Unfortunately, I've had to update this review a year or so later for one main reason. Headline: Management/manager/owner should read this as I believe this should be directed towards you. I scheduled a reservation a couple of weeks in advance for six people, requested the VIP room so we could all get individual pots (harder if six people share just one pot) and this was done before in the past with zero issues - all was set. Come the day of us arriving, 5:25, 5 minutes before our reservation, we walked into a near empty establishment, didn't recognize most workers as we frequented here a lot within the past year. We entered as a party of four, with the last two people running late behind us due to encountering construction issues/traffic from the city. We were greeted quickly and asked about our party, I indicated it's reserved for six but we only had four right now due to other two for the reason mentioned above. The worker acknowledged and put us in the VIP room, we placed our orders just to get started and have some decent conversation. A few minutes into getting our food (so about 10-15 minutes later), I checked in on my friends to see if they were close, they said they were still stuck in traffic, and I asked them how far away they may be, but they didn't reply as my assumption was, they were still in rush-hour traffic and wanted to focus, who knows. A few minutes later I updated the workers there on their status, and they again acknowledged. Well, we kept eating, chatting away and about 30 minutes in (about 6pm) my friends told me that they would be super late, closer to 630, and they said they apologize but do not think they'd make it and I understood, no big deal. The workers then came back in to bring us in another tray of food, and I updated them on the situation again that it would then just be the four of us. They again acknowledged. I then heard that worker (I don't think they knew I understood Mandarin) say something to owner or manager about how we now only have four people. Come time for the bill, it's not even about the price itself, but how it was presented to me, or the manner of. I'm sure the worker who spoke to me was instructed by either the manager or owner as he seemed downright scared out of his mind when talking to me, but in his words it was, "next time, please let us know if you're only going to have 4 people and not 6, as then we can seat you out there in the general dining area". I then questioned what he meant by that, as we originally did plan six, did not intend to only have four, and regardless the restaurant was completely empty with the exception of our party, another party of two, and the workers. He just repeated the above. My guess is, us sitting in the VIP room and not outside in the open areas outside maybe were perceived as having a less full environment, however from the outside, there are walls next to the window, you cannot even tell how many people were inside dining, but I digress. In the end, the food was good, service actually during our meal was fantastic, but the way how this was presented to myself and my friends at the end, was a very bad taste in our mouths, pun intended. Again, we've always dined in here with a minimum party of 6, VIP room, paying well over $250-$300 a time, no issues and this was the single only time where we weren't able to meet our full party with reservation; all while we still updated you up until we knew for a fact our last two in the party couldn't make it, with circumstances not by our fault or prediction. Being treated that way at the end of our otherwise very pleasant meal was utterly disgusting. We came here as it is fairly good for being in the suburbs and didn't want to venture out to Chinatown/city for half decent hot pot, but this experience alone may have sealed their own fate with us moving forward, friends and family alike will follow suit if we cease coming here. This establishment now gets two stars, and the only reason it is getting two and not one, is the fact that the workers there that night were very tentative and the food was still good. EDIT: I forgot to mention they automatically added the 18% gratuity to the bill, which they mention in many other reviews and in the restaurant that it applies whenever you have a party of six more, which again... we didn't, we had four. Not a huge deal breaker as the service was good and we sometimes will tip between 20-25% if it's real good. In this case, for the inconvenient atmosphere at the end of our meal, the auto-decrease down to their 'standard' 18% would suffice, but it's still odd that they did this when we didn't have a party of six. read more

Wanted to go to Happy Lamb but couldn't get in so my family and I decided to come to this place. Saw reviews that weren't that great but wanted to give it a shot still. I should've listen to the negative reviews cause this place was absolutely disappointing and infuriating. We got there around 6:50 pm, was seated by 6:52 pm, ordered at about 7:00 pm. However, it took them over 15 mins to bring us our broth, but it was the wrong broths so we asked for the correct ones. We didn't actually get the right broths until 7:35 pm. At this point we were already frustrated with the service since the only thing that the server told us was "I'm sorry I forgot" when we asked her for our broths. As soon as we got the broths, I ordered more meats just to speed things up and didn't get the second order of meats until 8:15 pm. We kept asking different servers where our other orders were and they kept saying it was coming soon without even checking. A lady came to finally get us our meet (I assume the owner or manager) but at that point we didn't want to be there anymore. I don't know if this was a ploy to slow us down so we don't get to eat much but everything was so off. Additionally, the sauce bar was disappointing and far from fresh. The food was subpar, the service abysmal, and overall is an experience i wouldn't recommend on anybody, even my worst enemies. Do yourself a favor and don't come here! read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Waited 35 mins for our broth. - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

First time having hot pot here and it won't be the last. We all had the AYCE dinner with so many amazing choices. We had 3 broths -- mushroom, curry and spicy. Loved the variety of meats and vegetables. Delicious dipping sauces, fries and edamame were available at the front. The best part of the meal was the service. Very attentive and helpful servers that replenished water glasses and broths. Fun experience for the entire family. Thank you! read more

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50 READ BEFORE GOING!! We were a group of 8 and were seated in a small private room. Restaurant not very clean, obvious signs of basic neglect. For example, the robot's shelves that served your food were filthy! Our server looked to be 18-19 and he was casually dressed in hoody and jeans - meaning we had to ask if he was the server. The SERVICE is really lacking. Have never experienced worse. We were given water initially but never offered drinks. No direction about the menu was given and we had to chase the server all night, never checked in on us. The broth was ok, most spicy. When the broth was running low, we alerted the server and he filled with warm water. ‍. Food to dip and cook were ok, nothing special. The beef looked like bacon, not very tasty. The crab was cheap frozen imitation crab meat. The sauces were located by the front door. They needed to be replenished yesterday. The meal sucked really - not worth the cost. We went to pay the bill and $15 was added to our bill due to math error. It was a nightmare. We were then told that our server was day 3 on the job and they are short staffed. The employee at register told us the pay is very poor and turnover high. He said the owner ignores reviews. I hear other restaurants on that corner are great - go there. read more

Had an amazing time dining here. The food was flavorful and fresh with quite a variety of both broths and ingredients. I've been to quite a few hot pot joints but this place has quickly become my new favorite. Love the sauce bar and the curry broth was delicious. The highlight however was the service which was impeccable. Our host/ server was a very kind young man who gave us a thorough overview of the menus and process. He was incredibly welcoming and his recommendations were well thought and helpful. He often came to check on us which was greatly appreciated as the service at other hot spot aren't nearly as attentive. He really made our dining experience fantastic. Loved the food and greatly appreciate the service. Will definitely be coming back here soon read more

Delicious, flavorful and unique. I wasn't sure what to expect but the mix of flavors made me extremely impressed. They have great service and even have a robot who brings the food out to you. This is a very nice restaurant for casual dining or a nice dinner. read more

Good selection of food server fast. Flavourful stock. Expensive though. If you have any people i your party you have to pay for all read more

The food here is always delicious! Service is great and everyone is always friendly. Looking forward to my next visit here. read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Hot Pot Soup was amazing and the robot delivery was cool...continued success! My daughter and I will definitely be back read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Goodness in a pot! - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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Nice place with a good vibe. Service is good and broth and fresh noodles are delicious! Cold beer and a hot pot.. A must try !

If you're looking for Chop Suey joint, this ain't it. It's a real-deal Chinese ethnic resto, that's different from any place you've prolly ever been to. Yes, the surroundings are a bit bleak--they're not going to win any awards for interior decor, but you aint here to be seen, you're here to eat. Here's what the place is about: You get a big cauldron of broth which goes in the middle of the table. Each table has a fixture the cauldron goes into to keep it hot. ("Hot POT"--get it?) Then you order a bunch of stuff that you'll put into the broth to cook, along with sauces and garnishes. Kinda like an Oriental Fondue. The menu is a bit confusing, and there are things on the menu that may spook you (q.v. "Beef Tendon" and Tripe). Don't let it. Be adventurous and try a bunch of stuff. You can also get a variety of different broths in one cauldron--there's a nifty little insert that can divide the pot. Everything I had there was tasty. And when they say things are "spicy hot" believe them-caveat emptor. Then again, if you're like me and dig incendiary chow, you're in the right place. This may be politically incorrect, but swing with the intention. This place is in a concentrated Oriental mall, with a predominance of Oriental patrons. Tasty Hot Pot has a number of Western folks as waitrons, and they speak perfect English-they know this cuisine very well and can guide you through what might be confusing at first. They can also decipher that formidable menu. I've been to other deep-ethnic places with a language barrier, with mixed results. The proprietors here are nice folks who give great service. Yes, this is an exotic resto--and maybe not for everyone, but if you're looking for a change of scene, and something "New", do stop here. read more

1. Ambiance: Chinese-decorated with open ceilings to let the steam escape. The wall spacers between sections of the restaurant are slim. 2. Food: Absolutely very authentic and oriental. Definitely more authentic than the Happy Lamb Hot Pot in Naperville, IL. There is a phenomenal sauce section in the back that has about 20 sauces. Keep in mind the sauce is $2 additional per person. There are also some fruits to cleanse your palate after the meal. We ordered 1/2 tomato broth and 1/2 spicy broth. The presentation is absolutely beautiful and very large. The chopsticks are extra long to help fish out the food items from the pot in the middle. The jelly ear mushrooms were a little chewy and hard to eat. The ribeye and tofu were absolutely delicious. 3. Tea: American Lipton tea bag, which is classic and great but was expecting a traditional Chinese tea leaves. 4. Service: Very fast, courteous read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

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I love their customer service. I had went with a bigger group of people so they had put us in one of their party rooms. The food was very good and the room was neat. There was a television although we did not turn it on. There isn't much table room to place your phone sadly but there was another small table in the room that we placed our phones on to disconnect for a bit. The waiter we had was respectful and helped us with any questions we had. Summary: great service, great food, great for large groups of people. read more

The food is great and the prices are reasonable. We we chose it all you can eat option and two different soups. the staff is very friendly. We had a great time and will return. read more

Came here for a double date. Got seated super quickly by the hostess and the waiter was good at explaining the menu and extra charges. Even though we didn't get a ton, I calculated the 21 dishes we got and it was definitely worth it to do the all you can eat even if to just tray a variety of things. The meat is super thinly sliced and fresh. The broth was also delicious. The medium spicy was spicy and the white broth was flavorful. I wished they had peanut butter in the sauce bar. I do wish we had gotten there earlier so we could experience the full 2 hour all you can eat. They stop serving new dishes around 8:30. read more

We ordered hot pot with mushroom broth and the spicy beef broth. I told to the waiter that we need only mild spicy broth. As soon as we were served and I tried to taste the beef broth I started immediately coughing. I felt like somebody pepper sprayed in my mouth. That's how extremely spicy the broth was. Just to let you know I love spicy food. I regularly eat chilly hot sauce and hot red pepper paste and other hot stuff. I can tolerate really spicy food. But in this case it was beyond any expectations. I felt like the cook decided to put all stored hot red pepper they had into my pot. More than that I feel like he even decided to use an elevator to go down deep to underground to the Hell to borrow spicy hellish stuff from there and also add into our pot. After I tried the first spoon of this hellish broth I couldn't eat anything. This is because I had fire in my mouth. I felt like the Gendalf White set up the flame of Udun in my tongue which slowly burned down to my stomach. Took two glasses of ice water with helped a little bit with my burning food pipe. I felt burning sensation in my stomach for the whole night after the visit. When I asked the waiter why they did the broth very spicy he tried to assure me that this is they consider as a mild spicy level. This is very immature and unprofessional to try to lie to customer. Or if it's really their Mild level of spiciness they must be crazy. Somebody wrote here that mushroom broth is good for kids. Well. Our mushroom broth was also spicy. Not hell spicy like the beef broth but still mildly burning the tongue. So I wouldn't give this mushroom broth to my little kids too. One visit to this crazy restaurant was more than enough for us. read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Micro sized bowl. I don't understand the reason of why they serving such small bowls to the customers. - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

Rating based on my personal experience and what i ordered. We didn't have time to try the hot pot because we actually walked into the wrong place not knowing until after we ordered, got the cross the bridge noodle (that's what it said on my receipt) , very bland no taste at all even with the pork/chicken. read more

Nice place for dates reconnecting with friends or family. The service was amazing especially the first time I went they show you how to use the hot pot and my waiter was very friendly and even gave me tips on making my sauces I think he might of made my first round of sauces lol definitely made sure to tip him good the food is immaculate especially the fried rice and plum tea is sweet but not too sweet definitely will come again. Good for solo,dates or even a group of people. read more

This was our first time coming here. We ordered the three broth option and they weren't as flavorful as I would've liked them to be. They were out of our favorite, the enoki mushrooms, so we ordered the shiitake. However, when we got them, half the plate was stems, which was disappointing. We were not provided with ladles, although we noticed all the other tables had them, or bowls, like we are used to at other hot pot restaurants. We could've asked but there was only one server who seemed extremely busy and was running around waiting on all the tables. We enjoyed the sauce bar and noticed that you can bring the leftover broth home if you want. Overall, we had a nice time, but it was more expensive than Happy Lamb in Naperville and lower quality food in our opinion. read more

All you eat ? Yeah it is all u can eat of their dipping sauces, but any meat u want to order it take 30 minutes to come out each order while they don't even have lot customer ! Each of ur order they act like u go there for free foods !!! I ordered 2 order, they came out 1/4 order after 30 minutes each time I want to order, All of their meet is really cheap quality meat !!! This is not good place to come for all u can eat hot pot ! I been to lot of place, but this place is so so bad, I'm not recommending to anyone want to try out ! read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - All u can eat dipping sauces ! Lolz - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

This place was amazing! The all you can eat was such a great deal. I ate so much delicious food (their spicy beef is the BEST)!! I really recommend the white soup broth & the spicy marrow broth. The service was great, super attentive and very friendly. This is definitely a place to try!!! (It was so good I didn't take any picture until it was all done) read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Special Triple Flavors Pot - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

If you're not familiar with hot pot this place is confusing because nothing is explained to a first timer. We had to have other patrons help us out. Besides that, it was a magical experience and the food was fresh and delicious. We left there full and vowing to return as soon as possible. read more

Half the menu wasn't available. There was only 1 waiter available for over 7 tables, while 3 to 4 other people walked around staring and did not help. The food was ok, the few items that was available. I would have given 1 star but the waiter did what he could with what he had. read more

Food is ok. Sauce bar is not aesthetically pleasing. They don't offer large plates just small ones like the size of your hand and the chopsticks look like they are made for giants which is a safety concern. I felt like I was going to poke my partner's eyes out every time I wanted a bite. Overall no bueno read more

Ordered way too much food. Was very good. $100 will get you so much food. Loved all the meet and broth. Have a robot waiter.

Very disappointing. I was looking forward to the dinner but the service was the worst I have ever experienced. Food was not good. I felt very sorry for the staff as it seemed like they had very little support. It was our first time at a hot pot and our server did not guide us at all. The room we were in was not at all appetizing. They had a remote control for the tv sitting on the table that was visibly filthy. A big pass all around. read more

We went for lunch the place was empty, it seamed pretty clean until you sit down the walls were dirty and chairs sticky(the bathroom was also pretty dirty & no paper in the stalls). The food was ok but will not be going back I expected more since their 2 hot pots close to each other. The worst part is that I paid with card BUT I left her their tip in cash $10 and they decided to add another $10 to the bill for extra tip when their was 2 of us. I called to dispute it with the manager and she pretended not to speak English. read more

Slow service.. we have 5 people and take forever to get our foods. Taste is okay. Very cool way to deliver your order

Worst dining experience ever! ! ! I was there yesterday with my friend. The manager was very unprofessional, very disrespectful, yelled at us, no apology！We were so pissed that we barely ate and paid unreasonable fees. *After the employee yelled at us, we request to talk to the manager, but he said he's the manager. 18% tip was charged directly without notifying us. This is unreasonable since we were so upset about the service.* read more

When we saw a new Hotpot place in Yelp... i was so excited, because hotpot is my favorite.. It's located in a strip mall where multiple asian cuisines are beside it.. When we went it, not much people.. hand sanitizer on the entrance, they sat you down, server with a mask, ge gave us a hand sanitizer for our table and checked our temperatures (kudos!) Our server? he was great.. very polite and checks on us... Food: We ordered the 3 flavor pot (white soup base, curry and spicy) White broth, bland... i added salt to it.. so i just ended up doing the curry and spicy... They have good quality meat and veggies.. a lot of varieties.. we ordered the bone marrow, but we were windering when our orders came, we got this white milky long strand meat.. which LOOKS LIKE INTESTINES..we clarified with the server what was that and he had to go back in the kitchen and ask.. cane back and pointed that's the MARROW.. I said i dont think so.. still he insisted.. So we tried, possibly made a mistake.. When it was cooked, which he said to cook for 5 minutes, that gloopy long strand tastes like intestines.. We put whatever was left aside coz most of it was already in the broth.. We also wanted to try one of their summer dish which was the spicy crawfish... server gave us plastic gloves.. But wince we ordered a lot from the hotpot, i only tried one and took the rest to go... When we decided to eat the crawfish at home, wverytime i reac the container, i grab a claw.. so i dug thru it, i counted, i ate 5, 1 in the store and 3 remaining.. 8 crawfish and the rest are CLAWS!! i was so disappointed.. The sauce was good but for 17 dollars there could have been more meat in there... Sauce Bar: Had a lot of options.. Sesame sauce was good.. The bar itself it was just a little high for me... It was an ok experience, but not the kind that i want to go back kind of thing.. read more

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Super authentic Chinese dining experience, another win for Aurora. Just like I had in Shanghai. It is an interactive dining experience where you are cooking your own ingredients of choice in boiling broth(s) that are cooking in the middle of your table. The meal is so much more enjoyable when you're engaged and taking part in its creation. 10/10 will be back read more

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The best!! Staff is great! The food is fresh and tasty! My new go to spot. Love the spicy (medium) soup paired great with mushroom soup. read more

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Casual hot pot place in a strip mall with several Asian restaurants and an Asian grocery store with a food court. Great broth choices and a nice mix-your-own sauce bar. More veggie than meat options. And, although an all-you-can-eat restaurant, they bring small portions to your table and leave half of them near, but not on, your table. read more

The food is fresh and delicious, the mushroom soup and spicy hot pot must order. The service is great. This place is the most authentic Szechuan hot post in Chicago area. read more

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We were here for ACYE. Service: 3 Stars Can be improved. Table was sticky. I requested for a new plate and the soup ladle as they were dirty. Food: 3.5 Stars Broth was great. You can choose up to 3 broth. Everything was very fresh but the portion was TOO small. Slices were super thin, you cant quite taste the meat well as they cut it too thin. Seating: I found the seating not comfortable here. It is much more nicer and comfortable in Happy Lamb. If they improve the seating/decor and make the food portion bigger (thicker meat slice is a must), they will have more business for sure as their food and broth are good. Will I be back again? Maybe.... The entire experience is much better in Happy Lamb. I hope this place can improve so I can come more often. read more

Ordered all you can eat hotpot but it turned out into being an all you can beg hotpot. Server was showing up every 15 minutes or so, forgetting to bring half of the things that we ordered, the portions were ridiculously small so we had to keep asking them to bring more food over and over. This place used to be real good when they opened, not coming back here again read more

This place has a variety of food that you can order for the hot pot. Their hot pot soup base is pretty good too. They also have a wide variety of sauces you can use for the hot pot. Also you can ask them to buy Vivi boba tea for you. I also really liked their appetizer that you can get yourself. Their radish and stir-fry potato slices were very good too. Both my friend and I help ourselves to two plates of it. Their service were very good. I would definitely recommend! This place is definitely better than Happy Lamb! read more

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They've been open for a month and I think I'm a fan! Nice new space. Good service (they were slow for a Friday night). Portions are big for each item ordered, definitely a lot for two people to eat (we also had 2 kids who didn't eat that much). The broth were very authentic (we had the low spicy and white broth) and flavorful. Selection of sides were pretty broad. The best thing about the whole experience was THE SAUCES! The sauces were so amazing, elevated the hot pot experience exponentially. There were also a few pickled sides as part of the sauce station that were delicious. We also got the side of fried rice for the kids and it was delicious. a few more pluses, because we paid the extra $2/pp for the "sauce" selection, the kitchen made fries and chicken tenders for our kids which was a nice "extra." There is also fruit to palate cleanse at the end. My biggest gripe is this... the pricing. I felt the pricing was high and this is definitely better served if you come with a bigger group.. For example, the order of shitake mushrooms was $4.99 which isn't bad but the amount of mushroom was SO MUCH for just 2, therefore you end up ordering just a few items.. because if your eyes are bigger than your stomach, you'll end up with way too much food and huge bill to fit. Perhaps they can cut the price of each side in half and cut the serving in half.. that way if people want more they just order 2 orders? Just a thought. Would come back, a welcome addition to the area. read more

This place is so good. I was here for the first time and it was a good experience. You cook all the meat in the soup it almost like having all you can eat ramen and you get to choice the meat that goes in it. Me and my friend actually ordered all the meat. The funny part was I could not really tell the difference with the meat. The beef bone soup or whatever it is called was really good. The staff was very friendly and explained how everything worked. They also had a side station where you can put lettuce, noodles and other thing in the soup. You can get really creative with the soup here. I would highly recommend coming this place. read more

A Tasty Hot Pot - Nine Square Spicy pot - Hot Pot Near Me - Aurora, Illinois

We went here as a group of ten for a birthday. We had a private room and had a great time. Quinton was such a terrific server. He helped us through the process as we never had this before. Food was great. Kids loved the robot server. A great time was had by all. Thanks for your help quinton! read more