Pizza Ranch — Restaurant in Ottumwa

We went on a Saturday right around 5. We paid, ordered a special pizza for my daughter so doesn't like pizza sauce and joined some family who was waiting. There aren't many large family sized tables so we had to sit across a pathway from one another which made catching up with the family across the path a mess then pleasant. We went to get drinks only to discover that BOTH machines were out of ice. I asked a worker who just happened to be passing if they were going to fill the machines soon. They told me that the ice machines were having a hard time keeping up today. Its February... I find it hard to believe that the 35-40 people that where there had drained TWO machines completely dry of ice. So I suffered with a slightly cool tea and the kids got their carbonated beverage of choice which thankfully wasn't as warm as my tea was. The food was decent, when it was available, as soon as a pizza hut the buffet it was prayed upon by a hoard of hungry patrons. We stayed for awhile sniping a slice here a cheese stick there, some chicken, and other random items from the salad bar. As we're about to leave a worker approaches the table holding something. YES I scream in my head, maybe its ice and I can have a drink of nice cold iced tea before I leave. Nope, not ice, not even close. Remember that sauseless pizza that I ordered when we arrived? Yup, it had arrived and I'd completely forgotten about it. So we got a few slices of the pizza abomination that my daughter likes so much when I spotted not one but TWO, TWO fresh dessert pizzas exit the kitchen area. I bum rush the the nice worker and scoop up half the pizza onto a plate and sneak back off the the table to divide my loop up between the family. It's about now that I remember that they have an ice cream machine and I suddenly want this pizza a la Mode. So I sneak off over to the machine guarding my still hot piece of struble topped cherry goodness from hungry eyes. I pull the lever to release the ice vanilla goodness, when the thing coughs at me and spews a runny mess of mostly solid soft serve all over my plate. Damn thing scared me to much that I nearly dropped the plate, pizza, ice scream, and all on the ground. But that wasn't going to happen I had a death grip on that plate since the pizza hit it. I get back to the family and after another run to the ice cream machine this time thankfully without the explosion, I enjoy the goodness that is dessert pizza a la Mode.

Aside from the lack of ice in the machine, the fighting with strangers over food, and the ice cream machine having an aneurism while I was trying to top off my pizza it wasn't that bad. The staff was kind and we did get our special pizza, even though it did take awhile. Still not so sure I'll be going back any...

Credit where credit is due! Things was a lot better this last time there, so maybe they got it together again? So with that is a big improvement, still very costly but what isn't these days! Keep up the good work

I will start with the outrageous cost! With their Tax and fees? For 2 it was about $37. After inserting card they informed me of couple questions to answer on the machine, would you like to add a tip? Was one and don't recall the other/s, I was stunned they had the nerve to have that programed in the system, they do nothing to earn a tip! It's all self serve.. yes they clean table when you leave That's it. We move to salad bar, all greens for the lettuce bowl that day, not good. No macaroni salad, stuff was almost warm and about empty, 4:30pm when we were there. They never sat one new pizza out while we was there, the chicken bar had stuff but it to was lacking. Stuff had an old grease taste really bad. I could not stomach it.

If there is a next time I will take pictures and videos to upload from now on.

I left feeling ill before we got back home (hour drive) normally all I want is salad bar but not that time! For the invested time driving there and back and the almost $20 per person it just is...

The corn was old but had been added to. It didn't taste good. A member of my party ordered a. Half blueberry/ half cherry dessert pizza. When they should have been delivering it, they came to tell us they were out of cherry. We changed cherry to peach. Meanwhile I was eating my salad & fried chicken breast.While trying to cut my very tough chicken breast, my plate slid off the table into my lap leaving me covered with salad + ranch dressing. Someone came then to tell us our special rder dessert would be out very soon. Not to be. We had to ask twice. They had put it on the buffet. The server told us they were making us a fresh one to take with us. We did finally get that. I was looking forward to trying the chocolate cactus bread. There was one piece when we arrived at 5:15. We never saw any more chocolate before we left so I didn't get to try it. All in all it was one of the worst visits to PR that I've ever...