Melting Pot — Restaurant in Lyndhurst

Disappointed. Today was my girlfriend birthday and I wanted to bring her to The Melting Pot since neither of us have been to eat but have always wanted to try it, sadly we should have gone somewhere else.

Our reservation was for later in the night, however I don’t think our experience should have been any less because of this. When we walked in the host was busy but made it over as quickly as he could to check in with us and to provide us with a birthday card from the restaurant, this is where things get a little odd.

We’re walked by open tables to be sat at a table with no light, the one next to us worked, the one behind us worked, both tables were open. Wine glasses with small candles were placed on either side of the hot plate on the table. I wanted to be optimistic as my attitude would help determine how my girlfriends evening went however I was consistently shocked.

Our waitress came by and gave us a surprisingly detailed description on how to choose one of 3 meals on the menu but didn’t come back for some time after. We finally placed our order which included 2 drinks, one a bottle and the other a martini. The martini was awesome, perfect actually, however the bottle was sweating so bad the label was rubbing off and the beverage tasted a bit warmer then I would have hoped for.

Our cheese fondue was good however our waitress didn’t come back until after someone else has brought the broth for our main entree at which point we no longer wanted to wait for extra fruits and vegetables. Included in our meals were small salads, the house salad was fresh looking and seemed well, the caesar was rather wilted and not what I would consider fresh. Both of us got the steak lovers meal, this came with 4 pieces of teriyaki sirloin, 4 pieces of filet, and 4 strips of peppered sirloin it also had a number of sauces that came out with it, however when asked for a steak sauce because the others just didn’t mesh well for me I was told they had ketchup but no standard steak sauce options. I was disappointed in the quality of the meat, both of us had several pieces of the teriyaki that were extremely tough and at least 2 pieces of filet that were very different in color and texture but we did both enjoy the sliced sirloin. It was right about this time that the staff started to vacuum the restaurant while we were trying to eat which was rather uncomfortable as I’m expecting a nice meal out not dinner at Bob Evans. Once the vacuuming stopped we were joined at a table over by guests who were sharing videos on their phones at full volume and having fairly explicit conversation (think sexual) which went on thru the chocolate course.

Just like anyone in their right mind would be we were excited when the chocolate came! Being a birthday celebration we ordered the extra sweets plate however we were missing a item from the plate and the cheesecake was absolutely stomach turning. Our waitress did bring us a plate with happy birthday written in chocolate and a sparkler stuck in a strawberry however the tables are not near the correct size for a trick like this and the photos the waitress insisted she take show just how incredibly close the sparks are to our face.

We had a great time enjoying each other’s company but were left wanting an experience we didn’t come close to. While our cheese was good, the dinner lacked excitement and the environment left me wishing I had chosen somewhere else. Our chocolate was great, other then the missing item we paid for, but I wish I would have been given quality thru the entire meal. Our waitress wasn’t around long enough for me to address any of these except the other guests but the several (3) employees including her kept walking back and forth but did nothing while listening to the loud conversation.

TLDR: Service and food was about the quality I’d expect for a $40 meal not a $140 meal. No light at the table, poor quality meat, missing items, rude guests, iffy service and the cleaning around us ruined the experience and environment and left me feeling like I was eating dinner...

Not recommended for groups of 5 or more.

I recently visited The Melting Pot as part of a group and was literally gobsmacked by the dining experience as compared to the normal "romantic table for two" for which they are renowned.

The tables that were reserved for our group were instead given to a party of eight. Our party was subsequently moved to two smaller tables, causing twelve guests to compete for space on the four available burners, and providing each guest about one square foot of table space for their dining experience, which is fine at a noodle bar, but not for a dining experience involving multiple fondue forks, condiments, platters of food, water and beverage glasses.... You get the idea. On to the rest.

As the table was composed of couples, each couple was assigned a number. Orders taken, no suggestive sell or offer of items from the bar, a specialty drink, roughly the same sequence you'd experience at a Ponderosa Buffet. Beverages that guests thought to order on their own were delivered using the "bring to table and ask who got what" method, strange as we were already numerically assigned. Salads arrived the same way and were served without care, one person in a couple received their salad 10 minutes before their partner was served. To limit repetition, the same process was followed for the appetizers, the entrees and the desserts. If this was a Korean BBQ where items are brought to the table as they are finished, it would have been perfectly understandable, but this is supposedly fine dining at $100+ per couple.

The salads were nicely prepared and plated, and the appetizers were for the most part on spot, except that since it was a large party sharing a minimal number of burners, portions were doubled into a single pot, leaving some guests five feet from their ordered appetizer (a policy that continued through the entrees and desserts.) In addition, the appetizers were served well before the table had finished their salads without any sense of pacing the meal, causing mass chaos in each person's square foot of space as they stuffed their salads down to clear some room. The early arrival of the apps then created a 30 minute gap until the entrees were ready for prime time, just a tragic job of pacing the meal.

When the entrees arrived, there were some questions as to the freshness of the veggies that were brought to the table (grey broccoli, decaying mushroom caps - see pics,) and the red meats appeared to be small pieces of (cow, not steer) filet along with sirloin tip served in various marinades. These cuts of beef aren't an issue in the slightest if properly cut to take full advantage of the grain of the meat, but in our case the house butcher prepared pieces with tendon intact, chunks cut with the grain (makes meat tougher than it needed to be) and suitable for making a nice stew, not deserving of a fast swim in a fondue pot.

The normal course of service normally offered in this restaurant is very measured and elegant, perfect for the most important of occasions: Orders with guidance from the server, drinks served, salad course, clear and reset table and refill drinks, appetizer course, clear/reset/refill, main course, clear/reset/refill, dessert course, clear and offer additional drinks/coffee/etc. Classic and refined, but not what we received at any point. Empty glasses, abandoned dishes from prior courses and a constant need to ask the servers for refills and that the stacks of dirty plates be removed from the table. Passable for Applebee's, not OK for Melting Pot.

It should be pointed out here that there was a required 20% tip involved here that was in no way earned by the server and their assistant during this experience. To make things even less classy, the tips were calculated on the total PLUS TAX, not on the pre-tax total of the meal as is customary.

To close, this might well be a great nosh for an intimate table for two, but in my opinion, they demonstrated little to no ability in delivering the same quality experience for a group larger...

My husband and I made a reservation here on 8/23 for our anniversary dinner. We had never been and were excited to try something new. Unfortunately the whole setting became disastrous and we ended up leaving mid-dinner. A few things we experienced:

1. Our waiter was very rushed. He did not take time to explain the menu simply. He made odd comments to us. When I mentioned the "dine with wine for $79 deal", his tone immediately changed. He said "oh, you guys are looking for the value, okay- let me get that menu". Once he brought that specific menu out, he became very rushed. He came back after we ordered drinks and re-explained the menu to us. He kept pushing for us to tell him if we were ordering from the full menu or the other menu ( the $79 one). I was very confused at the reasoning behind asking which menu we were ordering from. It seemed as though he wanted us to get in and out if we were ordering from the $79 one. The experience with him was very bizarre.

2. The manager then came over and asked if we were okay. We didn't really know how to answer as we really were unsure. We still couldn't make heads or tales of our waiter and didn't understand his pushiness between menus. We ended up ordering from the full menu as we were afraid if we ordered for the $79 menu, that they may not take as best care with the food/service. How wrong we were.

3. When the manager came over, she told us about all of the different cooking methods in a more understanding, enticing way. We then chose to change from the cast iron grill to a fondue style. Once our waiter received word of the switch, he came over with an annoyed tone and said "So, what made you switch?". To which we responded that she explained it a bit more and it sounded like a better tasting/more fun option. It was a weird, pressing tone. Again- waiter was odd and made us more uncomfortable.

4. The food was terribly portioned. We didn't even have enough cheese to finish our bread/veggies/apples. When they brought out the salads, they fell flat. Imagine a little saucer with a bit of lettuce and additions. It was very disappointing and distasteful. At this point, we wanted to leave, but figured we could just move on to the main course and thought it would make up for it. Now that we've made a decision on what we want, our waiter doesn't have to chat with us much, and we could finish our dinner.

5. The steaks came out, along with my shrimp and chicken breast. The portions were very, very small. When the waiter put the veggies in the fondue pot, we realized just how little of portions they were. Here's where your stomach may turn. My husband and I stuck our steaks pieces in the fondue pot of broth. We realized we were boiling out steaks (which if you eat steak- this is no way to cook your steak). While watching these pieces of steak cook, we start to see the blood boil out of the meat, sitting in the pot, along with vegetables and chicken. The more steak we put in, the redder the broth got. It was absolutely stomach turning. We could not eat it. This was not fault to the wait staff (besides the portions); it was just stomach turning. Seeing vegetables in this red, bloody broth was absolutely disgusting.

6. After this- we had to leave. We could not sit through this terrible wait staff and spend over $100 on such a terrible, flat meal. My husband went to the manager again and advised her we were unable to eat the food, that he was getting sick to his stomach, and we needed to leave. She was okay with it, charged us for the salad and bread, and stated our waiter would bring the check.

7. There was a woman cleaning off our table while we were waiting on the check. We small-talked about the situation and she said "maybe the grill would have been best". To which our waiter said to her in an annoyed tone "no- they didn't want that". He then gave us our check and left the table. We paid, left a poor tip that reflected the poor service, and got out of there quickly. It was the worst experience we've ever had with a restaurant. They ruined our...