海底捞火锅店 — Restaurant in Shanghai

Overview

Amazing service Good (and spicy) food Long wait (go do something else while you wait)

You must go there, unless you're in a hurry.

Long long review

A great place to go eat hotpot both if you're from China or from abroad. Part of a chain of restaurants that can be found in multiple locations around China, this place can be praised for their excellent customer service and good food. Unless you're not a fan of spicy meals... In which case (depending on what your order) brace yourself and your back, because it's going to be real spicy. If you're worried maybe bring a milk-based drink from Starbucks.

What about those waits?

Oh, and by the way: the wait can be long (2h) but depending who you are, you can either wait in the waiting room (but is probably too full), go out and have a walk (so nice outside!), go shopping or register to get your nails done (another 2h wait though)

Tell me more about the food!

Sure, the food seems good even if your not from China you shouldn't need to worry about an upset belly (although cook your food properly... Duh). Your butt might be on fire 🔥 at least as much as the hotpot. So go easy on the spiciness. Really. You can choose to have two or four different types of "soups" (it's not a soup, but you get what I mean), they can be spicy or not spicy. Then you order meat and vegetables... And...

Maybe I don't go to hotpot enough, but this was my first time to 海底捞, and the best hotpot I've ever had. Our group shared 4 different broths with me predominately eating the spiciest one. The broth was very authentic Sichuan-style spice, so my mouth was completely numb and exploding with spice throughout the night, which was awesome!

There are condiment tables in the size of buffet tables where you can mix your poison of flavors and spices for your hotpot. Very busy here, so early reservations is highly recommended (we got lucky and went straight through somehow).

When you order your noodles, a man will bring it to your table and spin it in front of you as additional entertainment. We've also celebrated a fake birthday for one of our coworkers for fun and giggles and enjoyed some small gifts. Time was...

Great hotpot dish. We tried the mala/spicy soup and the chicken broth. The mala soup is quite balanced, not too over powering mala spices. The chicken broth is also nice and light. despite there are so many herbs put into the soup. The dumplings, beef, prawn paste and etc were great. Vegetables were super fresh. This place is definitely an addition to my must-go list...