The Melting Pot

Went here on our honeymoon and we were not disappointed. Our waiter Tim was fantastic, he is a veteran and an artist! The food was great and our waiter made some suggestions that really made us enjoy our meal more. It is expensive but it is a «you get what you pay for experience. Please tip well!
Location: easy to find, they have parking around the block — I would ask inside for details.
Building: Smaller than some Melting Pot locations I have been to, but very clean and high quality.
Staff: Friendly and polite. The manager stopped by at the end and gave us his card.

Excellent service, if you stop by on the weekends you gotta ask for Kaitlyn! Excellent waitress and she definitely adds to the great experience you get there!

The staff is friendly, the food is good and they did a great job with our 2 and 3 year olds who were not in the best mood for the meal. We will be again, preferably after the kids have had naps!

Visited the Melting Pot for Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend. We had been here once before and loved it. This time was no different. Our waiter was wonderful and personable. He was able to help recommend some selections. We had the full course meal including shrimp cocktail, cheese fondue, salad, meat selection that we cooked in a red wine and garlic broth, chocolate fondue and they sent us home with chocolate covered strawberries.
It is defiantly an expensive experience but well worth it. We will most likely be back in the future.

Our kids chose to go here tonigh, despite our hesitation we took them to the melting pot the restaurant was completely empty. Gentlemen at the door asked us if we had a reservation, we didn’t. So he said he did not have any tables available so we thanked him walked out, as we were crossing the icy road back to our car a lady yelled at us actually we do have a table available??? Really. No thank you. I will give a 0 star but not an option.

Visited this restaurant the day before Veterans Day and received a warm welcome and Veteran’s discount. The initial reception was excellent, and after explaining it was our first time the server broke down each and every detail. The atmosphere was very pleasant and clean. Staff paid close attention for any possible question or concern we may have had. I highly recommend this restaurant on a date night. Oh! Food and drinks are GREAT!

My girlfriend and I went out to celebrate a couple of special occasions. Our server, Jeff, was awesome. In fact, the entire staff was very pleasant and friendly. The owner came over and introduced himself during the meal. Overall, the service was outstanding (which is a rarity in Charlottesville).
The Melting Pot is obviously a chain, but one that gets it right. It’s definitely upscale with a price tag to go along with it. However, the price matches the dining experience well. In other words, it’s worth it. You will not leave without feeling stuffed with delicious food.

The service is just right… attentive but not bothersome. The staff is well trained, personable, and the food is delicious! It’s great for a special night out or any night out! Fresh meats and vegetables and plenty… lots of choices too.

The melting pot is one of my favorite restaurants! Every time I’ve been at this location, the food and service has been outstanding. The entire staff is very professional and very attentive, and customer service is very important to me. I dine here often and will continue, this place is amazing!

Every time we’ve come, whether it has been with my boyfriend, friends, and or familh, we’ve left sharing the same consensus. We love ordering the cheese and the dessert chocolate, but don’t really care for the entrees. While the Coq Au Vin (burgundy wine infused with fresh herbs, spices and mushrooms) and seasoned court bouillon are the only entrée cooking styles we’ve tried, it was more so the meat selection we weren’t crazy about. The steak and seafood are the usual fanfare of what you’d expect, but there’s something quite overpowering about the spices used in the chicken. As a result, it can be difficult pairing the chicken with any sauce or cooking style to achieve a complimentary flavor. In short, the chicken is my least favorite and I tend to choose a different protein substitute when possible.
Another area of contention among the company I’ve come here with: the service. We’ve received excellent service with personable servers with a keen eye for detail on some nights, but on others, not so much. We’ve had orders mixed up and a friend who does not eat seafood, was given seafood not once but twice when she had asked the server to change the protein. It was a bit disappointing considering the amount we were spending to have to wait while the server went back and forth to correct the order. Furthermore, we had friends visiting from out of town and they were on a tight schedule. That being said, we only had time to sit through a cheese order and our server was quite disappointed when our group did not plan to order more. It was a bit uncomfortable when the management then stopped by and further pushed the entrée menu on us. Our friends left feeling a bit underwhelmed and displeased by the not so subtle pressure of the wait staff.
Aside from that? The cheese and chocolate is where it’s at. If you’re coming here, come here for those particular menu items. It’s a fun experience being able to dip and eat a la carte. We’re big fans of the Yin/​Yang and dark chocolate choices. The ambiance is nice and comfortable. Their wine room which is quite literally, under lock and key, is a neat additive to the décor. We’d come back again but for nights where the cheese or chocolate are the main focus.

My first visit to the Cville location… Went with friends for Restaurant Week last night for the $ 26pp deal. Everything went well, and you got quite a bit of food for the price. You got to pick your cheese for the first part, the second course for your meats and fish, and then dessert, which is always my favorite. Cocktails were «on sale» for $ 6 I believe it was so that was a plus and I appreciated that they let you substitute your meats and fish for other items. I’m not a seafood or mushroom person so they switched those out and gave me more filet and chicken. The dipping sauces were good, but dessert is always my favorite. We got yin & yang (white and dark chocolate) and it was super yum and a good variety of dipping pieces (fruit, pound cake, marshmallows, etc.) The only thing that made it difficult was that the light above our table wasn’t working and we couldn’t see anything, especially when trying to check if our meats were done or not. We all seem to be fine today, so we apparently did cook everything fully. I did mention it to the waitress, but not much they can do when it’s directly over our food, which I agree, I don’t need dust and stuff falling into our fondue pot. Overall, it was yummy and a decent experience.

I had never been to a Melting Pot before yesterday, and now I can’t wait to go back! To start off, my boyfriend and I got there at 4:30, not realizing they didn’t open until 5:00, but they opened the door for us and sat us before they were even officially open! I had amazing service from our waitress, who was super sweet and talked us through the whole menu (I can’t remember her name now, but she was blonde and is going to school for special ed teaching — she deserves a raise!!). We ended up getting the unlimited cheese and chocolate fondue special for $ 20 per person, and we ended up trying 2 different cheeses and 2 different chocolates. Everything was SO delicious, but I especially recommend the swiss cheese fondue and the yin yang chocolate fondue. I will DEFINITELY be coming back when I’m back in CVille later this summer!

The staff was okay, the food was okay, it was just okay for the price

Usually a favorite with our group of friends, but the restaurant week was a little disappointing.
Seating in the bar definitely detracts from the experience because the bar experience is a little less secluded and definitely more noisy.
The service was decent if a little scattered. The restaurant was clearly busy because of restaurant week but the server did disappear at some times. Overall it was decent service. What was disappointing was the portion sizes. We’ve been to several different specials at the restaurant, and the portions were never cut back this far. They definitely cut back significantly on the entrée sizes in order to accommodate the price tier.

*****4.5 stars*****
I’ve been to another melting pot before and the experience was very close to this one. The food was great. Our server was a little scattered but very nice. The price always astounds me but I guess if each table is spending a good 2.5 to 3 hours occupying a table there’s not much turnover do they need to accommodate for that.
The bathrooms were a little confusing as the signs were a combination of the male and female symbols so it took me a minute to figure out they were unisex.
I’ll certainly go back eventually

I loved everything about The Melting Pot. I took my husband for his birthday and they went above and beyond with my special arrangements. Food was fantastic and the service was excellent! I can’t wait to go back!

The Melting Pot is a great place to go out for an occasion. The staff is friendly, they have some great wine, and the food is absolutely out of this world. However, expect to pay the «occasion-​style» pricing — expect to pay $ 100-​$ 150 for a four-​course meal for a party of two. You may be able to get cheaper with coupons/​special days with deals and such, but that’s normally my wife and I’s price, including a glass of wine or two a piece.
Concerning the small portions that I’ve read talking about small portions, the waiter will re-​fill any element of the meal that you’d like free of charge. So, I don’t really understand complaining about that when all you have to do is simply request more. However, yes they do keep the portions small, but they give you a LOT of them. I’m an athletic young larger guy who likes to eat, and I leave this place stuffed every single time. If they bring too little of something that I enjoy, then I simply ask for more — the sky is the limit.
The waiting staff has been stellar every time that we have gone, save one. They’re pretty good about having knowledgeable people working there; however, the one bad one that we did have wasn’t rude or anything — they were just a bit socially awkward. It was a new girl that has just moved into town and was a college student, so it is what it is. Overall, the wait staff is friendly and will treat you well.
The DESSERT is the absolute best part! You literally have a pot of melted chocolate brought to your table along with cheesecake, strawberries, cookies, brownies, and all types of other things that you can dip into this melted chocolate! The dessert alone is worth it!
Overall, I’d recommend this place to anyone looking to head out for an anniversary or just to go out on a rare date night with your significant other. It’s pricey, but I definitely think that it’s worth it every once in a while. Do yourself a favor and try it out!

I waver on this because I’ve been to others in the chain that have better service than I’ve experienced here, but the quality of the food and drink is at least consistent.
The last time I went, our server was unfortunately rushing us through the whole process, which is not at all what I’ve gotten at other Melting Pots. Most of the time, they tell you to plan to stay for at least a couple hours because it’s more about the experience.
Pro tips:
1) Go for Happy Hour: $ 20 per person for endless cheese and chocolate fondue plus drink specials.
2) Sign up for the email list: Perks?
a) I’ve gotten a box of chocolate-​covered strawberries for my birthday when I went out with a group of friends. (It’s free after $ 60 purchase.)
b) Themed nights w/​drink specials like Women and Whiskey (Ladies’ Night Out) for $ 6 cocktails
c) National Cheese Appreciation Day — I got FREE cheese fondue with no purchase necessary

I’ve been here twice so far and each time the food has been fantastic and the staff super accommodating. The other reviewer below who said they pamper you throughout is exactly right.
The menu has good variety and even the vegetarian options will satisfy a meat eater. This location is one Melting pot has a reputation for being a first class dining experience.
I really liked the several alcove booths. If you are taking a date, the secluded tables make you feel like an elite VIP.

For those who dont know, melting pot is a chain of restaurants that came up with the ingenious idea of letting customers cook their own food! And charging them extra to do it. The food ranges from meats and veggies to chocolate and cheese cake. Fondues include cheese, oil, broth, and chocolate. I guess everyone should shell out the money and try it once. Maybe split a meal. But its not that amazing or technically worth the price. The experience is what you go for. Go with a group!