Buddy’s Rendezvous Pizzeria

Buddy’s…deep in the hood on Conant just north of McNichols, is a great example of «old» Detroit. The bocce ball court on the side of the building reinforces the deep ethnic roots of this place. I was amazed to learn that Buddy’s is celebrating their 70^th anniversary this year having introduced their «Square Pizza» in the Motor City in 1946.
We parked conveniently in Buddy’s fully fenced parking lot before walking into this Detroit institution that still draws a large lunch crowd.
Buddy’s menu is pretty diverse offering salads, soups, sandwiches and of course their award-​winning square pizza.
We were here for one thing only… pizza. We ordered the «Super» which was smothered with onions, ‘shrooms, green peppers, pepperoni, sausage and ham. It was right there… fantastic!
Buddy’s scored a solid 4 Stars at this this 70 year old classic Detroit institution. We’ll be coming back for sure.

Ok, OK! So about this Buddy’s spot! This is not only the Original Detroit Location of what is probably Detroiters most famous original pizzeria! It is the home of Detroit Style Pizza! It all points back to this place. Everything else is an imitation of the original Buddy’s pizza! Whether there good or bad copies it was learned here! I am here to say that this place is so worth the drive over to taste what pizza perfection really is! They still make it perfect after all those years! I will always come back for 2nds here!

This is the original Buddy’s location off McNichols that started 70 years ago. A total Detroit icon. Introduced the square deep dish pizza and keeps going strong. Every time in Detroit can’t leave without going to Buddy’s. As original and good as I remember it. The inside and outside look old and grungy but clean. Dive appearance, cheap beer, and good eats.

Buddy’s hosted our rehearsal dinner for our wedding this past weekend. The pizza was amazing as usual. I was very impressed with the private room we had– it was adorable with market lights strung across the ceiling and a view of the Bocce court. Service was fantastic and everyone in the party always had exactly what they needed on time. Great for pizza anytime, but our experience having a party there was also top notch!

It took me two years of living in Detroit… but I can honestly say I’ve now had the best pizza in the city. There are many neighborhood locations, but don’t be fooled, the original is so much better!
You’ll always be greeted with a smile here and the service is top notch.
The pizzas are all square here and the corners are by far the best part. Don’t be ashamed to fight off your table-​mates to get at least one of the corners!

Was passing through Detroit on my way to Canada and wanted to stop somewhere for dinner. I was convinced to stop at Buddy’s by a coworker and was not disappointed. I got the Detroiter and the Greek salad. The salad was very good, I had never had a Greek salad with beets before, but it was a great addition. The pizza was amazing! The spices were perfect. There was the a perfect mix of cheese, sauce and pepperoni. Oh and the crust was buttery, crispy and delicious.

Lots of history. Great service. Great pizza. Love the bocce lanes outside. Too far for us to go to as regulars but will make it down therewhen we can.

Don’t be scared of Detroit!
I’d recommend taking the freeway to 6 Mile and then heading east to get here rather than running the gauntlet from Woodward… fair warning. BUT once you have Buddies in your sights you’ll have a nice security guard to usher you into their oasis and watch over your transpo. That was a nice surprise given the area can be a little seedy… especially if you take the long way.
The inside is still as it was circa 1940/​50s+ era, and that’s by design. They’re really trying to hold onto the feel of what Buddy’s was back when they were running pies to the Motown record labels for their artists, to the point that they named one of their five star pies after Motown itself. There’s three dining rooms and a bar with booth seating… so plenty of room to stretch out. The staff is friendly and totally on their game too.
The shining beacons here are of course the food… their pizza is obviously legit and the salads are perfection. But on top of that they have bocce courts. They’re free to play on a first come first serve basis and highly entertaining with two people or 16 if you break the courts down into halves. It doesn’t really get better than pizza, drinks and a fun sport to play while enjoying the first two, right?!
A few last words about the pizza. I’m a huge supporter of Jet’s. It’s my favorite take-​away Detroit style pie. As a former employee, I’ve had their pie right out of the oven and it was amazing. This Buddy’s has a little better pie than I remember even my Jet’s having and that’s saying something. The sauce is super fresh tasting and the little pepperonis will always always swing my vote. The cheese was smooth and quality and the crust was gently cooked to a crisp and had some exceptional flavor. I’m definitely a fan you’ll be too.
My only constructive criticism would be to throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls and refresh the men’s room since it was a little seedy in there too.

While at work I ate at Buddy’s. The service was pretty good. We didn’t have to ask for refills and our beverages never went dry. The wait was a tad long for our food but is understandable since we ordered pizza. This place was pretty good, pizza was nuclear hot and delicious. We were doing pretty good up until we were about to cash out and leave and a party of ten sat down next to us and started to create some bad juju. The group was acting all kinds of crazy off the rip. Straight drunk ghetto. This place is a good spot to eat as long as you have a concealed pistol license. I wouldn’t take my family here you never know what kind of crazy is gonna walk through the door.

I don’t eat a lot of pizza anymore, but while out here last week I couldn’t help but go back for a third and then fourth piece. It helps that the pieces are kept small so I got to trick myself into thinking I was eating more than I was.
It was a very cool place, first time I’ve ever been into this location. The staff was very helpful, keeping the drinks flowing and offering to help with anything else we needed.
An older staffer (the manager or owner I’m not sure) gave us a history lesson on Buddy’s Sicilian style pizza, the restaurant and bits of pizza and Detroit itself.
The one thing that sticks in my craw, the place is named for a group of friends who used to meet in the back of the building. Ok I get that, but since it’s not named for a person, the name of the restaurant is spelled wrong.
After dinner, we moved on to the Bocce ball lanes. wicked cool. I love places that have activities to do as well.
The place is separated into several rooms, which make it great for parties or other type of events as well.

Great place, amazing pizza, and friendly attentive staff. A real jewel in the city. The prices are good and they have a nice variety of food and drinks. There is a bar. The restaurant has a lot of desperate areas and would be great for large private parties. Workings are happy to tell you about the history of the businesses and the history of pizza itself

Now I think I have been to all of the Buddy’s location in the area except for the new one in Novi. I love me some Buddy’s. I went here for a Unilocal event where we had a chance to make our own pizzas.
This was another great Unilocal event put on by Annette and is now my best and favorite event. I have to schedule more. I attended this one with a good friend of mine since my daughter or wife couldn’t attend. He said he had a blast. Needless to say we have a new Unilocaler in our area now.
I enjoyed meeting fellow Unilocalers, John K, (his first event), Amy B., Shannon M., Dan O. and Fai F. and their plus ones.

This is the original Buddy’s! The place that started it all. It’s a dive. But that’s what’s makes it awesome! Old school feel nothing fancy. Great service, food is great like all the other Buddy’s I would go out of my way to go here over one of the «fancier» Buddys. Bocce courts are great too! Nothing better to me than pizza and Bocce.

We shared the Detroiter pizza and garden salad-​YUM!
The pizza was moist and chewy and full of flavor. The house salad dressing was delicious! The restaurant itself is a kitchy blast from the past. Great wait staff, friendly and attentive.
All that being said the neighborhood is sketchy! The surrounding area is in decline to say the least… but the parking lot has a guard and I didn’t feel unsafe at the restaurant.

Pros:
The Detroiter pizza was awesome. Everything about it was good, especially the sauce.
Waitress was very friendly and personable.
Price wasn’t too bad either.
Cons:
Service was a bit slow at first. Waited about 7 – 8 minutes for someone to come to my table.
Not the greatest location (but they did have someone watching the cars in the lot).
Bottom Line:
Seriously good pizza and worth the drive from downtown to get some lunch there!

I love Detroit, but Detroit-​style pizza is nothing to write home about. Remember those personal pan pizzas you’d always order in the school cafeteria? Well, Detroit style pizza crust is most similar to that. Bready, greasy, often with a slightly off florescent tinge, and crispy burnt on the edges. You can get some here, if you can race through the hail of bullets to make it inside.
Something I actually rather like about this place but I bet most will not, is the character of the neighborhood. Namely, that it looks like a nuclear blast zone. Detroit has been going through some rough times, and this area very much exemplifies that. You’ll see halfway demolished gas stations, graffiti everywhere, dusty shuttered dollar stores, and rubble from abandoned homes crumbling in the Michigan sun. I actually find it a bit poetic, like the aftermath of the once mighty Rome. I cannot attest to the safety of the area, and since very few people still live here or work here, I suspect it’s actually more deserted than dangerous. Still, the large loud warning sign over the entrance to Buddy’s saying everything is on closed camera, and the door that looks like it has just as much heavy weighted metal as a submarine door, doesn’t really inspire trust in the area.
Once inside, the décor looks like a dingy send-​off of a classic fifties red sauce Italian joint. There are Christmas lights inside, which says just about everything you need to know.
The menu is extensive and laminated, the cheesy bread tastes like mozzarella on slightly old Italian loafs, and the salad looks it certainly uses chopped lettuce from a «greens mix» bag.
The pizza is underwhelming, and yet pleasantly filling. You will not be blown away by new tastes, but the tomato sauce is slightly tart and sweet, the cheese melts properly, and the pepperoni doesn’t hurt.
The crowd is a great mix of people, both locals and travelers alike, and conversation with the staff is easy and amiable.
TL;DR: Very unique Detroit vibe here, but the pizza does not stand up to scrutiny.

The drive to this restaurant — shady, a little disheartening. The market across the street, just the look of it, told you that you’re not in the greatest part of town. The restaurant has a gated and guarded parking lot, which again, reveals a lot.
I’m really happy we stopped here though because that was some of the best pizza I’ve ever had. My friends and I ordered a bunch of different pizza and shared. I think I was most impressed with the BBQ chicken pizza because it was the first time I had a pizza with BBQ sauce that I actually liked. Why? Because the sauce was crazy good and a little runny, which made it more of a subtle sweet flavour and less of a blast of sugar. I still crave that pizza today and think about it all the time.
Service was awesome. Friendly and lively joint in the inside, though you’d never know it from the outside. Will definitely be back one day.

Just outside of Hamtramck, this is the original Buddy’s at the corner of Conant & McNichols. I haven’t been here in years, but still some of the best pizza in the land.
Not the best neighborhood in the ‘D’, but they have security in the parking lot.
Once inside, there is that old established feel to the place. It was a blind pig back during Prohibition, and it has been in business since then.
Enter from the parking lot through the back door and climb the stairs to the dining room. You might continue on and be seated in the bar area, or further on to another small dining area off to the side. We were seated at a booth in the bar area. I noticed that everyone sitting at the bar must have been regulars, as they all seemed to know each other. The TVs were on and everyone was enjoying the evening.
Having been to the Buddy’s location in Dearborn just a week or so before, I recognized the menu layout as being the same. They don’t offer exactly the same items, but we ordered the Detroiter pizza, a Detroit style deep dish pizza, just like last week in Dearborn. It came out of the oven and was whisked to our table. They include a little server spatula to make retrieving the pizza a breeze.
The pizza was excellent, our drinks were good, the service was impeccable!
I highly recommend a visit to the original Buddy’s, especially if you are looking for a good meal in a landmark location. And check out the wall murals, photographs and autographed pictures adorning the interior!

Words cannot begin to describe how amazing this pizza is. Thick crust, saucy but crispy on the edges. The sauce is amazing as is the motor city cheese blend. We ordered minestrone soup and a salad, the Detroiter (with motor city cheese blend) and the Lake Ontario with no sauce. Everything was delicious.
Linds was our waitress and she was extremely friendly and helpful. There was a mistake in the kitchen with the no sauce pizza, but they quickly fixed the problem, comping that pizza and delivering it to our table directly from the cook’s hands with his apologies! What a nice gesture for our first visit. Will definitely return when in the area again and recommend Buddy’s to anyone in the greater Detroit area.

Had to go to the original Buddy’s pizza to try it out. The place was neat very homey feeling however very unorganized. We walked in and I had to flag down a server to see ask if I seat myself or put in a name she just said ya ill get a table for you. We got seated after she sat us at a reserved table and had to move once.
The food was ok, we had an antipasti salad to start that was smothered in dressing and only had iceberg lettuce no real lettuce. The pizza we got was the Sicilian, in a 8 square size. The pizza was ok as well good but not anything special. It needed more cheese and less bread, there was defiantly not enough toppings either. Maybe I am just not a Michigan girl but Buddys is not great pizza, Ill stick to making my own.