I know it's closed for good, but I had to write a review anyway. I really miss this place... my friends and I discovered it when we were in college and I could not drag them out here often enough. They had this buffet line where you got a bowl (or two, I'll explain why in a minute) and you'd go down and grab your ingredients, your meats and your vegetables and your noodles and you could mix and match all these sauces they had to make your food sweet or spicy or however you wanted it, and then they'd cook the food in front of you on this huge grill, the chefs moving around it in a circle and pushing the food along while it cooked like the show was half the fun (and it was kind of fun to watch). And oh my goodness was the food good. They also had these special kind of sesame rolls... I don't know what they were called, but they were hollow in the middle, so you could bite off one end and then stuff some of your food in and eat it as, like, a roll sandwich type of thing. That was pretty cool. I really hope we find another place like this... read more

5 Stars if you're a big, gluttonous, indulgent, diabetic, high triglycerides loaded, overweight, and food loving fatty like myself. 3 Stars if you're a healthy, calorie counting, 24 Hour Fitness going, and physically active person whom is always It's $21 for a single serving pass through, and just 2 bucks more for the $23 for the All You Can Eat...I just chose the later! My three petite, beautiful, lovely, and intelligent female dining companions only did the single pass though. For $23, I went through 3 times, which averages out to $7.33 for a large of plate of tasty noodles packed with all the beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, squid, and veggies you want. The goodness depends on your own creativity, If you don't do the All You Can Eat, you just paid $21 for a single plate. Lame! read more

For under $10 you get a great filling meal with the ingredients you choose. The service, the service is second to none! They will recognize you quickly and make you feel at home. Lots of parking, clean restaurant, clean bathrooms I mean, what more you you want! No surprises in how your food is prepared, it's al out front for you to see! One of my favorite lunch and dinner read more

See all

You'd normally only see Mongolian BBQ in a food court at a mall but Stir Fresh has their own restaurant and there's even an AYCE option! While the food isn't the best quality, the AYCE option opens up so many possibilities and you can get different things each round. There isn't much information about the price and I think we paid about $30 per person for AYCE. If I heard correctly, your entire table doesn't need to do the same thing, it can be a mix of single serving or AYCE. Regardless of what you pick, each person gets one bowl for food and a smaller one for the sauce. They have a wide variety of protein options like pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and even fish, calamari, and sausages. For veggies, you got the staples like cabbage, onions, carrots, baby corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. The noodles were paler in color and seemed overcooked...just looked kind of off. One trick to stack more is to use your sauce bowl to push down all of the food. And like any Mongolian BBQ place, there's a large sign with sauce combination suggestions. Feel free to try your own mix but I followed theirs each time. And in doing so, you actually will completely fill up the sauce bowl they give you. Food cooking doesn't take very long but when there's a lot of people, be prepared to wait a bit longer. Usually as more people line up for the grill, more cooks will come out. Overall, the food was pretty decent but not the best Mongolian BBQ I've had. All of the frozen meat were sliced kind of thick and the beef was tough. I thought lamb was a lot better but you should know the gamey taste is very strong. Since it was our first time visiting, they gave our table a free side of this sesame bread to go along with our meal. read more

See all

Ordered to go. We got a plate and we filled it up with all their meats and veggies, when done we gave it to the guys to cook our food and they gave it to us on our to go containers. The food was okay, maybe I would had enjoyed it better if I would had eaten there. You take as much food as you can fit in your plate. Service was friendly. Helpful with our to go food. read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

SO SAD to find out one of favorite restaurants had CLOSED! We regularly drove 30 minutes to come here. Our servers Ricardo, Yesenia and Yesenia's Mom (name?) were the BEST! I noticed a lot of patrons were vegetarians and I'll bet they are sad to lose this resource as well. The quality of the ingredients remained high over the 15 years we came here and reading some of the rude comments makes me sad because their perception is 180 degrees different from ours. Will truly miss this place! read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

Very big portions! I love that you can make your own bowl and sauces. It was pretty empty when I came for lunch, but it started getting more busy. I am not sure how fresh all the meat is since it is sitting there all day. The key is to put all the heavy meat at the bottom, then add veggies, then stack the noodles on top. Get a good amount of sauce because they use it to cook with. I heard that the sesame bread was really good, but when I got it, it was stiff and cold. I probably wouldn't come back, but I am glad that I tried it. The waiter and chef were very nice! read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

It's a good time when you come. Food is ok Service is good. But you won't miss out if you never tried it here read more

This place has always been a family favorite. We took both sets of our parents on mother's day and were sweating and it was ridiculous hot inside and the employee told us the air conditioning went out recently. It was hot inside and you are eating hot food. NOT GOOD!!! So we were excited to go back and eat today on Father's day because we thought the air conditioning would surely be fixed a MONTH later and we were wrong. SHAME ON YOU TO THE OWNER TO NOT FIX THIS PROBLEM FOR THE CLIENTELE AND THE EMPLOYEES! ESPECIALLY THE COOKS COOKING AT THE HOT GRILL ALL DAY. Sadly we won't be back until this is fixed. So upsetting the owners have to wait to get bad reviews about how uncomfortable it is to eat at their establishment to fix it. It was 100 degrees outside today and absurdly hot inside as well. We had an excellent server, Dalie, and the food is always good but overall it was an awful experience read more

See all

San Diego must Stop by & Eat here !!!! All you can eat Magnolian food, big variety of meats, veggies and sauces . Cooked to perfection . A side of oven baked bread and white rice is a great way to add even more tastiness . Your family will love this place . Affordable prices& fast service read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Not horrible for a workday lunch with coworkers. I was expecting a mall food court kind of eatery, but there's actually wait staff and you get seated at a table. Once they give you the bowls (one for meat/veg and the other for sauce), you're off to the food line. The technique to pile the food into your bowl will take some practice. In the end, I think our stomachs are bigger than our eyes because I didn't think I got my money's worth, but I'm still full 4 hours later. And I'm vegetarian! The sauce creation I somewhat followed was the spicy level. The dragon oil can be spicy, but only if you dip the spoon all the way into the bowl and get some seeds. The sesame bread was good. The rice is provided to the table - not individually. Ultimately, the experience was fine. Our waitress was attentive and made sure to ask if we wanted our waters refilled. The food choices were sparse in some. The tofu was not filled up like the meats were, there were 6 pieces of baby corn, my party of 5 took the rest of the mushrooms, the zucchini looked like it sat overnight. I totally dropped food as I was filling my bowl, which, unfortunately, is destined to happen. It ends up being wasteful. The cooks came out as soon as the line started to form so we didn't wait very long. My photo is just an example of what you could be eating. It's customizable! I chose to opt out of noodles and just eat it with the rice provided. read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Vegetarian - tofu is in the meat section. Various veggies to choose from. - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

At first glance the place looks amazing with its massive buffet spread, for sure the largest one in San Diego county. However, it was all downhill from there. The very first interaction was the waiter rudely asked what I want. I just said dinner for 1. He then ask if it's dine in or take out. Like what? I said dine in and he points at a table in the dining room and told me to go there. As I walked towards the table he was pointing at, another waiter pointed at the complete opposite side of the restaurant and told me to sit there. Ok whatever, it didn't really matter so I went to the table and sat down. I waited to place my drink order and I observed another group enter the restaurant and was sat. Both waiter immediately bought them water, menus, shao bings / biscuits / bread... after they were taken care of the waiter came back and literally drops the menu in front of me and asked what I wanted to drink. I placed my drink order and he went and came back and drops 2 bowls on my table and asked if I dined there before. I said no so he just pointed at the big bowl and said that was for the food and small bowl is for the sauce. I had notice every table got a basket of Shao Bing when they got seated and asked if I can have some too and the waiter responded that they're 50 cents each and asked how many I wanted. I ordered 1 to try and he seemed very annoyed that I asked for them. The waiters are grown adults that act like your stereotypical teen that is indifferent and inattentive to their surrounding. Although the buffet line was massive, the meat quality was questionable. The veggies were no doubt the star of the show but the meat looks like they've seen better days. Also the way they cook the food was really questionable, they would dump all your food on the grill then scoop the noodles back into the bowl that's now covered in myoglobin / meat juice... when they pretty much cremated the food, they dump the noodles and meat juice back on the grill and move it around a bit with their spatula and put the food on the plate. As expected, the meat and veggies were overcooked and noodles were still cold. Finally there was the bathroom, I walk in to the men's room only to see a wet floor sign by the urinal with water all over the floor. There were towels every where and the urinal dripping and water running from the sink counter. I'll make the 9-12 hours drive to Chico, CA for Hula's before I come back here again. read more

I wanted to make sure that the last reviews were accurate for stir fresh. This was absolutely my favorite place. I had the T-shirt. I rate this place above other standouts like dumpling inn and chop sticks. If they are reading their reviews I hope they know they are missed and if they open a new place then I'll be there. I mean I could eat three or four plates for a low price and yes I would suffer for a day or so but it was worth it. The service was good, efficient enough but the whole experience was epic. Writing this through my tears and being consoled by my wife. I'll now have to find a new best restaurant in San Diego. read more

Food: 5/5 Portions:5/5 Atmosphere: 5/5 Cleanliness: 5/5 Customer service: 5/5 Speed: 4/5 Price: $$ ADA access: yes Restrooms: yes M/F Dogs: no Kid Friendly: yes Vegetarian options: yes Vegan options: yes Pros: choose between endless rounds or one entree dish, great deal for price, amazing food Cons: it can get busy read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

There's a place in Chico, CA called Hula's that I grew up going to and I've been looking for something like it for years. Finally was able to try Stir Fresh and it was exactly what I was looking for. We arrived at 8:35 (they close at 9) so we asked if it was okay and they were all very happy to have us. They told us where to start and asked our drink orders so they'd be on the table when we sat. The young man that cooked our food was so personable and funny, even at the end of his shift. The food was so fresh, just an outstanding experience. Can't wait to go back! read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

Ricardo and Alton are the best. People really make a business. I hope the owner knows this. Ricardo has remembered us every time we visit and I don't even show up more than twice a year. Now I feel bad. Regardless, he's the most friendly and helpful server I've ever known in north county. I've had experiences elsewhere with servers who don't care or pay attention but Ricardo's pretty much the apex that others should aim for. We really appreciate Alton too. He and Ricardo have both been there since the start. They actually care about customer service. Thank you. Also, I like the changes they've made to prep and serving. Just putting the bread in a bowl (without the cloth wrap) is fine. That's kind of an old-school thing and really just represents an additional cleaning cost that gets passed onto the customer. Just putting the bread in a bowl and let you help yourself makes more sense. The new plan ( prob been in effect for a year or so ) about two bowls ( one for food, one for sauce ) makes things a lot cleaner/neater for going through the line and assembling everything too. read more

the cooks were rude if you didnt put cash in the tip bowl. i tip when i pay the bill and never have cash on me. sorry read more

I'll pretend I'm a hip kid... STIR FRESH STILL SLAPS! See, I used a youthful expression to describe my love for this place. Here is some advice from a Stir Fresh expert (me). Go when the restaurant isn't too busy, typically a late lunch. Why? Because you should take some time to experiment and build your bowl with care. When the restaurant it too busy at lunch and dinner you may feel rushed, especially if you've never been here before. The more time you spend building out your bowl the bigger and better it will be. Another tip that I can send your way is to have the grill cleaned before they cook your bowl if you're very sensitive to spicy food as previous bowls with excess spice cooked before yours could cause your meal to come out a bit too spicy. Last thing is to tip the cooks. Those people work really hard and so do your servers. Open that wallet and enjoy the experience! read more

Horrific service. Waited 15 minutes and the hostess didn't even acknowledge I was standing there. Waited another 15 minutes for anyone to ask what I wanted to drink, after being seated at a dirty table, which was then served in a plastic to go cup. This place has always had bad service, but this was the worst. Always came back for the food, but this was too much. read more

I'm not saying this place is bad. It's just not for me. The place is fairly full and see a good number of happy diners. Staff is very friendly. Food is cooked quickly. Ingredients seems to be ok. If you're not familiar with mongolian dining, you basically stuff as much ingredients in a bowl, mix your own sauce, and have it cooked in front of you. You can go with a single trip charge or "all you can eat" if you go more than once. It's not a place I'd go back to. However, I observed many diners that are happy return customers. They come prepared with gloves to squash the ingredients down in the bowl and stack it higher than the Eiffel Tower. I'd say try it! To each their own. read more

Conveniently located next to the Rancho Bernardo library, I figured I'd finally give Stir Fresh a try while picking up some books. I was a little nervous at first given the 3.5 star Yelp average, but I'm glad I tried it anyway. The food is pretty decent: not mind-blowing, but certainly not disappointing. The service here is what really sets this place apart. From the moment I set food inside, I was warmly greeted by a manager who made sure my every need was accounted for -- and I saw him doing the same for pretty much every other guest. In fact, it seemed that he made it a point to remember whether a guest had been there before or not, which I found pretty impressive. The meal prep time is very quick, and I like that I can customize every plate to my exact tastes. I left feeling satisfied and will definitely be back. read more

I went recently after a long break (previously before the pandemic) and it wasn't as good as I remember. But it was also much less crowded than I remember so that was nice, I guess. There was just one server as far as I could tell and he seemed like they were pushier about the AYCE than they needed to be despite us all saying we had been before. I don't think I saw anyone go back for more - for those who are motivated you can easily get a double portion piled up in that bowl. The food didn't taste particularly fresh at least for me. I know it's frozen but the broccoli and veg were particularly dry and the meat didn't have any interesting flavor. I followed one of the recommended sauce formula and it just ended up somewhat flavorless. The sesame pockets were still good though. The facility was nice and clean. Parking is easy. Personally, I always prefered Genghis grill but the local ones have all gone away. I wouldn't recommend anymore. read more

Overall very good! I wish they added shrimp or dumplings as an options to the bowls. Service was very fast and efficient. Plenty of drink refills and rice/bread was brought out. read more

Still a decent place for lunch, but they used to let you get your own bowls and now one is left at the table along with a little dish for marinade. The biggest issue with this it's the meats are frozen and there's no sanitary way to compress them so other vegetables and noodles can fit - it means less value for patrons unless you go through many times, not practical for lunch. Also, the bread is now gone which is a disappointment in my opinion. Also, they used to bring steamed rice in a closed container and now it's delivered in an open bowl, which again isn't much different other than sanitation risk, since you'll be away from the table waiting for your food to cook. All in all, it's still the same taste and overall experience but seems like the delivery method and sanitation practices took a step back.... read more

We have been coming to Stir Fresh for several years and thoroughly enjoy their presentation and sauces. The best Mongolian and the Chinese bread that is served with your plate tops the meal off in a great way. It might not be classic Chinese but is outstanding Mongolian. read more

We used to come here a lot, the food was good then, but they have been going downhill for some time now. We stopped in for an early fathers day dinner, this place was pretty empty and the service was bad....no greeting, they sat us at a table and then disappeared for a long time and it seemed like they did not want to be there. It took forever to get our drinks and the sesame bread was cold, the bread use to come with the meals but now they are charging $1.50. When we went to put our food together, I noticed very little meat, it was mostly vegtables and noodles only. The sauces and oils were also at the bottom of the containers, they were super unorganized and there wasn't anyone to ask if they can bring more meat and sauce out. The food was okay, our plates were bland because of the lack of sauces. We probably wont be coming back. read more

See all

Great food and good prices. Chris waited on us and he was phenomenal!!! Very attentive and great personality. Definitely recommend this restaurant!! read more

I've been here 3 or 4 times so far and it is exactly what I want when I want it. The workers were super helpful and didn't get mad at me when I did not understand how it worked the first time, which was cool. I used to go to the one in the North County mall when I was in high school, but every place is different. Smash your meat and veggies in a bowl and let the people cook it, what more do you want? You do mix together your own combination of sauces that they throw on the grill with your food, and I really need to work on that part, I messed up big time last trip and it was pretty bland, but that's 100% on me. read more

Our server welcomed us in and trained us up on how to select meats, veggies, and sauces. There was choice from lamb, beef, pork, chicken, sausage, white fish, calamari, and tofu. There was good variety of fresh and plentiful vegetables. It felt pretty chill and wasn't too busy when we arrived by 7 on a Saturday evening but business was picking up on our way out. It is reasonably good value given today's food prices. The large mural of Mongolian horse riders sparked a conversation about the role of the Mongolian empire in world history! We'll be back!! read more

Came on a Sunday right before dinner rush (430pm), wait time was less than 10 min (it was packed around 530). Quick service from server, amicable staff. Overall clean establishment, staff was readily present to clean the food area. Food was great, filling. Pricing was on point. Plenty of parking in the lot. Kid meal available (chicken tenders) if noodles doesn't work. read more

See all

Poor service good food May have to try a different day and time Will go back. Good way to encourage me to eat more vegetables and keep my husband from going back on a buffet due to price read more

Came here recently with some old-time San Diegans. I had never heard of this place, but once I head "Mongolian BBQ", my nostalgia hit me hard. I hadn't had this type of cuisine since I was in middle school, and I thought these were only located in malls. When we entered, we were seated immediately and got the single pass bowl (you can also get AYCE for more $). Then we stuff our bowls with frozen meats, veggies, noodles, and sauces. It was clear I was not a regular, as my bowl was not nearly as packed down as everyone else. There was clearly a technique that all the regulars knew about. The sauces were a bit daunting but there was a convenient chart displayed with house combination recommendations! Then we hand our bowl to the chefs cooking our meals on a giant hot plate in the middle of the restaurant. Within a few minutes, we got our meal on a plate where we can cover it with sesame seeds and chili sauce. In a world full of fast, flashy dining experiences, this Mongolian BBQ is a reminder that sometimes, the best meals are found in the most unexpected places. It's a hidden gem that offers a taste of nostalgia, and a dining experience that lingers long after the meal is over. read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

Nothing can beat a good old Mongolian grill night. I have been coming to Stir Fresh for years! It has changed a lot over the years in not the best way hence the 4/5 stars. Service was good and our server was attentive. The ambiance inside is typical to any Mongolian grill spot. The sesame bread use to be complimentary and come with your meal and it use to be soft and chewy. When I ordered it tonight it was hard and crunchy & it's .50 cents per piece of bread. My Mongolian grill was good. My only issue is even though I filled my little sauce bowl to the rim with sauce, it seemed to evaporate on the grill and didn't get absorbed into my food. Wahhh! I did order my son the chicken tenders and fries because he's not a fan of Mongolian grill and they were good. They do have rules like your first plate you can take the rest home if you don't finish it but if you get another round and you only eat half of your second plate you can't take it home. Despite all this, I would still say it's worth it and I will be coming back. read more

Stir Fresh Mongolian Grill - Mongolian Near Me - San Diego, California

This restaurant has a unique concept; you grab a bowl and put all you can fit including meats, veggies, noodles and sauces and hand it over to the chef and he cooks your meal right in front of you. It was pretty quiet on the outside and inside there were only two people when I went it in ( they had just a opened for the day) I was immediately welcomed by Yesenia and she patiently explained how everything to me and how it all works. She even shared her special sauces that she recommends. (This was delicious) My server Chris was very attentive checked in on me continuously to make sure I was doing alright. From the time I sat a rush of customers came in about 30 people and Yesenia and Chris impressively welcomed people in, took their orders all at the same time while serving their tables. By the time I was done majority of their tables were occupied and everyone was happy. Yesenia and Chris thank you and great job! read more

Finally I got to try this restaurant, it was even better than I thought. It was so fun to pick your food and watch chefs stir frying them on a giant round grill. The taste of the food is very delicious, and you can mix your own sauce. I definitely recommend their spicy dragon oil if you are a spicy lover. Their service is nice and helpful as well. My only complaint is the buffet counter is a little bit messy because some customers are trying too hard to put too much food in one bowl. read more

See all

This is the first Mongolian BBQ I've been to that offers seafood proteins. Proteins include white fish, calamari, beef, chicken, pork, and tofu. The 'express' option gives you one bowl. For $2.00 more you can get all you can eat. There's no sharing or take out allowed. There's also a vanilla ice cream option available that's not clearly advertised on the menu. read more

See all

So sad this place has closed, it was as good as it gets! I've been going there for many years, part of the fun was watching people do different things to get more food into their bowl. I was going to go there tomorrow, so I checked the website to see what time they opened and saw the permanently closed warning. Again, I'm so disappointed, I don't think there's another place like this anywhere close. Thank You, Stir-fresh for many Great Meals and Good times! read more

We stood at the door waiting to be seated. Lots of workers running around. Not one person greeted us or said be right with you. We left. It's too bad because it was our first visit to try it out. read more

Most importantly, the staff is amazing. Everyone is so on it & attentive! They're constantly running around serving, cleaning, replenishing, etc! Honestly I'm surprised this place has lasted as long as it has and I'm happy about it. It's not at the same quality level as it once was but it's not terrible. It could be much better though lol despite how great the staff is at trying to keep everything nice & clean, the guests are wild. Idk why the people who eat here are unmannered but it's definitely gross to see. read more

See all

Yall sold by closing the Rancho Bernardo location hope you guys know that. Food was good asf and the service was great as well.