I've been doing Mongolian grills for more than 30 years. As a kid, it wasn't uncommon for cities to have several to choose from. We used to go to a couple different locations in Bellevue with the last one closing some time in the early 2000's. At that point, we used to hit one of the few in Federal way before settling in at Chang's in Renton before it closed pushing us back to Federal Way.
All those years, names and locations it was always the same. All You Can Eat, soup, rice and ice cream. I remember when Iron Grill's started popping up and at one point, there had to be at least 6 locally I never stopped, because the other places always appeared to be less expensive for a better experience. Now if you never tried one of the original grills, you can't know better, but for me, these places will never be great.
Today, out of curiosity, I checked this place out and this is my honest review. The food bar was stocked well, everything was topped off and appeared fresh. That said, we were the only people inside which tells me this is no hot spot. The lunch special was a large bowl with a drink for $17. Ironically at AYCE, I normally go through twice, but my bowl is never full. I didn't choose the AYCE option today because the large bowl was a better deal and my large bowl wasn't even full, the girl told me I could go back and top off my bowl if I wanted, but I declined.
Two problems here. The fact that you can't control your meat and the liquid options were limited. I like cooking wine, that wasn't on the bar. I like hot oil, that wasn't on the bar and I also like Oyster Sauce, also not on the bar. It takes all the sauces and oils to make a true Mongolian feast. Soup would have been nice and at least a fortune cookie would have been a good topper, but none were offered.
In the end, this was ok, but far from great. For what I paid, it was a fair deal, but it could have been better and honestly, I would have quickly paid a few dollars more for a better experience. That said, I don't see myself returning as this was a watered down experience.
We considered going to Jasmine in Federal Way, but my issue there is the price keeps going up, the experience is less than consistent, and they removed soup from meals and the bar is always low or missing items.
If a better grill ever pops up, I'll be a customer, until then, we'll just catch a grill in Vancouver BC or Portland as we travel. read more