Boiling Avenue — Restaurant in Sacramento

The tl;dr version: their online reservation system doesn't work, and the food takes an eternity to arrive and be cooked, but other than that the restaurant is pretty good. Full review below...

I hate leaving negative reviews for local shops like this, and maybe I caught them on an off day, but they really need to work out some issues.

1. Both Google and their website offers an online reservation system. I tried it and it sent off a request to somewhere for "approval." I thought I was set, but when arriving at the restaurant, I was told that they only take reservations on the phone. Ended up on the waitlist for 30 mins for a table. Not the best start, but fine.

2. Probably took a good 10 minutes after being seated before anyone came by with water.

3. Placed our order and waited around 30 minutes for it to arrive. When the food gets to us, I find that everything is completely uncooked, the broth is lukewarm, and now I have to wait at least another 10 minutes for it to reach boiling temperature and for ingredients to cook. What is up with this. Every other hot pot place I've been to delivers the pot to you with the pot already boiling or near-boiling, so you can usually start to dig right in. So I really found myself questioning why in the world it took a kitchen 30 minutes to throw a bunch of raw vegetables into a lukewarm broth.

To be fair to the restaurant, it was a Saturday night, the place was full, and it seemed like the wait staff were a bit stretched thin. Don't know what the kitchen was like.

The food and drinks, after they eventually made their way to us and got cooked, were pretty good, flavorful, and seemed authentic. Prices are fair with good serving sizes. And the wait staff were friendly and helpful. The restaurant decor itself is also very neat and pretty. My gripe was that this became almost a 2-hour dining experience when it really could have and should have been much less. I could easily have put together my own hot pot meal at home in much less time than that, though admittedly I wouldn't be able to make as good of a broth. Still wasn't worth the...

As an avid hotpot lover, I went on the hunt to find my new favorite hotpot spot in the Sacramento area. I am happy to share that I think I've found it in Boiling Avenue. Boiling Avenue offers individual hotpots with a variety of broth and ingredients. They also have a sizeable drink menu if you're looking for something to pair with your dinner.

Just a couple logistic things to note. The complex Boiling Avenue is located in has it's own parking lot, which makes parking a breeze. Although it doesn't affect the taste of the food, the interior of the restaurant is very cute and easy on the eyes; the beautiful ambiance definitely adds to the overall dining experience.

We arrived around 8pm or so for a late night dinner (bonus points that this place is open til fairly late 10:30-11:30pm depending on the day) and were instructed to seat ourselves. We ordered the Japanese Miso and Vegetarian hotpot, along with their black milk tea and the kumquat lemon green tea. The hotpot broths were flavorful and the variety of ingredients in each pot were great! As for the drinks, our favorite between the two was definitely the kumquat lemon green tea which was sweet with a bit of tartness to balance it out. The black milk tea was equally good and perfect for anyone looking to satisfy a milk tea craving.

If you're in the mood for hotpot, then I highly recommend giving Boiling Avenue a try! I for one will definitely be back...

The food is really great. I came with my familes for dinner. we ordered the popcorn chicken rice bown, tomato beef hot pot, satay beef hot pot, crispy squid, and a glass of lechee green tea. As a Taiwanese, I can confirm that their popcorn chicken is authentic. The flavor is very close to the popcorn chicken I had in Taiwan. But the chicken was a bit too dry so it tasted a little greasy. If they could make the chicken meet more juicy it would be perfect. And the rice bown are too big for one person, probably need two peopel to order. The hotpot was great,very similar to the small hotpot in Taiwan. The tomato beef hotpot was perfect, the soup was refreshing and sweet, no any problem on it. The satay one was good too. The soup is rich and full of flavor , but it became increasingly salty as it evaporated. The only pity is their crispy squid. To be honest it was not crispy at all lol. I totally couldn't taste the crust, though the sauce was nice. About the lychee green tea. The sweetness is just right and not too sweet. Many restaurants always add too much sugar to their drinks, I really don't understand why. The sugar in the tea is well balanced so it won't cover out the flavors of lychee and tea. For me, I definitely recommend dining here. Their environment is comfortable and clean, and the food is great of course. But the serving speed is a bit slow, so it is not good for those who are very hungry...