Melting Pot — Restaurant in Virginia

My partner & I set up a reservation for 7:15 on a Friday night. Although we weren’t seated until about 7:45, we did expect this since the dining experience at Melting Pot is not like your average.

One thing to remember is that you are cooking your meals yourself. This not only makes it a unique & personal experience, but is likely to make it a lengthy process. Try to remember this when you’re impatiently waiting on others to finish up their own unique & personal experience.

Now onto the food..I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but everything was cooked just right. We chose the “Big Night Out”, which I would recommend if you like variety as it gives you several options for protein to try out. All of the sauces that are included, with every meal, are AMAZING. Particularly the green goddess, curry & plum sauce. Don’t even get me started on the chocolate fondue. We chose the chocolate & pb crunch combo & have “no ragrets”..IYKYK

Lastly, what made our experience stand out from the other times we’ve attended was all thanks to Ethan. With his Southern charm, attentiveness & ability to make you feel like the only table he’s waiting on, our experience felt complete. From the get-go, we forgot all about the 30 minute wait & almost asked Ethan to have a seat with us! His humor & mannerisms made it seem like you ran into your best friend from grade school who, out of nowhere, made the move out of state due to family matters. We were especially taken aback when we found out Ethan had only been there for a little over a week! His knowledge of the menu made it seem like he’s been a lifelong employee.

I could go on about our server, but I do want others to recommend him & find out for yourselves what it is y'all are missing out on. I’d like to add that I would have photos to post, if only we weren’t so immersed in the moment.

Can’t wait to be back for our next annual visit! ‘Til next...

The Melting Pot is definitely an experience. Whether you'll want to repeat it is your personal choice. The food is surprisingly simplistic for the price - you're paying for the novelty of fondue more than the taste, per ce. That said, the steak was excellent (for someone who's usually not a big fan of steak) - incredibly tender and well flavored. The plethora of sauces was also nice, especially the cocktail sauce and curry sauce. Not impossible to replicate at home, but certainly delectable.

However, the atmosphere of the restaurant is very bland. There are many "private" booths, but the room is very echo-y so it doesn't feel particularly private. The booths themselves are also not very comfortable, especially for the long meal. It's neither romantic nor welcoming in terms of the lighting or general decor. It feels like someone tried to make it appear upscale and simply succeeded in making it feel very impersonal.

Additionally, the pricing is a bit convoluted. We came for a date night special and were pleasantly greeted with rose petals at our table (which was part of the package). Our waiter explained that our cooking selection would be extra (for a broth upgrade, basically) but we also were unexpectedly charged a lot more for the cheese we selected (which was included in the package). I don't mind paying extra for better flavor, but I don't plan to spend a date night contesting charges, and it just feels unprofessional for the class of the restaurant to not be upfront with these things.

Overall, we enjoyed it and might be back for happy hour, but it's honestly hard to justify the price for what you're getting in terms of experience. If you love fondue without the fuss of preparation, great. Otherwise, if you really wanted to splurge on a fancy meal or impress a date, I'd recommend somewhere with a better setting (of which they're are many I could recommend...

This particular location is small, so make sure you make a reservation so that you're guaranteed a table. We arrived a bit early and our party was not complete yet, so we had a drink at the bar. Service was fine, but not as friendly as we would've liked.

After we got our table, our server quickly greeted and was very patient with our inability to understand how to order with 4 people. We got the cheddar bacon fondue with veggies and bread dippers. The presentation was great, didn't have to wait long, but the cheese itself was just ok. It was oily, but probably because of how it was prepared with bacon. Next time, we'd probably try a different cheese, maybe one of the Wisconsin ones.

We opted for the meat entree. The size of the skillet was not large enough for 4 people. It took us quite a long time to cook both our veggies and the meats we selected. The meat is pretty good, especially with the sauces they bring out (the curry is awesome).

Service-wise, our server was experienced, answered all our questions, and was attentive. Now, we weren't the quietest group, especially after a few drinks. The atmosphere and tenor, however, was not accommodating to that. Most other diners were couples and given the small size of the place, it was obvious we were the loudest table. This is presumably one of the reasons why our server was making subtle hints at us finishing up. Despite our volume and visit duration, we were respectful and showed genuine appreciation to our server. Still, it was uncomfortable feeling rushed out. As an example, there were several times she gave us, then took back the desert menu. I found that rude, and doubt they had a desert menu shortage. If they actually did, wow.

In short, we spent a lot money during our visit and we gave a generous tip. It would have been nice if, despite our loudness and stay time, they weren't as cold with us...