Experiential Dining Becomes a Popular Option in the Fox Cities
The trend of experiential dining has captured the attention recently of the hospitality industry, driving discussions among professionals and entrepreneurs in the restaurant space. Patrons want something more from their dining experiences—more than the traditional table/plated service Americans understand as a normal Friday or Saturday night out.
Instead, they want an elevated experience, multisensory environments and a sense of connection to be fostered with those they’re dining alongside. OpenTable.com notes in its 2026 survey that as patrons demand connection and novelty for their lunches or dinners out, there was a 46 percent increase in diners spending money on an experiential dining experience.
Americans in the study also wanted to see more experiential dining in the year ahead, to the tune of more than one-third of its respondents, while 54 percent of Americans are likely to pay a premium for a dining experience that offers a unique vibe.
The survey also noted that experiential dining, or “eatertainment,” is popular across generations, with Gen Z and Millennials just slightly ahead of Gen X in their enthusiasm for the trend. Interactive culinary experiences provide the ability for patrons to feel part of an authentic experience, while making those personal connections with friends and family. The Melting Pot co-owner Heidi Supple said that as a restauranteur, she understands how many choices people have for dining, from casual to high end.
“It’s our job to create an experience along with the dining,” she says. “People work hard for their money, and in this economy, you have to give them a reason to want to go out and to experience [dining out]. So, it’s having great quality food, great quality service, but there’s so much more, too, because you want the experience. You want the surroundings to be fun, to be unique, to be something you can’t necessarily recreate at home.
“Instead of doing dinner and a show, dinner is the show,” she adds.
Interactive Components, Delicious Results
At 592 Korean BBQ in Appleton, co-owner and marketing coordinator Joy Wang and co-owner Kyle Ma said they offer a unique dining experience where people come to dine by cooking high quality ingredients of their own choosing, enjoying the fruits of their labor from the grill that’s located right at the table. Robots — and humans — help patrons navigate the experience and offer a technologically advanced spin on a normal night out.
“It’s an interactive Korean barbecue, which is self-serve,” Wang said. “It’s supported by modern technology, which [are] our robots that we have in the restaurant, and also high-quality ingredients.”
Supple said their dining experience at The Melting Pot is also a nontraditional format, with patrons customizing their night to their preferences from a timing, flavor and cost perspective.
The restaurant, which focuses on self-serve fondue done right at your table, offers patrons a full-blown four-course meal as well as an ala carte menu, allowing their customers the ability to choose. They can purchase just one or two courses, like cheese fondue and chocolate fondue, or go for the full four-course experience.
“It can be an entire event,” Supple said. “It’s not a quick 45-minutes in and out. You can spend an hour and a half, two hours, as short or as long as you’ like, but it’s very interactive with the [person or people who] you’re with. There’s a lot of opportunity to just kind of slow down the world around you and talk, which I think makes it an amazing experience.”
Ping Cheng, owner of Molo Asian BBQ and HotPot, said that while their customers can choose to have table service, just like a regular restaurant, 80 to 90 percent of them want the authentic Asian barbecue setting, where they are cooking their own food over the grill in the middle of the table. They can also cook their food in a hotpot, which is a soup base that is kept boiling by way of induction burners at the table.
“[With] Korean barbecues, there is a grill in the middle of the table,” she said. “And all of this is very typical, very common in Asian countries; [it’s a] very authentic way to dine in [a] Korean barbecue.”
The hotpots allow each customer to cook meats, seafood, noodles, dumplings and vegetables in their own soup base, from the seven bases offered.
Cheng said not only is it a lot of fun, but it allows for people to talk with one another and be present.
“I grew up in China,” she said. “So, [in] Asian culture, we all believe eating is more than food. It’s more about spending time together, doing something together … in Asian culture, it’s very common for us [to use a hot pot or barbecue], especially for our holidays … what we do is people all get together, we sit down, have a hot pot, we cook and eat for hours and hours, and that can last for a whole day event.
“For us, we always like to cook on the table and eat at the same time. It gives us time to talk with each other; it’s a fun activity for us to do,” she added.
High-end Ingredients, Flavorful Combos a Highlight
At 592, Wang said they use certified angus beef, to ensure consistency, tenderness and flavor of the meat their customers cook. The meats are carefully selected and portioned based on cut and fat content to optimize both cooking performance and customer experience.
They also offer house-made sauces and additional side dishes like kimchi, fried rice, Korean cheese dogs, as well as multiple sushi roll options like Spicy Crab, Dragon and Godzilla, and menu items like brown sugar boba milk tea and spicy squid salad.
“We partner with … local farms [for] our meats and local vendors for our appetizers and sauces, using balanced ingredients such as soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil and Korean sauces to enhance flavor without overpowering the meat,” she said.
For The Melting Pot, a traditional four-course meal will include the savory cheese fondue prepared tableside, with choices including Wisconsin Cheddar, Spinach Artichoke, Classic Alpine, Fiesta, Bacon Bacon Bacon and Queso Fundido, and dippers like artisan bread, fresh fruit and vegetables.
The next course is a crisp salad with house-made dressing, and then the entrée follows, which includes fresh meat cuts and/or vegetables prepared in your preferred cooking style, one per table, and complemented with flavorful dipping sauces.
The table can choose from the traditional oil method or the popular Coq Au Vin, which features the robust flavors of Burgundy wine, mushroom and garlic — a perfect pairing for chicken or steak. There is also Mojo, which features the zesty and citrusy flavors of the Caribbean with hints of garlic and cilantro, as well as the Grill and the Court Bouillon options, the latter of which is savory seasoned vegetable broth with fresh veggies.
“It’s fun and it’s interactive,” Supple said. “And you really can create any combination of what you want. That’s what's so nice about it, because our meals are such a variety of proteins and different vegetables, and then you have all these different sauces, and you can mix and match.”
At Molo, Cheng said their all-you-can-eat format is popular and allows customers to enjoy a wide variety of flavors.
“Order anything on the menu, as many rounds as possible,” she said. “There’s no limit of the ordering. There’s a huge variety of all the options, like fine steaks, bulgogi beef, which is a typical Korean sauce marinated meat … all kinds of marinated beef, chicken, pork belly, shrimp, seafood, or different vegetables … and then all the customers need to do is to throw this meat, steak, vegetables, on the grill, and then grill on the table.
“It’s super fun, and super interactive.”
Encouraging Quality Time for Families and Friends
Of course, in addition to fresh ingredients and delectable combinations at each restaurant, a big draw is the one-on-one time you have with friends, family and/or a partner. In the OpenTable.com 2026 survey, there was an 11 percent increase in group dining, year over year, and 78 percent of Americans agree that dining out is a way to feel connected to one other.
Cheng said her first-time customers may have felt a bit overwhelmed or skeptical with the format of the dining experience at Molo, but that quickly dissipates as patrons understand the process and start enjoying themselves. They like it so much they promise to bring other friends and family back with them.
“So many [families] come to my restaurant regularly,” she said. “I have parents making comments like their kids never put down their tablets or phones when they go out to eat, but every single time, when they come to my restaurant, the kids … don’t look at their phone, they don’t look at their tablet; [instead], they’re interactive with their parents. They cook with their parents; that’s why they love it.”
At 592, Wang said they’re driven to provide healthy options in the Fox Valley, using high quality meats and fresh vegetables, which keeps patrons coming back for more. They recently added AYCE sushi to their menu for a $5 upcharge and also offer a seafood boil for an upcharge of $45. Customers are enjoying the new options.
“There’s not a lot of fats, or any other bad things in there for you, right?” she asked. “We offer this healthy option to our customers, because we really care about the customer. We care about individuals.”
Supple said that while some may see The Melting Pot as a higher end night out, there are specials throughout the week and lunchtime hours during the weekends that allow a nice mix of patrons, from those who want a quaint, romantic meal, to a night out for the entire family, or a smaller group of friends for lunch during the weekend.
She credits her team, many of whom have several years of employment at The Melting Pot, for creating repeat and loyal customers.
“It’s such a welcoming environment, and it’s just such a fun environment… I mean, they love the food, but they also love the experience… they also love our team. I think that they absolutely love the hospitality.”
And at Molo—much like The Melting Pot and 592 Korean BBQ, Cheng said the restaurant is not just about the high-quality food but also about creating memorable dining experiences with a group of friends or a romantic night out.
Cheng referenced an article she read recently about eating with others as one of three ways to build an efficient bond with other people. Sweating and cooking together are the other two ways in which people can form real connections.
“I feel like Molo just combines three of these, like [it’s] the most efficient way to bond people’s relationship. You eat together, you cook together and you sweat together,” she said with a laugh.
