Hot Pot de Sichuan — Restaurant in Madrid

We went here on a Friday evening with a group of four for dinner. The food was really great! I cannot describe how tasty it was. We tried a bunch of different meats, fish, noodles and vegetables and nothing was disappointing.

The menu has a variety of options and they recommend to choose 3-4 dishes per person. The whole purpose is to share the food and have a great experience whilst boiling it. We had the regular tomato soup and one spicier soup, so you can switch whenever you’ve had enough of the other. Note that the soup here is actually spicy, which is different from the spice levels in most restaurants in Madrid. The soups were both rich with flavour, even the basic tomato one.

Here are some of my recommendations: I would recommend trying the prime beef, shrimp paste, shrimp balls, shrimp skewer, paksoi and the ramen noodles. Recommendation for drinks: Chinese iced tea. It has a very sweet and honey-like flavour.

Be aware of what you choose, because not every option might be for everyone. There are a lot of foods that are typical for the hotpot-culture, like frog legs, pig aorta, duck intestine and tendons. We actually tried the tendons and they were pretty nice, so you might also see this as an opportunity to expand your horizons. Also an important thing to keep in mind, is that the recommended cooking time is 30 seconds for everything. But if you do that, some foods might not be done yet. Some things they serve are frozen, so they might need a bit more cooking time. An example are the shrimp balls, those needed around 3-4 minutes to cook through.

Overall, we were very pleased about this place. The interior was cosy and beautiful. It’s not too noisy so you can understand each other whilst you hotpot. The price-quality ratio is definitely good. In fact, I would say it was cheaper than we’ve had so far and the best hotpot experience. We paid €121 for four people (avg. Is about €50 per person in other hotpot restaurants).

The only remark I have is that the service could’ve been a bit better. In the beginning the waitress asked us if we spoke Spanish or not. We answered that we didn’t and she proceeded to speak Spanish anyway, so we did not really understand the instructions and we figured it out ourself. The food was brought quickly which was nice, but when we wanted to order more drinks/food, it felt like they were not paying attention to us or even ignoring us. In the end we got everything we asked for, with a delay, so it’s okay. The waiters/waitresses were still very polite and welcoming.

I added pictures of the Spanish/English menu for you, since there’s no clear...

Good food, fun experience, poor service.

We went for our 1st hot pot experience and, being new to the whole thing, we didn't know what to do and were not given any help/indications. Not really knowing when to put the food inside the pot (before or after the soup boiled), or for how long (different items have different cooking times) obviously hindered our experience, making it confusing at the beggining.

We asked for beef and chicken as our meat choices, but were presented with beef and lamb. When asked why did they bring a different meat, they said they had run out of chicken, and proceeded to replace it with lamb. The replacement was fine, but felt they should have consulted something like that with us, the customers, first.

Finally, we were asked to pay the bill before we had finished, which we didn't appreciate. All communication was carried in a very broken Spanish, which made it difficult to understand and just added up to the confusion.

Such a shame because all non-service related...

If you ever find yourself craving the true numbing heat and complex spices of Sichuan hotpot while miles away from China, look no further than HOTPOT OF SICHUAN. Nestled in the heart of MADRID, SPAIN, this unassuming spot has quickly become a haven for hotpot enthusiasts and homesick Sichuan natives alike and for good reason: every single ingredient is shipped directly from Sichuan, China.

Atmosphere: Step inside and you’re immediately transported to Chengdu. The warm red lanterns, mahjong tile accents, and the faint aroma of simmering broth set the stage for an experience that is as much about community as it is about spice. The staff, many of whom hail from Sichuan themselves are eager to guide newcomers through the ritual of hotpot dining.

The Hotpot: The star of the show is, of course, the bubbling copper pot divided into two halves: a ferocious crimson mala broth, fragrant with hand ground Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies, and a soothing bone broth for those who need a reprieve...