Melting Pot — Restaurant in Arlington

My husband and I, 75 years of age, chose "Thursdate" for our anniversary dinner. We were seated at a tiny corner table with three candles and rose petals, but told that the restaurant had NO HEAT! We wondered why it was open at all and I lamented the fact that I had not worn my fur-lined boots: my feet were freezing. Nighttime temperatures have been in the mid-teens; daytime temperatures in the low 20s; however, we had been cooking so much at home that we thought it would be nice to have someone else cook for us, for a change. After a first course of cheese fondue with mostly small rounds of bread, to which four small pieces of carrot and celery and two each of broccoli and cauliflower and some cut green apple were included, we considered taking our leave: It was really cold. But we decided to stick it out. Our waitress, Brittany, should have at least been supplied a sweater or jacket. She did her best, though her training should include offering fresh ground pepper on our salads: She had the pepper grinder with her, but it was difficult to get her attention, being tucked back in a far corner. When Brittany brought ice water, we asked for water that was not cold; it was cold enough, inside and out! She returned water with no ice, but it was still very cold, and we moved it as close as we could to the cook top. The chill didn't leave for a long time. Management might consider offering a hot, non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated drink for cold winter nights—especially if they open the restaurant without heat! My martini was good, but it was some time in arriving, even though we were the only patrons in the restaurant when we arrived. I did request Absolute vodka, as I'd never heard of their bar vodka. Unfortunately, there is no non-alcoholic beer available, which would have been my husband’s choice. The main course followed our salads--Caesar and spinach, and they were good enough and sufficient, given the amount of food that is included in the four-course meals. One serving plate included broccoli, potatoes, and two pieces of zucchini; the other, the meats. I attempted to carefully time everything, and there was a lot of it. A huge problem is that the cooktop was not within my reach without my having to stand up, reach over, add things to the broth, fish for the things that were done, and sit down each time. I had to do all of the cooking, as my husband has hardware in both legs and a shoulder replacement: Not a candidate for the calisthenics that I endured. My husband enjoyed the potatoes; we each enjoyed our single piece of zucchini; the broccoli became too salty, having spent too much time in the pot. The mushroom ravioli—one each—was tasty, and we enjoyed the shrimp and salmon; however, we didn’t get a lot of flavor from the chicken, the filet mignon, or the teriyaki-marinated steak. Fortunately, although we were stuffed, the dessert saved the day: fresh strawberry and banana slices, chocolate-covered marshmallows, blondies, brownies, rice crispies, and waffles pieces, all of which we dipped into our favorite: dark chocolate. We laughed a lot, because we always do, trying to find the humor in everything, and were glad for the diversion. During the night, I had a horrible reaction in my right sinus from the extreme cold and I was unable to sleep more than a couple of hours. The following day, I developed significant muscle pain in my buttocks from all the standing, leaning, cooking, scooping…and last night—two nights later—unbearable pain from my sciatic nerve continues as of this writing. In conclusion, I would suggest that management CLOSE THE RESTAURANT if there is no heat in sub-freezing temperatures; that the small, awkward, corner tables not be used, as it is not possible to reach the cook pot without more athletic ability than I have; that some consideration be given for older people so they do not have to do said gymnastics, and that beverage choices for non-alcohol drinkers and for winter be considered.

Update: Management asked me to contact them. I did. No reply 10 1/2...

This is my third time to the Melting Pot and to this specific location and I have to say while I appreciated my previous experiences, this last round did not live up to my "Melting Pot goggles." I think it's because the first two times I went to Melting Pot, I was in college and let's just say a college student's appetite and standards are much lower than a post-college adult's.

I came here this third time with my boyfriend because I bought a LivingSocial deal (four courses for two people). The fondue experience here is four courses: a cheese fondue course, salad, entrée, and (save the best for last) chocolate fondue.

For the cheese portion, we chose the classic alpine which is white wine, Gruyere, Raclette and fontina cheeses. The server will mix the cheese fondue right in front of you. I think our server poured just a little too much white wine as it overpowered the entire cheese fondue and was a little too strong for our liking. Dippers include bread, carrots, cauliflower, and apples, which are refillable.

I ordered the Melting Pot house salad, which is just romaine, iceberg lettuce, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, croutons, and a sliced egg. Nothing extraordinary there. I remember the plates being larger the first two times I came to Melting Pot. Either they made their salads smaller or they put it on a smaller plate to give the illusion that it's more salad.

For the entrée, our LivingSocial deal locked us in for the Land and Sea entrée. We decided to up the cooking style from the complimentary seasoned court bouillon to the coq au vin cooking style for about $6 more. We also added a lobster tail to our entrée order. The server said that the Land and Sea platter would be big enough to share between two people, but since we had the LivingSocial deal, we thought throwing in a lobster tail wouldn't be a bad idea. I thought it was more than enough food but my boyfriend, upon seeing the platter brought before us, said he could probably eat it all himself and didn't think it was enough food for two extremely hungry folks. I can see that, as there are only about 4 pieces of chicken, filet mignon, shrimp, and beef sirloin, but I myself was pretty much stuffed halfway through the entrée. The chicken, filet mignon, shrimp, and beef were all standard, but they are definitely not the best cuts or quality I've had in chicken, shrimp, or steak.

For the last and best course, we chose the original chocolate fondue, milk chocolate and peanut butter. Dippers include strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, marshmallows, pound cake, and brownies. By the time dessert rolled around, I was so, so full. We didn't even finish our chocolate fondue but I did think it was the best out of the four courses we had.

This Arlington location looks pretty old-school from the inside and lighting is very dim (I know it's to create that romantic ambiance). They have parking validation which reduces the cost from $11 to $2. Pretty good but not as good as say the Reston location where you don't need to pay for parking at all. However, it's Arlington so what can I say. Service is friendly enough and all in all, we had a good LivingSocial deal so why not experience it for once together.

On the second Tuesday of each month, this location has a Ladies' Night Out, where you pay only $27 for the four courses. Military appreciation day is every Monday; military personnel and their families receive 20%...

I visited the Melting pot for the first time yesterday accompanied by my husband and five children. The kids truly enjoyed making their entrees in the melting pot. As I mentioned before this was my first visit so the whole cooking the food ourselves came to me a bit of a shock. I’m sure you can imagine monitoring 4 minor children cook their food could be quite an experience in itself. The four course meal took about 3 hours for my family of 7. I would have to rate the food 10 out of 10 no complaints it was great. I’m giving 3 stars because my server Tamara was not very attentive to my family’s wants/needs. She never asked my family if we needed refills NOT ONCE I constantly had to remind her that we needed refills and I found that quite distasteful. My oldest son asked for the individual classic entrée which cost approximately $26.00 and my youngest son asked for a Caesar salad which cost about $5.00. Tamara insisted that the classic entrée would be cheaper as a combo as it comes with a salad as well. The combo came up to $52.00 which was in fact a more expensive option. In addition I asked the server about the big night out entrée with the option to upgrade for $9.00 for additional selections one being lobster tail. She advised me that it would be more feasible to order the experience for 2 and add the selections I wanted for $3.00 upcharge per selection. Unfortunately I decided to go with her recommendation due to me not being familiar with the establishment and having my hands tied with my children. Big mistake her suggestion was a higher option once again. As we moved onto to dessert our server Ms. Tamara made a sigh of disgust I asked her if she was okay she went on to say it’s been a crazy day. I found her comment to be very offensive. As far as dessert she began to prepare the chocolate at the table and then out of nowhere she stopped and took the chocolate off the table and went into what I believe was the kitchen. I take it she was trying to hurry up the process as we had been there since 8:00PM and at that time is was almost 11:00PM. The chocolate she brought out was half melted which the kids loved either way but again I felt it was an total injustice of service. From the moment the server approached the table I felt pre judged. I honestly believe she thought we wouldn’t tip and treated us as such. I went on to give her a $40.00 tip in hopes that in the future she won’t pre judge customers. With all that being said I honestly enjoyed the experience and would be willing to try this location again just with a...