The Flame Broiler

Would give zero stars if I could. When I came in here over 40 minutes ago for a rice bowl there was only one other person waiting for his order. We’re both still waiting and now the place is full of people waiting here. Oh wait as I write this they finally called out my order! Not worth waiting 45 minutes for a rice bowl, no way!!!

Friendly and fast service. The manager and cashier greets regular customers by their names! It definitely shows that they care about their customers’ experiences. This particular location is one of the better ones in the area.
The service was fast even during busy lunch rush. The line goes out the door sometimes but I never waited more than 5 minutes. Serving amount is very generous as well. Have to love that Magic Sauce as well.
Best healthy fast food I know of.

Food poisoning!
Workers do not wash thier hands after touching money or raw food watched them do it and. I got sick as a dog from it.

The quality of food here SUCKS! The staff is at least nice, but my broccoli was moldy with black spots, and the steak and chicken in my combo bowl were so dry and overcooked, that there were charbroiled nuggets that I almost choked on. I had to throw my lunch away it was so bad. I have been here a few times and it’s ok. I guess you get what you pay for. Better luck next time.

I went to this place for the first time ever on 2÷2÷16 around noon, and the food is good. Place is clean, and the girl in the front was nice. My plan was to eat there, but as soon as I walked in, I could hear the music in the kitchen was louder that the one for customers. To top it off, there was a guy in the back singing along very loud. That made me change my mind and ordered my food to go. That’s the only reason I don’t give this place 5 stars. If it wasn’t for that, I’ll go back for the food. For now, I’ll stick to the Japanese place one block further down.

I love this restaurant. Food is always good, and service is quick. I work for medical office so a speedy service is always great! Customer service at this location is pretty good. Definitely recommend this restaurant. Love healthy and inexpensive food.

I don’t know what it is with this location. I work in the area and come here about 3 times/​month and the last 2 times the rice was not cooked properly and it was like a pasty/​soggy complexion. Imagine rice being smashed together and it’s not in kernel form, very similar to a chunky mashed potatoes.
I advise you to go to the Irvine Center location (
). I don’t know why I took the chance after the 1^st-​time getting soggy rice.

Love this place. This particular location is one of the better ones in the area. Yummy take out and friendly service. What else can anyone ask for.

I opted for the HALF/​HALF VEGGIE RICE BEEF BOWL. It was well past the lunch hour on a weekday yet they were very slow to serve. I guess they had to throw new meat on the grill? The bowl could use MORE cabbage and LESS broccoli and carrots. The beef looks dry (and mostly tastes that way) and doesn’t have an oily sheen or enough sauce. The portion is a good lunch size but a bit overpriced at just over $ 7.00.
The SERVICE was okay but even though I placed a to-​go order there wasn’t a fork, napkin etc. so I had to go back inside. Isn’t it common sense especially when someone is dressed in office worker attire?

Good service, healthy food and a great value. I’m a regular for lunch and would recommend to anyone.

Haven’t been to a Flame Broiler in a long time but thought I’d try it. Well great experience overall with food, service and cleanliness. I had a chance to meet the owners this particular day (an adorable younger couple) and they were so attentive and helpful. Definitely will return

This is an update from the previous review on this Flame Broiler. After I posted my bad review, the owner of this location got in touch with me right away.
He offered his apologies and wanted me to give them another chance at preparing a chicken bowl with white meat, not regular. I was pleased that he took the time to reach out to me.
Today I went in and he introduced himself and apologized again. He was very nice and made sure my order was correct.
I give this location a 5 star review and will definitely be back. You know they care when the owner takes the time to make things right with even 1 customer. It means a lot.

«The Art of Calling in an order»
As I stood outside of the Laguna Woods Flame Broiler (on Moulton… had I only read the reviews I would have gone to the other location only a mile away), I was reminded of the importance of several customer service related concepts.
First — train your staff
Second — don’t take CALL AHEAD PHONE ORDERS if you don’t intend to begin preparing the food until the paying customers who called in the order arrives.
Third — train your staff
Allow me to expand on my first and third points…
If you train your staff to ‘not answer the phone’ and accept a call in order within 20 minutes of closing time, paying customers would not order ahead, in order to come and pick up food. Least of all, ‘that expectation would not exist.
Should your staff member inevitably forget rule #47C in the phone etiquette handbook, train your staff to not be rude to the paying customer once they have arrived by attempting to scold them about the mistake your staff member made.
I’ll end here by reiterating an earlier point: had I only read the reviews, I would have spared myself this diatribe… I won’t even discuss the quality of the food.

Sadly the quality has taken a dive since they put the steam table in. I can understand the reason behind it — small shop, terrible parking, very crowded at lunch — however the chicken was dry, hard, and tasteless. I was there at 11:45, how far in advance did they make that chicken? It tasted like yesterday’s leftovers. I’ll drive further to the next Flame Broiler from now on.

Dirtiest Flame Broiler bathroom I’ve ever seen. I’ve used gas station bathrooms that were cleaner. Makes me wonder how clean is the kitchen area?

Done with this Flame Broiler. I like going to the chain, but this location is a mismanaged dive.
Been there three times and never again. Thank goodness I’m wrapping up a job in the area so I won’t be tempted again. First time I visited, it was a cluster bomb of confusion. Operated like no other Flame Broiler. The line cook is taking the orders and then it’s up to the ditsy girl on the register to figure out what you ordered. People don’t know where to stand to order food. The self serve area for drinks and sauces, a pig pen every time I’ve visited. Went yesterday at high noon. 12:15 on a Saturday. Four other patrons in the place. No one behind the register or food area. Finally the girl came out, took my order and prepped my order. No white rice? It’s high noon and you have what… about a half dozen ingredients and you don’t have white rice? Did the manager on Friday night forget to take inventory? I took my food to go and I’m working 5 minutes away. The veggies were cold! Not luke warm, but COLD. «Under new management». Dude, get your shit together! Look at all your latest reviews. You’re not doing such a great job.

They really jip you on the meat here??? Everyone at work keeps saying that with this location too???

Food is good, but they jam-​pack the bowls with nothing but rice and leave a thin layer of chicken/​veggies. You’re better off cooking yourself since you’re pretty much paying for the rice. I specifically asked for less rice and they still put 95% rice.

After another poor performance at this particular Flame Broiler, I’ve got say something. Last night (12−5−14) I stopped in about 6:15 to order some dinner for my mother — she loves Flame Broiler. I stood around for a few minutes before the cook and the cashier noticed me. The cashier, looking totally put out, came to the register angry. I don’t know the menu real well, but I ordered a teriyaki combo bowl with chicken and beef. She looked at me like I was lost. «What kind of meat?» She asked. I repeated the order, she rolled her eyes, glanced at the cook like she was suffering just being there, and rung it up. She held out her hand without a word. I told her I wanted to add some steamed vegetables. She punched it in and looked up at me without a word. I read the register total and handed her a ten dollar bill. She gave me my change and spun away headed for the back.
The food wasn’t bad, except it wasn’t «teriyaki». I asked where I could get some extra sauce, she replied they didn’t have «teriyaki». A moment of silence hung between us as we looked at each other and then she pointed to the shelf and said «magic sauce.»
The service during the day might be stellar, but what’s going on at night there I can only judge as pathetic. I won’t be spending my money there any more.

Great place. I’ve been going here for almost 8 years. Friendly and fast service. The manager and cashier greets regular customers by their names! Don’t see that often nowadays. It definitely shows that they care about their customers’ experiences.
The service was fast even during busy lunch rush. The line goes out the door sometimes but I never waited more than 5 minutes.
Serving amount is very generous as well. They always top the containers to the point where I have to literally remove some food off the top (and place it on the lid) when I eat otherwise my utensils will just make the meat fall out of the bowls.
I’ve gone to probably 7 different Flame Broilers locations throughout Southern California. This is definitely one of the better Flame Broilers I’ve been to. Give it a shot, I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed.