Hong BBQ & Hot Pot Bradenton — Restaurant in South Bradenton

It was a very disappointing experience here. We had been to their location in Tampa, so decided to check this location out. We walked in around 10:40pm and were seated promptly. Their business hours was listed as "open till 12am". Less than one hour in to our dinner, our server came to tell us that the sauce bar was closing and if we needed anything to go ahead and get it now. We immediately got up to get things needed. However, there was no watermelon left. So I asked if I could have some watermelon but was told that they will not bring any watermelon out. Disappointed I went back to the table. 5 minutes later, our server came back again and informed us that the kitchen was closing and if we needed anything to order now. I was confused as to why less than one hour after we were seated, we were rushed to order or else there is no more food. Annoyed, we ordered our last items. Then another 5 minutes later, our server asked us if were needed drink refills as they are shutting that down as well. At this point, I am very trusted and confused as to why they are shutting down water machine and soda machine down also but decided to stay quiet. The food was ok. Galbi was rubbery. You cannot get your own food. You have to order them through your server. Our server was very checked out. I had to double check with her to see if she heard me and placed my order multiple times. Even with double checking, we still did not get a few items we ordered. Our service was HORRIBLE overall. Server did not come to pick up dirty and empty plates AT ALL. We had to ask for the grill plate to be changed. Our hot pot were nearly empty from boiling the food with no refill till we asked. I don't know if there is a time for last seating. But I expect to be served and get the food I want to eat if we were seated and paid full price for. However, we were very rushed, and I was told that I could not order any more food as the kitchen was closed. All the food were raw and we are cooking the food by ourselves. What do you mean the kitchen is closed??? Basically, they just did not want to bring the food out and wait for us. VERY BAD EXPERIENCE!!! Do NOT recommend. Will...

We reserved a party of 18 a week in advance. While speaking to the manager she explains that 21 and over gets free alcohol and under 21 gets free boba drinks so I expressed how surprised yet pleased I was to hear this. I assumed this was due to the large party. We were informed that our party would be charged %18 gratuity for our party.

During our party our waitress was scarcely found. When I found her she explained that they were short handed. I told her that I understood the situation that was out of their control but they were still charging the %18. It took my 12 y/o about 2 hours to get all of his items for his hot pot because the waitress was barely available for us. She was however very apologetic. I don’t want to discredit that.

When we received our bill, since we split it between families each of us were charged the %18 gratuity and I noticed we were charged for EACH BOBA drink we ordered. I spoke to the manager in which she stated that she did not say there would be free boba “because they do not even do that for small parties 🤔” she did say it must have been a misunderstanding. We agreed on a discount at least for the bobas since we ordered so many thinking they were free/unlimited.

She came back with the bobas on a separate receipt. For $60 worth of Bobas they gave us a $4 discount and had an additional %18 discount on that receipt. So now I have 2 bills both with %18 gratuity which makes us actually pay MORE because the discount for the bobas was only %10. When I made the waitress aware her intolerance began to manifest. I have always been kind and professional as I was with her. But understanding their short staff I maintained my kindness.

After she combined the receipts for me I noticed the discount went down to $2. At that point I paid, we thanked them and left.

You would think they would give a greater discount rather than lose hundreds of dollars worth of future business....

We’ve been waiting for this place to open for so long. There are no hot pot/bbq places in Sarasota county and it’s about time! We lived in Japan and in Hawaii so we are familiar with the concept and have been to many.

We went during their grand opening at lunch time. The place was well staffed and appeared ready. The atmosphere was nice and decor was neat. The staff were all professional and friendly. Our server Leijah was great and attentive to our needs. The music was banging too.

We had the hot pot and bbq combo. They had a wide selection of broths. The szechuan broth was pretty spicy. I got the green pepper corn which was also spicy but less than the szechuan.

The meat for the hot pot was sliced thinly and perfect for its purpose. I would say that the meat for the bbq was a smidge thicker to my standards and could’ve been sliced a little neater. But the marinated meats like the bulgogi were really good. Some things that could be improved (shiitake, wood ear mushroom) but overall they’re doing a good job delivering a lot of Asian ingredients in this area.

They have a selection of sauces and additions like scallions, minced garlic, chili oil and sesame oil among others. We enjoyed their hot pot sauce. They have lemon slices but I wish they had yuzu which goes really well with pork or chicken. They also had fruit, kimchi and other side salads in the buffet area.

I got a bottle of the cherry blossom chilled sake. It was delicious! Not too sweet and the perfect amountyou can get in a bottle.

I suggest ordering just enough cause you can always order more for later. They also serve boba tea drinks which we’ll have to try next time.

Despite being hot outside, inside was cool and we were comfortable with grilling and the hot pot. One small thing was I wish they gave out wet napkins at the start of the meal not at the end.

Overall we had a great experience and highly...