Happy Lamb Hot Pot, Vancouver — Restaurant in Vancouver

Mixed Experience with Room for Improvement

I recently dined at this restaurant with my gf and had a mixed experience. The interior design is decent, featuring a very bright ambiance, and the background music is at just the right volume, creating a pleasant atmosphere without being overwhelming.

However, the restaurant's layout is congested with too many tables and chairs, making it difficult to walk literally anywhere, especially when trying to access the saucing station from our table. Speaking of which, the saucing station was disappointingly understocked, missing about 70% of its items, and was not refilled even after waiting for over 20 minutes, the saucing are basically cold-semi freeze when refilled.

The biggest issue we faced was under staffing and lack of training. Our order took unusually long to be served - we were seated at 6:40 PM, placed the order at 6:50 PM, but our fitst dish only arrived at 7:25 PM, and the meat at 7:40 PM (so almost an hour.....) With only three staff members attending to approximately 10 tables, it was evident that they were overwhelmed. Most of the time, we, along with other customers, were left waiting, hearing only the repeated assurances of "coming soon" from the servers.

Additionally, the food we received was inconsistent - only 70% of our order was served, and we received three dishes we didn’t order. We chose the deluxe package, but were informed only 10 minutes after ordering that oysters were unavailable, with no alternative offered or an inquiry if we were okay with this change.

On the positive side, the food quality was decent. The squid was a bit rubbery, but the vegetables were fresh. However, the overall dining experience was marred by the long wait times and lack of attention. Even making a payment took an unnecessary amount of time, as I stood at the counter for about 8-10 minutes before being attended to.

In summary, while the food quality and ambiance have potential, the service issues significantly impacted our experience. I spent $100 for two, which felt excessive given the long waiting times and the disorganized service. I would not consider returning until the staffing and training issues are addressed.

Special shout out to the manager Emma, she really tried her best, taking care of both the floor and the kitchen and making personal conversation with every patron who walks in. That's the reason I would put a 3...

Happy Lamb Vancouver was a good experience overall,

though the variety wasn’t as wide as other locations like Montreal.

One downside is that we had to share one pot between four people, unlike other locations that often offer individual or shared burners. It was a bit cramped with all the food.

Still, they offer a solid range of proteins including beef, pork, chicken, lamb, lamb meatballs, and a lot of seafood like squid, fish, cuttlefish, lobster balls, fish cakes, crab cakes, and pork blood.

Vegetable options are more limited. You’ll find enoki mushrooms, bok choy, napa cabbage, Chinese broccoli, watercress, lotus root, pumpkin, and potatoes.

Noodle selection is better, with everything from thick to thin noodles, taro noodles, and konjac noodles.

The konjac ones are KETO/PALEO!! -friendly, zero carbs!, and found in the bottom left fridge in a water bucket In little bundles, I eat these all the time on keto, they are great!!

Soup bases are flavorful. I recommend the spicy and mushroom broth. The sauce bar is great too, with garlic, soy, chili oil, vinegar, and more to mix your own dip.

Extras include spring rolls, Chinese bread with condensed milk, kimchi, and really tasty pickled radish shaped like fries in a flavorful marinade. Staff are polite but don’t speak much English, so check reviews in advance if you have questions. They don’t rush you and let you enjoy your time. You can choose hot tea or water to start.

The price was about $32 for the regular dinner option, which includes unlimited beef, pork, chicken, and lamb.

It’s more affordable at lunch, somewhere between $19 and $25. There’s a more expensive dinner option with extra meat, but honestly the regular one is plenty. The lamb and beef or pork that you can order from the menu (not in the buffet section) are included and really high quality, you can order as much...

Contrary to some of the most recent 5 star reviews, I do have to say that my 3 star review would be quite generous considering my experience.

We had a party of 11 people. 8 adults and 3 children under the age of 2. We were seated in the back room which is a double-edged sword. I soon found out that although we had our own "area" and didn't disturb the other patrons, we were also not provided the same level of attentiveness.

Because of our big party, we all decided to "splurge" on the Deluxe hot pot AYCE for 34.99 each adult.

The food was good. I must commend them on their quality of food despite being an AYCE restaurant. This is probably the only saving grace for my 3 stars.

What I wanted to pass along was that we came in on a weekday at around 1700 (since young children eat early and sleep early). There were 3 other tables of people, each of them were couples. After we ordered our first round, it took a very long time for our food to come, and despite the wait, only half our order came. I had to leave the room to flag down our server to inquire about the rest of the order.

We ordered 3 more rounds of food. Sometimes all the food came, and sometimes not. Again, I had to leave the room each time to inquire about the delay. Once I did, the rest of the order promptly came.

The one female server was very nice and served us well, it was a young male server that did not seem to be with it. I had to remind him multiple times of our orders, clarify what food had come and what we were missing, as well as asking politely to refill our hot pots with soup.

Lastly, no ice cream was served like the other reviewers had mentioned.

For the lack of service coupled with the value, I thought a 3 star was a...