KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Laurel

Hello, I am coming as a tired customer. I routinely visit KPOT & KBBQ locations, even in different states. I routinely go to the Rockville, MD location at least once every two months. However, I have tried going to the Laurel, MD location multiple times. Each time with terrible service. The manager Allan has not relieved our issues either time and is often just sitting around until we have asked to see him multiple times. The first time I had a party of 17, and I understood that it was a big party. However, we were seated quickly. That was the only good part of the night. For one, we were seated with only one waiter for TWO full tables for our party. Which I understand was very stressful when we had problems. However the problems continued throughout the night. It started with mixed up drink orders coming between tables. Then food did not come out when ordered. Or, if the food came out it was not whatever we ordered. It is also important to note we had members of our party with dietary restrictions that were noted, and not respected due to this. After about an hour of mix ups, our ONE waiter spilled water over the back of a member in our party. This member’s clothes were drenched and he had to get the hoodie of another member. At this point Allan talked to us for the first time of the night. After an hour more of bad service and mixed up food, Allan came out again. He said he would “compensate us” with an extra hour of service. I reminded him it was also someone’s birthday. He said that was “normal” and someone would be out later. They did not come until our waiter was hurriedly giving us the bill. Yet, he was then upset when we had a coupon that we wished to be used due to our bad service. I am even more upset to inform you that this first issue at the Laurel, MD location is not even why I write this review. It is tonight’s visit. I waited two months and decided to go back with only a party of 3 tonight. I figured since I do love this chain restaurant, I could give it another shot. I was wrong. We were immediately seated, however we waited 30 minutes with no waiter service. We were seated at a table with a burnt grill and the iPad was dead. Our waiter passed us FIVE times before stopping at our table and saying, “I will be with you in a moment.” This was 15 minutes into us waiting, with a dead iPad meaning we could not even order good. The waiter also only came because we asked the front desk. To which, the front desk receptionist told us, “We are having back to back birthdays. However, she ignored the fact EVERY other table had received service. After 30 minutes of waiting we left. I requested to speak to the manager and inform them calmly, that we had bad service and what happened last time. He just said, “Okay.” And looked blankly, after his receptionist told us to “Have a good night”. I do not know if I would ever reccomend someone to come to the Laurel, MD location. I do know however, I will be posting this as a review. It is ridiculous that there are repeated issues at this location. Let alone, that I could not get service after being seated for half an hour. Also, that the manager refused to understand why someone would be mad after 30 minutes of no service. The table is dirty and the grill is burnt to a crisp… Yet we were not supposed to leave? The receptionist who I spoke to three times (while being seated, after our first problem, and when I asked for the manager), also decided to interject and say have a good night? I don’t know if I can be a customer in good graces after this experience. I understand that there can be numerous guests. We did not want anything more than our iPad to at least be turned on.

Update as of 12/13. It hss been a week since I emailed the location per the comment underneath. However, no “compensation” or conversation has happened. I officially can say I have stopped recommending ANYONE to go to this location. It is unprofessional and dirty. The staff is clearly unwilling to help customers THEY are unable to serve after offering...

I have been to many K-Pots before & I usually go to the Rockville or Catonsville location. But, since this one was a bit closer & brand new, I really wanted to give it a try! But, this is the first time I have ever received bad food & service from ANY restaurant.

I first arrived with my sister around 2:40 & was told there was a 35-45 minute wait which I do not mind waiting at all since I work as a server & am very patient when it comes to eating at restaurants. I get a text at 3:12 stating that our table was ready. We got sat & our server gave us the whole run down. We wanted the lunch special but was told due to the holiday, they were only serving all day dinner. Which we were fine with as well! Afterwards, I went to the sauce bar to make my sauce & noticed that the yum yum sauce was this very pale yellow color. Almost like mayonnaise which was a little weird, since its usually a pale orange color but we brushed it off. I then order 2 plates of beef bulgogi & two bowls of white rice. When I came back to the table, I saw the bulgogi & one bowl of rice. So I anticipated that they would bring the other bowl soon. The portions of meat were VERY small for the price we were paying. I counted 3 pieces of meat even though we were paying for the dinner menu, where usually the portions are a lot bigger. I place the food on the grill & noticed that the grill was never turned on. The server was attentive to all the other customers around but we were ignored. 8 minutes later, she finally comes up to us to ask us if we are ok & I say "i"m so sorry but I don't think the grill is on." She then grabs the grill, turns it on, & just walks off. Doesn't even apologize or anything. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt since I understand how tough food service is, so I brushed it off. I cooked the food & the two plates that usually can feed the both of us, only fed one of us.

10 minutes go by & I still did not receive the other bowl of rice. I noticed the food runners bringing all the other tables their rice, but we had been waiting for a while for it. I figured that they may have forgotten, so I just placed another order of meat & rice & thought that maybe they would bring it then. The grill needed to be changed, so we waited again. 6 minutes later, we received the order of meat but once again, no rice! I try to ask the food runner, but they just walked off. At this point, I was beginning to feel upset. Our server continued to assist others. She would look at our table, but did not check up on us one time. I was able to ask the busser for the manager & I let the manager know what was going on. He told us he was going to check in with the server & see what was going on. He returns & tells us that there is a wait on rice & that it should be in a few minutes. He let us know that if we wanted to stay, that the rice should be out soon. But if not, we can leave. We understand that there can be a wait for things, but never once did our server communicate that with us. While he said that, I continued to see more food runners with rice on their carts. At this point, my sister & I just wanted to leave. We let him know that we were leaving & he apologized which was kind. As we grab our stuff, our server came back to our table & asked "are you guys ok?" in a very passive aggressive tone. As someone who works in the food industry, this was truly the WORST experience I've ever had. I will continue to go to Rockville & Catonsville. I don't plan on coming back here. I hate that I had to have such a bad experience at a restaurant I...

Great Vibe, Good Food, but Clarity Needed on Dining Options...

The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming as soon as we walked in. We were greeted by our waitress, who asked if it was our first time visiting—which it was. That initial experience made us feel at ease and excited to try something new.

We ordered drinks while browsing the menu, but for a group of five, we were only given one menu, which made things a bit inconvenient. The waitress gave a fast overview of the menu and tablet, but we were still unclear about the difference between the hot pot and BBQ options, and how the cooking process worked.

One important thing to know: the restaurant enforces a 2-hour table limit that starts the moment you sit down, and if one person chooses BBQ, hot pot, or both—everyone at the table must order the same option. That lack of flexibility was disappointing and felt overly strict, especially for a group with mixed preferences.

We went with the hot pot option. The tablet ordering system was convenient, but it didn’t allow us to separate orders by person—or if it did, the waitress didn’t explain how. As a result, our food arrived mixed on shared plates, and we couldn’t identify who ordered what.

Another surprise: using the grill to cook required ordering the BBQ option, which we weren’t told until after we ordered. That should definitely be explained more clearly up front.

Despite the hiccups, it was a fun experience—especially watching the kids select their ingredients and cook their meals. The standout item was the wings from the complimentary hot bar—crispy and steaming hot.

Now that I know how the ordering and dining options work, I’d return. But I’d recommend going with a group of no more than 5–6 people if you plan to do BBQ—any larger and it could be hard to cook everything on the grill within the 2-hour window.

Overall, the food was solid, the environment was fun, but first-timers should be given clearer instructions. Still, worth visiting for the experience. Will...