HuHot Mongolian Grill — Restaurant in Ankeny

It has been a minute since we visited last. It was a Friday evening right at about 6pm. We were able to walk right in and be seated immediately. The noise level was high as there was a good amount of people here today and they were making lots of noise at the grill. 5 stars for the waitress. She was quick, attentive and helpful with any questions. It really speaks volumes for the staff to continuously have good reviews. I wasn't hungry enough to have the buffet and didn't think I would eat my fill of what it cost. We decided to get the Taste of Bounty Appetizer sampler. You get 3 of each of their fried appetizers. There is crab rangoon, wantons and rolls. The sampler was good. All items were fried and served with a sweet and sour sauce. I also ordered a house salad to have with the appetizer. The waitress really talked up the made in house ranch so I took the bait. The salad was just iceberg chunks, couple cucumber slices, tomatoes and croutons. The ranch was really good. She also brought a bowl of white rice to go with the buffet purchase, but you really don't need it with all the other filler options up there. I slowly enjoyed my food while my husband got his moneys worth at the buffet. Lots of hungry people this visit. Hubby did a different flavor each time he went up there. He mixes it up as much as he can. If you think you will eat your fill through the line its not a bad deal. The options outside the buffet are limited. GF and...

My wife and I have been eating at huhots all over and we hit the one in Ankeny most of all...the last 3 times we have been there it has just seemed like it's really going down hill. Last night we visited and omg...the time it took to build our ingredients to then eat was horrible, literally 30min mind you this was not at a busy time and the cooks were literally working as slow as a snail's pace. They acted like they had no desire to be there. The restaurant was filthy....the wall at our table was just caked with food and stains that had to have been there for days or even months. The floor was just covered in food from the buffet all the way back to the tables. The ductwork above the cooking area was just dripping all over the cooktop and all over the workers. One of the sickest things was they had a trash can right by the end where you are handed your food and it was filled up with used gloves and over flowing right where you top your meal off with seeds and what not. Well I always put sunflower seeds on mine but ....yuck not last night.... it was horrible. We are really worried about how one of our most favorite places to eat at is starting down a slippery slope.....I really hope this get the attention of someone who can help because...

1 Star why? Because my boyfriend and I had this place yesterday 8/5/23.... Mind please that the food taste great, the service was great. Let me stop here..... The bowls are too small honestly I saw some bowls that were not clean... Which made me think were all the bowls clean? Like cross contamination!!!! I gave it the benefit of the doubt and picked a more cleaner looking bowl. However I am so glad I only got one round no seconds or anything....... But here's where things get interesting I got crab ragoon and eggrolls for appetizer and no problem as well....... Mind you I am 7 months pregnant so later that day my bf asked me how does my stomach feel I said a sour feeling he said he's experiencing the same, this was 710pm we ate at the restaurant at 12noon. After the day has gone, at 3 am I wake up puking the same food up!!!! All night when I woke up the next day which is today Aug 6, my boyfriend feels sick and I am still EXPERIENCING symptoms. Never again will I come here its sad too because I really wanted to give this place star. It tasted so good but the food coming back up was a big huge problem. I hope you all do not experience the same as us 💓 I hope this helps...