KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Altamonte Springs

Update: Visited again, 1.5 scoops of the capsaicin is still recommended if you like spicy. Our sever brought it out to us to add manually so we got to see the capsaicin powder, it's really orany. Got the BBQ and hotpot again, but I still, personally, think just the hotpot is the better option. We did have an opportunity to try the apple mango Soon Hari which was pretty good. The beef sliced ribeye (dinner item) just melts in your mouth after cooking in the hotpot. I've been watching this place waiting for it to open since the previous restaurant (Sweet Tomatoes) was here and closed down. Parking is still tight, especially with Kobes right next to it. Decided to try Kpot with my buddy for dinner, as dinner has certain meats available that lunch does not and we were both glad we did. When we got here there was about an hour wait so we decided to sit at the bar and have a drink or 2. We settled on trying Jinro apple mango but they were out so we went with Jinro peach. It poured like a thin syrup and tasted very sweet and delicious. We finished it and we were talking about getting another flavor, watermelon, and as we were discussing it, one of the bartenders offered his perspective and said the watermelon one somewhat tastes like medicine and more of an artificial flavor than some of the others. He said he likes the green grape so we decided to try it. It was a refreshing taste but had a somewhat odd aftertaste. My buddy said it made him think of fermented grapes. I got sprite added to mine which got rid of the aftertaste. While we were drinking, we talked to the bartender and found out he worked for corporate and traveled to restaurants to train the staff, which is pretty cool. He also told us, since we like spicy food, to get 1 and a half cups of capsaicin for our hotpot bowls. He said it gives it the right amount of heat and makes it even better. We got called for our table. We did the hot pot and BBQ so we could try different things. We both got the Szechuan spicy soup base. My buddy went with the 1.5 scoops and I wanted a baseline to see the difference and did the normal bowl. Turns out I got the spicy one, which I thoroughly enjoyed and his was a little bland. They do swap the bowls and even bring more of you ask your server, so my buddy got a new bowl with 1.5 scoops and said it was much better. I also added minced garlic, cilantro, sliced jalapenos, and spring onions as additional seasoning to my bowl before I added my veggies and meat. Some bok choy, onion, zucchini, sweet potato, and watercress made the flavors even better. The meat is thinly sliced and cooks quickly in the hotpot and comes out delicious. I also added udon noodles which were really good. I tried the spicy beef bulgogi which, to me, wasn't spicy but did have a nice flavor. I had another meat with sesame seeds on it but wasn't as flavorful, would have been better if I dipped it in sauces but I didn't think about that until I had already finished. My buddy got more BBQ items than I did, mostly shrimp which were large, spicy pork belly, small octopus, etc. I tried the spicy pork belly and again, didn't get spice from it but it still tasted good. We didn't see white rice and the server said you have to ask for it. Likely because it's set-up like a buffet style for the food and white rice will fill you up quickly. All in all we enjoyed the food, but we decided we liked the hot pot the most and we're both glad we stopped here for dinner. I'm going to tell everyone about this place and for those who like spicy food, to ask for 1.5 scoops in the szechuan spicy soup base as...

My friends and I absolutely love K-Pot. We've visited several locations in the area, and almost every time, the service is exceptional. However, I have to give this visit a 3-star rating due to the following experience:

Last night, we celebrated my birthday at this restaurant with a party of 7. I had called a few days in advance to ensure they had a table available to accommodate all of us, and they confirmed an 8-person table was available. I arrived at the location 30 minutes prior to our scheduled gathering time. I informed the host at 7:00 PM that we had a party of 7 and requested to be seated together.

When everyone in our party arrived, I returned to the host stand to request our seating. Unfortunately, just before they seated us, another party of 8 arrived and was seated ahead of us. I understood this as they were ready to be seated before us. What puzzled me, however, was why the host didn't prepare the available 8-person table during the 30-minute wait we had endured. Instead, they seated us at two separate tables adjacent to each other, preventing us from conversing effectively. This setup left me separated from my friends and family on my birthday.

The restaurant wasn't particularly busy at the time, and I went back to the host stand to ask if we could be moved to the other 8-person table. I was informed that "that section is closed," which I can understand. However, I had arrived early, informed them of our party's time, and politely requested to be seated together, but I was met with a refusal. The host's attitude was extremely poor, and she was both rude and dismissive.

An automatic gratuity was added to our check. Our server was friendly but not attentive. We only saw him 2-3 times throughout the evening, and our drinks were left unfilled. Considering that this restaurant operates as self-serve in many aspects, it was puzzling why the "section being closed" was a factor. We spent over $300 with our group, so the service fell way short of expectations.

Upon leaving, the same host, who had been condescending earlier, did not acknowledge or respond when we thanked her and said goodbye. I understand that the restaurant industry can be demanding, especially with other customers, but when customers are polite, there should be a reciprocal level of courtesy.

Overall, our most recent visit left us extremely disappointed.

I wouldn't recommended coming here with a party larger than 6 to ensure you'll be seated together. The have other tables with 4-6 spots.

Also keep in mind this place is self serve with added gratuity for larger parties.

Thanks for your time

**update reached out to the email they suggested and received...

Well I was going to get on here and berate this place to death because of how I was treated when I pulled in here with my trailer. The manager at the time decided that first thing he needed to ask me was how long I was going to park there. I then asked him if he asks that of everybody and why he needed to know. It had upset me greatly to the point of making me cry it really hurt my feelings. Please send him back to training he needs help in learning how to speak to people. However upon going in there I spoke to the waitress and let her know what was going on because she asked me how I was doing and I said I was doing okay until I pulled into their parking lot this morning. Nicole is a gold mine you need to never get rid of her and you need to give her a raise this woman out of kindness and love, and her own heart asked me if she could give me a hug because she saw how upset I was and hugged me and it made me feel so much better than somebody actually cared. She's in unbeknownst to me went and spoke to the second manager Huey and he smart man that he is waited until I was ready to check out and then came over and had a talk with me about what happened and apologized profusely for the behavior of his manager and how the situation went down he also apologized to me because I walked over put corn in my soup then went to the bathroom to wash my hands because they were sticky and when I came back my entire meal and everything was gone off the table LOL all I have to say is efficiency is not a problem in this restaurant LOL as far as cleaning tables let me tell you what. He spoke to me about how sorry he felt for what happened and paid for my meal and apologized to me for them cleaning the table before I had a chance to finish my meal. Having to live in a trailer for probably the rest of my life which I'm almost okay with has been a challenge and scary and very emotional so I was probably on edge and this just pushed me over the side completely, but then I prayed to God while I was eating that everything would go better for the rest of the day and I feel so much better after Nicole and her...