KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Mishawaka

Wish I had taken photos...but we WILL DEFINITELY do that upon our return visit tomorrow! I cannot say enough great things about how well this KPot restaurant is set up. I have been to others in the past, but this one in Mishawaka is probably the best, not only because of the great food and the freshness of everything but because of the outstanding service we received. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming from the front desk to our server, Olivia!! Big Shout Out...Huge Shout Out to Olivia (are her management team listening?☺️) for her attention to detail while attending us. She just has this smile that lights up the room and it is genuine! She made my daughter and I feel so welcome and like family before we left! Olivia has that perfect personality that you always hope you will have from someone who is being a hostess (hate the word "server" bc they do much more than serve food) between your entering and your order to the kitchen family. So thank you Olivia for being so warm and kind and making us feel so welcome!! Now for the food...Wow...the food was such an experience. We ordered our regular favorites from all the meat sections; Beef, Pork, Chicken pork belly being our favorite to trying the baby squid in the seafood section (sidenote: I think the squid is better served in hotpot). The fish was really good and flaky. The veggies & mushrooms we chose were also really great on the grill! Before KPot opened, our anticipation level was off the charts. We always had to go to Daebak in Chicago in Chinatown before and it's quite a trek from our home in Michigan (although we love it there too when we venture into the city it's just a long drive) but it's nice to know that we now have such a wonderful Korean BBQ and Hotpot place to visit when we are down in Mishawaka as we often shop there. So, instead of having to drive an hour and a half for great Korean BBQ/hotpot we're only a mere 35 minute drive away!! The only thing I would love to see as an extra from KPot is the addition of a Korean Kimchi pancake offered as a sidedish. Otherwise this KPot is Perfect!! For now I will just continue to cook them up at home!☺️ Also hoping they have gotten their license or contract settled to offer Soju as well, as we love sippingor guzzling Soju with our BBQ😂I know Koreans don't count the flavored as regular Soju but we love having the choice/option of a fruitful flavor for different dishes or times of the day besides the regular Soju. Either one is good..Hey, ppl it's Soju...you can't go wrong with a good Soju and it's a must to pair alongside any wonderful Korean cuisine!! (My apologies to Olivia for taking so long for my reviewbut being in the middle of a house repair from the lightning strike we talked about when we were there a month ago, it took us down a rabbit hole of distraction!) DO NOT HESITATE or wonder if this restaurant is 1) worth the money or 2)worth the wait. IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH BOTH!!! GAMBAE!!!

So here's an update! We just celebrated our daughter's birthday as well as Father's Day and had a blast! First time for my husband to enjoy it and he said it was unbelievable just how good everything was. He said "Oh yeah this is absolutely our favorite place now and definitely coming back!" So high praise from him👍👍 our waiter/host (I apologize bc I know I will get this wrong..D'Ontae(?) arranged a singing celebration with the staff for our daughter which surprised us and he brought her a huge slice of cheesecake with candles. The staff at this restaurant just really goes that extra mile to make sure your visit and dining is a real warm and wonderful experience! The food is always so fresh and delicious but the real charm is found in their staff. My husband travels the world for his job so he's been in a lot of restaurants over the past 30 yrs and when he even mentions that the decor and ambience of the lighting was great..that says a lot. He said you can tell they put a lot of thought into every detail and it shows. I hope this updated review now with photos does justice to this...

First time there for my sons birthday. Both good and bad. Here is the breakdown

1. Wait on a Friday night was only 20 minutes. Went to the bar, and had a hard time getting the bartender to give us service. I assume because he was also filling other drink orders.

2. Our waiter, JW was a nice guy but did NOT serve us with information as only one of us had ever been there. We asked him to explain what we do and how it works. He was very softspoken, which for a noisy restaurant is terrible. He didn't care to explain any further than he did, which was annoying.

3. Our waiter disappeared for long stretches. We ran out of water, we ran out of food. It was THEN he told us to just go ahead and reorder since the kitchen was backed up. We were concerned in being charged extra for leftover food. This seems to insure that was bound to happen.

4. Another waiter was helpful and offered to get us drinks. He was extremely friendly and talked so we could easily hear him.

5. Our food came out early, then didn't come out for a while, then we hade a BUNCH of food that showed up (due to us reordering again as was suggested by JW.) This was frustrating. Its a birthday celebration and we have not had anyone come by to clear plates so when more food shows up, its hard to find where to put it without it spilling over.

6. I had told our waiter it was my sons birthday, and I reminded him again, but it wasn't until we told the OTHER waiter that we got results. The whole wait crew comes out with a big sign singing and bringing an absolutely delicious cheesecake slice. The OTHER waiter (again) led the group and was very fun and boisterous. He made it extra special.

7. I kept trying to checkout myself, since i could not locate our waiter for 10 minutes. You order off iPads, and I saw where I could checkout using it, but the iPad said I needed a password. I relayed the message to our waiter who finally showed up and he checked us out.

This was my FIRST visit to a this type of restaurant. I liked it, but would've appreciated more guidance and on time service from our waiter. I did mention it to the manager that there was a training issue with JW, to which she very kindly apologized.

Out of 5 stars I give it 5 on food, and 2.5 on service, and 3 on value. We walked out of there spending $300 on 6 people. Not bad, but truly could've been a much better experience all due...

I can only give one star for our visit. I should have done a review for each visit, because we had the same horrible experience as most of the times we went. My husband and I went to K-Pot last evening, which was a Friday. Upon entering the restaurant, we noticed how incredibly hot and humid it was in there. When we were seated at our table, we noticed big puddles of water on it. I asked the hostess if she would wipe it off for us, which she kindly agreed to do. When she left, I immediately saw that the tongs on the table were dirty with baked on food inside of them. The tablet used to order the food items was greasy and dirty. It had not been properly cleaned. Then I saw drops of water coming from the ceiling. It was condensation from the exposed HVAC ducts. Can you imagine dirty water falling onto your food while seated at this table?! When she returned, we pointed out the problem, then we asked to be seated at another table, which she did right away. During our dinner, we noticed that it became even hotter, which I would expect some heat coming from the soup pot and grills, but this heat and humidity was beyond any reasonable expectation! We asked our waiter if they could lower the A/C, but her returned and told us it's as low as it can go, but they would open the overhead garage doors to cool it off. It was very hot and humid outside last evening, so we didn't expect it to help much, but it did help a little bit. Then they promptly shut the doors again. The HVAC was clearly unable to keep up with the heat and humidity. Either it is a poor HVAC design, or the owners refuse to make the environment comfortable for their guests and staff. Either way, it is completely unacceptable! The food was mostly good, except for the shrimp. The shrimp comes with head, shell and legs attached, which means it has not been cleaned of the digestive tract-DISGUSTING! Guests must peel the shrimp and cut the heads off, which is something I do not want to do with my bare hands at dinner, particularly when spending $100+ on dinner and drinks. I must commend the restaurant staff for enduring such horrible working conditions. We will not be going back until the HVAC issue...