Hot Pot Hero Ellicott City — Restaurant in Ellicott City

Read this prior to visiting: also management PLEASE READ THIS

They have an 8oz rule, which means if you leave behind 8oz of food you will be charged. This rule is understandable, and it's a rule to protect the restaurant from customers ordering in bad faith, or in clear excess of what they need. However, this rule is not consistently applied which can result in an unfair experience or one that leaves a horrible taste in your mouth.

Issues with the 8 oz Rule: -For large parties, it is almost impossible to gauge exactly how much you the table will eat. It is in bad faith to expect your customer to know exactly how much they can eat, especially for large groups. A table of 6 will probably have more leftovers than a table of 2, and what was leftover should also be taken into consideration (Beef vs instant noodles). In a table of 6, that leaves 1.3 oz of leftovers PER CUSTOMER (the equivalent of a slice of bread). Do you really expect that your customer know to that degree of accuracy what they will eat? -You cannot control how much the server provides to you. Do you expect your customers to say "hey (server), can you please remove 2 oz of broccoli, I can only eat about 4 oz, thanks!"? -What if the ingredient ordered was not up to par or not to the expectations of the customers. Are you going to force your customers to eat it so they don't get charged? This makes the restaurant seem cheap, like they are nickel and diming you. Don't be an all you can eat restaurant if you're going to be this particular, and if you really find that you are losing too much on raw ingredients RAISE YOUR PRICES and only use this rule if they are clearly acting in bad faith. Don't have a customer get a bad experience because they were expecting to pay X and then find that they are charged extra.

Our Story on 1/18: We came as a table of 6, and we ordered vegetables/noodles twice, and proteins several times. What we had leftover were mostly some noodles, and a few vegetables and we ate 99% of our meat. Our server then let us know that they will be charging us for the leftovers. I have been here before and have had way more leftovers and never been charged. I have also been to almost every hotpot restaurant in the DMV area, and NONE of them would ever had charged us for the food that was leftover - especially for a table of 6. See the pictures below, do you think it was fair for a table of 6 to be charged what was leftover? (also we always consolidated plates between orders, so prior to this the people who were busing never took any leftovers away)

Objective Pros/Cons: Pros: The brisket and pork belly was sliced very slim, and as a result was very tender. Definitely made the meat taste much better. Cons: Service was horrible, they looked understaffed (understandable for covid), but 75% of the time we had to make awkward eye contact or call for a server so that we could order more food.

Other Disclaimer: This experience caused me to be very upset in the moment and as a result we did not tip the server (our server, not the manager enforced this rule). When I wanted to discuss what happened with the server she had 0 time of day with me and would not listen to me (I was not yelling, insulting, or being rude) at one point said "You can leave," when I was just trying to calmly explain our position and why we were upset. As someone who has grown up in the restaurant industry, this was petty and wrong of us, but this situation should have never happened in the first place. The amount of tip we were going to pay would have far exceeded the cost that they charged us.

TLDR: Management: Do something about this 8oz rule and how its applied Customers: Order exactly how much you can eat or risk being charged, or be lucky with which...

We have eaten at literally dozens of hot pot places from from Virginia to Baltimore.. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses so picking a favorite is difficult.. But the all you can eat at Hot Pot Hero in Ellicott City certainly is my new favorite all you can eat hot pot. And it 2nd only to little lamb hotpot in Eden center overall.

The broth I had was the spicy mushroom and it was spectacular.. Strong mushroom flavor, light szechuan peppercorn, lots of spices. And it was one of those broth that just kept on getting better as I cooked more and more things at it.

One thing I really liked is that you order everything off a touchscreen. Nothing is self serve or on a conveyor belt, and you get what you order. This selection is very good, If not quite as large as some all you can eat. But the quality of each selection is extremely impressive.

Highlights were the shrimp paste, steamed fish balls, quail egg, Spam, mini pork sausage, spicy beef, lamb, and pork belly..The noodles I tried, udon and shanghai noodle, we're both outstanding..

The service was good: quick, but not particularly friendly or warm. But every need was met.

Probably the weakest part of the meal was the sauce bar. The minced garlic and the minced ginger were in water, which really kills the flavor, there was no chopped jalapeno or serrano Chile, and some of the items like the white fermented tofu seemed really toned down. On the other hand you really don't need a lot of sauce because of the Broth was so good.

Can't wait to go back and try some of the things that sounded good that I missed. I was there by myself so I only got to try about a 1/2 of what really looked interesting.

One nice thing compared compared to a number of the Baltimore area hot pots I've been to, is they have a full liquor license and I was able to order a really good Jinro blue label soju.

Quite quite outstanding. Can't...

Absolutely wonderful! I had never been to a hot pot restaurant before and was pleasantly surprised. The menu is huge, including something for every taste from meat to seafood to vegan/GF. Even better, they offer split pots so that the party can have two different broths going! There are also small burners at each seat of the table so you can have an individual pot as well. We really enjoyed the herbal broth and tomato broth, along with tons of fixings. Everything was super fresh and good quality.

Be forewarned that this is a "cook your own food" restaurant. The meats are cut thin on purpose so that they will cook quickly when held in the boiling broth. The broth is in a pot on an induction burner in the center of the table. Long cooking chopsticks, tongs, a slotted spoon and ladle are provided to assist in transferring food and broth between pot and plate. Forks are also available. There are also about five bajillion sauces and seasonings available at the rear of the seating area to adjust the broth flavor or season your cooked food to taste. (Try the fermented bean paste, the shacha sauce, sesame oil or oyster sauce! I loved that there was a big bowl of minced garlic to take from as well.)

The staff is very helpful, but not intrusive, so if you need instruction on what to do don't be afraid to ask or hit the call button at the table to get their attention. The decor is a little all over the place, though nice looking and comfortable, and the establishment is squeaky clean. (I came for the food. I don't much care if all the lamps and art match.) Overall, I will definitely be coming back with my family.

Allergy Warning: Peanuts, shellfish, soy and other allergens are used here, with a high risk of cross contamination. If you have food allergies of any kind, this is NOT the...