Papa Elias Pizza Buffet

After reading the reviews I took a chance and then went there the salad bar looks great didn’t see anything rotten the food was delicious the service was great I give it 5 stars

I’ve eaten here and gotten take out probably approaching 20 times. I will say, the place ain’t much to look at. Outdated décor, unfriendly signs on the pizza buffet, crappy salad bar, BUT… The pizza. The pizza keeps us coming back. The dough is awesome and they use good ingredients for the toppings. I don’t know what it is, maybe the pans they use to make it in. The chickens not bad, and the people are nice. But the pizzas legit folks. If you can look past all its other faults, there’s some amazing pizza to be had.

Had dinner there tonight with my two sons, they were quick to make new pizzas and the salad station was nice. The chicken was dry and had been sitting under heat lamps for a while, the server was inattentive and we barely saw him. Price is good if the food is fresh but if the pizza and chicken have sat under heat lamps to long then best to go elsewhere.

If was possible to give this place 0 stars I would.
We entered thru the arcade entrance and that should have been a clue. Everything was filthy. However other customers were present so we proceeded.
We should have run when we hit the buffet. The salad bar was filled with moldy and rotten vegetables. Cucumbers reduced to mush, cauliflower with obvious mold, rotted tomatoes, green peppers that were so moldy they were brown.
The pizza buffet had old dried out pizza, hard breadsticks and dried chicken. After a bit they did bring out fresh pizza but it was swimming in grease and by that time we had had enough.
I spoke to the waitress on duty and expressed my dismay and concern about the conditions. She denied it and said it was fresh. I told her she needed to look again and she apologized.
The manager, in the meantime complained loudly to other tables that were drinking water. He claims he doesn’t make any money on food and only makes money on pop.
I think the reason he doesn’t make any money is the condition of the food!
We asked for a discount due to the poor quality and were denied. We were told they don’t make any money on the food so they can’t discount it.
We paid and left. We will never be back. I took photos of the food and will be sharing with the local health board. This place needs to be shut down.

Drove here from Livonia. The people were extremely nice. Great price and great atmosphere. The pizza has the real authentic taste. We will make this a regular place to visit. They have chicken and salad both of which are very good. They also have a menu to order from. Great for children as they have play area for children.

Pretty normal pizza buffet. Papa is always in the building. Very nice guy. He has always catered to my family when we visit. The salad bar used to be sub par as you hear from other comments but I think that problem has changed. All the greens are green, veggies are crisp, dressings look much better. They have really really good fried chicken. If you bring your family they will usually make a couple pies of your choice. BLT pizza is my favorite here. They recently added soup but I haven’t tried it yet. Staff is friendly. They have a small arcade for the Kids and they have a small banquet area for parties. Overall I would give this place 4 out of 5 stars because every places has room for improvement.

If I could describe today’s visit to Papa Elias in one word it would be disappointing. I’ve have ate here a few times before and have been very satisfied. However today’s visit was a nightmare. My group was wanting pizza and we chose Papa Elilas because they have chicken and Pizza! The last time I visited here the buffet was $ 4.99. Now it is $ 6.99. I hate to be mean but save your money, the food is not good. When we walked in the restaurant there wasn’t any customers. I wasn’t even sure if they were open. When we were told that they were indeed open, my group headed for the buffet. I was very unhappy in their selection. There were a few slices of pizza on the buffet, dried out looking chicken and bread sticks. The friendly waiter told us that he would make us any pizza we wanted and would make fresh chicken. My group was very excited to hear that. We waited patiently for the food to come out. First out was the «fresh» chicken. That chicken was hard as a brick! I couldn’t even chew it. I believe that they took the dried out chicken that was on the buffet and threw it back in the deep fryer for a few minutes to warm it up. It was gross. Next out was my pizza. I ordered a pizza with mushrooms, onions and green pepper. It was not good. For some reason it was watery. There was a pool of water gathered on top of the pizza. I couldn’t eat it. My brother also ordered a pizza. All he wanted was a pepperoni pizza. The cook said my brother’s pizza was on the buffet bar… it wasn’t even what he ordered. It was half pepperoni and half bacon. My brother was disappointed that the pizza was not what he ordered but he said it tasted okay. My whole group was unhappy with the quality and the choices Papa Elias offers. I used to love their food here but it seems as if the restaurant is struggling and it is showing in their cooking. I don’t think I will be back. I feel like I wasted my money eating here. The only nice thing I have to say about this place is that our waiter was very friendly.

Friendly owner, good chicken flavor and pizza !
Bad veggie salad status, quilts spinach and BAD tomatoes !
I suggest to papa Elias to use shallower veggie trays so he doesn’t need to put out a lot !
If it’s a busy time pizza as actually delicious and chicken flavor is crispy and great !
Owner just need new strategies to keep business a float

So– it has taken m 3 hours from the time I left this restaurant to form my review. We walked in and it was noon– there was not one table. I go for the salad bar and was instantly disgusted. The cucumbers were in water but shriveled up, the lettuce was brown around the edges, and the dressing had a thick skin over it which meant it had not been changed in a couple of days. I was ready to wall out but my Husband said– we ll just feed the kids cheese pizza and go. The diet Pepsi came out of a 2 liter bottle– it was flat. Their are signs up everywhere that say they will charge you if you take pizza and don’t eat it, and there is a sign up at the register that states they will charge you a $ 1.00 for a credit transaction– which is against their credit agreement. My best advise– stay away.

Cheap price for the buffet, they will make you any type of pizza you like,. The only reason for the 4stars is, I am a firm believer in getting at least asked if I would like a refill on my drink. Other than that the cheese bread was great.

I will start this review by saying the service in this place is 2^nd to none. They are 1^st class all the way and want to please the customer. Papa Elias came right up to us and said, «If you want a certain pizza, just let me know, I’ll make it for you.» Well, we had him make us a veggie pizza. :)
We’ve been here a few times as you can’t beat the price to feed a family of 4. The $ 4.99 covers everything, pizza, salad and chicken. Their broasted chicken is really good, and the also have a BBQ chicken. The salad bar is small & just ok.
The pizza seems to be hit and miss, to which I think they can improve, it might of just been the Wednesday night we went… But I know Papa Elias makes a decent pizza, so am giving him a break. We had him make us a veggie pizza and it was really good and fresh…
The atmosphere could use some help, but if you’re just going in to pig out, as long as there’s food, what do ya need??? LOL
At the end of dinner, he brought an ice cream cone to the table for my 8yo daughter — she thought that was so cool… :)
If this place was based on customer service alone, it would be a solid 5 stars.
However, it is a buffet, so food is very important, and that’s where the 2 star deduction comes into play. Will I be back, yes, cause I truly want this place to succeed. I know being a restaurantier is tough, and I really hope this place can make a comeback!!!

Pretty average pizza buffet. They do have a few things going for them: $ 4.99 a person and they have about 15 selections going for them (BBQ chicken, fried chicken, steak fries, salad bar, big garlic breadsticks, and about 7 or more pizza selections), and you can request different pizza to go on the buffet. However there were some flaws: salad bar was horrible (stale croutons, salad mix looked old), all the other food was average at best (garlic bread sticks, BBQ chicken leg was about the only thing was a little bit better). Overall, you get what you pay for to be quite honest and i would not be sad if i never came back here again.

I will start this review by saying the service in this restaurant can not be beat. They are 100% customer focused. My wife had told the waitress that the macaroni salad in the salad bar, tasted flat. The owner of the place had new salad made especially for her. The new salad was good. If you want pizza that they don’t have in their buffet, they will make pizza for you to make you happy.
The atmosphere of the place is no frills.
For $ 4.99 — All the pizza, broasted chicken and salad bar that you care to eat. You can’t beat the price.
The owner of the place, what a nice man. Papa Elias. He treated my kids and won for my kids balls out of the arcade games.
For the food — The chicken was good. The salad bar, average. The Pizza, well, could have been better. When Papa Elias had a small pizzeria on Middlebelt, his pie was solid.
This must be a very tough business. There is another buffet pizza/​salad bar restaurant just a few hundred feet away for $ 3.99. No chicken included in this price.
With a few tweaks, this could be a good place.

The best value in Michigan… Maybe the USA.
All you can eat great tasting pizza, salad, fries, breadsticks for a $ 4.99.
They are extremely nice to deal with and have arcade games too.
One of the best tasting pizzas around and also have a full menu to boot.

Best Value Pizza Buffet. they have it all and it wont break the bank. I love this place