The Melting Pot

My wife and I were here yesterday with a friend and overall had a pleasant experience. The place is very comfortable which is great since you will be there two hours for the complete meal. We chose the four course Fondue by You starting with the cheese dip we picked the Fresh spinach artichoke and were pleased with it. We also checked in on Unilocal and were given an add on to this course with a choice of meats to dip besides the usual bread, veggies and apple pieces. We all selected the house salad which was very good with either of the dressings. For the third course we upgraded to the Mojo broth and I most enjoyed the duck and the BBQ pork medallions (recommended by server and other reviews) and the vegetables. The mushroom sacchetti, garlic shrimp and chicken potstickers were also good, but not great. I thought I would like the Ahi tuna more than I did… It was a bit dry, but actually tasted better later when we finished it at home cold. For this portion of the meal it helps to use the countdown timer on your phone to get the timing right and try several combinations of meat with the 6 sauces provided. For the dessert course we selected the Dark chocolate dulce with sea salt. We enjoyed the flavor and the fruit to dip. The brownie cubes were good, the cake and the rice crispy chunks were not as tasty and the marshmallows looked nice, but that’s about all you can say for it.
This is a great place to enjoy a couple hours with a date or friends while trying a new experience. Expect to pay $ 50 per person plus drinks (our table only ordered one drink and it was $ 10 and very small, but good). If you go expecting amazing food you’ll be disappointed, but if you are going to enjoy conversation and fun then I believe you will enjoy the experience. Due to the price vs quality of food I doubt I’ll come back anytime soon since there are so many other good choices nearby.

2 words… I’M FULL! This is my first time here. I’ve heard all good things from you other Unilocalers so I just had to try it out for myself! Also I did check in on Unilocal and got something free with the cheese dip which was a great way to start the night off.
First course is the cheese and things to dip: broccoli, bread, meats, etc. Eat slowly because there is so much you are paying for… So wait for the good stuff. Dessert!
Second course was the salad. I tried the pear salad and it was delicious. It was almost like a healthy dessert to me.
Third course, is the broth! I have been waiting for this part the whole time! You get to cook your meat in the broth and it’s so much fun! Also, if you have no cooking skills, this is a nice place to test it out. LOL. I had the garlic shrimp, white shrimp, teriyaki meat, fillet mignon, salmon, and something that turned me into a CARNIVORE. Try all of the 6 dipping sauces they give you. It never hurts to try something out of your comfort zone… Live a little!
Last but not least… Dessert! I ordered the flaming turtle which consists of FIRE and milk chocolate Carmel with pecans. You eat square pieces of cake, rice crispies brownies, strawberry slices, banana slices, and marshmallows covered in graham crackers or Oreo crumbs. Dip these bad boys into your chocolate sauce and BOOM! Instant satisfaction.
Our waitress was so kind, she helped my boyfriend and I decide what would be perfect to try and she was spot on, especially with the alcoholic beverages. Since it was our anniversary, we also received a box of chocolate covered strawberries and tipped our waitress very well for the best customer experience ever.
Thank you Melting Pot waitress. I’ll shall return one day!

Expensive place but I liked it. Our waiter was friendly and helpful on choosing which dish. The first course was delish! I love meat and hardly eat cheese but the cheese course was very very tasty. I cannot remember the name but I think it’s the first one on the list. Just the regular cheese one with beer. The meat was good but I think it could be better. Our soup base was a bit sour to my liking. But it still tasted great.
I liked the fact that the server helped us with making the soup and the cheese and we did the fun stuff such as dipping the meat and veggies in!
All in all. I would gback to celebrate special events.

I just got home from a birthday celebration with my 14year old daughter at the Melting Pot. We went their with 4 of her friends to celebrate. The restaurant did a nice job of decorating the table for the girls; there was confetti, balloons, and a card waiting for her. The hostess stopped by soon after we arrived and took a photo that she later framed for us. This is all part of the birthday «package» that they offer. That’s really where the good service ended. Initially, our server stopped by with menus and discusses the cheese options, but never took drink orders. When we ordered the cheese, I had to ask for a glass of wine. The cheese came and he then took the order for the next course. As he was walking away, I stopped him and asked the girls if anyone wanted a drink other than water because nothing had been offered. It was over 45 minutes from the time we were seated to the time I received my wine, and at that point my sparking wine was warm and flat. Our server continued to take an extraordinarily long time to check in with us, take remaining orders, remove plates, and bring the next courses. We waited at least 20 – 30 minutes between courses.
Previously when I’ve been to the Melting Pot with kids they have been really good about keeping the food coming at a good pace. They have been good at managing portions for younger kids (allowed ordering for 4 people and split among 5, etc.) so as not to waste. Not only was this not offered, but the extra chicken that the girls had cooked and asked to take home was never boxed up for them. And honestly, I wasn’t willing to wait another 30 minutes for him to find a box for us. We were there over lunch on a very slow day and with the 6 of us, it took over 3:15 to have lunch. The service was terrible, though the food was good. Given the option, this may have been one of the few times I would have actually given less than a 20% tip, but it was a mandatory tip due to our group size. Maybe that explains the level of service?!

I went here to celebrate my rookie’s birthday with 4 of us total, so we sat at a booth with 2 fondue pots. We all ordered the experience which is around $ 45 per person, the birthday special (includes balloons weighed down by chocolate and a framed picture of the group), and a bottle of wine. I used a $ 25 off Entertainment coupon, and in the end, everything was around $ 60… goodbye money.
I love «the experience» of eating here. You get cheese fondue, a salad (the pear gorgonzola was good!), meat/​main course fondue and chocolate fondue. We got 2 of each, so it was nice to try different ones. The cheese is basically shredded cheese for cheddar, which would be easy to do at home. You get assorted breads, chips, etc. for cheese. The main course fondue was good — I got the seafood choice and loved it! The chocolate fondue was delicious obviously… I would recommend getting the s’mores! YUM. They give you assorted fruits, brownies, cookies, etc. to dip. The birthday thing we ordered with the balloons was okay, but not worth the extra $ 25… you just get 3 balloons weighed down by chocolate aka a tiny box of chocolate chips to melt which was not big at all. We got a picture which was cute… but you can take it yourself! Haha!
Overall, it’s actually fun to do the experience with friends if you don’t mind dropping the money, but this seems like something more fun to try at home in your own fondue pot since it’s overpriced for what you get. I do love the melting pot though, but I don’t have that much money to blow on the regular! It would be fun to come back for a dessert or something, though!

Horrible experience at The Melting Pot last night. First of all we had a reservation at 8:30 (that was made over 2 weeks ago) in which we were told our table was just getting set up. 30 minutes later, the 10 of us were seated at a square table that seated only 8 people (and was only set for 9 people) in a weird room, off of the main room. When we asked the hostess if there was a bigger table that could actually accommodate 10 people, we were rudely told that this was common for groups of 10 and ignored after that. I had to sit on the corner of the table and could not even reach the fondue pots in the middle. Speaking of the fondue pots, we had only 2 of them for 10 people. We paid $ 9 each for the cheese portion of the meal and barely got any. If you are paying $ 50 for a meal, you should be able to reach the pots to cook it. It was also a nightmare cooking with only 2 pots for 10 people. Everyone’s food kept falling off because there were too many skewers in the pots. Moral of the story, do not go here with a big group, they do not do big groups well. And actually don’t go here at all! It is severely overpriced for what you get and the staff is rude and unaccommodating. Won’t be returning, ever! It was 7 out of the 10 girls’ first Melting Pot experience, and based on this horrible experience, none of us will ever go back.

We had dark chocolate fondue. It was great! Some of the waiters were weird but the one who served us was very nice and friendly and patient, even though she was serving many tables at the same time. Strawberries, bananas and cakes are awesome with warm dark chocolate!!! Defintely worth a try.

The food was okay. Basically something that I could do at home. Actually after my date with my wife, she bought a fondue set and we did exactly what the melting pot offered, for a fraction of the price. Like 10 times less. I spent well over $ 150

After a week of tedious work hours, I was ready to sleep for days but luckily my little sister told me she wanted to go here. I made reservations the minute she told me and fortunately they were able to get us in last minute. Boy am I glad we went here.
We checked in, and got this super nice view facing outside on the streets where the rain was falling. Probably the best table with the best view there. Definitely made us feel special.
Next, our server Matt, was such a delight. He explained everything to the dot and introduced us to our best friend, the search and save spoon. Matt was very patient with us and we couldn’t have asked for service.
We started off with the alp&dell cheese fondue with the premium cheese fondue dippers. It came with apples, honey wheat bread, bread, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, pickles, and little sweet peppers. I can’t say this would be worth it without the italian meats, then again, this is only the appetizer. I love how they make the fondue in front of you, the cheese, the wine, garlic, and everything else. They throw it all in and stir it up right in front of you.
Then, we had our salads. I got the alpine ridge salad, which happened to be really good considering I don’t really at salads. Matt gave us garlic wine power for our salads, which made a hell of a difference! Never in my life did I think it’d be good on a salad but it makes so much of a difference. It’s a great combination.
At last, the moment we’ve been waiting for, our pot filled with coq au vin. It came with some vegetables, like broccoli, mushrooms, and potatoes that we just dumped in. Matt told us the exact time that everything should be in the pot for to be cooked, which was a nice and knowledgable touch.
Duck breast– Errr. I can’t say I was a fan of this, it had a very similar taste of heart of chicken if you’ve ever tried it. It’s a different taste.
Wild mushroom sacchetti– this kind of surprised me, because it was in a wonton wrapper. It was ok, but the wonton wrapper definitely got really limp from the broth. Over-​cook it and it’ll be soggy.
Filet mignon– i’m not quite sure I liked this boiled as well, it made it very chewy.
White shrimp– I highly recommend you get this, the texture is amazing. Though, you won’t know when it’s done because the wine in the broth will color it, just watch for the color of the tail to know when it’s done, it’ll be orange.
Spinach and artichoke ravioli– These actually turned our pretty good.
Salmon Filet– This one is by far my favorite so far. Texture and taste is amazing.
Memphis-​style pork– I actually ended up liking this one more than the filet mignon, just because once you put anything in the pot of broth, no matter what you marinate it with, most of it goes away, but this one, you can still kind of taste the marinade still.
Basil chicken-​Again, no matter how much they marinate it, the marinade with disappear into the broth.
These also come with 6 side sauces, which I felt like weren’t that big of a deal but I can understand why they would have them because the entrees need flavor after the broth takes it away. The sauces were things such as teriyaki sauce, green goddess, horseradish, things i don’t really care for much. It’s a nice option to have though.
At this point, we were way too stuffed for desert.
Over-​all we had a great experience and we were STUFFED. It was definitely worth getting out of bed for and i’m so glad that I did. The view from our table was beautiful, service was great, food was good. You need to try this place.

Just okay. We tried just about every entrée item and nothing really stood out. I would go back and sit in the bar to have the cheese fondue or the dessert items over some drinks.

I can’t stop shaking my head over the experience I just had at this place. I might be writing out of irritation, but first impressions are ones never to be forgotten.
So, I have the Event Brite app on my phone & if it’s unfamiliar to you its simply an app that let’s you in on things that’s happening in your city. These things can range from education, music, food, parties, art etc. On this occasion it was food for me. The app promoted an open invitation to The Melting Pot for the entry remodel which included appertizers & a discounted cash bar. Again, AN OPEN INVITATION to the public. I rsvp-​ed on the app, was given a code to be scanned & was on my way.
Never again, upon arrival we weren’t greeted at all & I remained feeling unwelcome the entire time I would think the owners & management walking around would thank the guests, welcome us or lead us to the fun. Nope. I literally felt like I was the homeless bum coming for free food. I bought 2 glasses of wine before I even considered grabbing a plate. Everyone there was starring at my friend & I. Naturally, I start thinking «wtf did I read the app wrong?» I checked again for the hundredth time & still same exact message. OK I’m not crazy… Today.
Hmmm…maybe we’re dressed inappropriate? Well considering that I’m a teacher & just left work I look fine. My friend is a banker so nothing there. We look like every other lame here, but cooler. Still this unwelcoming aire is choking me! I wanted to leave, but for goodness sakes I just wanted to bring my friend somewhere that we could actually enjoy seeing that when we went to the Brave New Workshop comedy that was a complete embarrassing flop *(review coming soon). As we slipped behind a tiny hidden round table & grabbed a few apps Sam & I were thinking of another place to go when this couple comes through the new front entry. We wanted to see exactly what happened with this. Literally immediately as they open the door one of the business guys that was mingling with his group of yuppies yells out to them «it’s closed in here, go to the other side for dinner, this is a PRIVATE party!
I’m thinking no the f#*! it isn’t! Some ‘host’ walks the couple to the restaurant side & no less than a minute later the couple return“That was weird» whispered the husband. They weren’t as hesitant as Sam & I to get food. I waved them over to squeeze in with us & they did. They were an adorable Brazilian (husband) duo & they had the exact same Event Brite app! They felt the exact same way I did. Unwelcomed, lost & unwanted. This 30 minute trip in traffic was a mistake. Even though it’s a pretty nice place & Sam & I even instantly planned to host a dinner here someday we might just reconsider after this treatment.
Food:
I can say the 5 bites I had were fine. Spinach artichoke dip, shrimp, pot stickers, lobster ravioli & chocolate fondue with cubed desserts. Nothing extra special.
Cons: Lengthy complaints above, the wine I ordered was poured into minature cheap flutes, but when I looked around everyone else had a regular sized wine glasses. Why was that? Felt rushed by the bartender & they were out of Rum.
Pros: We left.

An overwhelming Meh. This place is quite pricey for what they give you and the food is ok. I got the 4 course meal for ~$ 45. We had 10 people and got 3 bowls of cheese to dip bread in, one of them was basically your standard shredded cheese you could get at any grocery store.
The second course was a «Caesar» salad. Or a pathetic attempt at that. It can on a tiny plate and the lettuce had started to wilt from how long the dressing had been on it.
The main course everyone got to pick the meats and things that they would then dip in hot broth to cook. I got a few different types of steak, and while it was decent, it would have been easy to do better at home.
Desert was good, but when you have a bunch of bowls of melted chocolate and marshmallows, how can it be bad.
All in all an ok experience, but WAY WAY WAY over priced.

Overrated and over priced.
Good experience, service and meal, but you can do much better as far as culinary experiences go, and for much less money.

It was great experience having food here.
Its like cook your own food right on the table, waitress will help you with the process.
Its one of its kind. I had been here to celebrate my 5 years of professional life with my friend who was also celebrating the same with me. It was perfect!

Tastie fun adventure. .. bring a clan — more the merrier or romantic table for two
I have been to several of the Melting Pot locations and always love bringing good friends. We have always had a great time. It isn’t a hurry up and put food into mouth experience but a social event. Table service has always been great and helps the new commers along

Couldn’t have asked for a better dinner. The waiter I had was so nice and helpful as it was the first time we had been there. We both got the 4-​course meal (because why wouldn’t you!) and everything was delicious! We left full and satisfied from both the service and the quality of the food.
I loved also knowing that we could buy a bottle of wine and take home whatever we had left! It was nice knowing we wouldn’t have to waste half a bottle!
Can’t wait to eat there again!

The melting pot is a great place if you like to play with your food with fondue and if you like to leave broke (expensive).
I only came here for dessert and I wanted to check this place out for a while! I had fruit with fondue in turtle chocolate. It tasted wonderful my only thing is I swear I don’t know if its just me but my fruit and marshmallows looked so tiny like ummm small pieces of fresh fruit that look like midgets frutis! The fondue chocolate was really good but again the pot they brought it in was big and deep but the amount of chocolate im like its not even close to half of the pot! So for the price of I believe $ 30 for just having desert and maybe 4 midget strawberries and 3 tiny marshmellows and fondue that was not even half full for 2 people call me cheap but never again
I don’t know if its like that for the dinners I mean I looked around at other people food and the pieces of steak and veggies and what not was for me like small maybe its just me lol but if ima pay big bucks for food the food better be as big as my head!
and the location is downtown Minneapolis so parking is horrible unless again you pay for parking too

This is a place to go once in awhile for an indulgent experience — like for an anniversary. You can get better food for the money in Minneapolis, but you won’t get an experience like this. If you order the four course meal, you and your date will be cooking and sampling delicious food together in your tall private booth for over two hours.
Some highlights: The service was excellent. The vegetarian platter is a lot of fun. There’s a couple kinds of pasta on there, plus artichokes, asparagus, and some peanut-​buttery tofu that’s surprisingy good cooked in broth. We absolutely loved the chocolate turtle fondue. The server had us cook the marshmallows in the flame first before it extinguished, and then we dipped them in the chocolate. Wow! I also really liked my salad — I forget which one it was, but it came with beautifully cooked hard-​boiled eggs.
Some cons: I wouldn’t recommend the duck, unless you get the oil version of the fondue, because duck cooked in broth is weirdly chewy. I wish they didn’t do so much upselling, and I especially think they should take down the tacky cards on the table that advertise their upsell items. This feels like something that belongs in Friday’s, not the Melting Pot.
On another note, are there really reviewers on here complaining that they had to cook their own food? Hello? Would you complain at a sandwich shop that you had to pick up your sandwich? No? Then don’t go to a fondue restaurant and complain about the fundamentals of fondue.

It was my first time at the Melting Pot and I was there for a business lunch.
We got in without a reservation which was nice.
They were way understaffed and it took a long time to get served and get our food.
Overall I really liked it. Fresh food you cook yourself at the table. Nice cuts of meat and vegetables.
The Cheese sampler was very fun and the server was very nice.
I will go again with a date when I have more time. This is one of the few places you can go and sit for 2 – 3 hours for a dinner and really enjoy the time you spend. if you like to play with your food this is the place for you.
it is not cheap and I would not bring kids but I will go again.

Fondue you say, on a cold winter day, I am IN.
This is a very unique idea for a restaurant and great for a group of people. The selections are very creative and you have a vast number of things that you can do as far a meats, veggies and flavors to try. The waiter puts everything together in front of you at your table which is kind of fun. I would say for what you get food wise it is a little on the pricy side. For the entertainment side of it and the unique experience it is pretty worthwhile that way.
Take a group and have your boss pick up the tab!