Hotpot Alley

They’ve introduced some new claypot series. If you like spicy food, I recommend trying H1—it’s delicious and spicy, and you can change the complimentary steam rice for rice noodles. For those who can’t handle spicy, I suggest H7, which is my child’s favorite. For all these claypot, they have bean sprout, celery and onion in it, you can add or remove vegetables as you like—just let the waitress know, and they’ll accommodate your preferences. On Mondays, they offer a CQ chicken pot at half price, enough for two people. If you like extra spice, you can ask them to add more chili in the soup. The flavor is amazing. The staff is very friendly, and is not expensive. I’ll definitely be coming back often! Oh, I forgot to say, the shaved ice is my kids' favorite. They ordered the mango shaved ice every time.

What an experience. The staff was amazing. The first time here, staff helped us pick out an amazing meal. Everything had a uniquely great taste.

10/10 will go again! The hotpot and clay pot options were great! I definitely recommend the CQ Chicken Pot. The staff will add soup base to turn it into a hot pot if you want. The chicken and soup itself are so flavorful. The portions are insane in the best ways. This will definitely be one of my go-to spots from now on! Staff is super friendly and came by to check on us frequently. They added soup base to our hot pot a few times and made sure we were well fed before leaving.

You guys ROCKED OUR WORLD this Thursday when we treated his daughter to dinner. Fabulous set up. Great food items, and friendly people. It averaged us about $33 per person with tip and taxes, but well worth the healthy delicious meal and ambience we enjoyed. We will be back!

Had 4 claypots take out last weekend. While driving home, i smelled something burn but thought it was normal as rice could be burn on the bottom for claypot. However, sauces were spilled all over and plastic was burned and broken. Made a huge mess to my car. Food itself was fine but the experience was unpleasant.

We eat hotpot a lot and all over the place. This place is hands down the sweetest place I have ever been. The staff are incredibly helpful. They are attentive and just all around sweet. On topnof it the food is delicious! Great place to get Hot pot! Thanks for making my daughters bday special 🩷

Aloha! First time trying hot pot and the experience was awesome but the food was even better! Delicious and lots of different flavors. Mahalo to the staff🤙

I ordered the chicken and mushrooms clay pot rice through Uber Eats, and to my surprise, they delivered it in an actual clay pot! The aroma from the clay pot was so enticing that it filled the entire apartment, and my roommates couldn't resist coming out of their rooms to ask for a bite. This dish was flavorful, well-prepared, and beautifully presented, making it the best online food order I've ever experienced!

Eating hair made me feel right at home! I'm from Southern California and hot pot has always been a must... The checkout process is really unique. You come to the front of the desk, scan the QR code to secure your place in line, and then you take a shopping cart and pick up all the toppings that you want. Then when you get to the end of the line, You pay for your ingredients then choose your broth and pay for that too. The food is very fresh and extremely nutritious on top of that. It's not every day I find a place where I can get all the vegetables and the meat that I want because I have to eat a very low carb diet due to chronic illness. I love that I've got a restaurant that has Options that work perfectly for me. My favorite meat of all is actually the pork belly. I let it boil for just a few seconds until the red is gone, and then I eat it. You can also have access to the bar, but I think there's an extra cost. The ambience of the restaurant is also so pretty and well decorated. I can't wait to come back soon.

Tasty! It's one of those kind of places where you should ask for recommendations if you haven't been before. -or go with someone who's been. Don't be afraid to ask how it all works. It's tasty & fun once you get started. Very friendly staff. Very helpful. Lots of tasty broth, meat, and veg choices. Nice layout. Room for small and large parties.

Fantastic service, flavor/quality, and cozy restaurant. Step in and grab a shopping basket, grab plates of meat, veggies, noodles, drinks, etc. On the menu, you can't lose. Great flavor options for broths that come out hot. Split decision or have a group with different tastes/spice levels? Get the double bowl to enjoy two different broths! Sauce bar has great options. LOVE the fridge with self serve jugs of water and cups, then at your table if your jug gets low they'll notice and replace it for you--Very attentive dining experience even though you pay upfront. They come around with extra broth at a good pace too. Cute restaurant and every table feels pretty private/in its own space. Great value, quality, and experience.

Came here with my boyfriend for dinner and we had the best experience! First of all, the food was great. We got the Monday special which was a chicken pot that had potatoes and garlic in it. The chicken was good and very tender but some of the pieces had a lot of bone and not much chicken. After we finished eating that, we had them add broth to the base and that's when we added our extras the we purchased. Highly recommend the pork dumplings, seasoned beef, and pork belly. The workers here were incredibly kind and helpful, they gave us wonderful advice. The restaurant itself is cute and is fun for a date night or even a double date would be super fun. Definitely take advantage of their daily specials! Looking forward to coming back :)

Went back the second time and they added in an option to do individual pot. Again, very well flavored and good quality broth! Their set up is still a bit strange to me. If you select individual pot, you will pay for all of the toppings and add ons first and then they cook your meat for you in the back. It's more like a soup than your traditional do it yourself/dip as you go hotpot. It's still a good option for when you don't want AYCE.

Fun place for a great custom soup. They make the base you pick the meat/vegetables you prefer. Get the sauce bar and kick the flavors up a notch.

Nut allergy friendly, I wrote a request on my order. Review is for to-go via Uber Eats. I ordered two of the Spicy Beef Claypot Rice and there was a promotion for their new menu item to do buy one get one free. Note the price is much more expensive on the ($18 vs $12-13) so it's not much of a discount. I picked up as soon as notified and the food was still piping hot when I got home. The food was okay. I give the dish maybe a 3/5. The portions were excellent (got full) but overall there was a lot of rice and not much meat or vegetables. There were only 3-4 pieces each of Chinese sausage, beef, and broccoli and the one poached egg. I would have appreciated it if the rice was a little crispier as a result of the clay pot heating, which it surprisingly wasn't. However, the presentation was excellent. We were given clay pots to go (pretty unique!) and the value for two was really good. Overall, for the to-go value of my order, I'd come back and try it again.

It was a different and fun experience. The soup tasted very good. Each time I go there I try different items to add.

We have been going to this restaurant regularly, at least once a month, for a year. The food is uniformly good, the service excellent. There is something for both adults and children. Since you pay for the food before it is cooked by you at your table, you can time yourself for a short or a long elaborate meal. The only reason I don't give it the highest ranking is that there could be more variety on offer especially in the case of dumplings and cuts of meat as well as vegetables.

North Austin Hotpot shop. Looks like it's go shopping and checkout and eat your hotpot creation, which is fine. It's nice to see a la carte places that aren't all you can eat since generally the quality is better. The interior is quite nice too. That said, we did a to go order since we have two young kids and it was thoroughly ok. Maybe dining in is different but the flavors overall just weren't as bold as I was expecting for hotpot. We ordered a claypot chicken rice, which growing up was my ultimate comfort food, but it was just a tad bland for me, which was surprising because when I make it at home, the chicken is normally pretty heavily marinated. Chicken is tender and juicy but even with the sauce on top, was just kinda bland with the mushrooms. Some chinese sausage adds some fat and funk but pretty average. The crispy rice is amazing though and also surprised the takeout container was a claypot itself? Don't mind having an extra one at home, but uh that's probably not the cheapest take out container to give your customers. We also tried a tom yum hotpot with fish, squid and shrimp with fresh noodles and it looked like a ton of food until you realize it's mostly soup. The soup was slightly tangy, slightly spiced rich coconut broth and was good enough. The potatoes were rock hard and undercooked though. They also have rotating daily specials worth checking out but pretty sure the in person dining experience is better.

YALL I went to this place on a whim for my birthday and it was the best thing i have ever experienced. I went out for my 21st with my partners and we had the best time. The food was fresh and yummy, the soup baded were so flavorful (we got the house clear soup and the tomyum soup) I honestly expected to spend up to $150 bucks but between the three of us, we got a fillimg amount of sides, dishes, and drinks for like $65 The service was amazing as well!! Everyone there was so sweet and kind. Their shaved ice is amazing. I got the strawberry flavor with coconut, rainbow and strawberry boba and the woman serving me was such a sweetheart. I wish i had gotten her name! Overall, such a great and quiet spot

I have been here a couple of times and this time around they changed something's up. First thing is the double pot, now you can pick the two broth you want. Before you just got the szechwan spicy and the house clear soup. This is a great change! Second thing, the meat portion is smaller now. I used to be able to get like 2/3 tray before but now I have to get more. There was like 4-5 slices of meat in them before there was way more. Overall this place is pretty good. When you get there, you go "shopping" for your meat/seafood/veggies and then you check out and tell them if you want any rice bowl and broth. They then assign you a table depending on how many people are in your group. The sauce bar is an additional cost, but you definitely want it. The broth comes out already heated which is great cause you can start cooking in a couple of minutes. While you wait for your broth or while it heating up make your sauce and grab your water bottle for the table. The restaurant is a decent size. They have 2 large tables for a bigger party and the rest of their tables are for about 4-6 people. This location is right next Gong Cha with tons of parking around it.

My boyfriend and I went there for the first time and Samantha was absolutely accommodating. We had no idea where we were doing, but she made it very fun and energetic, and we enjoyed our experience because of that. I personally think that she deserves a raise, she was very accommodating and checked on us regularly. We will definitely come back to see Samantha!

We came on a random monday and this place was pretty packed! I liked the concept of "going shopping" for your hot pot supplies but this adds up. For two people we paid almost $60 for only 3 containers of meat. Their sauce bar is also an add on that you have to pay for. I think their broth is yummy and flavorful but I would just go to Soup Leaf for the AYCE option at the price point.

I love this place! I'd never had hotpot before and wasn't sure what to expect but the service was very friendly and helpful with explaining the process. At hotpot alley, first you get a little shopping basket and "shop" their options of proteins, noodles and veggies. Then you take your wares to the cashier, choose your base and proceed to the booth where you are seated in front of a huge hot pot (no surprise there)! Then you start adding your ingredients. The menu has recommended times for how long to leave your items in. They also had a great selection of drinks and a sauce bar (extra charge). The soup was delicious, the proteins were hit or miss, my favorite was the spicy steak. And the veggies were also fabulous. The soup base comes with some basic veggies and potatoes already. The best best part was we had so much soup left over after we were done and they let you bring it home! Can't wait to try hotpot at home :)

Overall decent experience ruined by the attitude of the staff regarding an issue. It was my third time here and brought someone for their birthday. Since the last time I came they've added an upcharge for a sauce bar of $3 a person, which was a little bit offputting. It seems like a lot for condiments and some pickled vegetables/edamame. The average cost per person already runs about $35-45. The meal went fine until we ran into the main issue- Which came with one of the meats we purchased, the spicy beef. After sampling it we realized it tasted sour- which means it had gone completely off. It even had an off smell which we assumed might have been the seasoning, but we all spat our pieces out after cooking it. It was rancid. I brought this to the attention of the staff and they shrugged it off, saying they would 'look into it,' before getting back onto browsing their phones. Instead of addressing it, apologizing, offering a refund it or pulling it off the shelves (major food poisoning risk) the person I talked to blew the issue off. This kind of ruined the evening for us and left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, and we had a pregnant person in our party! Crazy disappointed, especially for the amount we paid.

I was looking forward to finally getting some decent Hot Pot in Austin. I was bit disappointed on the quality and freshness of the food. Make sure you call ahead of time since even calling an hour ahead of time there was a long wait. The checkout was process was pretty straightforward, and the service was good.

We had a wonderful time trying out Hotpot Alley for the first time! The ingredients are fresh and the soup bases are tasty. The waitresses are friendly and patiently show us how to work with the hot pot setting. It's a great place to bring non-Asian friends to experience hot pot!

Was super excited to find out there's finally a Chinese hotpot restaurant here in Austin. Sadly, this place is just ok. The setup is interesting - you first pick your meat, veggies, tofu from this fridge. Then you go to pay and above the cashier is where you'll find the soup base, prices, etc. It was a bit confusing because you don't see the prices of the soup base, and lunch specials until you get to the end. We ended up paying $60 for 2 which was quite a lot considering it was a weekday lunch and we didn't get that much food. I didn't realize there was a lunch special (for 3ppl oddly) which was cheaper than what we paid for more food. Wish someone would have pointed that out to us before we paid the full price. You also need to add $3 for the condiment bar which was just a few sauces and some stale pickles. The meat and veggies were good. The dual-flavor pot, however, was a bit lacking. The spicy side is a solid 4 stars but the lighter bone broth was a bit flavorless. Overall, the experience was just OK and it was expensive for what it is. It would be less confusing if they placed the menu sign before the fridge and offered some combo selections. Also, payment was up front so if you wanted to add anything extra, you'd have to line up and pay again. So make sure you order everything you wanted on the first go around.

I took my family to their first hotpot experience at Hotpot Alley. They were not sure how the process worked but the staff was very patient and informative, and explained everything to us. The restaurant had a family feel to it and was a relaxing place to be. The ingredients are fresh and the soup bases are hearty. We loved the food and we will definitely be coming back.

You can get out of here full as hell for around $65 and that's eating a ton of beef, shrimp, and veggies. Don't even bother with the other broths. Stick to the spicy. People working there are super nice and that sauce bar everyone complains about is dope.

Great selection of ingredients and soups. Wonderful staff. Our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs but the food was absolutely delicious

WONDERFUL STAFF; however, the hotpot here was quite disappointing. I LOVE HOTPOT. This restaurant is both convenient and mediocre. My partner and I dined in Saturday late afternoon for dinner on a VERY COLD DAY. We wanted something hot and what better than hotpot! There is a catch right before you actually take a seat - you grab a cart after entering HP Alley and shop for your meats, vegetables, and rice or noodle sides. After, you pay and are given a number to a HP table. One thing I appreciated was being given a whole table (distance is still an issue so we were both grateful for that). Overall, I am glad to have tried this place once.

Fun experience to shop for and cook the food yourself, but I'd say it was overpriced for the taste. It was very bland food. It costs $3 to get sauces per person and without it the food isn't very good.

First timers here. Chose it based on reviews for hot pot restaurants in north Austin area. Picked out a great assortment of veg and meat to put in the hot pot. We got 2 soups... one mild soup base and one super hot. Four of us spent about $100 on the food (not including drinks.) We didn't elect to pay $3/person more for the condiment bar. Only really wanted the soy and fish sauces so passed. The hot soup base is extremely hot and the four of us are truly able and willing to eat hot food normally. But we ended up going back to the counter to buy a second bowl of mild soup base to be able to alternate between the two. I'd suggest getting both. All the mushrooms were great as were the Napa cabbage and veggies. The meat was thinly sliced and fresh..super tasty. Great meal..we'll do it again.

Great place, delicious and fun. Super fresh. It's silly they charge for the sauce bar. A bit pricey and beverages are overpriced. But I still love it and go back when I can afford it!

Round this review to 3.5 stars. I've been looking forward to having a hot pot restaurant in Austin for quite some time. I'll give Hot Pot Alley points for being the only hot pot place in the city as of this date. I've been to several hot pot places in California which I would consider the gold standard. Overall, I think Hot Pot Alley is pretty average by comparison. The hot pot ingredients you pick up front can average between $2.49 to $5.49 or around $8 for more 'premium' items. We selected some vegetables, noodles, mushrooms, tofu, beef, pork, spicy beef, and shrimp paste. This was plenty, and we were very full by the end. The total cost of our bill was about $35 per person. This is on the expensive side for what you get. (To give you a comparison, that's about how much you might pay for an AYCE hot pot place in California which would include seafood and meats.) We chose the Szechuan Spicy soup base; the broth was flavorful and had a nice spicy, numbing kick to it. I recommend the house special dipping sauce to dip your meats. I dislike that they charge an extra $3 for the sauce bar. My partner doesn't like to dip his hot pot items in sauce, but the charge is mandatory even if you don't use it. The standard for hot pot should be a complimentary sauce bar OR customers should be allowed to opt out if they don't want it. I liked the decor of the restaurant with the hanging lanterns. The service was fine. We were satisfied and will consider returning again, but we'll probably order a little less food next time and try their entrees. I think Hot Pot Alley is a good go-to if making hot pot at home isn't an option for you (all the ingredients you could find at H Mart). I hear that two more hot spot places will be opening up in Austin soon, so I'll be comparing the competition.

Well this was a fun, $102.00 for 3 people learning experience. You grab a basket as you go in, choose everything from your proteins, veggies, noodles and your beverages. There was a nice selection of sake and beer for the 21 and over customers. When you arrive at the register choose the base broth for your hotpot. Your table has the hotpot base heated up and one of the servers brings your base to the table. You pour in all of your ingredients, stir and before long you have a yummy, fresh feast. There were 3 of us and we each chose what we thought (incorrectly) would go into our own pots. We ended up with one, community pot and lots of leftovers. Now we know for our next visit, that we don't require that many ingredients. We also had no idea that the soup base was unlimited. That would have been nice to know beforehand.

Such a fun experience to enjoy with another person definitely come hungry but resist grabbing everything lol Fun concept Grab a basket Fill it up with ingredients you want in ur hot pot Pick a broth base Then on the side there are sauces n palette cleansers Can get pretty pricy but definitely fun We got a meat,two Types of tofu, quail egg, beef balls ,veggies n two noodles for 60$ Split with 3 ppl Also watch ur hot pot temp once everything is boiled turn down ur heat ,.. we didn't know n the waitress didn't do it to ours so it burned at the bottom They also walk around with extra broth Bathrooms his/hers One person per one Inside clean It's past the hardware store keep going , Lots of parking

We came here after sport activity. It was during their soft opening. The positive is that their broth was really good. The house sauces was pretty good too. The meat and vegetables are normal. Overall it was ok hotpot. The way that you get ingredients is so unusual. It's hard to get ingredients for your hotpot and also it's always low. You have to go through checkout again if you want more food. This makes it hard to get more food. It's harder to pay them more. I give them 4 stars instead of 3 because they were very generous on giving us free shave ice. The matcha ice was actually the star of the show. It was really good. Overall experience is mediocre, food was good, free shave ice was delicious and great.

Tonight we went to Hotpot Alley for two reasons: 1. To try out new joint in town 2. To clarify reviews Upon entry, you can grab a shopping basket then walk up to choose different proteins, and veggie trays in different colored trays and prices based on color. Red tray is $5.49, Yellow tray is $4.49, White tray is $3.49, Green tray is $2.49. After you made your selection, you choose either clay pot or hotpot soup then pay at the counter. If you choose one of the clay pots, it comes with 2 bowls of rice and free broth for hotpot. The restaurant offers 4 different clay pots and 5 soup bases. There's CQ chicken clay pot, Pork ribs clay pot, red braised short rib clay pot and veggie pot. Soup bases are Szechuan spicy, veggie based, house clear soup which is beef and chicken bone broth, red braised soup and double flavor soup. We chose CQ chicken bone-in clay pot ($3 for boneless chicken), made couple of trays, and paid at the counter. There's additional $3 per person for sauce bar/fruit/cold appetizers (pickled radish and pickled cucumber). Next to the bar is water cups/water pitchers. You can make your sauce based on your preference/curiosity, get some pickled appetizers while waiting for your pot to arrive. Once your clay pot arrived with rice, you simply dig in. Once the clay pot is done, simply let your server know time to add free broth. Then turn the stove on and enjoy hotpot with your selected trays. The chicken pot, a specialty dish from Chongqing, is popularly enjoyed by having the main dish first, then, keep the clay pot so it can be used for your hot pot. You can NOT compare this to regular hotpot trend or Hai Di Lao. If you just get trays and soup based hotpot, you will not be satisfied. In my opinion, CQ chicken clay pot flavor needs more spicy. I haven't tried other flavors yet, maybe next time. 3 stars for this visit because flavors need depth and $3 per person for basic sauce bar is steep. They need add more variety to the bar or $2 price tag would be better for customer. Please do NOT give one star rating if you just comparing this to trendy hotpot joints. Next time, give it a try for clay pot and add broth to enjoy hotpot!

I honestly really enjoyed my time at Hot Pot Alley. It's definitely not the best I've ever tried, but it's a good (potentially only) option for hot pot in Austin. I wonder if the owner created Noodle Alley because the name and interior are similarly decorated. I wish this place was AYCE because each plate of ingredients can definitely add up. I spent about $35 per person and we were both super full with lots of leftovers. I think we came in on Saturday evening and there were a ton of parties ahead of us, but we got seated within 20 minutes. We got the yin yang broth combo, and I was in love with the mild bone broth. It was so well made and cooked, and I could actually taste the sweetness of the pork. I do wish they had more ingredients because they're a bit lacking in variety in meats and vegetables, and each container of ingredients is pretty expensive for what they are. I definitely don't think this is somewhere you can frequent given the price and distance from central Austin, but I've been finding myself craving their bone broth. I would definitely come again! Also helps that there's a Gong Cha right next door for dessert if your stomach has room.

The food price is average. However , most likely what folks complaint about is they charged for soup based (unlimited refill) and $3 per person for unlimited condiments bar (spicy edamame, watermelon, carrot/daikon pickle & spicy cold chicken feet). Soup based for Yon & Yang (half clear soup + half spicy Szechuan soup) is $16. Single flavor is $8. Meat and Vegi dishes are wrapped individually and price between $2.49 to $5.49

Came in for dinner, had about an hour wait being 11th in line. They had a digital waitlist which was convenient for walking around and still keeping track of where the wait's at. Overall had a good experience. They mark all items with GF and vegan allergy information which is really appreciated. It was a fun hot pot experience which I actually hadn't had in quite a while. The ingredients all tasted good -- my favorites being the shrimp paste, lamb, and rice cakes. Downsides were that it was pretty expensive -- about $40 a person for our party. Secondly their sauce bar had no GF offerings, which is a bit odd when it seemed like they were trying to accommodate it. Like, literally even one sauce would've been appreciated. It also came off weird that the sauce bar is an additional $3 charge per person, when it's pretty much a requirement. When the overall price is already quite high from paying for items a la carte, the additional sauce bar cost just feels bad added on top as well Overall 3.5 experience for me. I think I'll actually be back, but it's definitely a splurge meal.

We finally checked out Hotpot Alley, and glad we did. Obviously, buying all the meat and veggies from 99 Ranch or MT Supermarket will be cheaper than eating out at a restaurant. And for our party of 9, the final cost of what we spent was similar to what we'd pay for the AYCE at the (now closed) Little Sheep Hot Pot place. The layout of the restaurant is cute. When we first arrived, it wasn't that busy, and was very easy to move around and grab the supplies we needed. But as the restaurant filled up, it was pretty crowded, and felt like the lines for condiment bar (and food area to purchase food) were slow moving and congested the aisles. It felt like standing in line at the Asian market on the weekend! Lol! But the quality of the food was great. Service was great. Hot pot broths were great. And so fun to see a great mix of people enjoying this amazing food. I hope they can add some fish balls, and more veggies in the future (watercress, tong ho, broccoli, ...).

Pretty decent hotpot place, could be a little confusing on your first time but its not too bad. It's mostly self service so you have to be a little proactive. You just pick your ingredients in a basket and head to checkout to pick your broth. Free refills for broth as you eat. $3 per person for appetizer and sauce bar. Overall it was about $30 per person for group of 4. Would come back every once in a while with a small group of friends.

This place has so much potential. Food is good but very pricey for what you get. However, I wouldn't mind the price if the experience was better. It's a very much self-serve experience. Let me elaborate. Before you get seated at your table, you have to go "shopping" for your food items. The items are in color coded containers which indicates specific prices. I wasn't aware of this at first because the price chart wasn't visible so I wasn't sure how much I was spending when I filled my basket. It would be nice to have the price chart clearly visible. Also you have to choose a broth or claypot on the spot when you're paying for your food items. This adds a bit of pressure of what to get and can create a line, if people are taking time trying to decide on the spot. As you seat yourself at the table, you grab yourself water, cups, plates, silverware and condiments in the back. It's a small restaurant so this area gets congested very fast. The condiments bar has a variety of sauces but can get backed up because of the limited space. Someone will bring the pot of hotpot broth to you (which took some time). I wasn't sure what to do with my food items in the meantime. If you want more food items, you need to do the shopping experience again and pay a second time. It would be nice if there's a way to limit payment transaction to 1 time instead of multiple transactions. Food was good. I wish there were more variety but was satisfied with what was available. I will say, the chicken claypot is worth getting because it comes with 2 bowls of rice and also becomes a hotpot broth afterwards. Chicken is very tasty and tender. Adding the broth afterwards made it worth the value and tasted just as yummy for hotpot. Overall, food is yummy but there could be lots of improvement on how the restaurant is organized. If things were more visible, such as a sign indicating where everything is (including the bathrooms), I would've been less lost during this entire dining experience. I saw lots of people confused where the plates and bowls were (they're under the condiments bar). And yes, there's a handwritten sign there but even the sign is difficult to see because most people are not looking down when they approach the condiments bar. I think if some things were changed to make it more efficient, there would be less congestions, shorter wait times, and less confusions. If there is a way to limit the amount of contact or touch areas, that would be VERY MUCH appreciated, especially during the COVID times as I am more hyper aware of what everyone is touching.

Hotpot Alley is cute and authentic. The ingredient "shopping" was fun and the sauce bar had tons of options to customize your dipping sauce. I thought the prices were pretty reasonable and the soup bases and ingredients were good quality and tasty. They regularly came by and replenished our pot with broth. My only complaint were the "booths" were really narrow and we had to shuffle every time someone on the inside needed to get out.

We came here on a Friday night around 6pm with a party of 10. They don't take reservations unless there is a large group (7+ is what I'm told). Unfortunately they already reserved a big table for a large group so we ended up getting split into two tables (5 + 5). That worked out just fine actually given that it would've been a logistical nightmare figuring out costs with such a large group. They don't have a remote wait list so you have to get added using a QR code when you arrive on-site. This is pretty much the only hot pot place in town. There aren't any other ones in the area. I would not have high expectations if I were you. The whole experience here is kinda a novelty. You go with a group of people, pick out the items you want in a shopping basket (as if you're shopping for ingredients), grab your drinks, pick a broth, pay at the register. From there you get assigned a table. The sauce bar is $3/person. I'm a little torn on this because first off I'm not sure if this is really a-la-carte service. You probably have to get the sauce station because without it you would have absolutely no flavor at all. It also has a few selections of mixed fruit, daikon, cold items like pork feet. Service was good. They come by to check on your table, bus the old dishes, refill your broth if needed and grab whatever you need. Total cost was about $35/pp (with 15% tip) which is a little on the pricey side to be honest. I remember getting AYCE for that at other places outside of TX.

Our party of 4 came to try this hotpot thing. We ordered Tom Yum broth which was the preferred gluten free broth. (Others said the vegetable broth was not as flavorful - but it is possible to split your pot to have two different flavors.) We filled our basket with pork belly, beef steak and lots of veggies. We each made our own sauces at the sauce bar and on my first trip I underestimated how much I would use. The broth arrived and it boiled quickly so we put in our selections to cook for the recommended 2 minutes. We fished out the cooked proteins and veggies and after adding sauce, devoured them with some rice. I also had two bowls of the Tom Yum broth as it had great flavor. (The servers refill the pot as needed from a big kettle.) We ordered more meat and vegetables with the barcode without getting up from the table and items came out promptly. Servers were friendly and helpful. It was enjoyable and we had good conversation as it wasn't terribly loud. I'd like to try this again-

This restaurant is the hotspot on a cold winters day! Try to get there before 6 PM, or there might be a long wait. You first pick up a shopping basket and head over to the coolers where you can pick your meat, veggies, and noodles. You go to the checkout counter and pay for your items and choose a soup base, they'll bring the soup to your assigned table. They charge a mandatory $3 per person for the sauce bar. They have a list of the length of times in which each item needs to be cooked for before ready to eat. I thoroughly enjoyed shopping for my food and cooking it for myself. The meats taste so good with the sauces! I'm so excited this restaurant has come to Austin because there are not many hot pot places here! I would definitely recommend this for a date night or friend gathering!

This is amazing. Don't be fooled be the appearance You will select your ingredients then soup base Get less ingredients then you think you need It makes a lot It's very fun and yummy. Plus we had so much leftover Delicious

Such a great experience! We thought it was a lot of fun grabbing the grocery basket and picking out what you want. There was also an abundance of options at the sauce bar and unlimited edamame and picked veggies. I can see how it would add up quickly, but we thought pricing was reasonable. Arrived around 5 on a Saturday and was seated right away. It started filling up pretty quickly after we were seated and wait was much longer. We will definitely come back!

My first time experiencing hotpot restaurant and food. So I've nothing to compare against- but I was pleased with the experience. The restaurant wasn't too crowded when we got there so that was easy for us to navigate through. Staff at the restaurant was patient with us and answered our queries. You can either choose whatever you want in your hotpot and a base soup or choose one of their given options from the menu. I loved the overall setting and vibe of the restaurant- they've tables big enough for large groups and small groups.

First time here and it was awesome. The staff were extremely helpful and patient. Food was so good! Will definitely go back.

Hotpot Alley stands out for the experience. You get a grocery basket and go "shopping" for your hotpot items. The items are spilt by color trays that denotes different pricing, with the meat being the highest around $4-8. Beware if you come hungry, you might be grabbing a lot of items to put in your basket. We got the half & half broth at $20 which seems pricey but the broths were tasty. The lady owner was the sweetest and friendly, she created a happy mood for our experience and offered her recommendations. Overall, the meal was on the pricier side than we expected, it ended up being around $45/per person for 2 people with tip so perhaps go with a bigger group to help with the cost. Even so, we enjoyed our experience and food, and happy to support the business.

I love this hotpot spot, lots of vegan and vegetarian options and everyone who works there is very friendly :)

The Tom yum soup was amazing, shopping for my ingredients was cool, the workers are really nice and it's reeeally cheap

This was absolutely perfect food during the cold weather we just had. I love how they explained everything to us and provided help that we needed. It wasn't too busy, but I can see how that place would fill up really fast. For my first time ever having hot pot I absolutely loved it and I will be back.