Restaurant Review: The Melting Pot, Houston, Texas

Nestled in the corner of a shopping center, behind the adjacent arm of the strip mall, you will find The Melting Pot, a restaurant with a theme, and if you blink too fast going down Westheimer, you'll miss it completely because of its location. Don't blink, because you don't want to miss this experience.

To start, it's important to plan plenty of time to dine at The Melting Pot. Seriously, this is not going to be an in-and-out dinner. In fact, for a table for two, expect to be there at least two hours, possibly three if you order drinks. We've gone to The Melting Pot twice now-once for a romantic dinner for two and once for a birthday celebration-and both times we spent nearly four hours at the restaurant from start to finish.

That's okay, though, because one of the best things about The Melting Pot in Houston on Westheimer is that the restaurant does not have a 'turn and burn' policy. The waiters and waitresses at your table encourage you to take it slowly, enjoy yourselves, and not to worry about how much time you spend. This is definitely an entire dining experience, and not just a place to eat.

Restaurant Cuisine:

So what is The Melting Pot? It is a fondue restaurant! At your table, there is a burner built into the tile tabletop, and on that burner sits a large cast-iron fondue pot. Each party has their own color-coded set of fondue skewers, and the waiter prepares your dishes for your to dip in your fondue pot.

The Melting Pot Menu

The menu has a small but ample selection of your favorites, all prepared specifically in a style that facilitates the fondue cooking. Additionally, there is a special four-course meal for two that changes every six months, for one price, but you can mix and match the items for others on the menu. This is called the Big Night Out special, and it's well worth the price and ease, especially if you're new to The Melting Pot and want a good sampling of a variety of flavors and morsels.

The First Course

At The Melting Pot, the first course is the cheese course. Most cheeses are blends of real cheese shreds, mixed with a paired alcohol of some sort (cheddar with a lager, havarviti with a sake wine). The waiter brings the fresh ingredients to your table, and in a double boiler fondue pot, expertly prepares and melts your cheese selection. There are at least seven kinds of cheese blends from which to choose, all served with fresh vegetables, green apples, and herb bread morsels.

Salad Course

The second course is the salad. While you can choose from any salad on the menu, including the traditional house salad or a Caesar salads, or you can choose from the specialty salad offered on the Big Night Out. For the current menu, it's a lettuce wrap with shredded veggies and an Asian sauce.

Entrée Course

The next course is the main part of the meal. There are beef, pork, chicken, fish and seafood meals from which to choose. The Big Night Out usually offers a fusion meal, with a sampling of all of the above, plus some of their dumplings or pot stickers. The Big Night Out lets you sample lots of different flavors, and the main entrée menu selections lets you choose a lot of your favorite one.

Cooking Style for Entrée Course

The entrée you choose is severed with large, fresh, beautiful vegetables that you dump into your cooking style. The vegetables include cauliflower, broccoli, button cap mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and celery. The cooking style is what is important with the entrée.

You can choose from a broth based fondue cooking style, which includes beef or poultry broths with seasonings and spices-the coq au vin with a burgundy wine and mushrooms, or the Mojo with Caribbean spices and seasoning-that cost $7 extra per pot, or you can go with the free cooking styles, which include a basic broth or a fat-free oil. If you choose the oil cooking style, you will also be given a selection of batters to dip your entries in to fry them before cooking.

The entrée comes out raw-that's right, raw meat! It's cut into bite-sized pieces, perfect for stabbing with your fondue skewer and popping into the cooking style fondue pot on your table. Most meats take anywhere from about 45 second to two minutes to cook, and the waiter instructs you on how long each item should take. He also gives you a "Search and Rescue" slotted spoon, just in case one of those entrée pieces falls off the skewer.

The Melting Pot Dessert Course

This is where The Melting Pot shines. If you can't afford a full meal at The Melting Pot (because they are a bit pricey), consider stopping by just for the cheese or just for the chocolate, because those are the two things that make The Melting Pot really shine.

For dessert, you get a sampling of cheesecake, Rice Krispie Treats, pound cake, brownie bites, marshmallows, chocolate marshmallows, strawberries, green apples, banana slices, graham crackers, and more all made in perfect bite-sized pieces for dipping in the chocolate fondue sauce of your choice.

See that picture at the top of the article? That is the liquid fire poured into the chocolate that is used to melt the sauce (it's really a liqueur, but doesn't liquid fire being poured into chocolate sound amazing? It is amazing to watch them do it!)

You can choose from white chocolate, milk chocolate or dark chocolate, with your choice of stir-ins, like liqueurs, nuts, and other flavorings or textures, and then grab your dippers and dive in.

Hints & Tips at The Melting Pot

What most don't know is the waiter will bring you as many dippers as you want of everything except the entrée itself. So if you want more bread or apples for the cheese, just ask. If you want more sweet treats with the chocolate, just ask! Also, the vegetables that come with the entrée are an unlimited bottomless bowl-so if you want more fresh veggies, just ask for them too.

The Melting Pot Cost

The dinner for two is going to cost about $75-90.00 per couple, and that does not include drink or gratuity, but it is for a full four-course meal for two people. The entrée is large enough for two, and each person shares a cheese and dessert that is also more than large enough for two, and both people get their own salad. The other courses vary in price from $6 for cheese at the lowest up to $30 or so for entrees. While it's not cheap, a couple or a family can at least budget in advance by choosing to share the Big Night Out.

The Melting Pot Atmosphere

The Melting Pot is eloquent enough for a fine-dining date but casual enough that business dress or even nice casual won't make you uncomfortable. It has a cozy and dark atmosphere, though, with spotlighting on the table itself, and the way the tables are set up, there is a lot of privacy no matter where they seat you. The design of the restaurant appeals to the intimate in the booths and the more open and boisterous at the center tables, so when you make reservations (and on a weekend night, you'd better make reservation because they are that busy), consider whether you want intimate or open when asking for a booth or a table.

It's not someplace you're going to want to go every night, especially with the price, but for a special occasion, for something unique and different, it's a definite must-go. We have had the most amazing service there from the entire staff.

Lastly, go to their website and join the Club Fondue, where you will get a coupon for a free chocolate or a free cheese, just for joining. If you can't afford the entire meal or you're in a hurry and need a fun snack, stop by the bar for just the cheese or chocolate.

We're already planning on going there again later this month to take my family! If you go, say hello to Casey, Jeff, Brandon and Andre from me.