Daniel B.
Yelp
Good, but pricey seems to be the general consensus when it comes to Good Harvest. I agree, but the portions you get are huge, so that makes up for some of it. Good Harvest differentiates itself from the hot pot competition by offering large, shareable "dry" pots and unique appetizers/sides in addition to the typical individual hot pots. While Good Harvest's boiling hot pots aren't significantly different or better than nearby hot pot places like China Hot Pot, Hot Melody, and J's Mini Hotpot Deluxe, their additional menu items plus good-to-great service are what bump this business up to four stars for me. I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to come here, but I do think this place is worth checking out. It's a spot I recommend if you're looking to try something different.
The restaurant opened October 2018 in Asian Square next to BBQ Corner 2. There was a pho restaurant here, Pho Hoa, but it closed almost a decade ago: http://bit.ly/39YouCX. Good Harvest has other locations in New York and North Carolina.
The space has been completely renovated and it looks great. It has a strong Chinese theme including ornate patterns on the storefront windows, a cool abacus wall, and circular openings, traditional in Chinese architecture. There are aquariums in the back. During our visit, they were filled with fish, lobster, and crab. This isn't a huge restaurant, but it's big enough. It's designed for and best experienced with a group.
The business caters to Chinese people. I've called the restaurant twice to book large group reservations. Both calls, each answered by a different person, were answered in Mandarin. When we visited on Tuesday night, the clientele was mostly Chinese. Three of the uniformed staff initially spoke to me in Mandarin until I told them I didn't speak Chinese. Don't worry - their English is good enough so if you don't speak Chinese, you'll be fine. I worked with Cindy and she took good care of our group.
Generally, Good Harvest sells two kinds of hot pot: (1) personal-sized hot pots where you pick and choose your ingredients and cook them yourself at the table and (2) large hot pots, intended for sharing, where the ingredients are preset and already cooked; most of these are typically dry pots (pots without soup/broth).
The personal-sized hot pots are just like those you can find at other hot pot restaurants in metro Atlanta (such those mentioned in the first paragraph above). Good Harvest's personal-sized hot pots start at $3.95 for most broths and then you add anywhere from $4-8 each for most ingredients such as meat, seafood, rice, noodles, and vegetables. The ordering format (paper menu form) and ingredient selection (over 70 to choose from) are fairly standard for a restaurant of this type. Highly customizable. Some of the more interesting and unique ingredient choices include pig kidney, pig brain, Dungeness crab, and lobster. And, like other hot pot places, there's a self-serve sauce bar. This one has over 20 condiments.
The real highlight and differentiating factor here are the big pots. There are about 20 different varieties featuring everything from frog (there are a half dozen varieties of frog alone) to king crab. The big pots run about $34.95 to $49.95 per pot and you can mix and match up to three kinds for extra. I estimate one pot can feed at least 3-4 people, especially if you order apps and sides. There were five of us and we ordered two pots and a bunch of apps and sides and we had a good amount of leftovers. Of the big pots, the fish pots are the only ones that are soupy, the rest are stir-fried. The pots are beautifully presented and have a bit of a wow factor to them.
We ordered the Prime Rib Pot ($44.95) and the Chicken & Frog in Abalone Sauce Pot ($49.95). I also tried the Flounder Pot ($34.95). All three were good with the Prime Rib being my favorite and the Flounder being my second favorite. The prime rib was served bone-in and was very similar to Korean galbi (beef short ribs) though slightly not as tender nor savory. The chicken and frog were served bone-in too. The chicken and frog pot was exceptionally bony and, while the abalone sauce flavor was tasty, I'm not sure I'd order it again. The flounder was delicious. Overall, the portion sizes were generous and there were lots of vegetables and other ingredients like cooked daikon radish, kelp, and broccoflower, which I really appreciated. They didn't skimp. The ingredient quality was good too.
I highly recommend ordering one or more of Good Harvest's "charpati" (chapati). We tried three - pork floss, pineapple, and durian - at $6.95 each. They were served piping hot and were scrumptious. I liked the pork floss the best. The pineapple charpati is one of their most popular items.
Cold side dishes we had included black fungus ($7.95) and marinated pig's ear ($8.95). Both were yummy. The fungus (cloud ear) was par for the course. The pig's ear was shaved into very thin slices. It tasted delectable with the sauce.