Hot Pot Hero Gaithersburg — Restaurant in Gaithersburg

Update - your own individual pot, great variety of soup bases, high quality meat, big shrimps, clean (lady’s) bathroom, friendly services. Special thanks to Amy and her team. — My son came back from YChicago on 12/9. As soon as he landed at 4:30 pm, he requested hot pot hero :-) That’s how great this place is for him and our entire family! super high quality meat, friendly accommodating services and clean! Special thanks to Amy and her wonderful team! We always feel very welcome here! — We finally came back again after 4 moths of traveling and running around. It is as good as usual! actually one of my sons said Hot Pot Hero is better than hot pots on taiwan. (i of course disagree, but Hot Pot Hero is definitely as good as those great hot pot places on Taiwan)

by the way, this restaurant does not take reservations. So, go early or be prepared to wait (and it’s worth it). Also, i am puzzled by some reviews commenting on bad services/food. We have been always treated warmly and are impressed with the high quality and cleanness. Is their service perfect? of course not! and yes, they do make mistakes not bringing (or forgetting?) our orders, especially when they are busy. When we mention we have been waiting for our order, they apologize and immediately bring out the food we told them that we have been waiting for. for ~$40 per person, i would say this is the best value/service hot pot in DMV. Yes, we are paying customers. But, i think if we treat waiters/servers in this restaurant (or any other restaurant) with respect, the servers go out of their way to make our meal experience fabulous. Just my two cents! I hope you love this restaurant as much as my family and my neighbors. We don’t drive all the way from Arlington VA enduring messy traffic to come here if they are not up to our picky standards. xxoo

—- We are back for birthday celebration again! As usual, perfect 5 stars! We have been coming a lot for our Chinese New Year’s Eve, birthdays, etc. In fact, we come here at least every other week. Their chicken, beef, shrimps, etc are fresh and of excellent, high quality! (women’s bathroom, a good indication of restaurant cleanness, is always clean too!!)

Ask for Amy if this is your first time - She is, as usual, calm and fantastic, even when the restaurant gets crazy busy (Note: It’s a min 30+ min drive for us, but it’s worth the drive! I do recommend getting there early. They seem always busy these days! So, be a little patient if you have to wait. lol) This place is just so consistently excellent - great food, great service and 10-star Amy. :-)

My kids and I just love this restaurant (and Amy). It is a fun place and has exceptionally high-quality fresh food, friendly and humble services, and beautifully decorated and clean space (even their bathroom is so nice and clean. imagine that!!).

Special thanks for Amy to remember us and welcome us and make us feel valued. Tonight, she even stopped by to thank us for visiting their restaurant again and again (yes, we come here almost every other week these days since our discovery of Hot Pot Hero :-))

Long Story: Since moving to Virginia last August, we have been searching for a decent all-you-can-eat place. Most all-you-can-eat places while cheaper ($17$20 per person) have cheap quality stuff and dirty. At Hot Pot Hero, we usually spend $45 per person (~$33 per person, plus tax, and tip). But, I think it is worth every penny we spend -- you really get what you pay for when it comes to Chinese restaurants :-) By the way, I saw two birthday parties tonight. It gave me a great idea of hosting bday parties for my kids here. This one kid got really excited seeing this robot singing happy birthdays that he started...

I've been a regular at this restaurant since late 2022, and I can honestly say that every single visit has been positive. It all began with meeting up with a friend there, but now I often go solo too. There's something nice about both scenarios – enjoying company or just having some "me time" while I read news articles or catch up on shows on my phone.

For lunch during the week, this place has become my top choice. I've been on the lookout for good spots to eat that truly satisfy my cravings, and this one's a hidden gem. Amy, the manager, deserves recognition for her efforts in making everyone's time there enjoyable. It really makes a noticeable difference.

The ambiance of the restaurant usually aligns perfectly with what I'm looking for. I prefer a calm and quiet setting where I can savor my food and do a bit of reading or watch videos on my phone. There have been a couple of times when it got a bit noisy, but that's understandable – it gets busy. To fully enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, I usually swing by when it's less crowded.

Now, let's talk about the food – it's really delicious! When a friend first mentioned it, I was a bit skeptical. Boiled meat didn't sound like the most exciting thing, but I was in for a pleasant surprise. The way they do it is impressive, and I'm absolutely hooked on their cold spicy chicken. The accompanying sauce is wonderful; I wish I could order extra for other dishes. It'd be really neat if they'd share the sauce recipe so we could try it at home or use it with the hotpot leftovers.

As for the bill, my usual routine is to pop in once a week for lunch, and with a decent 20-22% tip, I'm looking at around $30 to $35. It's a bit pricier than my regular spots, but the overall experience and quality totally justify the cost. If they decide to raise their prices, I might dial back to every other week, but honestly, I can't see myself giving up this fantastic food adventure altogether.

In summary, my experiences at this restaurant have consistently been positive, thanks in part to Amy's great management and the really tasty dishes they serve. The combination of superb service and high-quality food easily puts this place at the top of my list. If you're up for something special, I definitely recommend giving it a try!

Oh, and there's this little robot buzzing around delivering drinks. It's a fun touch, adding a quirky element to the experience. It's not a deciding factor for me when choosing to eat here, but it definitely adds a unique and enjoyable aspect to the visit!

Edit 10/2/2023: I have been forced to rethink my comment "It's a bit pricier than my regular spots". This is true pre-pandemic. This is not so true now. Yes, it is pricey. Though so is everything else. I mean not nearly so good meal at burger king/ mcdonalds can easily run 12-15 dollars. This is not that much more ($22 before tip and drink). So I think this is probably not as pricey as my brain...

First, let me say that I am not someone who leaves bad reviews lightly. I understand that running a business is not easy, and I always try to be fair. However, my experience at Hotpot Hero with my family was so disappointing that I feel compelled to share it.

We were here because of the good reviews. From the start, the service was cold and unwelcoming. I specifically ordered a halal soup base for one of my family members and informed the server that they could not have any broth that contained meat. I also ordered some seafood for him. However, when the food arrived, the swai fish fillet and beef tripe were placed together on the same plate. Since they were both white, my family member didn’t notice and unknowingly cooked them together.

When we realized the mistake, I requested a new broth since my family member is Muslim and cannot consume broth that has been contaminated with meat. Shockingly, the server told me that we had to pay an extra $5 for a new broth. I found this completely unreasonable—placing two different ingredients that look similar on the same plate was irresponsible on their part.

Another server came over and tried to argue with me, saying that I should consider beef tripe as seafood. I firmly told her that this was absolutely not possible—it is a matter of religious belief. Instead of resolving the issue properly, she warned me that from now on, if we made the same mistake again, we would have to pay extra to replace the broth! Excuse me? This is an all-you-can-eat restaurant, isn’t it? I’ve also been to other all-you-can-eat hotpot places where you can order multiple soup bases.

The food itself was overly salty—I didn’t even use dipping sauce because it was already too salty. Around 9:15 PM, a server asked if we wanted to get any more sauce because they were starting to clean up and would be removing all the condiments. At 9:45 PM, we wanted to get some fruit (we had taken some earlier), but it was already gone. When we asked the server, we were told that the kitchen was being cleaned and there was no more fruit available—even though just five minutes earlier, there had still been half a plate of oranges left. At that time, no other customers were taking food. The restaurant closes at 10 PM, so they should not have removed food before closing time.

To top it all off, when we went to pay, we were forced to pay an 18% gratuity. Yes, that was the minimum tip, and the server had already entered it for us—we just had to sign.

Don’t be fooled by the positive reviews! I’ve been to many restaurants, but I have never encountered such rude service....