For those of you who are perhaps too young to remember, Pizza Chalet used to be a chain of sit-down pizza restaurants with dozens of locations in Southern California. Like many other similar local chains (Taco Tia and Pioneer Chicken for instance), the number of Pizza Chalets began to dwindle and shrink from about the mid/late 80s. Now there are only a handful of locations left, with Yucaipa being the closest one to many in the Inland Empire. Oddly enough, as much as I loved pizza when I was a teen (and as much as I still love it today), I had NEVER been to a Pizza Chalet location until about 3 weeks ago. My brother, mom, and I were out doing errands in the area and decided to pop in to see if it was any good. We heard about the all-you-can-eat buffet and decided to give it a try despite a few reservations. Those reservations quickly fell away! What a delicious gem of find this turned out to be. Its located up at the top of Yucaipla Blvd, "over the hill" and close to the historic district near the roundabout. Upon entering, we noted it had the feel of the pizza parlors of old from the 80s and 90s where kids and teens would go when their baseball or soccer games were over. To add to that feel, there is even a fun-zone arcade area for kids to enjoy themselves in and win tickets to redeem prizes at a counter near the entrance! Wow!!! The nostalgia of it all! Speaking of Nostalgia, the place has staying power. This location opened in 1976 and has been around for almost 50 years and touts itself as "The Best Pizza in Yucaipa". The buffet is very much a bargain. They have a decently-stocked salad bar (with 6 dressings!), a regular rotation of freshly made pizzas with various toppings (one of which is a tasty homage to the Gay 90's Pizza Parlor from Redlands that started the whole "cashews on a pizza" craze, a selection of mini Italian sandwiches as well as desserts. All of these were freshly made and delicious tasting. I don't know if the pizza was indeed "The Best"; but I'd say it's certainly above average and quite tasty. The real star of the show, however, is their "Johnnie's Broasted Chicken". OMG!! Where has this been all my life?! It's a pressure-cooked chicken recipe that seals the delicious, slightly salty, and savory flavor down to the bone. The outside is crispy and the inside is moist and juicy. I kept coming back to this for seconds and even thirds! Some of the best chicken I've had in a long time. The employees here were very friendly, and the food in the buffet never had time to get stale. It was restocked regularly. To top it all off, they even had a decent selection of 6-8 beers on tap including local microbrews! Gotta have a cold beer with pizza, right?!? I will say this about the price. The buffet is your best option for value here. It runs from 11 am - 2 pm every day, and from 5 pm - 7:30 pm on Monday nights. Outside of that, the price of the pizza and chicken by themselves do tend to be a bit more expensive than other places in the area, especially the chicken. Prices seem to be on-par with the Gourmet Pizza Shoppe in Redlands. You can check out the pictures of the menu others have posted to get a good idea. I admit the sticker shock made me deduct a star in this case. That being said, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND coming here for their lunch buffet of on a Monday night for dinner. There are lots of options to choose from and I absolutely guarantee you will fall in love with the broasted chicken! A bit pricey overall, but still a fun spot in Yucaipa to try! Come alone, with family, or bring along the whole soccer team! These are the type of local spots we want to keep open for years to come.
Barbara P.
Ordered pizzas & chicken strips for pick up. Pizza was amazing- like old time Chalet pizza. Something was different about the chicken strips. Not like Johnny's. We've rated the chicken at the buffet recently and it was great.
Hector Lopez
I really appreciate the young man that was out bussing the tables he had the best attitude and was very kind he needs a raise in pay! I did not get his name but he completely made my experience awesome it was my first time going! Sunday 3/3/24 was bout 12:30 pm give him a raise
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Trevor M.
Very good pizza and good environment, customer service is nice, I just don't like the 3 % charge for paying with the touch pay using the phone.
Patrick Mattioli
Great pizza, the buffet is nice. There is a good sized arcade that uses a prepaid card to use, you can win prizes at the arcade. But the place can get really loud when it’s busy. It does get real busy at times!! Not a lot of seating but if you come around lunch time you should get a spot.Parking: Huge parking lot with lots of parking.Kid-friendliness: Kid friendly arcade that all the kids loved.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Large Pizza
Christina D.
Came in about 11:45 for the buffet was told i had until 12:30 to sit because all tables would be used for parties, blond girl at register is very rude and was pretty much oh well! Mind you there was no food made people waiting for buffet food. Was not a great experience and will not come back here, we ordered chicken to go waited over an hour to be told they put our order out on accident so they would make us a new batch of chicken!!! Wtf!!! Worst service. If you are going to have your restaurant booked for parties put a sign out for the rest of the community
Niomi M.
It's was very crowded. Not a great size for an arcade place. The pizza didn't taste great. But the kids had fun. The prices of course are very high. You spend 25 for 3 pieces of candy. Not ideal at all
Angel “CASPER” Madrid
good food atmosphere is beautiful and awesome and I love the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Niomi Martinez
It's was very crowded. Not a great size for an arcade place. The pizza didn't taste great. But the kids had fun. The prices of course are very high. You spend 25 for 3 pieces of candy. Not ideal at
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Meal
Beth Simpson
My chicken was very good.... but I thought it was expensive....
If I could give more then 5 stars I would. We went on December 28th for my daughters 1st birthday party. They were clearly short staffed when we walked on but the employees that were there were moving so fast. They got the buffet set and pizzas out and helped people on register. They all had smiles on their faces and were so kind. They clearly know what. Customer service is. Your team is doing amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Denise Delgado
Great pizza. Great customer service. They are proud supporters of the little league!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Leslie Granda
Went on a busy Thursday night for my birthday with my family of 4. 1 large pepperoni pizza, chicken, and potato wedges, some kind of $80 combo with 4 drinks. The pizza is a tad spicy, kids hated it. The chicken was crunchy and fine. The potato wedges were a tad raw in the middle. Half the games in the arcade weren't working. The place was clean and crowded, so it seems well loved, just not our cup of tea I guess.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Ernie Carrillo
Right On!!! Who doesn't like a Solid Pizza and Fried Chicken spot that has a Buffet option with Pizza and Fried Chicken included too. It's a cosy downtown Yucaipa location. I love the fact that the prices are clearly stated on the right wall as soon as you enter. No Confusion there. The kiddos' acarde area was well lit, with very new games and $10 can go pretty far and you may also earn e-tickets too. A big plus here!!However, for 5 Buffet Options. (3 adults and 2 kids) and 2 drinks it set us back $75 dollars with tax included. The Pizza 4/5, Salad Bar 4.5/5, Chicken is 4.5/5.Sooo... if you have a party that is not gonna take advantage of the good Pizzas, Salads, Desserts, and Chicken, I would recommend you ask for one of the other smaller family options that may run you half the price.That Said.....I want to thank the entire Staff especially Tyler and Brian. They were considerate, kind, and attentive and made sure that while we and the Soccer party team were there, that the place was kept very clean and our kids were safe and attended to at the Ticket Reward Table. Tyler. Thanks for making this return experience fun. GOD Bless You All. Cheers!!Kid-friendliness: Great for the kids!!!Wheelchair accessibility: No Problems getting In. Plenty of close parking.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Piece Broasted Chicken Meal, Salad Bar AYCE, Various Pizzas
Rick Gray
THE BEST & JUICIEST chicken EVER possibly the whole world, Hell even the skin was so juicy .. & I DON'T even eat the skin. I would HIGHLY recommend eating there. The server/cashier was really nice & polite. The place was great like a little mom & pop's stand and open late even on Saturday's.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Piece Broasted Chicken Meal, Meal, Large
For those of you who are perhaps too young to remember, Pizza Chalet used to be a chain of sit-down pizza restaurants with dozens of locations in Southern California. Like many other similar local chains (Taco Tia and Pioneer Chicken for instance), the number of Pizza Chalets began to dwindle and shrink from about the mid/late 80s. Now there are only a handful of locations left, with Yucaipa being the closest one to many in the Inland Empire. Oddly enough, as much as I loved pizza when I was a teen (and as much as I still love it today), I had NEVER been to a Pizza Chalet location until about 3 weeks ago. My brother, mom, and I were out doing errands in the area and decided to pop in to see if it was any good. We heard about the all-you-can-eat buffet and decided to give it a try despite a few reservations. Those reservations quickly fell away! What a delicious gem of find this turned out to be. Its located up at the top of Yucaipla Blvd, "over the hill" and close to the historic district near the roundabout. Upon entering, we noted it had the feel of the pizza parlors of old from the 80s and 90s where kids and teens would go when their baseball or soccer games were over. To add to that feel, there is even a fun-zone arcade area for kids to enjoy themselves in and win tickets to redeem prizes at a counter near the entrance! Wow!!! The nostalgia of it all! Speaking of Nostalgia, the place has staying power. This location opened in 1976 and has been around for almost 50 years and touts itself as "The Best Pizza in Yucaipa". The buffet is very much a bargain. They have a decently-stocked salad bar (with 6 dressings!), a regular rotation of freshly made pizzas with various toppings (one of which is a tasty homage to the Gay 90's Pizza Parlor from Redlands that started the whole "cashews on a pizza" craze, a selection of mini Italian sandwiches as well as desserts. All of these were freshly made and delicious tasting. I don't know if the pizza was indeed "The Best"; but I'd say it's certainly above average and quite tasty. The real star of the show, however, is their "Johnnie's Broasted Chicken". OMG!! Where has this been all my life?! It's a pressure-cooked chicken recipe that seals the delicious, slightly salty, and savory flavor down to the bone. The outside is crispy and the inside is moist and juicy. I kept coming back to this for seconds and even thirds! Some of the best chicken I've had in a long time. The employees here were very friendly, and the food in the buffet never had time to get stale. It was restocked regularly. To top it all off, they even had a decent selection of 6-8 beers on tap including local microbrews! Gotta have a cold beer with pizza, right?!? I will say this about the price. The buffet is your best option for value here. It runs from 11 am - 2 pm every day, and from 5 pm - 7:30 pm on Monday nights. Outside of that, the price of the pizza and chicken by themselves do tend to be a bit more expensive than other places in the area, especially the chicken. Prices seem to be on-par with the Gourmet Pizza Shoppe in Redlands. You can check out the pictures of the menu others have posted to get a good idea. I admit the sticker shock made me deduct a star in this case. That being said, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND coming here for their lunch buffet of on a Monday night for dinner. There are lots of options to choose from and I absolutely guarantee you will fall in love with the broasted chicken! A bit pricey overall, but still a fun spot in Yucaipa to try! Come alone, with family, or bring along the whole soccer team! These are the type of local spots we want to keep open for years to come.
Ordered pizzas & chicken strips for pick up. Pizza was amazing- like old time Chalet pizza. Something was different about the chicken strips. Not like Johnny's. We've rated the chicken at the buffet recently and it was great.
I really appreciate the young man that was out bussing the tables he had the best attitude and was very kind he needs a raise in pay! I did not get his name but he completely made my experience awesome it was my first time going! Sunday 3/3/24 was bout 12:30 pm give him a raise
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good pizza and good environment, customer service is nice, I just don't like the 3 % charge for paying with the touch pay using the phone.
Great pizza, the buffet is nice. There is a good sized arcade that uses a prepaid card to use, you can win prizes at the arcade. But the place can get really loud when it’s busy. It does get real busy at times!! Not a lot of seating but if you come around lunch time you should get a spot.Parking: Huge parking lot with lots of parking.Kid-friendliness: Kid friendly arcade that all the kids loved.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Large Pizza
Came in about 11:45 for the buffet was told i had until 12:30 to sit because all tables would be used for parties, blond girl at register is very rude and was pretty much oh well! Mind you there was no food made people waiting for buffet food. Was not a great experience and will not come back here, we ordered chicken to go waited over an hour to be told they put our order out on accident so they would make us a new batch of chicken!!! Wtf!!! Worst service. If you are going to have your restaurant booked for parties put a sign out for the rest of the community
It's was very crowded. Not a great size for an arcade place. The pizza didn't taste great. But the kids had fun. The prices of course are very high. You spend 25 for 3 pieces of candy. Not ideal at all
good food atmosphere is beautiful and awesome and I love the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It's was very crowded. Not a great size for an arcade place. The pizza didn't taste great. But the kids had fun. The prices of course are very high. You spend 25 for 3 pieces of candy. Not ideal at
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Meal
My chicken was very good.... but I thought it was expensive....
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
If I could give more then 5 stars I would. We went on December 28th for my daughters 1st birthday party. They were clearly short staffed when we walked on but the employees that were there were moving so fast. They got the buffet set and pizzas out and helped people on register. They all had smiles on their faces and were so kind. They clearly know what. Customer service is. Your team is doing amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great pizza. Great customer service. They are proud supporters of the little league!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Went on a busy Thursday night for my birthday with my family of 4. 1 large pepperoni pizza, chicken, and potato wedges, some kind of $80 combo with 4 drinks. The pizza is a tad spicy, kids hated it. The chicken was crunchy and fine. The potato wedges were a tad raw in the middle. Half the games in the arcade weren't working. The place was clean and crowded, so it seems well loved, just not our cup of tea I guess.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Right On!!! Who doesn't like a Solid Pizza and Fried Chicken spot that has a Buffet option with Pizza and Fried Chicken included too. It's a cosy downtown Yucaipa location. I love the fact that the prices are clearly stated on the right wall as soon as you enter. No Confusion there. The kiddos' acarde area was well lit, with very new games and $10 can go pretty far and you may also earn e-tickets too. A big plus here!!However, for 5 Buffet Options. (3 adults and 2 kids) and 2 drinks it set us back $75 dollars with tax included. The Pizza 4/5, Salad Bar 4.5/5, Chicken is 4.5/5.Sooo... if you have a party that is not gonna take advantage of the good Pizzas, Salads, Desserts, and Chicken, I would recommend you ask for one of the other smaller family options that may run you half the price.That Said.....I want to thank the entire Staff especially Tyler and Brian. They were considerate, kind, and attentive and made sure that while we and the Soccer party team were there, that the place was kept very clean and our kids were safe and attended to at the Ticket Reward Table. Tyler. Thanks for making this return experience fun. GOD Bless You All. Cheers!!Kid-friendliness: Great for the kids!!!Wheelchair accessibility: No Problems getting In. Plenty of close parking.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Piece Broasted Chicken Meal, Salad Bar AYCE, Various Pizzas
THE BEST & JUICIEST chicken EVER possibly the whole world, Hell even the skin was so juicy .. & I DON'T even eat the skin. I would HIGHLY recommend eating there. The server/cashier was really nice & polite. The place was great like a little mom & pop's stand and open late even on Saturday's.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Piece Broasted Chicken Meal, Meal, Large