Lavender Hot Pot

Reviews

• Jack L.

  star star star star star_border 12 June 2026

  All you can eat: one price for lunch, and a higher price for dinner.  Unlike many other restaurants, prices are the same weekdays and weekends.  So, being the cost-sensitive consumer that I am, I come here on weekend lunches for a bargain!
  
  No pork - you get beef, lamb, chicken, or fish for meat.  I can stuff myself for lunch with protein and boiled vegetables for less than $20 after tax, and get by with a light dinner in the evening.  That's a good eating day for my low carb diet.
  
  The only thing I would suggest changing is child pricing.  I don't believe my 7-year old should pay full price when he pecks at his food like a little bird.

• Hughes C.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 8 June 2026

  Not the best, not the worst. I don't think I'm a fan.
  
  The meat there wasn't good and for an ayce, meat quality is number one. The beef just didn't taste good...maybe it was too lean, maybe it was old...I don't know. The lamb was a little better. Plenty of stuff you can get yourself at the buffet section as well.
  
  I think spicy mala was the best soup base...the others didn't have enough taste. Worst part, they refill your soup base with water, just plain water. How disappointing.
  
  The Taiwanese shaved ice dessert was not exactly shaved ice, more like chunk ice. I don't think anyone enjoys chewing on chunks of ice...although the toppings provided were legit: red bean, grass jelly, egg pudding, condensed milk, brown sugar syrup.
  
  The saving grace was the creamy green bean ice cream bars.
  
  Don't think I'll be coming back as there are plenty of good hot pot places to choose from in the bay area. Only time I would consider is if I needed a place to go around midnight, which is hardly ever.
  
  Had to downgrade to 2 stars because a couple people in my group got the runs.

• June Z.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 1 June 2026

  let's start off with the hot pot soup base - very bland, hardly any taste. how you know if hot pot base are good? you get thirsty after eating hot pot. The two star is honestly just for the really nice service, not for the food at all.
  There's a lot of sauce option which I really like but the meat wasn't fresh. i left half full, and this is a all you can eat buffet?
  the interior design is really too much, if you stay in there long enough, started to get a little dizzy - way too colorful and too much stuff hanging from the ceiling.

• Minnie W.

  star star star star star_border 1 June 2026

  Nice restaurant with beautiful ambiance. Associates are very friendly and attentive. Came couple times and if it's lunch time there is no line. Buffet style and all you can eat. Food is fresh.
  The only thing is the there is no AC, and there was one time 6 of us sitting out side and it's suuuiuper hot. So next time we insisted sitting inside, it was much better but still hot.

• Clarissa Y.

  star star star star_border star_border 21 May 2026

  Came here with a group of 8 to have individual hot pots (you can choose between a big pot or individual) and Lavender Hot Pot is a solid 3 stars. Perfectly fine, though I've had better.
  
  ~ Atmosphere:
  
  Excellent and beautiful atmosphere here along with the option of outdoor seating. However, they don't have much seating for large groups and our family got split between 2 tables which was a little bit inconvenient.
  
  ~ Customer Service:
  
  The servers were friendly, but a little flustered. For example, when bringing out pots out there seemed to be some issue where our waitress couldn't find all off the broths we ordered and needed to return to the kitchen. However, they were quick with our orders of more sliced meats which was great!
  
  ~ Food:
  
  This place is mostly AYCE but additional charges for premium items. The AYCE is lamb/beef on order and you walk up to the buffet section to grab things like fish balls, noodles, tofu, and veggies. They also have a pretty comprehensive sauce bar and crushed ice and fruits for dessert.
  
  I ordered the Spicy Ma-La broth and it was excellent. Perfectly spicy and the broth had a lot of flavour where even after multiple top-ups it didn't lose its intensity. In terms of options, you have the standard options available.
  
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  Reasons for 3 stars instead of 4 or 5:
  
  - Ordered a Diet Coke and it came incredibly flat with a weird aftertaste. I had a few sips and couldn't get past it.
  
  - Didn't like needing to go back and forth to the buffet bar to get food items, especially with the restaurant being a little cramped it was a bit inconvenient.