Idk what it is about this place but ever since coming in here as a child I have loved the atmosphere and vibes. The food isn't crazy good but eating home cooked meals isn't much better. For the price and the quality for buffet food I would definitely say this is the best buffet style restaurant I've been to. I would also like to congratulate the restaurant owner/workers for keeping a well stocked dessert section. read more

Went to ponderosa in ludington on Sunday 2 -22 -26 .we drove from north muskegon almost 55 miles 1 way .a note taped to the door said closing at 3pm due to weather .we got there at 130 pm .breakfast was still on the buffet. I asked about taco stuff and she rudely said we're not refreshing food because we're closing early .staff was getting visually upset .our waitress never refilled drinks not once.1 staff member ran into my 12 year old daughter and never said sorry acted like she was in the way. Another lady mopping ran into the back of my wife while she was bent over andds never said sorry .we were treated as an inconvenience. We left at 2:35 and half of the employees had coats on ready to leave. Weather was not bad enough to cause this closure. It was colder inside from all their attitudes then it was outside. read more

What the heck! Who doesn't love Ponderosa! Stopped in for lunch. It wasn't busy. A small group of Generation Jones quietly eating and visiting. We chose the basic lunch buffet and drinks. Everything was hot. Empty sections on the buffet were quickly refilled. Our waitress checked on us often and took away the dirty plates as we went for seconds (okay, thirds!). The place is old but very clean even the restrooms. read more

I haven't been to a Ponderosa since I was a kid a long time ago. I forgot how it works, I ordered the dinner buffet, but had to go back up to the counter to order a steak for a very small up charge basically for $22 I had one of the best Grilled sirloin steaks I've ever had, even better than mine lol and free range of an incredible American style buffet the staff was super friendly and helpful. I would love to tell you more, but I'm so full and happy that I have to lay down and take a nap now. I have to go back tomorrow and leave a bigger tip. They really deserve it. read more

This is not a gourmet place. You don't come here to be wowed. However, it is nostalgic and everyone in west michigan over 40 has ponderosa stories. It is a lot of food for a cheap price. Having a large family and trying to keep cost down, we sometime go to these establishments. If the children get the steak with their buffet it only cost them a few more dollars. The main thing is finding a couple things you don't mind and just eating a lot of that, lol. read more

Old school buffet. The food was decent and the selection was good. Nothing fancy, but if you remember going to bonanza/sizzler as a kid, this place is nostalgic as heck. read more

Soggy steak, purple salad, weird tasting Mac and cheese, runny mashed potatoes, warm ice cream, and worst of all... no rainbow sprinkles. I don't usually write reviews but I think this was worth writing. read more

Really impressed with Team Ponderosa. They have done a great job handling Covid and staying on top of things. They serve you food off the line (everything is clocked by a curtain of clear plastic) and they hand you the food at the end of the line. No delays at all. The staff is masked and wearing gloves and I was completely comfortable with how things were handled. In fact, our entire group was happy. Keep up the great work! The Motor City Viper Club enjoyed our lunch! read more

Love this place. Love the buffet. Love the service. Love the ambiance. Take a journey into time where values matter, service is tradition and smiles welcome you. read more

Lets start off this is not a Michelin star restaurant. It is a place for childhood memories. This place did not disappoint. Service a 5, cost 5 (especially if you are over 55), food 5. What really impressed me me was the cleanest. The servers not only took care of the customers they cleaned up after the the ignorant ones the threw food on the floor. Everyone in this are should try this. read more

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Food was good and they had lots of it. Many choices of items. Delicious desserts. One of us had the buffet and I ordered a steak with shrimp, which were excellent. read more

I pulled up to my hotel and this was right down the street from it! I am super excited seeing it... since they took the one out of my town probably over 20 years ago. I came in at 730 .. they close at 830 so i was a little worried that it would be the scraps no one wanted.. i was wrong they were refilling and adding more stuff as i was sitting there.. there were prolly 10 other people in there with me a little later then usual for dinner. The steak tips were ok a little over done.. but the buffet bar had a ton of stuff i loved mashed potatoes for sure, buttery rolls, fresh salad, and the soup bar of course! Lets not forget my favorite french dressing and the cherry cobbler! Exactly how i remember it! The waitress was great as well .. glad i stopped in... it absolutely is nothing fancy but if your looking for a quick bite with a good value stop im. read more

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Price and the food is good. We had large gathering and the crew taking care of us was great. The tip she got she deserved.

We visited hoping to get the ponderosa experience of the past but were sorely disappointed by a rude manager and mediocre food at best. There was very little selection, what was there they were out of, and nothing we ate impressed us. This place isn't what it used to be. read more

Ponderosa Steakhouse - Lunch Buffet - Steakhouses Near Me - Ludington, Michigan

I worked at a Ponderosa in high school. This one is much nicer! It is Ponderosa-- understand you're not there for fine dining. That said, our lunch steaks were nicely cooked; the buffet was extremely clean, offered lots of tasty choices, and was well stocked; and the restaurant was very clean. Our server was very nice-- the staff worked together well and everyone went out of their way to make sure our lunch was great. We went there for nostalgia and had a wonderful experience. Way to go, Team Ponderosa! read more

Lots of selections on the buffet bar. Prices are high for their meals though so that why I went with the buffet

I probably should have looked at my watch and realized that it was 7:30pm.....The buffet bewitching hour. Buffet etiquette dictates that dinner is put out on the steam tables around 5pm. Usually the best time to eat dinner is by no later than 6pm So when we arrived at 7:30 everything had been sitting for over 2 1/2 hours and it showed. That was hands down the worst buffet dinner I think I have had in quite a spell. Because I was so hungry I almost chewed my arm off and the fact I pre-paid is why I didn't get up and walk out. I would never eat at a Ponderosa again. Good Luck With That Jim Garrity. read more

Had to try been yrs since I saw a Ponderosa. Steak dinner w. Soup n salad bar. Dessert included. Or Buffet with all the usual things. Went for the ribeye baked potato. Steak very grisly lacking flavor. Soup I had the clam chowder very good creamy lots of flavor. salad bar typical items. Desert bar ice cream, cake, brownies. If we come back will do the buffet. read more

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worked here and was never told I was doing things wrong until my 3rd week there had health issues seems the manager didn't have time to talk about my health issues I do got to say I didn't learn much in the 3 weeks that I worked there read more

The childhood nostalgia outweighed the actual quality of the food. The restrooms were in disrepair and someone had placed a pad on the wall read more

Ponderosa Steakhouse - Sanitary napkin stuck to the wall - Steakhouses Near Me - Ludington, Michigan

I went with friends on a weekend trip to Ludington. We all worked together at a Ponderosa back in the 80s so we were being nostalgic. We all ordered lunch sirloin steaks and the buffet bar. Our steaks were delicious, cooked well, and very tender. The buffet seemed never ending and I filled my belly with an enormous salad with all the fixings and also enjoyed a plate of nachos and some chicken tenders, etc. The restaurant was very clean and the staff was so friendly as they listened to our silly stories about working at a Ponderosa many years ago. They let us take a few silly posed photos, too. It was an absolutely wonderful experience. If you're looking to dine in a lower cost, casual atmosphere don't hesitate to eat at the Ludington Ponderosa. read more

I hadn't been to a Ponderosa in years and was happy to find one still in business. The food was great- fresh and delicious! The salad bar and hot spot were well stocked and clean. However, it was the service that led me to write this review. Our server was super friendly, made us laugh and ensured our visit was the best! She and her coworker (who happened to her mom) took the time to ask us about our visit to the area, look at our photos and allowed us to reminisce about our time as Ponderosa employees 25+ years ago. It is valuable employees like this that make your restaurant an enjoyable experience. read more

Well my first visit at a ponderosa in 15 years. The restaurant is clean and staff was friendly. The bathrooms were spotless. read more

Ponderosa Steakhouse - Well my first visit at a ponderosa in 15 years. The restaurant is clean and staff was friendly. The bathrooms were spotless. - Steakhouses Near Me - Ludington, Michigan

Okay, this is going to be harsh, but well deserved. The staff was not the problem here. Everyone was kind and accommodating. The problem was the price and the awful food. Just the buffet for 2 adults and one child was $42. The food was so bad they shouldn't charge more than 5 bucks a head. Seriously. We all made ourselves a taco and after one bite my husband and I looked at each other and spit it out. The beef was rancid! No joke, it had turned and they were serving it to people! I'm pretty lenient when it comes to buffets because it is more about quantity than quality, let's be real, but they are going to make someone sick. Add to that the bagged meatballs that were sitting out at room temperature because the heating element must've not been working, the nacho cheese sauce that had an orange skin on top of it and clumps, and just an overall lack of quality in any item! The only 2 items that were enjoyable was the breadsticks and the soft serve ice cream. This place was hands down the worst buffet my husband and I have ever been to. We will never go back. read more

One of the best Ponderosa's you'll run into! Clean restaurant with clean bathrooms and good service all al good prices! read more

Pretty decent service. Horrible selection of actual protein and there's not much of it in a serving The salad bar was good Most of thefood I tried was terrible We have gone here a few times before, and the food has been going downhill since then. read more

Food is hot garbage! Left me and my wife with gastrointestinal issues for days. Service was awful as well. I went here for the nostalgia but will never be back! read more

When I was a kid my family went to Ponderosa on Friday nights. Every single Friday. For years. And I have fond memories of seeing steaks cooked on the grill in front of me and my first ever experience of that elusive mystery that is the salad bar. When I pulled off the highway and found a Ponderosa in Ludington, MI, I was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia and, in spite of my aversion to buffets in general I pulled in for Sunday brunch. The punch line: I won't be back. Ever. The restaurant is clean and the staff is friendly and accommodating, but the ultimate reason to stop and eat is for, well, the food, right? This, then, is precisely the reason not to stop. The food quality is mediocre at best (seriously--how do you mess up ham?). To be fair, I did not order anything off the menu and just had the buffet, but it was there that I found instant mashed potatoes, mac and cheese out of a bag, and ham that was so dry it was barely chewable. Everything is highly processed, dried out, and not fresh. I will eat most anything (ask my friends) but i found it difficult to finish anything I picked up. On the other hand, after eating at Ponderosa I was ready for a good nap. Perhaps this is its own reward. Do yourself a favor--resist the nostalgia and drive on by. read more

This is our second review for the Ludington Ponderosa. The wife and I went there tonight and got the 2X Sirloin Tips w/ Onions & Mushrooms. Also had the 14 pc Fried Shrimp. Both were fantastic! Great service as usual. Staff is always friendly. Looks like they are adding new items to the buffet to. Its hard to beat this place, especially compared to the $8 Arbys, Wendys, menu meals. I have had the regular dinner sirloin with the buffet and its great. The wife had the BBQ Chicken awhile back and it tasted really good! We recommend this Ponderosa! [URL=http://s975.photobucket.com/user/boneyard_03/media/IMAG0314.jpg.html][IMG]http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae238/boneyard_03/IMAG0314.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s975.photobucket.com/user/boneyard_03/media/IMAG0316.jpg.html][IMG]http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae238/boneyard_03/IMAG0316.jpg[/IMG][/URL] read more

Ponderosa Steakhouse - 14 pc Fried Shrimp. The Shrimp was great! Never over cooked. Great crunch! Good size to. - Steakhouses Near Me - Ludington, Michigan

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Went in there for the buffett. They have great selections of food so our each of us find something we like.. great place to go on vacation.

I haven't been to a Ponderosa in years and was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness, friendliness and food quality. My steak tastes excellent and was tender and the buffet tasted like homemade. The waitress Julie kept our table clean the entire time. I live about an hour away but would drive up here just for this! read more

Go for the salad bar, not the stake. The stake we had was OK but the salad bar was good. We ordered two five ounce sirloin steak dinners with two drinks and the bill was $33. The salad bar is included with your meal as well as desert. The waitress was prompt refilling your our drinks and removing dishes. read more

Sooo much of their food is swimming in melted butter and or some kind of oil. Is that done to try and mask food that is not fresh? I normally just love eating the kinds of foods that they prepare but they pretty much ruin the foods' natural flavors and possibly the actual vitamin and mineral benefits that the food itself provides. If I want to put butter, oil or salt in my food, I will add it in myself. read more

Went there for dinner tonight with my family. The service was good. Our waitress was very nice. The food on the other hand was the worst I've had in years. Meat loaf was cold, tortilla chips were stale, and all the food looked and tasted like it had been sitting out for hours. Absolutely disgusting and we will never go to another ponderosa again. read more

Food was subpar and way overpriced for the quality. Our server Becca is only positive of the whole experience!