KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Lexington

Came here for the first time, never having Korean BBQ or hot pot before. We had a bit of a learning curve, but it was still an amazing experience! The food was delicious, great service, and a fun atmosphere. We came in a group of 8 people, and we had to wait for everyone to arrive before we could be seated. We came on a Sunday right when it opened, and it wasn’t crowded, but they don’t take reservations, so you want to get there at a less popular time, because when we left, there was a crowd of people waiting to be seated. When you are seated, you decide as a group if you’re going to eat hot pot, bbq, or both. If you just pick one, it’s $30/person, but if you pick both, it’s $35. The whole table has to agree because it’s served family style; we opted to try both. Once you sit down, the price per person covers all your food for 2 hours. There is a menu, and you pick what kind of broth you want (I got miso, and it was phenomenal, but next time I’m getting the spicy schezuan), then you order what you want to cook in your broth. Each person has an individual burner, but you share plates of meat, seafood, tofu, noodles, and vegetables. It was a very comprehensive selection (although I don’t think there were carrots), and I’d say our group ordered about 80% of what they offered, so we had some great varieties in our soups. I did a fancy ramen with eggplant, bok choy, lotus root, taro, pineapple, onion, mushroom, chicken, and more. They bring you the foods raw, and you drop them in your boiling broth to cook, then ladle your creation into a smaller bowl to eat. Next, we ordered our bbq selections, which included spicy beef, chicken, and pork bulgogi, short ribs, garlic shrimp, pork belly, and steak. We also got some garlic, pepper, and onions. All this is brought out raw, and you cook it on the table’s grill. We had a server walking us through the process, but other, more experienced tables had a robot with a touch screen panel bringing them their food. There is also a sauce bar where you can develop delicious dipping concoctions. I made a peanut sesame ginger sauce that’s as great with the chicken and shrimp, and did a spicier red sauce for the steak and pork. Fruit and ice cream are included in the price as well. We had a great experience ordering and cooking our food. It was fun and we were excited to try foods we don’t normally eat. Our group already planned another outing here because we liked it so much!...

I wish I could leave no stars. This was the worst dinning experience I have ever had and I will definitely never go back! The only reason this place is so busy is because it’s a fad not because it’s actually good! Spend your money elsewhere! When first seated I was down right shocked at the prices! $30 per person! We ordered drinks and then were about to order our food when one of the hosts came over and told us we were at the wrong table. They had sat us in the party room on accident so we had to move tables. Mistakes happen I understand. Once at our new table they brought the soup and then it took forever to get the meat and vegetables! We had no idea who our server was, so many different people came up to our table. I tried multiple different meats and vegetables and some noodles. All of it was SO nasty!!! My boyfriend took maybe two bites and could not eat anymore. Just sitting there we were getting sick to our stomachs. When all was said and done we had mentioned to our server that my boyfriend didn’t eat anything but maybe two bites. A manager came over to the table and was trying to argue that because of those two bites we would have to pay $30 okay, I understand that but the utter shock I had was when my boyfriend and I noticed that the manager had a photo of my boyfriend pulled up on her phone in her hand. She had pulled the cameras and didn’t even bother to turn her phone off so we didn’t see. The manger was SUPER RUDE! She truly did not care if our experience was good or not! She was just trying to push us out the door so she no longer has to deal with us. I would encourage everyone to check their bills because they charges us an automatic gratuity for parties over 8 when we only had 5 people on the check! Yet again the manager did not care. We were getting up from the table when an older lady comes around the corner and is obviously taking pictures of us! She had to of been the owners mom or the managers mom. She was not trying to hide the fact that she was taking photos of us. I will never be back and I would encourage others not to waste their time...

I BADLY want to give KPOT five stars because we had a good experience and have already referred others, and will definitely be back again. Unfortunately, by his own admission toward the end of our meal, our server had only worked there one week, and his inexperience made ours just short of a great. The atmosphere is really upbeat, which makes sense, as they're timing your dinner (2-hour limit) and need you to move along. There is a sauce bar reminiscent of BD's Mongolian, wherein you can opt for individual sauces, create your own, or follow their suggested recipes. When we first sat down, our server suggested a couple sake choices, and we settled on the green apple - tasty and light. He then asked if we were partaking in BBQ, hot pot, or both - BOTH, it's only $5 more, no brainer!

And that's where the experience took a turn toward overwhelming. He immediately started recommending almost EVERYTHING on the huge menu, inputting it all into his handheld system faster than we could review all the options in front of us. By the time all the raw food came out a few short minutes later, it took up every inch of table space, leaving us none for clean plates off which to actually eat the cooked food. We had so much food we couldn't differentiate between any of the meats, we couldn't keep up with what was being grilled or how long anything had been in the hot pots, and he kept coming by to assist with the food on the grill, which wouldn't have been necessary if there were LESS food to manage. Yikes. When we do this again, we will know to take control from the get-go. The menu has a diverse and interesting assortment of meats and veggies, but everything all at once is a mistake. Take heed! A highlight for me was the DELICIOUS kimchi on the sauce bar, and second to that, the yummy, light dessert that was somewhat akin to tiramisu.

Like I said, my husband was in heaven (actual quote: "I want to live here") and we'll be back, but we'll be better stewards of our experience having been somewhat improperly led the first...