KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Novi

I am not sure how to rate my experience. I have been to other Korean BBQ restaurants and had better experiences.

Ok you ready for the roller coaster ride.....KPOT was busy and we had a party of 6. We go in and the hostess told us it would be 25 mins. So we do the lil app thing which is cool and convenient, but it never updated for us. So after 40 mins we go to the hostess station and two very polite and professional employees just stared at us when we asked them why the app hadn't updated in 40 mins. They were nice but it felt like they forgot about us. They tell us it will be an additional 15 mins, ok they are busy no problem. 15 mins go by and no updates. We were then told 10 mins, so we waited an additional 20 mins all the while parties of 4 and 5 are going in front of us. So we go up to the station again and finally we were given a table. Again, they were busy we get it, but if it is going to be an hour wait, or we think it is going to be an extended wait, just say that.

Service was ok, our server was really nice, explained everything and got our initial drinks very quickly. The tablet ordering is so simple and easy although, it would be nice if you could put in a diner's name and then order under that name. We had a party of 6 and when it is recommended you order 4-6 items, that gets confusing very quickly. Food came out very quickly! Perfectly seasoned and more than enough options. You say that sound great why service only ok...well there is a 2 hour limit, there is an over food charge for excessive food ordering and not consumed (i get it) but we didn't get soup spoons, when we did we were only brought one for 6 people. They ran out of forks, so we had to ask for forks. And then we only saw our server once or twice after we ordered. My water was empty and I watched our server fill waters at at least 4 tables around us and never offer to top off our waters or ask if we would like additional drinks. Again, they were busy. I had to ask for extra napkins as they only gave us like 5 for 6 people, again they were busy i get it. The food runner was amazing! I can't remember her name, but she was perfection!

Best part ....bill comes and there is an automatic gratuity for parties of 6 or more. Hey, I get it, had no problem with that. The problem came in when we were paying our bill it asked us for a tip, we had just paid 70 bucks for the auto tip and trust me I am a good tipper but it was a little off-putting. So we were charged an auto gratuity at 18.5% and then we all felt guilted into paying the additional tip...so the hostess got $120 dollars for turning on our burner, bringing us napkins and filling my water twice. Again, they were busy and that was on us relative to the gratuity guilt.

All in all, the service could have been better, the initial interaction could have been better, the food was amazing! The Soju reminded me of being back in Seoul. And with a party of 6 next time please seat us at a table with two burners if available. Weather permitting outside seating would be awesome as well. It was getting quite smokey in the restaurant, which is normal...and yes we had Hob on.......

If you made it through this review, God bless you! ...

I’ve been to the KPOT Novi location several times and usually enjoy the experience, but what happened on 7/14/25 was extremely disappointing and hurtful. My family and I visited with my mother, who was in town and wanted to try it. I brought my 6-year-old son, who is nonverbal and autistic, and unfortunately, our experience this time left us feeling dismissed, disrespected, and even racially profiled from the moment we walked in.

Upon arrival, we were immediately asked what we’d be having (KPot + BBQ) and were told what we’d be charged before even being seated. This has never happened to me in the past, and it felt uncomfortable and targeted. We were also told my 6-year-old would be charged $13.99, despite the fact that he has significant sensory issues and rarely eats anything at restaurants. I calmly explained this to the host, as I always do, but this time I was met with a cold “It doesn’t matter — everyone who sits must pay.”

I was surprised, but agreed to be seated regardless. Our server was polite but inattentive, and definitely didn’t provide the level of service that would warrant a tip. The real issue came when our check arrived and the charge for my son — who, again, consumed nothing — had been increased from $13.99 to $18.99. It’s not about the $5 — it’s about the principle, and the lack of empathy or understanding for a child with special needs.

I politely brought the issue to the waitress’s attention. She told me the host who originally quoted the price had left for the day and that there was nothing she could do because the “bill was correct.” We asked to speak to a manager for clarity and to inquire about their policy for guests with disabilities. Instead of coming over, the manager told the waitress to deduct the $5 and leave it at that.

We still requested to speak with him directly. When he finally came over, he didn’t introduce himself, greet us, or offer any kind of apology. He just stood there looking irritated and annoyed. I explained, again, that my son is autistic, does not eat when we go out, and asked if the policy had changed. His response? “It doesn’t matter.”

I was stunned. My sister followed up with a respectful and valid question: “What would you recommend for someone with a disability or medical dietary restriction who physically cannot eat but still wants to sit with their family?” His response was, “If you’re not eating, then you can go sit at the bar.”

I was dumbfounded. You’re suggesting that a 6-year-old autistic child should sit alone at the bar?

At that point, the conversation ended — not because we were done, but because we realized we weren’t going to be met with any understanding, care, or respect. We left deeply disappointed and will absolutely not be returning.

This experience left me feeling disrespected and unwelcome. The dismissive behavior, the refusal to accommodate a child with disabilities, and the way we were treated from the moment we walked in made me feel racially profiled and dehumanized. KPOT needs to do better — for its guests, for its reputation, and most importantly, for families like mine who deserve to be treated...

I ate here with 5 other people. We decided to opt in for the hot pot and kbbq combo. I would definitely do without the hot pot next time as it's a little overwhelming to have both as well as keep track of what goes on the grill and what goes in the hotpot. My main issues were the poor ventilation and the poor service.

It was sooo smoky and suffocating. Especially when you add the hotpot directly in front of your face with the smoke of the meat on the grill. A deadly combo. I was coughing quite a lot. Hesitant to bring my mom as she has asthma. They should take notes from places like Daebak with the vents right above the grill.

Several times we ordered something and never received it. I ordered sweet potato noodles at the very beginning and never received them so I had to wait a while to start eating my hotpot. Also only got 2/4 ramen we ordered. Asked 4 different people for our missing stuff, one being our waitress who said she'd get us some and never returned. I reordered it for good measure and still didn't receive it until the 3rd time I ordered it. I didn't eat my noodles until an hour into our meal. This happened with several other items as well. At the end of our meal, my friend ordered a couple of veggies to finish it off and no sight of them for 20 minutes. Asked our server and she apologized, memorized what we ordered from the iPad and ran to get them for us.

Just a little frustrating as there's no way to directly call for our waitress to help us. We ran out of water several times for extended periods of time with no one in sight to get some for us. Our waitress forgot the one time we did ask her.

Their "dessert" selection is insanely tiny. I've seen better. School lunch ice cream, 2 different mini cakes, and a coconut macaroon. The waitress also made it seem like there'd be side dishes at the buffet but we only found the sauces and kimchi.

They are pretty speedy about changing out the grills. That's about the best part of the service I would say. I think we had ours changed 3 or 4 times by other staff, not our waitress. Our dirty dishes were seldom taken off our table and accumulated into a ginormous pile in the center of our table. All in all I didn't feel inclined to add anything more to the automatic 20% gratuity.

I might be back just because I believe the food was worth our money, but it will not be my first choice for a quality...