HuHot Mongolian Grill — Restaurant in Denver

We have been to this location several times. Usually, it is tolerable. This past weekend we went in to celebrate a special (70th) birthday. The guest of honor chose this restaurant to come celebrate at over any other place in Denver/metro. We called ahead as we were bringing in a larger party 10+ guests. Candi assured us that it would be NO problem to accommodate our party and stated she'd have everything set up when we arrived. We were so appreciative! When we arrived we were told, by Candi, we couldn't be sat until our entire party was present, despite there being no line and at least 20 open tables in the restaurant (seemed strangley sparse for a Friday night with maybe 15 people in the entire restaurant). We explained no one told us that and we were trying to surprise the birthday guest with friends/family who drove in from as far away as Kansas City and some from Arvada, Lakewood, etc and all would be arriving at different times. We stated we understood what Candi was now telling us, but she should have told us that when we called ahead. She stated, "Many restaurants require your entire party before being seated, IHOP does and many do." We explained that we didn't know that, and we hadn't been told that when calling ahead for HuHot specifically. We had 9 people in our party already there (were waiting on 3) and had paid for their meals, 2 of which were in their 80's and another who uses a cane with a bad back & knee and yet we were having to stand in the lobby while she refused to let us go to a table. She finally agreed to seat us so we could surprise the birthday guest. However, we were made to feel like a HUGE inconvenience and hassle. :( She told us normally they don't seat large parties together unless there are 20+ guests. Many in our party, it was their first experience at HuHot, and we as hosts of the party were so embarrassed by this being made such a huge ordeal. When finally taken to our seats, she had us seated in 2 different seating areas, with 6 people at one table and 6 at a different table. This was the whole reason we called ahead, to be sat together to celebrate a birthday with people we hadn't seen in a long time. There were MANY tables open and even a long one with enough seats available for our whole party. When asked if we could move there, Candi harshly told us NO, as she walked away with us standing there. This was VERY disappointing as we paid over $350+ total for everyone's meals, drinks, appetizer, etc together. We were not valued as customers and made to feel uncomfortable when we were just trying to bring in business and celebrate a birthday. About 45 min into our meal, Rachel was AMAZING and came over, helped us and apologized for the way we had been treated, but it wasn't her fault at all. She assisted us with relocating our seating, moving all of our meals, drinks, etc so that we were able to sit together and enjoy the special celebration. Her kindness and caring were the ONLY thing that gave this rating 2 stars. The food was good and the chefs were efficient and happy. However, the way we were made to feel and attacked for just asking about what we had already been told was less than disheartening. We never had an apology from Candi and never saw her near our table after being treated so rudely by her. More than 3 or 4 people in our party said they will never be back because of this ordeal, and it was the first time being there for some of them. Maybe having more customer service training for the person who is at the register and first interacting with customers might be a good idea? When people call ahead, informing them of expectations & guidlines for when they arrive would be beneficial for all involved. Teaching skills of conveying "company policies" without being condescending would be helpful. There is a way to communicate without making customers feel terrible. Hopefully, there are things to be learned, & changes will happen because of this experience. If not, you will likely continue to lose customers. :( If you have a large group maybe chose a...

Raw meat, eggshells, and slow service

Worst out of the four huhot locations in colorado. On arrival I waited 6 minutes to be seated and another 4 to finish paying, Nothing wrong with my first plate other than a few small pieces of eggshells. Which I've grown to expect over the last 4 months of HuHot. The new server (who I later found out was new) didn't miss a chance to throw eggs into the air and chop the eggs in half, which compared to the slow squishing of the eggs that minimizes egg shell occurrence, is a much more messy way to do it.

The nightmare began on the second meal, getting my usual pork, steak, rice, sausage, broccoli, mushrooms, and khans revenge. During the grilling process the new chef again left eggshell in my eggs, and ruined the egg of another lady who had her entire egg thrown into the hole in the middle. When my meal was finished, I noticed a piece of mystery meat that didn't add into my bowl and had never seen as an option at a huhot before, and wasn't available at this one. A very large chunk of what seemed to be either chicken or pork. Not sliced flat like your average serving of meat at huhot. Noticing this, I picked up my utensil and chopped the thing in half, as it did not look remotely cooked the photo attached is what I found.I told yhe server, who was kind, what I had found, after her telling me she'll get the manager, 5 minutes later a guy comes up to me saying "I just wanna know where you got that from" and suggesting that it did not come from huhot. He offers me appetizers after I mention that my appetite is gone because of the raw mystery meat found in my meal. I decline and he let's me know that I can have another plate (it's all you can eat, so it was more just saying "I'll throw this plate away for you") I say "I guess I'll have another round" on my third way around he follows me down the line watching everything I grab. Then making a sexual innuendo about sausage that I put in my bowl, and then scurrying away after I put the mushrooms in my bowl.

Didn't hear anything else from anyone, on the grill was a new cook who seemed more skilled but still managed in a piece of eggshell and a slight cough on the grill. (First time I've had eggshell on all of my meals at a huhot) The meal was okay, slightly burnt rice and undercooked whites on my egg, but it was an okay meal for the third one after the manager had talked to the chef. Still don't know what the mystery meat was. Paid 20 bucks for raw meat, eggshells, and bad service.

Save yourself some sanity and go to literally any other huhot location...

Stopped in Denver and was craving a good balance between lots of meat protein and lots of veggies and was happy I stopped at Huhot Mongolian grill. I grabbed a to go plate, which is pretty pricey but worth the portion of food. The lady in the front was nice enough to advise me beforehand that since it was a to go bowl, I was able to grab more than one plate, so I ended with 2 bowls. One full with protein and the other with nothing but veggies. You are able to choose your own proteins and your veggies to your liking. Wide selection of protein like Asian meatballs, beef, breaded chicken, diced ham, crab, mild sausages, pork, chicken, and even tofu. The types of noodles they have are chinese noodles, yakisoba noodles, pad Thai rice noodles, and zucchini noodles. Vegetables selection is amazing with baby corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, celery, cilantro, corn, green beans, spinach, jalapeños, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, pineapple, red potatoes, and zucchini. They craziest is the selection of sauces they have. It is a total of like 24 different sauces that you can mix and match with your food. I can't remember which ones I got, but they were the spicy ones for sure. The cooks were friendly and offered to add anything more before they cooked the meal. I grabbed a good portion of everything from proteins, the veggies, and the sauces, so I felt satisfied with my bowl. They also have toppings to finish off your bowl/plate sunflower seeds, chow mein, peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut, crushed red pepper, and wasabi. Added some crushed red peppers and sunflower seeds to finish mine off, full bowl to the brim with everything I was craving. Fresh and hot meal, great experience, clean restaurant with hospitable staff, would definitely recommend, and would like to be back...