The Melting Pot

Just not worth it. I have gotten the chocolate fondue before and it was good but when I ordered the 4 course I barley ate it. I guess I just don’t think it was worth to pay over 45 $ to cook my own food that wasn’t even good. And the choices werent that good. I got the vegetarian platter and I only ate like 3 things from there. But don’t get me wrong the service is nice but the prices for what it’s actually worth isn’t worth it at all. I would only come there for a chocolate fondue.

Do not go here for Valentine’s day!
We had a reservation and showed up on time, but we ended up waiting at least an hour for our table! We were lucky enough to find the last 2 open seats at the bar to wait. I found out all the people at the bar were also waiting for their reserved tables. Waiting an hour for a reserved table is totally unacceptable, but they didn’t tell us it would be such a long wait, and we figured anywhere else decent would already be booked for Valentines so we stayed. They didn’t compensate us in anyway for waiting. They should have at least bought us each a cocktail or something…
They serve a set menu which offered only a few foods that i wanted. Quite limited in my opinion. It was definitely not worth the money! I’m pretty sure it was just a sampling of their basic stuff marked up for Valentines. I was under the impression that it was a special in addition to the regular menu selections, but that was not the case. None of the regular menu was available accept beverages. Very misleading. Not sure if they still have this special this year or if other locations are different, but we went here last year and we will never be back.
They service was average to good. Portions were on the smaller side. Food quality was good. Definitely not what you would expect for what you pay, especially since technically we cooked it all ourselves! Lol. My boyfriend and I thought fondue would be fun, and that part was, but overall we both agree it was not what we expected for the price and disappointing for the Valentine’s day occasion.

I really used to like the melting pot franchise, but it seems to be going down hill. So many things that use to be included are now an additional up charge. It doesn’t really seem worth the cost any more. The service and food here are great. I just marked them down because of all the additional up charges they try to get you with now.

I hear that this franchise is having troubles, which I could see I guess because fondue is not something you need exactly every day. BUT I had the best experience here for my bday in October and although I don’t need to come back like every week, I would like it if the Melting Pot hung around for a fun special occasion restaurant.
We arrived for our 6pm reservation and were literally the only people in the entire place, which was weird, for at least a half an hour. Our server was exceptional. She walked us through the whole fondue experience, our options, what we should expect, what her favorites were, etc. I never felt she was trying to upsell us on anything, as other reviewers noted. We all ordered the four course meal and began with the alpine cheese fondue, which was delightful. Gooey, decadent, awesomeness. Then we had a salad course, which was really delicious. I had the California salad which had candied pecans and blue cheese — it was sort of a low-​budget WCG salad from White Chocolate Grill (which I adore).
Things slowed down at the entrée course. It was still good, don’t get me wrong, but the magic of the cheese fondue arriving basically ready to go was gone. You have to cook your food in the broth that comes, and you have to remember when you put what it so it’s cooked, and it’s just kind of overly complicated. Two pieces of chicken I had were undercooked in the middle (my fault but still terrifying) and I don’t know how you would dine here without a phone with a timer on it — unless you just don’t talk to anyone at the table while eating. I almost feel like this place would be more successful if they made the cheese fondue the star of the show and let you dunk heartier items — cooked chicken, beef, etc — into the cheesy goodness. I would pass on the entrée course the next time I came.
HOWEVER, they DO finish strong with dessert! We got the classic milk chocolate fondue and the extra dippers (cheesecake, etc) and went to TOWN. I could barely move when we were done, but no krispie treats went uneaten. I accompanied dessert with a yinyang martini (not what it was called, but what it looked like) which was a creamy sweet boozy treat to end the night.
All in all, I had a blast, and really enjoyed my evening at the Melting Pot. I would definitely return, but it would have to be a special occasion. So hang in there, Melting Pot — after all, I celebrate my birthday at least once a year!

Honest rewiew: this place is expensive like u will pay like over 200 bucks i dont mind paying alot but the food tastes like shit like litterly the only good thing was dessert the ambiance and the service is really good but for the price u pay here u could go to the nicest restaurant ps u can do all this at ur house for less then 30 bucks dont waste ur money or ur time not worth it at all if ur gonna spend crazy amounts of money on this restaurant to impress ur date take her to a michellin star restaurant instead if u dont know what that is google it

I’ve been here and other Melting Pot locations before, but this was definitely the best experience for flavor. Melting Pot is always a good time, but this time because it was the endless variety, we were each able to select 3 meats, for a total of 6 between us.
The duck breast was my favorite, but the ahi and shrimp were also great. Not sure why the shrimp tasted so much better on this visit, but it did.
Be sure to select the coq au vin for the cooking style, the other options just don’t match up

I would give this place 0 star if I could. Came here Saturday evening and they had 20 tables open and we were told we need a reservation. Why would I need reservations to dip bread in a pot of cheese. Save your money and go somewhere else!

Love the food! This is one of our favorite restaurants to go to on a special date night. Sometimes we just get cheese and dessert if we’re not feeling up to paying for the 4 course meal. If you do just cheese and dessert, make sure you order the premium dippers for the cheese. And you can always ask for refills on any of the dessert dippers.
Great service and beautiful ambiance.
Our first time here was got the private booth and it was very romantic. Just beware that it is a tight space.

We treated my son and his girlfriend and they LOVED it? We ordered the 4 course for 50 bucks each. It was totally worth it! But I think next time we will just get the cheese fondue and then the dessert. Four courses of food was A LOT.
The cheese fondue was delicious. We ordered the bacon and the Alpine. Everyone enjoyed the main entrée. I’m not a dessert person at all, but the chocolate brownie dipped in milk chocolate was «to die for»!
Service was a bit slow compared to the Melting Pot in Nashville, but our server was not the problem. She was doing her best for how many tables she had and being a server at this place is hard work I’m sure!
When the manager came and asked us how everything was I should have mentioned my observations, but we were laughing and having so much fun I didn’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but we will go back!

My first time here was a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that the best part of this place is the great service. My waiter was very attentive and had helpful input whenever we had questions about the menu or asked for recommendations. With that being said, it is definitely a bit overpriced for the quality of food and how much you get. I would go back for the fun experience but it’s not somewhere I plan on going regularly.

I’ve always been a fan of The Melting Pot, but last weekend we tried the Naperville location, and didn’t get the service we’re accustomed to. We ordered the 4 course meal, and everything was delicious, but the service ruined the experience. Dinner at The Melting Pot takes time, and we were prepared for that, but our waitress had too many tables. I had to get my own place setting off another table, we had to flag her down for service, and we waited 45 minutes between our entrée and dessert, which was a terrible way to end the evening. Someone in our party spilled wine, and the bus boy shocked me by handing me a pile of cloth napkins so I could clean it up!
I will return to The Melting Pot, but I’m done with the Naperville location.

Horrible service. Took almost 4 hours to complete dinner, waited 1 hour for my vino, half hour after seated to put order in… worst off was no apology

Great experience. Definitely come hungry as it’s far more filling than imagined. You definitely want the four course experience which includes cheese, salad, entrée and chocolates. The manager brought us a complimentary piece of Chocolate Salted Carmel Cheesecake to try. He said it should be on the menu soon! Incredible. Our server was fantastic. Definitely an experience to repeat.

Fondue is watered down with flavorless morsels of bread and vegetables? meat and sea food was below average (could buy better at a jewel osco). And the place is fucking ridiculously expensive for a few little scraps of meat I wouldn’t feed my dog. The broth tasted like some boiling water with a bouillon chicken cube and on top for first timers it was confusing and nothing was clear at all. didn’t know you had to cook your own meat.

Went here for the Valentines Day celebration. First time there. Best part of the five course meal was the dessert. I get you are paying for the romantic fondue experience, but this place is way too expensive. To me the prices outweigh the food and experience.

I was a bit apprehensive about even going here because of the bad reviews. I am so glad I went anyway! From beginning to end, my friend and I had a great time. We started with the French onion soup cheese with caramelized onions. We then got the classic dinner and ended with the flaming turtle chocolate. The whole meal was amazing! Our server, Jimmy, was lots of fun and explained everything so we could understand how to order. The food was delicious and we were quite full when done. Our bill was $ 110 which was less than we expected. It would have been less but I had a beer and my friend had a sangria. If you want to keep the price down, watch the cocktails. We will be back.

I can say that I went to Melting Pot but the experience and price are not for me. At minimum you will spend $ 30 a person… without an entrée and just cheese fondue, chocalote fondue and a beer.
As others have said this place is all about the experience over the food and the value. The staff is very nice and accomodating.
Where I lost them is with the menu. It literally took me 30 minutes and two beers to understand how to order after the waitress explained to me three times. It really shouldn’t be that hard.
The food is eh but for three courses you will leave hungry still. 12 pieces of meat for $ 20 that you cook yourself just didn’t cut it for me.
Go to say you did it with a date but it isn’t a go to place for me.

«How can a high-​end restaurant be in a strip mall?» Good point.
We went here on a date night tonight courtesy of Groupon. Melting Pot runs frequent Groupons, this one included a salad and entrée for two people. The Groupon was «valued» at $ 67.98 and was purchased for $ 40. Almost a $ 30 savings, not bad. In the past they have had different deals, including cheese or dessert. I’d recommend those since the best part of this place is the cheese or chocolate.
The experience of going out for fondue is one of the fun parts. Our waitress stopped by and since we’ve been there before, her shpeal was short. We decided to deviate from our Groupon and order cheese. Since we both like Swiss, we went with the Classic Alpine. I prefer this with the sides. I think you get a good amount of cheese per person. Not sure if it’s worth the $ 7 pp, but you also get a basket of three types of breads as well as a bowl of apples, a few carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.
Next we were able to choose a salad as part of the deal. They were nothing to write home about. We had the caprese and California. Of the two, I would recommend the California. After that, our entrée came out. We were able to choose up to three items from the entrees. I went with the sirloin, filet and Memphis BBQ pork. I don’t love pork so that was my first mistake. That one I gave up happily. There were two thin slices of the filet that were heavily seasoned. Lastly I enjoyed a few slices of the sirloin. You also get six tasty sauces to accompany your entrée. In addition, a basket full of mushrooms, broccoli and potatoes come as a side. There was a decent amount of meat but without a groupon, I would definitely keep this as a special occasion.
To end, we decided to push the limits and end with some chocolate. I was disappointed to find out that they no longer serve cheesecake with their dessert. Instead they’ve substituted pineapple and blondies. It came along with strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, Rice Krispies, pound cake and brownies. Now I obviously am biased because I love chocolate, but I don’t think they give you enough chocolate in the pot. It was barely enough to cover all the sides we got and we were going pretty skimpy.
Overall there are two reasons I would go here: a special occasion or a special deal. The cheese and chocolate are great but there’s nothing special for the entrée. Service was fantastic and the experience is a nice treat.

The Melting Pot is less about the food and more about the experience. Now don’t get me wrong: the food is good. Drinks are great. But what you’re really paying for is TIME, since it’s going to take at least two hours to dine here.
I’ve been twice — both with either a gift card or Groupon. Happy for that. This will cost you a pretty penny.
The first time I went in the summer. We had the Sam Adams beer cheese dip to start, and it was delicious! I’ll fast forward to dessert, which was a «peanut butter and jelly» dessert which was equally incredible. The second time, we had a fiesta cheese dip to start. If the appetizer & dessert could be my trip alone, I’d walk out happy. It’s the entrée that’s the problem.
Again — food is good. Appetizer and dessert: awesome. Drinks? The cocktails are great and actually well-​priced. But the entrée… there’s something about needing to clock watch (or watch a stopwatch on your phone) and cook your own food that just loses appeal to me. It wasn’t relaxing, because you’re concerned about over or under cooking. It wasn’t bad, but it just isn’t worth the hassle to me. All the sauces they offer are great pairings, but it doesn’t make up for me having to pay a wad of cash to cook my own meal!
My advice — skip the entrée and come here for appetizers & dessert.

When we first got there and told them we only wanted fondue and not any entrees, they said it wasnt allowed until after 8pm. I guess it took them a minute to look around and realize the place was almost empty to make an exception to the rule and seat us in the corner. The place was never close to busy while we were there.
My friend and I shared the chocolate and berries fondue. Server seemed less than friendly… maybe because we only got one dessert fondue for two people. She wasnt very helpful in heating up the chocolate and it took forever. I guess we turned the burner too high in our attempt to heat the chocolate so the fondue ended up curdling. What a waste of a pretty decent fondue. Wished our server had assisted us more.