The Melting Pot-Irvine

Well, let me first say, I would really recommend this place for dessert, my hubby and two kids love to go and just get dessert. As for dinner, thats another story, It's very pricey, and I don't think worth the price. You can pick "oil" or "broth" to cook your meats, and we chose the oil...... when it came, it looked cloudy and dirty, we called our server and told him, and he informed us that they "recycle" the oil.....yes I said recycle !!! EWWWWW, we were like "is that really sanitary" and he said very matter of fact "well, you can request "fresh" oil, if you'd like"..... GEE, YA THINK !!!!! Duh, of course we want fresh oil !!!!!! So after waiting awhile for our oil, then we had to cook everything....UGH, of course they tell you to expect to be there a couple hours.......it takes forever to cook the food ! So, listen if I'm paying that much for dinner, I'll go somewhere where they cook the food for me. Pros: great, fun dessert Cons: expensive dinner and really not worth it more

The service was great - very friendly. The food was OK - nothing special. I'm glad I tried it but I don't need to go back. I would not recommend this as a date spot and that's because of the steam from the fondue pots. Ladies - it will wilt your hair and makeup. I felt like I had been sitting in a sauna. Pros: It's something different. Service was great. Cons: Food was blah. The dining area is like a sauna from all the fondue pots. more

The service was great - very friendly. The food was OK - nothing special. I'm glad I tried it but I don't need to go back. I would not recommend this as a date spot and that's because of the steam from the fondue pots. Ladies - it will wilt your hair and makeup. I felt like I had been sitting in a sauna. Pros: It's something different. Service was great. Cons: Food was blah. The dining area is like a sauna from all the fondue pots. more

This place was greeeat! Do make reservations because you don't want to be waiting, and if you do, you'll be waiting for a long time. The salad was great, service was good, and the chocolate was definitely to die for. Pros: good, service more

This place was greeeat! Do make reservations because you don't want to be waiting, and if you do, you'll be waiting for a long time. The salad was great, service was good, and the chocolate was definitely to die for. Pros: good, service more

This place is excellent for special occasions. I came here for my girlfriend's birthday, and they had a... more

This place is excellent for special occasions. I came here for my girlfriend's birthday, and they had a card for her on the table, as well as some ... more

This place is excellent for special occasions. I came here for my girlfriend's birthday, and they had a card for her on the table, as well as some ... more

A fun resturant for a date or with friends. it is a fundo place that always has a wait so get a reservation... more

A fun resturant for a date or with friends. it is a fundo place that always has a wait so get a reservation befor you walk out the door more

I went to the MeltingPot in Irvine, and the dessert platter was to die for, if not a little rich. That being said, the actual fondue was also good, however, it lacked the substance of a full meal. I love cheese, however, I felt a little queasy after so much rich food, not full. The service at the Irvine location was quite good, and the wait staff explained all the parts and ingredients in each different fondue. I think that it is a great place for a little nosh, and a fabulous place for a rich dessert, but do not go hungry and then eat until you are full, because you will feel more than a little sick. The Lesson: You cannot cheese until you are full, and not feel sick. Pros: Novelty Cons: Not a dinner place more

I went to the MeltingPot in Irvine, and the dessert platter was to die for, if not a little rich. That being said, the actual fondue was also good, however, it lacked the substance of a full meal. I love cheese, however, I felt a little queasy after so much rich food, not full. The service at the Irvine location was quite good, and the wait staff explained all the parts and ingredients in each different fondue. I think that it is a great place for a little nosh, and a fabulous place for a rich dessert, but do not go hungry and then eat until you are full, because you will feel more than a little sick. The Lesson: You cannot cheese until you are full, and not feel sick. Pros: Novelty Cons: Not a dinner place more

Although I do enjoy dining here, I don't like having to make reservations every time I want to go. At times I don't know what I am going to eat for dinner until that night. You need reservations here every night of the week. The food is good, but the service could use some help. I always feel like to servers are trying to ""up-sell"" you to something more expensive, whether is be a different broth, a different meal package or dessert. Pros: food Cons: prices & service more

Although I do enjoy dining here, I don't like having to make reservations every time I want to go. At times I don't know what I am going to eat for dinner until that night. You need reservations here every night of the week. The food is good, but the service could use some help. I always feel like to servers are trying to "up-sell" you to something more expensive, whether is be a different broth, a different meal package or dessert. Pros: food Cons: prices & service more

sat at the bar and had the 2 for $22 special. awesome! the bartender we had recommended a tasty martini and you just can't go wrong with fondue. : ) Pros: food more

sat at the bar and had the 2 for $22 special. awesome! the bartender we had recommended a tasty martini and you just can't go wrong with fondue. : ) Pros: food more

Went there for their prix fix dinner including cheese fondue, salad, main course and dessert. The food was fantastic, but the cheese and dessert fondue was by far the best part. I had the swiss cheese fondue and the smores dessert fondue. Next time I would go for just that! Pros: food, privacy Cons: price more

Went there for their prix fix dinner including cheese fondue, salad, main course and dessert. The food was fantastic, but the cheese and dessert fondue was by far the best part. I had the swiss cheese fondue and the smores dessert fondue. Next time I would go for just that! Pros: food, privacy Cons: price more

So many bad things!\r \r Tried to make reservation for large birthday party by contacting large party planner - never returned phone calls\r \r Went inside restaurant to speak with someone in person - host ""Gigi(?)"" extremely rude\r \r Lackluster service\r \r On the night of the party, we were supposed to be seated at large table in bar area...even though the table was available, hosts made all guests wait to be seated for others that were running late (with 11 people, it's inevitable that someone is going to be late!)\r \r We continually had to order our own drinks at the bar because the server was MIA - the few drinks we did order through her were wrong or never made it out at all\r \r The strawberry/almond salads contained no strawberries and no cheese - when we complained, the manager asked if that was how we had ordered it (would we have complained if we had???)\r \r We had to repeatedly ask for empty glasses to be removed from the table\r \r We had decided to order only cheese and chocolate fondues - when the pots were empty, they sat for minimum of 30 minutes before server would return to take next order, then had to wait for the next order to be prepared - if prep time was going to be so long, the server should have started our next order when the first order came out - ended up skipping the chocolate to have cake at home\r \r The only good thing was that we voiced our frustrations and were compensated on the price of our bill - however I feel $20/person was still too much to pay for this evening\r \r I felt I had to apologize to my guests for the planning of the evening - a birthday party is a celebration and we should have left happy and well-fed\r \r Nobody working here appears to be happy with their job and they have not seemed to make much effort to make the experience pleasurable\r \r Will be sure to voice my ""constructive criticism"" with corporate and will never return to this location again Pros: The cheese was the only good part of the evening Cons: Service, service, service!!! more

So many bad things! Tried to make reservation for large birthday party by contacting large party planner - never returned phone calls Went inside restaurant to speak with someone in person - host "Gigi(?)" extremely rude Lackluster service On the night of the party, we were supposed to be seated at large table in bar area...even though the table was available, hosts made all guests wait to be seated for others that were running late (with 11 people, it's inevitable that someone is going to be late!) We continually had to order our own drinks at the bar because the server was MIA - the few drinks we did order through her were wrong or never made it out at all The strawberry/almond salads contained no strawberries and no cheese - when we complained, the manager asked if that was how we had ordered it (would we have complained if we had???) We had to repeatedly ask for empty glasses to be removed from the table We had decided to order only cheese and chocolate fondues - when the pots were empty, they sat for minimum of 30 minutes before server would return to take next order, then had to wait for the next order to be prepared - if prep time was going to be so long, the server should have started our next order when the first order came out - ended up skipping the chocolate to have cake at home The only good thing was that we voiced our frustrations and were compensated on the price of our bill - however I feel $20/person was still too much to pay for this evening I felt I had to apologize to my guests for the planning of the evening - a birthday party is a celebration and we should have left happy and well-fed Nobody working here appears to be happy with their job and they have not seemed to make much effort to make the experience pleasurable Will be sure to voice my "constructive criticism" with corporate and will never return to this location again Pros: The cheese was the only good part of the evening Cons: Service, service, service!!! more