Hotpot Palace & BBQ — Restaurant in Tigard

My wife (who is 6 months pregnant)and I came in on Friday night and it was very busy. Standing room only in the lobby. We stood there for 30 min there was no seating. The bartender who informed us that she was the bar manager, came out to check the sign in sheet noticed us and asked if my wife and I wanted to come sit down in the bar while we waited. She may of been the most professional one in the entire building and she definitely knows what’s she’s doing on the bar side. She also was very busy but managed to handle all her tables, her entire bar, all the poker machines without looking impatient or frazzled. And still managed to engage with everyone sitting at her bar. That girl was killing it. The food was subpar, we watched numerous employees wearing rubber gloves pick up food and dirty plates then touch someone’s cup for a refill with the same gloves. The “manager/assistant manager” who checked us in was so short with us and impatient. None of our servers asked us if we wanted refills on our drinks, or stopped by the table again. I ordered a coors from our server and she brought me a corona, and spoke little to no English. The kid who was bussing the tables actually got my wife’s soda drink refills. Bathrooms are gross, no trash cans by the sinks, the floor was soaking wet. It was so hot it made my wife so nauseous that she could not eat. We did see the bartender come out and crack all the doors which probably should have been done hours before. Over all experience was not worth it. Please get some people that speak English, that was our first time at a hot pot or bbq and fortunately when we were sitting at the bar she gave us recommendations on what soups to get and a full run down of how we do it, the times to cook the food etc. put your bartender on the restaurant side too, she was very charismatic and sweet. We should of ate in the bar but there were no...

The service was spotty. I ordered a beer and never received it. Then they had three different service staff check when I asked to have it removed from my bill. The atmosphere and decor is wonderfully done. The way the buffet style is set up is also well done, other than not all foods were labeled and with such a wide variety, we didn’t know what a lot of things were. I am a huge seafood fan, but all the seafood from crab to salmon tasted extraordinarily fishy. In fact, my friend who doesn’t eat seafood said all of her food tasted very fishy as well. Everything is frozen first so not entirely fresh. The sauce station was great. We didn’t partake in dessert. There is also a sign stating if they consider you wasteful they upcharge $10 extra dollars. As it’s buffet style, I’m curious who gets to make that executive decision of what is considered wasteful. Especially if it’s not an enjoyable meal. I also wish there would have been some helpful instructions or guidelines on how long different things should be cooked in the hot pots. We were left to our own devices to figure everything out. We ended up over and under cooking a few things. I enjoyed the broth flavors we chose. For $45 on the weekends, my friend and I both decided we won’t be returning for a while. Maybe down the road they will improve.

BIG UPDATE!!! The next day I became violently ill with food poisoning! I will not be returning and I missed work meaning I missed pay. After reading how this place gets lots of complaints about the same thing and how the manager tells patrons to return w a doctors note as proof for a refund ( is that even legal or a violation?) I decided to not even call and complain. Instead, updated my review and hope more like me keep posting and MAYBE this place will get it...

Went there with two others. Got right in and was seated immediately, got seated right before the rush started. Each table had a spot for the broths and also a little grill as well.

The Good: A nice variety of noodles, meat, fish, and dumplings. Everything seemed pretty fresh and it had basically everything you expect. Not a lot of veggies but there were some. There were maybe a dozen different broth options, which is nice. They also had what can be best described as a "Build your own dipping sauce" bar, which I really liked.

The Indifferent: The broths were.... okay. It might have been just our choices, but they were okay but not great. I've had significantly better at other places. The place also looks like the inside of a gamer PC, with bright LED lights decorating the place. If you like the aesthetic, great. If not, it's a bit off putting. The booths are a bit cramped for space in regards to plates, but that's somewhat common with these types of places from what I've seen.

The Bad: The extra dishes and plates were NOT always clean. I could feel residue stuck on a few bowls and plates I grabbed. They also have a strict 90 minute limit for guests. They don't really force you out, but they start getting progressively more insistent about checking in on you to get you to leave.

The price was $40 a head for dinner which seemed fairly reasonable considering what they had on offer. You could EASILY eat more than that if you're the type to stuff yourself full of the crab and other seafood they had there. If you're not, $40 might be a bit much since the "time limit" and the fact that food takes time to cook at the table.

Overall: If you really like seafood or it's a special occasion, it's not a bad place to go. Otherwise there are probably better options...