Xing Hui L.
Yelp
My friends and I pulled into Sichuan Hotpot after a 3-hour drive from the Bay Area--starving to the point where the "hangry" was setting in. We were on our way to a wedding and desperately needed food. Thankfully, this place delivered!
The restaurant had a traditional and upscale feel with beautiful mahogany furniture, giving it a cozy, elegant vibe. The seating was super comfortable, which was dangerous for us road-weary folks--we almost settled in for the day! Note: this isn't an AYCE hotpot joint, so come prepared to savor quality over quantity.
We got there around 12:30 pm, and the place was quiet--only one or two other groups. We loved the peace (no battling for the last slice of fatty beef here!). Ordering is done through a checklist--easy to use and kind of satisfying to fill out, like checking off goals... but with meat.
Soup bases:
- House Special Collagen Broth - Rich, silky, and comforting, even without ingredients.
- Sweet Tomato Broth - Sweet and flavorful, no spice but plenty of taste.
Both broths were so delicious that we almost treated them like soup appetizers. But over time, the broth ran low, and we wished they offered refills--even just topping it off with water would've kept the party going. We had to ration those last bits of broth like it was the final scene in Titanic.
What we ordered for toppings:
- Meat Combo Plates: Fatty beef, marbled beef, Angus prime ribeye, and Kobe beef--a meat lover's paradise.
- Mushroom Combo Plate: Shiitake, king oyster, regular oyster, enoki, and one chewy mystery mushroom (the surprise ingredient we didn't know we needed).
- Veggies: Bok choy, fresh and perfect for soaking up the broth.
- Fried Tofu: Crisp outside, soft inside. A reliable hotpot classic.
- Fish Balls: Because no hotpot is complete without them.
We also ordered the egg fried rice--and wow, it was a beast of a dish. One plate was enough to fill all three of us, and we still had leftovers. If we'd known how filling it would be, we might've skipped the wedding entirely and called it a day!
I had their lychee drink, which came bottled with real chunks of lychee. It was like a refreshing mini-tropical getaway in the middle of our feast.
Service was spot on! Our server checked in three times, just enough to make sure everything was good without hovering. Our water glasses were always full, which was much appreciated with all the hotpot action going on.
Final bill: $138 (including tip). Not bad at all for the quality we got!
Overall, Sichuan Hotpot is a fantastic choice if you're after quality ingredients and a chill dining experience. The only thing keeping it from being perfect was the lack of soup refills--we were scraping the bottom of the pot toward the end, and it felt like a mini tragedy. But if you're in the area, it's definitely worth stopping by.