Latao Hotpot and BBQ

My party of ten recently dined here. There are three key takeaways from our experience: 1. When ordering hot pot broths, be aware of fine/small print as some have additional fees that can be easily missed. 2. Always check your receipt. Assuming they had my best interests in mind, there must have been a mistake; however, there were items added onto my receipt that I did not order. 3. Ensure you have ample time for dining. Due to the rush hour of our attendance, the food took around 7-13 minutes per order to come out — not unreasonable in and of itself but given it is an all-you-can-eat restaurant and you order many courses. The time did end up adding up.

Food was sub par (probably because I had to cook it myself) but it wasn’t all that. The service wasn’t good. Once our food was brought out no one came to check on us for the 1hr 42min we were in there. I wouldn’t go back personally but my daughter loved it so maybe. Love the atmosphere tho. It was nice looking and the music wasn’t too loud. Altho it didn’t really fit the mood. It was still pretty decent.

They have a nice selection for both the hot pot and BBQ. The interactive cooking experience made it a fun outing, and the staff was attentive and helpful in explaining the options. It was a bit on the pricier side, but the quality of food and the unique dining experience made it worth it. It's a nice spot for couples looking to try something new for lunch or dinner.

Total Party 3. Total cost $120. Problem here: Tipping. The food was good, a good number of choices but the meat had a lot of chuck of fats. Some may like this but it is not marbled fat. Either way the food was good. The only bad part of the experience was the tipping part. We tipped $10 (tipping is not required) but they brought the check back saying this was not enough and told us to tip more. Crazy. Overall okay food for the cost but the tipping should not be forced.

We went for dinner and chose the hot pot only option which seemed more popular. The staff were very friendly and were encouraging us to order more which is rare from an all you can eat place. The meat and vegetable option were pretty decent. Even though we did not go there late they ran out of some options in the middle. Definitely a great experience and food.

This is our favorite date night spot that the staff always remembers and greets us with genuine smiles. The food is absolutely delicious. The experience is incredible and the service is outstanding. WE LOVE IT HERE!

Always a good time here, it’s been a go to lunch treat spot! Will miss the food and staff.

This place always has good food to offer but the serving staffs standard has gone down with time. Unfortunately this time the server was borderline rude and dismissive, and I was taken off guard by his reaction to my wife’s request for cutlery. We all have some bad days, but the last thing we want to do is transfer that frustration to our clients/guests. Now I’m left uncomfortable recommending this place to my loved ones.

It was worth the experience and something you should try at least once. If you are weird about sharing food it won't be for you.

Loved being able to do Hot Pot and BBQ at the same time! It was my first time trying both and I enjoyed all of the different meat and veggie options for both experiences, as well as an an awesome sauce bar with a variety of sides, oils, sauces and spices to add to your meal. The all you can eat experience was $35.99 per person and it's definitely worth the value! We were able to replenish whatever we needed which was helpful for a group of 3 that was sharing food. During the service, we were reminded that we would have to pay a take out fee if we didn't finish, however we had minimal food left once we were finished and were not charged an extra fee. Super convenient location with no trouble finding parking. Would recommend for those who are in need of a last-minute dinner idea or as a fun activity with friends!

Hot Pot and BBQ at table side?! Personally, I never been to a restaurant that offers both selections in one dining experience! It is also all you can eat (AYCE) for a reasonable price of $35/person (November 2024)! There is also an option of either hot pot OR bbq, and lunch and dinner prices! There is a 2 hour limit and a food wastage fee. My friend and I found that cooking both hot pot and bbq at the same time to be overstimulating at times, but so fun too! There many more hotpot options on the menu. From broths to meats to vegetables and seafood, you'll find your favorites! A sauce bar is nearly kept in the back of the restaurant! For the bbq, I highly recommend the marinated meats wrapped in lettuce! Some of the "steak" portions were tough, so I would skip that. Solid choices are the pork belly and spicy bulgogi. Service was friendly and quick. Clearing our empty plates and changing our bbq grill plate once it was sticky. Ambiance is chill. Lots of college kids in the area. They even have a separate coat rack to avoid smelling like dinner afterwards. After two hours, we cleared our plates and were so full. Would definitely come back again. tldr Food 4/5 Service 4/5 Ambiance 3.5/5

Amazing hotpot place, I go there every other week. Food selection is amazing and my girlfriend who is vegan says its her favorite place to eat at. Service is amazing as well. The food is soooo good, there is a wide variety of meat that is prime and amazing. 5/5

One of the only all you can eat hotpot in the university district area. They do offer many meat and vegetable varieties you can choose from. Quality is okay.

Large selection of both kbbq and hot pot, and really large hot pot bowls! LaTao is really the only hot pot place that isn't in Chinatown, so it's convenient for U-City. Their lunch prices don't apply on weekends. The most annoying part was that each table only has one hot pot heater and one kbbq grill. We only did hot pot and had a party of 5, and one person couldn't reach the soup at all without standing up and walking around the table, so someone else had to serve her the whole time. Portions of each item are small and it's hard to get ahold of the wait staff to order more, but overall was good. I wish there were more options for hot pot meats, especially because there is no thin sliced pork, and I feel like thick pieces of meat are weird in hotpot. However, I felt like the large selection of items added value. We thought that the broths were just okay, but the sauce bar with a wide selection added flavor. This isn't the most incredible hot pot I've ever had, but it wasn't bad for the value. I would come back if I had a craving for hot pot, but probably not all the time.

Excellent food. So many options. All you can eat. We ordered so many weird bits, lots of protein. We have a similar taste and because I can order in Chinese we were served a lot faster than others and I really enjoyed the fatty beef, tripe, stomach, fish balls and crab. My friend does work with Wharton and had invited me over a few times over the years - I was working in the East coast so I was finally able to swing by. The best broth is the spicy one. I liked the bone broth one too. Very light. The selection for all you can eat is amazingly plentiful. The campus is beautiful. Now we are both headed back to San Francisco. I hope we can find a similar all you can eat hot pot place like this one by University City!

We shared three hotpot flavors - special rib, tomato, and chicken - and my favorite was the chicken: very flavorful and smooth, creamy without being overwhelming. While the inside was a bit overwhelming with the smells and heat, we thoroughly enjoyed our hotpot and left very full. Would highly recommend!

Delicious! Prompt service, fresh ingredients and reasonable price for lunch We tried a few broth bases, Tom Yum, Spicy Szechuan, Miso, Mushroom and a variety of ingredients. Latao is clean & tidy. I didn't use the loos so I'll have to return for tasty food and check them out Hotpot warms on a cold day.

I got the spicy and mushroom broth, the food was sub-par and the flavor was lacking, we got never got served without us having to stand up and walk to the servers. The meat was not worth the price, save the trip. :)

Food 7/10 Great value, all you can eat hotpot. Do I feel great after? Not particularly. Each item for the hotpot had TINY servings, so we just had to keep on ordering. The broth had a really sad piece of bone with no marrow as the base. Everything just looked kind of sad. We got the hotpot kbbq combo all you can eat, and the meat was just super tough and sinewy for the kbbq. Also sucks that we have to cook it ourselves, but no matter how long or short we cooked the meat, it just tasted hard and almost unchewable. The shining light of the dinner were the flat glass noodles, love them always for hotpot. Atmosphere 6/10 Not the most ventilated, our seats were for some reason not stable so when my friend sat up our couch/seat pushed back?? Great vibey Chinese songs though. Service 4/10 They forgot some things we ordered, and again, did not provide any help with cooking the kbbq, which is a bummer.

Terrible service! I just walked out of this place with one of the worst experiences of dining out in Philly for 20 years. No wonder only 3-4 tables were occupied in this large space. Extremely rude staff, the server says "this isn't chik fil a!" "Then pay your bill!" It was first time here, I explained to two people it's my first time can you tell me how this works. This place charged me the price for an adult meal , for a kids hot pot. When I asked to clarify I was told you ate from that bowl so you pay adult meal price. Well, they weren't going to walk over me like that I dug in my heels and had them take the adult meal price off. Do not set foot in here. They give Asian restaurants a bad name.

Excellent price for all the meats and veggies you can get. This is so convenient and close to campus, definitely come hungry and enjoy all the options!

The best hotpot spot in Philadelphia hands down. This place has authentic flavors, reasonable prices, and is super efficient. We always opt for the tomato broth and their lamb has the right amount of fat to lean meat ratio. Tons of vegetable options aswell as yummy sides such as sausages, dried tofu, and fried squid. The sauce bar is pretty extensive and they give you directions if you don't know what combos work together. Definitely a must go to if you're craving some chinese hotpot and I'd honestly say it was pretty comparable to the hai di lao I had back in Irvine!!

This is a solid place for hotpot. They have great choices, delicious broths and a large display of sauces. Of course with hotpot, it's hard to remember everything we ordered, but the dumplings, the squid, the mushrooms and the tom yum broth were stand outs. The pot is kept full of broth as the servers walk around making sure there is enough as well as checking in for more orders of hotpot items. They serve alcohol as well! Try the peanut sauce, it's delicious!)

Overall the experience was great. Many options and all you can eat. The broth was tasty and it's always fun to do it yourself. Had a lychee drink that was very good. Personally thought that the service could have been better. Not terrible but bare bones imo. Could have asked how it was or if we needed anything more often. The food felt fresh, would recommend.

Food was plentiful it's all u can eat and it's fun! Service was great the only problem was they made a mistake on the bill and I was billed 3 times. It's always nerve racking waiting for the charge to wipe. But they told us and explained that they had backed it out and it will clear with in the week. When the soup is at a roaring boil it gets very warm in there. The customers are nice and it staff was sweet!

Disappointing Food: do not order the spicy schezuan broth unless you want to sip on oil and bite into seeds of anise and cardamom. When they eventually refill your broth, it looks like they just add hot water not the original broth that you ordered. The beef and veggies that we ordered were okay. Service: I asked the server about the menu and the beer they had on draft, his response was "I don't know anything about that" every time. There was however another server, a girl that was very nice and accommodating. Ambiance: felt like a fun casual place to share a meal with friends or family. Overall, it was not worth the price for very seedy, oily soup and a facial from all the steam that comes up on your face.

One of our favorite places to go! It's affordable, especially for all you can eat and delicious. My favorite is the Mixed Mushroom Rib and Shezhuan Hot Spicy broths. I only wish they gave you more food at once so we didn't have to constantly stop and order again. Servers are all nice and I love that they have a sauce bar unlike other hot pots I've tried in the city

$29.99 for all you can eat hotpot buffet dinner was decent. Servers came often to ask if we had any adds. We liked the fish fillets most. Veggies were fresh. No wait on Saturday night but most of the seats were occupie

Service is good. And they didn't even ask for tip after party service fee. Interior is fine. Seats have plenty of space. The food is not too good. But considering the price. It's def worth trying!

Really excellent AYCY hotpot and BBQ place. Went for hotpot and the food selection was really really good. If you're there on the weekend or dinner time, skip the regular beef and go straight for the Angus beef (not Angus steak though that's also good), it hits the right spot and I ended up having 5 servings. Soup base were good and service is top notch. Parking situation can be a little dicy but then it's Philly.

AYCE hot pot! It's located in the heart of University City near Penn's campus, so the location is prime. It's also near a lot of dessert shops to eat after your meal. It's a little overpriced to pay for dinner AYCE, so I recommend coming during lunch for a much more reasonable price! Their meat and soup is delicious, and toppings are also great quality!

I love the food at LaTao HotPot. My boyfriend and I go there all the time. They have wonderful service and the space is very relaxing. I eat a lot so it's perfect for me. It's delicious and a fair price for how much I eat. (I order like 7 different orders of meat for hotpot haha.) Highly HIGHLY recommend. Also, the menu on their website is wrong.

Can't believe I haven't been here earlier! LaTao has easily become one of my favorite hot pot places in philly. Located in university city, LaTao offers both hot pot and bbq. Though I havent gotten a chance to try their bbq, I can say for sure that their hot pot is a MUST. The atmosphere has a more modern feel to it, plenty of seating, and its always packed so be prepared for a wait (it's worth though I promise). The have a huge selection for hot pot consisting of different meat, vegetables, tofu, noodles and seafood. The quality of their ingredients are great too! Personally loved the tomato ox tail broth and the mixed mushroom broth the best. Don't forget about the sauce bar where you can create your own sauce! My go to is: peanutb sauce, chili oil, garlic, sesame oil, and green onion :) If you're ever around the university city area, come check this place out!

Amazing, authentic and affordable Korean bbq and hot pot. Highly recommended. All you can eat. Multiple choices of broth, meet, seafood and vegetables.

It's definitely pricey but one of my favorite places in University City. A very extensive menu with lots of yummy broths to choose from and all the items you could want at a hot pot place. The service can sometimes be a bit slow but honestly I wouldn't let that stop you from coming. I once went three times in one week. There may be cheaper options with more reliable service out there, but LaTao is definitely a good spot.

Honestly such a great spot with outdoor dining experience for pandemic needs! Here's the scope: Yes, hotpot outdoors with gas grills (fire guards for wind). They try to warm up soup ahead of time as it does take a long while to start boiling. Ours took 45 min.. after soup was in front of us. Amazing selection of items for AYCE, love how they start with smaller portion of items and giving more during reorder, allows us to try new things and eat a selection. The soup bases are really good too, including a tom yum and special mushroom broth. Sad the live crab was on the menu included in dinner ($24.95) but they did not have it. Really good service and also offers a seafood boil like environment. Would have wanted to try it but did not see a combined option for order plus only have one stomach. I think the price is reasonable! The food is great and fresh with plenty of seafood options. Yum!! Beware of the tables outdoors as they have holes and so hot soup may drip on you if you're not careful. Ahh! I will definitely be back here!!

Such a fantastic place to go to with friends after an exam. Great pricing for lunch! Would absolutely recommend this as a special treat for a friend group.

For AYCE in University City, this is pretty good for the price. I went with 8 other people on a Sunday and we luckily got a table. They had a wide array of meats and seafood. The meats were decent, I just wish more cuts were given in 1 order so we didn't have to order 10* more times. Unfortunately, they ran out of a lot of ingredients the day we came (Japanese tofu, enoki mushrooms, bokchoy, Chinese broccoli, beef meatballs, udon noodles, etc) that people would argue are staple hot pot ingredients. Nonetheless, for the price and how quick the servers replenish the ingredients, I have no complaints!

We've been here twice in the past couple of months and are never disappointed! The garlic shrimp bbq is phenomenal. The pricing is pretty great- $30.95 for all you can eat BBQ or HotPot during dinner, $20.95 during lunch! Staff are very kind and helpful.

The place was nice but we didn't get to eat. We wanted the all you can eat hot pot and bbq. We were about to order when our waiter explained that you cannot change your soup base. That's crazy I'm my opinion. I'd like to try more than one and the other hot pot places I've been will gladly give you another soup base during your all you can eat meal. I don't think this is the hop spot for me. That's all I got! Oh yeah! I almost forgot, the seating is really cramped as well. There's no adjustment in the booth. It's about a foot of space between the table and booth where your feet go. I had to sit with my feet slanted sideways. I wasn't there long enough to get pictures. Sorry guys.

Reasonably priced all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ / Hot Pot place. We opted for just the BBQ but you can get the Hot Pot / BBQ combo for &5 more. Our favorite meats were garlic shrimp, chicken, squid, Bulgogi, ribeye (bit thin), tongue, and pork cheek. Less favorite due to the high level of fat not typically found on these cuts were short rib and brisket. I wished the meats were pre-marinated but most were un-marinated so we created various dipping sauces to season them after the grilling. Waitress was proactive in changing our grill pans as they can get coated with meat residue even with the Crisco lubrication. The overall ambiance is pleasant and would fit most dining needs. I highly recommend this restaurant!

I love LaTao Hot Pot! For an all you can eat place, I think this has the best meat quality. It's definitely less in quality than Little Sheep or Chubby Cattle, but those places are not all you can eat and you can easily rack up a bill 2x at those places. I loved coming here as a student and came back even when I graduated. The dinner now costs $27.95/person for all you can eat, but they offer a 10% cash discount which is well worth it in my opinion. I love to get the fatty beef, but if you want some variety go for the fatty lamb or angus beef as well. Overall it's a very clean restaurant but the service is a bit slow - they're super busy so you might have to actively flag someone down.

This place was less then 10 mins from me so I decided to try it out. I came here a few years back, but don't recall the experience. We ordered the bone broth and tomato soup. The flavor was decent. Not the worst, but I definitely had better. This place is ayce and they serve alcohol. If you want to bring your own alcohol, I believe it's a $5 fee. I like how the portion size is small because I can try a variety of things on the menu. I would recommend this place if your craving hot pot and this is by your area!

Their online menu is very outdated... they only serve hotpot. We really wanted the cold skewers and dine in for the mala pot, but they said they discontinued for a few years... so we had the hotpot, the all-inclusive menu is also outdated... some items showed included but they said it's extra charge Also almost all meat dishes are only included in dinner package, so don't come for lunch, really won't be worth it... Next the quality and freshness of ingredients were really subpar, many green veggie plates came as brown, seems pre-blanched and not very fresh The spicy broth or tomato broth really didn't have much flavor other than salty. I fully understand and support their concept of reduce waste, but serving such a small portion each time and having to order multiple times is such a hassle- especially given the service speed is very slooow. Thought the plates should be pre-cut and ready to serve since they are raw, but we waited 15-20min after ordering our first batch, the hot pot broth almost burnt out while waiting for food to put in... The experience 3 years ago was much better, there are a lot more flavorful and nicer quality hot pot places in town, please improve!

Since I'm following the keto lifestyle I was looking for an AYCE hotpot with quality broths and a variety of meats. I found this one fits that bill AND they have yam noodles (AKA shiratake) which is music to my ketogenic ears. I had the special rib/mushroom broth, my daughter had Tom Yum and my son has the spicy broth. All of them were pretty good but I did grab some jalapeños, scallion, garlic, and salt from the sauce bar to season mine a bit more and after that it was perfection. I enjoyed endless trays of fatty beef, angus steak, shrimp, mushrooms, and cabbage. If you plan on drinking soda they do have Pepsi products (the one disappointing factor for this Coke Zero lover) and it only comes in $2 a pop cans. As time goes on they come around and refill your broth with a teapot so the original flavor does down a bit but by that time your tummy is usually too full to care. I'm excited to go back and try one of the Benzo pots.

Feeling guilty for coming back two nights in a row but this time was with close friends! We got a larger table in the back and had the usual delicious broth and ingredients! I'm surprised but they've been out of things in my last couple times coming here (even with a year in between one visit and the most recent ones!) it usually is meat or lotus root! The only thing that surprised me this time was condensation coming from up above dripping down? It has never happened to me before but what with such a steamy room I suppose I should expect it! Water dripped on me not once nor twice but at least four times. Small each time but enough that I noticed and my partner had to brush it off my shoulder or arm. I'm a bit alarmed only because I don't want that in my food or drink but perhaps the location of the table at the back is why I only noticed now? Very odd. Doesn't affect me coming back but being wary not to sit there.

Delicious place for all-you-can-eat hotpot. Their service is fast and friendly. I've been here at least 4 times and have never been disappointed! I think the prices are quite fair because you literally can order as much food as you want! I tend to come here when I'm feeling down and looking for something nice and warm to eat. The soup bases taste great and I've tried a variety of them but my favorite is the Szechuan Hot Spicy broth. I've actually had hotpot in Szechuan and I say the flavor is very similar! I always at least get beef slices, fish balls, frozen tofu, quail eggs and enoki mushrooms. For the DIY sauce, I keep it simple with peanut sauce and some spicy oil. Definitely experiment around when you come here though! The options are endless

There isn't a bad thing that I can say about LaTao. When I was a student in the area, LaTao was a mainstay for me and my partner and it soon became their favorite spot to go to for hot pot. I've been waiting to review LaTao, because I've been here so many times, but this time made me realize that the consistency is there. Plus it's AYCE! LaTao is place that holds a very special place in my heart (and my stomach) that, time and time again, continues to serve quality ingredients and broths. On top of that their sauce bar is diverse and allows for endless combinations at your fingertips. While this hot pot spot is right in the heart of University City and directly on Penn's campus, once you enter, you'll feel like you're in the heart of Chinatown. No other restaurant in the area creates a vibe like similar to LaTao with similar calibre of service and selections. Can't wait to some back again soon! Ugh my mouth is just watering thinking of having enoki mushroom dipped in my peanut butter chili oil sauce : P

A great hot pot location for a great deal. The restaurant features a sauce station that allows you to create/make your own sauces for dipping. My go to soup base is the spicy Szechuan. Ask for level two for the mouth numbing feel! The only thing is that the service is a little slow, you have to flag a server down and our table was a little dirty from a previous party.

So, this will have to be a pass for me next time. I'm a huge hot pot fan and had my share of hot pots around Philly. This was probably rated the lowest. Service was great, which upsets me giving them only 2 stars, but the food was just not there. Came strictly for hotpot with my kids. Prices are similar to other AYCE places, but not everything was included that would have been included at other places. Broth - the tom yum broth just wasn't there. It was missing spice and the sour taste that a tom yum should have. I had to grab some spice and sauces from the sauce bar to try to give it more flavor. The oxtail broth was decent and filled with more oxtail than others, but again, lacked flavor and was an upcharge. It might have been because the server came by rather early and drowned down the broth with their standard water. My broth wasn't even halfway gone and they came by with the kettle and started pouring. Choices of meats/hotpot items - there was plenty of choices available, but they had a good amount of stuff that was upcharged. I really wanted tofu skin rolls, but that was additional. For the cuts - the meats were SO THICK! Typical hotpots would dip the beef, swoosh swoosh a tad, take it out, and YUM. I had to leave my beef in here for quite some time as it was like bacon. And bc the meat was very thick, it was hard to chew as well. Shrimp - pass on this! It's not the full sized shrimp that was pictured. It's the type of shrimp I would find in a seafood salad at the grocery store.

They have wide range of food selection and their service was fast, but the food quality was okay (was not outstandingly fresh). One thing I didn't like about was their food portion every time they bring out, it was too small so that I had to place several orders. In overall, I will suggest this place if you are looking for an "All-you-can-eat" hotpot place with an affordable price or a place you can hangout with a big group of people.

This is a solid place for hotpot. They have great choices, delicious broths and a large display of sauces. Of course with hotpot, it's hard to remember everything we ordered, but the dumplings, the squid, the mushrooms and the tom yum broth were stand outs. The pot is kept full of broth as the servers walk around making sure there is enough as well as checking in for more orders of hotpot items. They serve alcohol as well! Try the peanut sauce, it's delicious!)

This is my hotpot spot because it's closer to me than Chinatown and easier to find parking. Love the high ceilings and decor. They have lunch specials until 3pm on weekdays and cash 10% off discounts. I always get the herb rejuvenation soup base with vegetables, mushrooms and fish balls. It's nice that they have vegan and vegetarian options. You can make your own sauce at the sauce bar. The servers work hard. They always check that your drinks are full and ask if you want to order more.

This is possibly one of the best hotpot places I have been to in the U.S.! This place was extremely welcoming with a wide array of food options for all you can eat hotpot/BBQ. The broth tastes amazing from the start. The sauce bar has everything you need. The servers were extremely friendly and attentive! The price was also very affordable. I would definitely come back again :)

just want to preface that i do normally tip at least 15% when eating out. i went for the lunch special, and they did not apply the lunch special discount the first time around. turns out, you have to ask for the discount for them to apply it on your check and you have to pay with cash only. after paying and leaving the place, an employee ran out after me to demand for a tip... which i thought was quite excessive.

The hot pot is great, no doubt about that. The spicy broth was my favorite broth and the spicy beef was really good as well. However, the service is kind of slow considering we are asking for uncooked items. It felt like we were doing more waiting than eating. We would also ask for multiples of one item at one time but would only receive one order. Not sure if there's a rule where we can't order multiple of one thing at a time but it wasn't mentioned at all. Overall, great food but the speed of service could be improved.

I don't eat beef and LaTao HotPot is one of the few places where I feel like I, too, am getting my money's worth for hot pot. Call me a noob by ordering noodles at HotPot, but their Udon is worth at least 1 order. That and their Black Pork, Lamb, wide variety of mushrooms, tofus, fishballs and fragrant Pork Bone broth / Chinese Herb broth and you're set. All you can eat (AYCE) for $17.95 lunch, $24.95 dinner and you'll get an additional 10% off if you pay cash. The only thing that irks me a little is that on multiple occasions, our food order has come out before the broth itself... maybe it's a kitchen disconnect but it's a little frustrating having to look at your food for 5-10 minutes before getting actual broth to cook it in. What a tease! Caution: you will smell like your broth afterwards (no matter which side of the booth you sit on) so be prepared to take a nice shower after.