Huhot Mongolian Grill - Saint Louis

We returned to Hu Hot despite my 2023 review saying we wouldn’t. What were we thinking? The four of us were nearby today, so we decided to give it another shot. The place was crowded, but unfortunately, it was filled with a lot of young children who had little or no parental supervision. This really doesn’t work in a restaurant like this, in my opinion. Overall, the restaurant was messy, especially the sauce bar, and the bathrooms were in poor condition as well. The only bright spot was the table attendant, who did a good job. The price for the somewhat limited all-you-can-eat raw buffet has now risen to $17.99 per person. I can say with certainty that we will not be returning.

This restaurant features a raw bar where you can select your ingredients to be cooked on a large grill. They offer a decent variety of raw meats and sausages, along with a few seafood options. We visited for lunch, and I anticipate that the dinner menu will include additional choices. There are four different types of noodles available, along with the usual selection of vegetables to add. The sauce options are quite good, featuring some that pack a bit of heat as well as milder options for those with less adventurous palates. The grill cooks efficiently moved everyone through the line, ensuring a quick experience. You also receive a bowl of white rice at your table. I think adding tortillas or lettuce wraps would enhance the experience, something I've seen at other Mongolian grill establishments. At $14 for lunch, it was a reasonable price, making it an overall positive first experience.

We were in the area and craving Asian cuisine, so we decided to try the Mongolian flash fry style at HuHot. Having eaten this type of food at other places, we approached this experience with a point of comparison. Overall, we would rate it as average. The all-you-can-eat stir fry allows you to create your own dishes with various food and seasoning options for around $12.50 per person. However, we were disappointed that shrimp wasn't offered as a meat option. The staff was generally efficient, but not particularly friendly. Given our experience, we’re not likely to return.

After 2.5 years, HuHot is open again in Creve Coeur! They opened a few weeks ago. Not mobbed yet, but business appears to be picking up! So, many things are the same here. You go up and select uncooked items you want in your dish (like noodles, protein, veggies, etc) and then pour over a combination of available sauces. They cook your food while you watch, and then you go back to your table and eat! Rice is provided at your table, and you get an Asian salad, or a garden salad or egg drop soup. What is different? Well, no eggs, unfortunately. I thought the Asian salad was actually better than I remembered it. Overall, this is a fun experience and very good for families. Very good!

I had eaten at a HuHot before but I prefer another chain (Genghis Grill). Here the differences were very apparent. This was all you care to eat and you help your own starch in the bowl (meaning there is little room for other things like meat or veggies). There is very little choice of protein beyond the basic beef, chicken, pork, seafood. The sauces were watered down and there was no way to taste them before adding them. You put the sauce in he bowl with the other stuff and when they dump everything on the grill to cook it, most of the sauce boils away before it really can become a part of the meal. There are no spices like garlic pepper, ginger, cayenne pepper, etc. You wait in line while they cook it and then it is handed to you. Overall, I did not like it but it was similar to other visits to HuHot. The lesson is that I do not like HuHot but I let my desire for Genghis Grill convince me to try HuHot again. I will not do that again.