HuHot Mongolian Grill, 1260 Bower Parkway Suite A8: March 2017 11 comments
The only Mongolian food item I can ever remember heaing of is Kumis: fermented mare's milk, something I've never had the slightest interesting in trying, and interestinly apparently *not* available at HuHot. Apparently was *was* on the menu is that you picked out a bowl of noodles, vegetables & meats, took it to a central grill where it was cooked in the sauce you selected and you could repeat that for as many times as you liked for one price. I think the closest I've ever come to that was a place in Seoul, except you had your own little grill and could cook your items yourself there.
The Yelp reviews are all over the map. Apparently the folks who liked it really liked it, and those who didn't *really* didn't.
Looking in Alphabetical Closings, I see this is the former site of Za's, Loco Bandito's, CW's Taproom and Naughty Macs.
(Hat tip to commenter Sandra>
11 Responses to 'HuHot Mongolian Grill, 1260 Bower Parkway Suite A8: March 2017'
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Lone Wolf
14 Mar 17 at 11:08 am
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The one time I went there the "meat" looked like a steak 'um and it was obviously frozen.
Tom
14 Mar 17 at 7:27 pm
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My uncle and I frequented this restaurant weekly, sometimes more, shortly after it's inception. The staff was on point, the restaurant was kept clean, and the food was cooked properly.
The last couple times we tried months ago, after a management change, the grill was always disgusting and the staff were more interested in chatting amongst themselves in the corner than serving clients.
It has also come to my attention that the prices had recently skyrocketed as well not too long before their closure.
I'm not sure what happened to the previous management, but their loss ultimately caused the loss of this business, IMO. It deserved to be closed with it's recent performance.
Ev3nflow
14 Mar 17 at 9:58 pm
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I had eaten here a couple of times and really enjoyed it. the last time was probably around Labor Day of last year. I thought the concept was interesting and the food was pretty tasty even though it was obviously kept frozen right up until the put it on the bar. The only drawback that I found was if we tried to go as a family, the set up wasn't real convenient for having to fix our son's plate and then go back up to fix our own. He'd be done about the time we'd get back to the table, which meant we could not eat dinner as a family. Needless to say, when I did go, it was either by myself or with friends who did not have children.
James R
15 Mar 17 at 3:07 am
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I've been wondering when this would happen.
I've been here dozens of times over the years. The real problem was one of consistency. At times they would be on point, and at others they'd be unhappy and unclean.
They had many management changes as well, and we never saw the same "grill warriors" twice.
The food being frozen didn't bother me, in fact, it was reassuring that it wasn't sitting out getting gross. I liked the concept. I'm sad to see it go, although it always felt like a concept that lacked in implementation.
Mikey
15 Mar 17 at 6:14 am
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Went there once. I have to respectfully beg to differ with Mikey. The concept of all you can eat and little tiny bowls didnt work for me. I dont want to stand in line 5 or 6 times to get my fill. The time i went was at lunch time and there were 10-15 people ahead of me each time i went back for more. After the second trip up to the grill i had had enough and left. For about the same price I can go to Hokaido and hit their hibachi once, grab a plate of sushi and be done with it. Or i can go to Fuji cafe and order one of their huge Hibachi plates. The food is much much better quality and i can eat my fill rather quickly.
I dont mind waiting for my food, as long as the meal is a quality meal. Hu Hot IMO was not. The meat was indeed like Steakumms. I can get this quality food at any of two dozen chinese buffets across columbia, and not have to make 5 trips to the buffet.
Hu Hot was to me sort of like the "all you can eat" deals at Red Lobster where you get a plate of like 5 coconut shrimp, then have to wait while they put in another order and 15 minutes later you get a plate with three more, and then put in another order and 15 min later you get three more and so on and so on and so on. Their gameplan is to draw you in with the all you can eat promise, and then outlast you by making you wait for each re-order.
IrmoJeff
15 Mar 17 at 8:36 am
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This is apparently a chain. I wonder if you look at the list of locations, can you tell. . . Hu Hot and Hu Not? (This was apparently the latter.)
badger
16 Mar 17 at 2:30 pm
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@IrmoJeff.... the solution to the small bowls issue was utilizing at least 2+ bowls at a time. You're right, one tiny bowl would cook down to almost nothing. Two bowls would at least give you a plate full of food, post-cook.
All mongolian grill restaurants of this type use the shaved frozen meat. It's about the only way to do it so the meat stays safe while on the bar, and being thin, doesn't run the risk of being undercooked.
Agree with the opinions that the quality here went downhill. I maybe went here twice a year with a group from work -- it definitely wasn't the same the last time.
Eddie In Irmo
18 Mar 17 at 8:49 pm
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Man, when you can't be successful set-up beside one of the top big-chain theaters in town, you know you need to get out of the restaurant business. As busy as Harbison and Bower get, this place should have been steady every night and slammed Thursday to Saturday or Sunday!
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lol @badger with the Hu Hot and Hu Not comment. That was funny. I have forgotten about this place's existence. I remember riding in the car and seeing one of their billboards...interesting.
Aaqqa
14 Mar 18 at 11:16 pm
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My wife read that Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles will be opening in this location soon.
James R
30 Sep 18 at 9:08 am
You *know* rent on Bower Parkway has to be absolute murder. This building does seem to be under something of a black cloud.
I know HuHot used to be a pretty heavy radio advertiser with several of the groups in town. It's never a good thing when you notice a business has STOPPED advertising.