The Melting Pot

I enjoy going to the Melting Pot from time to time. We were seated at a booth for two and it felt incredibly cramped. I did not feel like there was enough room on the table for everything that needed to be there. The food was on par with other locations and the service was good. I just wish I felt like I had room for my arms.

One word!!! Just avoid! I felt outcasted the waiters were super rude. The fun factor the waiters mentioned they are booked until for next 3 hrs but I was aware that they have online booking & guess what I went outside booked online for table after 15 mins. I will never ever step in my foot. Sorry melting pot you lost your true fan.

So, I have no not been here in about 8 years. Went in today (Sunday) at about 2:30. Took about 5 minutes to find someone to seat me and my son, even though the place was empty. Got seated, nice gentleman server. Couple things to note on service: he brought the wrong cheese fondue, although I didn’t notice until after we ate it and checked the menu. Forgot the extra side plate of meats for the fondue, but eventually brought it, and I had sent back because we were on to the meat meal. Brought the wrong red wine, but forgot forgot to charge me for the second glass, so… Nice server, but slow, and forgetful. Server was good at explaining the sauces, so that was nice. Ying yang chocolate fondue was delicious, def recommend. Price seemed fair for what we ate, service was forgetful, but attentive and tried. Would do again. Décor seemed a little dated, could use a nice brush-​up.

This wasn’t my first Melting Pot experience. So I expected the long ENJOYABLE dinner experience. What I didn’t expect was it to be so long and NOT SO enjoyable because of our reservation not being ready and terribly long service delays.
Our reservation was for 7:30 for two people for a birthday. We made them a week in advance in their website. We arrived a little early (7:20); the hostess seemed a little annoyed, directing us to the bar, saying «we will be with in a bit». We grabbed a drink (a glass of Malbec and the Mangolicious, $ 21) and at 7:50… Finally got seated in a mini booth in the back. The point of the reservation? Who knows…
Our server was very sweet and very friendly but either she was over sat or overwhelmed. It took forever to get anything… To the point she was apologizing a lot, which was appreciated. But showed some flaws; either the restaurant doesn’t know how to appropriately staff, the hostess doesn’t know how to seat, the server was having a bad night, or the kitchen was slow. Either way, it made for a not good experience for us.
We did the 4 course dinner. The 40^th anniversary cheese was ok, I wouldn’t get it again and I wouldn’t tell anyone that they have to try it. It lacked something. Salads are salads. The actual meal was good (surf & turf and fondue delight).
I agree with people mentioning that portions seem smaller, especially the veggie sides.
Our chocolate fondue was good as well. We had the turtle. It think it’s kind of cheap on Melting Pots part that cheesecake bites are an up charge now.
The bussers were a bit pushy trying to take plates and dishes too. We were still eating and they were trying to take our dishes. It was very intrusive and obnoxious. It happened more than once too.
None of these issues were worth seeking out a manager, but if one of the two wandering around the floor bothered to stop over, we would have gladly told them.
For the overall cost, the experience should be better. Our server did her best, but can only work with what she’s given too.

Despite having a 8:00 reservation, we are still sitting at the bar as of 8:40 with no table ready yet. When we arrived to no table, we reminded them that we had made a reservation. We were told very rudely «everyone has reservations». No apology, no «sorry, it will just be a few minutes», nothing… just a rude response. Why take reservations if you don’t have a table for them when you arrive?
We will not be returning.

I had to take a moment to review this location. I have been to the one in Downers Grove but I wanted a local please close to the house for Mom’s Night Out! There were 7 of us and we sat at the bar at first and the manager bought us a round to start off our night… SCORE! Then we were seated at a table by the window with a U shape with 2 chairs in the front. Our server was training someone and I can’t remember his name or hers but they were excellent. She answered all our questions as we had A LOT. I think 3 of us were new to the Melting Pot while others had been but it had been a while. The manager checked on us at the end to make sure our dining experience was good. The only draw back was the time in which we were there. Some of us opted for an entrée while a few just wanted cheese and chocolate. That left them with nothing to eat/​do while we «fondued». Then one of the Moms became upset towards the end that she couldn’t get her check right away so she left her cash and left. I know fondue takes a while but I think we expected to be done by 9pm. Our reservation was at 6:30 and we didn’t leave til after 10pm on a Tuesday night. All in all I had a great time. We enjoyed the Crave Tuesday special which consisted of 2 glasses of wine, cheese and choclate for $ 25 on a Tuesday night. There was also a 40^th anniversary 3 course for $ 40 but none of us opted for that. I personally had the filet, cheese (cheedar and alpine), cooking style Mojo. The girls opted for the bunt cake chocolate (limited edition) and the toffee/​turtle?

This place was great. You should pick the server Ian if you want a great experience. It was a little expensive for two people but was worth every penny. We had the four course meal with cheese, salad, main course, and desert. They have a contest for free fondue for a year. If we win I think we would die after 6 months! Ian was attentive explained the menu well and he was extremely patient while we made our decision. Not only did we have an amazing meal by he made our ordinary date night special with his wonderful personality. So thank you Ian. We will be back!

This started off as a zero start experience-​but went way up from there. We got there for five or ten minutes before an 8:30 reservation. Half the tables were empty, but we had to wait 20 minutes for a table. By this time I had started freaking our because I was on a schedule to be home to feed my infant. Glad I said something to the host (who I assume to be the manager). He immediately started our cheese when we sat down. I wish the other courses would have come a little faster, but glad that at least one wait time was cut down. I have been here before and love everything except the chocolate fondue (too much for me). The cheese fondue and all the dipping sauces are my fav, as well as the yin yang martini. The beef was especially awesome that night too.
The only other annoyance was this table of women who were so loud it was ridiculous, but there isn’t a whole lot management could have done about that besides move us (which we obviously did not have time for). I mean there were even times we had to yell to hear each other across the table, and they were at least 3 tables down.

I love the melting pot. Where else can you go for a romantic or fun night of fondue ?!! The best part is the dessert! Marshmallow, chocolate, fruit, etc dipped to your hearts content. The melting pot is great for both couples and groups.
Service is fine, plenty of parking, and clean restaurant. The experience is also a lot of fun. What more can you ask for?

This was a huge waste of time and money last night. When you make a reservation for 14 people, you would expect expect it to accommodate 14 people. This was not the case. They shoved us in a booth with a table next to it that barely sat 9 of us. Then they pulled in chairs and put them around the booth. Very crammed and uncomfortable.
They had the reservation a few days in advance and we were the only large party in there. Honestly I think they forgot about our party and stuck us where they could.
The service was bad. I don’t know if the guy was new or just not that great at being a server. It wasn’t his fault really. He was clearly over whelmed and needed help. He was nice and you could tell he really tried. Alas, we didn’t eat anything until after 9:30.
At one point the empty pots in front of us had to be replaced because they were on for so long. The water had been boiling for over an hour and the server said, if we don’t replace these pots and start new, everything will burn.
The salad wasn’t much of a salad either. It was a couple pieces of lettuce. Super small portion of a salad honestly. I ordered caesar salad and it had nuts in it. I’ve never had a caesar salad with nuts before. Honestly I was so hungry I didn’t bother to complain. I just ate it.
Dinner comes and it’s fine, except I feel like all I got was meat. The side of potato, mushrooms and broccoli consisted of one small potato quartered, 1 broccoli floret and 3 mushroom caps. We were to share that with the 4 women at the one pot.
Then to top all of this off we had living social vouchers. We told the server as soon as we sat down we had them and told him they were for dinner for 2. We were all paired off so really all we would have had to sort out was drinks and if you ordered anything extra. This was a disaster when it came time to pay our bill.
When we were there we watched people around us come in, sit, eat, and leave. A table was turned twice while we sat there! Never did I ever think I would be going out for a meal from 7 – 12. I would never ever go with a large party to this place. You may want to eat before going to. Portions are for people who aren’t really hungry.

If you like overpaying to wait hours for small portions, this is the place for you! I had always wanted to try this restaurant, so when the Marine wives decided to get together for our monthly outing, I was excited! Being 8 months pregnant, I figured it would be a nice night out for dinner and I could be home at a reasonable hour. I thought wrong. Our reservation was at 7 and we were still waiting to pay at 11:15! I finally gave my
friend cash for my portion of the bill and headed home in hopes of not being up all night sick from eating so late. Never did I think I would maybe be home by midnight with a 7 PM reservation!
We look forward to our monthly outings because we rarely see our husbands and the get-​togethers provide some much needed «adult time.» This experience was extremely disappointing and far from enjoyable. We had a group of 13 people crammed in a corner and only one server was assigned to us. It was quite a lot of work for him to even do drink orders himself, and about half of us weren’t even drinking anything other than water! Needless to say, it was at least an hour in between courses and the portions were very small for the amount they cost. My salad didn’t even have any dressing on it, but I was so starving by the time it finally came that I just ate it. I didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes to get dressing.
We had purchased Living Social vouchers prior to coming. That was a nightmare when it finally came time for the checks. The checks must have been run four different times until our whole group finally waited by the door, tempted to just walk out (it was after 11:00). The manager was involved at this point, but expressed no sincere apology. He said. «Thanks for telling us because otherwise we wouldn’t know. We just thought you ladies were enjoying your time catching up.» Maybe if he had come over to our table just once in the 4 hours we were sitting there he would have seen the look of boredom, frustration, and starvation on our faces.
As I was walking out, I heard the manager, John, tell the group that dessert will be taken off the bill. Real
nice– one person ordered dessert and the other people who ordered dessert never even got it.
This was a huge disappointment of an experience I very much looked forward to and the worst management I’ve ever seen in a restaurant.

We never got to the point of having food!
Had reservations last Saturday for 2 @ 7:45pm to celebrate our 8^th Wedding Anniversary. We had requested a table in our online reservations. We arrived at 7:42pm and the hostess stated that we would be checked in and seated. With that regard, we assumed we would be seated shortly. 25 minutes pass and we are still standing there all while 2 open tables are sitting there ready for people to be seated.
When I ask the hostess what is the issue is, she explains that they are busy and waiting for tables to clear up. I point to the 2 open tables and she turns and faces her computer and start with err, um, oh, well… Not her fault, she is NOT properly trained.
The manager then comes over and I explain that we have been standing here for 25 minutes for our reservation and NO ONE has said anything to us, and that the two tables are sitting empty. He and 3 other people huddle around the hostess stand computer, they ask my name again, and they all seem disorganized.
The manager walks back over and states they are busy, just because there are open tables it doesn’t mean we can be seated and then starts to assimilate our not being seated to a doctors office visit and not wanting to have to wait for a doctor in the examination room. Great, you are really going to compare a dining experience to a doctors office visit? That was ridiculous so we walked out and went to another restaurant where everything was top notch and they made us feel they wanted our business
How about when we checked in the hostess explain that they apologize, but they were running behind, would we like to sit at the bar or be updated as they progress. They could have avoided this whole scene. PURE AMATUERS!!!

Despite the many available tables we passed by on our way to our table, I was surprised by the 10 min wait time… Being our first time here and to a fondue restaurant I was expecting more guidance from our waitress and there was alot of waiting just to order rather than serving orders… this can be a pricey but fun experience! We had the four course meal– house salad, loaded baked potato cheddar for our cheese fondue-​you can ask for refill on the bread, the original and steak lover for entrees and chocolate s’mores for our chocolate fondue-​you can ask for refill on the strawberries, banana, pineapple, marshmallow, pound cake or brownies to dip!

Don’t get me wrong, they have some tasty food. The alpine dip was good, but the bread was nearly hard as a rock. Yummy dipping sauces. Chocolate fondue was good…5 mini pieces of dessert to dip with was not. For the price you pay, you should get so much more. 90% of this I could’ve made myself or done myself at home… melt some cheese, chop some chicken, cut up some bananas, etc. Much better to use your money elsewhere for some great (instead of mediocre) fine dining.

Let’s just say that it would be hard to be blown away by this place.
The first time I went to a Melting Pot, it was in Tampa, FL about 4 years ago. And I loved it! The cheese fondue was plentiful and delicious, the atmosphere was appropriate for an intimate, romantic setting, and the service was impeccable. So I decided to treat myself to a meal here for my birthday, and it was immediate how much things have changed.
At this location, coloring pages and crayons are given to children. Props to the Melting Pot for entertaining the kids and (hopefully) keeping them occupied, but it took away from the experience quite a bit. I felt like I was about to dine at a Friendly’s. But since it was just me (not on a special-​occasion date), I didn’t let it get to me. I made a reservation for one for 6:00 p.m., and the host seemed very lost as to where to seat me in a near-​empty restaurant. He showed me to a table and said, «Wait here, I’ll find you a place to sit,» and then disappears. I don’t see him since then. The server in that section decides to serve me, and graciously brings me a menu. His service was great: he took the time to explain the fondue process, made suggestions with the meats and sauces, and answered my questions with patience. He rocked.
The food was pretty good, but I noticed that the portions decreased quite a bit. There wasn’t enough cheese for the bread/​apples/​veggies (this may be an issue for some, but since I only ate the apples and veggies, I made it work), and I remember getting more options for the dessert. The cheesecake used to be included, but now if you want cheesecake, you can get it with some other goodies (cream puff, cookie straws, berries) for $ 5 extra. Even without the cheesecake, the pound cake, blondie, brownie, strawberries, and rice krispie treats were plenty.
Would I come here again? Perhaps, for cheese and chocolate with the girlfriends. For a date or solo meal? Probably not.

We got here and the place was not busy at all. Maybe 10 tables, we waited at the bar and the bartender had no idea how to make a drink. I ordered a southern comfort and ginger ale. She asked if I’d like that in a martini glass? Then she told me how it was her first night she used to be a hostess.
We sit down and our waiter was rude and not very helpful. I ordered another drink while we sat down and took 16 mins to get my drink and a glass of water.
The manager was running around very disorganized. I would NOT recommend this place to anyone. Save your money and go to an organized place to eat

Linda from #Schaumburg #restaurant is great. Cheerful, happy and helpful. Actually, all staff should have a #shoutout from Sam the greeter to other servers. Really warm and welcoming restaurant”

I have been going to the Melting Pot for a few years now. I used to go to the one in Buffalo Grove, but they have since closed down, which is even worse news to me now that I have found out how the Schaumburg location is. :(
I came here 2÷11÷15, a Wednesday night, for a valentines dinner with my boyfriend (getting in ahead of the crowd). I was so excited, literally have been begging to go for a year now.
We arrived and were seated promptly, it wasn’t too busy especially considering it was a Wed. night. My boyfriend and I both ordered drinks, he had an angry orchard, I had their white moscato. Both were alright.
Our server, TJ was alright. He was not super attentive as we had long wait times in between pots, and he was not great at checking up to see if we needed anything while dining. I know the waits between pots is usually existent, but for how slow the restuarat was, I feel we waited longer than usual.
My favorite part is the apples and cheese, luckily, the apples tasted pretty fresh. The cheese fondue was very tasty, something with mozzarella and tomatos. The bread and vegetables on the other hand, did not taste so fresh. The normally delicious brown bread was SO DRY AND STALE. The vegetables were dry and definitely looked like they had been sitting in a fridge for quite some time. Also, I noticed the portions they give you for dipping have decreased quite a bit, which is fine since you can get refills on these (which I did end up with more apples, thankfully)
Next was salad. I always look forward to the caesar salads here as they are always tasty. Sadly, when we received our salads, the lettuce was browning on the edges and tasted wilted. Salad size was also significantly smaller than I remember.
Next, we had our entrée. I had «The Classic» my boyfriend had the steak lovers. We used the oil (bourggeoine, however you spell it). The meats were alright, except the «filet mignon» which did honestly tasted worse than the teriyaki sirloin. Also, the sides, veggies, potatoes, etc. were again way smaller portions than normal. For our entrée, our server was basically nowhere to be found so we were unable to request more sides. Our server also forgot the batters that typically come with the oil, so we had to request these from the manager, whom by the way awkwardly passes and eavesdrops his tables FAR more than any manager should. Every now and then is great, but c’mon man, back off a little while we’re eating.
Finally, we had our chocolate. So sad to see that the dessert treats they give you at the end have also significantly decreased in quantity. We probably received about half of what I used to receive when I attended Melting Pot about 2 years ago. No more cheesecake, far less fruit and dippables. The strawberries did not taste too fresh either, pretty crunchy. The chocolate sauce menu has been cut tremendously as well. What used to be at least 8…9.10 choices, is now about 3 or 4, and they definitely aren’t as adventurous chocolate flavors as what I’ve had in the past.
Our bill was higher than I’ve ever spent at Melting Pot, granted I had two drinks, my boyfriend had one, but that is pretty typical for every visit I’ve ever had.
Ultimately, I’m disappointed with the experience. Everything was just a huge let down from teh last time I went. Way less food, making it way less bang for your buck. The quality of everything seems to have all around decreased, while the price seems to have gone up.
I will not be going back, it is not worth the money. This makes me so sad to say because I used to love this place, but it definitely was not the same experience I’ve had many times in the past.
***Another important thing to note: Maybe I’m crazy, but I definitely remember receiving a hot mitt cover to cover up the HOT fondue pot handle. We never received a cover to this handle, which made it pretty difficult to do our fondue while the pot was spinning all around and neither of us wanted to grab the hot handle.

The food here is always awesome and tastes great. I have been here twice this week and maybe ten times total. That said…
The bathrooms here are freaking nasty. There’s piss all over the floor. The toilet seat has cigarette burns on it, it’s barely attached and does not fully flush. I’ve seen better gas station toilets. This is the second time this week I’ve been here and they have them in the same condition. If the bathrooms look like this, imagine how nasty the kitchen could be.
Second time this week I had to send the silverware back to the kitchen because it was dirty.
If they got their act together with the bathrooms and the cleanliness here, this would be a four star place.

Went here tonight w my two friends. I will say that the food was 100% amazing but the service was SO SO bad and for the $$ we spent there I was expecting much better service then we got. It took 20 min fir our waitress to say hello and take our drink orders, which they were short bartender so it took 40min to get the drinks that tasted like crap so those were on the house. Problem is, we got our cheese fondue and our waitress didnt ask if they wanted water while they were waiting for their drinks, they had to ask for them. We needed to remind her to add the red wine in our cooking oil, which that was the main ingredient and the reason we picked it!!! Everything we asked for, it took at least two times of asking to get it! We were there for 3 HOURS!!! I could see if it was bc we ate and stayed and chatted… NO it was bc everything too sooooo long. We waited to be greeted and our drink order taken, four our first course to come, for the chocolate menu (which we asked for before we started eating so we can be ready but never got) another 10min for our chocolate order to be taken… Ugh we were all so pissed and disappointed plus plain tired of sitting and waiting!
The bathrooms were very dirty and they had two chairs in there w all these stains on it, it was just gross i think i might have gotten herpes if i sat on one. Again, its way too nice of a place and spend way too much $ for there to be a nasty dirty bathroom, yuck! The cooking shows always say, take a look at a places bathroom and it will tell you about the restaurant… Hmmm maybe a repeat visit isnt such a great idea!