Haidilao Hot Pot Bellevue — Restaurant in Bellevue

I arrived at this location on Thursday 1/2/25 from the hours of 12pm - 2pm. I took my son here because he was excited to try a new restaurant. Little did I know this would be the worst experience of our lives. When we arrived there was no one at the front. We proceeded to wait and no one showed, so we went around the corner into the restaurant and stood there waited to be seated. The staff members saw me, but did not approach us to seat us. I then assumed that this was a “seat yourself” restaurant. We both sat down and within seconds of being seated we heard yelling across from the restaurant. A short man 5’4 looking to be late 30’s - 40’s wearing a brown Louis Vuitton monogram belt yelled us while approaching our table causing a scene. Yelling “YOU CANNOT SEAT YOURSELF, YOU NEED TO LEAVE! YOU NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW AND GO TO THE FRONT OF THE RESTAURANT AND WAIT TO BE SEATED, YOU CANNOT WALK INTO THE RESTAURANT!” I jumped from my seat and was left in shock at the customer service given to us. He was pointing towards the exit and yelling at the top of his lungs. I cannot believe that they would hire staff like this. I told him that there was no one at the front and that this was our first time here, but proceeded to yell. A woman with short purple bob hair with blunt bangs who looked to be front desk came running behind him to guide us to the front and take down our party and lead us to a table. Zero apologies from the restaurant or staff. I should have left with my son, but he was insisting on staying for the food after our 2 hour drive to get here. The waiter who yelled was not our waiter, but would come around the table and glare at us. There’s so much that happened within those few hours that blows my mind till this day. We ordered a side of meat with our expensive $50 combo and did not receive the side, because you cannot combine a meat on special with a combo. No one told us that, so we did not know. We waited for this side of meat to come but it never came. They did not communicate to us about the issue until I asked where our food was. They also did not explain to us how the restaurant works. There was just a random tablet on the table to order your food, and you had to figure that out how to do it. The broth was overly spicy and salty to the point where it was not edible. There was no “have a good day.” There’s just so much that happened that afternoon that I’m shocked that this place is still in business. I have provided a photo showing that there was no one at the front entrance in the beginning of us entering the restaurant and also leaving the restaurant. I also inserted a photo of what the waiters belt looked like, because I did not see his name tag. This establishment NEEDS to do BETTER. How embarrassing that a customer has to share a negative story about...

New place in Downtown Bellevue. We booked a reservation a week out in advance for a party of five.

Upon entry they have you stand in front of a screen that quickly checks your temperature, as well as having a cart with hand sanitizer and other toiletries available for you to use. This place takes cleanliness very seriously, but balances that in a way to not detract from the overall guest experience. Bravo!

We were seated in the back corner - the tables near us were closed for health saftey. Our server was Clover. She was the best! Very attentive, checked in on us often, and explained anything and everything on the menu we had questions about. The decor is very upscale in typical Bellevue fashion!

There's a condiment and sauce station in the middle of the dining area that has pre-packaged sauces that you can try as well as individually packaged toppings (like garlic, cilantro, etc) if desired.

You're allowed to choose up to 4(!) Soup bases for your hot pot experience, and even then they offer more than that to choose from! We got the pork and chicken, tomato based (their most popular), mushroom, and the spicy schezuan one.

We ordered a large variety of proteins and veggies (see pics) and everything was so fresh. Decent portion sizes to share. My personal favorite is the handmade shrimp paste. Other awesome stuff was the Kobe combo, and the "dancing noodles" where they have a trained performer come out and flail noodle dough around your face before placing it in the soup base of your choice - pretty cool. There's also the "Face- Changing" performance where someone dressed in the traditional garb and mask dances with a fan and has this cool masks that changes multiple times - he comes to your table too! It was hilarious good fun 🤣

Overall this has quickly become my favorite hotpot place for all the abovementioned reasons. Book ahead because they'll be busy...

I was disappointed with my experience at the hot pot restaurant. The condiment station was incredibly crowded, which was inconvenient considering its small size. Placing it at the center of the room seemed like an odd choice, as it created a cramped and chaotic environment. With around 30 tables of customers, it felt like a feeding frenzy, having to wait 5-10 minutes just to access the sauces. They should consider improving the layout for better customer flow.

Despite having a reservation, we still had to wait an additional 15 minutes before being seated. This lack of efficiency was frustrating, as reservations are meant to ensure a timely dining experience. It would be beneficial for the restaurant to address this issue and honor reservations promptly.

Another letdown was the spicy hot pot we ordered. Despite requesting extra spiciness, the broth was disappointingly mild. Even as someone who doesn't usually enjoy spicy food, I found the lack of heat surprising. The restaurant should work on consistently delivering the requested spice levels to meet customer expectations.

Moreover, the servers gave the impression of being attentive, but in reality, they only visited our table once every 30 minutes. This prolonged absence made it difficult to address any concerns or request additional items. Improved server attentiveness would greatly enhance the overall dining experience.

In summary, the crowded condiment station, delayed seating despite a reservation, underwhelming spiciness of the hot pot, and lack of attentive service left me unsatisfied. The restaurant has some areas that require improvement in order to provide a more enjoyable dining experience for...