Grand Hot Pot Lounge

I wish I could love this place because it’s conveniently close to where I live and they have decent food … But their service is not the greatest, it’s like they don’t see us. We didn’t get all the things we ordered the first way round, so we tried it the second time … And they didn’t even come, despite awkward eye contacts… So disappointed.

This place was awesome! All you can eat and drink, for $ 25 on hot pot is pretty amazing. The waiters were pretty good about adding on orders for us and getting our food in a timely fashion which is hard to come by for all you can eat places. Don’t skip on the appetizers as the green onion pancake and dumplings were actually pretty good.

We had steamed egg with pepper and spicy and sour noodle soup. Gigantic portions of godly awesome food. Loved it and didn’t want to stop eating. Took another one to go for dinner the next day. Service was prompt.

I was invited here for dinner with friends. $ 25 AYCE they said, why not?! We came on a Monday night — which isn’t so packed. The lighting and atmosphere inside is mellow. I like the masks on the wall. The inside of the place looks small but the place is actually quite spacious. Its got an upstairs and hidden private rooms. If you want to throw a private party, i’m sure they can cater to your needs and then some. There were only a few people inside. We took a booth which seats about 4 comfortably.
To order you mark a pink half sheet of paper with all the meats, veggies and extras you can handle (double-​sided). Hint: don’t go crazy ordering, they give you hella food. Since it was our first time, we went crazy ordering hahah. You can choose between 4 broths. We chose original and spicy (⁵⁰⁄₅₀). I suggest you go spicy (if you like spicy) but the original was pleasant as well. They have 5 – 6 different sauces on the table. Hint: be sure to mix well before spooning into the provided dipping bowls. They have the peanut butter, spicy, soy, garlic, the standard brown sauce (I dunno what its called) and cilantro i think? I mixed the cilantro, garlic, brown and spicy. It was hella good and dipped well with everything. Its tradition for most asians not to eat rice for hot pot, but hey if your a rice lover, knock yourself out. We didn’t order rice. Here are the proteins we agreed on:
pork ribs
white meat chicken
fish
lobster balls
squid
fish balls
steak thinly sliced
blood chunks
veggies:
melon
bock choy
broccoli
daikon
fungus
cabbage
Extras:
You have to try the spicy fried chicken palms! It was my first time and went perfect with my asahi beer. Its kind of like palutan (palutan is tagalog for «food that goes well when drinking). Although my asian friends said you have to eat it the whole thing with the ligaments, sorry i spit out the palm and just ate the surrounding protein. Who knew this food existed? Where the heck have I been? I love trying out new foods like this especially pleasing to the palate.
Steamed spicy chicken — it was okay but still good.
Salmon sashimi: Yes they have it on the menu. Very fresh but didn’t go well with hotpot. Glad I had it though!
Dessert:
We tried the bitter jello i forgot what is was called but its supposed to be healthy for you. My friends said i would hate it but I actually liked it and finished the small bowl. Hint: you can ask for seconds on the dessert. To top it off the mango mousse or whatever you call it will make your night. Be sure to ask for two! So worth it!
I have nothing else to say but try this place. Everything was good and fresh. Cheers!

I was in San Francisco for my birthday weekend with the boyfriend. We decided to travel from our hotel in Union Square to this place for the AYCE Hot Pot Lunch special of $ 15.99 per person. This was my boyfriend’s first time trying hot pot and he’s hooked. We got the half and half broth, the spicy one was a bit too spicy for us. We got some veggies, the lobster balls, and some meats. Everything was exceptionally good. The AYCE includes drinks and dessert. I wasn’t sure why this place didn’t have a better rating, maybe San Francisco people are just spoiled with lots of delicious places to eat. But we thought the food and the cleanness of the restaurant was great.
Yes, as some people have mentioned the restroom was gross, one of the toilets was overflowing when I went in, so if you can avoid it don’t go in. There was also no hot water to wash my hands.

So I inquired about the beef, lamb, and pork belly that I checked off on the list from the server, to which she replied, they’re coming, «the cooks just got here, they start at 1200pm.»
Lady, your store opens at 11am, why the fuck are the cooks coming in an hour after opening time?
Anyway, I fed the meter enough for 1.5 hours and I figured that was plenty of time, especially when I’m parked right in front.
45 minutes in and I was still waiting for my meat. I’m writing this review, and I’m still waiting for my meat.
Will I be waiting until the meter runs out?
Edit:
The beef, lamb and pork arrived about 10 minutes later and was quickly consumed by the two of us at the table. We ordered a second round and it arrived in a timely manner.
That being said, the spicy broth is bleh and can use so much improvement. I didn’t try the original because my friend was sickly and I was already risking it by sitting next to her at lunch, so I will never know how it tastes.
The one and only thing I do like is the green onion pancake.

Was looking for something warm and soupy to eat on this rainy day of SF, found this on Unilocal and decided to give it a try!
It was ok, very typical all you can eat hotpot! It’s pretty good deal if you are looking to fill your stomach with only $ 25 per person and have various ingredients to choose!
Not particularly fond of the interior design, looks like this place used to be a bar/​club!
At the end, we still came out feeling cold, I guessed they didn’t have heater on!

3 Stars = «A-​OK» an It’s Ok, not the best, but then again, Hot Pot never really blows my mind if you know what I mean. Will I be returning? No, not by choice.
We didn’t expect to go this far away from the hotel to eat, but it turns out a relative lives a few blocks from here and loves this place.
Walking it around noon, the place was VERY dim, I guess it was the atmosphere they were going for since they were no able to turn it up when asked. Everyone had to get All-​You-​Can-​Eat if one person at the table wants it. They have a limit 2 hours, so you can’t just sit there and eat all day.
The meats were good quality, actually better than some other AYCE hot pot places I’ve been to where the second or third servings get worst almost like they are trying to make you not want anymore.

The food is OK, nothing especial… but we didn’t eat enough to tell.
Our order of the first round of food never came out completely, the seafood plates were completely missing. After we finished eating everything else on the table (which wasn’t a lot because it was our first round of tasting of different things before we want to get serious — this is our first time here), we asked a waiter to check on the remaining order. The waiter said ftom a distance: «they’re busy, just wait».
So, we waited, waited, and waited. We then signaled another waiter to check on our seafood plates for us. This waiter half nodded (from distance) to acknowledge us, but never came back to us.
We patiently waited, and waited again. We then signaled a 3^rd person to check on the order for us. Surprisingly, this 3^rd person actually came by our table and asked nicely «What can I do for you?». So, we explained to her that our order never came out completely, and all the seafood dishes didn’t make it to the table. Her reply? «I don’t know what you ordered, and what didn’t come out. You have to order again!»
I was like, seriously!!! We waited for a good 45 minutes between the 3 waiters, and that’s the answer we got???
I guess we will not be back again.

I’ve been here twice and don’t think I’ll be back again for the reason that these people does not know how to operate a business to keep its customers satisfied.
The food here is average, just any like many other hot pot places in the city, nothing stands out about the quality of the food at this place.
My complain about this place is that the people working here are very shady, they purposely make you wait for a long time for them to bring up the food to kill the 2 hours while you are here.
Me and a buddy came in on a rainy Thursday, this place was pretty much empty, about 2 or 3 parties including us. We ordered 5 plates of meat in total on our first order, which they took twenty minutes to bring to us. On our second order, we ordered 3 more plates of meat, which the food never showed up after we waited for 15 minutes, I thought they had forgotten ours order so I talked to the man standing at the counter, he seemed annoyed by me for asking where our food is, and he gave me «the look» as he walked into the kitchen. 10 minutes later he came out with one plate, I asked him where is the other two plates we ordered, he replied «let me check.» But the two remaining plates never showed up. We didn’t want to wait any longer for these fuckers to waste our time, so we paid and left.
If you can tolerate waiting for your food at a «Buffett» restaurant, you can try this place out. But if you are hungry and impatient, this is not the place for you.
These guys will go down sooner or later with these weak tactics and terrible business ethics.

Grand Hot Pot Lounge has a full menu besides the Hot Pot. Located on Geary Blvd. this space use to be a bar/​night club.
Good:
$ 25 AYCE Hot Pot and AYCD including Beer and Wine.
Hot Pot Meats
Broths
Full menu
Ventilation
Bad:
Parking
Veggies not fresh
Ugly:
Restrooms as bad as if it were 2 am when this place was a club.

Pretty good for the price! As it gets later in the evening, this place turns into the place to be. Karaōke in the back, food and drinks in the front, fun all around. It’s AYCE AND drink. Huge plus with the drinks.
We arrived just around the beginning of dinner rush, so our large group didn’t even have to wait for a table. We ordered just about everything on the menu. Twice. The meat comes in very large portions, but may be difficult to separate out, especially if you eat slowly and the meat thaws out more. Sometimes, especially with a larger group, parts of your order may get lost in the shuffle. However, their waitstaff is really friendly and willing to bring out whatever’s missing if you just ask.
Service was decent. Could have been a little better, especially with the clearing of plates and refilling of broths, but no real complaints. Overall, our group had a nice time and we were all in food comas after. Will come back to this place.

I’m kind of wavering around 3.5 on this one, but I can’t see myself going out of the way to go here again (which I already had to do the first time; this place is nowhere near BART).
Came with a group of about 14 on a Wednesday night for AYCE hot pot and apparently, karaōke. It was an awesome surprise, but we started the night by having the audio of the floor above us piped into our room (we could only hear the person singing, with no background music, while we were settling in and still sober) — they got everything fixed though and we were able to work our way through the limited number of 80’s and 90’s songs their karaōke service had available.
It’s ~$ 25/​person for AYCE and all-​you-​can-​drink beers/​soda, which is a pretty great deal if you regularly spend that much on yourself when you go out. I’m more of the $ 8 entrée type of person, so buffets are always a wash for me on the value side of things.
There’s a lot of great noodle and meat options, but they really lack on veggies. The curry broth was by far the best; spicy was way too spicy, and original was way too bland. That said — with hot pot, everything you eat is going to taste like the broth, so get one you think you’ll like!
Service is insanely slow, so order everything you’ll want at the start of your night to avoid having to chase down your servers. I’d return for another VIP room event with the crew, but probably won’t be adding hot pot to my date night rotation.
A fun spot if you’re rolling with a large group!

The AYCE deal is a fantastic value for $ 25 — as much food as you want, including appetizers and some desserts, and unlimited drinks! The food is pretty delicious — beef and pork belly were my favorites.
The only downside is that the service is extremely slow, so expect to wait to get anything.

Came here on a Tuesday for the $ 24.99 deal for all-​you-​can-​eat! Great deal because it covers appetizers, drinks (including alcohol), desserts and the AYCE meat, veggies, etc! The spicy soup was too spicy for me, barely have taste but has the tingly spiciness that stays in your throat and the regular broth was so bland, so I would dip in both base before eating. Love the garlic condiment but the dipping sauces could be better or more options to mix. The Chinese herbal drink is so hard to find but I did here and it was delicious and unlimited! Service was the worse though — we waited forever for them to take out paper with all the stuff we marked on it that we wanted and forever for them to bring the check… They aren’t attentive and even if you have your hand waving, they never bothered to look over. Aside from the price and the drink, it wasn’t impressive.

I really wanna give em a 5 star rating bc I love this place but service can be pretty bad! Very very slow…
Also the only other thing I wish they had was individual pots, because if you have a big olé group, your sharing one broth pot. (Either one flavor, or divided, so you can try a different flavor too.)
BUT that’s my only complaint because the selections are awesome, the meat is good, and the regular broth I get is HELLA TASTY.
The lunch AYCE is about $ 17, soda in a can also AYCD… and dinner is $ 25, AYCD beer is included with that price. The kids are not free, unless under 3 I believe. But they’re prices are cheaper for kids based on age range.
Highly recommended.

Wow! $ 15.99 per person lunch time AYCE including soft drink even though on weekends. $ 10 more for dinner with all you can drink. What can you bargain? The quality of food was good. The spicy side dishes were great, too. I love their spicy dishes and spicy soup base a lot. Environment was very comfortable. They also have Karaōke and hotpot rooms, too. Not sure why this place is quite and not as many customer? The environment and food are way worth for the price. My little suggestion here: they can improve their bathrooms. Don’t get me wrong. Their restrooms were okay to use but will be perfect for some improvement. Yes! I always check the restrooms. I am quite stubborn about the restrooms.

Lets get to the nitty gritty, for 25 bucks (plus tips and tax) for AYCE and drink hot pot– the price seems unbeatable.
Why it’s worth it
+huge selection of hot pot menu items
+impressive amount of side dishes, pre cooked items, such as sashimi (although the quality is meh) and baked oysters
+they’re not stingy with the portions (although you will get charged extra if they dub your left overs as wasteful)
+includes all you can drink (sake, beer, soy milk, chinese herbal drink, etc)
+includes dessert
+huge flat screen TV to meet your sporting needs
Areas lacking
–service is pretty slow, you can ask for things from several people, but the chances of them remembering is slim
–you have to concoct your own dipping sauce (none of them are tasty individually– so the mixing of mediocre sauces = mediocre combo whichever way «tossed»)
–some items checked on the paper never arrive
For what it’s worth, you’re paying a fairly decent price for a massive amount of food and the options seem unlimited. However, one should not have too high hopes for quality..

AYCE Hot Pot Lunch for $ 15.99, even on the weekends.
Food = good. Plenty to choose from for the AYCE menu. Ribeye beef, beef tendon, chicken, seafood, some organ meat, vegetables, dumplings, noodles, etc. Comes with a sweet list of a few appetizers (awesome, and tried all of them), drinks (soft drinks and teas) and dessert, too. Their house original broth = worth it. Best tasting hot pot broth I’ve had.
If you’re not in the mood for hot pot, they do have a regular menu as well.
Service = okay. They’ve not attentive and you’ll need to flag them for refills on everything, your check, etc.
Prices = reasonable.
Parking = street.

Came here with my friend because he tried it the other day and loved it. I wouldn’t say I like this place but it’s okay.
We went with the all you can eat and drink for 24.99. We started off with curry and house broth. Curry and house broth were pretty flavorful and not too bad. Their meats are decent quality but service is a bit slow. We ordered fish, clams, and oyster and they were all frozen. I didn’t try the shellfish but I did try the fish. It wasn’t great but I would prefer fresh fish. We also ordered fish balls and dumplings and never received them. We were hardly ever checked on by the wait staff.
If this was the only hotpot place around then I would visit this place but fortunately it’s not so it’s unlikely that I will visit this place again.
Total for 2 w/​tax&tip: $ 62