Melting Pot — Restaurant in Bethlehem

My wife and I and another couple came here for New Year’s Eve dinner, and found the entire experience rather disappointing. They had a Price Fix menu for $85.00 / person, which is not an unreasonable price for a quality dining experience. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. We were seated immediately at a fast-food restaurant sized booth, which is too small for the dining model. The center of the table is taken up by a volcanic hot pot, spewing forth a geyser of steam that makes Old Faithful look like a leaky faucet. Because this is happening at every table, the HVAC is easily overwhelmed, and the restaurant is stiflingly uncomfortable. You will notice this immediately upon entering the lobby. Condensation covers many of the windows, bathroom fixtures, etc. My wife literally had to get up and go outside halfway through dinner just to get some air, and I was sweating like James Brown running a marathon in a rubber suit. If your hair and makeup is sensitive to humidity, you’ll need epoxy-based hairspray and the makeup skills of a mortician to leave here resembling anything like what you looked like upon your arrival. The meal itself starts with a tableside fondue preparation. While tableside preparation works well for things like guacamole and Caesar salad, this took longer than a Wagner opera, and we found it to be more annoying than charming. There are multiple fondue options, but only one pot, so everyone must agree on the first course. In short, at least one person is going to be settling for something that isn’t their first choice. The second course was a wedge salad, which was fresh, tasty and well made. The main course was served similar to a traditional Asian hot pot restaurant (sans the correctly sized pot and adequate ventilation), where you’re cooking your proteins in a common pot. Attempting to arrange the drinks, dinner plates, silverware, proteins, sauces, etc., onto the doll-house sized table amounts to an unwinnable game of Tetris; made especially difficult given that many of the plates contain raw meats, chicken and seafood, making cross contamination a significant possibility. The chicken, shrimp and lobster were good, but the red meats were too big, tough and stringy- a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that you cook it by boiling. You do have the option to grill or deep fry instead of boiling, but again, you only have one cooking option, on which everyone must agree. By the time the dessert fondue rolled around (everyone has to agree on that too), the novelty of cooking our own dinner over Mount Vesuvius was long gone, and we were all ready for the experience to be over. Since it was included in the price, we felt compelled to stay, and figured the dessert would likely be the best part of the meal. The chocolate was good and there was a nice variety of dipping ingredients. But the real kicker? The bill. $468 for four people with ONE alcoholic beverage between all of us. At that price, there are literally dozens of better dining options in the Lehigh Valley. Make no mistake, you come to this place for the novelty, not for the food. If you are an experienced diner, this place is almost certain...

First of all, let me say, if you want a great experience, this place is awesome! This was our first time here and our first 'Fondue' experience. We went there for our 7th anniversary dinner. We didn't really know what to expect. We made (my wife) a reservation for 4pm. They open at 4 on this day. We were promptly seated. We were seated at a back booth, and at first this seemed weird, but stick with me... it ended up being the most excellent thing. The privacy of where we were seated ended up being perfect! We have never been there before nor didn't know what to expect. Our server was named Brooke, she was absolutely amazing! So helpful and friendly. After we were seated, she took a drink order and within a few minutes, we had them. Then there was the problem, the menu. For a first timer, it's a bit intimidating, especially for someone not familiar enough with the options. So, i.was brave enough to ask for clarification and recommendations. She was amazing, kind and had some great ideas. I recommend that you ask your server if it's a bit much. All of her recommendations were absolutely spot on. We chose the 'big night out '? Now that being said, it's a 4 course dinner and not 'cheap' nor is it a quick bite. We were there for almost 3 hours total. But worth evey second! It's an excellent opportunity to be with each other. It's not a grab and go or quick bite place (although we found that they have quick options) and that was not our purpose, we wanted to celebrate and spend some time together.... The first course was cheese Fondue, which, very surprisingly was made from scratch by our server at the table! They don't just bring you a prefilled batch of something... it was a great start. Bit was delicious! And she was very fun and engaging. We chose 2 different salads for the second course to try different options. A house salad (our favorite, the dressing was wonderful and nothing like I've ever had before) and a bacon ranch type, not bad either. Main course was big night out, featuring several proteins, shrimp, chicken, filet minion, and several other things. We asked about the process and she explained everything in perfect detail. Also the app or online has directions if you have any questions. Then the dessert time came. The chocolate sauce was also made at the table from scratch. The fresh ingredients are plentiful and the appetizers and dessert items are also all you can eat, run out, just ask for more! When the dessert was served, she also had a plate made up as a presentation piece... it has a strawberry rose with the words, "7 years of crazy love and adventures. " perfect! What a wonderful day we had. Thank you!!! We definitely recommend this place and if you can, ask for Brooke!!! I'm sure the other servers are also great, these people helped us to have an amazing and...

I am going to try to take this slow to not forget something. Friday evening my boyfriend and I went to the melting pot for our 7:30 reservations. They had called earlier in the day to confirm we still needed them and we did. Upon making the reservations they asked the reason for our dining and we stated that it was my birthday. We call at 7:28 to let them know we might be a minute late because we had to park further than expected but made it there on time anyhow. We let them know the name, time of reservation and we’re once again asked for the reason for dining and told that they would get a table ready for us. 20 minutes later, we are waiting and another couple come in with 7:45pm reservations, same process except they’re asked if they would like to wait at the bar until their table was ready, not an option that was given to us. We are finally sat at 7:58pm, nearly 30 minutes past our reservation time. At this point we are just glad to be sat at a table, but frustrated that we were not at least warned of the delay they were having. We are sat in a back hallway in cubby type booths which if everything else went smoothly it would have been fine. However, the one corner of the booth had broken springs so we had to cram towards the back wall to be comfortable. We order our food, the waiter was VERY kind. While we are waiting, we are taking in the environment and can’t help but notice an increasingly amount of smoke starting to come down the hallway from people using the cast irons. Within a few minutes our eyes are being irritated as the smoke gets lower to sitting level. Throughout the entire time of our stay, this did not ease up with no sign of proper ventilation. My boyfriend has a degree in fire science and was a firefighter for over 5 years, and was not comfortable with the situation. But this was not all. As a reminder, our reservations were at 7:30, we did not get and finish the appetizer until 9pm. This was my first time at the melting pot, was the cheese fondue good, yes! Could I enjoy it? No, because we were given stale bread, carrots, grapes, and apples, for our cheese….for a restaurant that is centered around the fondue making, I would have expected better dipping options. At this point, it was 9pm, and between a subpar appetizer tray, the smog, and general displeasure with the condition of the restaurant we asked politely to leave and pay for anything we had to. I expected more from this restaurant given its high star rating and it definitely made my birthday dinner memorable but not for the right reasons. Would like this resolved with management, and am hoping this was an off night. We were going to stay for the whole dinner, and had to leave after the appetizer due to...