KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Wichita

First time at the Wichita KPOT location and was extremely excited to visit since I enjoyed the KC location. I have been to dozens of other Korean bbq places on the West Coast, East Coast, and as close as Kansas City and Oklahoma City and I do feel KPOT holds up quite well in comparison especially being a chain.

We got on the wait list right before 4pm on a Saturday and were quoted two hours. Honestly, not a bad wait considering the location and being able to go shop around in the mall until we were texted that our table was ready. My biggest advice if you are wanting to try this KPOT sooner rather than later is---do not go right at opening (unless you are willing to line up well before noon to guarantee first entry) and do not go during peak dinner hours. We got seated a little bit before 6pm and they were quoting those walking in at that point a three hour wait. The hostess mentioned she was likely going to close the wait list as there were around 60 parties at that time in line.

Ambience---modern and trendy. This is going to sound very counterintuitive considering how nice the restaurant presents itself, but this is NOT a good romantic date night spot especially if you are in early stages of dating and wanting to chit-chat and get to know each other. It's fun and interactive but not the place to just take your time (unless you have small appetites) as you will also need to pay close attention to your food cooking in front of you, although I do think 2 hours is plenty of time personally if you know what you are doing Many other places only give you 90 minutes to eat versus the 2 hours with KPOT which to the seasoned Korean bbq enjoyer is quite generous. (My husband and I ate around 30 portions of meat and had the check paid in just over an hour). Also, be prepared to smell like smoke and bbq when leaving. Your hair and clothing will reek (in the best way) of smokey meat and the chance of spatter of fat or broth on your clothing is really not out of the question.

All that being said---it is 2024. Google and the internet exist. You will have a MUCH better experience if you go in with some type of knowledge about this style of restaurant beforehand. I see many reviews where people just appear lost which seemed to make a negative dent in their experience which I feel is easily remedied with basic research. Also, the wait staff at your table explain the entire process right at the start. Minor pointers. Grill the unmarinated meats first--- you will not need as frequent of grill changes and don't be afraid to just ask your server to change out the grill. They are happy to do it. When they change the grill out--be patient and let it heat up nice and hot before adding meats onto it. Adding them too early will cause the really thin cuts of meat to stick horribly to the grill even if it's sprayed with oil. Also, make your first order your largest. We ordered about 15 items to start and then scaled down orders to 4-6 items at a time. That will allow for good pacing if you are big eaters like we are. I saw way too many tables of at least four people only ordering one item. Finally, don't be afraid to adjust your own heat. The buttons are really intuitive and sometimes you just need to turn it down a notch because meat is cooking too quickly.

Now to what you really came here for. The food. What can I say? Name another restaurant where you have the opportunity to try upwards of 25 cuts of meat between the hot pot and bbq all-you-can-eat. The meat quality and variety are really fantastic. The angus chuck flap and any of the "bellys" are a guaranteed win. Just dip them in tiny bit of salt that's all you need to elevate the taste of the meat.

Service. We did wait a little bit on refills but honestly, I think many forget this place hasn't even been open a full month. If you are really that concerned, just wait to go and give the time to work out the kinks which seem to almost entirely be related to being newly opened and incredibly busy. They are humans too and I think deserve a little more grace from the...

The restaurant looks very nice and upscale. From the moment you enter the staff at the front desk felt very unwelcoming. No smiles, no welcome in. They want to know if your party is all there and let you know about your 2-hour all-you-can-eat time limit at the table. I'm not sure if the staff was overwhelmed or flat-out rude, or both. Looks like they are still working the kinks out & that's understandable. So, you have 2 hours at the table. From the time they SEAT you, the clock starts. Not from the time you order or after the menu, cooking/ordering is somewhat explained. Took staff roughly 20 minutes to bring out the first set of food. Our waiter Johnathan(loved him!) was busy & never told us the grill was ready (Didn't appear hot to the eye) to start cooking. I went up front to see what was going on. The female Korean manager finished her phone call & walked back to the table with me. Then our busy waiter Johnathan finally popped back up and sprayed oil on the grill while the lady/manager I had grabbed from upfront told me I should have already begun cooking without the spray. Stated that she never uses the spray. Also, I did notice other staff at the front door/cashier desk eating & dropping food back in their bowl and on the counter(take a break/sit and eat). Food at the bar (Rice and French fries very dry hard). Lots of sauces to choose from. If you don't know what sauces go with what look it up before you come because it's not explained. (There is information on the wall). What is explained is how much time you have left at the table. Also if you don't eat the food, run out of time trying to figure out what’s done cooking and what's not/or if a certain amount is left on your table there is a 10% waste charge added. Not posted but they also add on 5% gratuity to every check for parties 6 & over(I did still tip-not complaining but it should be posted). If you want hot pot and someone at your table wants BBQ that's an extra $5 per person at your table if you can't agree with one or the other(BBQ or hot pot). Also, you have to request/ask them to switch your grill. If you are afraid of pork/chicken/beef/seafood, vegetables any food cross-contamination, or undercooked food issues, this may not be the place for you. If you are allergic to seafood and your party isn't this may not be the spot for you. Vegetables are huge! You only get 1 pair of scissors for your meat and vegetables and two small skinny tongs. Silverware is at the bar. You automatically get chopsticks. They literally start the clock & take their time placing all of the raw uncooked food on the table and let you have at it/ (there is a sign to help with cooking) and figure out how to cook it while watching the clock. My suggestion to the staff- The waiter/waitress especially if it's your party's first time experiencing Korean self-cooking. Let the parties know the grill is ready & get the parties started with cooking. Explain (briefly if possible) the sauces, and cooking to the guest. Switch out the grill when you walk by and/or ask if they would like to switch it out before getting started on their next order or if the grill looks burned, kindly switch it. You are literally on a clock. Also, the grill is not very hot. Our grill even cooled off in the middle of cooking so watch for it while watching your time. ORDER, COOK IT, SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT, PAY AND GET UP FOR THE NEXT PARTY. The restaurant is new and still working out kinks. I'm definitely new to cooking Korean food. Overall food placed on the table for cooking was fresh and appealing to the eye. Happy birthday song, slice of cake with a candle , LED sign was very nice. After all of that, I will give it another try. I'll probably go again but with a smaller party. We all deserve...

I have been to many KBBQ places and this was a good experience. It is All-You-Can-Eat pricing per person, not paying a la carte which I think some people might have missed. So don't hold back on ordering items on the tablet (which have no prices listed because you already paid your per-person meal price!) Think of it like a meat buffet you order on a tablet if this is your first KBBQ experience. They even have a guide for how long you cook each meat, and the grill heat cooked the meat very quickly. The portions may look small when you order an item, but I actually like this because it means I can enjoy a large variety of food items without ordering too much of it - if you like a particular meat, just order multiple of it. The thinner meats like brisket will have several pieces, whereas the thicker meat cuts like short rib will have around 2 pieces for reference. I recommend ordering small amounts overtime so you avoid overordering which comes with a fee for food waste.

The "salad bar" is actually for sauces to dip your meat into (you don't need more than a scoop), as well as Korean side dishes called "banchan". The Korean side dishes consist of kimchi and various pickled vegetables - tangy and crunchy vegetables to cleanse your palate and help cut through the fatty meat. I recommend trying them (a small amount if you're not familiar) so your throat isn't just coated in grease. There are also some various desserts if you crave something sweet after your hefty meal.

Louis was really thorough with service and walking us through how Kpot works despite how busy they were. I think a lot of people's negative reviews are from not understanding tablet ordering or how KBBQ works - perhaps waiters were not as thorough with their service upon soft/grant opening? But my experience was good. It's mostly a self-service restaurant anyway. This place is seems very busy on weekends often, so if you're short on patience, go on a weekday lol. Do not go here if you are short on time. This isn't a...