The Melting Pot

This place is exceptional!!! One of the best of not best dining experiences I’ve ever had. Let’s start with owner manger Dana. She was amazing, brought our 1 year old fruit snacks and drinks while we waited. Followed up with us to assure out dining experience. Really just went above and beyond with superb customer service. Our waitress Korinne was also great. Very personable, treated us like family. I give this place 10 stars, keep up the great work!

It was an ok experience. I was seating at the bar and had happy hour drinks and food with friends. In general there is a nice vibe to the place because of the décor but I really do prefer any of the other locations.

We have been to the Rockville location several times but decided to try this one in Columbia. It was awful. The service was so slow. It look us 3 grueling hours to get through dinner. We waited 30+ minutes between each course being completed before our waitress even ever came back to ask what the next course was. We had to ask for drink refills multiple times and didn’t have any drink through the last 2 courses. Then when she came with the bill it was completely wrong and we were charged 100 $ too much! Tables that came 1.5 hours after us were on the same course as us. I complained to the manager on duty. They didn’t seem to care. You go to this place for a special occasion and pay a lot of money. The service should be better. It was miserable and stressful since we had a babysitter at home and didn’t expect to be out for 5 hours (with drive). Awful!!!

We go here twice a year for birthdays. It began with our water glasses being spilled in our laps. They moved us to another booth since ours was soaked. Our waiter forgot to put water in the cheese fondue pot so it burned. The manager told us we would get the chocolate for free due to the water issue. Plus we had a 20 coupon. Neither was taken off the bill. The manager did after we complained. The evening ended with the waiter dropping a tray of food all over the floor as we were leaving. We have gone here for years. Too bad we have to find a new place. The waiter was having a bad day and certainly should not have been handling hot liquid since he kept dropping stuff. Seemed dangerous, what if he dropped the hot fondue pot instead of the water? I wont be going back.

Ridiculously over priced for the small amount of food you get and our waitress was super slow. We went without drinks for over 20 minutes and she took about that long to get us a drink to begin with. The food was pretty bland and all tasted the same. It is also pretty crappy that you have to agree on your cooking broth since you only get one for the table. I wasn’t crazy about cooking my veggie entrée in the same broth raw meat was in. We went because we had a Groupon only to find out that they didn’t take them on Saturdays. crazy expensive for what you get. I heard great things about this place and was excited to try it out. Well, we tried it and we don’t need to try it again. The cheese fondue in the beginning was ok but nothing you couldn’t make at home. Total downer…

Me and my wife have been here on several occasion and I must admit every time is better than the first.
We ordered the bacon guano and two salads. My wife really enjoyed the bacon guano so I decided to eat the salad since I’m not a bacon eater.
All in all we had a good time and I really enjoy that you can cook your own food at the table.
I really enjoyed their customer service and how they go out of their way to cater to your ever need.
Thank you Melting Pot for showing me and my wife a good time.

Service was good but the menu was very confusing. The waiter did his best to explain it but we were still left scratching our heads. We ended up just ordering a cheese fondue and it was no better than something I could have made at home for A LOT cheaper. The spinach artichoke fondue tasted like garlic l, all the other flavors were masked by that. The bacon Gorgonzola was good but nothing special that couldn’t have been made at home. Ended up leaving and getting our meal elsewhere. For the prices you pay, the food is nothing to write home.

Yet again crappy front hostess (non)help. Our first time there, six months ago, was a bad experience. Thought we’d give it another go tonight… Again crap, won’t try it again. 2 times was more than enough waste of my time. If one makes a reservation at a place that considers itself good enough to charge $ 40+ a person then one shouldn’t have to wait 30 mins to get that reservation seat. If a place can’t figure out how to take care of its patrons in a timely manner then they don’t deserve the business & should close their doors. Melting Pot SUCKs

My party of 4 came in for my mothers birthday. We made an Opentable reservation. We were promptly sat when we arrived. It took quite some time for our server to great us. She came and got our drink orders and explained how the melting pot works with the cheese and the salad and the food and the chocolate. They had a Ladies night special that 2 of my table were interested in but the server forgot to tell us that everyone at the table had to agree on the special for anyone to get it. Would of been nice to know that before we started ordering…
So no one was able to get the special bc we didn’t all want it. We all settled on the classic: chicken, shrimp, angus beef and pork. And I got the Columbia flight for 4 different 3 oz wine pours.
We decided on the cheddar cheese. Got bread, apples and a mix of veggies to dip. The cheese was great and the apples were my favorite. The server even brought out more since we went through them all. We all got different salads. And they were all awful. The Cesar dressing wasn’t what I would call a Cesar dressing. My sisters bacon salad also had bad dressing and little bacon. The food stand outs were the chicken and the shrimp. We got the bourginone cooking style and my little sister enjoyed creating shrimp tempura. We ended with the Flaming Turtle — milk chocolate, caramel and pecans. Delicious and wonderful.
My star deduction comes from the terrible salads and the service. The service was a bit slow. I understand it’s a relaxed environment and what not but we waited on our server multiple times. We even had someone else serve our main food. Which at least we got it… But I waited on my wine pours for ½ the meal. And a server dropped plates and food going to the kitchen near our table and it never got cleaned up. Eww. Also our server complained to us about how busy it was. Maybe she was trying to say sorry bc it was so busy but came off more like a complaint.
But the food was delicious, everyone had a good time and my mom said it was 1 of her favorite birthdays so 4 stars.

Great date night stop. We both enjoyed our yin and yang martini. Followed by fondue delicious cheese, seasoned shrimp, and flaming turtle dessert. This is definitely an experience everyone deserves.

I love the melting pot so I was very excited to find a location near me! This location is nice quaint and Perfect for date night. I always get the classic because I love the choice of having a little bit of everything and we opted for two signature cocktails which where delightfully yummy, especially the chocolate martini which skips the dairy! !
I especially loved the customer service oriented managers. Not one but two came by to check on us and make sure the service and food choices where going well. I love when a manager circles the floor it just makes the dining experience a little bit better because they are clearly alert to what’s going on in their location. !
The food was so good as usual. I always ask for s little extra mushrooms, they are my favorite .
Our server was awesome also he had no problems getting us everything we needed and making the dining experience perfect!
I however wish I would have remember to get the wine and garlic seasoning to go, it’s perfect on everything and I will be driving back tomorrow just to pick up a bottle! I put it on all my food when I am there and can’t wait to try it at home!

In reverse order of my night, my check was $ 250 for 4 people! lol enough said?
The MP is pretty good, it was dimly lit, boasts a nice wine list and the ambience was great. A well furnished but poorly planned waiting area held us for 10 minutes until we were called; we did make reservations.
Our table was great, my wife, young daughter and we allowed our daughter to bring a friend to enjoy dinner with us. We selected a cheese and we’re ready to begin!
I’m not sure about you, but dipping celery in cheese isn’t all that appealing, but the bread was pretty good! I just wasn’t blown away with the flavor of the cheese. We played it safe with two kids and had the cheddar, maybe next time we’ll try another.
Do I need to discuss the salad? I had the California Salad, mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, candied pecans and Gorgonzola cheese with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette. It was very good! Love that dressing!
For our entrees we chose Coq Au Vin cooking style and ordered up! Here I had the French Quarter: premium filet mignon, all-​natural breast of chicken, and Pacific white shrimp seasoned with Cajun spices and accompanied by flavorful Andouille sausage! Now this was very good! Oh, and the entrée sauces, there is something for everyone.
Finally, the dessert! We had the Chocolate S’mores: milk chocolate with marshmallow cream, flambéed and topped with bits of graham crackers. Now this is where Melting Pot gets six stars! OMG it’s delicious :)
Now in all fairness for the final price, my wife had a drink and I enjoyed a wine sampler of sorts. They give you four, 3oz pours to perfectly accompany your courses. They did just that! We had a great family night and I do recommend it, just make sure you prepare yourself for the sticker shock.

Meh. I definitely wouldn’t return.
We went here to celebrate my father in laws birthday and I was impressed with the décor when we first arrived.
Upon being seated we looked over the menu choices to decide which proteins we wanted along with the broths/​juices we preferred to cook our dinner in.
Considering this was our first time visiting, it was hard to figure out which proteins to cook, which broth to select and how the overall meal would turn out. We started with the bacon and Gorgonzola cheese fondue which I found to be to rich and cheesy. I settled on the andouille sausage, pacific white shrimp and old bay shrimp which was not memorable or anything to really write about. We chose the Coq au vin broth that was recommended by the waiter but again nothing stood out about the experience and definitely did not warrant the large bill at the end of the night.
In a nutshell, you pay to choose your food and cook everything yourself. You practically pay the restaurant to cook things yourself and tip the waiter for bringing raw veggies and meats to your table to cook and monitor yourself.

This is a family favorite. We went last night for my daughters birthday. We ordered the 4course meal. It seems to be the most reasonable priced. The cheese had Tequila in in and just enough heat for a kick. It was good. We each got a different main course meal. It doesn’t look like a lot but as you cook it and eat it it makes you ration yourself so you get full quick. As for cooking styles we get the basic Bouillon. We have tried all of them but with the dry runs on the meats I like this cooking style the best. For dessert we got the Molten lava concoction and it was delicious the best part. We substituted milk for dark. That’s one thing we like about this place is the options to substitute items for others. This is a must try.

I came here with my mother for a fun mom-​daughter night with a Living Social deal. I’ll start with that first– that is the ONLY way I’d come here. The deal is $ 34 online, and then you something like $ 75 off your bill when you’re there. Without this deal, you’re looking at a $ 90 meal for the 3 course fondue w/​salad, and then a tip on top of that. it gets expensive fast– this is only for two people.
We enjoyed the food, but our burner was having problems, and it took a while to get fixed by the manager. I assume this is because we came in on a Friday night (note: they require reservations for the living social deal).
Drinks were okay, a little pricey for my liking. Our waiter was happy to accommodate us for the dessert portion and make us one that was not featured on their menu, since they are a «tester» store.
Unfortunately, although our waiter was friendly, he admitted to working with puppy mill company in Columbia. As huge animal lovers and rescue advocates, we were disappointed to hear that, and it kind of sat in the back of our minds for the night. While this does not necessarily pertain to the restaurant, it was something that he volunteered and I wish the Melting Pot cared more about what their workers did as a second job. Puppy mills are awful.

*melting pot has dessert*
If you only want dessert, you can ask for it!
It was my birthday past week so my close friend took me to melting pot for some soul food, chocolate.
We got the one with pecan and nuts in it, and it was so delicious! They give you little cakes, fruits, and sweets to dip into the chocolate and gosh it was so heavenly. One thing I appreciated is that the waiter was so pleasant and so grateful to talk to. The price isn’t bad either, only 8.50 and I was almost full from one dessert plate that I shared with another friend.
Will return for dessert:)

I totally forgot to do a review on this place. I’ve been to the melting pot a good amount of times. I love this place! The service is always spectacular! The menu has so much variety! I usually end up getting the same thing every time, my friends are the ones that usually try something new and always like are satisfied at the end of the night.
I’ve never had an issue with food or service here. I think the melting pot is great for romantic dinners and chill birthdays. This place is set up beautifully! I can’t wait to go back.

So I went on a double date to this Melting Pot location. The other 3 had been the one in Towson, and I just had never been to a Melting Pot before.
Well, it was restaurant week in Howard County and unsurprisingly there were families with annoying children and the poor waiters were all harried, so while I do have complaints, I’m sure the majority of them were due to the fact that we came at a really busy time.
So it was good that we had a reservation, but even then, we had to wait while the hostess was seating a bunch of people and we weren’t seated for 15 min.
Ordering! Ironically, though we came for restaurant week, we decided not to do the restaurant week menu anyway, partly because we were really hungry, partly because our friend had a gluten allergy. So we decided on Big Night Out (the other couple went for the 4 Course Experience) and as a group decided to share the classic alpine for the cheese course, the Coq au Vin broth, and the milk chocolate for dessert.
And that’s where things got hairy. First, the poor waiter didn’t even notice that there wasn’t a secondary bowl over the primary boiler bowl and started putting all the cheese ingredients in the primary bowl (and had to reset it several times before the cheese starting melting). Second, the family in the booth behind us left 30 min into our dinner, but no one noticed that the stove had been left on until I smelled the burning and literally the pot at that booth had been burned black. Third, the gluten allergy friend and I both ordered the same salad, his without dressing which had gluten in it, mine with, but both of ours came without dressing. Fourth, the waiter neglected to tell us how long to cook each type of meat/​veggie.
So that was all the complaints, but there are good things to be had. One, the restaurant actually has gluten free options like gluten-​free bread and gluten-​free brownies. Second, we were stuffed by the end of the meal (om nom nom). 3^rd, the sauces provided were delicious and also you had the option to mix and match those flavors (at one point, it seemed like painting). And the chocolate fondue was melted pretty smoothly.
Now for things that I didn’t prefer out of personal preference. One, it is pricey! Indulge but be prepared to pay for it. Second, the coq au vin didn’t really stick out to me. Like I didn’t notice anything different or special about having cooked my meat in it. The sauces helped. Third, not enough chocolate fondue for four people! So sad. There had been so much cheese fondue, but the chocolate fondue bowl was like half filled. Maybe if it was a two person thing, it would have been fine. Fourth, more veggies please. Fifth, it just doesn’t compare to Asian hotpot — quality, price, taste, variety-​wise. True, you can’t have cheese fondue in your hotpot, but really it was like Melting Pot tried and failed to imitate it.
Anyway, I might go back. I didn’t hate my experience, and certainly I left with a full belly. But until I’m making more moolah, you’ll have to pay me to go :)

I love melting pot because I love fondue. This place is romantic and perfect for a Valentine’s date dinner. I recently went with my sorority little sister. We got great service and great food. I usually order the four course dinner. It comes with a bread and cheese dip, a salad, a choice of three different meats or raviolis, and the best part, a chocolate fondue. It’s about 40 $ per a person. It’s a pretty good deal considering the amount of food you get!
I don’t like their wine base fondue so I ask for vegetable stock. For the main course ask for mojo. Mojo is a vegetable stock base and it tastes savory with loads of herbs and zest.
The atmosphere is dim but romantic and tasteful. There is a good selection of wine by the glass or bottle.
The only pitfall is once I found a piece of hair in my napkin. And for me that is a big turn off. I lost my appetite :(and they did not apologize in my opinion. It was just a quick we are sorry…

So I have been curious about the melting pot for quite some time but was never really interested in going. A friend invited me to join for dinner, so off we went.
Finding this place was kinda tough because of the construction. And parking is valet but free.
Initial thoughts upon entering the restaurant — very nice, intimate space. Loved the cozy booths.
Waiter was really nice but lacking on water refills.
Menu was confusing.
Appetizer was eh. I didn’t find it to be that good. I’ve made better cheese dip at home.
Salad was decent. Really liked the black walnut raspberry vinaigrette.
I got the vegetable entrée. My friend got the classic. At this point I didn’t realize you cooked your own food. Didn’t like the idea of cooking my vegetables in the same pot as chicken. The vegetable entrée was disappointing. I got very little for 34 dollars. Talk about rip off. My friend seemed satisfied with their choice, but to me it looked like they didn’t really get a lot either for 38 dollars. It was quite annoying with the vegetables in the pot because they would just fall off and forever be lost. It was just mediocre.
The dessert was decent, I will give them that, but again I can do this at home for way cheaper.
Bleh. This place is just awful. Never again.