December 23 for lunch.thos place is crazy busy. their line from the sauce bar doesn't exactly make it smooth to get to the grill. there were about 5 people at the grill and ive never had huhot grill take so long. I eat at the. wdm one quite a bit , and this was so slow. our server was nice. food was good as usual. I'll try to stick to the WDM location though. read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

It has been a minute since we visited last. It was a Friday evening right at about 6pm. We were able to walk right in and be seated immediately. The noise level was high as there was a good amount of people here today and they were making lots of noise at the grill. There is a small bar when you come in and you can sit and watch the TV up at the bar or be seated at many of the other spots open. Even though the grill was hopping there were a good number of open tables. As I reported before, 5 stars for the waitress. She was quick, attentive and helpful with any questions. It really speaks volumes for the staff to continuously have good reviews. I wasn't hungry enough to have the buffet and didn't think I would eat my fill of what it cost. We decided to get the Taste of Bounty Appetizer sampler. You get 3 of each of their fried appetizers. There is crab rangoon, wantons and rolls. The sampler was good. All items were fried and served with a sweet and sour sauce. I also ordered a house salad to have with the appetizer. The waitress really talked up the made in house ranch so I took the bait. The salad was just iceberg chunks, couple cucumber slices, tomatoes and croutons. The ranch was really good. She also brought a bowl of white rice to go with the buffet purchase, but you really don't need it with all the other filler options up there. I slowly enjoyed my food while my husband got his moneys worth at the buffet. Lots of hungry people this visit. Hubby did a different flavor each time he went up there. He mixes it up as much as he can. If you think you will eat your fill through the line its not a bad deal. The options outside the buffet are limited. GF and allergy friendly. read more

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This place used to be on my avoid list. As it turns out, most of that was my fault. I've experimented with the sauces over the last couple of years and have found some highlights...specifically the mongol mustard. It cooks well and leaves wonderful flavor notes on your tongue. My server was attentive...but I can't stand the size of the drink cups here. They might as well put a spill-proof lid on them and a thick plastic straw...I think my friends' kids get bigger servings. Maybe when they were first getting started they got some at a cut-rate price from a daycare going out of business and they stuck. At one time, they offered single portions of appetizers. I wish they'd go back to this. I could eat one or two crab rangoons, but have no desire for a full course. The grill crew was very friendly and worked things in an efficient manner. read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - Beef, onions, broccoli, potatoes. - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Felt rushed and ignored at the same time. My friend and I ordered the dinner and were never asked about soup or salad. The bowls are too small to be restricted to one a round and other location lets you use two bowls. It was almost as the wait staff wanted us to eat and leave with as little interaction as possible and as soon as possible. This has been the first time in over 15 years that I have had an issue with wait staff anywhere. read more

Menu prices didn't match what was charged. When I asked they said table menu QR codes were wrong Nothing for bringing it to their attention so they could fix their mistake not even a one time adjustment to my bill. I know it was only 2bucks but oh well. read more

I stood and the greater stand while the only waitress walked by me 5 times. She seemed more worried about people's drinks than seating anyone. There were other waitress I saw standing around in the back doing nothing. Apparently they didn't need my business read more

This place was a mixture of enjoymen. first I would like to state to all the mothers that 4 year olds eat free. Secondly I think this is a very friendly environmen. I made a new friend don't know his name but I know his hear. I know that he would be very grateful if we all pull up on October 20 which is his birthday (sorry for leaking you) and we can bring him gifts and cake. The only downside of this place is there is no to go boxes. I as a little obviously over 4 because I didnt get my food for free I paid 19.07 dollars it was woeth is tho because of my new friend. I got 93 cents back from a very nice waiter who didn't have to go boxes. But that's ok because maybe some day I'll become manger and add to go boxes. Thanks for this fun op and food and time and friendship. keep up the good work guys read more

Food was good and fresh! Even had mussels for a choice of meat! Staff were friendly and attentive! read more

This place is amazing. The food is magnificent, and absolutely delicious. The staff who is cooking is always kind and says thank you. I love HuHot in every way!!! read more

I just wanna say thank you! I came in today and had the best experience ever. I was turning 18 today and my friends had gotten the party room and the first thing I walk into is the waiter saying happy birthday too me. He also made sure we had drinks right away. I don't think I had to ask for a refill once or anything in general he was on top of it all night. He was just a general good guy to be around. He talked with us made jokes and just made it 10x better. The food was also great but back to the waiter, at the end of night we are all getting checks I leave to get more food with some other guys I come back he's handing out checks. I thought he had forgotten mine but he told me it's on him to tonight for my birthday. I appreciate you a lot. So thank you! I can't 100% remember his name I think it was Duncan a black male really nice dude. Thank you HuHot for a great night and great first experience! read more

Love Love Love Hu hot, so was a little disappointed with the preparation of the food today :/ Cooks seemed rushed even though we were only 2 of the 4 people in the buffet line. Mixing the ingredients together is half of the stir fry experience read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

I'm HuHot (hot damn) Called a police and a fireman I'm HuHot (hot damn) Make a dragon wanna retire man I'm HuHot (hot damn) Say my name you know who I am I'm HuHot (hot damn) Am I bad 'bout that money, break it down. Sing it, Bruno Mars! This place is definitely great. I'm a huge fan of this place -- it gives you the caloric information for everything, so it's a great healthy option. HuHot Mongolian Grill is your typical mongolian grill venue. If you never been to one, you go up to a buffet line and gather a bunch of ingredients and give the cooks behind the grill your concoction and they stir-fry that bad boy and give it to you on a place. This place is AYCE and the variety of ingredients is pretty decent. For proteins, they have shrimp, chicken, pork, imitation crab, meatballs, and fish (tilapia maybe?) and even mussels. Add your proteins, then you got a big variety of veggies, such as carrots, snow peapods, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, etc. After that, pick your carb. They got different types of noodles, or you can opt out of it, and there is a bowl of rice at your table. After the carb, you go to the sauce station. There's informative placards detailing each sauce including again, the caloric information. Pro-tip: much like they mention on their menu, aim for at least 4-6 ladles worth of sauces. It may sound like a lot, but when I skimped out and only got 2-ladles, most of the sauce evaporated and my plate was drier than usual. The cooks formed a circle around the grill and are pretty speedy. What I find impressive is how they keep track of who had what. At any given time, there is at least 10 different orders being stir-fried on the grill. This beast had 4 bowls and it was all delicious! Along with the buffet, we ordered some crab rangoon. The sweet and sour dipping sauce that came with it was too thick for my preference, but the sweet chili sauce on the table was great. Overall, everything was great. The choices of ingredients was great, and I like the buffet style. Service was on-par and the ambiance was good too. BATHROOM REVIEW: Rather clean, the men's bathroom had one urinal and one stall. It was clean, and had two sinks to wash your hands in. The soap dispensers were in working order and the paper towel dispenser had plenty of paper towels. It was one of those paper towel dispensers where you had to pull one paper towel with two hands. Sit or squat? Sit! read more

I went into HuHot for the first time in years and it was the impiety of the saying "Some things never change". The concept behind HuHot is that you make what you want and for the most part you can do it. There were several protein options with Pork & Chicken being the most abundant. There was also Tofu, Mussels, Imitation Krab, Beef, and something they called "Asian Meatballs". There was also several types of noodles and veggies. Overall I think you can find something to fit every diet. The sauces have always been the one thing that overwhelmed me, but they do have several recipes over by the station to try so you can follow those if nothing else. I used 1 Teriyaki, 2 Khans, 2 Hoisin, 1 sesame oil, & 1 1/2 garlic oil. It turned out pretty much like a Garlic brown sauce, which is what I was after. My one upset was how small the bowls were and the fact that you were only allowed to get one per trip as a "courtesy to our cooks". I'm not sure why that is, but it is frustrating because you can not possibly get a good portion of food in the one tiny bowl. The atmosphere is ok. Pretty loud. I wouldn't come in to have a conversation. It was clean for the most part. It hasn't changed much from when it opened several years ago. There are no menu's. Just a QR code on the table, but with a place like this you really don't need them. Overall I wont be rushing back but I wont be avoiding it either. My dad likes to go there so I'm sure that it will happen sooner rather than later. read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - a group of people in a kitchen - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

This has become our new go to place. The different combinations you can try are amazing. The staff are always friendly. Even when it's busy it doesn't feel over crowded. The kids love watching them cook the food. It's like dinner and a show. I will caution, if you have a VERY picky child/person they may not enjoy this so much. It's a fun environment. read more

Food was terrific. It took me 3 years but I got back to it on my recent visit. I wasn't disappointed because the taste was exactly as I remembered it. read more

Great staff. Super super nice and helpful they were the best. The host was super understanding.

Visiting Iowa for son's graduation. He came up to Des Moines to meet me for dinner. Though I am a fan of Mongolian BBQ, this wouldn't have been my first choice for his graduation dinner, but he selected it, and I wasn't disappointed. HuHot is a typical Mongolian grill (and I don't say that in a bad way). Great ambiance, good service, and the servers we polite and responsive. Good organization and setup of the options for ingredients. Also a very good set of ingredients, especially the sauces - they offered a greater variety of sauces than I'm used to. I highly recommend it, especially if you're looking for something different than "the usual" read more

A great place to visit with a hungry crowd. Everyone gets to make their own bowls and get as much as they want. It is a fun process to pick your noodles, veggies, proteins, and sauces. Everyone gets what they like and can get something totally different each visit. The staff is helpful if it is your first time and explain the process. We visited on a Friday night and it was very busy, but they get you right through the line. As for covid, everyone wears a mask and you wear plastic gloves going through the buffet. read more

I know I am late to the party, but today was my first time trying HuHot. I don't know if we will come back. The egg rolls were all wrap, very little filling and incredibly greasy. I did love the concept of choosing your meat, noodles, vegetables & sauce. I absolutely loved the gentleman working the grill. He was very helpful, chatty & a all around delight. Our waitress was ok, she was very busy and it showed. The food was ok, not great, my biggest complaint was Tuesday night is apparently shrimp night. I was pleased, I love shrimp. I found several shrimp on my plate that were not cleaned. The digestive tract was very intact & very visible after the shrimp was cooked. I showed this to a couple waitresses, the first got very snippy with us. Our waitress was a little nicer about it but she said that's the reason she is weirded out by seafood & doesn't eat it. What shocked me is no one offered to check the shrimp still out for consumption nor did anyone offer to make it right for us. I asked for our check & we left. I debated about leaving this review. I just feel people should know that if you go on shrimp night, check your shrimp before eating them. You can get very Ill eating shrimp that is not cleaned properly. read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - Shrimp & crab with pad Thai noodles & sauce - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

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I've been to multiple Mongolian grills in my time, and while the food was good definitely not one to write home about their selection of vegetables, meats, and sauces could have been a bit better quality. Fun place to mix and try new things if you are looking for a fun date night. They have plenty of guides too in case you can't decide what might pair well together. read more

My wife , stepdaughter and One of my kids met another person at Huhot in Ankeny Dec 12th 2018 Food was good off the grill, and we Ordered a appetizer tray. The appetizer was fine as well. We did order some cake, one of which being a cheese cake. The cheesecake was warm, flakey, didn't taste like a cheesecake. It was the worst cheesecake I have ever had. I went to a 12 dollar a head Ma and Pa feed today in my home town; they even had a cheesecake that was the bomb. In my opinion you should bypass the nasty cheesecake 3 stars because your cheesecake was yuck! read more

I have always been a fan of HuHot, I like how I can decide exactly how I want to make this plate of food. It usually changes as I am making it and I'm not exactly responsible for it if I don't really like It I can just get another one. While I do my best to not do this because this keeps the cost down for everyone. It is a buffet style which is the cost basis of this place. I wouldn't recommend a big party as it can fill up fast and overwhelm the staff. Ive never had an issue at this location for service or quality of food. Id recommend it for everyone at least once. I also recommend 2-3 scoops of black thi peanut sauce :) read more

I guess the reason for the high reviews is low cost high quantity. Standard Mongolian grill or bbq. The food quality is average. The spicy sauces, not very spicy. read more

It's an interesting place to go once in awhile if you are looking for something different and have quite an appetite. The service is usually friendly and attentive. The food quality is average, especially the proteins (meats). It's interesting to combine your own pick of ingredients in a buffet style, so you have some control over how the dish will taste. The problem I have is the buffet pricing - it's extremely high priced for what you get. I can usually eat just one plate...maybe a plate and a half, so the price is a bit outrageous for me. 15 bucks is what I pay, I think? Plus drinks? It's not fine dining or cuisine. read more

First time came here on a weekday and didn't have a wait time. The food depends on what you choose as your ingredients and sauces. We always go for the grill. You get a soup - egg drop/Hot n sour ( chicken broth) and then pick your ingredients and sauces for your awesome creation. What I disliked about this place earlier was that there was high chance of your food getting mixed with some one else's because everything is cooked on this huge circular grill. They have changed it now and you can tell them to separate your food and they do it and use different spatulas for your food. read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

We had a party of 14. It was my nephews 16th birthday. I called ahead, just as a curtesy. Me "I know you all don't take reservations, I'm just calling to let you know we have a party of 14 coming in at 5:30." It was 5 when I called. To which she said "We don't take reservations." I then said "No, no, I know that, I'm just calling to give you and your staff a heads up is all." She says "Kay, thanks." And I just said thank you see you soon and said my goodbyes or whatever. No big deal. We arrived at 5:30, it was actually pretty slow, we waited as they pushed tables together to accommodate us. Our server was phenomenal! That girl was ON IT! We had separate tickets and 5 little kids in our group. I never had to ask for a refill, no one did, she was like a serving magician. I even had to add a meal to go to my ticket. The food was great as well! You can mix up anything and it's just delicious! We wanted the s'mores dessert on the menu, my nephew was really looking forward to it, my two kids were going to share one as well. Then this happened. It's on the menu, with a big picture to reel you into this. However, they do not serve this at this location. Seriously. I know it's not the servers fault in any way. It IS corporates and the GM though. If it's not available here, it should at least be crossed off the menu or corporate should have a separate menu for locations that do not have the s'mores. All in all though, very good food quality, nice restaurant and the best server ever! read more

Me and my boyfriend usually go out to the West Des Moines location but ended up going here on accident. The waitress was really nice but when we went up to get our plates first thing we noticed is how everything is kinda mixed in spots they shouldn't be. It wasn't too big of a deal since we don't have diet restrictions though. Once we got up to the grill the guy put it on and moved the meat around a bit but overall nothing really got mixed together so naturally the sauce kinda made parts of it crunchy and burn. When we actually got the food the sauce wasn't really mixed in well since it just sat there so it didn't have any flavor in certain spots and there were certain parts that were cooked (burned) but some that were still cold. Never noticed these issues at the other HuHot so I'd recommend just stopping over there. read more

I like the concept of Mongolian grills, and this one does a good job. Good assortment of meat and veggies. Good sauce selection. Fast cooking. Overall, the so a nice job. The one downside of this chain is that they do not have extra sauces available after cooking, so things end up a little bland even if if you aggressively sauce things before cooking. Decent spot, does what it does pretty well. read more

Usually when we come in the food is generally great. However tonight must have been over cook the food night. If I actually wanted crispy beef then they did great!! Mushrooms are not supposed to be crisp off the grill. All and all in the end, I'll still come back. read more

Great food and service. I had Joshua for a waiter, he was amazing and attentive despite being extremely busy.

Ohh, begeeezuz! I got here and did not expect to be geeted with such firmness and respect! They took our drink orders, and away we all ran, starvin marvins!!!! I was extatic to see, so much food to mix and match, spicey, or not! Watched as they handled the food mix and it made me droool!! Ye ha! My favorite is everything, especially the egg drop ( I call it Bird Drop just to get the laughs) soup was outstandin! Keep up the good work, everyone! Now must go home, crank up the electric blanket, and camp out to watch the Olympics!!! Yum yum! Sleepy time later! read more

My wife and I like to eat here and it's a "must visit" when our Granddaughters come to see us! A good variety of noodles, meats, veggies and sauces to put in your bowl and you get to watch while they cook it on the super hot grill which takes just a short time. Everybody wears masks and they have plastic gloves for you to put on before you take & fill up your bowl. They have zucchini noodles if you are on a carb free diet, like my wife is. We ate there this week for a "take out" meal & since we could only make one trip to choose food, they give you a larger bowl to use and there was so much in our "take out" that we each had two meals from it! read more

The staff was super helpful and competent. We have 3 people in our family with common food allergies and they went out of their way to ensure our food was safe. The experience was fun for my 10 and 12 year old, trying out different food and sauce combinations. And the best part for me? The bill. A very reasonable price for an all you can eat option. read more

came here back in august, the lay out is a bit different, i usually go to the one near downtown. came here for my birthday with my boyfriend's family, 5 adults & 2 kids. there was a bit of a wait on a Wednesday night but it didn't take too long, maybe 10 minutes or so for 2 parties to leave so they can push 2 tables together. the servers were super friend, they were on top of our every request especially drinks refills and chopstick helpers for kids because they dropped a pair every 10 minutes haha! I love mongolian grill and a buffet version, man i can't be more happier! read more

How many strikes before I finally call an out? Strike 1: Decided to order online, went through all the steps but noticed they did not have a child's grill online, so we called and were told they weren't accepting online orders anyways because of lack of help. They didn't know that Tuesday was kid's eat free night and told us that we could order to go when we come in. Strike 2: Went down to order (Tuesday Kids Eat Free Night). They refused to allow children's meals (we wanted two with noodles and chicken only) without the kids and the special is only for dine-in. Understandable that they might worry people are ordering for non-children; however, make sure that is clear on the website (i.e., children eat free, dine-in only, on Tuesdays). Our family member (who had planned on three to-go adult orders and two children's) walked out. Strike 3: Decided to try one more time, this time paying for children's orders and doing take out. The set up requires one walk through a buffet line (try doing that with 4 orders!). It took a long time to get acknowledged by the employee who said that "to go" was possible. The employee dropped off 4 bowls and walked away, without explaining how the process works. Had to balance 4 bowls by self, with employees saying, "Be careful with that!" The food was thrown on a grill and a huge portion of the food was tossed off the grill (so don't expect to get all that you put in your bowl...indeed, for this price, you don't expect only half of your food left on the grill), We found items in our bowl that were not put there (such as pineapple!) and my spinach completely disappeared (probably ended up on the full tray of food that was beneath the grill). Because the bowls were put on sequentially, the bowl at the end hardly got cooked, leaving the veggies undercooked. They also forgot to give us the sides that come with the kid's meal. In the end, the final product tasted all right. Is the hassle, the waste, the lack of customer service worth a "meh" meal? Because it's the only game in town, there is no other choice but I may wait to visit Mongolian Grills in LA or PHX...or better yet, make my own. So the answer to my opening question? 3 strikes, you're out. read more

First time here. Since I work in Ankeny decided to stop in. The Selection of food is good. I went with Beef Pad Tai the Atmosphere is funky and vibrant. Cafe Style. My lunch came with a bowl of Jasmine rice. Egg rolls are extra. Would like to see at least one included with the rice. Otherwise the prices are decent not to expensive. read more

HuHot Mongolian Grill - Beef Pad Tai is good. Taste an texture are very consistent. - Mongolian Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Food is decent but booths, walls etc are filthy. Hard to enjoy the meal. Our waiter was very prompt.

The first time I had Mongolian grill it was in high school at a local place which I hated, it made me not want to try Mongolian grill ever again. It was during lunch at work when my coworkers wanted to eat at HuHot and dragged me along. It is so amazing here, I loved it immediately. There is a descent selection of food you can choose from to be cooked, and the different sauce combinations can give you different flavor varieties. This location is usually pretty busy, but the wait to get your food cooked is not too bad. The price is good for what you get. Atmosphere is inviting, a good family place. There was a period of time where I ate here every week because I enjoyed it so much. Staff is always friendly here. read more

Overall not bad. You select the ingredients, they cook it up for you. So if you're not liking the flavors, it's likely right back on you. The place can be rushed and may have long wait times when busy. I stay away from their ice water as I think it tastes bad, but the rest of the place is OK. The buffet area to pick up your ingredients has a large selection of items to choose from. Depending on the day and how busy they are, the place can be a bit of a mess, but they are normally on top of it pretty good. Fun place to go with friends and/or family to see what everyone comes up with. And portions are not a problem with it being all you can eat at the grill. I have never ordered off the menu, so I can't speak to the backroom kitchen. read more

Fun to take my grandsons here. Food very good. Never had to wait at lunch time. Really like the variety.