Smile Hot Pot & BBQ — Restaurant in Grand Junction

i went here with my boyfriend for our anniversary and we sadly did not have a great experience. the hostess at the front was very sweet and we were seated quickly but after that, we were not spoken to for at least 20 minutes. we weren’t offered any water and we were kind of just waiting for our waiter to come back. he did come back, and we ordered. he still did not offer us water at that point and had to wait for him to come back to ask for some. when we do he says “oh you guys don’t have water?”…. the (uncooked) food took at least hour to get to our table, which was crazy considering it was not cooked and the underwhelming presentation. it was not at all busy either. we were not given any directions on how to turn on the hot pot, or anything about the way it all works despite telling our waiter it was our first time. we did what we thought was correct but the waiter told us that “we were doing it wrong” and “that we are not supposed to put the meat into the pot”. he did not say this in a nice manner and was rude about it. he was especially unkind to my boyfriend and while he was in the restroom asked me why he used a certain spoon given to us and was basically making fun of him for it. the food was decent, but very bland. they were super stingy with the sauces as well even though it was the only thing that gave the food any flavor. it was just not a good experience and our waiter was majorly unfriendly and provided poor, slow service. this was disappointing considering this dinner was for our 3 year anniversary- we wanted to love this place. really...

I really wanted to like this place because I moved from Denver and GJ was needing this but it did not compare to other Hot Pots I have been too. The cuts of meat were thick and expensive. If they would freeze their meat and cut it it thinner their 5.5 oz (that they said per serving) of meat you pay for would go farther. I got ribeye and brisket a total of 3 trays but they easily could have made that into 5 trays at least. There was NO selection of dipping sauces that traditional Hot Pots have, only 2! red and dark. I was charged $8 for a small portion of kimchi not even alot. My server came and just turned off my burner saying that it's about to burn because I had so little broth left but instead of asking if I need more broth because I had a whole tray left of meat he just reached at my burner and turned it off and walked away. We made a reservation for 6 and were seated right away but then it took 40 minutes to take our order and then it took another 20 minutes to get our food. Every Hot pot I went too happens so quick because you ARE COOKING THE FOOD YOURSELF! the fact we had to wait blew my mind. It was disappointing for sure and I would not recommend...

This was overall an extremely lovely experience. Definitely something Grand Junction sorely needed and it definitely delivered. When we walked in we were greeted by a very welcoming and sweet server. She checked on us a few times throughout our meal and was a ray of sweetness and positivity. It didn’t take long to take our orders and for our food to get to us, and it was presented beautifully. (And the restaurant had quite a few people in too) I’m a stickler for quality vegetables but the vegetables looked beautifully fresh and were very crisp and delicious. The meat was also fresh and tasted wonderful. If for any reason you’re confused about the process the servers will gladly help you through it.

The only note I would add is if they had bigger sauce containers or options for custom sauces it would be perfect, but if you run out of sauce they’ll gladly get you more. I just hate bugging servers for something like that but that’s more of a me thing.

If you’re curious, here’s what my fiance and I ordered; Beef NY strip, Pork belly, glass noodles, udon noodles, and the small vegetable set. I highly recommend and you should seriously...