901 Hotpot & Korean BBQ - East Memphis — Restaurant in Memphis

I went after I remembered this building turned into 901 Hotpot and was curious to see the inside now and the food all looked amazing. I was even more surprised with how it exceeded my ideas of how good it was. I've had Hotpot and KBBQ before, but after learning how it worked here, I was so glad I thought of it. ☺️

For hotpot, you pick your broth (I got spicy Sichuan because I love Sichuan) and your meats (or tofu, seafood, etc). They have over a dozen to choose from. Then, you go get a tray and your other items--bowls of veggies, noodles, cabbage, nori, mushrooms, sprouts, etc in the cooler kept fresh--to cook in your hotpot.

On the self-serve tables are more condiments, kimchi, and every kind of chili and sauces you could want. On the other side, there is more: cold seaweed salad and cucumber salad. (Tip: Good when you finally make yours spicy enough and need to cool off 😄)

Everything I made into my pot was so good. Lots of chili and toppings to add. THEN there's still more... If that's not enough, there is fresh fruit (when I went: watermelon, melons, orange, lychee, one of my favs), a couple of desserts, and things to end with after your meal. There's even individual ice creams. There are several things that I imagine would be great for kids if there are any in your party. There's a section with prepared items like mini egg rolls, little chicken, and fried dumplings for picky eaters.

You get unlimited items for your pot to cook in the broth. You can make it as spicy or not as you want. I don't know how anyone could leave here without being stuffed. For the price (dinner), you wayyyyyy get your money's worth.

I'll be back, and it will be perfect on a cold winter day. Only thing I could say is it was on the warm side but it's probably really hard to keep a building full of open heat sources cool. It used to be like a bank and it has high ceilings but they've taken the all marble walls and really made it a look with their decor. Very clean and I felt they were keeping close watch on the self-serve area to ensure food safety. I'm a buffet skeptic (people can be gross) but the glass was very low over the food so no one really could get under it. I felt safe eating everything there. I'll be back to try all the different...

Not Recommended for Authentic BBQ or Hotpot

I cannot recommend this restaurant for anyone seeking an authentic Korean BBQ or hotpot experience. My primary issue is with the buffet format. While they have a station for sauces and a few limited appetizers, the main ingredients—the meats for BBQ and most items for the hotpot—are not on display. You must order everything through a server or an online system, which makes it impossible to assess the freshness and quality of the core ingredients before they arrive at your table. It's worth noting that I did not take photos of the food, as the issues were not necessarily visual but rather related to taste and texture. The problems became apparent upon eating.

Unfortunately, the quality of the food we received did not inspire confidence. The watermelon was limp and unfresh, the beef balls had an unpleasant, off taste, and the mushrooms in the hotpot were similarly not fresh. For the BBQ, one of the beef dishes was incredibly salty even before we added any sauce.

When we brought the issue with the beef balls to our server's attention, the response was disappointing. Rather than addressing our concern about quality control, he simply stated that he hadn't tried them himself and had only eaten them once at the restaurant.

For a much better experience at a similar price point, I highly recommend HQ Korean BBQ and Hotpot. They excel by having a clear and extensive display of all available food, including sushi and fresh salmon. Furthermore, they offer excellent options like beef tripe卤牛肚 and wood ear mushrooms拌木耳，seasame ball 芝麻球，which are served as part of their appetizer selection. The transparency and overall quality there are...

We visited this place for dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I had previously been to their other location and had a great experience there, so I was curious to try out this one.

The location had ample parking, which was convenient. Like many similar spots, they have a standard two-hour dining limit, so it’s best to make sure your entire party arrives on time to make the most of it.

This restaurant offers both hot pot and Korean BBQ options, but this time we went with the all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ, priced around $30 per person. They have a strict policy against food wastage, so it’s important to order mindfully, especially when dining as a group.

There’s a salad bar with a good variety of kimchi, pickled sides, and sauces you can mix and match. They also offer a few appetizers like fried chicken and dumplings, but we found those to be pretty basic and underwhelming.

For the BBQ, we ordered a variety of meats—bulgogi, spicy bulgogi, short ribs, and some seafood options. Our server was helpful and set up the grill for us. However, the grill got very smoky as we kept cooking, and the meat tended to stick, which caused some charring. Occasionally, they came around to spray oil, but it would have been better if diners had their own spray to use as needed. On request, they did change the grill once, which was appreciated.

The meat portions were on the smaller side and the slices were very thin—good for quick grilling, but the marination and seasoning could have been better. Overall, the experience was okay. Not bad, but not particularly memorable either. I’ve definitely had better Korean...