Flat Top Grill

Update: I guess they’re closed now. More than one person must have thought the changes weren’t the best.
Food: 1
Service: 4
Uniqueness: 3
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My wife and I used to regularly go to Flat Top before they completely changed their layout. You now can’t truly customize your bowls as they flipped out the bowls for sticks.
Also they got rid of their best meat option — the vietnamese sausage. Sad life…

We’ve been here many times. Each time has presented us with the same small hiccups in service. Typically it is turned around before the end of our meal. Case in point: Tonight, it took us reminding our server that we had indeed ordered drinks. He remembered 2/3’s of them and had to ask about the third again. This was redeemed by providing excellent service from that point out.
Selection of tap brew is OK. Tonight I opted for a Coca-​Cola Classic. Food is great. I always go in thinking that I’m not going to have enough to fill me up. Each time I end up bringing home a lunch plate for the next day… or later that night.
I know we’ll go back because of the incredible offering that they provide. However, it’s always a guessing game on which team shows up to wait tables.
Overall: Decent. I am sure that we will return.

A combination of Mongolian grill and stir-​crazy. That being said, it is a great combination. After being seated and picking your options (which proteins you would like) you are given your bowl to proceed to pick from the large assortment of veggies and sauces to add to your meal. The only knock to the system they use is they have you apply the sauce immediately to your bowl, unlike MG where they will add the sauce toward the end of cooking everything. I feel this over cooks the sauce and doesn’t bring as much flavor as adding it on later in the cooking process but it is just my personal preference. Overall the food was fresh and great! I will definitely return.

Screw Mongolian… who needs that when you have the mothership of all stir fry right here in Hilldale Mall? Get that bowl and turn it into the eiffel tower of munchie madness. Oh. And do you like bread? How about pancakes? eat their flat bread and you will never want to leave until you have gained about 600lbs. Mmmmmmm thank you jesus

My family used to go here quite a bit, because you pay one price and then eat as much as you can. The price was a little high, but I guess it depends on how much you end up eating.
It’s nice that you can choose what to eat, but in the end, the food is just okay. Not bad, not good, and we haven’t been back in years. The highlight of every meal is the biscuit/​pancake that you can order on the side — it’s delicious.

My boyfriend and I went to Flattop for a late lunch around 3 on a weekday. There were 2 other tables in the whole restaurant and one server and one manager. The experience started off well and we got our drinks and food quickly. (We did have to ask the manager to refill one of the veggies while we were making our bowls). After we got our lunch, the waitress disappeared!
We needed drink refills and she was no where to be found. The manager seemed to be more preoccupied with chatting with other employees and looking at his phone. We sat with empty drinks for almost 10 minutes and I had to flag our waitress down finally to ask for a refill when she reappeared. Then we had to wait another 5 minutes with empty cups and had finished our food when she brought the refills.
It’s upsetting to pay so much for a fountain beverage and then only get one cup. The food is usually pretty consistent here and it’s too bad that they never deliver on customer service.

I came here about a week ago with a friend. It was about 1:30 pm and it was obviously slow considering it was after the lunch rush.
Our server took about 10 minutes to get our drink order and once we placed it took about 25 minutes to get our food.
Finally, our server hardly checked in with us. When she did, we already finished our food. I used to love coming to flattop but the costumer service will probably not want me to come back again.

I agree with everyone. Quality has gone down on the food and the selection. But our service was excellent. Not sure if we will return.

Its so easy to screw up the food here that it doesn’t seem like a great value. The ingredients on the bar all seemed very fresh and there were tons of options, but it’s really hard to put together something that I really want to eat (particularly sauces). I totally screwed up my bowl because i didn’t get the sauces right. If you want to give it a second shot you have to pay $ 4 for the second bowl (the first bowl is $ 13). My party also asked about the cost of the third bowl and we were told the 3^rd bowl is $ 13, the 4^th is $ 4, and so on. That seems like a weird pricing system and again, not a great value. Atmosphere and wait staff were very nice but I just can’t get behind it. If you want to take the risk of being unhappy with your food and having only yourself to blame, this is the place for you.
Oh and don’t get the whitefish. Several people in my party had it and said it wasn’t fresh.

Been a long time customer. Overall love the food. The first time I didn’t because I didn’t know what type of sauce combo I wanted. After some experimentation I got it down!
They recently went through a change in how you go through the line which makes it much more sanitary. After that all of my complaints were gone.
I typically go during off hours, waits can be an hour plus Friday nights but once I’m seated the food comes surprisingly quick.

Used to love flat top, especially being able to select my own ingredients. The new format of having to tell an employee what and how much I want of an item is annoying at best. It would be the same if a restaurant had a salad bar and you had to ask a server what to put on your plate and how much.
Also have noticed a downgrade in quality of ingredients. For example no red peppers only free and the meat looks as if it were frozen and in the past that was not the case.
It’s too bad because this was one of my favorite spots to hit up before/​after shopping or a movie at Hilldale Mall.

Overall, my first experience at Flat Top was fine.
Positives:
–The ambiance and restaurant cleanliness overall TRUMPS HuHot over on Junction Road. I found myself several times at Flat Top saying, «This place is so much better than HuHot.»
–Raw meat does not sit out at the buffet area. I liked that I had to choose the protein ahead of time through the server.
–Various types of grains are available. I actually went with the quinoa in my dish.
Neutrals:
–The popsicle stick organization method is sort of dorky, but it seemed to work.
Negatives:
–Our server did not tell us that plant-​based proteins were available at the buffet. We already discussed with her that we were first-​time visitors, yet she only ever explained the animal-​based proteins as protein options. I’d already told her my animal protein selection, and then saw later that the buffet had plant proteins.
–Don’t order the white fish as your protein. If you know fish, then you know a very fishy-​tasting white fish is not good. :-(
–Are seconds available? I wasn’t sure if I could go back to the buffet for round two.
All in all, my experience wasn’t great and it wasn’t bad. But it was definitely better than HuHot!

I have to hand it to ya, Flat Top. The people spoke, and you listened. Not only that, but you reached out to me individually (and to others) to address my concerns directly. Kudos.
This location has gone back to the old-​school setup, which allows customers to select their own items and fill up their bowls – allowing you to select exact items and amounts that you want of everything. The buffet is well-​labeled and kept clean, and I felt good overall about that whole setup.
In what I would also consider to be a wise move, they’ve also removed meat from the buffet (why was raw meat ever accessible to customers?). Instead, you note on your table stick which meat (s) you want, and you can mix and match without extra cost (other than shrimp, or if you want double meat).
The colored-​stick system is also back, which makes it much clearer what options are available.
I would still like additional guidance on sauces (how much to use, favorite combos, etc), but the overall system and setup is vastly improved. Thank you!

The food was decent and well-​made, but I don’t really think I’m getting a great value.
Their servers load the bowl for you, which isn’t really how I want to experience what should be a buffet-​style restaurant.
Also not a big fan of the nickel and diming. Want meat? $ 2. Another bowl? Cough up the change. Extra meat? Shell out the cash.
I don’t control portions, yet I get charged for another bowl? Think I’ll opt for a different restaurant next time.

Very disappointed. It used to be one my favorite restaurants in the town: fresh food, reasonable price and the freedom to make my own bowl! Now they changed their system so their ppl make your bowl. AND the female server who made my bowl, on oct 26, was very rude! She was rushing and making sure I didn’t get too much of the food! I’m never coming back again. I will also spread the words to my friends not to come.
Ps: they charged for extra $ 2 for getting proteins, which I didn’t know until I paid! And this was very invisible on the menu!

I used to love this place but my latest visit introduced a completely different flat top experience than I have had before – for the worse. Flat top has always been about self service: you pick whatever veggies, sauces, and protein you like and then they fry it up for you – no judgement. Now, however, you stand in a line – Subway style – while they put however much veggies, sauce, and protein they see fit into your bowl. Want to taste a sauce? You still can if you don’t mind holding up the line behind you. Want more peppers? Sure, just get an annoyed look from the man behind the glass. Flat top created an experience, a brand really, focused around user preference, yet now, with the line and the servers, you no longer create your own bowl as much as you rush to share your preferences with the Flat Top Gods and hope something good comes out the end.
I asked one of the employees why the new experience and she told me it was because customers would spill the ingredients, which was a concern for those with allergies. Which would be completely valid if the new system prevented spilling. But it doesn’t, of course, because the design of the buffet hasn’t changed, only its users. And it was never a user problem, only a design problem. Namely, having three rows of ingredients, especially sauces, ensures that if you’re grabbing from the middle or the furthest row you are likely to spill in a closer row. Now, in fact, because the employees stand on one side of the table they are *more* likely to spill because they never walk around the table to reach the furthest ingredients – at least some customers did that. This isn’t theoretical – I watched employees spill ingredients.
Completely changing their user experience wouldn’t be so bad if they were a well oiled machine but they are far from it. Flat Top has a system where you put sticks in your bowl to add roti, to ensure it’s cooked separately if you have an allergy, etc. In the old Flat Top, you put these sticks in yourself; in the new Flat Top you ask them to do it for you. I asked for both of the above, but for some reason the dish came to the table without roti. It would be reasonable to assume it was not cooked separately, too, if they forgot the roti wouldn’t it? Wasn’t this new system supposed to be all about accommodating those with allergies?
Anyway, when a server came with my food and I asked for the roti that was supposed to (but failed to) come with my meal I also asked for a side of rice – something that has never been a problem at flat top and something the server said she would bring. But it never came.
If flat top wants my service again they need to get their act together. If they are concerned about spilling ingredients, design a buffet table that makes that harder, don’t just hire folks to take the enjoyable experience from your customers. And make sure requests from customers don’t get lost in translation.
I miss you, Flat Top. Please come back.

The new process is awful. Instead of picking out your own ingredients, you are served Subway-​style, which makes it less customized and MUCH less efficient.
When I walked in, there was a line out the door. Once I sat down, there were no sticks to identify my bowl, and the server took quite a while to arrive, so I ended up behind a group of 12. Then the new process of communicating your ingredients to staff took much longer. Additionally, they appeared understaffed (for a Friday lunch hour? That seems like a predictable rush time), so everything took longer. (This visit was well over an hour, which seems like a long time for fastish food.) Don’t plan on this place for a quick lunch stop.
Most staff were friendly, with the exception of the brusque rice-​serving woman who seemed annoyed at her job. (Did you want me to have food allergies? Why so upset??)
I used to really enjoy FTG, much more than others like it (Hu Hot, etc.). However, I don’t think I’ll be recommending or returning anytime soon, especially with better, local options so nearby.

Have come here many times before. Today I learned of the new change. Don’t care for it. It makes no sense to have someone «walk» you through a salad bar style setup. Aside from having to manipulate the person like a voice activated puppet for each and ever thing you want added they skimp on stuff. 4 shrimp graced my bowl. 4. The quality of the food also seems to have dropped. They either need to switch to a menu with dish choices or go back to the old method.
I won’t be coming back. All through my meal I stared out the window at Great Dane with longing. They may be saving money on their stock but they will not be making any more off of me after today.

Flat top has changed their «self service» system to a «we stand behind a glass and you tell us you want system.» So basically they’re now the «Subway» of «Asian Fusion» restaurants. They claim it’s for sanitary reasons. However, it doesn’t really feel like that. The waitress told us we could ask for more toppings when we were up there. However, when we went up to get our food, we were hastily rushed through the line, and basically given a feeling that they didn’t want us asking for more. I also noticed they gave one girl (who happened to be quite attractive) in line more service and time to choose, while rushing every one behind her to pick and move on. If this means I am quite ugly, so be it. I’m not into men either.
When we came back to our table, we found two people sitting right next to our two chair table. This may sound like a petty complaint, but the place place was very empty. They could have seated them a table or so away. It felt like we couldn’t enjoy a real conversation with out listening out there’s too.
I also noted a lot of unhappy faces from the waitstaff. The servers morale seemed pretty low from all of this changes, and it shows in the service. I also noticed the costumers across the room seemed pretty disappointed in the changes, and overall atmosphere.
DATE of visit: 9÷5÷2014.

Consistently good food, reasonable price, and friendly staff.
I generally prefer Flat Top to the Huhot in town. They are the same basic concept, just that Flat Top has a few points in its favor.
First, it’s a bit less chaotic. Huhot is more kid friendly, but that comes at a price. Flat Top is non nonsense and you’ll get in and out faster.
Next, the ingredients. At Flat Top, the meats are fresh and marinated, whereas they are mostly frozen at Huhot. I can definitely taste the difference.
The sauces at Flat Top seem to be designed to complement each other better than at Huhot. I have never made a bad bowl there, but I have made some bad decisions at Huhot.
Lastly, the roti prata bread (essentially thick tortilla) is amazing. A couple pieces of that and your bowl will become a second meal of leftovers.