KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in New York

Posting My FB Review

THIS Is A Lonnnnnng One But I Have To Explain A Few Things Due To Folks NOT Asking For Assistance Or Know What They Doing

Restaurant: KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

161-49 Cross Bay Blvd, Howard Beach, NY 11414

(718) 808-1049

JUST A REMINDER ALL MY REVIEWS ARE 100% FREE...I AM NOT PAID AND I PAY FOR EVERYTHING MYSELF 🥰

Right Off The Bat The Place Looks Really Nice And Inviting...No Bad Odors And VERY Clean...

Totally Different From The Last Business That Was Here Which Was The Chinese Buffet

The Staff Were VERY Helpful, Friendly And Knowledgeable...They Get A 9.5 Out Of A 10 For That...My Server Was A Really Nice Guy Named Wei 👌👌👌

The Reason I Specifically Came To This Location Is Because I Saw And Heard A Lot Of Folks Complaining About The Service, Quality Of Food And Cost So Came To See What They Were Talking About

JUST A FYI I'm Use To This Brand But The Coney Island Location

The Coney Island Location You Get A Pad And Have To Order Almost Everything That Way Then Your Server Brings It For You...

...There Is A Buffet Style Section But VERY Limited...Just Sauces, Some Fried Items And Few Other Items

THIS LOCATION (Howard Beach) Is Completely Different And I ACTUALLY Prefer It Way More

You Are Seated And Told To Help Yourself....Everything Is Buffet Style...👌👌👌

I Prefer This Because You Can Actually See All The Products/Items BEFORE Deciding What To Take And How Much Opposed To Them Bringing Out A Entire Order For You

There Is A Section For All Your Sliced Frozen Meats, A HUGE Sauce Section, A Veggie Section, A Noodle Section, A Marinaded Meat/Seafood Section, A Hotpot Section With All Meats, Seafood Veggies Plus More....

...There Is Also A Area For Items Like Fried Rice, Cooked Noodles, Fried Chicken Etc And A Dessert Area Including Ice Cream

My Server Wei Kept Checking Up On Me To Find Out If I Needed Anything BUT He Quickly Noticed This Wasn't My First Rodeo With Korean BBQ And Chopsticks 😁😁😁

I Had About Everything TBH...All The Meats, Seafood And Veggies That's Meant To Be Grilled....

I Want To Make This VERY Clear And Think This Is Where Folks Had A Lot Of Issues Although It's All Labled

Items Are Cut For Either BBQ (Thicker Cuts) Or Hotpot (Thinner Cuts) And You Take Whatever You Want

From What I Noticed Folks Were Taking The Wrong Cuts For The Wrong Dish....And That Will Totally Throw Of YOUR Final Dish

Iffffffffffff This Is Your First Introduction To Korean BBQ Or Hotpot I HIGHLY Recommend Asking Your Server For Assistance

They Are More Than Willing To Assist....It's Part Of THEIR Job.......Remember YOU Are Choosing Everything Yourself

After The Meal I Sat There And Chatted With My Server Wei....I Was Honest And Told Him Why I Was There And Compared This Location to Coney Island

I Told Him I Was EXTREMELY Impressed And Happy With Everything....I Also Asked Him About The Negative Comments And Reviews Left

He Confirmed Everything I Mentioned Above...Folks Just Come In...See A Lot Of Options And Just Pack On Their Plates Then When It's Time For Cooking They Refused Assistance To Impress Their Guests LOL And End Up Screwing Up Everything By Either Burning Or Undercooking The Items 🙄🙄🙄

He Also Said Folks Are NOT Familiar With Their Sauces And Broths.....Understand Their Spicy Is Not Like Caribbean Spicy...NOT Pepper Hot....

...From My Personal Experience I Know A Lot Of Folks Won't Like Their Spicy Because Of The Sichuan (Sichuanese/ Szechuan) Pepper Corns...It's Numbing And Can Be A Bit Bitter

He And I Both Agree In Getting The Lighter Broth And Seasoning It Yourself With All The Different Sauces And Seasoning Supplied At The Stations

Orrrrrrr

Just Ask For Their Recommendations....But Be Sure To Let Them Know What You Like...

Hi! I want to start off by saying KPOT is hands down one of my favorite restaurants on crossbay blvd. I’ve visited at least 50 times. Sometimes it’s a long wait for a table especially on busy days such as Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which is quite normal.

I am bothered by something so I want to share my thoughts for my own peace of mind. The last time I went there was on Mother’s Day this last Sunday. Of course it was a busy day so I was told my wait time for 45 minutes. I was there with my 10 year old. We decided to wait for a table.

When we were ready to be seated I was then told by the host that for this day they only had a special going on and that they were not providing the regular service. This includes hotpot&Korean bbq and a drink. I only got hotpot once and I do not drink alcohol beverages. I felt annoyed that after 45-50 mins wait time, I was being told that’s what they are offering. Why not tell me before? I’m a regular customer. I asked the host and she said it was because it was busy so she didn’t tell me. That’s fine. I have been working in the restaurant industry for 10+ years, so I know things happen. Understandable. I then politely asked to speak to the manager.

I asked if it was possible for them to charge us the regular weekend price, because I didn’t want all those other things. She said it’s impossible, their system doesn’t allow that. I asked if it was possible to discount our bill at the end of our meal instead, as I’ve been a regular customer. She said that’s not possible either and they don’t do that there. I said okay and walked out.

What bothered me the most! Is that majority of the employees there know or recognize me but they all just stood and watched me as if they never saw me before. I’ve been coming there so often and I always tip 20% whether the service sucks or not, because as someone in the restaurant industry… it’s become a habit. None of the employees tried to tell the manager that yes I’m there a lot. It looked as though I was lying about being a regular customer. And that my request was absurd… $9 discount is what I asked for… this too on Mother’s Day. All I wanted was to have Korean bbq for the regular price. Instead we spent an hour waiting for nothing. In my 10+ experience of working in hospitality this seems as though it was the most simple request that could have been met. I’ve recommended kpot to so many people! The experience on Mother’s Day has now left a sour taste in my mouth.

I am bothered and that’s why I’m writing this review. Apart from that it’s a yummy...

Avoid at ALL cost! Upon check-in, we were told that there was a lunch, then dinner option. We decided upon the dinner option, however the items being charged an addition $10 a person were not going to be available for another 45 minutes. Upon sitting down, our server explained the process, although we had said we’d dined there before. It’s just their standard routine, which is fine. The food and selections are fine, generally speaking they taste fresh.

About an hour later, my dining partner asks if I’m going to have any of the dinner items we paid extra for. I hadn’t even realized they were out yet, and after eating for nearly an hour, I wasn’t that hungry anymore. So she went and asked the hostess to change our meals back to lunch, because we weren’t eating any dinner items since it’s been so long before they came out. The hostess understood, however upon telling whom I can assume is the manager, Tony, he wasn’t having this. Tony came to our table and basically said we as customers could NOT be trusted, and they don’t monitor everyone’s food selection so they had no way of knowing if we were lying or not. This upset my gf, and she began questioning Tony. Eventually Tony THREATENS us by saying he was going to check the security cameras to make sure we hadn’t taken a single dinner item. She basically said to feel free to do so, and sent him off. I mentioned that the dinner items weren’t even out when we went up last, which reminded her of that, and upset her even more. Eventually Tony came back and said that they’d only charge for lunch, because he reviewed to footage. Our dining experience was over at this point. I do NOT. Like being treated like a criminal, especially when I’m not doing anything wrong. First, if a selection isn’t available, don’t offer it as an option. Next, this person? Tony? Just cost you two semi regular customers. We will never return to dine here, again. I hope to never see Tony in MY business as a patron, because anywhere, and anyone he’s with will never be welcomed.

Unless you like being treated like a criminal, especially by Tony, avoid KPot 100%. Even the hostess said to us she didn’t understand why he said and did what he did, it was out of line. Tony does not belong on the front end dealing with customers, he just cost you revenue. I’d highly suggest the establishment...