Mala Hotpot Cincinnati — Restaurant in Evendale

First the good - The service was outstanding. Our server was very cheerful and helpful. In general, the food is good with a HUGE selection. The prices seemed very good for this type of restaurant and dining experience (a hotpot in which each diner selects and cooks their own food at the table). But, why did I rate it 2 Stars overall? Well, there are several logistics that need to be improved. All of the tables are booths (no chairs). That makes it VERY inconvenient for most people at the table to get up to get the buffet style vegetables and sauces. Also, the biggest of the booths are designed for a max of six diners. We had seven in our party. Our choice was to split up or to squeeze in. Since one of our seven was a 4-year-old who would not be 'cooking' on a hotpot, we chose to squeeze in. We chose wrong! There simply was not enough room on the table for all of the hotpots, plates, beverages, cups, sauces, water pitchers, etc. Also, you couldn't place your order with the server. You have to do it through their app. That turned out to be WAY more complicated and confusing than it should have been. Maybe on a second visit, the app would feel more logical. Finally, about halfway through my meal, my hotpot (the hot plate) stopped working. Three of us on my side of the table had to slide out of the booth so that the server could try to turn it back on. She couldn't. She offered to move me to another booth. But, I didn't want to hassle with that. It turned out that the 'soup' retained enough of its heat that my food did end up cooked. I think if this restaurant just had round tables and chairs instead of booths for parties of 5 or more, it...

Overall, my wife and I had fun with our first visit. We had never experienced a 'hot pot' restaurant before, nor had we ever seen a robot deliver our food to the table. As others have probably noted, the first visit was a bit overwhelming and confusing. The hostess really had to explain to us what we were supposed to do, though she was friendly about it and seemed rather accustomed to answering similar questions :) For those who want to try the place out, your bowl of soup is basically the pot where you cook the meat and rice/noodles and vegetables that the robot brings to your table. The controls for the burner are on the side of the table right in front of where you are sitting, and the proper setting is "P6" (after you press the 'on' button on the right and then hit the up arrow until it reaches "P6"). Also, there are ceramic rings for each person at the table, and these will be placed around your bowl of soup before you turn on the burner...I think mainly so you don't burn yourself. We were told wait until the soup was boiling before putting anything in, and then at that point we should only put a few items in at a time to ensure everything cooks quickly. As items have cooked sufficiently you can then dip them out with one of the accompanying utensils and place them on the oblong plate that is also sitting on the table. I had to ask for a fork since I could not use the chopsticks. Overall, it was a fun experience. I enjoyed the food, though my Asian wife was not impressed. I think she simply didn't know what to order, though I would definitely come back with some friends as it is quite a fun...

I never ever write reviews, let alone bad ones. But this warranted it. I feel as though this could have been a really delicious, pleasant dining experience. I love ramen and am a adventurous eater. But we sat down and 15 minutes went by before we decided to flag the waitress down to ask what we were supposed to do to order. All she said was to order off the paper menu, then left, and came back to grab our filled out papers. Said nothing. We received no introduction, no description of how the dining processed worked, the options, or how to cook the food efficiently/the order to cook. She even seemed annoyed when we asked what setting to put our burners at, sitting with our plates of ingredients the robot brought us. No one came to check on us our entire meal.. The robot delivered our check. And only after we didn’t tip 15%, because we truly received no service and barely were acknowledged, did the waitress come back and demand 15% tip as “required for all parties”. Honestly, this was entirely inappropriate, and also not their stated policy (since we were a party of 4, the menu said for 6). I worked as a waitress for 5 years, I always tip 20% unless I truly am treated terribly by wait staff. This was tonight. And then I was chastised and bullied into tipping more? When it was clear I was not wanted in this restaurant in the first place. Never have I had any such treatment before in a restaurant. I will...