First Hot Pot & BBQ — Restaurant in Lafayette

Delicious food, great service, just -1 star for the website/restaurant not being entirely transparent on the taking home leftover charges (I might just be ignorant on what's considered food waste as well; so, please take that into account).

Be aware that this is not a place for foodies who like to experience restaurants solo unless you can eat a whole lot of soup in one go or are in a group of 2-3 people at least for one soup! They say they'll charge 11 something for food waste, which I can get behind - theres no reason to leave a pile of uneaten food to be thrown away. What they dont tell you is they charge for you to take the soup with you 5.95 I think per however much they weigh it by (I was and still am in too much of a food coma to remember). I ate a good half of the soup, but unfortunately was defeated 😅. I ate all the toppings but some left veggies and asked to take the soup and toppings to go and was informed about their policy. Which is fine too, just I really wish I'd have known about that before when choosing where to eat. Despite all this, the food was phenomenal - don't forget your dipping sauce! My waiter was an absolute sweetheart and really took good care of me. My only thing is, maybe for the owners, please consider more transparency about the policies for taking home food because maybe it's just me, but I don't consider take home food food waste or anything to be charged for by weight? Especially not hot pot for one person who already paid for it without an option for a smaller pot? I don't know maybe I'm just not with the times, but stuff like that just doesn't sit right with me ethically.

Regardless, I learned my lesson and would only come back with a group next time. This is not a place to dine solo! However, the food is so delicious and honestly this is a great experience for a group - there was a really nice selection of beers as well! The tables are perfect for a nice get-together in a very friendly yet lowkey environment.

I'd just like more transparency for a place that monetarily penalizes solo diners who can't eat an entire pot of soup in one sitting, because, if I'd have known about it before, I really wouldn't have been irked by a genuinely great restaurant with seriously tasty eats. I saw the 2 hour time limit, cooking reccomendations, 12$ fee for leaving waste, I never saw anything about a take home weighing fee.

Love the food, service, and atmosphere prolly will skip next time due to unstated/unclear rules - ngl...

I am a big supporter of local business owners, so I give this negative review after a lot of thought and consideration.

Honestly, the only reason people have positive reviews on here is because they likely have never experienced another hot pot place. This is the first in Lafayette so expectations are very low.

First, hot pot is all about the experience. The manager or owner that was there at the time was micro managing our waitress, who gave awesome service. She was very helpful in explaining the menu and answering our questions. She was managing several tables and doing it well. Before she brought our drink order, which was fast in our opinion, the manager was pressing her to make sure it was done and even addressed her about it in front of us.

Second, the food was awful, flavorless. I’ve never left a review like this before - none of what we ordered cooked well in the pot and, on top of it, there’s a “waste fee” if you don’t finish everything you order. I understand the business policy because some customers make take advantage of “all you can eat” but isn’t that why there’s a 2 hour time limit? I never look at prices when I dine out, but I thought this was ridiculous. I have never been to a restaurant where the food was so bad but yet you were charged for not eating it all. So we ordered slow, didn’t order much, and definitely didn’t get the equivalent or quality of food for what we paid.

Lastly, we were a family dining out and catching up. It was the weekend and we hadn’t seen each other. Immediately after finishing our food, that same manager started pacing around our table. You could tell she was ready for us to leave and for her to flip the table for the next customer. We had been there 1 hour total, when it’s a 2 hour dining limit, and she came up to us, interrupted our conversation and asked us to leave. To say she was rude is an understatement.

In Lafayette, where we have some of the best restaurants in the country and the world, including Asian cuisine, there are so many better places to go to. Bad food. Awful experience. Take it from me....

I don't usually leave a place with the mindset to leave a bad review, but here we are.

Overall the food wasn't TERRIBLE. The meat was good quality, and they have a variety of items to choose from.

I would have gone home and not even thought about giving a rating had it just been the bland soup bases and meat I were reviewing. I ended up not being able to eat due to a recent surgery, but I still would have rated a 3-4.

But the server came to my table during the end of our visit to notify us that we couldn't leave until their internet came back up, as their credit card system was down ..... like what?

I have worked in Restaurant Management for 10+ years, and I would have had a panic attack if someone told that to a table in my restaurant. I was like ...... Maybe word it a little differently, like we're having trouble with our credit card machine and need some time to get it back up and running. Or process the payment offline. Or use the mobile card processing as an alternative..... Never "You cant leave cuz we cant charge you right now".

So I inquired about why she would say it like that, like are we hostages now?

She proceeds to tell me that they can not troubleshoot it or know when it will be back up because their card processing is a Chinese company????????

So many red flags. I didnt even get to speak with someone that knew what was going on, and at that point I didnt want to. Took about 15 minutes after we were ready to leave before it came back up. Unfortunately I...