Dainty Hotpot & BBQ Buffet — Restaurant in Melbourne

I visited Dainty last Saturday to celebrate my birthday. I had booked a table for two at 8:15 pm (the only slot left that night) but unfortunately my guest couldn’t make it at the last minute. I was worried they might not accept a single diner on a Saturday evening, but the staff were very accommodating and still allowed me to dine in. I really appreciated their flexibility right from the start. Upon being seated, I was given a token to redeem one serving of oysters and salmon sashimi at the sushi bar (limited to one per person). It was my first visit, so I can’t compare the portions to what may have been offered before, but I did notice some reviews mentioning reduced quantity and even food safety concerns. Personally, I had no issues as I cooked my oysters in the hotpot broth instead of eating them raw, and they seemed fresh with no off-putting smell. Dainty offers both a 50/50 hotpot and an electric grill for BBQ. However, I found the grill setup disappointing. They lined it with parchment paper (I assume for easier cleaning), which prevented the meat from properly searing and compromised the BBQ experience. After two pieces of meat, I gave up on the grill entirely. If you want to offer BBQ dining experience, it should be done properly. Now onto the food. The variety is impressive, with a wide range of cooked dishes, raw proteins, and seafood. However, at $79.80 per person on weekends, expectations are naturally higher compared to other buffets in the CBD that average around $49.90. Unfortunately, Dainty fell short in several areas: • Refills: Key items such as abalone, sushi, and wagyu beef were not replenished during my visit, which was very frustrating. “Unlimited” should mean consistently available. • Cooked foods: Decent but not standout. The BBQ prawn skewers, for example, were underwhelming. • Raw proteins & seafood: Good variety, but the wagyu beef quality was disappointing, especially at this price point. • Sushi bar: A major miss. After my first round, it was left empty and never restocked. • Desserts: Surprisingly the highlight for me was the burnt cheesecake, crème brûlée, and brownies were all enjoyable. The fruit section, however, was lackluster (the watermelon was juicy but not sweet). The chocolate fountain also felt wasted, as it was paired only with low quality lollies and marshmallows • Beverages: A strong point with plenty of canned and bottled options to choose from.

Overall verdict: My experience at Dainty was just about a pass. While the food variety looks good on paper, the execution and quality didn’t match the high price point. The lack of refills was especially disappointing. If you’re a true BBQ lover, this place definitely won’t satisfy you. For desserts and drinks, Dainty does better but for the cost, I...

Closest thing to a SCAM as a restaurant. Would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. For this price point, there are plenty other better options to eat at, literally any other hotpot/bbq/all you can eat place would be better than this place. I honestly don't have high standards for food, but this restaurant was really so bad that I had to go on google review to leave this so someone avoids this place. We made booking at 8pm, we arrived on time and still needed to wait 30 minutes until our table was 'ready'? Whilst I could see plenty of empty tables inside the restaurant? In addition to this, regarding only being seating at around 830pm they told us food bars would all close at 9pm and it would be last order for food, when we had just settled down and haven't even officially started eating our first round of food yet. RIDICULOUS, who could ever enjoy dinner this way? and how is this reasonable... Food quality was horrendous. Paying $80pp for the whole restaurant to use the cheapest ingredients with the lowest quality for good is CRAZY and basically a scam. Even diy-ing hotpot/bbq at home wouldve have been better and cheaper. not worth it. hotpot food bad bbq food bad meat quality bad... oysters offered were not fresh, nothing was fresh tbh. they also don't refill food until customer tells them too lmao.. are the employees lazy or is the restaurant stingy?honestly, just take your money elsewhere. eating environment was bad. table not big enough for six. AC was non-existent on a hot summer day in a hotpot and bbq restaurant.... even outside air was cooler.. even the creme brulee i had took from the dessert section had already melted cuz the restaurant environment was so hot😂😂😂😂

all in all, would rate this 0 stars if there was the option to do so. if you're planning to go here for dinner, DON'T! nothing about this restaurant is done well, management needs to fix these issues or really just shut down and stop scamming people. it would've been more acceptable if the price wasn't ridiculous for what they're offering. but even that melbourne has plenty better...

🌟 Amazing Experience at Dainty BBQ and Hotpot! 🌟

I had such a fantastic time dining at Dainty BBQ and Hotpot—definitely one of the best buffet experiences I’ve ever had!

From the moment we walked in, the staff were warm and welcoming. A special shoutout to the lovely lady who greeted us—she truly made my day by surprising me with a free meal for my birthday! Such a thoughtful and memorable gesture. 🎉

Now onto the food—absolutely incredible. The seafood selection was top-notch: fresh oysters, scallops, prawns, crabs, octopus, eel, mussels, clams, snails, and a beautiful sashimi. Everything was fresh and well-presented.

The meat options were just as impressive, with tender cuts of beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and even Peking duck. Pair that with a wide variety of sushi, and a generous selection of cooked meals around the fried dishes, and you’re in foodie heaven.

The hotpot and BBQ combo was such a fun experience—you even get to choose 2 different soup bases from 5 available options, which is great for sharing or mixing flavors. There were plenty of veggies and dumplings, and the sauce bar was excellent with a great variety of sauces to customize your flavors.

And don’t even get me started on the desserts—the cream puffs and brownies were the standout, but they also had panacotta, crème brûlée, and a giant chocolate fondue fountain!

To top it all off, the drink selection was next level: unlimited canned soft drinks, bottled teas, fruit teas, milk teas, and slushies—all included!

We had 90 minutes, and it was more than enough to leave us full and happy. The quality and variety made this such great value. We’ll absolutely be back again!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly recommend Dainty BBQ and Hotpot for anyone who loves variety, quality, and great service. Thank you for such a memorable birthday...