The Melting Pot - La Jolla

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1. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Las Vegas

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 12, 2020

   overall4food4service4ambience4

   Great first time experience. Make sure you have room in your stomach and on your credit card as a full meal there is very filling but will put a dent in your wallet.we opted for the full course meal and it met all expectations. Slight learning curve on how it all works but easy to figure out. Food was excellent and both the cheese and broth selections were very good. The dessert was amazing. We went with the s'mores and had them flambeau it (even though it wasn't necessary). Service was good and staff was very helpful.

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2. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on January 6, 2020

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   Wonderful, opted for just cheese and drinks this time. Exquisite as always!

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3. LB

   LBWJr

   Orange County

   51 reviews

   3.0

   51 reviews

   Dined on January 1, 2020

   overall3food4service4ambience1

   We went for desert for New Years Eve, even though the restaurant was not busy, the floors and tables were filthy. Because we had to guarantee with a credit card, they wanted to charge us a $100 cancel fee so we stayed. I would not recommend this place for dinner or for desert unless they spend some time cleaning their restaurant to make it acceptable to dine.

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4. MG

   MarcusG

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 1, 2020

   overall1food1service1ambience1

   We had horrible service, we had to wait over 30 minutes for one of our entrees to be brought out and when I went to ask someone what was taking so long, they brought the food out, when we first arrived we had 3 different people tell us they were going to be our waiter. It wasnt very busy at all. We almost left because they were taking so long. Honestly we wont be going back at all.

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5. KE

   KElly

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 1, 2020

   overall1food1service1ambience1

   Service was extremely slow, waiter got our order wrong, waiter had open gash on hand as he mixes our food. Food was poor tasting and extremely over priced. Will never return to a poorly planned “event” with nothing they advertised happened and our busses was extremely rude. Also, didn’t even consider the injuries party I was with a forced us to take the stairs. Never again

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6. DL

   DavidL

   San Antonio

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 1, 2020

   overall4food4service5ambience4

   I always enjoy going to The Melting Pot. This time was not quite what I expected. It appeared our cable did not heat the cooking pot adequately and took our food longer than normal to cook. Prices even for New Year's Eve or rather extravagant. I am not a big fan of having gratuity automatically included on a dinner for just two people.

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7. L

   Lethal3324

   Sacramento

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on December 31, 2019

   overall5food5service5ambience5

   It is definitely an experience! Don't rush--relax and enjoy. Variety of choices will make each visit unique!

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8. MM

   MeghanM

   San Diego

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on December 23, 2019

   overall1food1service1ambience1

   Couple of things. 1. I know they were short staffed, but for something we had to cook ourselves, waiting almost 2 hours to get the food was not great. 2. The food itself, while most of it is completely tasteless, the “soup” you cook your meat in is not flavorful and makes all the meat; steak, chicken, shrimp taste seriously terrible. The cheese mixture was bland and unenjoyable with veggies that tasted like they were left out. Also, celery, broccoli, gross yellow apples and cherry tomatoes are what they serve you for the cheese fondue. And literally it’s old produce. The salad was not edible. The Strawberries for desert were clearly old. We both got sick after eating everything. 3. We went there for what was supposed to be a Star Wars theme. That was incredibly lackluster. The only thing they did was take the food from the regular menu, make a new “fun” Star Wars menu with Star Wars names to the food. Their add indicated they would have food and drinks shaped like Star Wars characters. There was nothing. They put as little thought into it as possible, but labeled it Star Wars to get a crowd. The decorations looked like a thoughtless amazon purchase.. with the same cheap/terrible things every other wall. The only two characters repeatedly displayed were yoda and r2d2. 4. The price. Outrageous in my opinion. I don’t mind spending money if the food is good, atmosphere and service are on point, but it wasn’t. It was 100$ for two meals and no alcohol, just tea. I will never go to another melting pot, ever. Again. Nor would even remotely recommend it. In fact, I now go out of my way to tell people not to waste their money.

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9. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   New York Area

   5 reviews

   vip
   1.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on December 21, 2019

   overall1food1service5ambience2

   Cannot recommend coming here if you want to cook your food

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10. DR

    DarlaR

    Orange County

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 15, 2019

    overall1food1service3ambience1

    Terrible, food portions were horrible. We paid $250 for the surf and turf and it was not what we expected. You're better off getting a $250 surf and turf at a steakhouse. Unfulfilling when we left and very disappointed.

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11. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    5 reviews

    vip
    2.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on December 15, 2019

    overall2food3service2ambience2

    The service was poor and not knowledgeable for friendly. The ambiance hadn’t changed in 10 plus years and was dated. For the amount of money I would much rather have gone to a nice steak house. Not worth it....

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12. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    Houston

    15 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    15 reviews

    Dined on December 8, 2019

    overall3food2service5ambience3

    Service was stellar. The food just is not that good in my opinion. Felt like I spent $150 on the cheese appetizer salad and banana fosters. The meat is not all that good boiled. Waiter was great though every step of the way.

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13. MO

    MONICAM

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 23, 2019

    overall3food4service2ambience5

    The service was awful, it took 40 minutes to even have our drink order taken. The waiter barely said anything to us. Having been to different melting pots, I've experienced great service, wait staff who are not in a rush, engaging, offer insight and information about the menu and how everything works. He offered none of that. The food was good, aside from the ravioli, music and ambiance were good. But at a place like melting pot, the service makes up more than half the experience. I was left underwhelmed, if i hadn't had previous good experiences, I would not return nor recommend melting pot.

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14. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 23, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Special event put on by the Melting Pot... that my 6-year old daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed ❤️

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15. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    New England

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on November 21, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    My friend’s and I love going to the melting pot. We were probably the loudest group in the restaurant. Most people were celebrating something special, but we love the fun drinks and the amazing food.

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16. RK

    ReKo

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 17, 2019

    overall1food1service1ambience1

    We arrived for our reservation and the hostesses treated us like we were a bother. Our dinner took almost 3 hours despite ordering everything at once. The meat was brought to the table still frozen, the fruit for dessert was frozen, the restaurant has outdated decor and is in need of a deep cleaning. AND we got the pleasure of paying $360 for the experience. Not to mention the tacky sign about a surcharge to cover costs. Pretty sure that isn’t necessary as the food is so over priced and low quality. We will never be back.

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17. LP

    LeslieP

    San Diego

    12 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    12 reviews

    Dined on November 11, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Wonderful birthday dinner with exceptional waitress!

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18. JP

    JenP

    San Diego

    5 reviews

    3.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on November 10, 2019

    overall3food2service5ambience5

    Our food was okay, prices are exorbitant service was great I won't be returning

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19. JJ

    JessicaJ

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 10, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    THE MELTING POT WAS GREAT! OUR WAITER WAS PROMPT ON ALL OUR COURSES (DID THE "FOR TWO" OPTION) THE FOOD WAS GREAT. NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT. MY HUSBAND AND I ALWAYS ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE OF THE MELTING POT.

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20. JM

    JeanM

    San Diego

    3 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on November 9, 2019

    overall3food3service3ambience3

    The Melting Pot menu has changed many times over the years, and not necessarily for the better. The “create your own” option is no longer available for the entree component. It appears the mushroom salad has also been removed. While the menu is shrinking, the price is increasing. The dining experience is no longer worth the price. During our particular visit the strawberries in the dessert fondue were overripe and mushy- this has never been the case in the past. I have dined at The Melting Pot (in various cities) approximately 15-25 times over the years, so I have a basis to compare.

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21. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 26, 2019

    overall2food2service1ambience4

    Sat in bar area

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22. RS

    RobinS

    San Diego

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on October 20, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Great meal!!!

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23. TD

    TeeDeeLynn

    Hawaii

    21 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    21 reviews

    Dined on October 14, 2019

    overall3food3service3ambience2

    We have been taking my son to The Melting Pot for his birthday for the last 8 years. Sometimes there are 4 of us. At other times, we have had over 12 there with us to celebrate. This most recent time, there were 5 of us: 2 adults and 3 teenage boys. Our reservation was at 7:15 on a Sunday. It was not crowded and we were seated immediately. However, it took a long time to get even water delivered to our table. Each of us ordered the 4-course experience with 3 choices of meat. When the cheese fondue arrived, we received 2 platters of various items to dip into the cheese. The amount of cheese in each of the fondue pots (we had 2 different styles), though, was barely enough to feed 3 of us, let alone 5, and I noticed the sparsity right away. In the countless times I have been to The Melting Pot, we rarely, if ever, finish all of the cheese. This time, it was gone quickly, with plenty of dipping items left . This tells me we did not receive the amount we should have for 5 people. The rest of the dinner went well and our waiter was attentive to the allergy concerns we had for 2 of our guests. The dessert was excellent, as always. But, the most disappointing part of the night was the lack of acknowledgement of my son's birthday. I had let the hostess know about his birthday before we were seated and she made clear that she knew which boy was celebrating. However, the waiter never said a word and before we knew it, we had paid the bill and he disappeared. Like I said, we have celebrated MANY birthdays at The Melting Pot, my son's and others; we've always had birthdays recognized with some sort of dessert and candle so that we could sing. The Melting Pot is not an inexpensive restaurant, running approximately $70/person. It's no secret that you are paying for the novelty of "fondue," not special food or a special chef. It is critical that the waiters pay attention to the details to make the experience worth the money.

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24. SD

    SD17

    San Diego

    7 reviews

    vip
    2.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on October 13, 2019

    overall2food3service2ambience2

    Service is extremely slow. We sat for 30min before ordering food, after already waiting 30 minutes for our table. The server was very nice but every time he came to our table, it was to apologize because he had other tables with urgent requests, so we’d be waiting some more. And these weren’t quick waits...hence the 30minute wait to order our dinners. My fiancé and I saw that the melting pot advertises “a 2-2.5 hour fine dining experience” and I guess that’s what we got...we sat there for 2.5 hours and while I wouldn’t say it was good, it was certainly an experience!

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25. D

    Darkavich

    San Diego

    8 reviews

    4.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on October 9, 2019

    overall4food5service3ambience5

    Service was a bit slow but food was really good. Prices went up a bit so it’s slowly getting out of the price range of a casual date

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26. BJ

    BillieJoY

    New England

    4 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on September 30, 2019

    overall4food4service5ambience4

    Family dinner out

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27. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on September 28, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    It was a great experience! Thank you!

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28. B

    Bulls23337

    San Diego

    10 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    10 reviews

    Dined on September 28, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Our waitress was the best! She was the most personable and happy we've had in a long time. She loved talking to our 2 year old and 1 year old boys and was very sweet. She even wrote us a nice poem on our receipt to congratulate us on our 4th wedding anniversary and 3rd baby on the way. The food was also great as usual. We love The Melting Pot!

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29. AM

    ArmandoM

    San Diego

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on September 28, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience4

    Great food and enjoyable experience. Popular restaurant so highly recommend making reservation prior to visit.

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30. b

    babs

    San Diego

    18 reviews

    5.0

    18 reviews

    Dined on September 26, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    The Melting Pot is always delicious. Tonight we had excellent service from check in to check out. We took advantage of the SD Restaurant Week menu, and it was perfect. The choices were good and the servings were just right.

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31. H

    Holly

    San Diego

    42 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    42 reviews

    Dined on September 22, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    My family and I love the place, the food and everyone. I have never ever for the past 10-12 years had a bad experience. It’s is so rare to see this with any restaurant these days.

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32. OT

    OpenTable Diner

    San Diego

    7 reviews

    vip
    2.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on September 14, 2019

    overall2food5service3ambience4

    Everything was fine. I had requested a private booth. I could be wrong but they should be upstairs, either way, the hostess but us in the middle isle. Which isn’t conducive to a romantic date.

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33. T

    Terry

    San Diego

    19 reviews

    5.0

    19 reviews

    Dined on September 14, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Always a great meal and service.

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34. SS

    SarahS

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 7, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Chose The Melting Pot for our Date night. We are new to the relationship but the ambiance was perfect, we opted for rose pedals on the table. Our server Leah was so expressive and attentive, the establishment is truly lucky to have her advocating for them. She made our experience that much better. We like the locating of the table but would have preferred to have the fondue burner in the center of the table vices the corner, it made cooking a little hard as we had to reach pretty far to cook our items. Overall, the experience was incredible, prices were reasonable, and the establishment is everything you would want it to be. Highly recommend!

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35. S

    Sassydawnb

    San Diego

    55 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    55 reviews

    Dined on September 7, 2019

    overall4food5service1ambience4

    This food is always good, and it’s always a fun experience it was my daughters birthday and the service was absolutely horrible! The waitress forgot the children’s chicken, we had to ask her twice and we were halfway done with our dinner (my kids eating half of mine because they didn’t have their food). She forgot to tune off the heat and the sauce burned (another waiter came over because it was smoking so badly and stunk so badly and turned it off). We had to ask her multiple times for replacement stuff (!bring the Panko breadcrumbs but not the mixture to put them on!!!). With two small kids we waited FOREVER FOR THE CHECK. This is a long dinner and with two young children a waitress needs to notice its time to go. But then she forgot their meal and were starving so she was completely oblivious.

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36. KO

    KatherineO

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 6, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    I always love coming here. It’s fun for a special occasion but also for a simple night out with friends. Their cooking class is also very fun.

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37. SS

    StephanieS

    San Diego

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on September 2, 2019

    overall5food4service5ambience5

    Very good! Next time I will skip entree. The cheese, salad and chocolate were awesome.

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38. M

    Marci

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 1, 2019

    overall1food1service1ambience4

    Had reservations for a birthday dinner for my boyfriend. This was our first time at this restaurant. We've heard great things! Our reservation was set for 8:30 pm. However we were running a tad late. I called around 8:15 letting the hostess know we are running about 15 minutes late. She said it was not a problem. Finally arrived to the restaurant at 8:45 pm after trying to figure out the parking situation. Greeted by the host who said we would be sat shortly. The restaurant didn't seem too busy at the time so we thought it would be fairly quick. We sat in the front for about 15 minutes. They finally called us up to be seated. After we were sat we waiting around 5-7 minutes for the server to come to our table ( which is not bad) after the server greeted us we let them know that we had a group-on and wanted to know how ordering worked since we have never been to The Melting Pot before. The server explained to us how to order each entree and then asked if we would like anything to drink while reviewing the menu. My partner and I both asked for a glass or water. After about 12 minutes after we asked for our beverages we were fed up with the service. It wouldn't have been such a big fuss if we would have been told there is a bit of a wait . We decided to leave and go to a different restaurant for the birthday celebration. As it being our first time our first impression was not very good. Of course we are going to try the restaurant again since we have a group-on we already purchased. Maybe we'll try going during the week when its not as busy so we can get better service. Fingers crossed next time is better! Food smelt great when we walked in.

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39. M

    Melody

    San Diego

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 28, 2019

    overall4food4service3ambience4

    There were little gnats buzzing around our table throughout the meal. This was mildly annoying and the server said it was a problem. The food was luxurious and it would have been perfect if the server, Riner, had been more attentive. I had to ask twice for my beer and my niece asked for her dressing on the side and we didn’t get that. He was preoccupied. The other server, Chase, picked up the slack.

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40. MF

    MonicaF

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 28, 2019

    overall5food5service5ambience5

    Our server was definitely very personable and attentive. The food was absolutely amazing I will be back next year

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