KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Durham

Food was alright. Christina is probably the most disrespectful, unprofessional, and hostile managers I’ve ever had the displeasure of interacting with. Great service until the very end when the server came with the bill and we tried to use a coupon an employee had given us a while back. The server couldn’t verify and said her manager wouldn’t honor it since she couldn’t tell if it was valid - we asked to speak with her and CHRISTINA (who initially wouldn’t even give us her name) came over, feet dragging, and chewing gum. Her demeanor was immediately hostile and told us “Yeah this isn’t my handwriting, I can’t honor it”. When we tried to explain how we came to acquire it from an employee who was friendly with my sister at their other location, Christina just said “okay but I don’t know that and I didn’t write it, she’s gone” and we were trying to understand if she was simply fired or just not there because we still couldn’t understand why it was an issue that it couldn’t be honored if other people can give them out — “I can’t tell you that,” she said - alright fine. While she was still at the table, I also inquired about being charged for a party of 6 for gratuity as a party of 5, and Christina as hostile as ever, almost spitting her gum on us, says “It’s literally posted all over the building and the menu (which was pretty instantly taken away from us at the beginning), I can’t change the system, it’s an outside party thing - so are you going to pay it or not?” I asked her if she could just write it on the receipt for tracking purposes and she stormed off, came back with the receipt and we were trying to tell her that her attitude towards us was extremely unprofessional, rude; and unnecessary and then she starts to recount how upon entering the table my “entire party was yelling at her and as a manager [she] doesn’t have to deal with that.” When my mom said that the only reason her voice was raised was because they turned up the music at the end of the night, Christina points in our faces saying “no, I was talking to her (pointing at my sister) and then this one (pointing at me) started chiming in, and then you started yelling (pointing at my mother)” and then started retelling the scenario as if we were victimizing her by the questions we asked in the beginning. She storms off again as my mother asked for her name and just said “have a goodnight” leaving the bill unpaid, but we already knew her name so once we said “Oh it’s Christina” she turned back and said “it’s Christina have a good night”. We asked another employee if we could just pay with her and finally we paid the full price. But alas, Christina comes back a text from her employee and other managers telling her that they did in fact write the coupon and hand it out to us - Christina didn’t apologize at all when showing us the text exchange, but did end up refunding the 20%, and I had to stop her and tell her weren’t going back and forth with her when she tried to start back up on how she felt with the interaction and then we left. All the while other servers, bussers, and staff were standing around watching her act this way towards us. Every single person sitting at my table this evening works in customer service - every step that this “manager” took goes against everything that anyone who works in customer service is trained to do. If you’re suspecting your employee of a mistake, don’t blame your guests and treat them as if they’re trying to scam you AND if you find out you did make a mistake, in not only your treatment of your guests but also in your assumption that they were lying, you APOLOGIZE for the error. Do not go here if you are expecting fine service and god forbid you need to see a manager for anything at all. Christina - you need to treat ALL your guests with respect, professionalism, and quality service. Leave your emotions and your chewing gum at home or on break - work is hard, mixups are hard, but acting with grace and accountability is...

A fun (albeit bit chaotic) Father’s Day experience! I took my sisters and father for the celebration at the end of the first week of this restaurant’s opening. TW, our server, brought good energy to the dinner and was very kind and energetic. He made sure to address our asks and gave good advice on what to order. He was losing his voice from working so much during this chaotic week :( speaking of, the flow and process did feel a tiny bit chaotic, despite having had KBBQ before. Since the restaurant was busy, there was a wait (understandably), so we browsed nearby stores until we were notified of the table being ready (faster than we anticipated, a plus!). However, upon arriving in the lobby, the table was actually not ready yet, so we hung about in the lobby for another 5-7 minutes. Since opening week is always crowded, the seating in the waiting area wasn’t enough to accommodate everyone waiting, but I think that will settle down over time. Some of the chairs weren’t fully dried off after cleaning, so we used some of the provided napkins to dry the seats (not a big deal!). The bubble tea and tapioca pearls were really good (I had a taro and ended up getting a classic black milk tea to go as well; they were that good). I feel like alcohol was pushed a bit much for my personal comfort, especially with 3/5 of us being younger kids. But that is a gripe I have with society and industry as a whole nowadays (I am mostly sober due to health reasons). We stuck to NA bevs. This is an AYCA place, and I actually liked that the serving sizes were small - I truly feel that that helps with food waste and not over-eating. The ordering process seems like it is still being worked out - I am used to ordering everything through either tablets or the physical menu, and here, it seemed to be a bit of a chaotic mix between the two. Started off by having us go ahead and verbalize our order, but as we were still looking at the menu, it was also a bit of an awkward standstill to decide right there without feeling like we were wasting TW’s time since they were waiting. Then, I think you can either order verbally (not sure if only the original server can place orders or if anyone can help?), as well as ordering through the tablet as well. My father did most of the ordering, so I can’t speak to the user interface and how intuitive the tablet ordering felt. My one note about the actual food was that we had asked for butter (after being offered it), but only one piece came (accompanying one of the meat dishes that came out significantly later in the lineup). I would recommend prioritizing the butter to come out in the beginning so that people can go ahead and cook with it. Thankfully, oil is also provided to cook with, so we used that too. The butter was so nonchalant that I wasn’t sure if it had been forgotten but also came with that meat specifically, so we ended up asking for butter again (two pieces came this time). The meat is so good (i love the pork belly options, the tongue, and the beef short rib is to die for). I enjoyed the vegetables and seafood as well, though I would love to see more vegetable options! It’s cool that the condiments bar also contains some Korean snacks and appetizers - good touch. The restaurant is fairly large, but between the kitchen, the customers talking, and the grills, the noise level is significant. It can be hard to talk or hear without raising your voice - I would be mindful of this if you are looking for a quieter place. It also does get warm (naturally), so prepare...

Ah, KPot. The self-proclaimed Korean BBQ and hotpot utopia where, for one fixed price, you get the privilege of cooking your own food and wondering if the staff has secretly joined the witness protection program.

Let’s set the scene: you're seated, you're hungry, you're excited. And then… you're abandoned. Not metaphorically. Literally. I’m not saying the service was bad. That would imply service existed in the first place. I fetched my own cup of water like a parched pilgrim in the desert because, apparently, hydration is a DIY project here. My server? Missing in action, like a deadbeat dad with a new family in Phoenix.

Need help turning on your grill? Good luck. It’s an escape room puzzle with no clues. Want to change your grill? Summon the Avengers, because flagging down staff requires at least three people waving, yelling, or offering up a blood sacrifice to get noticed.

As for the Korean BBQ, if you’ve ever dreamed of what marinating in the Dead Sea tastes like, KPot has got you covered. The meats arrive pre-seasoned with enough salt to preserve a mammoth. One bite and my taste buds staged a walkout. Please, for the love of flavor, cut the sodium in half. And then cut it again.

But credit where it’s due: the tablet ordering system is an introvert’s dream. No awkward small talk. Just button-mashing bliss. Sure, some items didn’t arrive, but who cares? Just order more. It’s like gambling, but instead of losing money, you lose hope and gain meat.

To be fair, the food runners, the bringers and takers of raw meat and hotpot dreams, did show up promptly and efficiently. But they are not my server. They did their job and moved on, like silent guardians of sliced brisket. Meanwhile, actual service such as grill help, water refills, basic human interaction, was a ghost town.

The sauce bar? A rare high point. I crafted a Northern China-style chive flower, sesame, garlic, chili, and BBQ elixir that frankly deserves its own Michelin star. Did KPot create this masterpiece? No. But they enabled it, and that’s something.

In the end, the food was fresh, the grill was hot, and the concept was fun in a fend-for-yourself, Hunger Games sort of way. KPot Durham is what happens when a buffet meets a group project and no one does their part. But management seriously needs to get it together. You can’t run an all-you-can-eat restaurant like a potluck and hope the customers will fill in the gaps. Go once a year, maybe, when you’re feeling adventurous and mildly masochistic. Just don’t expect...