Hot Spot — Restaurant in Fairfax

Growing up in a Chinese household, I ate hot pot come every winter. I love hot pot when it's cold out and the concept of putting our own desired veggies, fish balls, shrimp, and meats into a flavorful broth. I've also been to Uncle Liu's Hot Pot in the area, which I thought was good and authentic although personally I can't justify the cost of hot pot at restaurants.

Hot Spot is in the same small plaza as Bon Chon. My boyfriend and I went there late last night and the entire plaza was still poppin', including Hot Spot. One big advantage Hot Spot has lies in their hours. Not a lot of restaurants in the area are open till midnight on weekends or even 10-11pm on weeknights. However, I should preface that they started closing their kitchen at 11:20pm last night, so I'm not sure if you decided to come around 11:30pm that you'd be guaranteed a seat.

This place is AYCE hot pot. $22.99/adults and $14.99/children. It's a mix between traditional Chinese hot pot, Shabu Shabu, and even some Korean style. Asian fusion hot pot essentially. AYCE hot pot is another advantage. Uncle Liu's charges for each plate, so it adds up quick. Here, you can eat to your heart's content. However, Hot Spot doesn't like wasting food so if they see there is an excess of food left over, they'll charge. They also charge $2 if you decide to change your soup base.

First, pick the broth. My boyfriend and I had the partitioned family-style pot, so he opted for Shabu Shabu and I got the spicy broth. There's also herbal and kimchi. The broth was alright, but not spicy and not that flavorful. There's a sauce bar where you can mix your own sauce, with selections such as soy sauce, sesame oil, a housemade sauce, etc.

Next, we chose our meats, veggies, and fish. We opted for a lot of veggies like Enoki mushrooms, tofu, cabbage, watercress, and bamboo shoots. We also decided to go with some fish balls, shrimp, tilapia, meats (ribeye, pork, and fatty brisket), and clear noodles or Chinese vermicelli. The meats were probably the best. The shrimp and especially the tilapia were not fresh. FIsh balls were bland.

Overall, a pretty average experience for hot pot. The AYCE is a good option, and it's a trendy, hip place that's open late. Also, the servers are friendly and come...

Our first visit to Hot Spot was amazing, so we decided to return with friends for a second time. Food is great. The service on the other hand- needs more improvement.

We were seated quickly and waited about five minutes for our server to arrive. We went on a Saturday, just a few hours after the restaurant opened. It wasn’t very busy, but it wasn’t slow either.

I gave 1 star for the service for a few reasons. First, our server didn’t introduce herself or ask if we wanted any drinks, which is something most restaurants typically do. I had to ask if we could get some water, as it didn’t seem like she was going to offer.

While our food came out quickly—thanks to the kitchen staff for promptly preparing the orders—our server didn’t check in on us until it was time to place the next round of meat orders. She was rarely around, and we constantly had to ask for things instead of being offered them.

We didn’t feel like we received good service, and our tip reflected that experience. However, as we were leaving the restaurant, our server followed us outside to question the tip. We were taken aback when she said, “I noticed you didn’t tip the RECOMMENDED percentage, and I was wondering why.”

We explained to her what we felt was lacking in the service, and she responded by saying that the restaurant uses tips as a way to evaluate and improve their service. Understood. Regardless, it was completely inappropriate for her to follow us outside just to question the tip—especially after she herself said tipping was recommended, not required.

I’ve never had to justify how I tip, nor have I ever been chased down by a server to explain the amount I gave. I always leave a tip, but if I’m expected to explain or defend the amount, I might as well not leave one at all.

Because of this experience, in my honest opinion, I don’t think it’s worth returning to...

Went here with my wife and 2 toddlers around 3pm on a Sunday. Visit started off great, being promptly seated and served. There were around 5 other tables with patrons. The first round of food came out and after that everything went downhill. The staff went on lunch break leaving just a team leader on the floor. That guy spent 10-15 minutes clearing tables. No one came to check on us. We had eaten everything from the 1st round and there was no wait staff in sight. After about 15 minutes the team leader was available and I put in a 2nd order of food. I see our 2nd order go straight to another table. The people at that table says they didn't some of the items (because I had ordered them). They take SOME items back and leave some (the veggies we had ordered). A couple minutes later they bring just the meat I ordered. I thought the veggies would be right behind. Nope. 10 minutes go by, the wait staff are busy seating new groups that came in. No choice but to cook/eat the meat and the beef smells/tastes like it went bad. I get ahold of a waitress and I explain 1. No one has been around to check on us or ask us if we need anything. 2. Our order went to another table, and instead of someone making sure the right order went to the right table, they forgot about us. I told her it wasn't HER fault the order got messed up, but there should have been someone who realized the wrong order went out and checked the original table. Also, if there are customers eating, the entire staff (except 1) shouldn't go on a lunch break at the same time. Stagger the breaks so that you can still operate the business, or CLOSE FOR LUNCH. I get a half-hearted apology and asked if we wanted to order more food. The team leader didn't even bother to come by to offer an apology. I can't believe I paid $30 per person for this shoddy service and...