Mongo Mongo Mongolian BBQ

This place is pretty good; typical mongolian place. You get a side of egg roll with your meal, but sometimes they forget to give it to you. The only negative thing is that they only accept cash.

One star because it opened up. Yes but why open when you don’t have a concept, ambiance, trained cooks and servers, and any sense? Bring Plum Blossum back at least some of the food was good. This Is the the 3^rd concept thrown together at this spot. Really, invest some time into quality and not trying to make a quick buck.

Tonight’s visit certainly wasn’t what I remembered from my last visit here but maybe it was just an off night. I left the office and met the Misses here for dinner and when we got here we were the only ones in the place. If you’re not familiar with Mongo Mongo, the bowls are put together and cooked in an enclosed section of the restaurant to keep the smoke from billowing into the dining room although I don’t’ ever recall this being an issue at other places but regardless, it’s not a bad concept.
When we started making our bowls the first thing I noticed was the not-​so-​pleasant looking cabbage that was a darker yellow more than it was a lighter green and the dark brown spots made it obvious it wasn’t so fresh so I passed. I do like their noodles here though, they seem to be larger in diameter than most places and have a really nice texture and firmness. The meats appeared as if they might have been from the lunch service, mostly flat and thawed out and stuck to bottom of the pans and not the colorful frozen curls that I’m used to. They do have a nice variety of sauces and oils here so with a few extra spoonfuls this helped blanket the the not-​so-​fresh vegetables.
We grabbed a seat in the dining room while we waited for our bowls and the gal who waited on us was terrific and her politeness and smile were probably what saved our dinner here but overall everything just seemed to miss the mark tonight. It wasn’t what I remembered from my previous trip and it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting but either way, I’d like to return for the rubber match to see if this was simply just an off night or if this is something that’s now to be expected here.

Aw man, if I could have this every day, I so would. It’d be greeeat for my diet… if only it were a little cheaper…
Unlimited food grilled to perfection including meat, noodles, vegetables, sauce, spices, and other tidbits. No different from any other Mongolian barbecue except for the fact that there’s cool artwork and stuff in there. And the people are really nice and remember you. To-​go is available too, which is what I always get, but you only get the one round so make it good. The meat cooks down to nothing. They don’t have tofu usually, but I think you can ask for it. Over time you will learn how to pack your bowl properly so as to get the most ingredients in there. I’m usually able to build up a pretty large castle before it starts spilling over. I’d suggest putting about ten times more sauce/​spice than you normally would as the flavor really does not seem to come through. This goes for all MBBQ in my experience.
Cash only. Booo.

When a friend of mine came to town, we decided to give this place a try. We were two pregnant ladies on a mission! She was craving noodles and meat, I was craving veggies– this place had ‘em both.
The service was excellent, they don’t usually do all you can eat for lunch, but we were very hungry and were able to purchase the AYCE ($ 10.95)
I loved how fresh the veggies were and how the food was cooked in a separate area. Most of the time, you leave Mongolian BBQ restaurants smelling like cooked food, but not this place. I also loved that after you got your raw stuff, there was a little sink for us to wash our hands right there so we didn’t have to trek to the restroom to do so!
Everything tasted delish! My only complaint was that the white rice that came with our meal was soggy and mushy. Suggestion: maybe a short grain rice? Those hold up well is very very good with BBQ. =)
Last thing, the phone number listed is not correct, the owners know about it and have contacted Unilocal

This place is well worth the money.
It’s $ 10.95 per person for AYCE (All You Can Eat).
They have all of the things you would expect to find — rice, noodles, four kinds of meat (including lamb), and lots of vegetables. The nice part is that they also have 12 different sauces as well, and the food is cooked very quickly; I had my bowls cooked in about 3 minutes.
The service is also great. The staff is friendly and helpful, and will see that your water is always filled and that you’re always taken care of.
Ask for Sydney, she’s great and recommended some great sauce combinations!

The ambiance is a bit sterile but not necessarily clean. They had good noodles and the typical frozen rolled up beef, pork, chicken, and lamb meat choices. The veggies were pretty good, lots of mushrooms, sprouts, onions, spinach, and others. The sauces were good but you had to put quite a few scoops to really get the flavor to come through. The biggest downside is that it’s cash only.

It was good — but not that many sauce choices.

After reading all the great reviews on here, I was hoping for a great place to get some late night Mongolian BBQ. I’m guessing that I was just there on an off night, because all the meat trays were empty from the time we got there (which was admittedly 10 pm, but the place closed at midnight that particular night). One of the workers there was nice enough to go back and get a plate of «beef» so we could have something to add to our bowls. I wish I could tell you how any of the other meats there were, but since the staff didn’t bring anything else out in the 90 minutes we were there, I can’t. I guess I could’ve directly asked for more meat, but I didn’t want to sound weird or anything. Heck, maybe they were trying to send a message that I probably didn’t *need* to be eating all that food. So, to the extent they saved me from eating another thousand calories I didn’t need, thanks!
Anyways, they did have an okay selection of vegetables and sauces, and the waitress was nice enough, but based on my poor experience there, I can’t recommend it. I’ll probably try it again eventually since it’s the only place for Mongolian BBQ in the midtown/​downtown area, but… definitely not in any hurry to go back.

The only mongolian place I could find in the midtown/​downtown area.
The meat is fresh, there’s an ok assortment of veggies. The service is alright, maybe a bit better than other mongolian bbq places.
The sauces could use some improvement. What they really need is to offer soup and fried rice, they only have steamed rice. At full price, they should have the same appetizers as other mongolian bbq places.

Stopped by for dinner after a long day.
The egg rolls and fried won tons are super good! Great price for an all-​you-​can-​eat restaurant. I really like how the kitchen area is separated from the dining room. All the other Mongolian restaurants I go to make me smell but not this one! Music playing in the background breaks the awkward silence experienced at other Mongolian restaurants.
Friendly staff and TVs to watch if you get bored of your friends :). Recommended.

One bowl is more than enough, so be prepared for the upcharge at dinner. Super friendly staff and all the ingredients seemed fresh (but not necessarily refreshed). I was a tad concerned about the thawing meat. At most places, it’s rock frozen solid. Hopefully, you know the people behind you so that when you skip the noodles and come back to them, no one gives you a hard time! The garlic at the end of the line reminded me of the previous incarnations, so let’s hope this one sticks around.
Delightfully satisfied, I’ll probably keep it as a lunch place — who really needs more than one bowl for dinner!

First I need to state that first and foremost I care about the food at a restaurant more than anything else. Ambiance for the most part means nothing to me. I will eat at the diviest of places if they serve kick ass food. If however your food is poop you better make up for some of it with nice walls, flooring, art, or whatever else you can think of. When both are at best mediocre it makes your restaurant look horrible.
It’s Mongolian barbecue so I’ll compare it against the Mongolian barbecue in Natomas. The Natomas Mongolian barbecue should be the model of Mongolian barbecues. It beats them all in several areas all while looking good. Mongo Mongo’s food is ok. The sauces are ok and the noodles are way too thick. The noodles sink like cement in your stomach.
Like I said the food better rock if the appearance sucks. Picture Mongolian barbecue in prison. You go in the back kitchen to make your bowl and it’s cold, dreary, and unwelcoming. Everything is stainless steel and tile. I know it’s the kitchen, but do something to make this place look a little nicer. Not sure if I’ll be coming back to this place. I’m scared of what might happen if I drop the tongs.

Sweatpants are highly suggested!
So, we came to the conclusion that you can’t really rate this place bad. You create your own meal, so if you mess it up, YOUR bad, not theirs.
This haunted corner, located squarely on the grid, cannot stay consistent if someone paid them too. It’s always changing, but lucky for Mongo Mongo — there is no other Mongolian BBQ place for some distance (Arden or Natomas). They might have found their niche on the grid… we shall see.
All you can eat is a baller-​on-​a-​budget dream come true… not to mention the dream come true for a fat kid, both of which I tend to lean toward. $ 10.95 for dinner!
No frills at MM. They keep it basic, no need for fancy when you are buffet-​ing it up! You walk in and you see tables and chairs. A sweet hostess will show you to a table and then question if you’ve been here before. If so, then you do the damn thing… if not, she will show you the ropes.
Good thing the Roomie has been here before, she walked us directly to the haven of goodness. To enter you go to sliding glass doors… but don’t wait for them to automatically open, like you have the Force. You must push the handicap button and then your Mecca awaits.
Pork, Lamb, Chicken, and Beef! Meat lovers be damned… they got you covered. Plenty of raw veggies & lo mien noodles to add to your bowl. My only issue is the sauce station. Being somewhat of a rook to Mongolian BBQ I never know how much sauce to put or what flavors to mix. I dislike spicy and too salty… so I always stand there dumbfounded. I mentioned to the employee that they need to have a suggestion list of sauces-​to-​scoops, they said they are working on it! Yay! Sounds SOO odd, but they have pesto… it surprisingly blended well with the other sauces… try it!
The staff here are pretty awesome. All 20’somethings having a good time. They guys work the grill-​looking-​thing and are a blast! The young girl hostesses’ are sweet as can be, super friendly, and helpful.
Don’t be bashful, you can totally ask for more cream cheese wontons & egg rolls… and they are freshly cooked when you order them. I hope they succeed on this corner… and don’t you dare blame them on your bowl of unhappiness, just remember you made it… so live with it!
Who know happiness came in a bowl. and another bowl… and just one more bowl ;)

It’s hard for me to go to a run of the mill Mongolian BBQ spot when I know how good Mongolian BBQ can potentially be (aka Fire and Ice in South Lake Tahoe). That said, I am always up for all-​you-​can-​eat places and was intrigued at what Mongo Mongo had to offer Midtown.
At dinner, for $ 10.95, I can assemble as many delicious bowls of food as I want from a combination of thick chow mein noodle, tons of vegetables, four types of meat (chicken, pork, lamb, and beef — all thinly sliced and frozen) and six sauces. Along with my meal comes complimentary fried wonton, egg roll and white rice. I’d say the selection of items is decent, although I would have preferred more noodle options if possible. My two ladles of spicy sauce, one of the house sauce, a spoonful of garlic and a splash of the cooking wine seemed to have worked pretty well with the two bowls I made. The cooks did a great job to not overly cook my meat and vegetables and the servers were pleasant.
A couple of things did bother me about the experience. First, to obtain meat, patrons have to lift up the lids on trays where tongs for meat may have previously touched the lids. This could be a sanitary/​contamination problem, especially if patrons use their hands to eat. Secondly, the décor is quite strange. I actually felt a little uncomfortable that the portraits of dead artists like Marilyn Monroe and Amy Winehouse were watching over me as I ate my meal.
I’m glad that Mongolian BBQ is now an accessible option for Midtown folks like me, but it’s really an A-​OK kind of place that I don’t see myself coming on a regular basis.

It is great that teppanyaki’s delicious step child is now available in Midtown.
Mongo kinda is what it is so here’s some notables:
Pesto Sauce!
Meat isn’t as frozen as usual.
Broccoli that isn’t 99% stem.
It’s probably 3.5. I guess I can’t completely get over the quarantine room where you get things started. I’d like to make suggestions for making the place more inviting, but I can’t. There is just a lot of roll down door and window space. Anyway, it seems clean enough and, really, I don’t go to Mongo spots for ambiance. Enjoy packing your bowl, my friends.

I really wanted to love this place, it has so much potential but if they want to stay in business the owner needs to make some major changes.
First things first the reason for the 3 stars is the food, it was delicious and the portion size was enough to fill me up with plenty of leftovers. Now on to the cons:
1. Cash only– really?!?
2. The atmosphere– it looks like they weren’t ready to open there is clutter in the background and it is not properly decorated.
3. the staff– they were WAY over staffed and all of the employees were hanging out (ALL on their cell phones texting) and talking about their plans after work
4. They need to do a much better job of greeting customers and explaining the process… my boyfriend and I walked in and awkwardly waited trying to figure out if we should sit down first or go to the «cooking room» and make our food.
I agree with the other reviews that the interior resembles a hospital, they really need to work on the décor and replace the staff but all in all the food was delicious and the price was decent– definitely worth going back but this place will last as long as «the garlic shack» if they dont start making some major changes before its to late

I’ve never walked out of a place without paying, or without eating almost any of my food, until tonight.
Cream cheese wontons… dripping with oil, I held one up with my chop stick and within 2 seconds the oil was dripping onto my plate. The worst «food» I’ve ever seen served on a plate. Egg rolls, store bought and bland.
The worst part? our food came out cold, burnt, chewie and undercooked all at the same time. The person running the BBQ clearly hasn’t had proper training. The BBQ had burnt food all over it, which he kept trying to scrap off like it was a griddle.
He wasn’t using the proper amount of water on the bbq, so none of the veggie were being steamed. His technique for moving the food around on the BBQ (for overall cooking) was WEAK. Most likely why half my food tasted like burnt meat, even though i was eating tofu and the other half was COLD.
I tried 2 bites and actually spit the noodles out, walked over to the server (who was texting someone) and told her I wasn’t eating the food, and we were leaving. Her reply? «Ok». I’m sure this isnt the first time this had happened.
This place is cold, oddly quite and reminded my boyfriend of a morgue and I of a hospital wing. There was really nothing good to say about this place.
If you are going to open a Mong BBQ please please don’t cut so many corners it’s embarrassing to your customers, as if we are too stupid to know good food.

Thank you Mongo Mongo, this is my favorite mongolian place in all of Sacramento by far. This place is 3 minutes away, it’s not dirty, the waitresses and cooks are super friendly, and so far it’s never been super packed.
The cheese wontons are hand made by the staff and they’re pretty delicious! The sauces are your usual ones plus they have PESTO! Yes, it’s amazing with teriyaki. trust me you’ll be in heaven.
Anyways. it’s Mongolian BBQ, put food in a bowl, get it cooked, and eat it. Go home pleasantly stuffed and take a nap!

Damn, I sure can cook!
Mongo Mongo brought out the amazing chef in me that I always knew existed but none of my friends ever believed in. (For your information, just because I flavor everything with Greek Yogurt and Sriracha on a daily basis does not make me a bad cook… just a lazy one.)
But tonight… tonight was a milestone in my dormant yet inevitable path to becoming an Iron Chef. My creation tonight may quite well be the most delicious thing I have ever made in my life! So good that it has been rumored they are starting a «Bowl of Fame Wall» just to feature my masterpiece. Look out for it on Second Saturday!
I would love to share with you the recipe in creating this legendary bowl of mind blowing deliciousness but I cannot divulge my ancient chinese secrets. What if Bobby Flay challenges me to a throw down?
All I can say is that It involves fat noodles, bamboo shoots, veggies, stacks of thinly sliced lamb, chicken, and beef– all brought together in a harmonious polygamy through the addition of ground garlic and a delicately balanced suicide of sauces (pesto, mongo, sesame, house and teriyaki) in proportions that I also cannot divulge.
I’m just being real here when I say that it was definitely all me and not the little man on the big pan. As for you skeptics out there, you obviously do not understand the speed, precision, and planning it takes to strategically compile 15 ingredients into a single porcelain bowl with 10 people waiting in line behind you… all he did was push them around the pan-​wok thing.