Lepot Chinese Hotpot

Thinly sliced raw fatty beef, dipped into a simmering bowl of Szechuan spicy broth (both pepper and mala spice)... I swirl it for 10 seconds or so then let it rest on my sauce of choice - sesame paste sauce, or chili garlic oil sauce. I'll eat it, along with noodle or rice, a qail egg perhaps. My mouth explodes with flavor. Every time.Hot pot, hot pot. In my gastronomical journey through life, Chinese hot pot is possibly my greatest encounter. And locally, it's Le Pot.Best broth bases- mala spicy, pork bone, and Tom yum are endorsed by me and my girlfriendGreat foodstuffs- qual egg, udon noodles, good fatty beef, crab sticks, good old cabbage, tofu, bean curd, enoki mushroom etc- Lamb and pork are alright at this location, could be better Great sauce bar, as I can assemble my staples - Sauce 1: black vinegar, chili oil with flake, garlic oil with garlic, sesame oil, scallions, cilantro (about equal parts and adjust); season with sugar, salt and soy sauce if desired- Sauce 2: lots of sesame paste, and leave as is or maybe add scallions, chili oil, sesame seed **I do wish they had chive paste**- Sauce 3: Oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, cilantro, green onion, black vinegar Value- it's like 30-35 dollars a person here. - I often leave more satisfied here than I do after a "fancy" night on the north loopWhat's missing- ambiance is okay- I do like a huge communal pot- Chive flower paste- Pork and lamb could be better- Broths are good, but I like the Chicago restaurants best Local hot pot honorable mentions - the place at Asia Mall with the electric rack innovation - Legendary Spice - you are free to grab a tray and raid their fridges/freezers for whatever meat, vegetable, etc you want. But the borth wasn't as good. Overall, it's rather expensive but quality is in some ways lower than Le Pot.- J Pot - Korean bbq and hot pot. The Chinese flavors were not as authentic, broths not as good to me, but wow having Korean bbq and hot pot at the same time! It's a decent value too.

My absolute favorite date night place. There is never a wait, the food is amazing, and incredible prices

LePot was my first hotpot experience after recommendation from a foodie friend. I honestly think this is the only place I'll ever go in the future!The restaurant itself is a bit hit or miss; some of the controllers for the burners are unattached, tables or chairs can be a bit wobbly. The servers, though, are excellent & I think that more than makes up for anything aesthetic-wise. The fact that each person gets their own pot is a game changer. I had the Tom yum broth with egg noodles. My friends and I got a bunch of different items: crawfish, sole filets, fried bean curds, potatoes, golden fish balls, enoki mushrooms, lotus root, beef ribeye, eggs, kimchi, broccoli, & napa cabbage. Everything tasted fresh & cooking your own foods to your liking is actually pretty fun. We were all (happily) stuffed when we left!

Some friends took me here to have my first experience with Hotpot and I loved it! I'd definitely recommend this spot for first timers, but come with friends who have been before to show you how it's done. I definitely needed their help with the sauce station and learning the best way to actually eat the meal.Everything is a la cart, which is helpful if you want to share a bunch of different things and try new foods! I went with the Tom Yum broth and it was so flavorful and rich.Between three of us we shared so many different fun items. My favorite were the thin sliced beef, udon noodles, tofu, cabbage and broccoli. It took me a bit to get the hang of how long to cook all the different elements, and I made a bit of a mess, but it was fantastic.Only downside here was it was difficult to get service. It took quite a while to get our order in, and we were stuck waiting for about 20 minutes to close out at the end. Plus, on a tab of over 5 people they add in a 20% tip which I don't mind, except they pulled the tip after tax which wasn't ideal. However, for being very full after, it was a great price at about $25 a person.

Came on a Monday night for the AYCE selection. We've eaten here before they offered AYCE and loved it then too! They were out of the pork bone soup which is our favorite. Other than that, everything else was great. Love the dipping sauce bar. Good selection of meat and veggies. The AYCE menu is different from the Ala carte.

The location and seating feels very canteen like. Some minor issues with service. Surprisingly a 10min wait despite there being open tables to seat a table for 1. After they brought my soup base, they didn't turn on the heating unit so I had to figure it out myself. And you check out up front rather than at the table so the call button is pretty pointless.My biggest disappointment was that they no longer offer the combo sets, despite them still being listed on their online website. I specifically picked this place because of the combo options. Instead I had to order completely à la cart which ended up being more than I was expecting with less variety of vegetables.The saving grace is the fact that the Mala soup base was solid in flavor. Lots of Sichuan pepper corn numbness and fragrant spices. And they offer duck blood which I rarely see in hot pot stores.

Probably my favorite hot pot place I've tried in the Twin Cities! Met some friends on a Saturday evening. Parking can be a little difficult, but you can usually find a meter if you're okay walking a block or so. If you have a larger group, get there a little earlier in the evening to get a table. Service overall was good though maybe a little slow. There were only two guys bussing/serving.They have both a la carte and all you can eat options. The AYCE is the better option if you want a good variety of ingredients. I got the Tom Yum broth. It wasn't super flavorful, but it did the job! The sauce bar is the best - I love they give you recipes for different sauces. My favorite ingredients were the black agaric, tofu, beef fillet, and Chinese sauerkraut. Rice stick is also always a good bet!

VEGAN REVIEW!I will say this is more of a shabu place than hot place place unless I totally misinterpreted! I was so happy to find out this restaurant has plentiful vegetarian and vegan options! If I recall, all soup bases are vegan except for numbers two and five. Then many of the sauces are vegan customizable and up to you! I got the valentine joy pot - with mushroom soup base and mala spicy. Both broths are amazing! The Mala broth is very spicy so I def say it's not for the weak. The veggie options are great and despite the pot looking smaller - it is so filling. I definitely loved the service and I will definitely make this my new go-to spot.

This is by far the best hot pot option in Minnesota.I have been a regular here for the past 7+ years and my friends/boyfriend and I go here at least once to twice a month.The service is quick and friendly, the space is cleanly as well. I love that after you eat you can grab some Kung Fu bubble tea since they're in the same building. I have tried the pork bone broth, the mushroom, the tom yum and the spicy broth, ALL ARE GREAT! My favorite is the tom yum. The spicy is a bit oily but still great. I love that you can do two flavors as well!I love their selection of veggies and noodles! I do wish they had more cuts of beef/meat but I am very satisfied either way. I wish they'd bring back their free dessert they used to do but I understand why it's no longer a thing. I will always be a loyal customer here and I bring all of my family and friends here. They always love it. Be prepared to smell like hotpot though lol.Please go here and try it if you haven't!

I was looking forward to finally having Hotpot after about a year since my last time and found this place. This is the first Hotpot place I've tried since moving to the twin cities, and historically Hotpot on the east and west coasts have been some of the best food I've ever had. Everyone would always love it and be so excited to go back.Unfortunately, that was not really the experience for all of us this time. The setting is a bit strange with a Kung Fu Tea in the same room, but it does offer a nice option while you wait. However, as a result, the lobby is always pretty packed and the place is really loud when you are eating.We got there early so we didn't really have an issue getting a table, but shortly after we sat down, a large line formed waiting for a table. This is one of those nice Hotpot setups where each person has their own pot for cooking in. This is great for groups where some people are vegetarians, some people like food spicy, etc.You order a soup base and then you order toppings that you want to cook in your soup and eat. I had an order of lamb, beef, egg noodles, and enoki mushrooms with Pork Bone Broth. Everything was decent, but it wasn't to the same quality I've had at other places. The portions were average sized, but the meat didn't taste super fresh and the egg noodles were low quality. Everyone felt the same and we we are all kind of disappointed after leaving. The good thing is it's cheaper than other places I've been to for Hotpot, but definitely one of my lesser favorites.Also, after eating here, I later read that the owner was charged with running a crime ring in which they would steal phones from people in downtown and dinky town, transfer money out of the victims' bank accounts, and then sell the phones overseas so with a mediocre restaurant and a bad owner, I would definitely not recommend coming here.