Great variety and good value for the money. Our table of three had one of almost everything--veggies, beef brisket, shrimp, fish balls, two kinds of broth. We loved the sauce bar and trying all of the recipe combinations, plus some of our own creations. I would definitely visit again! read more

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I tried Hot Spot for lunch and I loved it! It was my first time here and the service was awesome. Our server was super accommodating to describing anything and everything to you - patient as ever. The server/host both recommended to get the family style pot with the divider because everything cooks faster in it. We got the Tom Yum and Shabu Shabu broths. I thought they were great. The options they have for your hot pot was incredible because 1) so many options 2) it's all you can eat As many protein options there were.. I looooved how much SEAFOOD there was. Favorite things were the mussels, jumbo shrimps & tilapia. If I came back.. I seriously think it would be for strictly the seafood. If you love vegetables, this place is a dream. All the mushrooms (enoki is a favorite), cabbages, I recommend the chinese broccoli and bok choy. All I can really say is.. watch your protein - they cook fast and it can overcook instantly within a couple of minutes. Overall, would definitely come back for this all you can eat spot! read more

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I came here for a birthday at 4pm, I called ahead for reservations and they do not take reservations on the weekend. The girl suggested for us to come earlier before the dinner rush and that was a great idea! We had a party of 7 and our service was amazing! She was on top of everything, we never had to call her down or ask anything aside for our refill requests! We had a large party so we didn't get our own individual soups, but it was still such a great experience. Most of our party it was their first time. The sauce bar was such a great addition. We tried everything and the beef options were great. SEAFOOD SOOOOO good! They don't skimp on the portion and make sure you continuously get food as you run low. We will definitely be back, such a great experience! read more

The staff was super kind and helpful in addition to being COVID careful! Everyone had masks. My friend and I were craving hot pot for months, and I felt very safe eating here! I loved my meal, and so did my friend! Best Hot Pot in VA !!! read more

Food quality still great. Waiters are still nice and attentive (good work, Richard). So why the 1/10? The manager, who was acting as the host tonight, was terrible. I'm honestly filtering out 85% of what I want to say to stay within yelp guidelines, but in summary, the short Korean guy (to spot him, check to see if he only pays a lot of attention to Koreans and Caucasians) He was very curt and obviously did not want to deal with our party. Also, why is he playing some game on his phone at the host desk in front of the customers? He may be the manager but he sure is garbage at making everyone feel welcome at the establishment. Finally, as frequent customers to this place, we expected the usual individual pots... but as we were shown to our table he suddenly told us, "ok, one pot." with no explanation whatsoever, until I called him out and he said, "that is all we have right now" in an arrogant stuck-up tone as if we should have known that? Excuse me for coming here for years and expecting the same method of cooking each time. Ultimately, one pot? That's fine, just cut the attitude dude. (To newbies, part of why indiv vs one pot matters is because you can customize your indiv pot to your own broth, whereas big pots are limited to two broths... in a table of 4, 2 people potentially wont get to have their own unique broth with their own seasonings thrown in). Anyways, this review will not do much as I heard this guy is the head manager... and everything else besides him is great about this place. I don't know if he has always been like this, but if you're gonna gain anything from this rant, get this: check yourself. read more

Hot pot seems to be the newest craze in the DMV area, so when I was visiting my friend in Fairfax, he recommended we try this spot. I came here with 2 friends on a Thursday night, maybe an hour and a half before closing. To my surprise, the place was still decently packed, and my group had to wait about 10 minutes before getting a table. Each person gets their own burner so they can get their own hot pot base. I ordered the tom yum base, which is traditionally a Thai sour soup with hints of Thai chili. Within 5 minutes, our soup bases came out, and so the all-you-can-eat feast began. I first noticed that my soup base tasted very artificial - I picked out a blob of paste at the bottom of it that I'm assuming is a tom yum base they use, so it's definitely not made in-house (not sure why I expected it to be). Regardless, the flavor wasn't the most appealing, so I'd stick with more traditional soup bases if possible. We predominantly stuck with the red meats, which I thought were decent. Nothing stood out in terms of quality, and the fact that each meat came out previously frozen wasn't the most appealing thing. We also tried some of the mussels, scallops, bok choy, udon, and ramen. I wouldn't recommend the mussels, they just taste bad - definitely not fresh. The scallops are essentially 1 cm scallop balls, so they're tiny. Similar to the mussels, the scallops weren't on point either. I recommend staying away from the seafood altogether. The bok choy was okay, I recommend getting it just to offset all the meat. I actually enjoyed the udon and ramen noodles the most in terms of compliments to the meat. There's also a sauce bar with plenty of sauce options for you to mix and match to create your own. The service was okay - there were a few times during our meal when we ordered a bunch of items, and it seemed like the servers just forgot about some items within our order. It's all-you-can-eat, so I guess it's not a big deal, but I think it'd be nice if they actually brought out all the items you order, when you order. The atmosphere is pretty casual - there's even a bar with individual burners for you to use. I've never seen a bar setup for hot pot before, and I sort of liked that option. The tables themselves can get pretty squished together, so I don't recommend coming with a huge group. Pricing is pretty comparable for other all-you-can-eat spots, hot pot or not. I paid about $30 (including tip) for my meal. It's located in a small plaza, and since I went at night after the dinner rush, I can't attest to how busy the parking lot can get. My guess is that finding a parking spot can get tough during prime meal hours, so plan accordingly. A decent hot pot spot, but nothing to write home about. Go if you just want to get full off of all-you-can-eat. read more

I've been to many hot pot places and this place is always at the top of my list. It gets pretty packed so I usually go early around 5pm since it reopens at that time. You have the option of doing family style or individual pots. I really enjoy the family style because everyone gets to share. You can also do a split pot with two both flavors. I love the spicy broth and Tom yum soup. The spicy broth has lots of Szechuan peppers to give the broth it's flavor. Be aware of the tiny black peppers because they tend to numb your tongue a little! They have a mini sauce bar in the back. You can create your own any way you like it. I like to mix the sesame sauce with garlic, sesame oil, and red chili oil. This sauce is used as your dipping sauce for the meats, seafood, and veggies. As for ordering, it is ALL YOU CAN EAT! It is so worth it! There's unlimited meat. I usually order the fatty brisket, beef tongue, ribeye, and lamb. For seafood, there's mussels, clams, shrimp, fish, calamari, and crawfish. Their veggie and noodle selection is awesome. I love the Napa cabbage, bok choy and enoki mushrooms. Udon noodles are great since they soak up the flavor of the broth at the end! Service is great. You just write what you want on the sheet and they put in your order! Hot pot is my favorite especially on a cold winter night or a rainy day! It's perfect to warm up your tummy! :) I always leave this restaurant satisfied. Thank goodness for Hot Spot! read more

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This review has been long time overdue. I have been coming to this place so much that at one point i became a duchess regular here (haha yay yelp) needless to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE this place. I have always wanted to try hot pots so i was happy and surprised to know that there was a hot pot close to my place. The place itself is small but clean. They have a bar area where you can go and actually eat there if you dont want to wait for a table. Definitely gets busy during the weekends so make sure you call ahead to get reservations. They do either individual (which are individual pots in single burners) or family style (which is a big pot divided in the middle) pretty straighforward concept - choose a broth then pick your ingredients (as much as you want). while theyre getting your food you can make your sauce - and go ham on it! They have different sauce recipes posted on the wall where the sauce area is but if you want to be original you can! Possibility is endless. The broths are pretty amazing (i have tasted all of them) but i always lean towards the herbal and the tom yum (if i want it spicy). The vegetables and meat always look fresh, never had any issues with their food. Honestly, i think i have about 2-3 rounds before i call it quits (dont judge me, its that good) Service here has always been good for me. They are very friendly and are always ready to help you, if youre new to the hotspot scene. Definitely one of my fave places here in fairfax :) read more

Slightly below average overall. Broths are not particularly flavorful relative to other places I've been to. The meats were OK but generally pretty tough. Seafood was completely frozen and not fresh, which is fine, but again nothing to rave about. Veggies were decent. Staff were all young and clearly trying but expect to ask multiple times for things like water, napkins, and new orders. read more

Met my friend here last night on a Saturday night and was told the wait time is typically an hour, so was pleasantly surprised when I walked in and was told an hour, which I expected, but was actually buzzed back in after 25 mins. Always better to over estimate, only thing that went wrong was that my friend came late and they actually set aside a 2 hr limit for you to dine. No fault on their end, but decided to give my table up, and they were super nice in putting us down for the next table instead of making us re-waiting again. It wasn't too long before we were seated. I want to say from start to finsh the service was excellent. Very attentive with almost excellent timing. The server took our drink orders right when we sat down and explained very briefly how everything worked as my friend is like a pro and comes all the time so there wasn't much to go over. We got the large pot which you can pick 2 base soups to cook all your food in. Then from there you pick your meats and they bring them out for you. They also have a suave station with recipes listed that you can try! Our waitress was very timely, not asking us every like 10 mins what it is we wanted, keeping an eye on how we were doing and asking ya comfortably if we were ready for more food or more drinks. The food is good here if paired well, not the greatest quality, but for what you get and pay, I'd say it is goooood. I like how they will take your number down and actually call you when your table is ready so you don't have to wait around because on average it seems the wait time is about an hour. read more

Always such a great place and the staff is excellent! I always have a good time and they are completely safe!

Really worth your money! The server comes by very often to make sure dishes get sent to you in a timely manner. The sauce recipe idea above the sauce bar is GENIUS, imo! Definitely will come back the next time I'm in the DMV :) read more

It was my first time trying hot pot and I'm glad that I got to experience it at Hot Spot. I wasn't prepared for the pricing - which was $22 per person. However, it's all you can eat and you do get your money's worth! There is a wide array of meats, vegetables, and other additions. The red meats were super fresh - we tried everything, from the brisket (my favorite) to the lamb. Some of the seafood was frozen (or at least refrigerated), and all of the vegetables and extras were pretty fresh too! Everyone got their own individual pot - or you could get a family pot to share (with a divider so you could try 2 different broths). I got Tom Yum - which was delicious. Other people in my group got the spicy broth and the shabu shabu. After you get your broth, you get to make some sauce at their sauce bar! I highly recommend following one of the recipes they post so that you get the ultimate experience! Overall, I left very satisfied and FULL. They DO have a 2 hour dining limit and they DO charge extra if you waste food. So please be aware of that. I am going to have to knock off a star because of service. Although our server was kind, he didn't ask us if it was our first time (which it was). He just took drink orders then left, so we were pretty confused through the ordering process at first. We didn't see him again until he picked up our cards. And he would pop up maybe once or twice, but for the most part we had to hunt him down. The final time we saw him was when he told us we had 5 minutes to finish up because his next table was here. However, I'm not going to let that ruin my experience and what I thought of this place. I still think it's delicious and worth the money, even if it is a little pricey! The restaurant was full when we went, however, it was comfortable and not too loud. read more

Hot Spot - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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We joined a friend at Hot Spot for our first hot pot outing. We weren't sure about it before hand, but it ended up being a great experience and I can't wait to go back. The staff were super helpful when I told them about my shellfish allergy and recommended options for our group. We started with just a few items and added more as time went on. I liked that the staff didn't hover but made eye contact frequently to see if we needed anything. read more

Hot Spot - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

One day my friends and I were craving hot pot. Since hot spot was located near where my friends lived we decided to go there. When we arrived we were seated immediately and we received two menus one for our soup broth and one for the substances (meat, seafood, vegetable and carbs). Ordering was relatively fast since we just had to mark down exactly what we wanted to eat. At the Fairfax location there's a huge table in the middle of the restaurant so we were seated there. Since our party was relatively large (group of 8) 4 of us sat on one side of the table and the other 4 sat across the table. So when it came to order each group of 4 had a menu to order from. When we ordered, one group of four got their food relatively fast and the other group's food never came out. After 20 minutes we talked to our server and he told us he would take care of our next order and made sure that it would come out. After we finished our 1st order we decided to order more and again the other group of 4 didn't get their food. At this point the group that didn't receive there food was pretty mad since 40 minutes of their 2 hours was used up just waiting. Since at hot spot there is a 2 hour policy where after 2 hours you are asked to leave. However, after the 40 minutes the group of 4's orders finally started to come out. After the entire meal none of us were really happy especially since we were charged for a mandatory gratuity. Which angered us because one of our group of 4 didn't get their orders for a long duration of time. In addition since we were placed at the middle table we could barely talk to the other group since we couldn't hear each other due to the background noise. Overall, I would not come back to hot spot at the Fairfax location due to poor service. read more

Check In & Arrival We have called 30 minutes ago, saying that we are a party of 10 people and asking to see if they will have seats. The restaurant confirmed. When we arrived, the hostess did not recalled this phone conversation. However, there was enough tables for 10 people so we were seated immediately. Customer Service This place really lacked customer service, the waitress did not show up after 10 minutes and asked if we were ready to order. After we ordered, she only checked in once and we often had to request from other food runners or bus boys and not from our watiress. FOOD It is really a trial and error process. You don't know what is really good. I would not recommend getting too much portion of anything. Start small and incrementally increase your order with the things that you like. I had the veggie bowl and had variety of meats and vegetables. Some of them were really fitting while other was just not good. The sauce section has so many variety of sauces. The problem is that there are many options, as a first timer it would be hard for you to narrow what you want. Personally, I don't think the price was worth it CONCLUSION I would only go here because of a group decision, not personally. The food is good, but it is not that amazing compared to the price you are paying for read more

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This isn't your typical hot pot restaurant and I am a big fan! We had a large group show up on a Thursday night but had called ahead to get a reservation. The restaurant was accommodating but would only seat us when half the party showed up. No problem. We wanted individual pots so were seated in the center of the restaurant at the bar setup rather than the separate tables. The service was excellent despite the craziness of such a large party. Orders were quickly taken and arrived promptly to the table. Broths were ordered first and areas were split by every 4 pots to order ingredients. The menu provides a wide variety of vegetables, meats, and seafood. Markings = 1 indicated individual size and 3 indicated a shareable group size. The vegetables are fresh, the meat is thinly sliced, and the seafood comes out frozen. There is also a sauce bar with a wide array of options and recipes provided on the wall behind it for some guidance. Broth refills and candle relighting are available if you run low. The whole experience was very accommodating and fun. The food was good quality and I was a big fan of the Tom Yum broth. It had a nice little kick but was not too spicy for my sensitive palate. I love that they offer different styles of broths! My favorite ingredients were: udon, enoki mushrooms, bok choy, scallops, prime ribeye, fatty brisket, and the house marinated pork. Apparently the dumplings are very popular but they were not offered the evening we were there; I was so sad. The price is right with the abundance of offerings and the quality of food; $22.99 is a steal! I only wish I lived on this side of the country to visit more often! read more

Hot Spot - The classic setup for individual hot pot [$22.99 for dinner] at Hot Spot. Pictured: Tom Yum broth. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Tonight was my first time at Hot Spot after hearing such great reviews from friends, so I came in with pretty high expectations. I added our party of 4 to the waitlist through Yelp and arrived about 5 min before we were expected to check in. Upon checking in with the host, the 5ft tall douchey looking guy wearing a green shirt told me it'd be about a 20-40min wait and that I'd get a text when my table is ready. 50 minutes go by without a text when I go back to check how much longer the wait is, and the same guy asks if I'm on the waitlist....I told him I checked in 50 min ago and that he told me how long my wait was supposed to be. He then abruptly pointed to a table and said you can sit there when it clears. We then waited another 10 minutes before the table starts to get cleared, then the same guy says we'll actually be seated at another table after that's been cleared. So my question that I demand an answer to is: what is the point of adding yourself to a waitlist if the staff forgets you even checked in? My next question is: how long would I have waited if I didn't go back to check on my wait? If the barely legal hostesses weren't on their phones the whole time or weren't giggling around the restaurant together, maybe someone would have been paying attention to the waitlist. The service completely ruined my experience here. We barely saw our server and had to ask for broth several times. The tables are cramped. Like elbows are constantly bumping because there's no room at a four person table. The portions are nonexistent and the broth wasn't anything special. I got the spicy broth which didn't have much spicy or flavor. I also tried the chicken broth which was literally just water. The 45 min drive to get here was such a waste. PS-who runs out of ice?! read more

This place is so good. AYCE hot pot. There is a groupon special right now for $16 and you get $30 off. The fatty brisket and seafood are fresh. I usually get the shabu shabu broth. The sauce bar is incredible. You can mix all sorts of stuff together. I do the soy sauce, jalapeños, and scallions. This place is a must try!! read more

Wow. Absolutely appalled by the service we received yesterday by the manager, Suson (My mistake if his name is spelled incorrectly). My family was waiting outside while I went inside to ask if there was a wait. Suson told me there were two separate groups of 7 ahead of me; one had not arrived yet and the other one just got there. The group of 7 that was there decided not to eat at Hot Spot because they wanted the table, but did not want to do family style. The manager asked us if we were okay with eating family and I said yes. I proceeded to tell my family to come because the table was ready for us. The manager saw that 3 out of 7 were kids (6, 3, 1) and told me he is going to move us to the smaller table that is suppose to fit 5 people. I looked at the table and told him that it is not possible to fit with two high chairs and he said he will make it fit. His solution? To stick my kids that were in the high chair each at the sharp end of the table and my oldest in between them. My kids are young with short arms, how are they suppose to reach the table when they are so far from it?! After letting him know nicely that the table was not going to fit us, he proceeded to lie to us and say that all the tables were reserved. I was livid that he lied after telling me that there were TWO people ahead of me and one already decided to leave. Not to mention, the first time I went there during the pandemic, he expected me to put my daughter who was 8 months old at the time, in her carseat, on the FLOOR because she was napping. I said no because when she wakes up, she is going to be sitting in a high chair to eat. This new manager for this location is terrible and disregards child safety and chooses profiting over customer service. After he played dumb, we decided to leave and go to the Chantilly location. Completely 180 experience. Mindy L. was our waiter that provided exceptional service. read more

When it's cold and rainy outside, what do you crave? Hot pot it is! This place is so good I'm not sure why I took so long to visit this place! I'm not all about AYCE because I believe in quality over quantity but this place.... holy moly! So yummy and it's AYCE?!? My husband and I tried Tom Yum and Extra Spicy broth. Tom yum was delicious and Extra Spicy wasn't spicy at all, actually could use more pepper corn. But who cares when you have all the sauce you can create at the sauce bar! Highlights of my meals were ribeye, enoki mushrooms, flounder and udon at the end. So glad we tried this place out and can't wait to return again! read more

I like coming here because it's an all you can eat joint. Quality isn't bad but the service can get a bit slow when it's busy. I definitely recommend trying the the different sauces, it's what makes this place different. You can also order separate pots with different broths, or a singular family style pot. read more

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Service was so great! Attentive waitress and quality food and great over all experience. All you can eat style which is great and has many premium quality meat, seafood and vegetables. Really happy with our experience//we pigged out. However, we asked for drink recommendation and was told to try lychee juice and then we were given lychee saki without ordering and there was a $14 additional charge so needs better communication. Otherwise, excellent service and food. Thanks!! read more

Before going to eat here today with my family, my friend and yelper Brandi K. had told me to check this place out. I was worried about the reservations because Brandi K. had told me they are not very good at actually reserving seats. My sister had called Saturday night for 7 people at 4:30 pm the next day and they said they had us locked in. So I crossed my fingers hoping when we came the next day, we wouldn't have to yell at anyone and wait a long time for a table. Well we came around 4:15 pm today (2/9/14) and we got seated right away and to my surprise there were maybe 3-4 tables being used throughout the whole restaurant. That was awesome because I heard this place gets packed but it was practically empty. Our server Amy greeted us right away with glass of waters. She explained how everything works since none of us have ever been here before. She even showed us the different recipes for the sauce bar and she'd even help us out if we needed suggestions. It's an asian style fondue, hot pot. Think about The Melting Pot but asian fusion style. So you have to cook the food yourself and it's all you can eat so you can get as much as you'd like. How the ordering works is basically theres a piece of paper and you either check mark or write how many quantities you want of an item. Theres all types of meat such as house marinated beef (must have!!!), ribeye, chicken, beef tounge and tripe. Alot of seafood options from mussels to jumbo shrimps. Then they have dumplings (my other favorite & must have), fish balls, and beef balls. At the end, you give you options for vegetables such as bok choy, chinese broccoli, tofu, mushrooms, and spinach. Everything was fresh, the soups were hearty and full of flavor. The only thing I hated was I ate the peppercorn...twice! OH MY GOODNESS, I was dying. My mouth felt so disgusting and I almost threw up. Whatever you do make sure you look down at your food when your eating especially if peppercorn is in your soup. For the soup we had two different hot pots, the one with my dad and I we ordered the spicy broth and the herbal broth. I really enjoyed the herbal the most. I didn't really even use the sauce bar but I liked the sweet chili the most. They have all types of sauces from hoisin, chinese bbq, sweet chili and ingredients like garlic, onion, vinegar, sugar and peppers to make your own. I can't even tell you how many times we ordered, I'd say 5-6 times just my dad and I. All the food came out correctly, except for one time they just forgot one bowl of rice, no big deal. But I am surprise how fast they were and how accurate our orders were for both hot pots at the table. Awesome job for that! Amy was an awesome waitress, she was on her A game tonight and consistently kept coming to our table asking if we needed anything, refilling our water, refilling our soup and taking things away that we didn't need. She was attentive as can be and always had a huge smile on her face. She was very inviting and overall very friendly. She really understands hospitality and giving great customer service. And especially for a demanding table like ours, she was amazing. I noticed alot of people's reviews were the customer service problems but maybe today was my lucky day because I didn't experience anything bad of service. Come here with a HUGEEEEE appetite, or don't eat the whole day and just wait to come because you'll be eating alot! $23/person was definitely worth it. I haven't been to an all you can eat place in a while and I'm glad this was a better, even healthier version of an all you can eat option. Some things to keep in mind is it said there was a 2 hour limit, not sure what happens if you go over that. Also, a 10% charge if they find extra excess of food in the soup or in general that you don't end up using. I guess they don't want to waste anything. read more

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I've had no complaints about the service or the food all the times I've visited this establishment over the past year. However, yesterday's experience was unacceptable. We requested an order of 'fatty brisket' for the 3rd time during dinner. What we were served was not fatty brisket but slices of pure fat ( see uploaded pictures). We were shocked that the person cutting the meat and the server actually let this plate of fat leave the kitchen. It was just disgusting and even more disgusting when the plate of fat just melted in front of us, which I should have taken a picture of. We took it as a sign that the kitchen probably did not want us ordering anymore meat, which we didnt order that much of to begin with. The waitress came over and even asked us if we were eating the fat and if she should clear it away. This was after the fat melted and I was just surprised that she would even ask us that.. off course we weren't going to eat a plate of pure fat! Seafood servings were also not as generous as before b/c when we ordered 2 servings of scallops, we only received 3 pieces. I know its all you can eat but its annoying that we would have to keep requesting it when they could have just given us more to begin with. When we walked to the front to pay for our meal, we had to stand there for a good 5 minutes until someone took notice of us. We probably could have just walked out without paying since all the workers were congregated around the bar area. The only reason why I am giving this place 2 stars instead of 1 is because i'm accounting for all the other times I've come here. read more

Hot Spot - The fatty brisket that was served to us, cant believe they let this out of the kitchen - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Hot Spot is easily one of my favorite restaurants in Northern Virginia. For $23 a person, you get your choice of soup with an unlimited number of meats, starches, vegetables, and SEAFOOD! Choices of soup include Herbal, Spicy, Veggie, Shabu Shabu, Tom Yum, and Kimchi. The soups come in an individual pot (one choice) or family-style pot (two choices). My personal favorite is their Shabu Shabu broth, which is perfect for a cold or rainy day. The broth is absolutely heartwarming and provides a delicious, well-balanced flavor. What I love most about Hot Spot, however, is their large selection of meats, vegetables and seafood. From mussels and octopus to rib eye beef and fatty brisket, the choices are endless! For vegetables, I highly recommend the enoki mushrooms and Chinese broccoli. For starch - udon noodles, it is a MUST. What also makes Hot Spot unique from other restaurants is their awesome "do-it-yourself" sauce bar. Their sauce bar allows you to mix and match your own special sauce OR you can follow one of their popular recipes. The combinations are endless and the sauces pair perfectly with their meats and vegetables. In the event that you are unsure of what to do, just ask your server to mix one for you! The service at Hot Spot has always been consistent - servers are attentive and knowledgeable. Note that the restaurant can get VERY busy. Unless you are prepared for an hour+ of waiting, always make sure to have a reservation for parties of 6 or more. Also try not to wear too many layers of clothing as it can get very steamy in the restaurant. If you are looking for a delicious and hearty meal, I highly recommend Hot Spot! read more

Hot Spot - Hot Spot Hot Pot @ Fairfax, VA - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

This place is the bomb. $23 person for all you can eat everything. That's pretty much how much I spend if I were to go buy the ingredients and I have to clean up after myself. Boyfriend and I came for a date night; it's super busy, was about an hour wait for a table without reservations. People are crowding in with huge parties and a bunch of kids. Nah, the place is too small for that. My boyfriend and I got a whole table for ourselves which was woooonderful~ all the space for our meats, veggies, and sauces! Did I mention their sauce bar? I should have taken a picture of it, my instagram game has been off. Huge bar of spices, sauces, seasonings. Why has no one thought of this before?? The food came out really fast and the service was great. Our server Robert was awesome. He was really friendly and helpful, and I could see how busy he was so I really appreciated his attentiveness. He saw me standing at the sauce bar, probably looking as awestruck as I felt, and came over to recommend some popular mixes. Definitely requesting him again next time, because nice servers are hard to find in busy Asian restaurants. All in all, I had a great experience because it was just what I was in the mood for and it hit the spot. read more

I feel that Hot Spot's high reviews are primarily due the lack of competition. However, the product is mediocre. I just don't see myself coming back. HIGHS: -Great happy hour -Flat rate all you can eat LOWS: -Service-- Our server was nice, but an airhead. He needed to be reminded about EVERYTHING. Refills, orders, picking up our order ticket, silverware... he was really nice though. -Shabu Shabu broth was bland and had a lemon cleaner (as in household cleaner) after taste -Extre Spicy Broth wasn't remotely spicy -Poor quality of meat selection -Food was tasteless without utilizing dipping sauces (service didn't tell us about the sauce station... Thankfully, we had reviewed Yelp prior to dining there.) I can see the allure that Hot Spot uses to lure in patrons. To some they might consider it to be a unique dining experience, all you can eat (if you care about that- I do not), trendy, and a great happy hour. Nevertheless, happy hour won't lure me back. read more

Hot Spot - Happy hour $3 - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Pretty good here-- love how there is a sauce bar so you can create your own sauces to your liking and I also like how you can choose if you want a family sized broth with two different broths in one huge bowl or you could choose to get individual ones as well. The meat and everything you order is on a paper that you can just check off and the workers bring you everything immediately read more

Hot Spot - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Came to meet up with my girlfriend, April, for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. I showed up around 2 PM, after my GPS decided to act up and got me lost all over the place. When I saw the location, I was pretty skeptic about how good the food can actually be since it's on a small strip mall in the middle of nowhere (almost)...especially since there weren't very many diners in there. However, my friend tells me that this is the best hot pot spot she's been to so I gave her the chance to prove me wrong. Much to my surprise, I was very wrong for judging this book by its cover. As we walked in, we were greeted by the girls at the front register and seated immediately. April asked to sit in the middle island where we can have a 360 degree view of the whole place, we were the only two seated there so we had plenty of space to work with. Our waitress, Allison, came by to ask us what we wanted to drink and we both asked for a Sprite. When she came back with our drinks, she over heard April complaining to me about her stomach bothering her and Allison recommended that she get a ginger ale instead and she quickly brought one to April, which she said helped a lot. We asked for the individual size pots so we can both choose which flavor we wanted. I went for the five spice broth, spicy level not extra spicy because I still wanted to taste my food. April asked for the Shabu Shabu broth. Both broths were good in their own distinctive way, but I just liked mine a whole lot more since it was spicy and delicious!! We ordered the pork, beef brisket, beef tongue and lamb from the meat menu. All good quality meat, not the best of the best...but good. But hey you're paying $22/person to do AYCE Shabu so this is as good as it's going to get. We had some mussels, clams, crawfish, squid and jumbo shrimps from the seafood menu. Most of which were pre-frozen, but still decent quality. The udon noodles were frozen as well, but it didn't matter because I wasn't there to eat the noodles. We had a ton of fresh veggies ranging from enoki mushrooms, spinach leaves, napa cabbage, watercress, white mushrooms, trumpet mushrooms, bok choy and even fresh taro roots...yes, you read that correctly fresh taro roots. I was quite surprised to see it on their menu because you don't even get fresh taro roots in Hawaii. But the taro roots definitely stood out for me from all the veggies because it was fresh and tasty when cooked to perfection. Not only were the broths tasty, they have a pretty wide selection of hot sauces for you to choose from as your dipping sauce as well. I only chose one sauce, which I really liked, so I didn't need more than just that one. I forgot to take a picture of it, but it was tasty. Just the perfect amount of heat, then you add a little bit of fresh crushed garlic and fresh cilantro to give it an extra herbal taste and you're good to go. The thing that actually stood out the most for me was the service we received from Allison. She is young, cute, attentive and has a great attitude. Very accommodating and professional. I was so impressed with her service that I had to personally ask for her name because I would steal her away to go work for me, if we were back in Cali. I'd give her 10 stars just for the fact that she acted like she really loves her job! Overall, I wouldn't hesitate coming back here for Shabu Shabu, but April did warn me that she's had to wait for a table on multiple occasions so I just got lucky that we didn't have to. I guess it was just my lucky day!! read more

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I can't complain, since I wasn't expecting a whole lot and Hot Spot delivered exactly what I was expecting. Enough has been said about the extensive selection process that goes into ordering your meal at Hot Spot. We made the mistake of dropping in for a casual dinner after a busy evening of grocery shopping, when this is a place better left for when you're entertaining casual guests who want an interactive dining experience. The Xtra spicy broth wasn't remotely spicy, and the shabu shabu broth was pretty bland. The frozen meat wasn't of particularly high quality, and was pretty tasteless without the aid of the dipping sauces. The marinated beef fared only slightly better in terms of flavor, as most of the marinate washed away in the broth. The dumplings were miniature versions of the frozen food aisle dumplings at Hmart, which were adorable, but otherwise nothing to write home about. Nothing was bad, but nothing was particularly impressive. We both had a hard time deciding which was our favorite, as there were no standouts. The all you can eat aspect is undoubtedly a big attraction, but really, how much do you want to stuff yourself on mediocre food? Points for the fairly unique experience factor and options, but too bad we were actually hoping for good food. read more

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This is a great place for family dinner and/or date night. It's not too Smokey or too loud. I really like the remodel. It's a great price and the broths are delicious. The spice bar is a bit intimidating... but my solution was to keep it simple. The drinks aren't too great and a little pricey. Even though this restaurant isn't close, i still take the trek out. read more

The Wait: One hour. I would advise everyone to make a reservation if this is for dinner on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. The Food: Here, you will find a very wide selection of seafood, meats, and vegetables. My party of four ordered scallops, mussels, clams, tilapia, flounder, lamb, beef tongue, prime ribeye, fish balls, beef balls, dumplings (chicken and pork/leek), mushrooms (enoki, shitake, and oyster), watercress, daikon, taro, and lotus root. Everything was fresh and uniformly sliced. The Broth: You are given four broth options (regular shabu, spicy, kimchi, and herbal) from which you are to pick two at a time. The regular shabu broth had no flavor whatsoever (not even basic chicken broth), while the spicy broth was progressively spicy to the point of numbing because of the presence of szechuan peppercorns. I was impressed with the spicy broth until I could no longer feel my tongue after round two -- no bueno. Our party did not have a chance to try the other two broth options. We received an electric pot with a divider for two broths, while other tables received single pots heated by gas. It didn't really bother me too much because one pot meant more room on the table for the protein and vegetables. The Sauce Station: Options for sauces include: sate/satay/shacha, sesame sauce, thick chili sauce, and Chinese BBQ. There are also condiments such as minced raw garlic, raw green chilies, scallions, red pepper flakes, chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, and white vinegar. You can opt for the individual sauces or concoct your own. A few recipes are posted, but with some guidance from my party, I concocted my own dipping sauce that happened to be nothing short of amazing and complemented any of the food being dipped. I call it Cathy's Crack Sauce: 4 parts sate and 1 part sesame sauce (not sesame oil) with a dash of white vinegar and thick chili paste, topped with minced raw garlic, scallions, and raw green chilies (you're welcome). The Service: This is where Hot Spot fails. If you need extra napkins, refills of any drinks besides water, food, or broth, it will be at least a 30-minute wait because this place is understaffed. Or, perhaps it is intentional, so your body can digest food during that wait time and you will throw in the towel prematurely. Despite the long wait for everything else, you can always count on refilled water glasses (thanks, perky water girl!). The very long wait for replenished drinks and food is the reason for the one-hour wait for a table and the reason it takes a party at least two hours to eat a meal here. Luckily, there is no time limit. Plan accordingly before you dine here. The Decor: Modern and clean. My only gripe is while I get the wallpaper with all the ingredients in different font sizes, I do not understand the photographic canvases, which showcase a Minute Maid juice box, pumpkins, and s'mores set-up (Hershey's chocolate, a marshmallow, and a graham cracker, each on canvas). The Price: $22 per person for AYCE. This is fair if you have a big appetite. It is also relatively fair for a party of four or less, but for any more people and you are probably overpaying. It would cost significantly less to hold a hot pot meal at home with $100+ to work with. Drinks are not included in the AYCE price. From a business perspective, I think this is a great concept; you profit significantly, while your patrons cook their own food. Hot pot places will definitely prosper in this area, especially during cold months. This establishment would earn 5 stars for the food alone, but the broths sampled, service, and pricepoint average the rating to 3 stars. read more

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This is probably the best hot pot place I've tried in the area. We came here (a group of 6) on Saturday around dinner time and I added us on the waitlist on here, which is such a nice feature. We had to wait around ~25 minutes. The food was great- meat was frozen but it's expected from an AYCE place. Veggies were fresh. Broths were delicious. We got the spicy broth and shabu-shabu. Most broths are based on chicken stock so beware if someone in your party has a chicken allergy. I didn't catch our server's name but he was really helpful and friendly considering that for some of my friends it was their first time. It was also Mother's Day weekend and we received white wine. That was so thoughtful of our server. I would definitely come back to this place, and you should give it a try! read more

Wonderful! Hot Spot sure does hit the spot with its hot pot! My husband (then fiance) and I visited Hot Spot back in April. I'm a big fan of hot pot (shabu shabu) and he'd had it once. For those unfamiliar with the concept, you are essentially given a pot of boiling water and you can order an assortment of meats, veggies, and noodles to dip in. You can also create your own sauces at their sauce station. They have an assortment of sauces you can mix in - soy sauce, hoisin sauce, scallop sauce, garlic sauce, sesame seeds, etc - to craft your own delicious dipping sauce to dip your meat in after you've cooked it in the boiling hot pot! We ordered the following: -Prime Ribeye Beef -Fatty Brisket -Fish cakes -Fish balls -Shrimp balls -Udon Noodle -Jumbo Shrimp -Spinach -Napa Cabbage -Daikon -Bamboo Shoots -Sprouts -Enoki Mushroom -Tofu That seems like a lot, but we actually finished it all! I am a big, big fan of Hot Spot, and so is my husband, and we will definitely visit again! Service was fantastic and it's located conveniently in a strip mall in Fairfax (though do be aware that parking can get tight in the parking lot)! read more

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Asian fondue I feel sooo behind on the Hot Spot bandwagon, not hot pot which I've had before, but actually eating at Hot Spot. That's no excuse, but I recently got the chance to eat here and I am so glad that I did. Hot Spot takes traditional hot pot, but brings it to the next level. It makes the food and the process easy and accessible to people from different cultures and age groups. The vibe and decor of Hot Spot is modern fast food casual. It's fast because everything comes out fairly quickly. It's slow because you can take awhile to eat, depending on who you are with. It's a good thing if you're not in a rush. For about $23 a person, you can choose your own hot pot or share with the group. I recommend sharing, especially if you're adventurous. Then you get to pick from a long, long, list of items. You have your choice of broth, meat, sea food, veggies, and noodle. The choices range from pork, beef, beef tongue, octopus, scallops, fish balls, bok choy, broccoli, the list goes on and on. If I tried to remember everything we ordered, I would never get this Yelp review finished. I just want to share my amazing experience!! In addition to ingredients for your hot pot, they have a decent sized sauce bar. You can make your own sauce using their ingredients, or choose one of their recipes. Ohh man, I definitely recommend visiting the sauce bar. You take your meat out of the hot pot, and dip it into your custom made sauce. The staff make great recommendations too and are really helpful and attentive. For those doubters who are reading this and thinking, why would I pay to cook my own food, or I don't know about trying different things, trust me. Just give Hot Spot a try. It's worth it. read more

Hot Spot - Hot pot! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

I admit I come here way too much. I used to come here about once every 2 weeks , been cutting back because my waist line is starting to look like the hot pot that they use. Great setting and the staff here are awesome. Very friendly bunch , always happy to explain how things work or surprise you with a special sauce recommendation. Hot Spot is buffet where you get to cook your own food in different broth. I recommend the spicy broth just be careful for the peppercorn that leave a numbing sensation on your tongue if you accidentally bite into one . There's a good selection of meat, seafood and vegetables that you get to cook in your broth and also they have huge condiment section where you can get your favorite condiment to go with your food. There's a sauce suggestion recipe on the condiment section that you can mix and match to create a yummy sauce. One thing that kind of annoying is that if they run out of particular food , they don't normally tell you. You can keep ordering it on the paper menu that they hand you , you just won't get it. Took me awhile to figure it out but it's all good now. I like the family pot since it's cooked using a electric stove or portable gas so the food get cooked faster versus the mini pots that they used. The sterno takes forever to boil the soup to cook your food. It depends who I am there with , if I'm with family I do the family pot but if I'm with a bunch friends then I usually opt for the mini individual size pot ( can't tolerate double dipping). Price is decent for the amount of food you get. It's about 22.99 per person. Make sure you come hungry. They also have a great selection of beers and mix cocktail. Try the lychee martini or the grapefruit beer ! read more

Hot Spot - Fatty brisket, beef balls, tripe, claim and prime ribs - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Unlimited meat, unlimited veggies, unlimited carbs all for the price of $24.99. Is there anything else more to day? Everything is great quality, and you really can't beat the price. Their make-your-own sauce bar is also great. You can really cater your hot pot experience to your personal taste. read more

Hot Spot is a unique dining experience. You get to make your own sauces and cook your food to your preferences. It's a social meal so bring your friends and it'll be a great time. This is unlimited buffet dining so settle in and have fun. Secret dining tips at the very bottom of this review... Hot Spot is often packed so make sure that you show up early and with everyone in your party. If you have 6 or more you can call and make a reservation. Wait times will often go to 2 hours at peak dining hours, but I have been called up much earlier than the estimated waits. Here, you pick your broth (I go with spicy, but be careful for the peppercorns!) and then order plates of meat, fish, and veggies. It's all served family style so go nuts. It's a group effort to eat it all. You can mix and match however you like. Personally, I start with all of my veggies since they take longer to cook. Then the fatty beef because every time the fat melts off, your broth becomes that much better. Meats literally take seconds to cook, so keep an eye on them. Some people don't even let go, just wave them around in the broth and pull them out. Fatty beef and lamb are my favorites. I often don't even order any other type of meat. There is a sauce bar with lots of suggested recipes written on the wall. Ignore all of that. Ask your server to make you one. They will ask if you like sweet or spicy or what. I personally make two sauces every time. One sweet (starting with the chinese bbq on the very right) and one spicy (just everything spicy there, with ponzu to make it a sauce). *Dumplings. If they're available, order them. Horde them. Never let them go. Drop them in, and once they float to the top they're ready to eat. They soak up your sauce and they're the best thing on the menu. **advanced move. Master class. Order a plate of kimchi on the side. Having it fresh instead of in your soup is a win. A server taught me this after I had been here a few dozen times. read more

Hot Spot - Y'know... dinner with 20 of your friends - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

My favorite hot pot joint in NoVa! You will leave stuffed with the unlimited menu. The food quality is also great and the staff is super friendly. I like how you can choose between being seated at a table where you can get a communal pot or individual pots with different broths. It is no surprise that it is super popular and there is usually a 45 min-1 hr wait if you go during prime hours (you can only get on waitlist in person). For dinner, I would try to get there around 5:30pm latest or expect the long wait. However, if you have a small party, you can choose to sit at the bar and I actually prefer that because the bartenders are attentive and very friendly, and they remember you if you come back. As for the food, everything tastes fresh and delicious. I like how in hot pot you cook everything yourself in hot pot and you know exactly what you are eating so it is pretty healthy. I do have to say the selection isn't the most extensive, but it covers all your meats, seafood, and veggies. I would try everything at least once to see if you like it (they are all designed to be small portions). Pro-tip: Go to Dessert Story next door afterwards for dessert/bubble tea afterwards read more

Hot Spot - Asian Fusion Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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