Cactus Willie’s Pizza Buffet

Thank Heaven this place closed. Probably saved some people from gastroenteritis.

CLOSED, sorry to see it gone.

Guys, this is a mixed bag. BUT, think… so what, for 5.99? it’s a BUFFET, people… pick what you like.
Here’s my likes and dislikes. Great taco meat. Italian chicken wasn’t at all bad. The steak quality was suprisingly ok, but the grill was not nearly warm enough I whined at the employee, who said, «It’s cookin’…». Right. So, you get a brownish steak with burn marks, but can’t get one dark brown on the outside, and rare on the inside, because they’re too cheap to turn up the grill. So. They pay for steak, and they weenie out on the grill. Nice job. Other cost cutting measures are in plain sight. A one gallon, Restaurant supply hot wing sauce, complete with pump dispenser, sat on the counter for you to pump onto your steak if you wish. no attempt to conceal the brand, etc. it’s just sitting out there. Same with some other sauce– maybe steak sauce, I’m not sure.
The tomato sauce, meatballs, all passable; but, all were clearly from a restaurant supply. At the end of my meal, I decided that S.E.R must have partial ownership in this place, as so many products were right out of a can.
Here’s the not so good. Chili was okay, but that’s it. The split pea soup was oddly gelatinous. The taste was okay, perhaps a little uneven, but the texture was downright gross. Maybe because it was lukewarm? OH– I get it. Like the steak grill. Trying to save a nickel.
So. Here you have sometimes decent quality product, cheapened by the way it’s prepared. Shame on them, and for that? Two stars.
Still, it’s only 5.99, right???

I’ve been here once and vowed not to go back… lukewarm food that seemed as though it’d been sitting around – even though I saw employees bringing it out. Nothing special – even for the low price.
I’m actually surprised this place is still in business… and I thought it was closed until a week ago when my husband went out to his car (parked in the lot of our apartment complex) to find a Cactus Willies flier on his windshield – that is now practically permanent since they flier-​ed cars and then it rained! (The ink/​paper stuck to his windshield). Thanks, Cactus Willies for the constant reminder of your gross food… at least until we scrape what’s left of the flier off the windshield. (See photo).

Disgusting. Major food temperature issues. It’s not a pizza buffet, it’s a regular buffet now but the food options are limited, flavors bland and the food is cold. Not impressed at all.

One of the refrains of other reviews seems to be «OK food for the price.» I disagree — regardless of the price, there is a line that food should not cross, and they cross it here. The pizza is served just barely warmer than room temperature, and the crust has that moist chewiness that screams ‘Microwaved’.
The cookies were hard and the salad bar was filthy. The only good thing I can say was that the waitress was very attentive with clearing plates and refilling our drinks — but since the drink machine is readily accessible, a waitress really seemed redundant — all they need is a busboy to clear plates.
Here, I guess, is my final word: I would not come back if I could eat for free.

The food is ok for the price as in you get what you paid for. My husband and I went to this place and thought the pizza was ok but there were’nt too many choices. The pasta was not very tasty either. I did like the cookies and also the salad bar. The only thing this place needs included in the buffet is chicken wings. I noticed they are selling them seperate for $ 3.99 why not include that with the buffet?

Okay, I was in Laurel one day and saw this place while driving on Rte. 1 seduced by the $ 5.99 all you can eat pizza. Bottom line, I did not think this was good, but what should I have expected for 5.99? Pizza and pasta and salad bar were woefully inadequate for my palate. I learned my lesson. This may be for some, but it sure as heck ain’t for me.

So based on the little taglines that come with the stars, I’m giving this one 3. This place is absolutely A-​OK, but I wouldn’t go so far as Yay, I’m A Fan.
I came here with my family on a Friday during the work day and there were literally only 2 other tables occupied in the whole place. This did not make me feel good about it, as I generally dislike the extra attention that comes with being one of the few in an establishment. However, the lady who took our money at the door and the young man who got our drinks were both over the top nice and friendly without being creepy or over attentive. They asked if we’d like to see the food on the buffet before paying since we had never been here before. I thought that was a nice gesture.
Up in Boston I see ads for CiCi’s all the time, and alas, there are none nearby. So sadly I’ve never been to one. But if I was to imagine what it is like, I bet its like this. This had a nice assortment of warm enough to eat pizzas on a buffet, with plenty to choose from should you be a vegetarian like me. They also had various pasta dishes to take including spaghetti with meat or non-​meat sauce, lasagna, and macaroni and cheese. Very adequate selection of main foods, as well as a small salad bar, and some delicious cookie options for dessert.
Overall I enjoyed my lunch there. 5.99 for the buffet and another two dollars-​ish for a drink with free refills. The place was clean, the price is certainly right, the food tasty enough for me to eat 3 plates, and the staff I interacted with was very sweet. A-​OK by me, and I hope it gets some good business.

I’d like to say 2.5 stars, but Cactus Willie’s is closer to a 3 than a 2 because of the slightly questionable «Goo Goo Icing» that just makes you giggle like a little kid. I’m from Rockville and I have gone to CiCi’s quite a few times and if I had to pick Cactus Willie’s over CiCi’s, Willie is the way to go. It’s $ 5.99 for the buffet and about $ 1.80 for a drink (or a few if you please; free refills).
The salad bar was a bit messy which was odd because of how slow it was during the late afternoon on a Sunday. The pizza was lacking in the variety category big time. I did get to try the steak and cheese pizza, which was very tasty. Despite the one tasty specialty pizza, the other 6 pizzas were lacking (2 of the 6 were just your run of the mill cheese and pepperoni… boring). The pizza was also cold. I thought I heard a microwave beep in the background and I got excited but I couldn’t find the source of the noise I heard. They have a rather impressive pasta bar. I didn’t get to sample everything, but the noodles aren’t overcooked, which is a big plus in my book. And finally, my favorite, the dessert bar. They offered 3 different cookies, cherry pie, bread pudding and the infamous cinnamon sticks with the Goo Goo Icing.
The atmosphere is nice. On one side there was the sports TV and by the dessert bar on the other side of the restaurant there was a cartoon TV.
Overall, this place gives you what you paid for (cheap pizza that ain’t too bad). I’d like to go back one early evening during the work week, but I’m afraid they won’t be around for too long. It’s just the vibe that I get.

*somewhat triumphant fanfare* Cactus Willie’s, a pizza buffet a la CiCi’s has come to Laurel. *scattered applause*
Food — $ 5.99 for AYCE pizza. Considering that’s cheaper than «It’s not delivery! It’s DiGiorno,» this place is a bargain. And surprisingly, the quality is good… for now. Being the responsible Unilocaler I am, I tried a little bit of everything, even salads. That’s right, I’m a tad better than Meatloaf b/​c I would do anything for love, even eat that. The salad bar had romaine and ice berg lettuce, bacon bits, croutons, a decent coleslaw, sub par macaroni salad, and several salad dressings. They did not, however, have Thousand Island, which is a cardinal sin for most older Korean folks, so I doubt I’ll bring my parents here. The ingredients were fresh and I actually enjoyed my rabbit food.
On Labor Day Monday, they had 15 different pizzas out. My favorites were the Steak & Cheese (think Steak-​umm, not Filets), which seemed to have a tastier tomato sauce than the others, seafood (Old Bay, really shrimpy shrimp, and some artificial crab meat), a pizza that had tomatoes and feta (mmmmm!), the Hawaiian (the pineapples were surprisingly large). The slices are relatively small, so you can play the Tootsie Roll game with bites, Mr. Owl: uh 1, a two-​hoo, a three. Uh, three. Unlike CiCi’s, the crust was actually decent and was not made of 100% corrugated fibers.
There are also a variety of pastas. The spiral pasta was prepared with veggies and chunks of white meat chicken. It was cooked al dente, but lacked flavor. The baked ziti was ok, and the spaghetti with meat sauce wasn’t bad. And I ended my meal with some decent fries that had a pseudo beer battered texture. Bonus points for having Tabasco.
Make sure you save room for dessert because the chocolate chip cookies are good. Chewy, with large chunks of chocolate.
Service — We went for a late lunch, so there weren’t very many patrons, but they still kept the pizzas coming. This may be a result of them just opening 3 weeks ago, but I hope they can keep this up b/​c I hate those pizzas at CiCi’s that have 2 of the nastiest slices you’ve ever seen but you know won’t be replaced until someone bites the bullet and takes the last 2. You get your own drinks but the server was plenty efficient at taking away our plates and making sure everything was ok.
Location — Formerly Four Seasons Buffet, Grand Panda Buffet, and Louisiana, which never seemed to be able to catch any breaks. The interior is good for groups.
Is it great food? No. But the nice thing about a $ 5.99 buffet is that it lowers your expectations so much that just about anything is good. For example, when an Asian kid, such as myself, walks onto the basketball court, no one expects much of him/​her, so the mere fact that he or she can project the ball in any fashion in the general direction of the rim is surprising. Cactus Willie’s does that and more. He dribbles, shoots, and even did a layup, but like most of the Asian population, he can’t dunk. So 3 stars for CW’s.