Grand Hot Pot Lounge — Restaurant in San Francisco

Food is good and different with good appetizers like xiao ling bao and scallion pancakes; hotpot ingredients like lobster balls but the terrible service totally negates the experience. You should have two sets of chopsticks, one for handling and cooking raw meat and one for eating with, also little wire baskets to catch loose items. They did not have the baskets, we had to ask multiple times for the extra chopsticks, rice, extra bowls for the rice because they told us to use the the original bowls on the table for the sauces, drinks, anything you might need to you had to track down a server. The bill was wrong even though we told them we had two seniors. The staff behind the counter in the back was not very professional. No one really greets you when you enter (there's no one staffing the hostess station). When we went to pay they claimed the credit was declined when the receipt stated the charge machine was off line (meaning they needed to plug it back in!) forcing us to pay with cash. I dine out frequently including hot pot restaurants. We will not be back given the disorganized service (actually lack of service). Their reservation policy for large groups is outrageous - a $200 deposit which is not refundable no matter how much notice you give them for cancellation (I was trying to book for 40-50 people 6 weeks in the future - surely two weeks notice is enough time to get a refund on a deposit). I'm surprised another reviewer said no deposit required. Dragon Beaux has much better ambience...

It was a dreadful experience for me and my friend. We were so excited to try out this buffet. They offer so many selections, but when we got there the outside was so dirty. We still decided to give it a try. We opened the door and there were so many clutter. Inside was dead. You look up in the second floor and you’ll see a lot of boxes and clutters as well. I’m sorry to say this but I dont understand how they manage to make a hot pot base taste so horribly—tasted like soap. The smell of this place was also unappetizing. It smelled like dust and something else.

Then I decided to just have some ice cream. That was a bad idea too. As I was going to get an ice cream I noticed the scooper was extremely dirty. They are just very unsanitary that the scooper appeared to be never have been cleaned. It was moldy and the bowl it was placed has visible markings that the water has been evaporating and had been seating there for quiet some time (Dayssssss)

Although the server was extremely kind and lovely. She was the only good thing that enlightened me about this place. Overall, this place is not cheap , unsanitary and the food is dreadful. 😖 Won’t be...

I didn't know hot pot could be messed up so poorly. The hot pot base was the blandest I've ever had and all the sauces were literally watered down. It's so easy to make better hotpot. When you make hotpot yourself you buy a $1 sauce packet and it has sooo much more flavor than the hotpot here.

Also the sesame paste had the consistency of sesame oil, but was also less flavorful. The hot sauce had no bite. Sesame paste is also a pretty cheap ingredient; I don't understand why it was so necessary to dilute it with water.

It's a shame, because i thought the service and attentiveness was pretty good. They always brought us extra food when we asked and never forgot anything. They weren't stingy with their meat nor their sake (though it was also watered down of course). And the karaoke room in the back was fine, and the selection wasn't bad. They even brought seaweed salad and little things like that.

But the food just lacked flavor. An extra 50 cents on the hot pot base is all that was needed. Honestly, I'd recommend you just bring your own hot pot base packet to pour in, and then the place...