URBAN HOT POT Mosaic — Restaurant in Merrifield

My favorite hot pot place! All-you-can-eat, tons of options, and cute trendy interior.

There's a 90 minute time limit. There are a few tables that can seat 8, some that seat 6, and some that seat 4, and one that seats only 2. There are also no "family" style pots--everyone gets their own pot/soup. The best part about urban hot pot, though, is the fact that I don't have to talk to anyone. All ordering is done through the iPad at the table, even asking for refills or checks. And sometimes it's a robot bringing you your drinks/refills. There's also a carousel of ingredients (veggies and starches and dumplings for the most part. No meats, since that's unsanitary, other than like spam and sausage I think) that goes around that you can just grab to take for yourself. It’s only for the “interior” tables though; if you’re seated along a wall, you can’t get to the carousel. Sometimes you can get on the Yelp waitlist, sometimes you have to go in in person to get on the list, sometimes there's no wait at all. It's advisable that all party members be present, or else they'll start the 90 minute timer when you sit down without the other people (thereby shafting the stragglers of their dining time). Lunch and dinner prices are a few dollars apart. Sat/Sun and holidays are charged at dinner price all day.

The mala butter (extra spicy) broth is sooo good. From the spicy oily soup that coats the food to the tingly peppercorns, it's a spice-lover's dream. They have a very wide range of broth and food offerings in general--Meats, seafood, dumplings, noodles/starches, veggies, and even desserts--although I think their cake is usually on the dryer side. Their angus beef (as well as a couple other ingredients) is only offered as a part of dinner (4pm and after), but they still have other beef available for lunch.

They also have one in Rockville and Virginia Beach! I noticed that the Rockville one has chive paste at the sauce bar, and I wish the mosaic branch would also offer it. They are also supposedly on the "Bite Me" app for rewards but I can't find them... might be a me issue, not sure.

Out of hot spot, hot pot legend, happy lamb, KPot, uncle Liu’s, o my hot pot, mala tang, gom shabu shabu, and this place, urban...

I recently visited Urban Hot Pot, celebrating a friend’s birthday with a girls’ night out. It was fun. An Asian twist.

I have visited other places with a similar concept. However, I liked the fact that everyone had their own individual pots. I also liked that there were different apices available. However, I didn’t like that customers had get heir own spices. I think there must be a better concept for getting spices to customers. Anyway, all their spices were located across the room from us. There eas a robot that delivered items to tables.

Food is served family style. Each table had an iPad and had to individually choose the items they want (vegetables, meats, seafood), and each group of items were delivered together. They also have tofu and noodles that were delivered on the vegetable plate.

Each person chose their own soup base. I had the vegetable base. We received these small bowls, like the one you get when order Miso soup.

With the many sauces, the food was tasty.

The only downfall was that some of the items we ordered were not received. But that didn’t impact the price, all still $34.99 per person. Children price is different.

We tried to memorialize the moment but the restaurant is a little dark, so it was challenging.

There is also a moving conveyor belt in the middle of the restaurant. I couldn’t tell what it was used for.

It’s in the Mosaic district. Parking is available in the area. I parked in the Target parking garage. However, it’s about a 5 minute walk. But there is paid parking closer or parking in the residential areas.

Also, the maximum amount of payment (cards) accepted is 4. There is a 90-minutes dining time. It’s all you can eat. There is also a an extra charge for excessive food waste.

I gave 4-starts because besides tofu and vegetables, no other vegan options. But I...

TL;DR: great hot-pot, variety of menu options, good value

I am no expert when it comes to hotpot. Had a bad experience over 10 years ago, and kind of wrote it off. I recently went to a hotpot place, and I didn't hate it. Came here for lunch on a Saturday, and this place has fully converted me.

AMBIANCE: The interior is darker and modern, giving date night vibes. We got there around 5PM and there was a 30-60 minutes wait. Luckily, this spot is in Mosaic, so you can leave your phone number with them and find plenty of things to kill the time. Then they'll text you when your table is ready.

SERVICE: Service was super friendly and explained everything as soon as you're seated. You order everything off the kiosk, even asking for the check or drink refills.

90 minute dine in time limit. ~$35 for AYCE, great value imo!

When you order, everything comes out pretty quickly. The beef/meats are the ones that take the longest to come out (comparatively to everything else). I would say at the longest, we waited 5 minutes tops for meat. Seafood, veggies, sides come out in approximately 2 minutes.

FOOD: They have a self-serve sauce bar for you to grab sauce dishes with your preferred sauces. Mix them, use them individually, put it into the stock soup, eat it on the side, whatever you want to do!

Each person has their own stove top and soup pot, so heaven for a germaphobe like me who doesn't like to share.

~Pork Broth: this is their standard base options, and man it was so good!

~They have lots of broth/soup base options like Mala, Spicy Kimchi, Pork, Seafood, etc.

~Meats were all tasty and cook quickly in boiling soup

~Seafood quality was actually really good and fun

Definitely...