Haidilao Hot Pot Irvine — Restaurant in Irvine

Haidilao, which most of us seem to know for their famous dancing noodle dish, has food as tasty as the dancing noodles are entertaining. This is such a fun way to transform hotpot into a choose-your-own-adventure style dining experience.

First, there may be a small wait even with reservations because they're just that popular. However, the host is pretty good about checking in. Also, who can complain about a wait when you've got delicious Asian bugle and wheaties styles snacks to slowly munch on (don't ruin your appetite) and roasted barley tea! There are also a ton of fun things to do, ranging from karaoke, painting pottery, to escape rooms, for longer waits.

The menu is exploding with options. It's a bit of a headspin for first timers, but you'll be grateful for the options when you come with bigger parties with lots of different tastes! Highlights include the option to have up to 4 different broths going at once.

It's hard to go wrong with the broths - every broth I tried is tasty in its own right. However, pork bone broth is the clear flavor winner as you barely need any dipping sauce with whatever you cook in that broth. The tomato broth is nice for vegetables and has extra tomato-y, juicy tomatoes that stew inside.

The fatty beef brisket, beef tongue, varied mushrooms, and varied tofu plates were all fantastic. The variety of the tofu and mushrooms, including the wonderful tofu skin, mixed and matches with any broth flavor. The meats are all tender and soak up the broths like a sponge.

You've got so many options from vegetables, seafood, meats, mushrooms, Tofus, and crispy fried delights. Don't forget to try their crispy little buns that come with condensed milk. You'll be in fried bun heaven. The multi-meat "meatballs" are also a fun dish to order. Their shrimp balls were A+ in the golden chicken broth.

You can start, end, or accompany this hot pot adventure with a snacks, desserts, and dip station. Fun flavors like fermented black bean are available, but they also have the classic sesame paste and sesame oil. If you aren't sure how to mix the dip options optimally, they have a sheet showing you popular dip combinations. Don't forget to grab some shrimp chips!

While by no means cheap, Haidilao provides such a fun experience and is a great place to go for a family night out or to indulge with some friends. Servers check in pretty frequently and ordering is easy too. The only thing I've missed out on during each visit so far is the dancing noodles! But I can confirm it's worth visiting, with or without those...

Updating my original review, I've come 4 or 5 times now.

While hotpot is practically designed for sharing, I enjoy coming solo after a long day at work or after the gym, and just pigging out by myself. It's a tad bit pricey that way, but I honestly have not had a more enjoyable restaurant experience by myself than at Haidilao hotpot. I find you get what you pay for here in every regard.

Each time coming here has been great. Their waitress, Mango, helped me my first time as she explained how everything operates. I've had Kelvin as my server a few times now as well, and he is also an excellent member of their staff. He's very attentive and quick, and he makes sure everything you ordered arrived properly.

The flavors of food here are exceptional and some are rare for a commonAmerican like me, but I I love culinary adventures and eating here never lets me down.

The spicy soup bases are a go-to since they are loaded with Sichuan pepper. The mushroom soup and tom-yam soups are also amazing. I haven't tried the pork bone soups yet but they look great.

Haidilao pulls out all the stops, and they offer some very high end cuts of meat if you're willing to pay for them. I do believe you get what you pay for in regard to meat quality, so it would be fun to grab some high end cuts someday if I'm celebrating something or having a party. Otherwise, the budget items they have are still delicious.

In addition to their exquisite meat selection, Haidilao also boasts an impressive array of alcoholic beverages. Their selection is as diverse and potentially as pricey as their meats, catering to varied tastes. From exclusive Chinese liquor at thousands of dollars per bottle to affordable hot sake or beer, their offerings complement the dining experience perfectly, especially on those special occasions.

Regarding special occasions, for large parties it's good to book ahead. They can get extremely busy around weekends and holidays as this is one of the most popular hotpot locations in South OC.

To sum it up, dining at Haidilao is an exhilarating experience that borders on euphoria, akin to reaching a high without the need for any substances, save Sichuan peppers. The combination of vibrant flavors, exceptional service, and the sheer joy of indulging in their luxurious offerings makes each visit an adventure in culinary delight. It's not just a meal; it's an event that tantalizes the senses and leaves you yearning for...

First off, the food and service were great. Service was some of the best I've experienced at a hot pot restaurant. My review has to do with the unclear, complicated policies regarding running specials. When we first entered, the waiter explained the lunch specials and stated that if we didn't want the lunch special, we could also get the $1.99 dish of meat, up to 4 at a time. It was not explicitly stated that you could only do one or the other. My wife is vegan and ordered everything a la carte and I ordered a lunch special for my daughter and I assuming I could get the $1.99 dish of beef to supplement if we were still hungry. After finishing off most of the food, I placed an order for 2 $1.99 dishes of meat. The food came out and as I was about to dig in, the waiter came by and said you can only get either the lunch special or the $1.99 dish of beef. If I had known it was one or the other, I would have gone with the $1.99 dishes of beef as you could get a deal on multiple dishes and the lunch special really didn't save much money. The waiter took the time to ask the manager if it was ok but the manager said no way. No fault to the waiter but the whole situation left a sour taste in my mouth. Also, the beef could not have been sent to another table as it was already placed on our table and my chopsticks were hovering inches above the meat before it was taken away. If it was, it would have been a health violation. Overall, if you're going to run specials to bring customers in, it would be best not to nitpick on rules that aren't clearly indicated and to provide the best customer service possible when a mix up is made. Like I said before, the way the situation was handled by the manager left a bad taste in my mouth and I will not be returning as there are plentiful options for hot...