HuHot Mongolian Grill
2550 E 3rd St, Bloomington, IN, 47401
HuHot Mongolian Grill Menu
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Address :
2550 E 3rd St
Bloomington, IN, 47401 - Phone (812) 339-7882
- Website https://www.huhot.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
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Nicole B.
I don't know how they're still in business. This is a very delayed review, we went about a month after they first opened, and have not, and will not, go back. The lines to get your food is nothing short of a clusterf%$#. Within my group of 4, only one of us went back a 2nd time around to get more food. Everything we prepared was just mediocre. It's hard to choose from a few dozen sauces when you have no idea if you like them or not. A good dish or a bad dish is totally in the hands of YOU. -and all 4 of us made bad choices apparently. I don't want to go out to eat and have to work that dang hard- getting in line, worrying about who will steal my purse while our table is empty, filling my bowl, standing in another long line, etc. Just not worth it. Do they still yell out HuHot at random intervals? I hope they stopped that. It was rather annoying when you were trying to have a conversation with your friends.
(1)Putra A.
The venue is good to have lunch and just hang out. But like most restaurant that cook your food on demand, the taste will be different with different cook. We visit this place often because we have a favorite cook that prepare our meal as we like it, dry and medium well. But if he's not around the food will be a little wet and gooey.
(4)Jonny S.
Meh. Interesting concept I guess. You pick out your ingredients and sauces and they cook them for you. Then again I can do that at home if I sweet talk the wife enough. The sauces seem tasty enough. I also had the potstickers which were fairly tasteless. They do have some fun desert items like Cheesecake Rangoon and at your table S'mores where they bring out a little burner, but that really just made me want to go to Melting Pot.
(2)Carl B.
Pretty underwhelming to be honest. Nothing was that great, nothing was terrible. This is a chain mongolian restaurant, and if you've ever been to an all-you-can eat mongolian place then you've been here. I tried a few different sauce combinations, none of which I was too keen on. But with so many options, one if bound to find a great combo eventually. I will say that the Asian side salad was good. All-in-all, it was decent I suppose.
(3)Steve F.
I love huhot. I have food allergies and a picky family...but huhot serves all of us and is a decent price. I've only gone for lunch...but I know it is pricey for dinner. I will say that you have to go at the right time. Just don't go right at noon. Otherwise there is a little more than desired wait. All-in-all, it is definitely worth it!
(4)Matt F.
How hot? 4 stars! Okay I originally gave this place 3 stars (and usually don't go over 3 stars for chain restaurants), but this place is really fun! Try lots of different ingredients and.load up on the spices. I still ruok they could manage their buffet line a bit better, but we went at a pretty busy time and the wait wasn't too bad. Similar to hibachi, everyone should try a Mongolian grill-style restaurant at least once.
(4)John S.
I thoroughly enjoy the food here. I've only gone during weekday lunches where it's around $7.99 for the buffet, and I really love making my own food. I get all types of meats (chicken, beef, pork) and mix some good sauces to make it delicious. Obviously if you go during dinner or on a weekend, it WILL be busy and take forever to get your food. I wouldn't go during dinner or on the weekend though, I spend $10 with everything on the weekday lunch. Dinner costs more for whatever reason - it's not worth it. It seems like it takes absolutely everything to impress a college student in a town with tons of restaurants according to the other reviews. The service is good, the meals are delicious (if you know how to actually make a meal and not go based off the cards), and the price is decent. Don't go during the busy hours and spice up your life and actually test the waters with the sauces.
(4)Char D.
I honestly don't know why this place has gotten such bad reviews. I went there and loved it SO much that I went back again. The atmosphere was fun and friendly which is awesome for a family with kids. It wasn't crowded at all for the weekend so we didn't have to wait long for our food. The waiter and waitress that we had were very friendly and accommodating to us. We follow a strict gluten-free diet and they brought us brochures with detailed information of what their sauces contained. It was very helpful! We went there twice during the weekend at lunch time and it was so affordable! The weekend offers a wider selection for lunch as well. For a family of 4, we spent less than $25 which is cheaper than a lot of restaurants we go to. The bar had a nice variety and I didn't mind the raw meat since they were frozen. I've seen it done at other Mongolian grills that I've been to in California. It sure beat the other places that would have their meat raw and not frozen, yuck! There was a nice variety of meat, noodles, vegs and sauces to pick from. Even the desserts were creative and fun, but unfortunately we had to skip it because of our diet. The cooks heated up our meal for us very quickly and it's very fun to watch it all be done right in front of us. My family loved it so much that it has become one of our favorite places to go to. We'll definitely be back :)
(5)Jenn H.
Love the variety of items you can add to your bowl and the sauces are phenomenal! Grilled right in front of you.
(4)Todd F.
I was in high school the last time that I went to a Mongolian barbecue place, and I had fond memories of that experience. Unfortunately, HuHot did not inspire similarly warm thoughts. The place feels something like one of those themed dining places at an amusement park -- mildly chaotic, tacky, and overpriced. The waiter was very friendly and helpful, but he seemed overworked -- he forgot to bring us the tortillas that we asked for, and he only gave one water refill. The food itself was mediocre. Some combinations are probably better than others, but mine left something to be desired. The raw food buffet setup is somewhat awkward. They provide you with cards containing recipes for certain dishes, which is great, but the area is pretty congested, and traffic generally moves in one direction (toward the grill). I accidentally missed one of my ingredients, and it was surprisingly difficult to go back to retrieve it. The line was also quite long when I was there (around 6:30 pm). If you were to go at an off-hour with an empty stomach, you'd probably get a lot of bang for your buck. But I'm not really interested in going back again.
(1)Betsy L.
Wen to there for more than twice and the food here is above the average. You can always choose drinks provided by Coca Cola with unlimited refill. And the sauce here are good, DIY your noodle with the suggestion by their board.
(4)Charcy L.
Nice place to eat fried noodles, you could choose all vegetables, meat and sauce you want to cook with, and the place to cook noodles is open to customers, the cooking time last at most 5 minutes!
(4)Brian C.
I can see the frustration with this place, especially with those not used to Mongolian bbq. Honestly, there really isn't anything wrong with HuHot at all, even in comparison to those in LA or SF. During a rush, I can see the pressure of waiting patrons and hungry souls, but the meal you get is worth it in the end. Pro tip: pack the meat in your bowl, add sauce and oil to meat, then add veggies and noodles and sauce on top. Pro tip 2: if you want, use another bowl. Since it's AYCE, they don't mind.
(4)Evelyn Z.
I like the way that the restaurant almost made "HuHot" an adventure for the first-timer. But all the meat are heavily frozen so a lot of moisture was lost. A pity for a meat-goer like me:( but they got a lot of choices and great combination of seasonings. I guess I'll visit once in a while :)
(4)Jason D.
Your typical mongolian grill. I come from a place where BD's Mongolian Grill is more popular, and better than HuHot. Come here if you want to devour in lots of food, for about $15. You're paying more for the experience than anything.
(3)Stephanie S.
Food is amazing...you can choose the level of heat. The staff was on their game, the cooks were amazingly friendly and considerate of allergies. This place kicks BD's ass... We will be back again with friends and an appetite!
(5)Avarie E.
I went to Huhot with my brother over the weekend and it for sure became one of my favorite places to eat! In the middle/back of the restaurant there is a frozen meat, veggie, and noodle buffet. I put chicken, beef, krab, Chinese noodles, broccoli, potatoes, and mushrooms in my bowl. Then, there is another little buffet full of sauces. I used about 6 sauce ladles because I did not want my food to taste dry. The cooks that made my food right in front of me were very friendly and did a couple tricks while tossing my food around. After a short wait, I made sure to grab a pair of chop sticks to eat my creation with. The food was delicious as well as my bowl of egg drop soup that the waitress brought over. My brother said that his food was amazing too, so I had to try it. did not taste anything like mine because of different sauce combinations that we used, but it was equally as delicious! The restaurant was clean as well as the restrooms, and we got our bill as soon as we asked for it. I will be returning to HuHot the next time I am in Bloomington, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys trying new food.
(5)Daniel A.
Food wasn't that good and it made me seriously ill. They have three or more guys running the grill at a time. Too easy for them to scoop finished food onto your plate right after they placed raw food onto the grill.
(1)Ana C.
Ate at the Huhot last nite - an food had no taste - meat was either undercooked or too well cooked to make it edible ! But worst of all was served undercooked rice - that's a basic staple in any Asian restaurant. I wouldn't recommend you spend your hard earn money here !
(1)Peri R.
OMG!!! This place rocks!!! Absolutely blows the socks off of BD Mongolian BBQ...will probably never go back to BDs. The service is amazing and the food rocks! Sadie and Liz are awesome! Ask for them! Love, love love this place! My fav place in Bloomington!
(5)Yuan Y.
They have fresh food for you to have. The tip jar is a bit annoy but it is all your choice. They do that in hibachi and other places too. But the services many times "disappear " when we need for a refill or ready for our check.
(4)Prashanth R.
Taste's ok. Might be using bad ingredients because I wasn't feeling right all nite. Not a clean place. Pretty lame and slow service. Won't be going back.
(2)Brad M.
Recently ate here and was impressed with the service and the crab rangoons as I am on a quest for the best rangoons in America. Will eat here again when I'm in the area.
(5)Mike S.
Been to 2 locations. both are awesome. Very fresh ingredients and friendly staff. We need one in Indianapolis!!
(5)Nathan J.
First time here. I'll be back. The food was really good. Mix it up how you like and add the sauce. They cook it fresh right in front of you. No funny business. Tasted yummy! Thank you!
(5)Donna C.
A couple friends and I ate lunch at Hu Hot Grill not long after it opened, and I remember that the food was average. We went back 08-19-14, and I filled a bowl with noodles, broccoli, mushrooms, tofu and a ginger sauce. I asked the cook if he would make the tofu crispy, and he said he'd be glad to. I was talking with my friends and not watching the grill, but it seemed my food was done unusually quickly. We settled in at our booth, I took two bites and had to quit. It was horrible. The tofu and vegetables were cold, the noodles were not even room temperature and the sauce tasted metallic. I returned the bowl of food, and filled another bowl with the same ingredients, minus the sauce. I told the cook what was wrong, and he was sympathetic in his apology. He told me the manager had removed my food from the grill too soon, she didn't know what she was doing and he would not have eaten it either. The new food was cooked, and when the manager showed up, I told her what had happened. She asked, "Oh, did you want it well done?" I said "I wanted only for it to be hot!" I returned to my table with my bowl which, this time, had steam coming up from it, just like my friends' lunches had. When I was nearly done eating, the manager wandered over and asked if it was okay. I told her it was an improvement. She turned and left without waiting for me to finish my sentence. I used soy sauce, which helped, but, even heated, the food was average. By the looks of the meat and imitation seafood on the buffet, Hu Hot uses cheap ingredients. I don't expect great food from chain restaurants in general, but this one is at the bottom of the heap. One star is for the polite cook.
(1)MsAnthro P.
There's a local comedian who mocks HuHot for using Genghis Khan as its mascot, and I have to say that was my first thought too. The web site says, "Our branding efforts mirror Genghis Khan's attitude toward the world... ripe for conquest." Um. OK. Want something? Kill and rape as many people as you can to get it! And bring your kids! What's next for Bloomington? A Hitler's Cross Cafe? (Google it.) I digress. Despite the triggering mascot, I sadly gave the place a go. I'm convinced the good reviews are based on the fact that you get a lot of food. But if the food isn't that great, is it still so awesome? Not to me. And if I have to physically go get my own food in a restaurant that seats me, it should be worth the price. And it just isn't. I can get ramen for 25 cents a pack, thanks. Plus, though Americanized to the hilt, the amount of selection with little backing info on all the sauces, etc. is just too annoying. I'm also confused about what research this chain did on actual Mongolian BBQ since the person cooking my meat didn't do anything except throw it on the grill and turn it over once and coat it in sauce. I thought the point was to evenly distribute the sauce on the meat by tossing it. Whaveter. I won't go back.
(1)Franklin D.
Went here for lunch. The place was not too busy, so maybe that had an impact? Based on the other reviews I'm glad I wasn't around for the not-so-grand opening, but it seemed like this place may have stabilized (clean, no food on floor, staff knew what to do, etc.) The service was great....friendly and prompt. (I think the guy said his name was "Wolf"? ) Kind of funny how everything has the "ancient warrior" theme going on. Nicely decorated dining room also. I really like food with spices and heat, so lots of chili oil and peppers are good for me. Like other Mongolian places, they keep the meat slices very cold so no one gets sick from the meat being left out. BUT they also have tofu here... freakin love tofu stir fry smothered in chili oil. The line for the grill was very short. I happened to wind up standing next to a group of mormon door-knocker missionaries, so i spent my wait time peppering them with questions about Utah and their bikes and isn't it too hot out to be wearing a suit etc. etc. Good times. Also had the coconut shrimp just to try something different... pretty good, and good dipping sauce. They came on a bed of lightly oiled soba noodles with green onion pieces... yum. My one complaint, I tried to eat with chopsticks and that made it tough to get the corn and peas from the plate to my face. All the larger pieces of food from the grill were good. P.S. Yes folks, some restaurants do have tip jars out. You see it more often in more populated areas, say Indy or especially Chicago. Tipping is strictly voluntary however, but certainly appreciated. Some days I feel like tipping, some days I don't even have cash in my wallet. Don't let it make you feel guilty ;)
(4)Mackenzie W.
Woah, this place has awful reviews and (based on my experience today), I have no idea why. First, the decor! Yes, it's totally tacky and kitschy and I LOVE IT. Everything is themed around kitschy kublai khan (I think) and it just made me laugh and delighted me. I love stuff like that though, so your mileage may vary. It was comfortable, wide, and it was easy to see how things moved -- or rather, how you were supposed to go about things. The staff? Fabulous. I walked in and was immediately greeted by, I think, the manager, who chatted for me and told me he'd get my waiter, Julian, for me ASAP. Julian was out within a few moments, and since I'd never been to HuHot before, he happily showed me around. They have one of those 100-Coke things, where you can mix your soda with any flavor. I got my old stand by: vanilla Diet Coke. They have a HUGE selection of meats/veggies (and tofu, mm), and sauces. My waiter told me his favorite mix, and asked me if I liked spicy and suggested I try it out, so I did it and it was delicious. Seriously. I piled high the veggies, the tofu, and a small amount of noodles, ladled on his recipe (spicy barbecue x2, some chili stuff x1 and garlics x2, lemon juice x1, yes, I know that's really specific), and when I got back to my table my soda and rice were waiting on me. I see a lot of people complaining about the tip jar next to the grill but...I think that's basically what's supposed to be there? Because I've always seen tip jars near the other grills where I've gone too, and those weren't kitschy places. They were smaller and less noticeable, sure, but they were there. Anyway, I happily tossed some cash in there, because the guy doing the grilling chatted with me while I cooked and he was super awesome about it. He made some jokes to my waiter, and it was over all a very welcoming atmosphere. The grill guy even asked if I liked my tofu brown, and happily made sure it was when I noted I loved it that way! The food? It was great. I mean, a lot of it depends upon yourself (I mean, you mix a bunch of crappy things it's going to come out crappy, not that I think anything is unmixable at the place) but the veggies they had were FRESH, the noodles were well done, and the meat and tofu were kept at the perfect temperature. The sauces, as well, were mixed well and numerous. Haven't tried the desserts yet, but the waiter told me about cheesecake rangoon with white chocolate drizzle, and I admit, that piqued my interest. I just had to go to a hair appointment, so unfortunately, didn't have the time to see to it. Over all though, WONDERFUL WOOOONDERFUL experience, and I highly recommend it. I guess it must have gotten better since all of the previous reviews or maybe it was because I went at lunch on a weekday when there weren't many people around or something, but it was a great.
(5)Tina D.
Fun times! Good place to celebrate a birthday. Even the 12 year old liked it. Next time Ithink I'll try to recipes. My seasonings could have been better chsoen, but we really liked the yellow curry and cocumnut sauces the bestb.
(4)J C.
Jimmy Buffet, why have you forsaken middle Indiana, your rightful home? Indeed, it WAS Paradise compared to Hu Hot! I knew this was going to be a tragic dining experience, but the boyfriend was suffering from the delusion that an all-you-can-eat mongolian buffet extravaganza is the ultimate expression of masculinity and also somehow metal. What is with the masculine romanticization of over-eating? No wonder men die off so much faster than women. A macho experience it was. With what bravado the young college bros working the grill hit on the jailbait teenage girls waiting breathlessly for their meals while their parents weren't looking! And all of the dishes you can create are so aptly (WTF?) named in the spirit of war. I was just waiting for them to say something was rape-and-pillage spicy. You should check out their website for laughs. "Burn-your-village-barbeque!" This was a 100% barftacular experience. I wish it was a CiCi's pizza instead, but I guess we can't have nice chain restaurants in Bloomington.
(1)Tom H.
It's "Mongolian BBQ" approach might work if they changed a few things, but there are several problems. First, the food ingredient quality seems really good; things are fresh and plentiful. You go through a line piling on veggies and sauces to your tofu, meat, poultry, and/or noodles. Then you watch as it gets grilled. You take the cooked food to your table and get free rice. Or that's how it's supposed to work. There's a tip jar on the railing for the chefs. It's kind of tawdry, like am I not going to get a good grill job if I don't slice a buck into the tip basket? The food prep on the grill was largely satisfactory, although veggies, meat, and noodles don't cook at the same rate, causing a few crispy critter problems. Then there was the waiter, who needed to be prodded to bring the rice. I wondered if he was hungover. I tried their "krab rangoon" and while it was tasty, it had obviously been prepared long ago, then fried to order and instead of being nice and crispy, was a bit soggy; you can't prepare them too far in advance or the cream cheese in them makes the shell soggy and this is what happened. We finally were able to capture our waiter and get the bill, which wasn't bad-- it's just that there is a lot of competition that does much better, and offers more for the price-- and not far away, either. You can probably do better, but doing Hu Hot once is probably ok. Yes, it's all you can eat. We didn't. Here's the update. Hu Hot mgmt saw the above and said: try us again. Here's a $25 gift certificate; we're not that bad, we're asking for another chance. So, my companion and I went back after a "cooling off" period. The update is that the the service got a bit better. We still had to ask for the rice we'd ordered. The "krab rangoon" didn't really change; they're made with "krab", cream cheese, and onion; one places this into an eggroll skin and it gets fried. If it's not sealed well, the oil gets inside; if they're hot, you can't tell that the oil got inside. If they sit on a shelf and get quick-heated, the cream cheese gets "mealy" and that's what happened here, again. The good news is that the ingredients were better. My companion, who goes there more than I, says they have hot and not as spicy days, where sauces on one day are wicked, and the next time, ok. I liked them this time; the ingredients were fresher (a small gradient better). The basic mongolian-grill routine produces good stuff. Was it enough to say: wow-- lots better, let's add a star or two? The answer is the grade doesn't change. Sorry mgmt. My companion says this was an experienced server, and he doesn't notice things coming slow. Maybe he would tell me to chill out, but I understand the tenets of service. Still, this place is NOT BAD, just not superlative. And the tip basket for the grill staff seems like a bad idea. I don't recall any other restaurant where you tip the cook directly, save perhaps a teppinyaki/hibachi chef.
(2)David C.
The food here is average. More care could be taken in prep as some of the larger items don't fully cook. We had a group of 13 here for a party and all had a great time. The place could have been a little cleaner, food on floor and general disorder at the food bar. If you go for the fun and experience you won't be disappointed. If you are looking for great food you should probably seek elsewhere.
(3)Sara P.
We went to HuHot, excited that a Mongolian BBQ place had opened. I was talking up the entire dining concept to my boyfriend. We were seated immediately and each chose a side (included in the price). I chose the hot-n-sour soup, and the boyfriend chose the Asian side salad. Our waitress directed us to go ahead to the stir-fry lines, and that our sides would be ready upon our return. We got in line...little did we know what was soon forthcoming... First, we stood in line to access the ingredients, which took about 5 minutes (not shabby). The meats were frozen and not fresh, so I skipped ahead and chose tofu. I love vegetables, but was only able to fit a small selection over my mound of tofu and rice noodles, since the prep bowls are so small. If the bowl's diameter or depth could just be increased by an inch or so, it would have made all the difference. Haphazardly balancing our bowls, we then went to the sauce station, avoiding spilled sauce on the tile. It took about 3-5 minutes to cycle through the sauces. The sauce options delighted me; I went with a little ginger broth and the peanut, 5-Village Fire & garlic-chili sauces. Here's where HuHot fell apart for me. The sauce station is right near the cook station. We confusedly approached the cook line, only to be informed by a mildly irate customer, that there was a THIRD line which you stood in to get your ingredients cooked. We dejectedly walked back to the start of the whole process, and found the cook line, crammed up against a wall. Thus the waiting began; it took 25-30 minutes to cycle through the cook line. All the while, you really get a taste of humanity and your level of tolerance, due to watching sneaky fellow customers cut in front of the entire cook line. You stand there from the back of the line, hoping that those in front of you can get the balls to overcome the standard politeness and tell the sneaky customers to back off. Some could do it, some could not. Everyone in line with you is either irate and constantly talking about the queue issues, or zoned out, trying to ignore the realities of it all. When our food was finally cooked, we rushed back to our table, to find our sides waiting there. We barely cared to touch them now (they turned out to be bland and disappointing), instead focusing/obsessing/fantasizing over how delicious a 40-minute stir-fry must taste...it must taste delicious right...it must be worth it. It wasn't. While it was mildly better than stir-frys I prepared at home, the entire HuHot ordeal offset any good feelings we may have had towards our dishes. My boyfriend decided to go back in line for a 2nd round of punishment, wanting to get our money's worth. I declined, waited another 28 minutes for him to cycle through, and worked on my Angry Bird skills. Admittedly, it was a Friday night at 8 PM, not an ideal time to try out a newer restaurant. But, I've eaten at other Mongolian BBQ restaurants during the typical Friday night crowds before, and never experienced the same heightened level of frustration. HuHot should borrow a tactic from the Flat Top Grill franchise; have the customer write down his table # on a reusable stick and place the stick in the selected bowl of meats/veggies/sauce, drop off the bowl at the cook station, and then the customer sits down. The wait staff can then bring the prepared dish back to your assigned table, and you avoid the frustrations we (and our other dine-mates) experienced above. This place isn't worth the wait or the cost.
(2)Jasen F.
I've never been to Mongolian before and now I know why. I imagine this experience might be decent, not great, if it was in a large city with an establishment that featured choice cuts of meat and seafood. To the dismay of my fellow diners, there was no shrimp, scallops, or egg to be selected. The sauces were OK but they were not hot, just medium. My main issue, other than the sub-par food, is why Bloomington food service is SO SLOW. It's a college town, I know, but one would imagine better service at the high end restaurants (Finch's...nope) or at a Mongolian restaurant, where you only take and bring drink orders, rice, tortillas, and clear plates. We had to ask for our server several times. It's it the water? The air? Ugh!
(1)June B.
I've had better Mongolian grill (try the Green Bowl if you're ever in State College, PA), but this is pretty tasty for a chain restaurant. There's a wide selection of meats and veggies -- some of the stuff is pretty surprising, actually. While the squid option is authentic to Asian cuisine, I can't imagine what would move someone to create a sausage and potato stirfry. But it's nice that the option is there, I suppose. I would really appreciate egg being added as an option on the buffet line! One interesting thing: they now have those magical flavor-mixer soda options that food places around here are starting to roll out. Last time we were there, service was kind of meh -- I think we hit between shifts, and we ended up having to ask TWICE for silverware. But once the waitstaff got things straightened out, they were pleasant enough. Finally, the whole "you are a Mongolian warrior" concept is painfully tacky and kind of racist, actually. I am, however, not bothered by the tip jar. Not a problem for me to throw a little green at the people who are constantly on display as they work around a searing hot grill.
(3)J K.
Chaos. It's a new restaurant in town and therefore where everyone wants to go. The crowd was huge, and while the staff seemed ready (if a bit overwhelmed), the line itself was not. The food line is downright dangerous, slippery floors, door to kitchen opening into the line forcing people to jump back or spill their food. One of the buffet lines and the cooking line are crammed into a very small corridor making it very uncomfortable as you continually are bumping in to someone. The lines's down the buffet are on both sides PLUS a third line for cooking...only one which is a huge problem...this forces you to either butt ahead in line of someone else, not wise in a town that lives for food, or go back to the end of the line and wait again. All in it took 25 minutes for one trip...it was not worth going for a second. The bowls used to carry the food from the prep lines to the grill are too shallow not to spill over, which I assume was causing all the slipperiness on the floor. I felt I would fall every shuffling step I took. The food quality was pretty basic and cheep. Shrimp was sorely missed (no seafood at all except for imitation crab ["Krab"] which is made from wheat and therefore not safe for gluten folks like myself. Real sea food would have been nice, especially since one of their promo pictures features shrimp. But the sauce bar was well laid out and expansive, that was a nice touch. While they do have beer (including local favorite Upland Wheat on tap), there is nothing else...being gluten-free, that was a shame. I'd have loved wine or a hard cider. On the plus side, Jeff, our waiter, was very polite and on his A-game. Without our knowing it, he communicated to the cooks that we had a gluten allergy and Xander was waiting for us with a freshly cleaned grill and fresh spatulas to ensure no contamination of the food. This last point is HUGE PLUS and is the only reason HuHot gets 2 stars instead of 1. The entire place was allergy aware and accommodating. From the hostess asking us (before we had asked her), to the special, detailed allergy and dietary menus, allergy warnings on the food labels in the line, to Jeff and Xander ensuring our food was prepared correctly. The entire grill team was EXCELLENT and deserves huge props. I'd love to go back...except for the floors, lines, food and chaos.
(2)Sean C.
not bad, not great, just okay. just forget to add garlic oil to your bowl, otherwise it's tasteless.
(3)Brian O.
Eaten there twice for lunch (11:30am) and now once for dinner (7pm). I'm a Mongolian BBQ fan and I think they are doing a fine job for early goers. The service, environment and food was good. One of my new favorite Bloomington spots for early lunch. However late is not so good and now I understand the other comments. Food was mixed between containers, messy and not well refreshed and I think the workers were getting tired and so mixed my food just a little on the grill with another persons. They seemed understaffed even as the place was not real busy. Dinner is also too expensive for that kind of environment. Take a lesson from Disney folks and clean up your act or you'll follow in the footsteps of other restaurants at your location.
(3)Jul N.
I just reviewed another Mongolian Grill place and was reminded of my experience at Hu Hot over the summer. OK prices and many choices. Other than that, very mediocre food quality, loud and lackluster family atmosphere (NOT good for a date night), inattentive wait staff, messy ingredients bar (carrots in the onions, onions in the chicken, chicken in the fish...you get the picture), and awkward setup for waiting in line for your food. The raw fish and meat sitting out with the rest of the ingredients seemed really unsanitary, given how many people...and kids...are walking by, touching the bar, swapping serving tongs for different ingredients, etc. And I'm skeptical that the meat was being kept as cold as it should. Perhaps allow the grill staff to add meat/fish for you, and leave it off the ingredients bar?
(2)Gail M.
I give two stars ONLY because the food was pretty good both times I was there. But on both occasions the service was awful in the midst of total confusion. Paying for my carry out orders sent the hostesses in to total tail spins. One couldn't even make change saying, "we don't have many nickels." The service and confusion will likely get even worse when the corporate trainers leave and the staff are left on their own. OMG.
(2)Gazooby X.
This is an American chain restaurant. If you want real Asian, Bloomington has many more authentic choices. But we thought we would try the new place anyway out of curiosity. The concept is that you get to assemble your own meal, which is cooked for you. So the pros are that you get very fresh ingredients served up piping hot. Lots of veggies, and a wide selection of Asian sauces. The weekday lunch price is $7.99, with weekend prices going a couple of dollars higher. It's all you can eat, including white rice and tortillas but not including drinks (which are expensive). Other pros are the nice staff. In our case, however, the cons outweighed the pros. The main issue was that several of the sauces had a terrible aftertaste. In fact, when we mentioned it to the waiter, he said "like soap, right?" (I thought it was kind of metallic). So we asked him why nothing had been done considering he knew about this problem, and that brought the manager for a conversation. Turns out "corporate" manufactures the sauces and nothing can be done about it. So we won't be back.
(2)