Red Iron Mongolian BBQ — Restaurant in Arcadia

Great service, great value, great food! Red Iron Mongolian BBQ is a well oiled machine speedily churning out big portions of tasty Mongolian BBQ style noodles.

My wife and I were at the mall for a movie and dinner date. After the movie our first course was to share a Korean style "corn" dog from the newly opened stand right in front of Red Iron. (Highly recommend you try that place too) As we shared our appetizer I watched a steady stream of customers quickly served by the very efficient staff.

After some discussion of options it just seemed like Red Iron was calling to us. "Try me... you haven't had Mongolian BBQ in over ten years." So we heeded the Siren call and got in line. We ordered one bowl of noodles to share.

After ordering we shuffled down the line. First choosing beef from the meat options, then veggies, then sauces. On to the cast Iron flat top it all went. Tossed and pushed around the circle as it sizzled away. After one full rotation around the grill it was all scooped up into a container in one smooth motion by the cook. As he handed us our steaming container of noodles I thought to myself, "Dinner and a show for $12. What a great deal."

After giving it some time to cool we dug in to our huge portion of noodles. So tasty and satisfying. We even had some left to take home. My wife can testify that it is really good leftover.

We will definitely be going back to this place for great cheap eats with a show in the future.

Fun Facts: -There are two other locations. One in Downey and the other in Redondo Beach.

-Traditional Mongolian "barbecue" is called Khorkhog and is nothing like its modern cousin. It is a rural dish served on special occasions. Prepared by cutting meat and vegetables into chunks and placing them in a container to braise in the ground for hours under hot stones that have been heated in a fire.

-This dish was created in Taiwan in 1951 by Wu Zhaonan. He originally wanted to call it Beijing barbecue but for political reasons he named it Mongolian barbecue instead, even though it had no direct connection to Mongolia and isn't even barbecue.

So, do yourself a favor and give this tasty, quick and fun...

Pleasantly surprised! I usually avoid mall Mongolian and I hated trying to cram whatever I could into a single dish, so the new format where they fill the bowls for you was a game changer. Not quite the same as the AYCE places where you can serve yourself and customize, but in a pinch, this Red Iron hit the spot.

Service was really great. Served up whatever I asked for and kept asking if I wanted more. I also mentioned that I didn’t want noodles and would love extra veggies, which they accommodated with a full extra bowl in place of the bowl of noodles.

Flavor wise, it was just ok. Would have loved adding my own sauces, but it was as much me not being familiar with the flavors, so not solely on Red Iron here.

Quality wise, the beef was a bit chewy, but pork was good.

Overall, I would definitely return when at the mall and craving Mongolian. Especially for the service and how they accommodated our orders.

Would I pick them over a stand alone AYCE Mongolian favorite? Probably not, but definitely would go again after some shopping...

Location: Food Court, Parking: Where you can find it, Service: Pretty Decent, Overall: First time try and after trying other similar restaurants I can say this is not bad for a food court joint. I always like a different choice from the same basic fare. They have four meats to choose from, and then you pick veggies and spices. Now, at other places I have had more sauces and spices to add. Due to location space, I can see a need for reduction of items. Would.I go back?: Maybe, I would not make plans with the sole purpose of eating there. So for now...