Shancheng Lameizi Hot Pot

Best hotpot place I've been. You get the authentic fragrance the moment you step in. You mark items you want on the paper menu (not all you can eat) and there's a small food bar tp get sides and dessert. Also a station to mix you own dipping sauce with a bunch of sauces and aromatics. I would warn you about the spice levels. Even the mild spice on the 9-segment hotpot had us tearing up halfway through our meal, but those are good tears where you just continue to eat through.

One of the best hot pot places in San Diego. The food is very authentic and delicious. The place is à la carte menu featuring an assortment of vegetables, meats, noodles and others. The quality of beef and lamb is great and delicious. The shrimp paste on the appetizer menu is also delicious and my favorite thing to get here. The sauce bar is by far the best part featuring a delicious array of sauces that imo beats out other hot pot places in San Diego. The mini snacks and desserts are also a nice addition to serve as a palate cleanser or appetizer. The price is par for the course for hotpot these days sitting around $25-50 depending on how much you order. The parking is also absolutely atrocious these days so definitely try to arrive early just to find street parking. Don't even bother with the parking lot here.

Good hot pot spot. Friendly & informative staff was very helpful in explaining the process & making suggestions for new comers. Many free side dish options. Make your own sauces. Good selection of meat options. Overall great experience. They have larger tables in the third section for larger groups.

The hot pot was delicious. Self serve sauce bar and some very tasty side dishes. My only complaint is that we ordered mild soup and it was quite spicy. The favor was really good but to spicy for a mild level. Would definitely return again.

This is a pretty good hotpot restaurant. There’s lots of variety of meats and vegetables, sauces, and sides/deserts to choose from. The medium/mild level of spicy is very spicy. Service here was good. Enjoyed eating here and would come back.

Food is ok. Nothing really unique than others. No service here. Employees here are not professional. One guy was on the phone all the time. Few times I need help, he could not see. Atmosphere is ok if you like that style. And it is very expensive. I don’t mind spending money if I get good food and good services. However, it doesn’t meet both of those.

Tried this place during our road trip to San Diego. Not the best I’ve had. Not sure if this was the only option around. Ingredients are not fresh enough and with low quality. Broth was alright, something you could make at home tho. Portion of the food was okay. I like how they serve various snacks at the sauce bar. Overall this is a place to satisfy cravings. Nothing too disappointing.

One of the best hotpot I’ve ever had in my life and the No.1 hotpot I’ve had in United States. If you are a spicy lover. This place is your heaven. I highly suggest you get the traditional spicy 9-cube pot, it looks fun and the flavor is insanely amazing. For the dishes to put in, I recommend spicy beef, tofu skin, cucumber, yam, and tapioca noodles. Their snack bar is awesome, I highly recommend you try the ice glass jelly and fried sesame balls. I’ll come back for sure. Maybe not on weekends because they are too popular, the line is pretty long.

Truly a great, authentic experience. Perfect for Fall weather, I went here on a Saturday evening with the family and really enjoyed the food. Service was great since we were served sesame balls as we waited! The parking lot was also spacious as it can be difficult in Convoy. Love the aesthetics of the restaurant. Would definitely revisit.

12/23/24 At first I wasn't impressed. The menu is really small for your fancy hot pots of today. No seafood at all I believe. But then the food arrived... Mmmm meat's very high quality, even the cheaper cuts. Even the tofu skin is high end--silkier than your normal one. And the condiment station is something else! They have tons of special sauces you don't normally see including a pulpy green one which was delicious! There's also lots of snacks and desserts there, with get this.... The Best Sesame Balls I've EVER had, bar none, at any Chinese restaurant from around the world! So crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. There's a red bean one and one with something tan inside. Like I usually don't like these things at dim sum but they were so good I got like a dozen!!! The waiters were probably wondering wtf is with this dude keep going to the snack stand! And the soups were delicious! The mala very hot and the others great as well. Waitress was nice and gave toys to my kids too. Great place. 5/5 #hotpot #sandiego #legoland2024

Came on a Friday night around 7pm and we were seated immediately as a party of 4. The inside was spacious, clean, and welcoming and service was friendly and quick throughout the whole meal. Parking can be a bit rough since it's right on Convoy so we parked on a side street but there is a lot right in front if you're feeling lucky. We got the split pot with bone broth and mild spicy and the spicy side was SO SPICY! The flavor was there but I definitely preferred the non spicy side. They also have an extensive sauce/snack/dessert bar with unlimited sesame balls, shrimp chips, and other Chinese desserts which I thought was unique. In terms of the actual hot pot ingredients, they definitely use high quality stuff and have a large variety to pick from! Overall, it was a good experience, but if I were to come back I probably would avoid the spicy soup base.

Unforgettable hot pot experience with exceptional service. This is hands down one of the best hot pot experiences I've ever had! Not only was the food fresh and delicious, but the service truly stood out and made the meal so enjoyable. The staff was incredibly attentive--they constantly checked on our table to ensure we had everything we needed. They refilled our broth and water without us even having to ask, which made the whole experience seamless and stress-free. I also appreciated the thoughtful little touches, like offering aprons and even providing hair ties for those with long hair. This is the place to go if you're looking for a hot pot spot with flavorful broths, fresh ingredients, and top-notch service. I'll be coming back and recommending it to all my friends!

Right now (December) it is the perfect weather for hot pot. But as for me, I can literally have hot pot any time because I love it and how comforting it can be. My friend and I checked out this place for lunch. It was spacious and I love the decor, it makes me feel like I'm in China and its fancy. Super cool! Right after you are seated, you can pick your drinks, and fill out what you would like to order such as broth, proteins, veggies, and more. Afterwards you can go to the sauce bar and make your own dipping sauce. There were some pickled items. And next to that, a bunch of different snacks and candies and Asian desserts you can try that is included in your meal. We went for the split pot to get two different broths. We went with the mushroom flavor and the nine boxes spicy pot (mild). Both broths were really flavorful. But damn, even the mild spicy was super spicy for me and for me I usually get extra extra spicy at other places. But this place, they ain't kidding when it comes to spice! For the proteins we got the lamb shoulder, snowflake beef tongue, chicken gizzard, chicken breast slices, boneless duck feet. For the veggies we got the veggie combo and the mushroom combo. And can't forget the yam pasta. BEST NOODLES to eat with hot pot. Do not forget the snacks or the desserts. Some of the desserts help aid in your digestion and quite tasty. Server was very attentive and kind. Everything was pretty fast. Everything tasted delicious, hearty, but not too heavy. Unless you get rice, then you would definitely be extremely full. I will definitely be back and possibly will stick to just the mushroom flavor and make my dipping sauce more on the spicier side. But, if you can handle the heat... go for it!

My first time here and it won't be the last. Parking: 5/5 I arrived on a Saturday evening and I found parking in the plaza location of Shancheng. So did my other friends. Not sure if I just got lucky because parking on Convoy can usually be troublesome for how popular it is, but perhaps we just came on a lucky day. Customer Service: 5/5 Lovely staff. I arrived before our party of 7 and they were able to accommodate us by offering two table options. Thoughtful and friendly people work here. Hotpot: What a selection! I loved the mushroom broth, the assortment of fresh veggies from bok choy, romaine lettuce, lots of mushrooms options - my favorite is the enoki, and I loved the tofu skin. Beef lovers and seafood fans will enjoy this place as well. One of my fave items we ordered is a shrimp paste dish for our hotpot. That was delicious. I also love how they have a sauce bar. Snack Bar: I frequented the snack bar. The coconut jelly and coconut crackers is my favorite. They have a lot of snacks to pick from and it's complimentary! Ambiance: This place is gorgeous. Lots of interesting architectural decor. I had a great time capturing photos of the restaurant while I waited for my party to arrive. I'll definitely be coming back and recommending this place.

I gotta say, Southern California is blessed to have so many authentic Chinese hot pot restaurants, and this one is just another gem to the mix. My party and I came around 8 PM and there was no wait for a table. When you enter, you'll immediately see booths that have their own decorated space, which I love. Further into the restaurant is the unlimited self-serve bar which is $3 per person, but definitely a necessity because this is where you create your sauces to dip. While the sauce/dessert bar is unlimited, the hot pot items are pay per a-la-carte. Unlike other common hot pot places, this one is pay by the dish instead of AYCE style - which typically means that the quality and cut of meat tend to be more premium - and it was! My favorite was the beef tongue and the freshly, hand cut noodles which both encapsulated the perfect texture of QQ (bounciness and tender and chewy). We got the mushroom and standard broth since the sauce bar had options for spicy preferences like chili oil, etc. Speaking of, that sauce bar is small but mighty. It's got all kinds of hot pot condiments but also a dessert section which has red bean and various asian jelly bowls like coconut jelly and mild clear jelly - yum! There are also fun snacks in bowls that you can scoop out, which was fun. When seated, they'll hand over a menu and pencil where you can mark up what dishes you'd like to order. If you have any questions about what certain items are, they have a "bible" that they'll share which is essentially a visual interpretation of their menu which is super nice! For a crew of 5 people, the total (including tip) came out to be around $200, and that was after we had over-ordered and even left with some leftovers (that were also delicious after heated up at home). All-in-all, a very filling, high-quality hot pot experience and I'm glad that it's in the Convoy area - can't wait to go back!

10000% recommend coming here. Meet quality is good, sauce bar has a lot of options, and there's a self serve bar. They have an all you can eat premium that includes non alcoholic drinks. Service was great. I could tell they weren't expecting such a big rush but they handled it well! Not a moment where one of the workers came up frustrated with the sudden rush.

The place was aesthetically so pretty! The staff were also very attentive and polite. The price is fair as well. BUT I did get food poisoning from here. I have a pretty strong stomach, but unfortunately this is the first time I've had food poisoning from a restaurant in a while here in San Diego. Some of the seafood tasted a bit funky...

This was my first time and probably the last time that I would go here. I wanted to try a new hotpot place tonight so my party of 3 came around 8pm on a Monday night. There was plenty of seating so we got seated immediately and got to choose a table away from the door since it was chilly out. We were asked if it was our first time there, yes, so the server explained that we'd choose a broth or two, meats, then veggies. It is not AYCE, you pay per order. We ordered half Bone Broth and half MILD Spicy... but lord it came out with half an inch of spicy oil, TONS of peppers and Szechuan numbing peppercorns. It was so spicy we asked them to dilute it with more broth... But it didn't actually dilute it because the oil just sat ontop of the broth. We were never offered water or asked if we wanted anything to drink, so we had to flag down a waitress to ask for water halfway through our meal because it was too spicy for us to handle. We also had to ask if there was a sauce station, which yes there is a self serve sauce and dessert station which is an additional $2.95 per person which wasn't explained to us. Maybe the server was new, because a lot of crucial things were overlooked. But that wasn't just the reason I rated this experience so low. The meat quality was also trash. We ordered the Beef and Lamb Combo (which was standard, your typical thin sliced meat), but stay away from the Beef Combo (which came with "Fresh Beef" and "Spicy Beef"). The Fresh Beef was actually the worst protein we had in the entire meal and the reason I will not come back. I had lightly cooked it in the non-spicy Bone Broth and it came out a purple/gray color and was super duper hard to chew. It was gummy. The Spicy Beef was caked in pepper seeds, literally like how you'd planko cover meat. It probably wouldn't have been that bad IF we didn't already have the spicy broth, but this hot pepper caked meat wasn't doing it for us so we tried to wash the peppers off. I also wanted Fish Balls with Roe inside, which was one of their menu options, but they ran out of that. Womp womp, this place had potential. The Bone Broth was great, dipping sauce selection was great, dessert selection was interesting, amount of veggies in the order was great... But the meat really could have been better.

This is a great place for hot pot if you want authentic Chinese flavors and exotic meats/animal parts. They have funky things on their à la cart menu such as pig brains, duct tongue, beef, tongue, gizzards, intestines, etc. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. We got the mushroom broth on one side of our pot and medium spicy Mala on the other side. Warning: Even medium was super spicy! They have a sauce bar and also treats and desserts. All of these are unlimited, but the hot pot items are not. Be careful when you order because we ended up spending over $200! The restaurant itself was nicely decorated and clean. Service was ok. Some of the staff members don't speak English so I got to practice my Mandarin. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but we were lucky to find a spot along the street that's in front of the restaurant.

I met a few friends to try shancheng. We arrived at 530pm and the place was empty. The dining room did fill up an hour or so later. The space is really nice with 2 main dining spaces and just past the register is a well-stocked sauce bar and free snack/dessert bar. You start by picking a hot pot style (soup to boil your food). We got half medium spicy and half bone broth. It was about $16 for the soup and $3 per person for sauce to start. You can order veggies, meat, tofu, noodles and seafood to cook. We ordered assorted leafy veggies, assorted mushroom and assorted root veggies. For meat, we got beef tongue, fresh beef (looked like beef tossed with raw egg), fortune pouch with fish roe (my friend said it was like tofu skin with fish ball inside) and fungus wrapped around shrimp (surprisely my fave since I don't even recall ordering it). We ate a lot of snacks so we couldn't finish the food. Parking lot is terrible. I was able to find street parking around the corner. Overall it was a fun experience with friends, but a little pricey.

If you want to ball on a tighter budget than Hai Di Lao, this is it. Very similar concept, the same amazing soups, friendly service, and super delicious food. The bone broth and tomato broth were full of umami. It was rich and so flavorful. Good enough to drink straight up. All the meats, veggies, and noodles were so fresh. I would steer away from the beef combo next time as it comes with the spicy chili beef or what I'd like to call devil beef. It was spicier than hell and required a good scraping off of the chilis to make it edible for me (an average spicy eater). I love their free sauce bar that has all the fixings and various snacks and desserts that were so good to start and end your meal. Service was very friendly and it was beautiful inside. I will be coming here every time I want HDL, it's MUCH better and slightly cheaper. 10/10.

I was surprised to see that this hotpot place was not AYCE and it was pay per plate. however me and my friends wanted to try it. we got half bone broth soup, half spicy medium broth. BEWARE: I love spicy food and can handle my spice but the medium spice HAS A KICKKKK!! talk about numbing but after 20 minutes you get used to it. I would recommend the mild spice. the meat was good I am not sure about the quality it seemed decent. the vegetables were decent. the rice cakes were good. overall the seating is really close to each other so it's kind of crowded getting out and into seating. same with getting sauce and dessert the hallway/space is small so only one line of people can fit. I am a strong broth/soup lover when it comes to hot pot but this one seems to be lacking a little bit for me. would recommend tho or go if near the area!

Really like this hotpot place! Everything we had was very fresh, the broths are tasty, the service is good, the sauce station is pretty well stocked and I like that they offer some snacks by the sauce area too. One warning, you know how a lot of places list something as spicy but turns out it's not spicy at all. The spicy beef here is thickly coated in chilli flakes and it's actually quite spicy lol so if you like spicy - try that but avoid it if you don't eat too much spice.

The service here is excellent! Each employee is kind and very helpful. I do love the hot pot here as they have all sorts of different innards. Very true to chinese hot pot. The interior elevates it as well with the traditional walls and decoration. Came here a few times and loved each time. The spicy is really spicy so beware!

We came with a group of 6 and loved our experience. We had intestines, aorta, tripe, just about everything. All were delicious in their own way. We even tried the spicy beef and was astonished at its flavor! Definitely stays true to authentic Chinese hot pot which we love. The service was great - my pregnant wife was given a chair while we waited for our table to be ready.

Delish hot pot and 5 star broth. I appreciated the quality of the meat and veggies at this *NON* all you can eat spot.

The food here is excellent, though it definitely helps to have someone with you that's been here before because the menu can be a little intimidating! The broth is delicious, especially the spicy broth! We ordered a wide variety of meats/veggies and everything was great! The tofu selections they have are amazing and there's definitely something for everyone!

Amazing service and selection of hot pot soups and dishes. We were seated immediately upon entering the restaurant on a Saturday afternoon. Highly recommend getting the bone broth soup- so flavorful and yummy. The sauce bar also has some good snacks as well.

Great service and quality. Fresh veggies. Bone broth is great for people who don't want too spicy. You can always get spicy sauce at the bar. If you go with the half and half, you can double dip your meat or veggie to get a little bit of both.

Great Service. Waiters were very patient even with difficult customers, and took care of dirty plates, etc quickly. - Workers have a heavier accent but still understandable. Food was awesome, not an AYCE place so meat quality was above average. - Has a sauce bar - Snacks Overall noise level was Average, not too loud but not too quiet.

Very good hot pot place...price is good. Much like hai di Lao but more affordable. Also they make some of the best fried rice. Would go there just for that!

I've gone to Shancheng Lameizi a handful of times, and I'll probably keep coming here! The service and food is consistently good. The broth isn't the best I've ever had, but it has enough flavor to have a nice dinner or lunch. The food is a bit expensive for the amount of vegetables and met you get on a plate. Either way, I still enjoyed the beef belly and soup noodles. The food is good quality. There is also a sauce, snack, and dessert bar that you can grab at anytime. Overall the setting and mood is very nice if you're craving hot pot in Convoy. They also have toys, hair ties, and glasses wipes as complimentary items at the front. My bill usually comes to at least ~$100.

I've been here too many times to count and each time has been such a great experience. The broths are always on point and I enjoy their massive selection of hot pot items. Their sauce bar selection always has snacks, desserts, and other knick knacks to enjoy either before, after, or during your meal. When it gets busy, it can be hard track down a server, but once you get their attention they'll definitely make sure you have everything you need. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with artful wall designs and unique lighting throughout. Tip: the spicy hot pot brother is QUITE spicy. It's what they specialize in and their spice is no joke, even at mild!

This was my first time at Shangcheng Lameizi and I highly recommend it to large groups! Meaning people of 3 or more! It's such a fun experience and there was so much food. We got half bone broth and half mushroom broth. This was a great way for meat eaters and vegetarians to eat together. We had plenty of veggies, meat, seafood, etc. The beansprouts were a different breed-- thicker than your usual! The quail eggs were so cute and delicious but be sure to poke a hole in it if you left it boiling in the pot. I briefly burnt my mouth by eating it whole. The egg fried rice was simplistic and delicious. To drink we had water with slices of lemon. And plum juice, which was delightfully sweet. They had a clean sauce bar that was filled to the brim with herbs and different sauces. Note the serving spoons (at sauce bar) seemed to be for right handed people as the spouted spoon didn't work for left handed people like myself. There was also a snack and dessert bar that we throughly enjoyed multiple times. As you leave they have hair ties, glasses cleaning cloths, mints, and toothpicks. Try not to be too greedy and only take what you need (: This place is a must!

This is definitely on my list for "treat yourself" hot pot meals. It reminds me of a much more elegant Haidilao with an extensive sauce bar, snacks, desserts and even hair ties at the front of the restaurant It's spacious and wonderfully decorated. Not AYCE but the quality and variety of meats/noodles/veggies was plentiful. We ordered the mild and tomato broth. It was both so good. Mild felt like spicy to me LOL

Tuesday with friends, not too busy, good service. Mala Spicy and tomato soup base, spicy beef, pig brain is particularly delicious, the next day the stomach can move up.

Found a roach in our food last night.... Told our server who informed the manager. The server seemed more apologetic than the manager lol. They asked if there was anything they could do, we asked for a discount. We should've just got the entire meal for free.. The bug was in the half and half pot and it came out when i dunked my chicken in it. Meaning all the food from the half and half pot was consumed with a roach in it. This is a health and safety violation. There was also flys flying around the food in the restaurant and in the bathroom. Do not go here and spend your hard earned money at this place. There's better places right down the street!! I am disappointed and disgusted.

Went on a Friday night around 9pm, got seated and ordered and then they came back and told us they were doing last call already. Ordered half regular and half MILD soup and omg it was % NOT mild. There were sooo many peppers that no matter how we tried to avoid it, atleast 4-5 each time we brought up the ladle. I asked them if they may have made a mistake and the server was not super nice about it and when I asked if they could atleast put some plain broth in to even it out, he said they don't do that. Felt pretty disrespected and like a sissy but I KNOW it was NOT MILD!! Everyone was choking just by breathing in the soup. It was not enjoyable or even tasty at that point and I am MISERABLE today (Saturday) and my stomach/GI system as a whole is killing me from the food last night. There were only 2 other tables and it was not busy and there were plenty of servers but subpar customer service. Most Asian restaurants, particularly in this area really pride themselves on making sure all needs are met for their customers and don't rush you out the door before closing time. I would not be back again.

So far one of my favorite hot pot places in convoy. There are a lot popping up in the area now, so I think it's important to have a solid spot. They have great flavored broths, and if you love spicy food then you will LOVE their spicy broths. It is not for the weak. But if you can handle it, it's perfect for a really cold night and has lots of flavor. Everything is ordered on the menu. It's not AYCE. The service is good and they're all kind. Everyone seems to speak Mandarin and English. The cold bar/sauce bar has some side dishes and desserts. They also have everything for you to make the perfect sauce for your hot pot dipping. Again, this is just a really solid Chinese style hot pot place in the middle of convoy.

This place has quickly become one of my family and I's favorite hotpot places. The meat is fresh and I highly recommend the shrimp paste. We love the little snack bar they have with a variety of little snacks that we ate growing up. The service is also prompt and they're very helpful. 谢谢！

Delicious and unique fare (unless you're from China, in which case it just delicious fare). Fresh ingredients make for a very tasty experience. I recommend the mild broth rather than the spicy broth for your first visit, just because the provided spices are likely to overpower the food (unless you've done this before). Helpful staff guides you thru the selection process to make your experience enjoyable.

The decor and ambiance is very nice. The owner definitely spent some money in creating a Chinese vibe and experience for their customers. We ordered pork, beef belly, beef slices fish filet, tofu, veggies, mushrooms, and glass noodles. The broth we ordered were the regular bone broth and the mild bone broth . Our waiter was friendly and great at giving us suggestions. Originally we ordered the spicy bone broth but he told us that it's too spicy and to go for the mild version. He was so right because even the mild was more on the medium spicy side. It's the peppercorns in the broth that numbs your tongue . I don't like that type of spicy. So thank goodness he told us to go for the mild. He also told us not to order this spicy beef and to go with the beef belly instead. I appreciate servers that aren't afraid to give with specific feedback. Everything was good. Everything is Ala carte. Even the condiment bar. But it's all good quality. Loved the condiments bar with all the savory and sweet snacks. This restaurant is very clean. Loved how the ladies' restroom offer hair brush and other toiletries for customers to use. Lol. I think it's a little less expensive than Haidilao Hop Pot and a smidge better. This is definitely one of the better hot pot places in San Diego .

On the corner of a busy plaza is where you'll find this gem. One of my favorite hotpot place to go to when I'm in the mood. Definitely recommend coming here with a party of 4 or more so that you'll be able to enjoy more meats and veggies options. The broth can be not spicy or spicy with a sauce bar for you to create your own dipping sauce. I definitely enjoy the meat options and fresh veggies selection here. The service is always great and they're fast and very helpful. They have multiple booth and space out room, and small private booth for large party as well. Definitely recommend coming here to eat.

Shancheng Lameizi has become my go-to spot for hot pot cravings, and I'm thrilled to finally share my thoughts. The variety of food options here is impressive - our usual pick is a combo of half mild and half regular soup. The mild heat level is perfect for us; any hotter, and I fear my taste buds might miss the party. Every visit leaves us thoroughly satisfied. The customer service is top-notch, earning a solid two thumbs up, and the food is nothing short of fantastic! Don't miss the mini bar where you can craft your own sauce or indulge in appetizers and desserts. If you're in the area, I highly recommend giving this place a try. You won't be disappointed!

Best service Food 10/10 Cleanliness 10/10 The food is excellent. Presentation is nice ass well. Very clean and nice place to take friends and family here

We came here to treat one of friend's for her birthday back in February and I noticed luxury cars in the parking lot! This place is so nice and fancy inside. At the entrance, they have complimentary hair bands, mints, and cleansing cloths. When we went to use the restroom, they even have complimentary toothbrushes and hair brushes to use. We decided to go with the half mild and half bone soup broth and the mild was like a number 10 on the spicy scale for us. For an extra charge per person, we added the sauces for each of us, which is cool because the sauce bar has desserts and other goodies we got to grab. The items we ordered to throw into the pot were the spicy beef, square bamboo shoot, beef combo, tofu combo, fresh beef, enoki mushrooms, and a couple of noodles. We would have skipped the spicy beef if we knew how spicy the broth was LOL. Everything was really good, but hard to eat because it was extremely spicy! I wonder how other people can handle the spicier levels they offer. Service was nice. Since it was our first time dining here, they explained how it works and checked back on us often. Worth a try if you love hot pot!

I love all hot pot places, but this place is probably my favorite in SD so far! Huge variety of options, great flavorful broths, and all the sauces and dessert options you can think of! The interior is also super nice and spacious, and comfortable with small or large groups. Service is streamlined and efficient! Parking can be busy in Convoy, but usually we can find parking in one of the blocks, if not street parking!

Pretty cool hot pot spot in the Convoy area of Clairemont. It's located in the Convoy Center strip mall across the street from It's Boba Time. There is a decent sized parking lot but it fills up quickly so either circle around or park on the street. They apparently do not have a phone so you can't make reservations. It's a FCFS basis. My friend was already there when I arrived, so you don't all have to be there in order to be seated. Staff was nice but it's pretty loud in here. Our server couldn't understand what I was asking half the time but she did her best. This is an a-la-carte dining experience, so choose wisely. We got a few different things and the food came in a few minutes. Homemade Yam Pasta, Shrimp Paste, Fatty Beef Belly, and the Streaky Pork were the stars of our show. We chose 2 soup bases without any spice. Other yelpers have mentioned even the mild spice level is spicy so no thanks, lol. The yam pasta was interesting. They look like those slap bracelets but when you throw them in the broth, they soften up quickly. They don't really have a distinct flavor, but you can simply add your sauce to it and make it your very own! Shrimp paste was basically mashed up shrimp. You section them into little balls and once you put them in the broth, they cook up in about 6 minutes. They're like little dim sum balls, yum! The meats were on point! Tasty and you can dress them up with the sauces from the sauce bar. The sauce bar is $2.98 per person which is a good price. They don't have a lot to choose from but it's a good enough selection for you to make whatever your pretty little heart desires to flavor up your chosen goodies. The bar is pretty narrow so you may have to wait if it gets congested back there. They have little packaged snacks and some chips and other asian delights. I do wish they had some kind of ice cream, and it should be noted not all the sauces were labeled. Maybe they were, but at first glance all I saw were the names for the ones up front. I think the glass hood on top has a few suggested combos, but I didn't read all of it because I was busy making my own creation. My dining experience here was okay for the most part. I'm knocking off a star for a few reasons: 1.) only the first section of tables and the semi-private tables had partitions (we are still and probably forever will be living in covid times so I feel like they need to be everywhere, and the guy at the table next to us kept coughing, barely covering his mouth...ummmm?!) 2.) the main aisle is kinda narrow, so I hope it's ADA accessible for those who need it to be 3.) not sure if they have any, but we definitely felt like deeper bowls would be beneficial as you're trying to eat soup...the shallow plates we had didn't help much, and the soup spoons are child size, so they slipped into our soup plates once or twice. Other than those minor things, the food was good, and so was the service. For the price though, I feel like we may as well have gone to an AYCE place. This is only my 2nd time at a hot pot joint in years, but I'm happy with the overall visit. Definitely recommend coming around 5pm to avoid the dinner crowd waiting outside. We enJOYed it and now want to try other places to compare to. =)

I've been here a handful of times and they've only just opened a few months back, so if that doesn't say how much I like this spot already, read on for more! - PARKING - Shares a parking lot with other businesses and restaurants - it definitely gets packed at peak meal hours, so be sure to swing by early enough to snag a spot There's a few street spots that line the lot as well, but it's super limited. - SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT - There's tables that seat your typical smaller group of 2-4, and other larger tables that can seat around 6-8. They also have 2 "private" rooms with circular tables for larger parties as well. There's no online waitlist, so you'll have to come early to get your name down on busier days/times. I would recommend having one person in your party come 30 minutes prior if you're dining any where near the peak hours. Service is very attentive, always filling up water and swinging by in case you're interested in ordering more. They always get your meat out super quick, and the snack bar is always being refilled. - FOOD - BROTH We usually get half & half of the Bone Broth and Mild Spice. Most of the time we cook our food in the Bone Broth and then dip it once or twice in the Spicy broth for a little kick, because their Mild is already pretty hot! SAUCE/SNACKS I love that they have a variety of sauces available at the sauce bar, and they even have combinations written out in case you're not sure what to mix! The snack bar right next to the sauce bar has a variety of packaged snacks as well as savory items like shrimp chips and fries, and everyone's favorite - the SESAME BALLS. I always try to grab them when they put out a fresh batch. MEATS/VEG They give you an ordering sheet with all the prices of the a la carte items you can order. We've stuck to the same menu options each time we've come, just because they're good enough we don't need to find others. Favorites: - Beef Short Rib** - Beef Belly - Fresh Beef - Vegetable Combo - Fish Balls - OVERALL - Although it can get pricey depending on the people you eat with and how much they need to feel full, the quality of meat and broth is amazing here. I love that you can take the broth to-go!! I always make sure I do so I can create some noodle soups at home. Definitely come prepared to either wait a long time, or think ahead and put your name down early!

This place was the best hot pot place I've had in San Diego. Definitely exceeded my expectations. My boyfriend and I tried this place for the first time and we were so happy. The meat quality was amazing according to my BF (Im a vegetarian) He Definitely recommended the beef and lamb combo. The spicy beef was good but be warned, it is extremely spicy, so not for the weak. Great service, very fast and delicious.

A new hot pot place in town, I'm told a famous place from China. They are mostly known for their spicy broth. I got half and half and boy was the spicy, SPICY! even if you order mild. I even took out the dried chilis once it started getting hot, i highly recommend going to the snack/sauce bar and getting a bowl and scoop out half of the coagulated chili spices before it melts that way you could always add it back in if you need more heat! (See pics of broth and the coagulated spice clump) Once its melted you cant take it out. The spicy also contains Sichuan pepper corns so sometimes you bite into one and you get a citrusy, mouth numbing sensation for a little while. #1 It's NOT All you can eat, you pay by the item. #2 it's REALLY spicy, even if you can handle heat! just order the mild. I'm not actually sure there are levels of spice because most workers english is not that good. He was trying to explain something but i didn't really understand. #3 There is a mandatory charge for each person for the spice/snack bar. For proteins we tried the shrimp, shrimp paste, lamb, beef belly, beef short rib, and streaky pork. I recommend the shrimp paste over the shrimp. the shrimp paste is ground shrimp that you scoop into balls and put them into the broth. They were light and fresh tasting, even more than the whole shrimp, I think the best item of the evening. You can have them do it for you too which is easier, i think it takes some skill but they did it so easily. My second favorite was the beef short rib, for me meats in hot pot pretty much taste the same its just texture at that point. So the short rib had more meat than the beef belly which was good but had more fat. The lamb was also good. The least favorite was the streaky pork which i think is pork brisket. I thought it was good but if it was just cut thinner or just as thin as the beef it woulda been much better it was maybe a 1/8" thick which made it harder to eat than the other meats. I always like frozen sponge tofu, when you freeze tofu the water crystalizes and opens up holes in the tofu which soaks up the broth like a sponge. Try ordering it toward the end when the broth is flavored from all the stuff that you've cooked in it. Also surprising is the yam noodles. They look like rice noodles but are more chewy and hold up better than rice noodles in the broth so they won't overcook. The place is very modern and fancy for a hotpot place. It gets crowded during dinner hours so i highly suggest going for an early dinner, so 5:00 or earlier. I thought it was good but a bit on the pricy side since you pay by the item. I also thought the snack/spice bar was a bit out of the way and got crowded, i wish it was more centrally located and had 2 sides to it like a buffet line. Tip: The combos seem to cost a little more so i think its better to order 1 order of the 2 meats than 2 combos. I think you get the same amount but the combo just cost more.

We decided to come to Shancheng Lameizi before the dinner rush period on a weekend. The parking lot was already full, but fortunately our group was able to get a table right away without waiting. The inside was ornately decorated, and I noticed that some settings were partitioned off for semi-privacy. The multiple interior walls created separate dining rooms with each having several tables. The place was at least 3/4 occupied when we sat down. After having read some of the reviews, we decided to get split pots with basic bone broth in one and mild spicy soup in the other. The burners at our table were heating the pots unevenly throughout the meal. The spicy soup came to a rapid boil while the bone broth barely bubbled. I wish there was a way that the heat could have been adjusted as I have seen at other hot pot restaurants. Maybe there were dials or switches beneath the table, but I didn't notice any on my side. Between the four of us, we ordered about two dozen items across a couple of rounds. The charge to use the sauce and dessert bar was $2.98 per person which was reasonable. There were plenty of spices, sauces, oils to create dips for the meats, seafood, and vegetables. The sesame seed balls were a popular item, especially after a fresh batch from the fryer had been set out. The bar was located in a small corner which created congestion. Ideally, it should have been placed in the middle of a room with access from both sides so the line would have moved quicker. I would have to agree that the Crispy Fried Pork as a separate dish from the kitchen and the Shrimp Paste in which the server scooped into balls and placed in the pots were some of the best items. I also liked the Fatty Beef Belly for its value. The Yam Noodles were interesting as none of us could recognize that yam was the ingredient. They were like double-wide flat rice noodles in appearance and could have been used as chow fun. Since everything was a la carte, we did rack up the cost fairly quickly, but I think most everything went well except the uneven heating of the pots as mentioned above. The service from the staff was courteous and prompt. They refilled the pots with bone broth halfway through our session. Plates containing the raw ingredients were brought to the multi-shelf table next to our booth and were quickly cleared away after being emptied. I enjoyed our experience at this higher end hot pot chain enough to give it a four star rating.

Finally tried Shancheng Lameizi after months of hearing extraordinarily positive reviews, especially from my Chinese friends. I went around 8PM on the weekend and there was a bit of a wait, but nothing crazy, just twenty-ish minutes. Full disclosure, this is not an all you can eat joint. However, I personally prefer that; the quality of the meat is just so much nicer than every other hot pot restaurant in the area, though the price definitely reflects that. I don't think you could go wrong with anything on their menu, but the items that stood out to me were the fatty beef belly, beef tongue, and the mashed shrimp. However, the best part of the meal by far was the soup base: the Nine Boxes Spicy Spot. This is super traditional and be warned because it's quite spicy with no adjustments. The numbing sensation is so strong that it almost feels like your mouth is vibrating. Definitely a must try!

Worth the try: fatty beef belly, mushroom combo, vegetable combo, crispy fried pork Tip: Everything adds up fast, so get whatever you usually like getting for hot pot. We thought the fishball with roe was not worth the price for the quality and how much you get. Also, sauce costs extra per person! Bonus tip: The snack bar is free and unlimited, so get your money's worth there! They have a variety of sesame balls, rice crackers, Asian desserts, etc. to choose from. I probably ate 6 sesame balls myself. Bonus bonus tip: The medium spice broth is already pretty spicy so be cautious! Fatty Beef Belly: Probably the most worth it in terms of quality and price, 10 pieces for about $10 Mushroom Combo: Includes enoki, shiitake, beech, king oyster Vegetable Combo: Includes spinach, Napa cabbage, chrysanthemum leaf, and another veggie we weren't sure about? Four Kinds of Vegetable Combo: Includes daikon, potato, wintermelon, sweet potato Crispy Fried Pork: fried pork with mala seasoning PARKING: Free parking lot in front but does get packed during prime time. SERVICE: Quick but you'll have to flag a waiter/waitress down if you need something. ATMOSPHERE: Feels a bit on the nicer side, really enjoyed the separated "rooms" they had My friends saw that this place just opened in San Diego and decided to check it out since it feels like we've been waiting FOREVER for Haidilao to open at UTC. We got there around 6pm and it was nearly empty, so we were seated quickly and they were quick to take our order. We did try communicating in English which didn't work out too well for us but luckily our friend was able to talk to the waiter in Chinese. The food came out pretty quickly, the portions were fairly decent, and the quality was great. I absolutely LOVED the free, self-service snack bar because who doesn't love unlimited food? They offered a great variety, and overall I was very pleased with our meal. This place is a bit on the pricier side, but if you're looking for high quality hot pot, this is definitely worth the try.

I've been to the Alhambra location and really liked the quality of food. It's not going to be a cheap meal but you'll definitely enjoy it! We visited on their first day at 6PM and it was pretty empty. I actually expected a wait but we were immediately seated and there were tons of empty tables inside. The parking lot is kind of a mess though, just be prepared to circle around a bit or park on a side street. Ordering is simple enough, you check off the items on a sheet. One of their specialties is the 9 Boxes Spicy Pot, which is a square pot sectioned into 9 areas. I love my broth simple and clean so I got the bone soup pot. It comes in three different spice levels: mild, medium, and hot. Sauce is self-serve but you pay a one-time fee! It's a little hard figuring out what is what because they don't have names on everything so people have to kind of guess around. A lot of desserts made from Hawthorne berries (my childhood!) and sesame balls too. The selection is pretty big! 5 different kinds of mushroom, lots of vegetables, different cuts of beef and lamb...it goes on and on and on. Fatty beef belly was so good we ordered more! You can really taste the quality. The only downside is you don't get that much in the combos. While you get more variety, for example, the beef and lamb combo came with only about 5 slices each. Mushroom combo comes with enoki, beech, shiitake, and king oyster. "Four kinds of vegetable" combo is sweet potato, potato, daikon, and wintermelon. Vegetable combo comes with spinach, Napa cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, and one more I wasn't sure of. Service is pretty good but we had a little trouble getting their attention at first. There's definitely a language barrier but I understood enough Chinese to get things moving. Otherwise, they're really nice and food comes out really fast. Halfway through the meal, I realized that this might be my favorite hot pot place in San Diego now. Hopefully the wait doesn't get crazy as the word gets out! Free toothbrushes in the bathroom!

Came here in a group of 7 people and was surprised by how nice the space was. We got a booth and the ambience felt very nice and modern. As for the hot pot itself, this place is definitely top notch in San Diego. We ordered the tomato broth and the spicy oil one and it was delicious. The quality of the ingredients were great too. Our table's favorite thing was probably the fatty beef belly!! We also ordered the beef combo that came with 2 types of meat, and to my surprise they were both very thick. One of them had peppers all over so that was interesting but not my cup of tea. The sauce area was interesting too, it was a bit crowded but they had a good selection of sauce & lots of snacks and desserts that you could grab. My friends loved grabbing the shrimp chips and sesame balls.

I have been to quite a few hot pot restaurants in San Diego, and this is likely one I will not be returning to. Now that's not to say it's not a quality restaurant, because it is! Service was great, all of the staff was very kind and accommodating, and the whole place was clean and well kept. I personally just didn't enjoy the meat and broth selection as much as I have at other places. Again, everything here seemed to be of a high quality, but it just didn't hit the spot for me. The biggest disappointment in my opinion was the lack of broths to choose from; spice level aside, there's only four options. So at that point the option for a 9-box pot seems unnecessary. Overall if the meat and broth options on the menu sound good to you I'm sure you'll love it! Which is why I'm still giving this place 4/5 stars, even if it isn't for me.