I went to Magic Grill with my mom as a kid, and just brought my daughter here. Place has not changed a bit. Still cheap, good food, with friendly service, and lovely waitresses who haven't aged a day. It's fun to create your own meal each time, and I never get tired of the sticky rice and mushroom dumplings. The soups are good too, but I try not to eat much of that, as I want room to gorge myself on all the carbs of rice/dumplings/noodles/etc. The only "beef" I have with Magic Grill is regarding the beef. It's simply not a good quality, and once it is cooked on the giant grill, it becomes extremely well done, a.k.a. dark, tough and chewy. My beef is with the beef. Yep. That's all. The end . read more

I used to a Mongolian Grill in New Brunswick until they closed down and haven't had any since. I just happen to pass by one day and saw this place and I was really looking forward to eating here. Took the family here tonight for dinner. The facility is ok and need some updating but that's not why I'm here. I had the chef special sauce and I was blown away. So much better than the place I used to go to. They also give you some kind of rice dumpling and that was just amazing. My two year old daughter enjoyed that. The ladies that work here is super friendly. I HD a great experience and will definitely will be coming back soon. Some tips are... Put at least 5 ladles of sauce on your bowl, 1 ladle of oil and 1 wine. read more

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Wow what a joy! The food was great, the vegetables were delicious and fresh. Entered with a few people inside. Left with people waiting for a seat. The meal was awesome! read more

3.5 stars. This place is very casual and laid back. There are a few tables and booths set up for dining in. They don't really have much of a menu as the only thing they offer is the Mongolian grill (buffet style), a few basic drinks, I think a soup and vegetarian dumplings (included with your order for dinner). The buffet is all you can eat but I'm pretty sure most people will get pretty full after one large bowl of noodles, protein and veggies! If you've never been to a Mongolian grill type of spot, the way it works is pretty simple: take an empty bowl and fill it with your choice of noodles, protein, veggies and sauces. Hand it over to the guy at the grill and he will "grill" it for you (he does this for less then 2 minutes). You can then add a few more things on top that they provide as toppings after the food is cooked. Pretty simple and straight forward. It's a little tough to tell exactly how much you should add of the sauces and oils but I guess it's an experiment and you learn as you go :) My meal was pretty good and filling. The thing is that the guys who work the grill don't speak English so they couldn't answer any questions. Also, I wish the buffet had more options. I found it a little limited compared to another Mongolian spot I used to frequent in nyc. I think it would be nice to see a 1-2 more types of noodles (maybe add a rice), a few more veggies (spinach, bell peppers..?) and maybe a chili sauce. It's one set price for dinner (think it was $12.50) and you pay at the counter before leaving. Definitely not a bad place to grab some lunch or dinner if you're in the area or craving some noodles. read more

I have been coming to Magic Grill for almost 10 years now, and every single time has been a pleasure. The staff has always been a delight, and super friendly. The grill masters do not speak a lot of English, so they may not seem friendly but will always reciprocate a smile. Anyone complaining has no idea what they actually want. If you want fine dining, this is not the place. If you want some sort of extravagant experience, this is not it. It's a real hole in the wall place. The dumplings are delicious, the atmosphere is exactly what it looks like, and the bowls are actually magical. You pick exactly what you want, and you can go up multiple times. Pick the dumplings over the soup every time. I've never left Magic Grill unsatisfied, and every person I've brought there has enjoyed it. I will continue to come to magic grill and enjoy it for as long as I can. read more

The last of a dying breed of Mongolian BBQs in New Jersey. When I was a kid (late 80's and early 90's) there were Mongolian BBQs spread out across the state. Now there are lots of Chinese Buffets with a Hibachi grill - but the Magic Grill is the last pure Mongolian BBQ. Make the dish as you want! It is the spot my daughter and I love to go. She makes it sweet with pineapple - I make it spicy with lots of mushrooms. Now this place is a bit grimy. The food bar can use an extra wipedown, the grill is a little too black - but I never have seen it "dirty". The people who own the place and work there are super nice. The soup and rice dim sum are delicious as well. It is nothing fancy, but you will have a good time and be filled! It gets 3 stars because it needs to be modernized and should be a little tidier. read more

People love it hear because it's cheap. Basic veggies, meat, and noodles (as carb) with delicious sauces cooked to order right in front of you. You can even be totally shiesty about it and take your leftovers home like I noticed some college kids did. read more

Magic Grill - Chinese Near Me - Garwood, New Jersey

I first ate here in 1997 and it's one of the best bangs for your buck. For those unfamiliar with Mongolian BBQ, you fill a bowl with a choice of 12 different vegetables, chicken, pork, beef, lamb or seafood (for an up charge) then a ladle of sauce, garlic, oil and the chefs cook it on a round grill in about a minute. Can't wait to go back. read more

Best place I've had in years. Everyone was very friendly and gave lots of fist bumps and thumbs ups.

Was so good!! Price can't be beat..love the whole concept of creating your own then watching them cook it in front of you. read more

Magic Grill - Chinese Near Me - Garwood, New Jersey

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Great place, that caters to everyone's personal preferences. For those not familiar, you select the vegetables, proteins, and sauces you want for your bowl and then the chef cooks it immediately on a round grill. The price is reasonable (especially for lunch, when it is not all you can eat), and it tastes amazing (especially with the house dumplings, which are some of the best I've ever had). read more

Came on a Sunday for the all-you-can-eat buffet around 2pm. The buffet price comes with a soup to start. There was one vegetarian option for soup, the vegetable soup, which came with celery/carrots/watercress/onions . The soup was simple and refreshing. The buffet has meats, veggies and noodles to be stir fried. The buffet concept is basically you choosing the ingredients for your stir fried noodle bowl, adding your sauce and oil of choice, and watching a man stir fry on a wok. Then, there are sesame seeds, peanuts, and a spicy sauce available to top the bowl after it is cooked. I liked the many veggie options, especially the watercress and bok choy. All the veggies looked and tasted fresh. There were also a bunch of sauces to choose from (spicy and non-spicy) and two types of oil (sesame and vegetable). However when it came time to cook my bowl, I asked the man to clean the wok first because meat was cooked on it and I did not want the cross contamination of the meat into my bowl. I asked the man THREE TIMES and he literally looked at me, ignoring me. Finally a woman came to assist because of what appeared like a language barrier. Finally the grill was "cleaned"- which is scraping off the scraps and putting water on the wok a couple of times. On top of that, the actual bowl itself did not have much flavor despite the 3 ladles of sauce I put in. I would not come here again because I do not like the attempted accommodation for my vegetarian diet. On the plus side, the servers were very nice and friendly. read more

Magic Grill - Vegetable soup - Chinese Near Me - Garwood, New Jersey

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If I could give this place more than five stars I would. My boyfriend and I were looking for a place to eat tonight. We walked passed this place early today and it smelled so good that I couldn't stop thinking about it. We ended up ordering take out fand I was so excited to eat my food. Everything looked fresh and all the color verity of food choices is beautiful. The staff was wonderful and was more than happy to help, and the best part. THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD. I'll definitely be coming back to magic grill. This place was MAGICAL AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. read more

Magic Grill - So tasty so magical - Chinese Near Me - Garwood, New Jersey

It's definitely a good place to experience and experiment. The wontons are delicious. Just wish there was more veggie options. The place can also use a makeover too. Doesn't look too sanitary, but overall the mixture you make yourself can have a delicious flavor. read more

This local joint has been around for so long, I don't know how it's taken me this long to write a review now. I like coming here because it's a unique dining experience that offers good food for a good price. After reading some prior reviews, I'm thankful I haven't run into problems at Magic Grill in regards to cleanliness. I will also be more cautious about this during my future dining experiences here. I can't recall exact prices right now but for dinner, it's around $8 for takeout and $13 to dine in and indulge in an all-you-can-eat buffet. Both offer soup and rice dumplings. The rice dumplings are my favorite! I eat meat, but I don't normally get meat at Magic Grill because it, frankly, doesn't taste very good. The meat always seems dry and lacking in quality somehow. However, I like the veggies and everything else offered in the buffet. For the price, you get an obscene amount of food. I wouldn't say the food is the best quality, but what I like most about Magic Grill isn't the food. The restaurant appears a little divey and no frills, but offers the charm of a small town and family. The women who smile and greet you at the door and serve you always remember me. There's also a particular cook there who always smiles and exudes warmth. Overall, everyone here has a good attitude and remembers their customers. Little details like these are important to me. As I mentioned earlier, this is a unique dining experience if you're new to Magic Grill and is worth trying. read more

This place is about 25 minutes away from me but worth the drive to have some noodles! You make your own plate and it's all you can eat ! You get a soup and my favorite rice and mushrooms dumplings. The vegetable are fresh and the meat options are frozen. You can chose from different sauce options but my go to is the chefs sauce w/ herbs. Been coming here for years and it's my favorite, also as mentioned it's BYOB ! read more

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My best kept secret has just gotten even better! My friend intoduced magic grill to me years ago because my son has so many allergies. The people here are so nice you feel like your home being served by Mom. Food is very fresh and now is even fresher, being served on a food line they now keep ice cubes in the veggies and the serving utensils in separate bins. The food and the sauces are delicious and you get to watch your food being cooked. The rice dumplings are outstanding and dipping sauce amazing. Love this place! read more

Definitely underrated. The soup and dumplings are incredible and choices to make your own bowl is a nice added touch. The place may seem dated but the food is incredible. A best-kept secret by locals! read more

I didn't realize this place was a buffet until one of the owners yelled at me for sharing my food, which I didn't appreciate. So you can refil your bowl more than once and definitely get a lot of bang for your buck. The whole process is pretty fun. You choose meats, vegetables, noodles, and toppings/sauces. Then these two chefs cook your food on a giant hot surface eternally spinning around the circular Wok (I think that's what it is called). But I'm very suspicious of health codes. the meat is frozen until cook time, and is stored in bins under the buffet, and unfinished items are probably poured back into the bin at closing time and reused. read more

Hands down my favorite place ever, MUST fill your bowl like to the top because it cooks down and use as much sauce as possible because that also cooks down and you can ask for well done. The dumplings or "dim sum" is fantastic I order extra every time!! read more

My first time here and the food was excellent - I wish they had a place like this where I am from !! read more

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3 stars, good Mongolian BBQ, but the dumplings lack anything dumplesque- service is okay. If you just wanna eat here for the BBQ that's fine. read more

Magic Grill - Chinese Near Me - Garwood, New Jersey

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We used to love coming here when we were younger. It was run by a meticulous woman who was friendly and cleaned constantly. She used to walk around wiping down surfaces, refilling bins, and making sure everyone was satisfied. The only dirty area was the bathroom area.. which we could deal with. The place was always packed with happy people enjoying their bbq. Flash forward to now. The place is a mess. There is grease all over the place. The people who seem to run the show are lazy. The guys never clean the grill and let a lot of food fall off of the edges. The sauces are clearly watered down. The meat isn't always frozen in the bins which makes you worry about freshness. The people make messes on the bar area and nobody ever wipes it up. The workers aren't as friendly. It's usually close to empty. Don't know how they are making enough $ to survive. We stopped eating there and only got take out. The past few times I got take out I was not satisfied. Everything was so bland due to the sauces being watered down. Wish they would get their act together so I could go there again and enjoy myself. Someone has to tell them that they need to clean up, and if they don't, their business will continue to suffer. Also very grossed out by some of the other comments on here about dumpling making, money handling and nosepicking. If that's true I'm truly disappointed. I love love love their dumplings. What a shame, and it makes me want to hurl. read more

I've been eating here for over 20 years. The food is amazing (authentic Mongolian food). It is a family run business and they are the nicest people. It is all you can eat and you get so much food for your money. It even comes with soup and dumplings, which are extremely addictive (please tell me what is in the sauce!). The decor could definitely be updated but doesn't bother me much because the food is so good. Try it out - you won't be sorry. read more

A great lunch spot. Always get the dumplings!! Some of the best around. Really great prices. A no frills place where you know you'll get a good meal in a casual environment. read more

I recently told one of my friends about the old round grill in New Brunswick and mentioned that I missed eating there. He then told me it sounded similar to another restaurant called magic grill where they cook your food on a large round flat grill. So we deceived to make a trip and it was the same food I remembered having in New Brunswick. You grab a bowl and choose whatever meat you like followed by vegetables. From there you pick your seasoning. I literally poured 5 spoons of the Mongolian sauce, cooking wine, a little oil, garlic, and ginger. My food had literally no flavor whatsoever. I think the cook either put to much water on the grill to cook my food or the sauces didn't have any flavor at all. My friends dish ended up the same way too and flavorless. Our meal came with soup and rice dumplings. I had the wonton soup which was ok, but not something I'd order again. My friend had the hot and sour soup which he said was dreadful lol. I did not care for the rice dumplings. They tasted strange to me. My friend on the other hand like them. Because of covid, all customers were required to wear gloves before grabbing a plate. Overall I'd get food from the restaurant again but I'd avoid the soup. read more

My favorite time to come here is when it's kinda gloomy and rainy outside cause this is great comfort food! Great food at a reasonable price. I believe it's 12-13 dollars for the all you can eat and 7-8 for a container of take out. Mix your own ingredients and sauces and the grill on a gigantic grill for you. Just delicious. Dumplings that come with it are also a must! Service is pretty decent. The women that work there are friendly and seem to know alot of regulars. The only downside is that it's not cleanest place. Does not stop me from going though. read more

Five stars for the experience, and it's quite an experience! It's certainly not any kind of fine dining, what can you expect for a 12.50 all you can eat Chinese noodle bar? But it was a very friendly and relaxed environment, and the sao mai/dumpling appetizers were great! I liked that you can pick what goes into the noodles, so you can put everything you'd like in it and even make a healthy (ish) meal out of a Chinese noodle meal! read more

Moved away and never found anything close to magic grill I came for a visit this week and mongo was on the top of my list for lunch yummy goodness. Only problem was Mary was off the day I went. Next time.. read more

SO GOOD! I've been here a couple times and I love it. It's super cheat and comes with soup during lunch. The owner is so nice as well as the other employees. It's hard to find buffet style noodles that are really tasty. read more

Magic Grill - Chinese Near Me - Garwood, New Jersey

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Dirt cheap grill food. Literally though, it's kinda dirty...and totally ghetto...but it's fun to visit with friends! Mix your own sauces, frozen meats, fresh veggies.... not gourmet by ANY standards, but the stoner kids in there sure love it and so do I!!! Don't bring a date here if you want to impress her, don't wear your best, but come hungry! It's all-you-can-eat and if you're looking for good food at a great price - you found it (you can even get a few extra dumplings if you ask). The staff is awesome, same people for years and I love the grill man - remember to tip him 'cause it's HOT by that grill - especially in the summer! read more

One of the area's best values. Mom and Pop Mongolian BBQ at a great price, super friendly service, and get this: Some old lady recently drove a car through the window and into the dining room, and they went on BUSINESS AS USUAL for two hours afterwards until the Health Department told them they couldn't. Bonus star for dedication. read more

Place is not fancy by any means. And the food isn't gourmet either - what do you expect from frozen meat pieces? However, having said that, I always come back! I don't know what it is - maybe it is the fact that I know it is an honest family run business. Maybe it's because I can get a dish exactly how I want it and see it cook in front of me. That and I can put all the pineapple and peanuts that I want! :) Don't forget to tip the guys at the grill. read more

Amazing Mongolian place. It is a buffet style all you can eat BBQ. Love watching how they make the meats with condiments near you. They have great selections of meat, vegetables, and sauces. The seating is nice, and they bring over water, complementary vegetarian dumplings and choice of soup. The cost for lunch is within 10 USD and the dinner is 12 USD. Very affordable. read more

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Magic Grill is one of my favorite places to eat. I've been going to Magic Grill since I was about 5 years old with my family. This place has not slipped up at all in the 17 years since. The rice dumplings they serve with dinner are great. The buffet is outsanding. My personal favorite combination of sauces is about 10 ladles of chefs bbq and 5-6 of szechuan sauce. You get great value for your money here, it's very informal, and of course it's cool to watch your food get cooked on that big circular grill. This place is an institution in union county as far as I'm concerned. read more

Everyone should experience the glory that is Magic Grill. Definitely order your wonton soup and dumplings before you gorge yourself with delicious foods. Here's a nice tip: Make sure you add your meat first, pile on the veggies, and THEN just get this GIANT PORTION of NOODLES right on top. Make those noodles fly all over the place. Like stack 'em. I made the mistake of putting the noodles in first. Rookie mistake. Watch the magic happen when he cooks that goodness for you. Ask for extra napkins 'cause you're gonna get that saucy happiness on your shirt and it's gonna be a bad time. read more

This place is a dump with poor service. I have no clue what the prior people are thinking. Before anyone says anything I have been to the same style place in Millburn so I know what I'm doing. The Magic Grill doesn't come close to the place in millburn on any level. I will never eat at Magic Grill again. Now the search continues for a good Mongolian place to enjoy. JP Lees will always be missed. read more

I guess I just don't get it....This place has good reviews and somewhat of a cult following in the area but I was not impressed. Maybe if I had grown up in town and gone here at midnight with my high school friends the nostalgia factor would have bumped this up to 4 stars? I made the mistake of going here with a friend who was visiting and I was really embarrassed. First of all, it's really dirty. Many other reviewers have mentioned that so I'm hoping the staff is reading all of this and cleaning things up. Second, the food was mediocre. The meat on the buffet was covered in freezer burn. I also thought the veggie selection was lacking. After it was cooked my food was fine but I don't think it's that hard to make a stir fry. Do yourself a favor and walk next door to Grill Creations! The food there is fresh, the place is clean, and the service is outstanding. read more

I love magic grill. A favorite of mine since high school. Make your own bowl of noodles with assorted extras such as vegetables, tofu, animal carcass, nuts, sauces, and other spices. They're not cheap, at all. You can go get a quart of noodles from a chinese takeout place and you'll save about 5 bucks and the taste will be pretty close. I go to the magic grill because I like deciding on the portions of what will be in my noodles and what sauces, but again it's a high price to pay for such a luxury. The food is still quite yummy, and the staff is nice. read more

Here you can create your meal with the assortment of meat, vegetables and sauces. The meat quality here wasn't anything special, but for 11 dollars I cant complain. If you can get past the dingy interior, this place isn't bad. My friends and I brought booze, made our bowls, and had a great time. I wish they had a better selection of hot sauces. read more