The Melting Pot Austin Downtown Review

We made a reservation for 3 people for Sunday at 7 PM for the Melting Pot at downtown Austin on East 3rd Street. Parking was a problem. We parked in what we thought was a parking lot right next to the restaurant but as we were getting out a guy came and told us that we would be towed. We asked him where does he think we can park and he said the only ones available are valet. Hmmm- sounded suspicious. We drove and scanned the streets around the restaurant and the only spot was in a section where the valet parkers put a cover over the parking meter machine saying "Valet Parking Only - Towing Enforced". WTF? We finally found a spot after about ten minutes of circling the area, but these downtown Austin valet parking attendants seem kind like some sort of a scam- I mean is it legal to claim a PUBLIC street parking area for valet? End rant regarding parking.

When we first stepped into the Melting Pot there was nobody at the front. It took literally 5 minutes before a guy in a black jacket to come up and greet us. We found it odd and a bit annoying. We were seated inside our own "room" with a booth, which was nice. The room had a sliding door and the booth was as I had requested via the Melting Pot website reservation system. It was definitely a nice ambiance.

We had a Melting Pot coupon that was $46 for 2 people for their "Summer Feast" and $30 extra for the third person, which was the deal we went with. Our waitress told us that the Melting Pot Summer Feast was pretty much a cheese fondue, salad, and the Fondue Feast (included Sesame Crusted Teriyaki Sirloin, Citrus Infused Pork Tenderloin, Sushi-Grade Ahi Tuna, Garlic Chili Chicken Breast, Kiwi Lime Shrimp, Spring Vegetable Dumplings, and Fresh Vegetables).

For our cheese fondue we selected the Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue. It was unfortunately too thick and bitter- we probably wouldn't try this particular cheese fondue again. The green apple was a decent pairing for this fondue but yeah we would not recommend this cheese fondue to anyone. For salad we ordered the Spinach Mushroom Salad and the Melting Pot House Salad. Both were very good. The warm portobello mushrooms went well with the spinach leaves. The house salad came with a nice tangy and sweet Melting Pot house dressing. Both were definitely very good and we would heartily recommend.

Then came our main entree fondue. Our server had recommended the Mojo Style soup which is described as "Caribbean-seasoned bouillon with distinctive flavors of fresh garlic with a citrus flair" on the menu. It costed $6 extra, which turned out to be not worth it. The Teriyaki sirloin was very tender and flavorful. The pork was very good as well. The Ahi tuna was good- you dip it in for about a minute and it is still red inside. The chicken and shrimp had nice flavors as well. Each person got a small dumpling that was small and tasteless- not sure why they even bothered to include it. The vegetables included potatoes and mushrooms.

We certainly enjoyed the Fondue Feast entree but the portion was very small. Each person literally had about 7 or 8 bites of food and that was it. For the price we paid-$86 + $6 extra for Mojo Style, this was simply too little food. And the price was after coupon discount to boot. We did not bother with dessert as small size started at $16.

Overall we had a nice but some what unfulfilled dinner. The Melting Pot fondue experience was interesting and interactive, but the price was too high for the amount of food.

Melting Pot Austin Downtown Rating: 3.5 out of 5