Where To Get Great Hot Pot In NYC

Cooking meat, vegetables, and tofu skin in a vat of boiling broth is a fun, interactive way to feel like you had a part in creating the night’s deliciousness. (You kind of did, depending on how creative you got at the sauce bar.) Whether it’s spicy Chengdu broth, Chongqing-style beef tallow, or Japanese shabu shabu, hot pot is also one of the easiest group dinner formats or birthday celebration options out there. In addition to excellent food, many of the restaurants on this list have extra perks to make hot pot night special: karaoke, complimentary ice cream, and even a moon landing-theme.

The Spots

Chong Qing Lao Zao

Chong Qing Lao Zao in Flushing is the Disneyland of hot pot restaurants. Spanning two and a half floors, it's decked out like a rural village with grass huts, big wooden water wheels, and even fake chickens. It’s a little cheesy, but we’re into it. The eating experience is just as over-the-top. You get to pick two rich broths per pot to dip your crab stick and bean curd into, with spice levels ranging from mild to please-call-my-mom—and then have a ball at the extensive sauce bar while you wait for your food. It’s on the pricier side for the area, and you might encounter a long wait, but that’s part of the theme park experience.

Hometown Hotpot & BBQ

Hometown Hot Pot has both hot pot and barbecue—but we mostly come to this Chinatown staple for the hot pot. It's about $38 per person ($48 if you also want to bbq), and that gets you unlimited meat, veggies, starches, and broth. If that sounds like a good deal, that’s because it is—and you aren’t the only one who knows it. This place is massive with two floors, but it still gets busy. If you’re with a group of six or more, call ahead for a reservation.

Hou Yi Hot Pot

Hou Yi Hot Pot is a magical place on the Lower East Side, crowded with people and suffused with the smell of meat and boiling chiles. It’s AYCE , there's a scoop-it-yourself ice cream station, and the broth is some of the spiciest in the city. You’ll pay a little over $45 per person for a massive amount of food, but you pretty much have to speed-eat it, because by the time you choose and cook your food, you’ve likely used up a chunk of your 100-minute time limit. If you’re sensitive to spice, pick a milder broth.

The Dolar Shop

The Dolar Shop is an international hot pot chain known for its individual hot pots. At this East Village location, every person gets their own mini pot, with their own choice of broths like sichuan pepper, or their Exquisite Silver Soup, a creamy mixture of chicken and pork. Order fancy meats and veggies a la carte for the table, or choose the set meal option to save a few bucks, There’s a large spread of sauces, appetizers, and desserts for $4 more per person. A meal here can add up, so save this spot for a celebratory dinner. Or come in during AYCE hours from 9pm-12am.

99 Favor Taste

This Chinese hot pot restaurant has locations all around the city, and it’s a great place to celebrate a birthday, especially because they’ll give you a free meal with proof of ID. (They’ll also ring a big bell and sing you a special Happy Birthday song in front of everyone, but only if your table asks for it.) If it’s not your birthday, rely on 99 Favor Taste whenever you get in the mood to eat an unconscionable amount of hot, broth-dipped meat and seafood for $30 on a random Tuesday night.

Da Long Yi

Every neighborhood should have a solid hot pot spot. In LIC, Da Long Yi fills that need. Located in a big, bright space on top of a mall, the second NYC outpost of this international chain has beautifully carved interiors and is perfect for a slightly dressed-up evening, with both a sauce bar and a regular bar. The prices are a bit steeper than what you’d find in Flushing, but you do get a lot of food. At $66, the value combo for two easily ends up being enough food for three.

Three Hot Pot

This moon landing-themed hot pot in Koreatown takes a giant leap for hot pot restaurants—by letting you barbeque at the same time. Every table has a hot pot surrounded by a bbq ring, and each pot can also be split into two broth flavors. You can order a la carte, or get a combo for two to four people. The combos range from $55-$115, and come with two broths, several meats, a platter of veggies, noodles and rice, cooked appetizers, and cheese corn. It’s a sizable spread for the price, and it’s fun to eat under the illuminated moon, surrounded by cratered walls.

Shabu-Tatsu

For a slightly upscale hot pot date, consider this Japanese spot in the East Village, where you can sit in a casually stylish wood-paneled room and stir thinly-sliced wagyu ribeye into a bubbling pot on your table. Each shabu shabu or sukiyaki meal comes with assorted vegetables, salad, rice, ice cream, and your choice of two proteins (priced individually, ranging from $35 to $80). It’s not a huge place, so make a reservation ahead of time.

Xi Yue Hui Seafood Hot Pot

At Xi Yue Seafood Hot Pot, you can BYOB (for a flat fee of $30), dunk every type of seafood, and meat imaginable into bubbling spicy broth, and then sing a questionable rendition of JoJo’s “Too Little Too Late” with 20 of your friends. If this sounds fun to you—and we don’t blame you if it doesn’t—make a plan to come to this bi-level restaurant in Sunset Park. Bring a big group, and for $60 each, you can do AYCE seafood hot pot in a private room, and make memories you will never forget. For better or for worse.

Xiang Hot Pot

This Flushing spot in the New World Mall serves AYCE hot pot for around $50 per person. Sodas and juices are included in the price, and there’s a bar inside with unlimited starters like noodle dishes and dim sum. The sprawling restaurant looks like a palace, with long red curtains, columns, and huge lanterns. Try the “spicy bear” broth—the sichuan pepper-filled broth comes with an edible butter sculpture of a bear.

LaoJie Hotpot

This Chinese spot in Sunset Park feels like a local pub with slatted wood walls, antique telephones, Chairman Mao posters, and old-school karaoke tracks playing at all times. (Whether or not anyone is actually singing on the mic.) Choose from six different broths to complement your tofu skin, fuzhou fish balls, and watercress, including bases like tomato, dark chicken ginseng, and a super spicy one with mala spices. Perhaps most importantly, the $37 AYCE price includes a free milk tea pudding for dessert.