Mini Choo Choo

I ordered my food using the Unilocal app. When i arrived it was lunch time and the place was packed so I anticipated that the food would be great. I waited in line and when I got to the cashier and told her I ordered online, she looked at her screen and said that it had been so busy that she hadn’t had a chance to even put in my order. I eventually got my food and took it back to my office. I ordered the bulgogi and when I opened the plate I had shaved meat that was not marinated with habachi dipping sauces on the side. The meat was dry and bland, but eatable. It is not what anyone should expect if they order bulgogi.

The food here was ok, but the service was underwhelming. I appreciate the portion for the money, but the girl at the register was super rude. And for that reason, I’ll never go back.

Mini Choo Choo has always rocked my lunch breaks since my start at GSU! A solid staple when it comes to-​go options on and near Broad Street.
It’s located across the Aderhold Learning Center up a small staircase; it’s a literal example of a hole in the wall. For those wondering, the Choo Choo in Athens is indeed its sister store!
The preparation is quick and fresh; my meat always comes out just the way I like it: tender and juicy! I usually order medium rare, but they can do rare to well done. I always get either the Hibachi Steak with rice and veggies or the Hibachi Steak and Shrimp combo.
The chef will personally bring you your meal already packaged up in a styrofoam container and bag with utensils and two sauces, one dark and one yellow. The yellow sauce is soooo good! Very similar to the yum yum sauce you find at hibachi places in the best way possible.
If you’re kind enough to tip, remember to bring cash because they cannot accept tip by card!

I’ve given this place a chance twice and both times it was nasty. The rice and the sauces are fine, but the meat is always funky and nasty.

I love the service and food here. I ‘ve tried something different every time and its always been so delicous! Definitely recommend this place.

I never actually ate here, but the one time I went there to meet someone I was blocked from entering the narrow door way by an employee talking on her cell phone. Not cool.

The food wasn’t disgusting, but it was below average.
I got the veggie deluxe. It came with my choice of rice and sauce. I picked brown rice and ginger sauce. It was cheap and plentiful, but otherwise not impressive. The vegetable-​to-​rice ration was way off (far too much rice). Also, tasted really bland: salt, steamed rice, and steamed vegetables.

Let’s just say this is my favorite place to eat on Georgia State’s campus… really, it is!
I’ve been a fan of Mini Choo Choo since the summer before my freshman year at GSU, actually. I was introduced to it by some friends in the marching band who still frequent the place, as do I.
It is THE CUTEST little downtown hole-​in-​the-​wall ever. Literally — you have to go up a short flight of steps, disappearing right into the wall of the building, to the door that leads into its tiny establishment. When I mean it disappears into the wall of the building, I mean that from looking sideways at the shop, all you can see is its hanging sign. You don’t even see the door until you walk right up to it. This, in addition to the fact that it’s on a side street (Poplar) off of the main strip of Broad Street restaurants, is a reason that many don’t even know it exists.
But, for GSU students, this place is golden. Also clutch. All those good words. It sits directly across from one end of Aderhold Learning Center where many of us have classes, so upon leaving the building on this side you are reminded of the greatness that could await you for lunch.
I’m one of those people who usually orders one thing consistently from all my frequent restaurants. As for Mini Choo Choo, I always get a Hibachi Shrimp Cup with fried rice and two sides of yellow sauce. TRY THE YELLOW SAUCE! In fact, this is precisely what I ordered right before my class last night at 5:30, which brings me to discuss another great feature of this place — GRUBHUB!
Yes, you can use GrubHub to order from Mini Choo Choo! And they prepare it so quickly that it should always be ready by the time you walk there from any other classroom building or, say, the library. It rocks. I picked up my order straight off of work (I work across campus) with 15 minutes to get to my class and wasn’t even late!
One other fun feature I should mention: the «secret» table with string light stars. Now, the «secret» table isn’t a secret at all, actually. But it’s still awesome. The establishment, as I’ve mentioned, is tiny with a bar lining the right-​hand wall, outfitted with plenty of stools. BUT, if you and a friend prefer to sit across from each other, make sure to grab (if you can) the «secret» table. It’s located on a raised platform in the shop’s window, underneath colorful star string lights and just behind the neon OPEN sign. Nothing special in reality, but I’ve always thought it was way too cool.
Needless to say, Mini Choo Choo will be frequently visited by me until I graduate from GSU, and probably even after then, every time I come back to Atlanta (provided that I leave first).
Japanese and Korean food seem to be common fare in Downtown, but this place should definitely be your first choice if that’s what you’re in the mood for. Plus, you go for the tiny, cute little shop experience.

Typical American style teriyaki. Got the ribeye bowl and asked for MEDIUM rare. They gave me steak rarer than a sparkling Pokemon. Hope I don’t get salmonella. The main cashiers service was about as good as a vending machine on a bad day. Most likely won’t come back.

All aboard the Mini Choo Choo! I’ll be your conductor, Dan T., today… hoping that you’ll enjoy the ride.
Our destination, Yummy in my Tummy. Population: You.
Elevation: Up some stairs on Poplar, between Forsyth and Broad.
Also, please be sure to have your Scoutmob 50% discount with you when the crotchety ticket checker comes through.
Please be prepared for some rumbles in the caboose… these hibachi, poor-​college-​student train tracks can get a little bumpy.
I do want to bring to your attention to the bulgogi cup. It is first-​class.
Passengers there will enjoy a mysterious, delectable and runny yellow sauce and a brown, treacly ginger sauce while on board.
Our Choo Choo was manufactured in Japan and Korea and today, as with every day, we’re running express.
And what we lack in size (hence the Mini), we more than overcompensate with our generous on-​board meals.
While some have said we’re the locomotive equivalent of a hole-​in-​the-​wall, greasy spoon, where presentation takes a back seat in third class, I highly recommend that you try our express service at least once.
The prices cannot be beat and our offerings will make you say, «Full steam ahead!»
Although we may be located in the feeding trough of GSU students, I assure you that while you ride the Mini Choo Choo, your wallet will be riding the gravy train.
Standby for departure.

Okay so I’m a huge scoutmobber which is why I decided to check this place out. First off its on Georgia state campus and it’s a cute little hole in the wall spot. As a vegetarian I got the tofu cup with a side of extra veggies and it is SO much food! But its all so so good. The veggies are steamed and they taste fresh. regardless of if they are or not. The tofu wasn’t already made which I loved so it was nice and hot when I received it. It took about 5 minutes which isn’t bad and its worth the wait. The steak and shrimp looked really appealing which was a nice surprise. Overall you get SO much food for a super cheap price. If you’re on a college budget you need to check this spot out.

I love this place– it’s really for pickup/​To go orders but it’s always quick and fresh. The teriyaki salmon is my favorite. I they give you plenty of rice and veggies on the side.

The perfect college student food! Food is super delicious if you put a sauce on it. The food is a little bland if you choose to forgo your sauces though, so definitely don’t leave them behind. The food comes out literally in about two to three minutes, so it’s perfect if you’re running between classes. There is a super cute corner booth where you can study while eating — perfect for people watching. Granted, it’s the only desirable seat in the place. The rest of the seats face the back wall, bar style, and are uncomfortable if there are many people eating, so if the window seat is gone, take a trip outside and watch the daily bustle. The cashier and cook are both friendly.
My signature order is the shrimp hibachi plate, which comes with your choice of rice and sauce, as well as steamed vegetables. I order brown rice, extra vegetables, and ginger (yellow) sauce — don’t forget to top your meal with the bottle of soy sauce on the bar. Your meal with have almost no salt on it, (which is a traditional with most East Asian middle class food) so unless that’s you’re thing, grab that soy. My meal costs about 9 dollars, but it’s one the priciest menu options — most of the meals are around 5 – 7 dollars.
Ultimately, I will be eating here many times in the future!

The setup is weird, but the ribeye steak cup was on point. I ordered it medium, so there were still some fatty pieces, but 90% of the steak was on point. Perhaps it’s nostalgia since I used to go to Choo Choo in Athens during college, but I enjoyed lunch here. Like other reviewers have said, a cup is really a to-​go box that comes with rice, veggies, & 2 sauces (I got yellow sauce which was good). Plus, with a scoutmob it was less than $ 5 for a huge lunch!

Mini Choo Choo is right across from GSU Aderhold and because of that I tried this place out. I have had their chicken and shrimp cup and also their teriyaki cup. The cup is pretty big and the price is pretty affordable. My only grief is that the sauce that go with these type of hibachi foods, known to many as yum yum sauce, is really inedible in my opinion. At first the sauce is okay, but the aftertaste is bitter to me and I didn’t like it at all. I gave this place two tries but I’m just not feeling it. Give it a try yourself. who knows… you might like the taste/​sauce unlike me.

When people say that you get a lot of food here for a cheap price, they are correct; but most of what you get is rice, and the quality of the chicken and sauces is questionable.
We ordered delivery of two «cup» meals for lunch today. They are delivered in large styrofoam takeaway containers.
The chicken teriyaki meal was just okay. I really wish it would have had more veggies in it, because those were the best part of the meal. The chicken cubes were weird, and pretty salty. I did enjoy the slight charbroiled flavour, but I would bet that they use low grade, frozen chicken here. There were a few pieces that I couldn’t even chew. We would not order chicken from here again.
The chicken teriyaki & steak meal was also a mixed bag. The veggies were good. The steak pieces were really good. The chicken though… same as above. Chewy, gross, just not even close to tasty, good quality chicken at all.
The «yellow sauce» tastes… very bland. We’re not even sure what it is supposed to taste like. The «ginger sauce» just tastes like soy sauce, at least to us.
Just to recap, we recommend the veggies and steak. We really do not recommend the chicken, nor the sauces. We might order from here at least once more, and I’ll update this review if that order is any better.

This place has really large portions. I am a pretty big guy and can usually eat a lot, this place has got me beat. It’s a simple take-​out place with a few chairs and table. Food is pretty decent, good value for the price.

It’s an awkward set of stairs to get up to the restaurant, but once you’re in, you’re in for a treat!
The food is tasty! The bulgogi is INCREDIBLE! I don’t think it’s possible to order from here and be hungry afterwards with the portion sizes.
The chicken is white meat (a welcome change compared to a lot of other similar restaurant dishes). It’s prepared fresh and delicious!
I’m not a fan of their yellow sauce, personally (preferences), but the ginger sauce is super tasty!
It gets quite crowded here if you’re attempting to sit down at lunch, but I’d vote to take your food outside and eat out there with everyone else (and people watch!)

I enjoy Mini Choo Choo. The food is very affordable and more times than not quite tasty They use white meat chicken in their chicken teriyaki instead of the low quality chicken Yumm Teriyaki uses, and the staff is always very nice. I only had one poor experience with my chicken being overcooked and a bit dry. Other than that, all positive experiences. I’m not a fan of the ginger sauce; it’s a bit too sweet for me. I always ask for the yellow sauce :) Quick and friendly service, and overall consistently good food.

Let me preface this by saying that I don’t typically write reviews online and this is my first Unilocal review but I wanted to share my experience.
If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. I tried Mini Choo Choo for the first time today and ordered the teriyaki chicken. I received it promptly, but after trying it, I did not like the taste of the teriyaki sauce. Also, the meat seemed to be some sort of chicken substitute material.
After about two bites, I realized I was not going to be able to push through and finish this meal. I told the manager my concern and that I would like a refund. First of all, he brashly argued with me and pretty much told me «too bad».
I work in an industry where client satisfaction is top priority and frankly, have never been treated so rudely as a paying customer.
BOTTOM LINE: DON’T EAT HERE unless you want to force yourself to stomach some unknown meat substance drowned in an overly salted gravy.
Oh and if you care at all about customer service, RUN.