Let me preface by saying the food is good. However, the service is horrible. You are treated like a dog. impossible to get a check in a timely way. Refused to split the check. And forced us to tip them 20 percent which is illegal. There are other good hot pot places around, this one is not worth it in the least. read more

Overall, a solid hot pot buffet. Good variety of options, the facilities and equipment aren't bad. 4 stars because there's nothing particularly outstanding about this place, and there's a little things that you have to do to maximize your enjoyment. PROS: * the meat quality seems pretty good * you can get a 6 person table even if you only have 4 people - this gives you guys 2 burners. I highly recommend doing this * the veg is fresh here CONS: * if you want a 2 broth hot pot, you have to specially ask for it * the descriptions on the "menu" aren't always the best - like the difference between the cuts of beef. You should order one of the cuts and wait for it arrive before ordering another one * if you want other condiments like hot sauce or sesame sauce, you have to ask for it and they're not written anywhere I know of * the seafood isn't great, you can probably ignore it read more

We got really sick after having lunch here. We didn't have anything else, just after this we got real serious diarrhea. RUIN our Christmas.

Very enjoyable meal. Nice selection of vegetables, fish, meat and noodles with a choice of broths. The House broth was a nice combination of Chinese flavors, I had mostly fish and vegetables which did not disappoint. The side sauce was a mixture of the Chinese barbecue sauce and a peanut flavor and I asked for additional hot peppers, garlic and chive to mix in with the house sauce. After loading myself up with salmon, octopus, fish balls, fish dumplings, squid, crab legs, cabbage, watercress, cilantro, corn, assorted mushrooms & udon noodles, I ordered the crab. The crab was exceptional and after finishing the first crab, I had another one. The crab was a stone crab type, meaty and delicious. The service was not great, but they were friendly and accommodating. The decor is a bit less than great, but I really had an excellent meal. read more

Hot Pot Buffet - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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It looks like other Yelpers have this place fairly well covered with their reviews, so I will summarize my thoughts: * All you can eat hot pot. * Give waiters your checked-off list of vegetable, meat, and seafood options, and prepare to fill your face. Over and over and over. * I sincerely hope they reconsider their $22 price because if I keep going back, they will go out of business. I ate an entire field and ocean's worth of animals and vegetables and would have continued my reign of terror had it not been for my jerk stomach rupturing. read more

Honestly one of my favourite places to spend hours in Boston. I love a slow, long and continuously tasty meal all day on a hangover Sunday and this is my favourite spot. I've taken friends here who have initially been skeptical that any restaurant is able to offer unlimited meat and seafood at such a low rate. I've been here dozens of times and never had a problem. I am aware there are higher end hot pot places around Boston which serve better quality raw foods and a more flavourful broth. But hot pot isn't always about cooking wagyu in a dense bone marrow broth etc. The broths they serve are perfectly good, clean tasting and flavourful enough. They offer a wide range of meats, vegetables and seafood, from fat to lean and whatever - they have it all as to please any crowd. The quality of this is also perfectly good. Not to mention you get unlimited amounts of it all! The service is just what you need, they keep the food coming. I can always throw on a pair of sweats and just enjoy hot pot for hours. This is my huge comfort and has been dear to me for the years I've lived in Boston. read more

The reason for the three starts is because the hot pot is amazing but the service is...... Good price, good food, but the service isn't all that. The lunch price is about $20 per person if you include a tip. There is this one young man who's pretty good about coming back and checking on my table and he's the only server that I tip. Other than that, I love how this place is open late and I believe its worth the price for the hot pot buffet. Keep in mind that they charge for bottled water! read more

Absolutely the best all you can eat hot pot restaurant in Boston. I highly recommend it. This is my new regular

This is a decent spot in Boston Chinatown for hot pot cravings. I can honestly say it's legit as it gets here -- a typical Asian restaurant where you're seated to eat at an affordable price. The only thing I'm concerned about is the cockroaches... while my friend and I were here, we were happily enjoying our hotpot until a couple cockroaches came running across the table. Another pair of young Asian American friends seated near us experienced the same thing (and coincidentally, the waiters killed the roaches in front of me and the other girl). Mind you, all four of us tried to play off the experience by saying "that's how you know this place is legit," because of course as Asian Americans we try to be a little understanding about the conditions folks in our communities have to work in to make their hustle. While that in itself was a disheartening experience, I do appreciate the staff acting quickly, but also recommend working on fixing the conditions of the restaurant (aka calling in a roach exterminator). Some customers wouldn't be as understanding. read more

For the low price and you get all you can eat buffet hot pot this place is not bad. The restaurant interior is nothing fancy, pretty old styled and can do with an upgrade. So if you are looking for a restaurant with good atmosphere this probably would not be your top pick. Try Q Restaurant a few blocks away instead. They are not all you can eat but the place looks great and smells amazing. Good variety of different meat and vege. The soup base is alright. I definitely had better ones in Toronto and in China. But again for the low price I really can't complain. I would go back when I crave for hotpot again. read more

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The short: $21 for buffet literally like 20 choices of meat 20 veggies, noodles, broth, and other stuff. I can't imagine it getting much better than this. The long: For everyone below who's talking about bad service, get over yourself. Most buffets are self-serve. Also realize that for $21 you're getting endless meat and seafood, brought as fast as you can eat. I have to say I am really impressed with this place. I make hot pot at home all the time and sure, making it yourself is cheaper, but there's no way I can make it like this. First off, they have like 5 different broths and offer bi-chamber hotpots. So it's awesome for spice lovers and the weaklings who want chicken broth. The clutch feature is this place offers literally like 20 meats. Probably more. I've never had some of their offerings before, such as beef tongue (your choice of front or back), fried pork skin, and a couple others. Sure, they're not all to my liking, but I order what I like. They even offer fatty vs lean cut on some of the meats. How often do you get that kind of choice in a buffet!!??? They offer a lot of other bonuses. Quail eggs, beef tendon, and like 5+ types of mushroom. The veggies are always fresh, never wilted or the least bit suspect of being old. Again, pretty impressive for a buffet to not have one bad piece in the quantity we went through. OK and finally, the service isn't even bad at all. You have to wave your hand at them to come over, but that's NORMAL. They were even real chill when we submitted two orders instead of one and ended up with double the food ordered. They canceled the accidental order. Yes I know, it's free, but they didn't bring out the food and waste it since we told them it was a mistake. And for those of you complaining it's not "authentic" I assume you're talking about the lack of flavorings for your own personal bowl? Well, I asked for raw chicken eggs and they gave it right to me, and same goes for some other spices and flavors that weren't at the table. So don't keep your mouth shut. Be a big boy and open it for something other than food. These folks are awesome! I've been back and back and back. And I'll be back again! read more

I visited this place twice. The first visit was OK, second visit I left horrified. I honestly don't remember what it was about the first visit that had me coming back, but after my recent visit, I am NEVER coming back here again! The food was not at all fresh, beef came out frozen, corn was hard, and my fish paste had worms in it! I unfortunately did not realized it until after the fact that it had been cooked because a friend of mine had place the fish paste into the broth before inspecting it. First of all, why would my "fish paste" have vain in it?! If you don't believe me, look at the picture and be the judge. You can even Google image "worm in fish," compare it to mine and I can assure you it's identical. They should thank god that it was cooked thoroughly before I had ingested it or else I could have have sued the place, quit school, have their establishment shut down and I would be set for life. How unfortunate for me though. I don't get what it is about this place that people love so much, it's not even fresh. Edit: Thank you all for the clarifications of this "black moss." I did happen to Google it after follow up reviews and yes, there was a huge difference. The fish balls were covered with black moss unlike my fish paste having just a few strands, this was actually my second order of fish paste and the first batch had absolutely no "black moss" in them so don't tell me they went cheap and cut back the moss in this delicacy. We also definitely did not order no "black moss" from the menu, unless they reused their food on other customers, which seems to be the case in most written reviews anyways, that's definitely another reason to stay away. It's quite funny though how people would go out of their way to create a yelp account to write five stars reviews to balance out the bad ones. But hey, what do I know, right? read more

Hot Pot Buffet - Worm in fish paste after it's been cooked. - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I was a regular until I seen cock roaches!! I addressed it, they seen it, AND tried to kill it in front of me, AND it escaped! And they still made me pay for my food after I address them about it. Worse experience ever. read more

Pros: - Fatty beef is unlimited and delicious! - Pretty good selection of meats, seafood, and veggies (but who cares about those) - Decent selection of tradional Asian hotpot ingredients -- tripe, fish balls, fish paste, etc. - You always leave feeling satisfied and full Cons: - Always a long line (45min+) - They pretty much systematically only give you 70% of what you ordered. Always have your order form ready to flag down a waiter - Broth isn't the most flavorful. E.g. it takes at least 30 minutes for the spicy broth to begin showing its flavor - Ingredients aren't always the freshest Tip - ask the server for garlic, scallions, cilantro, and chili peppers, and add liberally to your hotpot sauce to enhance deliciousness read more

It's true that it's all you can eat for both BBQ and Hot Pot. The meats aren't spectacular, but it's all about the level as expected. However the negative review is due to them continuously bringing meats that weren't what we ordered. Items such as "steak filet" or "lamb chop" were never brought to us. Instead they brought us out pork for various items and lied to us when asked about what items were presented to us. I don't think any of the items brought out for BBQ all night were what we ordered. read more

I would have rated much higher if they didn't get rid of bbq on the third floor. Now it's a cheap seafood bag buffet thing; the bbq was wayyyyyy better!!! read more

Decided to come here after watching a movie. Never tried the food before, but my friend had and she said it was great. Killed 2 roaches before I finished my meal. Never coming back again read more

Good simple hot pot. You get your paper and mark the items you want. We usually get a variety of beef cuts, beef tongue, some salmon, mushrooms, pumpkin, watercress, and spinach. They deliver a portion of each item for your table. Make sure to get extra dipping sauce because that's really what brings the flavor. They put the broth on the heating plate before you and you boil your food to perfection. They don't usually check on you after you've been served but we went on a Monday and had great service. Just make sure to check your water glass before drinking. read more

Broth lacks in flavor. Service is not up to par and the restaurant is not kept in clean conditions. I used to love this place until I started seeing cockroaches crawling around as I ate my meal. It totally ruined my appetite. I haven't been back since. read more

It's a standard hotpot restaurant will a wide variety of meat and veggies. They have prime ribeye and different seafoods too. Interior is a lot cleaner than what it looks from the outside. The food isn't fantastic but a good value for what you get. The waitress was also quite attentive. read more

All you can eat hot pot for 22$ a person? I'm all about it! Came here because there was like an hour wait at Q. We were seated and served immediately. You're given a piece of paper that lists everything they have, and you mark what you want. We both got the spicy broth and liked it. I recommend removing some of the peppers when you get it so you don't accidentally bite into them later. For food we tried squid, prime rib eye, scallops, clams, mussels, shrimp, salmon, flounder, fish balls, white fish, octopus, wide noodles, vermicelli, dumplings, spinach, bok choy, mushrooms, and maybe a few other things. Everything was good, the veggies seemed fresh, and the meats and seafoods were good quality. If you want more, they give you another sheet to order. We ordered more and it came out really quickly. I would definitely go back. We were satisfied with the food and service and only paid about fifty bux for a ton of food! read more

The quality of their meat and vegetables is highly questionable. It looked like they served vegetables that the Chinese grocery store across the street threw out the day before. Although this place is all you can eat, it is not worth the price for the quality of the food served. This place gets 2 stars for the sauce they serve; the sauce is good. The house broth and spicy one are good as well. I am not rating based on the service or interior quality of the restaurant. You are in Chinatown; embrace the culture. read more

Eat here tonight find a cockroach on the table. My friend told me the kitchen is so dirty inside. read more

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I just went there yesterday night for their BBQ Buffet on the third floor.(BBQ just open 6 months ago) And i forgot to check-in... Anyway I been here for hotpot and BBQ. a total of 5 times over the past 10 years. Food: 3 out of 5 stars(some picky ppl may rate 1 or 2 stars) Service: 3 out of 5 stars Price: 4 out of 5 stars The Food: Their food is more of Quantity than quality. If you are used to high end quality food or on diet then this place is not for you. However if you are not picky about food and just love to eat a lot with reasonable price then this place is definitely for you. FYI. For those who dont like Fat Cow Buffet, You may like to try Little Q HotPot. It is also in Chinatown. Its at the end of opposite Street of Fat Cow Buffet. They are consider more quality but less quantity and it is a bit pricy. The service: Their service is average, nothing to complain or great. However consider its in Chinatown, it is consider good service even though they forgot my rice and have to ask for water, napkin and order paper from time to time, but it is no big deal. The Price: You may choose to do both hotpot and BBQ. I am not sure how they calculate the price for that. Normally it is around $24 per person plus tax and tips for hotpot or BBQ buffet during the dinner time. Overall it is an ok place for me. I may go back once in a while. As for you people out there. Most of you would either hate it or love it. read more

Make sure you wear your stretchiest pants if you're coming here for dinner! There is so much food and different varieties. For $23.99/person, its a freaking steal! They have seafood, tons of good meats, veggies, etc! I particularly loved their lamb and sirloin. The service is good and efficient. I never felt ignored by their staff. The only complaint i have is that the broth can use some sprucing up. Not enough flavor. We ordered the Mala and house. Mala wasnt spicy at all. Otherwise, a great experience. read more

Hot Pot Buffet - Mala & house broth - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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They have the worst service and the junkest food！The first time we ate at this buffet restaurant, the hygiene was very dirty, and the waiters did not even have the most basic courtesy. We ordered some vegetables and seafood. The dishes were not the same as ours. The seafood was not fresh. We asked the waiter why we did n't order the meal without giving it to us. They just said that it was not there but didn't tell us !! They won't say sorry and excuse me, the food is served and thrown on your table No waiter collects the plates for you, no waiter comes to serve you, they just keep talking over there！ read more

The minute I step in, my eyeglasses fog up. Now this is a buffet, all you can eat for 21$, its no Shabu Zen but its pretty good! The first time I tried it, I wasn't much of a fan because of the sauce. But after a while I actually crave for the sauce. I love the spicy mala and the black chicken broth. But I do warn you, bring an extra shirt, you'll walk out smelling like a walking chinese herb store. Ps. Do everyone a favor and cook all the left over food you didn't finish so they don't re-use your leftovers for the next customer. read more

This is the Boston reincarnation of Little Q, I believe. We were big fans of Little Q and so glad when HPB opened up near the Chinatown gate a few weeks ago. FIRST OF ALL... this is a different perspective on hot pot. It's not Taiwanese style, Japanese style, or have any Americanized elements like the other spots in town. It is Mainland Chinese style. You don't get, or need (see #1 below) spice buckets of chilis, garlic, shoyu, sacha, scallions. Three things make this place a favorite for me above and beyond Kaze and Shabu-Zen. 1. The broths are really tasty, especially the Chinese Herbal and the Ma-La. They're so good that you don't need to make your own sauce or use much sacha; cooking your meats and veggies in the broths totally work fine on their own. Some people who are not used to these types of broth may comment or complain about the amount of herbs, spices, and other "goodies" floating around. That's the whole point though. And... the Ma-La is actually spicy enough to be called a spicy broth. (Sorry, the ones at Shabu-Zen and Kaze are pretty watered down and not really very spicy). 2. The menu items: variety and quantity. These guys have stuff that the other spots don't have. Stuffed fish balls. AND the way they prepare things is incredible. Like the frozen dofu. Big slices! Long pieces of hujook (bean curd skin). Fish paste that's actually seasoned. Plus the quantity is befitting for hungry people. Vegetable plates that aren't just a stack of napa and a single stalk of watercress. 3. The service. In order to ingest the amount of food that will come, you need to be in the right frame of mind--and that means, not being rushed. You should come here if: - You are a serious hot pot enthusiast and you appreciate a great broth. - You want more variety of ingredients. - You are mad hungry and have $15-$20 to spare. - You hate being rushed at Kaze or Shabu-Zen - You really want a spicy Ma-La and you're too lazy to make it at home. read more

I love this place! You can't beat the price and the selection here. It costs about $25 a person but it's all you can eat. The selection here includes seafoods (clams, shrimps, fish paste, squid, crabs, crab legs,...) and meats (ribeye, sirlion, prime rib,...) and veggies (watercress, nappa cabbage, spinach, bamboo shoots, mushrooms,...) and noodles (udon, vermicilli, spinch,...) and other various things such as fried tofu skins , mini hotdogs, and quail eggs to name a few. My favorite broth is the spicy mala broth. For those who doesn't like spicy, I recommend staying away from it as it gets spicier and spicier as the brother continues to simmer. The staff is very quick in getting your order and constantly around if you need them. I've never had a bad experience here. I recommend this place if you're a hotpot fan, have some time to kill, and a ton of stomach to fill. read more

I can unerstand why this place hasn't been reviewed. They don't need the advertisement and it is packed with locals. My girlfirend took me here for my birthday. She had been here before and loved it. There is some knowledge to be learn before sitting down. You order off the menu and cook the food yourself. One price for everything. Great atmosphere and pleasant wait staff. The Boston Police were getting food to go, so you know this is a great place. read more

The price is really good! Food is still delicious compare to other hot pots on the area. The waitstaff seem over work and just a tad unfriendly but they still work in a good pace. read more

This is a great place for big groups. They have a Korean barbecue upstairs and the hot pot down stairs. I've been coming here for years. A good friend of mine brought me here a few years back and I've been hooked ever since. If you love sea food like I do, or sirloin steak etc. great choice. Also good for catching up! read more

Hot Pot Buffet - Chinese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I loved the spicy broth, and the various meats and veggies which we chose... Sadly the service is very rude and they rush you. You can't cover the entire table top with food and expect me to leave in 20 mins... We got there at about 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon. It was my first time going and didn't realize because one person in our party had ordered seafood that we'd each be charged the $22 fee as opposed to the $16 fee, even though the rest of our party didn't eat any seafood. In addition to the additional fee we were also charged $2 anytime they had to come back and fill up our hot pot with additional water. I can see if they were bringing more spicy or chicken broth to charge extra but an extra charge for salt water? I will say there was plenty of food and didn't leave me wanting for more. read more

Adult AYCE prices: Lunch $15.95 Dinner $21.95 (for for Sundays and Holidays) Hot pots are generally not my cup of tea. For an AYCE connoisseur, as I am self-proclaimed, they are an inefficient means to a full stomach. However, Hot Pot Buffet manages to excel due to 2 key factors: 1) there is a paucity of AYCE Chinese restaurants in Boston; 2) they serve really quickly. The venue has 2 floors. The first floor has both individual and small party seating. Individual seating is in a U-shaped table, which is actually pretty fun for groups, as each person has his own hot pot. Upstairs, there is seating for larger parties. Rather than a buffet, patrons are provided with a paper menu with check boxes. Simply check off the items you want, and write the desired number of portions next to each. I recommend that the average person orders 5 different items - 1 portion each - to start off with. So here is the process for those who are new: 1. choose broth 2. choose items 3. choose noodles 4. put seafood in broth first 5. cook meat and noodles last (place in the spoon with drains for easy collection) 6. feast What I like to do after cooking is make a noodle soup with the bowl they provide. Also, they give a dipping sauce for the meat. If you want an extra kick, ask for ginger and scallions. It will come on a small dish, and you would only have to mix it in with the dipping sauce. Beef and seafood lovers will benefit the most here. I recommend the choice prime and the sirloin. Also, get dumplings and various balls (eg: fish, shrimp, cuttlefish). Other seafood options include salmon and crab. Chicken is unfortunately rather dry here, so unless you do not eat beef, save your belly room for other sources of protein. Non-meat eaters still have plenty of options. There is an assortment of vegetables to select from, various types of mushrooms, bamboo, tofu, fried gluten, etc. For broth, I recommend spicy. It actually is not very spicy, and it is the most flavorful broth they have. The house special broth is unremarkable. If you want a sweet drink to complement the meal, I recommend the Red Milk Tea. Or, just go with a beer. (^_-) Venue (^_^) Options (^_^) Service (^_-) Quality (^_^) Bang for buck - all you can eat Glad I came. Will be back. read more

Terrible service. Sitting here for over 15 minutes, not even a glass of water has been served while customers that came later are already having their appetizers. They are focusing on taking care of those groups of four or more people and nobody even takes a look at us two. We are having BBQ on the third floor, there is oil stain on the table and the stove is not clean. Two stars for the meat, which is just okay for the price, but still may be too thick and salty for BBQ. read more

I was nursing a severe hotpot craving for the entirety of summer, and so my experience at this hotpot restaurant might be a little biased. Regardless, I loved the hotpot here! Service was very prompt, and the amount of ingredients that were provided to us was IMMENSE. The diversity of ingredients was also pretty impressive, from fried tofu to quail eggs to fish balls. We ordered the chicken broth and the spicy broth--though admittedly the spicy broth was not very spicy at all. I'm not completely sure about the quality of the food itself compared to other local hotpot spots (we were all so ravenous that we could've eaten anything), but no one seemed to have any problems with devouring it. We went for seconds, and then thirds, and then fourths. Nearly nothing was left uneaten. This was a group of around twenty people, but the waitstaff was very patient and courteous with us. They also provided us with extra utensils, plates, etc. when we brought out a birthday cake. Would return if I'm ever in the area again! read more

I am very surprised at all the high scores that this place has received. We waitied over an hour (which i took as a great sign) Gonna try to keep this one short and sweet. Pricing- $19.00 is for plain, unflavored hot water. Should you decide to get something with flavor, thats gonna cost you 25 per person and that adds up. Service- Mediocre- Yes, it is unlimited but you need to stay on top of them. They kept "forgetting" the more expensive things we ordered and bringing us the cheaper stuff. Our server was nice but we had such a hard time tracking him down and had to keep asking for . I have some dietary restrictions and sat there for a good 30 minutes while the rest of my table ate because I could not eat what they brought us due to an allergy. Awkward! ***************** CLEANLINESS- Warning- This is gonna get GROSS... -While we were waiting, my fiance went to use the bathroom and found that someone had vomitted all over the mens bathroom. ALL OVER. This included the SINK, Floors, toliet, you name it. You could see exactly what they ate and could smell it from outisde the restroom. Men were gagging as tey walked into the restroom. The worst part of this, was that it was old and the restaurant did not bother cleaning it. I was not aware of this until I left the restaurant as, we were in a large group and did not want to make a scene amongst our friends. I am very grateful that I did not eat very much while I was there and I was pretty upset that my fiance did not let me know until we were walking out. (he hardly ate a thing) For a restaurant, mediocre service is tolerable if the food/experience is good. But CLEANLINESS is non-negotiable for me. read more

Should be open later! This place is great, and the staff is really helpful and welcoming

I came to Hot Pot Buffet on a weekday night with a few friends.The restaurant was not very crowded, and we were seated right away. We were offered a few different choices of broth, and were allowed to choose as many ingredients from the menu that we wanted. The menu is quite extensive, albeit not as good as Shabu Zen's. The waiters brought both the broth and the ingredients rather quickly. Being a person that loves strong flavors, I enjoyed the spicy broth the most. The meat that we ordered (chicken, pork, beef) was quite fresh. I don't think they are as fresh as other non-buffet hot pot places, but we got to order as much as we wanted. The vegetables (spinach) were also fresh. However, the fish was a bit disappointing and a bit stale. We also had fish balls and other accessory items. The restaurant itself is pretty clean (though not extensively decorated or furnished). The surface was nice and prompt and the price was great for the price we paid ($21). Had I ordered the same quantity of food at Shabu Zen, the price would have been double what I paid here. This is a much better deal and a much more enjoyable experience. read more

This was my first experience with the concept of "hot pot." For those who don't know (and I had no idea) the concept is a buffet (meaning you can order all you want of a large variety of menu items) that you cook yourself. Each table has a burner and they put a pot of broth on the table and then the various raw items that you choose. My server was gracious with me and showed us how to make sure everything was cooked etc. Again, probably not news to most people but I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. The variety of ingredients was extensive from vegetables, tofu, frog legs, shrimp, sausage, octopus (which curls up when you cook it, weird.), beef tongue, and 4-5 types of dumplings. Having said this it probably doesn't shock anyone that used to hot pot but I found it a great experience. Not a lot of frills and very busy but definitely an experience I would do again. (now I can answer the question: What does frog taste like with the strange answer: something between fish and chicken... read more