Flat Top Grill

I love going here just disappointed that they changed the sauage. Not a big fan of the new sauage they are using. Literally would visit 2 – 3 times a month but will probably visit less

It was OK but just barely. Overpriced commercial appetizers that were again OK but just barely. It’s a weird concept and if you don’t cook you’re going to be in trouble since this is a Mongolian grill kind of place. My problem is I just don’t care for the cuisine, so I shouldn’t have gone there, but the potstickers they served me were a commercial product they bought, reheated marked up 300% and served. No real effort or creativity here either – you pick every thing you want and put it in a bowl along with all you OWN seasonings and then the «chefs» which are essentially just glorified fry cooks toss the INGREDIENTS YOU CHOSE AND GAVE THEM around on a hot grill and hand it back to you. There’s nothing here you can’t easily make at home for about a third of what they are charging. The restaurant is also very poorly designed – they tried to go upscale and missed and were left with a bizarre mashup of tiny rooms and corridors with very poor functionality – extremely poor restaurant design – but it’s not really a restaurant anyway since they really don’t do anything other than heat the stuff you choose on a grill in the middle of the biggest room (and you can’t watch it for entertainment) and they are microwaving the prefab appetizers so they might not even HAVE a kitchen, that wouldn’t surprise me.

We’ve been to Flat Top Grill a few times. I don’t know if franchise management has changed in the last year or what, but we are never going back. Here are the reasons why:
–Restaurant was absolutely filthy.
–Every member of the wait staff I interacted with was dismissive, rude, and/​or completely disinterested in serving us.
–Quality of the ingredients has dropped dramatically since we last came, and they no longer rotate their more exotic components (venison and other game).
–We had been in the restaurant for no more than 10 minutes and our waitress had already plopped our check on the table. Not that I minded being hurried out in this case.
–My girlfriend found PLASTIC SHAVINGS in her food. When I confronted the manager, she looked at me blankly without offering any sort of solution, or even an apology.
This place has gone to absolute shit. We will never go back. We will tell our friends to never go back. As far as I’m concerned, this location doesn’t exist.

It’s alright. The concept is just a little different but at the end it was a big bowl and the taste was pretty good.

First off the following is my opinion. Everyones experience will differ. What works for me may not for you and vise versa. Not to bad walking into the place. Clean, well lit, friendly staff. Little confused if it was supposed to be Asian or Mexican. Definable not a mongolian bbq place I am used to. Wish I would have been told there is a charge every time you go back. I have an appetite and can eat. Bowls are to small to put the items in with out dropping vegetables on the floor. Sauces are ok, nothing to really write home about. Maybe cause I’m used to a different style of place everywhere in the country I have been to. Food was cooked properly. If you don’t like the flavors, then that’s your own fault. Not sure if I will be back or not. About the same price as a all you can eat on. Had on issue with my food staff was quick to fix it and very polite about it.

Steady/​Mike was our server and he did an outstanding job explaining the policy for our meals and getting a second meal. He catered to my wife’s million and one questions and was very kind and patient to her needs. Even the manager Valerie was nice enough to check on us and agree that Steady/​Mike was fabulous. The food was great as usual as me and my wife come here often when we are trying to shed some extra pounds. Great place but even better service.

My server Mike is the best! I came for my birthday celebration with my family and he truly did everything he could to make it special. He remembered us, for one, even though we only ever eat there on special occasions. Secondly, he was super attentive and generally on top of things. Third, the cooking crew forgot one if my meat toppings, but then came back later with it — even though I had forgotten — all of their own volition! And finally, he put a candle on my brownie sundae for dessert and both he and the busboy wished me a happy birthday! Truly outstanding service! Large tip, check!

I love this place. My favorite thing is the deal where you get an appetizer, 2 meals, and 2 movie tickets for $ 48. My second favorite thing is the service. I have never once had a bad server, they’re always incredibly attentive and friendly. Plus, the portions are big enough for a meal of leftovers. AND the bread is amazing.

The only reason I am giving four stars instead of 5 is because I personally wasn’t impressed with the vegetable selection. However, please keep in mind, what I dislike you may love. Restaurant was clean and the staff was very nice and helpful. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read previous reviews, but overall was happy when i left. I just maybe more optimistic than others and happened to make the most of my experience.

Had lunch here and it was really good. I’ve been to a flat top once or twice before, but it was a long time ago. A lot of things have changed since my last visit, but I would have to say that the changes were for the better. I opted to have chicken as the protein and I went and added all kinds of veggies and sauces to my bowl. I love the Roti bread they have, it tastes amazing. The portion size of huge so I was able to have it for lunch the next day as well. Server was extremely helpful and nice. There wasn’t very many people dining in around 4pm on a weekday, so it was a nice atmosphere.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE! My husband and I went here because I insisted on him trying it and I like it a lot. Edamame for starters and it was perfect. For main course I got a vegetarian stir fry with Chill Garlic sauce, hot sauce and some veggies with Noodles. And ordered their Naan for bread, oooh it Naan is AWESOME.
Th service was very good, I forgot the name of our waiter but he was very friendly, took good care of us, gave us good suggestions. I have been to the downtown chicago location on Wabash and I like this better only because this is a lot quieter than the one in downtown.
Overall, love it, definitely recommend this place to anybody.

This is a 2 pronged review. I’ll start with Flat Top as a whole. I haven’t been to a flat top in about 2 years (but when I did go I would at least 6 times a year) and last night (¹¹⁄₂) I went to this one with my parents. Not only is it NOT ALL YOU CAN EAT anymore (which was a staple for FTG) but also you cannot add your own meat (Proteins) and they took away the Moo Shoo Wraps. Since it’s not all you can eat, if you want a 2^nd bowl it’s $ 4.99. Supposedly this changed 6 months ago. I won’t be coming back to Flat Top anytime soon.
2^nd Prong was the uncleanliness of the restaurant. For a Monday night, it was a good crowd and the servers were busy flying around. I saw the MOD or Floor Manager (wearing the purple polo) just standing around, not doing much. He should’ve picked up a broom and swept near the food station as food was on the floor and in piles. He also could’ve made himself useful and deliver food as it sat on the counter several times (yes whole orders were on the tray ready to be taken to the tables). It would’ve been a stretch to go around asking tables if everything was ok and if they needed something. God forbid.
The 2 stars were for the servers and large cuts of proteins.

They switched the meat to order in advance rather than you scoop bowl much you want from a communal bowl or raw meat, which was a smart move. You still get plenty of meat. I love the stir fry option. Just wish they didnt put the best or most expensive ingredients in the back row, I felt like they were hiding them and that I had to press my face up against the sneeze guard to reach them.

You choose what proteins you want, put a bunch of raw ingredients into a bowl, the chef mixes it together willy nilly on a hot table, then gives it back to you. I guess there is potential for it to taste good if you combine the right ingredients and the right sauces in the exact right amounts and proportions, but I don’t know why you’d need to pay $ 12 for this when you could do this blindfolded at home and get a similar result.

Make you own salad bar and not order from the menu.
Decent ambience but very noisy

I love this place and the food is always great. I used to come here all the time and get take-​out for lunch. They were always happy to serve me and the wait wasn’t too bad.
The inside is pretty small though, so it can get very crowded at times. They also started cracking down on getting multiple bowls of meat, so that ruined all the fun :(

I used to be a big fan of BD’s Mongolian BBQ, but after experiencing Flat Top, I will never look back again. Mostly everything at Flat Top is vastly superior.
Here, you begin by writing your name on a wooden stick to put in your bowl, head up to fill your plate with a good variety of vegetables, sauces, and proteins of your choice. Then you make your way to the grill area, where you can get add-​ons, like turning your meal into a burrito or stew, or sides like their signature thin pancake, or to have cheese added during cooking. (I mean what doesn’t taste better with cheese on it?)
You leave your raw food with your name stick in the pile, and return to your table. Ten minutes later, your server brings you your cooked creation. (It sure beats waiting for some teenager to tell jokes and be cute while your food chars beyond recognition at BDs.)
The selection of ingredients may not be as vast as BDs, but they are of a much higher quality, and the buffet area is much cleaner as well. Plus, it seems more care is put in the preparation, not just a flashy experience. The price is also a bit higher, but worth it. Although you can get an unlimited trip option, one go-​round should fill even the biggest of appetites.

I can’t believe how great this place is. I’ll admit a co-​worker suggested it for a work lunch and I was underwhelmed by the decision. Once I tasted it though, I realized I judged unfairly and this place really IS good.
I’ve been twice in the last few weeks and I’ll probably make it a third again soon. I love that you get your choice of protein (pick up to two) and that the calories are listed for all of the sauces. You can choose rice, noodles, or just make it a veggie overload bowl. The prices for lunch are fair $ 9.99 (add 2.99 if you choose shrimp) With how big I made my bowl, I was able to make it last for two meals. You can also choose add-on’s at the end, including the roti bread, eggs, cheese, or lettuce for lettuce wraps.
The first time I tried the calamari and sausage with terriyaki sauce. I loved it and made it perfect. The second time I got shrimp and sausage and used the chili/​garlic sauce. It wasn’t as good as my first one. I think I added too much zucchini and squash and not enough sauce, so it ended up wth a little too much liquid in the bowl. I’ll have perfected my technique by the 3^rd trip.
Only downside is it’s not really possible to get in and out quickly. They don’t allow call ahead orders, so you have to go in and make everything and wait. If you’re on a time crunch, this might not be an ideal lunch setting.
All of my co-​workers loved their creations and it’s become a favorite lunch spot among our team.

Having been a regular since flattop has opened (in Chicago, Washington blvd) I have to say that the recent changes make the experience far less enjoyable.
— meats are portioned out, like big bowl.
— chicken and beef have been marinated, rather than letting the customer decide on plain or spiced or marinated.
— prices have changed and unlimited option is off the table. Not a big deal from my standpoint, but several customers around us were a bit vocal about this change.
— sauces are in pourable containers, so the ladle concept is out (hard to know how many calories or ladles have been added with the guess and pour method). Good for those with allergies but hard to portion pouring into small paper cups?
— mu shu option gone, replaced with big burrito? Is this Mongolian BBQ or Mexican?
Yes, it’s still named flat top, but it has gone from a 4 – 5 star experience to 2, as it feels as if the investment group has lost touch with some of the things that made flat top great.

Meh. Service done kind of fell off. The servers are kind of lackadaisical. When we came in and were seated, it took quite a few minutes before the server came. It’s not that they were busy. They were just socializing.
Food, meh. U can make some good combinations and you can make some bad ones. Last time I came I made a good dish. This time I made a bad dish. You can’t really consistently get a good meal unless you come here frequently, master a good combination and stick with it. Some people may enjoy this but I can’t see myself returning. I’d rather waist my money on other things.