The Pots Hot Pot — Restaurant in San Francisco

Hadn't been here since 2018, and decided to try out out again tonight as we start going back out. Came around 6:30 on a Sunday and there were only 2-3 other groups there. Got busier as the evening went on. I do not recall how the buffet area was precovid, but basically everything except raw meat and dumplings are set up in the buffet. I'm still a bit weary, but I suppose all germs will cook off in the broth

The broths were delicious, we got the tonkatsu and the spicy miso which was like a 4/10 on spicy scale. Note they charge $5 for two broths vs just one. But worth it to try more!

The meat was great and not too fatty (Im overly picky & hate when there's tons of fat on the sides, my husband doesn't care). The wagyu was very tender, and pork was good. Everything is ACYE, for around $37.99 per person. They have lots of different noodles at the buffet (right side in pic), and all kinds of fish (shrimp, mussels, squid, octopus, tofu, baby corn, bamboo) and everything else you'd find on a hot pot menu.

Left side is sauce ingredients, veggies that were very fresh, mushrooms, some brownies for dessert and far left was some fried items (egg rolls, potstickers, yao tiu). Lots of different aloe juices in the fridge in left, mango, prune etc. all included. Soda & alcohol are not included.

They give little ice cream bowls at the end, vanilla or green tea. Pro tip: put brownie chunks in the ice cream!

Overall, it felt like everything was very clean. Each table has hand San and wipes to use after being at the buffet. I'd like to see a hand San at the buffet asking guests to use before touching tongs, but happy to see it's at the tables for each guests discretion. Will definitely be back again! Staff is also super friendly and I got to practice...

It's been over a year since I've went to The Pot's due to COVID. I was very happy to see that they were able to survive the craziness that was 2020. Mom and pop shops are hard to survive, but in The City, it's definitely magnified due to the high cost of rent. I used to go to The Pots when I lived in SF, but now I'm in the south bay -I don't get that much of a luxury to. I went again today with my family(first timers ) for lunch and the quality and service is still the same as I remembered. Everything was very clean on the inside and every table gets their own basket of hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes (first time seeing this at a restaurant and I applaud them for it).

This spot is still my favorite hot pot place in the Bay. Fire Mala Spicy is a muuust here. I got a split soup setup for my party (additional $5) the other soup base being pork bone. They have a smaller menu for lunch broth wise (still got like 5 choices) and meat (got a lot of choices still!), but hey for like $20 bucks a person at an AYCE place in The City, you cannot complain. Don't get me wrong, you still get your Wagyu beef, your pork belly, pork, lamb. Again -$20 bucks. Sauce bar is self serve and all the sauces are in small individual containers for quick grab and go.

They also have dessert choices are freshly fried for you: sesame balls and buns with condensed milk (I can eat their sesame balls for days). Ha. Overall you cannot go wrong with The Pots. They still need as much support as they can!

If you're in the area for lunch or dinner, have The Pots on your radar for sure. They also have A La Carte if you still aren't comfortable going indoor dining. Thumbs up for...

I love this place! I thought it was just an AYCE hotpot, but it is honestly like a buffet! They had so many great little appetizers like sesame balls, egg rolls, dumplings, and a curry tofu thing. There’s also free drinks (i.e. included in the AYCE $35 price you pay) in the fridge next to the appetizers section and we got some Thai tea and it was great (very sweet!)! They also have brownies for desert next to the hotpot ingredients section. AND you can order more things on from the QR code on the table! So at the end of our meal we also got some sweet fried dough. It was such a good way to end the meal.

As for the hot pot options they have many different soup bases to choose from. They have hot pot ingredients on the counter by the back of the restaurant, but if you don’t see what you want you can also order on the menu from the QR code on the table. I was surprised to find they offered potato starch noodles here. I love how chewy those noodles are, but I don’t always find them at hot pot restaurants so I was so happy to see them here!

The service was good. I don’t feel like we waited too long for our soup bases or meats. They also made sure to refill our soup pot when it was getting low.

If you pay by cash it is slightly cheaper (get 10% off), but unfortunately none of us had cash on hand.

Make sure you only take what you can eat; if you waste food you will get a $30 charge. And there is $5 charge if your party is 4 or less and you use a second pot.

The inside of the restaurant is new and clean. The aesthetic is a mix of modern with warm wood accents.

Parking: We managed to find street parking nearby after going around...