Pappas Ranch

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  This place doesn't exactly work for everyone...but if you know the Pappas family's reputation for great tasting....ANYTHING -- you should at least give it a try.  Their menu has just about anything you could want in a Moderately priced joint like this. I decided to write this review for one single item -- one that might get attention from someone who likes this dish as much as I do.  The Conch fritters.  Conch fritters are usually the appetizer I will order EVERY time I see it on a menu. Most places use the same mix or recipe.... NOT Pappas. I go there....almost entirely for this one dish.  If grouper is not fresh...it's not served....PERIOD. Disappointing when it's out.... but speaks volumes for the integrity of the owner/chef.

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  Posted on 04.24.13 Rob C.

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  Eric wanted to take me out for my birthday. He asked me where I would like to go.  I was hungry for a juicy steak. He found Pappas Ranch on the Internet. It was our first time.  It was not exceptional, but our waitress was friendly, polite, she took care of us.  I ordered the ... Avegolemono
  Soup it was really good, the flavor, texture, I do not use crackers in this soup.  For Dinner I ordered my 6 ounce steak medium rare, sweet potato fries, and broccoli.   My steak was juicy,tender, flavorful. My sweet potato fries were poked to perfection. My steamed broccoli was not over done nor undercooked. This was Saturday aprox. 4:20 pm / 1620 hrs.
  Eric ordered the Ribs / brisket platter. I tasted his brisket, his meat was tender, juicy and lots of flavor.. Hats off to the chef. ..
      I would like to go back. We live Springhill ... Not to close.
  I was happy it was clean from ceiling to floor. Many places are dusty, if it is out of reach... It's dusty. Not Pappas Ranch.  :D.

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  Posted on 03.27.13 Candis  b. N.

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  From the outside, this is one of those intriguing looking places that begs you to stop.  Even the inside appears like an old Tex-Mex style set-up.  But, that's where the good stuff stops.  
  
  I can get past a wrongly poured mixed drink and flat soda.  I can even get by with a wilted salad, as long as my dinner is good and service meets basic expectations....But the meal had no taste, with steak being way overlooked and the potato...well, let's say that it needed to be cooked.
  
  The ONLY thing worse than the meal was service.  Our waitress would disappear for 20 minutes at a time to go outside and light up.  After each pack, she would come back in smelling like an ashtray.  When my friend left exactly 15% tip (to the penny,) she followed him outside to sarcastically tell him he forgot his copy of the receipt.  He chuckled and said he was trying to forget the whole experience.

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  Posted on 03.21.13 Anthony M.

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  Don't waste your time.... There was nothing good to say about this place! You'll get better service at McDonalds then this place... You know the service is bad when your ice melts in your water and still haven't received your food! On top of that...how do you run out of baked potatoes then substitute it then run out of the substitute? I will never come to this place again!

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  Posted on 03.10.13 Chris P.

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  Several of us were getting together for lunch.  Pappas Ranch seemed like a good choice because it was centrally located.  Unfortunately, this was the only good thing about our visit.
  
  The facility itself reminded me of a Bob Evens on steroids--a big red barn.  There was a banner outside announcing that lunch was available.  Unfortunately, there was no lunch menu--just the regular menu.  
  
  Service was very, very slow.  We had to flag down our waitress several times.
  
  I ordered the brisket sliders--after all it was suppose to be a steak/BBQ place; my friends ordered chopped Greek Salads and the Fish Tacos.  We waited almost 25 minutes for our orders.  My sliders looked good--however, there was no sauce.  When our server asked if we needed anything, I asked for sauce, and a side of pickles and onions. Ten minutes later, she arrived with a bucket of sauces and told me that there was an additional charge for the pickles and onions. I told her not to worry about the additional charge, but could she quickly bring the pickles and onions.  Another 10 minutes later, they arrived.
  
  My friends's Greek Salads were the usual Pappas Greek Salads.  The Fish Tacos were OK.
  
  The only thing that arrived in timely manner was our checks.
  
  Won't be back!

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  Posted on 01.15.13 Beck H.

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  I've never been a big fan of any of the Pappas' restaurants. They always seem to lack in the food quality and have higher than average price tags. The Pappas Ranch follows in that tradition.
  
  As far as food goes, expect your traditional BBQ. The closest comparison is Sonny's, and it is extremely close, some of the dishes could almost be exact duplicates from what I saw. The portion size was small, especially for a BBQ place. For the price, you are really not getting a great deal.
  
  The customer service was ok, but it was nothing that really made me want to come back. The decor was ok, kind of kitschy, but not over all horrible.
  
  I'd only really come back to this restaurant if it was just for a quick sandwich. Otherwise, not worth your time or money.

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  Posted on 01.07.13 Jeff E.

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  Some places are just average, and Pappas Ranch in Odessa is one of them.
  
  We were a large group celebrating a birthday last night. Our server was efficient but not overly friendly and a little sarcastic. I couldn't tell if it was just her personality or if she was annoyed with us, but something was up. Maybe it was just because it was a Sunday night, but that's how I noticed most of the staff to be--efficient but not really there. Food came out correctly and in a timely matter though so it wasn't a huge deal.
  
  I ordered a cup of their Avgolemono soup to start (Greek lemon orzo chicken soup) and found it to be delicious. It was very hearty, the consistency was good and it had just enough  lemon to be accurate without overpowering. For my entree I had the chicken pot pie. The chicken pot pie was definitely only OK. It was a little dry (not enough sauce) and the veggies inside were clearly frozen (lima beans and corn were a dead ringer for a pre-packaged freezer mix.) Not a huge deal but chicken pot pie is something so simple there really isn't any reason to cut corners. The sauce was tasty though and it was nice and hot. My companion's entrees all seemed to be fine as well--nothing wow-worthy but nothing inedible either. My sister's boyfriend got a chicken sandwich that looked incredible, so maybe this restaurant is better for a quick lunch than a large dinner with family.
  
  The restaurant was clean, and so were the bathrooms. Decor was minimal but nice. They have 2-4-1 happy hour specials and a large bar. I bet this is a fun place to tie one on on a Friday night. I'll probably be back again sometime if we're in the area (my parents live right down the road) but I'll probably stick to the more lunch-type items instead.
  
  Average.

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  Posted on 01.07.13 Shauna E.

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  I so badly wanted to love this place. I love Pappa's Greek food and I love BBQ so when you put the two together...HOWEVER, I was disappointed. The menu had a lot of great sounding dishes but with a party of ten, we all mostly found the food to be just average.
  
  I ordered the combo platter with two BBQ meats and two sides; pulled pork and wings. Neither were very memorable. Everything was sadly just so-so to me.

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  Posted on 01.06.13 Nichole C.

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  I would have to say this place is, as the rating describes... Meh...
  
  There are too many other places in the area to skip to come here.  Four of us went... service was good.  Red sangria MUCH better than the white.  Fried catfish was tasty but both steaks were tough.  Mine was over-cooked but I didnt complain.  Crab cakes were small and over-fried.  Dad was having problems with his prime rib sandwich but I cant say what they were because he grumbled about it but wouldnt say anything.
  
  Overall, it was just one of those places where you just want to finish your meal and get out of there.

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  Posted on 12.24.12 Jacqueline B.

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  This was our second trip to Pappas.  I was not impressed the first time, but was lured in by a Living Social deal.  My husband and I had to get certain items, but they were items we generally like.  For starters, we had the spinach and artichoke dip.  Meh.  It was bland and the spinach was long and stringy and the choke pieces were huge....probably the wort spinach and artichoke dip I've had.  Ice tea...please people who serve ICE tea...if you pour warm tea into ice, you have semi cold tea with no ice.  It's a lame complaint I know, but I hate having to ask for a cup of ice after the fact.  I had the southern stack chicken.  It was okay.  Just seemed kinda bland, like the dip.  The fries were great.  I wanted a baked tater, but they only have those at dinner.  So I got fries and sweet potato fries.  Both tasted great.  I ate more fries than anything else.  My husband had the steak, and it as pretty tasty.  We ended the meal with cheesecake, which quite honestly, tasted like frozen cake that was sliced and thrown on a plate.  So basically, we decided this would not be in our rotation again.  
  
  Another complaint...the kids meals.  I believe my son had the chicken and fries at 4.99.  Average price for a kid meal.  (Daughter had the ribs at 6.99).  But they don't come with drinks.  So add on 2.50 for a drink for each kid!  You lose me on that, cause now I'm paying 7.50 and more for a kiddie meal.  
  
  When it comes down to it, Chili's is cheaper and tastier.  And offers free kids meals almost every week if you get a coupon.  Everything we had at Pappa's we can get at Chili's, for a cheaper price.  
  
  Service was nice, place was clean.

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  Posted on 11.05.12 Shannon C.

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  Great atmosphere and great food.  We had the brisket sandwich, sirloin steak and ribs.  Big portions!  Salsa was excellent and the warm bread was sooo good.  We'll be back again!

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  Posted on 08.18.12 Colleen C.

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  This review is for their Greek salad which we ordered to go.
  
  I grew up eating at Pappas' in Tarpon.  This Greek salad is the same they served at their restaurant with the potato salad. I had a craving for it the last time I was in town and my daddy came to my rescue.

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  Posted on 06.10.12 Jasmine A.

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  This place was okay. My fried catfish was good as was the potato salad I ordered with it. The coleslaw was also fine. My husband said that his BBQ meat was good (but I could tell that it wasn't anywhere close to the best he had ever had). I was excited about sharing the sweet potato fries he ordered, but they weren't that great. I had two and didn't really want to eat any more. There must be better places around.

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  Posted on 01.02.11 Kim N.

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  Average on a good day.  The service is spotty at best, and while the barbecue itself isn't bad, the sides are pretty awful.  The mango slaw is too sweet (and mushy), the green beans taste like they came from a tin can, the sweet potato fries are soggy, and the Texas toast literally tastes like plain toast.  Basically, the concept is far better than the food.  Pappas knows Greek, but when it comes to barbecue, I'll stick to family-owned places with fat guys named Leroy and Big Rick.  Sure, they smell like feet, but at least they can lift an entire pig into the smoker.

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  Posted on 08.30.10 Paul S.

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  MEH
  
  A big MEH.  
  
  I've had BBQ all around the Tampa Bay area and I've also had Pappas, the original Greek restaurant in Tarpon Springs. This is neither of those.  I remember Pappas having some of the best seafood around.  It was an institution, a place to have family meals, holidays, you name it, we were there.  
  
  We arrived at Pappas Ranch around 7:30pm on a Monday night, (Memorial Day)  and I'm not going back to Pappas Ranch.  There are much better BBQ places around town, maybe an hour's drive for me but it's okay. This is one of the closest BBQ places to me but I'm definitely not going to use that as an excuse to go here.  
  
  The appetizer we had was the Shrimp (I didn't order this) I don't know why my girlfriend ordered shrimp at a BBQ place but she did and we tried it.  The sauce was over powering and not so good.
  
  My girlfriend got the Beef Tenderloin and didn't speak highly of it.  I got a combo, 1/2 rack of Baby Back Ribs and Sliced Brisket.  The Brisket was tough and dry.  The Baby Back Ribs began as deliciousness on the outside with a peppery sauce, but at the end and towards the middle of the rack the meat was a little dry.  They were good but didn't make up for the rest of the meal.
  
  the sides we got were Beans, Corn on the Cob, and Sweet Potato Fries.  The fries were terrible, the Beans were awesome.  They call them Kick-Ass Beans and actually they were absolutely amazing. I would have liked more but the portion was small.  
  
  Overall the portions were okay, a nice sized 1/2 rack, and in total very filling.  They were generous with the Sweet Potato fries but neither of us ate more than a handful.  But the meat was just not up to par with other BBQ joints around town.  I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone and honestly if asked I would not go again.

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  Posted on 05.31.10 Andrew K.

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