Reading other reviews, there is an obvious trend: the food is just so-so, the atmosphere is mostly awesome, your experience can be hit-or-miss depending on the wait staff you get, and there are a ton of different booth and character choices to behold. I'll generally agree with those, and expound on a couple key points.
** MY KEY POINT: The staff makes MTM what it is - fun, energetic, entertaining, humorous, engaging... Without the staff, you'd be hard pressed to use ANY of those words to describe it, and that's really the crux of MTM - it's not a restaurant, it's an entertainment venue that serves food. When you go to a nice restaurant, you don't use those words to describe the place - you focus on the food and service. At MTM, if you focus on food and service, you'll hate it. **
I also want to take a quick moment to just comment that, in my opinion, any review that gives MTM 5 stars and raves about the food should automatically be viewed with caution. I'm a foodie and used to work at MTM. The food is very basic fare, so anyone that raves about it (in my humble opinion) is either trying to pump up MTM's ratings, or is clueless about food QUALITY and would like anything thrust in front of their mouths. But I digress...
FOOD
The same "Roman Orgy", the same bread and butter, the same salad car, the same... well, everything pretty much everything. MTM makes money doing what they do and doesn't care to change their model. The characters change (often, by the way), the managers change, the prices change (well, they go up!) - but the food? Pretty much the same: solid averageness. Yes, I made that word up. Now, if this food was served at Applebees, I'd almost accept it (although, seriously, why would I be at Applebees? SAVE ME!) because the price to quality ratio would be in check. However, MTM charges quality prices for average quality food. I believe the reason is that their overhead is pretty high, so they build in some of the cost into the food
ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere is pretty cool, mostly - meander around the restaurant and soak it in. Just avoid the upstairs bar and you'll be fine. Atmosphere is a rather general word, but the two big points are: decor and wait staff. First, the decor is very Mad Hatter with no two booths looking the same. You could "dine" in an actual school bus, a booth of giant crayons, the Money Room, a Library, etc etc etc... Seriously, go walk around and look at all the booths - you won't be sorry and you might make new friends. Second, the wait staff has a ton of license to be entertaining - just make sure you check your ego at the door, and relax about timing on service, and you could have a blast. The staff makes MTM what it is - fun, energetic, entertaining, humorous, engaging... Without the staff, you'd be hard pressed to use ANY of those words to describe it, and that's really the crux of MTM - it's not a restaurant, it's an entertainment venue that serves food. When you go to a nice restaurant, you don't use those words to describe the place - you focus on the food and service. At MTM, if you focus on food and service, you'll hate it.
WORKING THERE
Yes, I worked at MTM when I was 19, and so I have a different perspective than a "normal" patron. I know how much freaking WORK it is to be a waiter or a helper (did you know that there are full-fledged waiters, and then there are helpers that all wear costumes, but helpers can't actually turn in orders? If you give an order to a helper, they actually go and turn it in to a waiter. Then, at the end of the night, the waiters tip-out the helpers from their own tips. Believe you me, as a helper, you learned quickly which waiters you would work for. Keep that in mind - your waiter may not tip helpers well, so your helper may not spend much time in your area). At the time, Kathy was the manager and she was a major $&*!, but she demanded people always be doing something, and still there never seemed to be enough time. Why? Well, think about it - if you're at a restaurant, you want the waiter when you want him/her to go get you something. Not to stand and entertain you - so, you might want "Ranch Dressing" and the asking of the waiter takes less than 30 seconds. But, at the MTM, you want the wait staff to perform!
WHY
I mentioned Overhead - I used to clean the salad car by hand over 15 years ago. I knew each booth intimately. I can tell you - there is a huge cost factor in having customized booths spread across a restaurant that must be upkept versus just a bunch of similar tables and chairs all across one big room. Huge difference. It doesn't explain the messy bathroom or disgusting bar area upstairs. But, just saying so you know when you order your food that part of the proceeds go to support the booth you're sitting in.
HOW TO GET THE MOST
This isn't about you - let the wait staff perform, check your ego, dont expect much from the food. You'll be fine - it's all about YOUR attitude. read more