Qiao Lin Hotpot - Chicago Downtown

Truly a hot pot lover's dream. We came by for lunch on a Saturday afternoon, and we joined the waitlist on Yelp prior to our arrival. It gave us a notice of when to check in which was super helpful. Upon your arrival there are 2 parking lots that are complimentary, though on the weekend you may have to circle around a few times before you find a spot but it wasn't too bad. When we entered the restaurant we were greeted by the hostess that told us our table will be ready in a few minutes right around the waitlist quote time and gave us the menu to look over as we waited. When we got to the table, water pitchers were brought out and we were offered aprons to keep our clothes clean. We decided to try three different broths, their original, the mushroom and their new chicken broth. Along with a variety of meats. I love that the menu they provided gave us time on how long to cook things. The presentation was so much fun as well, we loved eating our way through different broths and were able to try all sorts of flavors. There was even a sauce bar for folks to BYO sauce. I made a soy/vinegar sauce and I barely used it becuase the flavors of the broth were so delish! I loved all the broths, though the mildest one was still too spicy for me. So we had tried a few different beverages- the watermelon one was a great balance and the lychee one was not too sweet with popping bubbles. An hour and a half later we were so full. But the best part is, because it's a la carte you can take your stuff home. Not like an AYCE place which gives you the ability to enough. It the next day as well. All in all, the staff was super attentive and checked on us often. We can't wait for our next hot pot excursion!

Let me just start by saying that I love the Chinatown location. This was how I found out that they opened a second location. I decided to have my birthday celebration here. I celebrated exactly one day after my birthday. I took 8 other guest with me and booked the biggest table. For Chicago, our weather is unpredictable. It was 90+ degree outside and I decided to celebrate with hotpot. In addition, we had a severe thunderstorm. This played an important part as we were soaked by running from the parking lot. We came in soaking wet and the hostess was lost for words. She quickly sat us at our table. It is a small three wall area with a large bench and six chairs surrounding the rest of the table. The space had no area for personal belongings (which is important to know for the winter months, good luck finding an area for your winter coat!). In addition to the small room for 9 people, when you cook your food.... The people sitting on the bench and the people sitting near the entrance of the room will suffer. The heat that blows out from the hot pot stove... IS UNBEARABLE. We brought it up to our server and many other staff members. "That's just how this room was built" was the response we got. For the rest of the restaurant, there was constant airflow and plenty of ventilation. If you get stuck in that little "private room" beware of the heat that comes under the stove. So in terms of space... 2/5 stars in my opinion. In terms of food, service was quick and food quality was wonderful. Everything was fresh for the most part. Everything was delicious (except the yogurt, keep in mind that it is Chinese style yogurt but for some reason, it was so slimy). The broth was constantly being refilled and honestly really good food. Also, I mentioned in the beginning that I came here for a birthday celebration but yet.. there was no special offer or treatment or cake for the birthday. For the Chinatown location, they have a special item for you but it was not offered last night. The only reason I felt celebrated was because of my friends and not by Qiao Lin. All in all, the summary of the reviews I see so far is that the restaurant is working out some kinks. Hopefully they take my review in consideration.

The food is amazing as usual, we tried their new dessert options and they are really good as well.Wait time was ridiculous. We went on a Wednesday with a reservation, and needed up waiting for about an hour. Hopefully it gets better.Staff is amazing. Jonathan was exceptional. The owner even came out to apologize when he saw us holding a fan.Overall, great experience once we are seated. If Qiaolin couldn't manage the wait time situation, I would come back more!

Qiao Lin has a new location in Streeterville and it is such a great addition to the area! The wait can be long, but they do have a lot of tables for larger (5+ parties). We put our names down via the app so we could walk around and just enjoy the area before our table was ready. On a busy Saturday, it was about an hour wait for 3 people around 6pm. The food was delicious! The meat portions are very generous - we ordered 3 meat dishes for 3 people, but a plate of lamb and the one meter beef would have been enough for the 3 of us with all of the veggies/noodles we also got. The broths are great - the spicy one has a little too much oil for my preference, but the mushroom and chicken broths were perfect. I was pleasantly surprised that we could do 3 broths in one pot at no extra charge. Service is quick and they have buffet style apps/sauces with a generous variety. We definitely left very full and very satisfied with the friendliness and high quality of service as well. I would definitely come back to this spot anytime!

I did not expect to come here for dinner, but I was looking for somewhere close to the hotel before heading to the airport. I been to the one in Boston location, this location is fairly new since they opened around two weeks ago. The staff are super friendly and trained well even recently opened. The ingredients were fresh, and the price was reasonable. However, the soup-based was a little salty as they added more soup-based soup since they added the original soup-based soup instead of hot water. I could not enjoy the meal since I kept receiving back-and-forth texts from my airline about delays and the on-time department.

Recently went back again for second time since grand opening and still seems like they have a few things to work out! Rice was super dry and there was something off about the sauces for some reason, I think it was the soy sauce. I saw another post saying the meat didn't seem like the same amount as Chinatown and I agree, especially relating to the meter. But overall, qiao Lin Stan and could never rate it badly

This restaurant is incredible. I've never heard of Michelin guide hot pot, or a restaurant spending 3.5 million on a renovation, but it was money well spent for how gorgeous it is inside and how high the quality of the food is. Sure they're still ironing out some kinks, but they just opened a week ago and they're absolutely slammed from open to close so I think it's normal to give them some grace as they work those out.The service was super attentive and obviously cared a lot about making it a high quality experience.I'll absolutely be back for the yard of wagyu beef and the infinite sauce combos! Low key drooling about it as I type haha

The taste was good. 1. The meat slices were very few. 2. Two items I ordered were not served. I had to approach the server, and only then were they removed from the receipt.

Best hotpot in Chicago, probably in the US. If you like to taste authentic Hotpot, Qiaolin is the place to be. Great customer service and dinning environment. It's located near Michigan Ave and Chicago River, very convenient to commute. It also has a parking lot for customers who drive. Highly recommended for friends gathering, social events, dates and so on. One of my favorite restaurants in Chicago.

Amazing food and amazing service. I will definitely go again. The selection of different meats that are genuine is amazing..