Qiao Lin Hotpot - Seattle — Restaurant in Seattle

I have never in my life written a review this long, but this restaurant has earned every single sentence of it. My friends and I made a reservation here well in advance because we were celebrating a special occasion. We arrived on time, excited for the evening and confident that, with a confirmed reservation, everything would run smoothly. Unfortunately, what followed was an exercise in patience and disappointment that completely ruined the night.

When we checked in, the host smiled politely and said, “It’ll just be a few minutes.” No problem—we know sometimes tables run a little behind schedule. But “a few minutes” turned into 20, then 40, then over an hour of standing in the cramped entrance area, watching other parties—some who arrived long after us—get seated before us. At first, we thought maybe they were being placed in a different section, but as the minutes ticked by, we realized that our table was being given away to other reservations. Not once, not twice, but multiple times.

Every time we asked for an update, the staff avoided giving a straight answer. Instead of transparency, we got vague reassurances: “You’re next,” “It’ll just be a couple more minutes,” and my personal favorite, “We’re trying to find a table for you”—as if we hadn’t already reserved one weeks ago. We weren’t asking for anything extra or special, just the basic courtesy of being seated at the time we agreed upon.

What made it worse was the complete lack of accountability. Not a single staff member apologized for the wait, acknowledged the inconvenience, or offered any form of compensation—no drink on the house, no complimentary appetizer, not even a sincere “We’re sorry.” Instead, we were left standing, watching our evening slip away, feeling more like an inconvenience than a valued guest.

The entire point of making a reservation is to avoid exactly this situation. Life is busy. People plan dinners around work schedules, travel times, and childcare. When a restaurant takes a reservation, it’s a promise—a commitment to honor your time. This place not only broke that promise but did so repeatedly in full view of us, prioritizing other guests over the people who had been waiting the longest.

By the time we were finally seated—over an hour after our scheduled time—the mood had shifted completely. The excitement we had when we arrived was gone, replaced by frustration and exhaustion. We had to rush through the meal because our night was already so delayed, and even then, no one checked in to see if they could make it up to us. It was as if our experience didn’t matter at all.

In the end, the food could have been the best in the world and it still wouldn’t have salvaged the evening. Dining out is about more than just what’s on the plate—it’s about feeling welcome, respected, and cared for. This restaurant failed on all counts. If you value your time and want to be treated with even a basic level of respect, I strongly suggest you look elsewhere. Reservations here seem to mean absolutely nothing, and your evening might just end up...

Qiao Lin is probably my favorite hot pot restaurant in Seattle, and their consistent popularity stands testament to the high quality food, value, and cozy atmosphere. Beware that their wait time can be kinda long, especially on weekend evenings and around happy hours, so don’t go starved or the long queue might drive you crazy plan lol. For an impromptu dinner, I generally experience a 15-45min wait (not for the lighthearted, but if you survived, then it’s all rainbows and sunshine from here on). To combat the wait time, always make a reservation ahead of time and check in early in person.

I really enjoy the flavor of their soup base and the abundance of vegan and vegetarian options. On the menu, only the mushroom broth says vegan, but you could ask for the tomato soup base to be made with water instead of chicken broth to make it vegan friendly. Since you get to choose up to 3 bases, I feel comfortable asking for one to be reserved for vegan food while dining with my omni friends. The portions are pretty decent and everything seems fairly priced for a downtown Seattle restaurant. The appetizer and sauce bar is always filled with fresh, delicious options (and mostly vegan too). Their free ice cream selection has been lagging a bit. I miss the coconut flavored popsicle they once carried.

I also love the cozy booths here, perfect for a group of 4-6, compared to the larger round tables elsewhere. The environment feels lively enough but not so loud that you can’t have a conversation.

Our server tonight, Jhin, was quite amazing! He was so sweet and helpful with any requests, which made us feel welcome. He was attentive but never overbearing, He reminded us the kitchen and appetizer bar last calls timely while giving us enough space to enjoy the meal the rest of the time. I also want to give a shoutout to all the staff that worked really hard to seat the huge crowd on this Sunday evening. We got in around 9:30 (for a 8:45 happy hour reservation). They technically closes at 10pm but all the servers are still there when we finished around 11:10pm and we didn’t feel pressured to leave (which I really appreciate). The meal was worth the wait (though it would be even better to have a refilled snack cart to help us get through the...

We were seated quickly on a busy Friday night in the front of the restaurant, unfortunately our server neglected to tell us about the sauce bar that is located on the back of the bar wall, we didn't see it until one of us went to use the restroom, after we were done eating. I'm still rating this 5/5 because aside from that misstep, the wait staff was very attentive and friendly and the food was wonderful.

We got the (standard) spicy Chongqing and some chicken broth that I can't recall the name of. The Chicken broth was tasty however, the spicy broth is where it's at. We eat very spicy food often, my friend and I just at Blazin' Wings from BWW a couple weekends ago for fun (as a reference) The Chongqing, even (Standard) is SPICY. Do not order this expecting the same heat level as black pepper or you will not have a good experience. We can't wait to go back and try the very spicy option.

Every item we ordered was presented beautifully. Their hand shaven and fresh noodles were awesome. I LOVED the fresh noodles, one of my companions favored the hand-shaven. It was my first time trying lotus root, and after a good soak in the spicy broth it was delicious, that with some baby bok choy and radish makes for an exquisite noodle bowl with their fresh noodles. For proteins we had the squid, short rib, pork belly and spicy pork skewers. Both the rib and belly were thinly sliced and cooked quickly in the boiling broth.

The friendly bartender came over to our table with some samples and recommendations, up-sales might be annoying but they are a business and the samples she gave us were fantastic so we ordered a couple drinks.

Try not to forget what you've put in. We accidentally let one of the (yummy) dumplings sit too long and it stuck to the bottom.

We ordered more food than the three of us could eat, and the bill before tip was $112.

Grab or request one of the paper menus as they have recommended cooking times for each item on their menu. They have a large variety of complimentary veggies and meats to choose from and you'll want them to be...