepperoni pizza - they stand the pepperoni slices up so that they get crispy! The price for all of our food was fair. The setting was nice and open. I recommend stopping if you are looking for some good food. I love participating via Google Reviews - if you find this review helpful, please click Like...