Cici's Pizza Buffet

The Good:
Plentiful Options
Fresh, hot food
Cinnamon Rolls!!!

The Bad:
A little on the salty side
No locations in New Jersey

The Ugly:
Apple Pie Pizza

Cici's Pizza Buffet

If you live in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, chances are that you've seen a commercial for Cici's Pizza Buffet. The only problem is that there isn't one nearby. In fact, the closest one (to my house, anyway) is in Lancaster, Pa which is about 58 miles away. I certainly wouldn't make a trip out to Lancaster just to try Cici's, but seeing as I was already out there I figured why not? I mean, I've been teased mercilessly by the commercials like this one over the past year or so, so why pass up the opportunity:



Their advertisements used to state that the buffet was under $5 per person which caused me to question the quality of their pizza. I mean, what kind of pizza is $5 for all you can eat? Honestly, I was a bit nervous, but for $5 per person, in the end does it really matter?

My first impression of the restaurant was not too great because it looked absolutely normal (read: boring) as just another store in a strip mall off of route 30 in Lancaster (right down the road from Dutch Wonderland and, no, that's not why I was in town, although my daughter has been practically begging me to go). Cici’s is situated next to a Game Stop which looked more appetizing to me as we were driving up. As you enter the restaurant there is a big board with a couple options on it: Take out or Buffet. The price for a large 14" pizza for take out is only $5.99 which is a pretty good price, barring quality, of course. The buffet is now priced at $5.49 per adult and $2.99 for children under 10. Drinks are $1.49 ($0.99 for kids), so after tax we spent $19.23 for the three of us (Rachel Ray would be proud).

What struck me right off the bat was the demeanor of the employees (I guess I’m used to the jaded scowls of New Jersey folk): the employees were polite and welcoming. The employees with whom we interacted all seemed to a) want to make our visit a good one b) enjoy their jobs and c) generally enjoy life (a vibe which you just don’t get from many Jersey folk, especially those who work a cash register at a buffet, for example).

Just past the register is the beginning of the buffet line. As soon as you are issued your receipt you can pick up a tray and some plates and you start at the salad bar which, although limited in its offerings (then again, who goes to an all you can eat pizza place to eat salad?), was nice because the salad was fresh (however, I would go so far as to say that if you went there and only ate salad (and dessert – more on dessert later), you’d still get your money’s worth).

The pizza, though, is the reason anybody goes to Cici’s, and the pizza definitely has its moments to shine. Overall what impressed me about the pizza was the crust. The crust wasn't greasy and crispy like it had been fried in oil (I'm looking at you, Pizza Hut), and it wasn't wet or undercooked like at Chuck E. Cheese. In fact, the crust was chewy without being too thick and tough, it was not thin like a cracker like some thin crust pizzas (anyone remember Donato's Pizza?) and did not taste like unseasoned flour (anyone thinking Papa John’s?). In fact, my only real complaint was that the pizza was a bit too salty, and that goes for all of the pizzas I tried.

Cici’s offers a whopping 20 types of pizza and garlic bread to choose from on the buffet line. Due to the rapid turnover, the pizzas were all fresh, none of them getting a chance to sit under the heat lamps for very long. And one thing that I really appreciate is that if something you want to try is not present you can ask for one to be made and then they will bring it out to your table. Case in point: my wife wanted to try the taco pizza which wasn’t on the line and they brought out three slices to our table about five minutes later. This was a nice touch because who wants to spend their time defending their place in the pizza line against other ravenous patrons (anyone who’s waited for more crab legs to be brought out at a Chinese dinner buffet knows exactly to what I am referring)? Certainly not me.

Of all the types of pizza that they offer (here is a link to their menu), I tried the following: Pepperoni, Buffalo Chicken, Mexican Style Ole (a taco pizza), Spinach Alfredo, Macaroni and Cheese (this was the closest I came to the Pasta portion of the buffet), Pepperoni Jalapeno, Classic Chicken, Zesty Pepperoni, Flip Pizza (stuffed pizza), BBQ, and, the garlic bread (I had the garlic bread with the salad). I know, it looks like a lot of food but hey, I was hungry. It’s also important to note that most slices of pizza can be consumed with as little as two bites (if you’re like me), leaving just the thick part of the crust behind. The pizza slices are small, and that is good because it lets you sample as many different pizzas as you want without filling you up right away.

When all is said and done I’d have to say that my favorite pizzas were the Buffalo Chicken, which was nice and tangy without being overly hot or not spicy at all, and the Flip Pizza, which had a nice, golden brown top crust and delicious, gooey cheese and pepperoni on the inside. All of the others were pretty middle-of-the-road, standard offerings that you could probably put together at home using store-bought components; you just wouldn’t be able to make all these pizzas at home for $7 per person, though.

Once I had sampled all of the pizzas that I was going to try I went for a spot of dessert. One of my all time favorite desserts is Apple Pie, so how could I go wrong with their Apple Pie Pizza? Well, it really wasn’t that good. It was pretty bland and too chewy for a pastry-style dessert. The big winner was the cinnamon rolls, which were light, fluffy, rich, and, very sweet and flavorful. I didn’t even bother to try the brownie which looked pathetic. My wife did, and confirmed my suspicions.

All things considered I definitely recommend Cici's Pizza Buffet. If nothing else, the price is incredibly reasonable. Where else can you get a dinner buffet for about $7 per person? The cheapest price I've ever seen at a Chinese buffet was $7.99 and that was for a lunch buffet; the dinner buffets usually average $10-$15 per person. It's important to remember that this is not gourmet pizza. It isn't even your local mom-and-pop-hometown pizza. This is fast-food pizza and it was as good as, or better than, most other fast-food pizzas. Also, the employees seemed to really enjoy working there; everyone we met and spoke with smiled and seemed genuinely interested in making our visit a memorable one.

It is just too bad that the closest Cici’s is in Lancaster, PA, which is pretty far from Jersey. If you’re going to go all that way out to Lancaster and visit Amish country or another attraction in the area, there are lots of good local places to eat that I could recommend to you. If your goal, however, is a very reasonably priced lunch or dinner and pizza is what you are craving, you shouldn’t pass up Cici's Pizza Buffet.

3 ½ stars out of 5