The Tastiest Hot Pot in San Jose

Shoryuken

★★★★☆ 3.8 (121) • $$$

"This place went viral on social media so I just had to come here for my birthday in January. since then, i have returned 2 more times and unfortunately i've noticed the quality of the sushi going downhill by the 3rd visit. For the first two visits, the Omakase sashimi and nigiri were to die for, as well as the fancy oysters. The portion of uni they would give you definitely surpasses the $49.55/pp AYCE price. The fish was super fresh and the wagyu was wagyuing. By the third visit, i've noticed the same dishes had gotten cheap. The uni was brown and tasted fishy, and the fish looked like it was dyed a certain food coloring. I had a feeling this place was a little too good to be true but I'm glad i got to experience two really good dinners here. hopefully the quality of the food will be up to par again once they figure out how they want to move forward with their business."

Halal street

★★★★☆ 4.2 (132)

"This is probably the best Xinjiang food I've ever had.I recommend getting the regular menu and not the hotpot. My favorite dish was the stir-fried lamb tripe. It has a unique taste and is probably the tastiest thing I ordered here. The lamb rice is very good too. Skewers and the da pan ji is not bad too.This restaurant has high quality food, but don't expect the service to be quick. I like to judge more on food than service, therefore I'll give it five stars. Bonus of having kvass on their menu, a fermented Russian drink."

Shabu King

★★★★☆ 4.3 (191) • $$

"Unlimited food is always going to be great. Place was pretty clean.They delivered the meats in a timely manner. The prices are not super pricey which I was surprised by."

Seapot Hot Pot & KBBQ

★★★★☆ 4 • $$

"All you can eat hotpot (and bbq) with a delish broth and sooooo many options of veggies and meats. Lunch can't get better than that. I've been here several times (with colleagues and family) and each time I've left happy and satiated. Here's a picture just as we were getting started... anytime after that I can't remember to take pictures coz I gots to focus haha. They are super busy at lunch time.. pro tip sign up on the yelp waitlist or make a reservation if you're coming in as a big group. Even then they are pretty quick with service and the conveyer belt with small plates of meat, veggies, seafood and noodles is quite handy. I'll be back soon."

Fashion Wok

★★★★☆ 4.4 (661) • $$

"Kids (2yr and 4yr) love the food here. Food come up super quick, super important for us, eating with kids. Plenty of utensils on table (omg, kids dropping spoons and forks!) Such a good place for us."

Happiness Hot Pot

★★★★★ 4.7 (142)

"My partner and I visited Happiness Hot Pot on a Friday evening. There was a parking lot, but most spaces belonged to residences, so parking can be a challenge (especially since there is an Orange Theory in the same plaza). In terms of wait, it was not bad at all and we got seated right away. The restaurant was not very busy when we visited.We ordered the mild version of the Spicy Beef Tallow soup base along with the non-Spicy Mushroom soup base. I really enjoyed the soup bases and thought that mild was a good level of spiciness (for my Cantonese stomach).The lamb and beef meat quality here was quite high. There was good marbling; and very easy chewing texture. The portions are quite small so you'll likely order more plates of meat than other hotpot restaurants. Sauce bar was pretty decent too and had most staples.I would skip ordering meat balls. We ordered the ball platter, but were quite unsatisfied by the portion size. Not worth the money considering that the balls were likely store bought.I enjoyed the meal, but probably won't come back due to the higher pricing compared to other hotpot places."

Goku Korean BBQ and Hot Pot

★★★★☆ 3.9 • $$$

"This place offers a very standard hot pot and BBQ experience and doesn't stand out from the crowd at all! The iPad ordering system is unique, but our multiple orders were delayed, requiring us to shout for our server's attention. There had to be multiple orders since they don't allow more selections to come to your table at a time. Seated at table D-1 on a Sunday night (last night), we encountered a disinterested server who seemed indifferent to our needs. He was basically never checking his ipad at all.My soup was boiling away as I waited for veggies, and the tom yum refill was disappointingly flavorless. Overall, the atmosphere felt more like a canteen than a dining experience. Unfortunately, this was our first and last visit; there are far better hot pot options in the city."

Qing Shu Malatang & Nai Brother Fish

★★★★☆ 4.1 (8)

"Good selection of broth and different seafood options! It is food court style so quick to get food"

Jiuding Flavor Restaurant

★★★★★ 4.5 (346) • $$

"There's a decent amount of seating. The service here was great and they consistently check up on you. There's also a sauce bar which was nice. This place is great for groups. This place is not AYCE, but you can definitely get full from the decent portion size. The price was reasonable as well.I got the spicy and beef tallow hot pot. Everything here was good quality from the soups to the vegetables to the meats.The ingredients were fresh and tasty. Definitely my favorite Chinese hot pot place in the area."

YGF Malatang & Hotpot

★★★★☆ 4.2 (75) • $$

"This place was so good !!! I love malatang and was so excited to come here for lunch . They have a lot more options here that I have not seen at other places like fish noodle ( fish cake noodle ) , cheese fish cake , a bunch of different tofu noodles / fried tofu , and a lot of other items that I have not seen before . I wish they offered the bone broth in extra spicy but they do have a sauce bar on the side to add your own sauce . They have two different dry pots here a chili oil dry pot or a peanut based dry pot . It's easy to end up getting a lot of food because I wanted to try everything so ended up with 1.47 lbs of food , it's $14.99 per lb. I think it's a good deal because I love all the variety ! Great place to come for malatang , super clean and a lot of variety !"

Tabu Shabu - San Jose

★★★★☆ 4.4 (363) • $$

"Came for the $16.99 lunch special (M-F, some broths are an up-charge) and honestly fairly happy. + Vegetable plate is slightly customizable. They let you substitute veggies for the others. No more wasting or needing to hand off unliked veggies to others in your group like mushrooms. + Meat marbling looks pretty nice for the price+ Service is great. Kenny, who I believe was our host/server was pretty on top of ensuring everything was going smoothly. Water check ups and lowering our heat (since its not customer controlled) without needing us to flag him down. + Menu/inclusions, most shabu places I know, either give you rice or ramen, so its nice to get both here- Not really a fan of limited broth choices, only 2 options are free and the other two have an up-charge. If they pick up Shabuway's curry tonkotsu I think I'd have no downsides. Nonetheless, very limited downsides but overall a great lunch option with their special. Service is great as the seating arrangement guarantees you can be seen when you need help."

Legend Hotpot & Grill

★★★★☆ 3.5 (312) • $$$

"This place is an experience. This is our 3rd year celebrating our wedding anniversary at this restaurant. I like all the variety of ingredients you can place in your bowl as well as they offer a wide selection of hotpot broths. Fun place to eat."

The Yakitori Bar

★★★★☆ 4.2 (469) • $$

"The Yakitori Bar is a hidden gem that offers a wide variety of meats and veggies. We came here for dinner on a Wednesday night at 9pm, and it was pretty packed! We were able to grab a table without waiting, which was nice. We ordered the beef tongue, king oyster mushroom, chicken thighs, and chicken hearts. For some of the meats there's a salt or sauce option, I would say definitely go with the sauce if you want a flavor marinade with a great depth of flavor and go with the salt if you want to taste the natural flavors of the meat. The best bite of the meal was the king oyster mushrooms because of the sauce, bonito flakes on top, and the texture. It was so good. After eating all of our items, we ordered 2 more! My close second would be the chicken hearts. I feel like some yakitori places are super overpriced, but The Yakitori bar has high-quality items, so I thought the price was reasonable. We also ordered the calamansi soju drink and it was so delish!! if you want something refreshing that leans sour, definitely get this drink. Also, when we walked in, it felt like we were transported to Japan because the decor and restaurant set up was very reminiscent of yakitori bars we've been to while traveling. I would happily come back to the Yakitori bar time and time again. Every item was so good and I look forward to trying other items on the menu."

Warehouse Buffet

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (715) • $$$

"We LOVE warehouse buffet. Such a hidden gem in foster city. Seated right away and there's always someone asking how we are doing, if we want more or if we need a grill change. Service is amazing! The place is quite huge, with a bar and sides/sauce bar as well. Love that it's right in the water! Plus the price and quality, unbeatable!! They have hot pot and kbbq."

Feng Hotpot

★★★★★ 4.8 (60)

"We got here right at opening and were seated right away, which was perfect because it got pretty crowded not long after. Everything was fresh and there were thinly sliced meats, crisp veggies, and a solid variety of sides. The soup bases were flavorful, and the sauce bar had everything we needed. We were all full and satisfied. The place had a good energy, and the service was solid. Definitely worth coming back for another hotpot night!"

Mala Town

★★★★★ 4.6 (523) • $$

"BRING BACK TOM YUM SOUP BROTH. As frequenters who actually completed 3 loyalty cards between 2 people we ask nicely please, bring back tom yum soup. The new sukiyaki broth that replaced it is too sweet and the sweet and sour tomato broth gave me a horrible acid reflux. After they removed tom yum we tried it a couple more times but even the variety of the ingredients decreased. Sadly, we won't be coming back anytime soon. Maybe maybe maybe"

Zhangliang Malatang

★★★★★ 4.8 (490) • $$

"With the propagation of hot pot restaurants in the Eastbay Zhangliang Malatang is the newest one. Located on Fallon Road in Dublin it's just one of two in that retail center. ZLM is a pick your ingredients and pay by weight. The ingredient choices are plentiful stacked orderly. There are about 5 broths to choose from. Just a normal size bowl after weighing comes out to be average $20 to $25 which would almost get you AYCE at the other hot pot restaurants in the area. We've been to ZLM a couple times and they still have some improvements to their service to be made. ie. They close in the afternoon but because they wanted to leave 40 min early they asked if I could take out. I refused and they relented. (Minus Star) Parking is hard in the busy center at peak hours."

Oc Lau Nuong Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4 (154) • $$

"A good OC place with reasonable prices! Escargot was really good quality and not slimey. Would return!"

Taichi Pot Shabu Shabu

★★★★☆ 4.4 • $$$

"I was in a party of 7 and we had a 7PM reservation on a Sunday. Unfortunately that day the yelp reservation system glitched so we had to wait for 45 minutes. After they told us to get ready, we had to wait even more since they were not actually ready. We waited for over an hour in total - by the time we started eating, it was already 8:40. We split our party in two to sit in two separate tables to make everything quicker.The staff was very nice to us since they knew we had to wait for such a long time. They offered to let us order three broths. However, the kitchen wasn't fully in sync so the person who took our order told us that we only got two broths. I didn't care and we ended up getting a mala broth and a garlic tonkotsu broth. I like how they have sauces tableside so we don't need to get out of our seats. The food was pretty decent and had good flavor. I especially liked the mala broth. We went with the ultra menu and mostly ordered wagyu and lamb to get our money's worth. Both cuts of meat were good. The broth refill is just pouring hot water into the soup so it does get a bit diluted.We thought that they were going to stop serving us at 9:20 since they close on 9:30 on Sundays but they were aware of our situation and kept serving us. We stayed 20 minutes past closing and I appreciate the staff for staying a bit later to deal with us. The owner stopped by to chat with us and he was very nice. He was made aware of our situation and apologized. Even though our interaction was brief it was clear that he is passionate about this restaurant. He talked us into getting one last plate of meat even though I was full and also gave us some mochi ice cream.Even though my experience was very atypical and I was very tempted to give a lower review due to the wait time, the quality of the food and the lengths the staff went to ensure that we were happy justify a 5/5."

Shancheng Lameizi Hot Pot

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (128) • $$$

"The place is beautiful, it reminds of ancient China days. I love it!! The service is spot on, they are super attentive, friendly, and easy going.We ordered more, but we started eating I forgot to take more photos. We also got Kobe, prawns, and combination mushrooms. I like Seapot too. It's definitely different, this is not all you can eat. Seapot is modern looking. You don't get some of the exotic stuff that you would find at Seapot. For examples brain, pork blood, I believe I saw pigs ears, and chicken feet too. I don't eat those particular parts of animals. If you're someone that enjoys that, this spot is for you. This is our second time there. I will definitely come back, that's how much I enjoyed it. The food was fresh and impeccable."

Fiery Hot Pot and Grill

★★★★☆ 4.1 (180) • $$$

"It was just one of those days when hotpot sounded like a good choice for dinner. Arrived on Friday night at around 7pm, and there were plenty of tables open. Pros (didnt really have any cons) - The staff were friendly and attentive. Quick to answer questions and checked on us often. Everything - from the veggies to the meats - all tasted fresh. Items arrived quickly. Lots of choices and we were stuffed. Fave meats for me were the cumin lamb and wagyu. Loved the watercress and oyster mushrooms. There were a few sweets on the menu, but they also gave us mango sorbet at the end of our meal. It's a 90 minute time limit, and they came over to tell us when our time was almost up. However, it was more than enough time for us."

Mala Town

★★★★★ 4.5 (267) • $$

"Do not be like me and come here after a long day of not eating because you'll end up packing down a bowl for 2 meals! But also be like me if you don't mind delicious leftovers.The selection variety for the bowls here are great: they'll have most of the classic hot pot options with some few extra goodies I haven't seen elsewhere where and enjoy such as the fish tofu with cheese and mochi nuggets! With mild spice on the signature beef bone broth I could def feel a little numbing in my mouth but it's so flavorful.Their bottled drink selections were refreshing if you want a fun flavored drink like grape or pomegranate tea. Alternatively, they offer drinks on the side that are free next to the sauce bar.I'm already looking forward to my next time eating here! Definitely come with friends to bet on how much food each person will end up paying for based on the weight of their bowl."

Seapot Hot Pot & KBBQ

★★★★☆ 4 • $$$

"This place was amazing. First the decor and ambiance:Vibrant BeautifulCleanThe service was above outstanding. Very attentive, especially for an all you can eat buffet style. The booths have the induction for the hot pot as well as the pan for bbq. I've never in my life seen a conveyor right next to the table with so many assortments of small plates you grab to add to your hot pot. It's like a sushi boat bar but better. You can take whatever you want and there is no limit on these plates. The assortment of choices was incredible. Veggies, meats and fish. The food was delicious. Great flavor and spice. The food was fresh. I will definitely be going back. Great for groups!!!!!They also have a full bar!!!"

Grand HotPot

★★★★☆ 4.1 (597) • $$

"I've been here a couple times now, but our second time was the BEST. We decided to throw a birthday party for my nephew, who was home from college.We reserved a private Karaoke room for AYCE hot pot and it was FUN. We ordered a ton of appetizers, meats, veggies, sashimi, rice, noodles, fruit and drinks. We had three different hot pots that were split, so six different broths. It was $44 for each adult for the private room (All you can eat and drink), Like $19 for kids and my 3 year old was free. I was worried that the kids would not like to do the hot pot, but they loved getting served. When we weren't sharing plates, we were passing that mic. Even people who didn't want to sing, had a blast and were picking songs. It was so fun, we all had a blast and left so full."

One Pot Shabu Shabu - Cupertino

★★★★☆ 3.9 • $$$

"We ordered the Kobe meat and a kurobuta shoulder and scallops. The pork shoulder was delicious. The broth is the house special. I come back specifically for this broth soy milk + miso. I have been to other hot pot but non had this broth combination. Yummy. Next time I will get a bigger portion of the pork shoulder."

Shabuya - Milpitas

★★★★☆ 4 • $$

"I'm obsessed with Shabuya! The soup is absolutely delicious and the perfect comfort food. I've tried a few different combinations, but my go-to is mixing the spicy miso and tonkotsu - it's a game changer!The meat is always super fresh and the quality is top notch. But what really sets Shabuya apart is the service. The staff is always friendly, attentive, and accommodating.I've been to Shabuya multiple times and I've never been disappointed. If you're a fan of hot pot or just looking for a new spot to try, I highly recommend giving Shabuya a shot. You won't regret it!"

3 Kingdoms Hot Pot

★★★★☆ 4.3 (214) • $$$

"Food: okService: decentAmbiance: good decor, but feels run down for a Sunday lunch hour"

Supreme Pot

★★★★☆ 3.9 (624) • $$$

"3.5 stars. AYCE hot pot or kbbq dinner for $32.99 per person.We decided to try their hot pot option. They offer shared or individual pots. And we liked that there's also a split option for individual pots. Ordering is through a phone app, which is not too convenient when you're doing AYCE with multiple people. We were limited to 3 items per person per round, which seemed restrictive but actually not. The menu though was smaller compared to other places we've been to. We enjoyed the supreme beef and lamb, other meats were fine. They could do better with portion sizes. We only got 4 pieces of shrimp, mussels, fish tofu each in one order but then bowl full of fish filet and squid. There was so much that it felt like we were given a whole filet and squid. Vegetable options were also limited and sadly not fresh. Some were frozen and others were old and browning.But there were enough items we liked and we left very full.Parking: the plaza is under construction right now, so parking can be challenging."

NICE 2 MEET U 那年遇见

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (65)

"I like their sauce bar. It stood out to me the most. Maybe it's because they have the most appetizers compared to other hotpot places I've been to. There's a menu for ordering ingredients, but the majority of ingredients are self-serve. You'd have to go to the fridge to pick them out yourself. They have signs for pricing right in the center for easy reference. Since it's not AYCE, it does get pricey, but it's comparable to other similar restaurants. Servers were very fast and helpful though. They kept the same interior as the old hotpot place that was here previously, so the ambiance was pretty nice."

YGF Malatang

★★★★☆ 4.3 (415) • $$

"This place was so yummy!! I was in the mood for some noodles without something as heavy as soup with it, and this honestly hit the spot!! I got the Dry Mix and it was soo good. They had such a wide variety of ingredients to choose from + a sauce making station! This is also super good for meals where you don't want to interact with anyone!!"

Top Pot

★★★★★ 4.6 (360) • $$$

"I loved the idea of this spot, individual pots, a good variety of soup bases, the option to do personal half hotpot half barbecue. Got a corner sauce bar with options like fermented tofu too. Topping variety is decent, got biang biang noodles, shrimp paste, a whole column of veggies. And if you care for dimsum or appetizers, they have those options too. I went with the cilantro and preserved egg base. got a few pieces of it in the soup. The flavors aren't too strong, they do have extra cilantro at the sauce bar if I really wanted to amp it up. I went with mainly their beef tongue, pork belly, ribeye, only to find that they do have lamb (my favorite) but was a bit too full for it. Veggies were quite fresh, I would say about half a bunch is given in each order. The portions per order are quite small, which helps prevent over ordering, sort of... my stomach felt full after I sent in the last order.I really want to love this place but doubt I want to come back. The original soup was just right, but when your soup is running low and you get soup refills, their broth is quite salty. I don't recall the last time I needed to drink this much water during hot pot. I had to stop dipping my food in the sauce too just to limit the sodium intake. It was still too late though, I had a fat headache for the rest of the day. If your stomach is as sensitive as mine with salt and MSG, beware. My other friend was also not feeling too well after the meal due to the salt. If your kidney works wonders, go for it."

Long Men Bay Hotpot

★★★★★ 4.6 (20)

"Saw this place was on soft opening while strolling through Vietnamtown. Quick search shows they already have a location in Newark with good reviews. Once you're seated, you order through QR code and scroll through their menu. Menu is pretty long, including 6 different broths to choose from, some very unique meat pieces, assortment of skewers (also for the hot pot), and some house special snacks. (Unique meats included duck blood, goose intestine, pork brain, beef stomach). Some of the menu has Chinese characters, so we had to google translate that it was spice levels for the broth. It costs $2.98 per person for access to the sauce bar. Sauce bar is covered with sliding screens, which I thought was nice to keep it a little more tidy. The sides we grabbed were some pickled veggies and even some cold clams, which we grabbed a lot of. There was also chicken feet. My favorite to see at the hot pot sauce bar is the mushroom sauce.We got the Spicy Butter Broth and Mushroom soup bases. The meats were nicely cut and not frozen. I think I would probably get a different broth than mushroom because eating the spicy was too overpowering for my palette. I did not like the liver skewers and I would probably not order the skewers again. All other meats were delicious. I just wish they had a sweet soy at the service bar (there's sugar but it's really not the same). I don't think I liked the Marbled beef. I would get the beef short rib. We didn't want to stray for any expensive meats today, but maybe we'll try it next time. There were fruits and some jellies for end of meal, but we were too full to get it. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Service was very fast, though we were only one of two tables dining that evening. The restaurant itself feels very new and clean. Pricing is fairly reasonable, though I hate to say about $100 is normal for two people now. Service - 5 / Ambiance - 5 / Food - 4 / Price - 4"

Earl Spicy

★★★★☆ 4.3 (491) • $$

"Earl Spicy has been in the old Yi Yuan location for 5 years, the interior decor is same and serves Szechuan cuisine. Met up with some old friends for lunch the day after Thanksgiving. After conversation with the owner found out this will be their last week. They sold the restaurant due to health issues. We ordered a table full of food of which most were good. They said the new owners are going to keep some of the most popular items. Only three tables at lunch."

Shabu Time

★★★★★ 4.6 (643) • $$

"Perfect non-AYCE shabu shabu in the heart of Japantown, San Jose. Nice little place with friend and attentive service. The food is good, the meats and the veggies are fresh. We opted for the medium size of meat and that was plenty. I come up and get my tattoo at the shop a block up and been wanting to try Shabu Time for a while now. May have to stop in again when I fly up from LA for my next session."

Haidilao

★★★★★ 4.6 • $$$

"This is my 5 year-old's absolute favorite place -- and trust me, he doesn't let me forget it. Every time we drive by, he's already plotting our next visit. Not that he eats much here (let's be honest, hotpot isn't exactly 5-year-old cuisine), but with free kids' meals that include chicken nuggets, an adorable rabbit-shaped bao, yakult drink, and a toy, Haidilao has figured out the perfect way to win over both kids and their paying parents. Their family-friendly approach clearly works because I'm here spending way more than I intended while my kid walks out grinning with his new toy, he's thrilled, and I'm already a silver member (yes, they got me).Now let's talk about the real star of the show: the service. Haidilao's customer service is on another level. From the moment you check in on their iPad to the time you leave, it's like you're being pampered at a five-star hotel, not a hotpot restaurant. While you wait, there's an array of snacks, hot tea, and even small toys to keep everyone happy (today, it was a pinwheel toy). Once seated, they offer aprons, phone screen wipe, and an iPad for ordering which is quick and seamless. The soup bases are the heart of the meal, and Haidilao doesn't disappoint. My absolute favorite is the Chongqing Spicy Beef Tallow -- it's a fiery, numbing mala experience that's packed with immense chili flavor. Fair warning, though: it's pretty oily, so if you want a similar but less oily experience, the regular Spicy Beef Tallow is a good alternative (though it's also less spicy, but it does have mala). For something more mellow, the Spicy Pork Bone Broth is an easy winner. It's comforting, clear, and flavorful enough to sip directly, unlike the Chongqing option, which is more about the heat than the broth itself.The food itself is fresh and high quality, with some veggies and meat variety that changes with the season, and the customizable dipping sauces are where you can really tailor the experience. My go-to sauce recipe is inspired by Dooby on YouTube, and it's packed with tangy, bold flavors:- 1 scoop of peanut sauce- 1 scoop of fermented soybeans- 1 scoop of green onions- 1 scoop of cilantro- 1 scoop of minced garlic- 1 scoop of homemade soy sauce- Double the soy sauce with black vinegar (8 teaspoons, roughly)- Finally, add a little spicy soup base directly into the mix.Haidilao is not just a meal -- it's an event. And the fact that they're open until 2 am? Huge win for those of us looking for a late-night spot when everything else closes by 8 or 9. Whether it's a family outing, a date night, or just a craving for exceptional hotpot, Haidilao delivers every time."