HuHot Mongolian Grill — Restaurant in Joplin

This is the worst service ever by far...ANYWHERE!! NOTHING like the HuHot we regular in Joplin. We were a table of 4 adults. We were seated and then not forgotten, but ignored!! 2 different servers past by us miltiple times and after having made eye contact with one of usthe 1st time, went out of their way to avoid our table. We were completing our SECOND round before I chased down a server because one of the 4 at our table NEEDED a drink, of something. There were people seated at tables behind and in front of us who were seated AFTER we were and were being cared for. The server made an effort even after speaking to the table behind us to avoid us by turning the other direction (away from the kitchen where she was headed) and made a large loop around several empty tables to get to the kitchen so to not pads our table. My hubby and I are both good tippers. He works for a company who requests they leave 20-25% tips when the company is paying for their meals (i once scolded him for leaving a tip when he paid for a pizza WE PICKED UP 😆); and I was once a server, for many years, back when they were paid only $1.80/hr + tips. We earned tips back then or we starved. Now gratuities are sometimes even taken regardless of the service you recieve. The cooks did not care to show any enthusiasm like we are accustomed to, and the restaurant as a whole was very dirty. I placed my hand on the partial wall behind me while waiting for my plate and there was a rather thick coating of grease and whatever it is that builds up over time on uncleaned stove hoods and appliances in a kitchen.. How bad must the things out of sight be if this is what is in the customer area? 😳 absolutely horrific. I was here a few years ago (left a 5⭐️review) with the same group and it was a different place. We were looking forward to reexperiencing those good times. 😞 Its a real shame. I've attached a picture of the grime on the half wall rail. However, as bad as it is, the picture doesn't...

Actually after eating at the Springfield MO local for almost 5 years and not only enjoying the food, service, pricing (which it's less expensive to eat at the Springfield's HuHot than Joplin's), and the energy of all staff but in particular the cooks. They alone, in my humble opinion, is what makes this place enjoyable and a "I can't wait to go back AGAIN" feel. Not taking away the other important things I previously stated. The Joplin MO HuHot looked nice because of how 'new' it is. It was the lack of any kind of energy at this location which made the experience less appealing. The food, when they had ingredients available - and it wasn't that busy on a Wednesday afternoon just before 4:45 PM, was good and service was good. No I get this location isn't by the mall like the Springfield location is. No matter the size if the other things pass, but the lack of any kind of energy isn't there, then one may not go back. Seeing how, like Springfield, there are other places to eat. Not as many as Springfield mind you. With that said the price was a close second. No reason for it not be comparable to the Springfield MO location. It is a college town, bigger college with Missouri State than Joplin' s Missouri Southern and a minor league baseball team with the Springfield Cardinal's to boot. Was in Joplin to enroll our daughter at Southern, which is why we stopped by HuHot. Likely won't be going back to Joplin' s HuHot even when we visit her. My 3 stars is about where the rating needs to be. But could be 4 for sure if more 'energy' by the cooks was stepped up. A 5? Nope, to expensive to warrant that rating.

June 2019: After giving this particular HuHut several more tries, largely due to a daughter attending Missouri Southern there in Joplin, I've decided to increase rating to a "4" Star. Overall improvements have been made and in my opinion it's better than a "3" Star but not a "5",...

There's a little bit to know before going to this place, so I'll try to make this review detailed. There's two options: dining in and takeout. When dining in you can have as many bowls of noodles as you like, but keep in mind that these are build your own bowls. So you are putting together frozen meats, vegetables, noodles, and sauces, and waiting on the chef to make those for you. A bowl can take between 5-10 minutes to make. If get take out, you get one big bowl and a small bowl and whatever you can fit in these bowls is what you can take. So you only have to wait on the chefs to make the noodles for you once. I got takeout, and the food lasted me three meals. So in my opinion, the takeout is a better option, as both options are the same price. Next, keep in mind since you're making your own noodles, the taste might not be great, especially if it's your first time. My friend did not know how many ladles of sauce to put in her bowl, and she ended up only putting in three, and her noodles were extremely dry. I only chose one type of sauce, and the food was kind of bland. So if you order takeout, i recommend that you put anywhere between 8 to 10 ladles of sauce total, and try mixing and matching the sauces together so it's not bland. Now that I have more knowledge on how this place works, I would definitely go back and do a much better job at...