Ponderosa — Restaurant in Ohio

My son and I drove over 2 hours to eat at this Ponderosa because the Ponderosa where we live closed a few years back and it was my son's favorite place to eat in our hometown. Regrettably the only thing that was like the Ponderosa we use to eat at was the Ponderosa sign. The chicken wings we both loved at our old Ponderosa was our favorite item on the buffet bar and even though this restaurant had chicken wings they were not like the ones the Ponderosa use to have. The wings were always crunchy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. That being said the ones this Ponderosa offered was far from what we were expecting. That kinda ruined the mood for us even though they had decent food it just wasn't the same. I could see the look in my son's eyes and he was very disappointed that the wings were not like he remembered and hoped for during the two and a half hour trip. The price for the two of us was over $60.00 which was a shock. That was for the buffet and one meal off the menu for each of us, pretty pricey for what turned out to be just a country buffet using the Ponderosa name. A lot of the items also had a funny taste like the pinto beans and the meatloaf. Maybe they just cook differently in Ohio than Kentucky...lol My point is that a decade ago if you went to a Ponderosa in one place then another Ponderosa in a other town or state the chicken wings tasted the same, they had two choices of soup, usually vegetable soup or chili. A great salad bar, etc. Enough on the negatives time to talk about the positives. The service was really great, our waitress was really friendly and always filled our drinks at the right time. She was very good at her job, unfortunately I didn't get her name. The desserts were good especially the peach cobler! The restaurant had a fair selection of foods even though some items tasted funny like I mentioned before. They had a good salad bar with a decent amount of items, the macaroni salad was very good! The steak fries we got with our meals was also good and the potato wedges on the bar was also very tasty along with the rolls. Overall it is a decent country buffet, a bit over priced but not a traditional Ponderosa and to me calling it a Ponderosa is misleading. There isn't many Ponderosa restaurants left and I feel there should be one less as this one really needs to change the name on the sign because this is not a...

My son and I drove up to this Ponderosa from Kentucky to see if it was like the one that got shutdown in our hometown years ago. It was my son's favorite places to eat mostly because of the chicken wings. Unfortunately the only thing resembling our Ponderosa was the sign in front. They did have chicken wings but it was nowhere near like the wings that our old Ponderosa had. The food wasn't bad but it was more geared to being a country buffet. The price for the both of us was over sixty dollars with a meal off the menu and a added buffet bar. Which is very pricey and I would recommend just getting the bar unless you want steak as in the case with my son. When all said and done the food was good not great. A couple of dishes had a funny taste to it. The soups were watered down but there was a good salad bar and a good choice of items on the buffet bar. The meatloaf stood out as very good! There was a good selection of desserts to choose from as well and winner for me was the peach cobbler! Our waitress was very good and friendly and filled our drinks often. The steak my son got was good, cooked to the way he ordered it and so was my burger which I ordered medium rare which some places won't fix past medium so top marks to the chef. My son's favorite thing from the bar was the potato wedges which he really enjoyed In the end I guess some things go away and aren't coming back like the original wings and that unfortunately is how life is. If you are looking for a decent country buffet give this one a try you...

We were excited to see a Ponderosa pop up on our way back from a family reunion. It wasn't overly busy at the time we got there but picking up quite a bit bygthe time we left. Service was friendly.. I didn't get her name because I hit bathroom first. My hubs thinks Kate but his memory not the best.. She was a pleasantly chatty, friendly, eager to please blonde. I ordered Salmon and broccoli,my hubs got steak and fries. We each got a side salad. My salmon was perfect, hot and cooked just right. The broccoli was nearly cold.. The server got me a new side of steaming hot broccoli.. My hubs steak was supposed to be medium well... His steak was very done and very dry... The server took it away to get a properly cooked steak... As you can see in the pictures there was a definite difference. The replacement steak was great according to hubs. Despite the couple of food issues I would eat here again.. Issues resolved quickly and the service was the best! Our waitress looked out for us and made sure we got what we paid for. FYI: before tip it was about $50 for 2 entrées, 2 side salads...