Last Friday I went for dinner with my friend Denise at The Mongolie Grill downtown located at 10104 109 Street. I had a $30 Groupon that Mike and I had originally tried using on Valentine’s Day but then realized the Groupon wasn’t valid on Valentine’s Day! Lol.
Mike and I have been to Mongolie Grill several times over the past few years. It’s a tad on the expensive side but the concept has always intrigued us and we’ve always had good enough meals to warrant repeated visits. Mongolie Grill “invites you to channel your inner chef and create your own unique stirfry.” You’re given a bowl and sent to a “fresh food bar” with a variety of meat, seafood, vegetables and sauces.
You can pile on whatever you like (I always pile on way too much… my eyes have a huge appetite!) and then hand your bowl over to a “grill master” who weighs it and then cooks it all together with rice.
A typical night out for me (+ guest) at Mongolie Grill without drinks or dessert usually costs around $30. My dish alone comes out to around $20 every time because of how much food I pile into my bowl! Usually the dish my date (either Mike or a friend, in this case Denise) gets is a lot cheaper. This time around my bowl came out to $18.54 while Denise’s came out to $13.16.
A small bowl of soup is included with your meal but the soup is pretty bland. You can also order green onion cakes, potstickers, edamame or vegetable spring rolls to go along with the meal. Out of those options I’ve only ever tried their green onion cakes which are pretty delicious (but how often do green onion cakes go wrong?)
My stir fry creation is pictured below and includes chicken, beef, peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, shrimp, corn, rice and teriyaki, mongolie and hot sauce.
Denise’s stir fry creation is pictured below and includes corn, shrimp, chicken, zucchini, rice and I believe she got the same sauces as I did, just everything at a lesser quantity.
I always have a great meal at Mongolie Grill and the create-your-own factor is so fun that it keeps me coming back, despite the cost. The starter soups aren’t great and the desserts are all really expensive but the actual main dish is never a disappointment and I usually end up being so full I take home enough for solid lunch leftovers the next day. (Of course that’s also because I pile on a lot of food!) The ambience of the place is really nice and it’s always been busy (at both downtown and southside locations I’ve been to).
I’m actually surprised it doesn’t have a higher rating on Urbanspoon! I would recommend Mongolie Grill! I think you should at least try it once and see what you think. The pay what you weigh can really send your bill skyrocketing (and being as frugal as I am I’m surprised I don’t disagree with the place more but maybe it’s because I’m the one consciously putting what I want onto my bowl that I can’t fault them for it costing so much, lol). Either way I do honestly say I’ve never had a bad experience there. You’re not going to get a life-changing, incredible meal, but it’s certainly not bad and I think it’s worth going just to try the pay what you weigh experience. :)
So have you been to Mongolie Grill? What did you think??
Linda :)
1 Comment
A “foodie” that actually liked Mongolie Grill? If you indeed like quality food you’d realize a visit to the Ethnic aisle at Superstore, $15 and 5 mins of wok cooking is 10x better than the overpriced, severely overrated Mongolie Grill. There’s a reason it’s rated so low.