The Melting Pot

I was really upset with this restaurant. I was turn away because I didn’t have an appointment. I will never go there again, and I will also tell all my friends and family nor to go there.
You lost a customer for life.

It’s really sad when your done eating and then go across the street to Ez Take Out Burgers (in the same shopping center) and get a meal because the Melting Pot left you hungry. I mean really, we ordered the combo that came with shrimp, beef, and chicken… Now I get 6 small bite size pieces of meat and 2 shrimp… For $ 27 bucks, give me a break. Worse experience ever, no wonder it was empty.

*****CLOSED AS OF 8/​15/​2011*****
Great resturant. sad to see it gone :-(

I went here for Mother’s Day. It’s not kid friendly place for young ones. This place was clean and server was good and funny. Didnt care for the Hostess. I wouldnt mind coming back with friends.

Fondue!!! My wife and I recently celebrated our 6 year anniversary and we wanted to do something special. My wife was an OPER in Siwtzerland for a year and the one thing she remembers enjoying the most was fondue. So when we heard of the melting pot serving fondue we were all for it. We decided to go to Temecula because the one in San Diego just sounds like a headache. Trying to find parking would be a headache. When we arrived we found the environment to be quiet and kinda gloomy. It was dark in there. But still nice.
The waitress was very pleasant and very helpful. Since it was our first time there she made sure to make us feel comfortable and helped us along the way with our selections. It was a four course meal:
First it was the cheese fondue and that was very tasty… they brought us a Chorizo fondue… wasnt what I was expting, it was good… but nothing like the Fondue I had in Mexico.
Second Course was a salad… which was very refreshing ceviche salad. I must say that it was the perfect amount because the first course was so rich and filling.
Third course was your choice of one of a variety of steak, chicken and seafood accompanied by dipping sauces and vegetables.
Final course was a delicious chocolate fondue… and man… it was awesome… there were fruits and marshmallows. I was so please but so full. For everything it was worhth what we paid…
The service was great the food dantastic… I would do it again… but next time with a group of friends. My wife and I had a wonderful anniversary date.

I loved it… expectations exceeded.
It has been 13 years since I last graced a Melting Pot. It was back when they used traditional fondue pots and your entrée took 45 minutes before it was ready. Now they have an electric panel in the middle of the granite table, and your entrée takes about 5 minutes. Great improvement.
THE PLACE: The décor is goregeous. it’s very sleek & sophisticated with dark wood accents, and a waterfall against a plexiglass wall as you first walk in. The tables are made of beautiful multi-​colored granite. It feels sexy inside with the place being dimly lit and beautiful music wafting from above. The bar is great with multiple large screen t.v.‘s showing the latest games.
THE SERVICE: Chris, our server was very efficient and easy to be around. He was very accomodating, giving us extra cheese fondue in lieu of a salad. The manager came by and was great as well, offering extra fruit for the chocolate fondue, and they even give a 20% discount for all Military & Veterans!
THE FOOD: The food was much better than I had anticipated. For starters, we got the cheddar cheese fondue. It has a beer base and my wouth is watering just thinking about it again! lol My favorite type of bread to go with it were the rye squares-​orgasmic! They could have given more bread as there was quite a bit of cheese fondue left over-​but it’s a minor point.
For our entrée, we got the steak & shrimp in the mojo broth. The mushrooms and potatoes were great in the broth as well. It was SO flavorful, infused with real limes and fresh cilantro. It was a fabulous taste bud explosion! The sauces exceeded our expectations as well & we found ourselves eating them straight out of the little serving dishes! I believe the sauces were terriyaki, plum sauce, blue cheese, & sour cream and chive.
For dessert came the smores chocolate fondue with bananas, strawberries, pineapple, chocolate marshmallows, and real cheesecake. We were in heaven for sure.
SUMMARY: Fondue meals are a rare treat and it was a fabulous experience! The food was so flavorful and cravable. Plus, it was a nice surprise that they give 20% off for Military and Veterans. And to top it off, they called the next day to see how we liked our dining experience! (They must have gotten the number from their caller id when we called for reservations.) That’s a first for sure and we’re already planning our next visit!

My bf and I came here for my birthday dinner and it was our first time trying the melting pot and i can honestly say it did not live up to my expectations. We had the cheddar and beer fondue, which was good but i wish there was more flavor.
For our entrees, I ordered the the LAND & SEA which had the new york strip, chicken breast and white shrimp. The bf got THE FRENCH QUARTER which had the filet mignon, chicken breast, shrimp with a cajun seasoning and andouille sausage. We cooked it in the COQ AU VIN style. OKAY, so i really thought that the meats were already seasoned and cooked. It turns out, the meats come out in bite size pieces and it’s uncooked. I didn’t know we were gonna cook them in a pot of that red wine. It came with a bazillion sauces to dip with.
Overall, i couldn’t understand what was so special about this place. It’s like
hotpot. The only thing that is MAYBE worth coming here to try is the cheese fondue and the dessert fondue, THAT’S IT! You can easily make both at home and have a fondue party anyways. that would be a lot better. Thank goodness i had the
coupon to try this place out. I wouldn’t have been a happy camper to pay 90 bucks for some cheese, veggies and little pieces of meat. If you really wanna go just for the experience, be my guest but honestly, just make yourself some cheese fondue at home.

I made a reservation for 5 people for 8pm Feb 14^th — Valentines Day. We got to the restaurant at 7:50pm and checked in. First thing we noticed was the strange smell. It smelled like taco meat… We did not get seated until 8:25pm. First impression was bad!
Upon finally getting seated I noticed there were open tables everywhere. Even couples (2-​people) that had reservations at 8pm were waiting (we all compared notes by the from door!). Why the long wait when we all had reservations???
There was a guy playing guitar and singing in the bar area. While he was talented, the song selection was a joke for Valentines — he was playing «Facts of Life», «Different Stokes» and other 70’s tv show music. What??? On Valentines Day!!!
Our waitress was not very friendly — it was out first time at The Melting Pot so we had questions about how to order. She was not patient and seemed like she did not care what we ordered. The fondue and dippers were good but the overall experience was not! I will think twice about visiting or recommending the melting pot to anyone.
One side note — The bartender gave us our drinks and our fondue. He was very friendly — not sure what our waitress was there for???

Ambient, cool, lots of wine, staff friendly and courteous, prices on the higher end of dinner entrees ($ 80) per couple for three course meal plus round of wine. Would only recommend on special occasions or if you like wine in everything.
Cheese fondue had white wine blend, chocolate fondue had wine in it (red?) and main entrée had chicken broth in wine. Get 1 round of drinks and you’ll be toasty. The main entrée was a smörgåsbord of meats we dip into rolling wine broth then after cooking we serve with a choice of dipping sauces. Sauces were really good.

Fondue FAIL.
I came here for some kind of lady’s night special, which included a salad and 3 pots of fondue. We ordered the Cheddar Cheese Fondue, Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue, and the Chocolate Fondue Dessert.
They put on a show for you as they make each pot of fondue. Flames of fire and splashes of special ingredients all in one pot. It was a food spectacular. The savory fondues came with an assortment of bread, vegetables, and apples; all perfect bite sized pieces for dipping. But on the down side, they only gave refills on apples and some bread, no matter how much fondue you had left.
I did NOT like the cheddar cheese fondue at all. The beer overwhelmed the cheesy flavor, making it horribly bitter and gross! My sister actually got sick from the fondue that she yacked on the street on our way home. So, I definitely stuck to the Spinach artichoke cheese fondue, which was creamy and not too sharp. The chocolate fondue was as good as one would expected. I love chocolate anything.
The overall experience was ok, but the price was ridiculous. $ 20 per person for a salad and cheese. WHAT?!? Really, it wasn’t all that special. I wouldn’t even say it’s worth checking out once. You’re better off melting a chunk of Velveta in your own home.

How many times do you take your wife or date to a fondue place? Wait… have you even heard of a fondue place? If you havent been to a fondue restaruant you are in for a treat.
Now first, Brace yourself, this meal will be longer than a usual meal because you are cooking all the food in the fondue, and two it is expensive. But it is soo worth it. The food is amazing. You will amaze your date with a meal here… SUPER ROMANTIC!
To take the sting off the checkbook a couple of tricks.
1. Use your American Express points to get a gift card using your points.
2. Go to a happy hour, drinks are reasonably priced and the cheese courses and dessert courses are discounted.
3. The name is Misleading… But YES GUYS CAN GO TO THE GIRLS NIGHT OUT… TO MEET GIRLS OR JUST GO GRUB. They run meal and drink specials on certain day for the ladies night so check with the restaurant when they run those promos.
Big Hits:
The Cheddar and Beer Fondue: Seriously something is wrong with you if you dont like the combo of Cheddar and Beer
The Green Goddess Sauce on anything. It comes with the main course as a sauce and goes really well with everything, especially steak
LASTLY… SUPER SECRETS below
The Piesporter Wine here is AMAZING!
Ask for the SNICKERS CHOCOLATE FONDUE… ITS NOT ON THE MENU BUT IT IS GOOD!

Cost: it’s expensive with no coupons 0 stars.
Atmosphere: romantic lighting 1 star
Staff: hostess was good but our server was okay .5 star
Food: it was okay nothing stood out except… .5 star
Bonus 1 star the dessert! I would come here again for the dessert!

This was my first time visiting the Melting Pot. I went with my husband and we are looking forward to returning to use the free fondue coupon we were emailed when we joined the Fondue Club.
The menu is pretty pricey and for that reason, this is not a place we would eat at frequently. I am vegetarian and I chose some kind of thai lettuce wrap thing instead of one of the meat fondue options. It was just okay, my husband agreed. I would not order that again.
We also got a cheese fondue that had beer in it and we both thought that was delicious. They gave us apples, cauliflower, celery, carrots, and couple different types of bread to dip into the cheese. Our server Katie told us we could get free refills of any of the dippers. She was very sweet.
For dessert we got the oreo fondue with dark chocolate and it was my favorite item of the meal. They brought out a good selection of dippers, including rice krispie treats, cheesecake, strawberries, oreo crumb marshmellows, graham cracker crumb marshmellow, and brownies. In the future I would probably just go there for the dessert options and I think next time I will ask them to only bring the dippers I like best.
The parking was also great – maybe because we went during happy hour and it was pretty slow. The happy hour deals were nice and we did get a couple drinks since they were discounted.

This was our second time here. The first time, we made reservations. This time we had to wait about 15 minutes. Also the first time we did their menu and did the big night out and it set us back about 150.
You are paying for an experience. Its set very nice and each table has a cubical style wall so its private. They put a show on for you while everything cooks.
The only suggestion I can make is that skip the meal, just go to the cheese and dessert and order some drinks. We bought a
gift certificate for 25 off 35. So after ordering cheese and dessert, it was a little over 20 dollars with tip. Very good deal if you do that. Otherwise it can set you back alot.

Disappointed with what was supposed to be a special occasion. It was my girlfriends birthday, and she was looking forward to enjoying our wine club wine with dinner from our favorite winery nearby.
Most restaurants will open your own wine for a corkage fee, but as we were seated, the hostess informed us they would not allow us to open our wine. the waiter soon followed with a lame excuse about how their liquor license would not allow it.
truly disappointing, especially since there were no reasonably priced wines worth drinking. we did buy a bottle of wine, but were truly disappointed with it also.
We wont be back.

My husband I stopped in here on a Saturday late afternoon, before the dinner rush, and immediately got seats without a reservation. I thought this was a fluke, but apparently no one in the IE has discovered the awesomeness of fondue because it continued to be totally devoid of people throughout the 2 hours it took for our meal (for those of you unfamiliar with fondue, that’s generally how long it takes to eat fondue, so that’s not a complaint).
Food: I LOVE fondue and could really live off of the cheese portion. Since this is a chain, it’s not really all that spectacular in terms of originality, but it’s still worth every penny. I’m partial to the more traditional cheeses and chocolates, rather than the strange concoctions The Melting Pot chain has come up with — I’ll take a plain cheddar or Swiss cheese and just a plain chocolate (no peanut butter, marshmallow, etc.), but I’m sure other people will disagree. The meats are always fresh and plentiful for the entrée portion, but I wish they would offer a grill option, rather than either boiling or deep frying, but either way, the coq au vin is always the tastiest way I’ve found with the options provided by The Melting Pot. If you’re into mixed martini drinks, the Meltini and Love Tini are amazing! Like liquid candy!
Service: I’m not sure if it was just because it was really dead in there, but we had something like 3 servers helping us at any given time. They were all friendly and helpful, but bordering on annoying because they were all over us since they were apparently bored.
Atmosphere: The table 4 tables down from us was obnoxiously loud and no one said anything to them to ask them to keep it down. I heard every minute of the dumbest conversation about pumpkin and missing arms and would have changed tables to the other side of the restaurant if we weren’t already so far into our meal. The lady who was seated at a table closer to them actually DID move. Overall, though, the restaurant is clean and comfortable. I didn’t like the sports bar feel on the side we were sitting, as I don’t think of fondue being synonymous with watching baseball or basketball, or whatever inane sport was on at the time.
Summary: Fondue is awesome and if you’re craving some, go here, but I would recommend trying the one in San Diego if you’re looking for a REAL fondue experience without TVs everywhere and actually like dining with other patrons who won’t talk at 180 decibels. Love the food at any one of The Melting Pot chains, but some locations are just better than others. I still give it 3 stars because of the food.

I came here during the NBA Finals with my best friend and sister. We’d always take advantage of the Ladies Night special when the Melting Pot in Rancho Cucamonga was open, but since that one has closed, we came to the next closest one for cheese, drinks, and entrees.
Let me say one thing, the only gripe I had about this location was that the hostess was no where to be found! My sister arrived before my friend and I did, and the restaurant was pretty empty (maybe 5 tables) most likely because of the NBA Finals going on. The Melting Pot isn’t exactly sports bar material (thank god!). After we waited about 5 minutes trying to call my sister, we walked around and found a server doubling as the hostess and she sat us right away in a nice big booth in the bar area (my sister’s request) with a view of the television that had the game on (another request of my sister!).
We had drinks first, and I must say their Yin & Yang martini is so good, you’ll want one for before and after your meal! We were super hungry so we ordered California salads right away and they came in a few minutes. We ordered the cheddar cheese fondue and the spinach artichoke cheese fondue which were delicious as usual. The cheddar cheese fondue had a little more beer taste than I remember but it was all the better!
We got different entrees, my sister got the Pacific Rim, my best friend got the French Quarter, and I got the Signature Selection. The cooking style we went with was the Court Bouillon since it seemed a safe choice, and it was. They entrees were all tasty and I used my handy iPhone timer to time the cooking of the meats, I just wish they gave us more potatoes. I could have asked, but I didn’t. My fault. Another thing I wanted to ask for (but didn’t) was more of the dipping sauce that was like a creamy white and green dip. I completely forgot the name, but we went through it so fast because we were stuffing the mushroom caps with it.
Usually we’d get dessert but we were so full from ordering 2 cheese fondues we had to pass. But I’ve had the S’mores, the Cookies & Cream, and the Flaming Turtle chocolate fondues, and they’ve all been excellent.
I do recommend signing up for the Club Fondue, you get a free chocolate fondue certificate for your birthday, and if applicable, another one for your anniversary if you celebrate it there. They also have little promos about once a month they’ll send you so it’s not annoying spam.
I’ll be coming back here for Ladies Night soon to treat 2 of my girlfriends that have not had fondue before, but at the Temecula location I guess Ladies Night is a designated day of the month. The former Rancho location had Ladies Night every Monday and you would get a house cocktail or wine, salad, cheese fondue, and chocolate fondue for $ 30/​person.
Overall, the Melting Pot is a wonderful food experience (plan to be here at least 2 — 3 hours if you’re doing 3 or more courses). It is on the pricey side, but what good food isn’t? The service was very timely and attentive (with the exception of the missing hostess), and us girls had a wonderful time.

I LOVE this place! It’s a little bit on the pricey side, but sooooo worth it. It’s a dining experience. The Melting Pot in Temecula is set up so that each couple has their own private little area. It’s almost like you have the place all to yourself. The service here is outstanding. The food is amazing, although the chocolate fondue was waaaaay too rich for my taste (worried that I instantly developed diabetes). The pomegranate margaritas were outstanding. Dinner lasted about 2 hours… and I didn’t mind spending the $ 160 at all. It was well worth it.
That being said, I don’t think fondue is for everyone (kinda like sushi). And a lot of the experience is of your own making; for example, although there is an overall theme each month, you get to make several choices, i.e., salad, broth, dessert, etc. And you «cook» the food yourself. The lobster we got was some of the best I’ve had… but if you cook it too long…
If you’re looking for cheap eats, try McDonalds. If you’re looking for a dining experience, this is the place to be in Temecula.

Pricey, but a great date night! Not sure I would bring the kids, but mostly just because of the expense. The Big Date Night was dinner for two and $ 89. We are stuffed! The food was very good and different from what we’d normally eat. Our server was very helpful in walking us through the fondue process and recommending the different dishes. He was on the ball and attentive enough to us. Now we’re ready for a nap! It’s a little expensive, but you’ll be full!

Very pricey, but we left full. It was a new experience, but not worth doing the full thing again. The dessert was amazing.
For as nice and pricey as it was, they shouldn’t serve chipped ceramic-​ware. There were only 3 parties in the whole place for crying out loud, use a solid plate! Also, the restrooms had not been cleaned in quite awhile, or else their staff is very sloppy in there… also, it being such a nice bathroom with such beautiful amenities.
No beer on tap, only by the bottle, but has a full wine selection.