It's important to read this review in its entirety because it is not all bad.
I've been wanting to come here for quite some time. I grew up in Asia, I love hot pot, I was so excited that we were getting a hot pot place in Loveland.
Now, I'm gonna start by saying, the food was great. They had a really good selection of broth to choose from. I wanted to try two of the broths, but unfortunately they did not give samples, but said I could change it if I didn't like the one I got. I was between the Tom yum and the tonkatsu and the server recommended the tonkatsu so that's what I went with.
I ended up ordering the ribeye and the volcano beef, which is one of their marinated specialties. The ribeye was exactly what I expected it to be and I'm sure the volcano beef was good, but I am currently five months pregnant and certain foods don't sit well right now so I'll have to give that another go another time around.
The vegetables, seafood, and sauces are all self service.
As I sat down with my plate of veggies, I realized I really did want the Tom Yum. But the Tonkotsu had already been placed at my table. Wanting to give it an honest try, I did have a spoonful of it, and it was very flavorful and very delicious - was definitely giving Ramen vibes, but that's just not what I was in the mood for so I asked to change it, and the server was very accommodating. The tom yum was exactly what I expected and wanted.
The menu also had several types of Boba drinks so I got the passionfruit jasmine tea and it was perfect.
Despite the food being delicious, the service was not what I expected it to be at a hot pot restaurant. During my entire time there, I was only checked it on once. typically, at hot pot restaurants, a server comes to your table multiple times to see if you need anything, if you would like to place extra meat orders, and just offer general service type checks.
I was never asked if I wanted additional meat, there were several times where I needed additional napkins or spoons or tongs - I had to get up and grab my own because I couldn't find the server, nobody ever cleaned up my dirty dishes as they were being emptied. I wanted some water and never even got the opportunity to ask for some. I ended up having just the two trays of meat because nobody ever came to take any additional order. Finally, nobody ever brought me my check. I sat there for 10 to 15 minutes after I was clearly done eating and I ended up having to get up and go to the cash register and hand my card to somebody in order to pay.
The hard part was that I saw my server going around to other tables and checking in with them, so I'm not quite sure why I was given the silent treatment. Maybe it was because I ordered a different soup base, I'd like to think not.
Additionally I would make the following recommendations:
- offer water after seating guests
- sliced carrots instead of shredded
- fried tofu skin rolls would be amazing
- clean off the sauce station. It was kinda messy
- teach staff to check on everyone's table not just their section
Despite the service not being where I wanted it to be and some improvements I'd recommend, the food was actually really good.
I want to give this place the benefit of the doubt so I'm rating it at three now, but I would try it again and based off my second go, I would consider giving it a higher rating.
The pricing was reasonable about $27 for lunch and $33 for dinner. They also have it very clearly listed the prices for kids. They had a great selection of seafood. The atmosphere was very open and offered plenty of seating. I did not get a chance to review the bathrooms, so I'm not sure what the state of them were.
Just work on those areas that I've mentioned above and I think that those improvements can take it from an OK place to a great place. read more