KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Houston

I’ve been to this KPOT several times and usually bring guests because the whole point is the experience, not just the food. But after my last visit, I honestly regret going.

We arrived around 9:30 PM and were told it would be a 45-minute wait. Fine — we waited patiently and were finally seated at 10:15 PM. The posted kitchen closing time is 10:45, and the dining room is supposed to be open until 11:30. Based on that, we expected a normal, unrushed dinner.

Instead, the server stopped taking orders at 10:37. When we asked to order a couple more items, we were told the kitchen was already done. Right after that, the staff started cleaning the dining area around us — wiping tables, moving trash, packing up — while we were still eating.

My wife wound up getting sick from having to eat so fast just to keep up with the pace they forced on us. She was in the restroom feeling terrible, and when I mentioned it to the manager, he barely reacted or acknowledged it. I ended up rushing her home early and cutting the night short.

The food itself wasn’t the problem — it was the atmosphere and the way the staff shifted into "closing mode" before the posted time. If a place advertises seating until 10:15 and a kitchen that closes at 10:45, then guests shouldn’t be rushed out as soon as they sit down.

I tried calling the next day to speak with the manager and was told he wouldn’t take the call. They also refused to give me any contact info for corporate. The hostess I spoke with admitted they sometimes close early or stop orders because the staff wants to clean up or the kitchen runs out, but that doesn’t justify rushing paying customers who waited nearly an hour to be seated.

When you spend around $100 at a restaurant that brands itself as an “experience,” you expect to actually get that experience — whether it's 5 PM or 10:15 PM. Instead, we were rushed, surrounded by cleanup, and my wife ended up sick from trying to finish quickly.

I wasn’t looking for a free meal — just acknowledgment and basic hospitality. Instead, it was brushed off and dismissed.

After this, I don't see myself bringing...

Nut allergy friendly: The waiters I had were very careful with providing allergen information for the broths. I was advised against the Healthy Herbs broth. I ended up with the Thai Tom Yum and had no issues. There is peanut sauce on the sauce bar, so I would not advise getting sauces around it at the least. I made my own.

Arrived around 6:45 PM on a Sunday night with a party of 5 and was quoted a 45 minute wait that ended up to be more like an hour. We wandered around the nearby Indian supermarket while waiting, since they'll text you when ready.

Parking: Plenty in the strip mall.

Great place to celebrate your birthday. Minimum party of 4, birthday person eats free. If it's within a day or two they won't honor it (only day-of) but a nice manager might give you 50% off. The staff sing with their mascot. We heard this constantly throughout the night, lot of birthday groups coming through.

For an extremely busy hot pot/KBBQ place, they run a pretty good ship. Food comes out reasonably fast (within 5 minutes usually). Through our 3 rounds of ordering, they only forgot two dishes out of 20+. There's a good number of options for both KBBQ and for hot pot, but some meats were definitely more chewy than others. I'll say my favorites were the Sliced Ribeye and Prime Brisket for hot pot, and the Angus Chuck Flap Tail and Spicy Salmon for the KBBQ side. The KPOT Short Rib and Steak are must-gets but the short rib is a bit too fatty/chewy and the steak has to be cooked perfectly to come out well, so you've definitely got to keep an eye on it. Vegetables were as expected and I didn't really have any major disappointments except for the forgotten vegetable orders.

Vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream available upon request. The honey jelly thing they have on the dessert bar is also pretty underrated, would recommend.

Cool that they've got a full bar. Some drinks trend towards the...

I've been to this place a few times and tried both hot pot and barbecue. The front waiting area have seats for like 3-5 families so prepare to stand up if it's crowded especially during weekends and night time. Wait time is around 45 minutes last time I was there on a Sunday night. Atmosphere and ambiance is more into Kpop and there's a bunch of TVs showing other channels, but you'll definitely hear a bunch of Kpop songs. Overall 5/5 on atmosphere and wait time

They have a mini bar at the back with sauces and desserts. You'll mostly go there to make the sauces. (Peanut sauce, garlic, green onions, cilantro, hot oil, soy sauce, sesame oil goes so well)

My family got barbecue and was greeted by a friendly staff. When we were sat down and got everything, usually the waiter was gone for a while and I had to look around to see where our server was because I wanted to order more. One incident we ordered something but our order never came so we had to reorder. Overall 4/5 for the server himself.

Got the Mango Long Island and the Sake Mojito just to try them out. We'll review those later.

The quality of the meats is outstanding! The beef tongue when cooked right is tender I highly recommend this. Anything dinner-related go for that. I have no cons of anything meat-related so far. Vegetables are decent. The shrimp was incredibly juicy just make sure not to overcook them! Overall 5/5 on the food

The Mango Long Island I tasted more alcohol than the mango (I'm not complaining!) and the Sake Mojito it tasted more like sprite, didn't feel anything I expected a bit more sake. Overall 4/5 in the drinks.

Overall 4/5. Would I recommend this place to my family and friends? Definitely yes, I prefer the barbecue over the hot pot as the browning gives a much more, in depth flavor and texture compared to hot pot, but that is...