The Flame Broiler

Food is good but the older lady who works the front desk is always on her phone, pretty rude, always acts like I am inconveniencing her or somthing… My last visit she was very offended when my bowl came out with onions on it after I asked for no onions and let them know it was not what I ordered. Food is good employee makes me not want to come here any more

I don’t post many reviews, but this is the best lunch I have had on the road in a loooong time.
The place is clean, service is curt and prompt, but the food is something else.
I am having a chicken, veggies and rice bowl that must be written about. The veggies are very fresh and cooked just lightly, with great crunch and complex flavors. The chicken is deliciously charbroiled, trimmed into delicious little bites. The rice is spot on perfect texture and delicate flavor.
Try the magic sauce, it really ties the room together.
You won’t mind the plastic bowl, the food quality is impressive and it’s healthy too.

A work colleague offered to do a food run for us and we decided on Flame Broiler, which for us always means the location at 1175 Baker, or 320 S Bristol in a pinch. We love Flame Broiler.
Dimwit decides to roll to this location and boy could I tell. My bowl (and his) was sparsely populated with meat, and even the rice portion was stingy. My co-​worker tries to plead that he was closer to this location, as if that has ever been a viable reason to shank the office.
Never going back here, and my buddy is on «I’ll buy if you fly» probation.

I would give this place 5 stars because of how delicious the food is prepared, but sadly the customer service is extremely bad. There’s an older, Asian guy with glasses (I’m assuming the owner) who is extremely rude. Interrupts your order, and groans when you ask for something special in particular (for example well done chicken.) There’s another older looking Asian lady who has somewhat of a better attitude, but is still somewhat rude. To top it off, there’s another Hispanic looking lady that works as a cashier and she’s also pretty rude. If I’m paying for my food I want to make sure that it’s done right and to my liking. Other than that, the food is pretty good. They just need better customer service :/

This is by far the worst Flame Broiler I have ever been to. I order a Chicken Veggie bowl with brown rice and basically got a bowl of white rice with a little bit of chicken. When I complained about it I got yelled at by the worst cashier I have ever experienced. I will never go back again.

Do not like this place. The owner of very rude and does not speak very good English. He got my order wrong and got mad at me because he didn’t understand me.

It’s exactly what you expect. Quick, delicious, fresh, food. If you want customer service with a cherry on top. Go to Starbucks. I personally get greatest with a smile and they know who I am. Yes it’s because I go here all the time. I’m a rude person, so the cold cut facts are this, 1 properly order your food. Specify bowlmor or plate only two options really. What rice you want idiot brown or white. If you want veggies that’s a completely different price then without. you just screwed up. Not them.
Anyways, love the owners and staff. 5 stars because I’ve never been dissatisfied with the product.

Typical flame broiler. Good food and clean.
The owners have no personality and assisting customers is an interruption to whatever it is they are doing.
Steady stream of customers and they were short, curt and almost rude. No smiles, thank yous or anything resembling customer service.
Will pick the one on Harbor next time

I was so excited to try this place and fell flat on its face. Just no. Wasn’t good food not great price and just no. You can easily get mugged in the parking lot which is the regular haunt for Costa mesa’s regular homeless. Like the huge guy that sleeps on the corner of 17^th and Orange.

I received food poisoning from this place. I had to go to the hospital for an IV because it was so bad. I won’t be coming back!
Lastly, the lady that works behind the counter is incredibly unhappy and unpleasant. It’s like she is burnt out and just doesn’t have it in her to be kind.
Never coming back.

Smallest portions of any FB I’ve been too. Plus the lady taking our order was sniffing up her snot (audibly) the whole time i was waiting for my food. THEN when our food was ready i watched her push cabbage into my bowl (with her finger) so she could put the lid on. NO THANKS, my wife & i dont want to get sick & give whatever sickness the cashier has to our baby. After paying (which i shouldn’t have) we drove to the location on Harbor & gave our tainted food to some crackheads (i don’t think getting a cold will phase them much) then we ordered all new food.

If you’ve read any of the other reviews for this location, this one won’t be too far off either.
Not sure where to start with this review, but I will say that this place has by far THE WORST customer service, hands down. The asian lady who’s the cashier most of the time (I’m assuming the owner), is a VERY unpleasant person to talk too. The few times I’ve gone, she has no respect for any of her customers that walk through that door. Don’t waste your please with ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, because she won’t even respond back to you.
For example:
The lady behind me was trying to order, and the cashier stopped her and asked where the tip jar was. The lady who was ordering said she didn’t know and then the cashier came around the corner looking for it. She told the cook that someone took the tip jar and was very pissed off. I just so happened to be filling up my drink and saw the tip jar by the drinks, and gave it to the cashier. She grabbed it from me, rolled her eyes, and then proceeded to ask the lady for her money to finish her order.
Another example:
This just to happened to be today. I had to order 3 meals for people at work — all wanting extra sauce with each meal. I had filled a total of 16 little sauce cups for the 3 bowls as I waited for my food to be ready. When it was ready, she said «Hey you, food ready.». So I went to grab my bags and went to put the sauce in the bags to leave. She left her register to come stand right in front of me, and watched me put them in my bags. Little did i know she was COUNTING the sauce I had. She told me «5 sauce per bowl»… And when I asked her if she wanted the extra sauce back, she just flat out ignored me and walked off.
So needless to say, after my experience today (and my passed experiences), I will NOT be back. I’m not sure how this location stays in business aside from their «sub par» food.

It is too bad the woman that works the counter is so unpleasant! The food here is excellent! I would give this place 5 stars, but this woman that works the counter is so rude. I eat here almost daily and she is consistently rude.

The chicken bowl was about half filled.

Fairly healthy food, low prices, convenient location. The only problem is the awkward ambiance due to the lack of music, feels pretty cramped and awkward in here without it.

We all need to boycott this one location… maybe she will get the picture. If a waba grill opened up down the street who would go there

The food is okay. But the owner (Asian lady) is very rude. She didn’t even ask if I wanted green onions on my chicken bowl, I had to ask for it. I thought she had called my order, I went up and she yelled «this is not for you!!» She just gives off this hostile, unfriendly vibe. Won’t be coming back.

I really like this product bit this location sucks. The owner is not very nice and my food does not taste fresh. I again like the product and most locations are very good but this location is not one I wish to return to,

Never coming here again
$ 7 for a bowl of rice thats mushy and a couple pieces of meat.
This is highway robbery. Other flame broilers stack their bowls so much they can barely get the lid on. Not this one. Also im a huge fan of having green onions on my bowl but they didnt even bother to ask. SMH
Definition of fast food. ordered and food was ready in literally 30 seconds. Ewww

Worst costumer service I have ever experienced. The lady that works the counter is quite possibly the most rude person I have ever encountered.
The food is also sub par compared to all other flame broilers.