I’ve been coming to KPOT Kearny for over 2 years and have easily dined here more than 100 times. The food has consistently been great, which is why I’ve supported this location for so long. This visit was for a friend’s birthday. KPOT offers a birthday meal promotion, but it requires a minimum of 4 people. Since it was just the two of us, I first asked my server if an exception was possible, without mentioning how often I come. The server checked with the manager and said no, which I accepted. I then felt a bit hesitant, but decided to politely ask another server and mentioned that I come here very often. I fully understood that the answer might still be no and was completely fine with that, but I wanted to try since I was hoping loyalty might be recognized. After that second ask, the original server’s attitude noticeably changed and the rest of the service felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming. That was the most disappointing part of the experience. To be clear, I was never entitled to any special accommodation and I wasn’t upset about not receiving the promotion. What left a bad taste in my mouth was the shift in service and the realization that long-term loyalty to this business doesn’t seem to mean much. The food is still good, but customer service matters to me. After this experience, I don’t feel comfortable continuing to support this location.
KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot
Excerpts
I’ve been coming to KPOT Kearny for over 2 years and have easily dined here more than 100 times. The food has consistently been great, which is why I’ve supported this location for so long. This visit was for a friend’s birthday. KPOT offers a birthday meal promotion, but it requires a minimum of 4 people. Since it was just the two of us, I first asked my server if an exception was possible, without mentioning how often I come. The server checked with the manager and said no, which I accepted. I then felt a bit hesitant, but decided to politely ask another server and mentioned that I come here very often. I fully understood that the answer might still be no and was completely fine with that, but I wanted to try since I was hoping loyalty might be recognized. After that second ask, the original server’s attitude noticeably changed and the rest of the service felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming. That was the most disappointing part of the experience. To be clear, I was never entitled to any special accommodation and I wasn’t upset about not receiving the promotion. What left a bad taste in my mouth was the shift in service and the realization that long-term loyalty to this business doesn’t seem to mean much. The food is still good, but customer service matters to me. After this experience, I don’t feel comfortable continuing to support this location.
Wow! What a new experience for us! Means I have seen Hot POT places many times across the shores, and though they don’t give a vibe from outside (IMO), but once you step inside, it's a whole different world. Kearny KPOT has almost ~13K reviews on Google with a 4.9 rating, which means just wow! So we decided to go there instead of our nearby Parsippany location. The first thing that disappointed us was the waiting time. They only take reservations for parties of 6+, and we ended up waiting about 70 minutes, with a kid along with us. Since we had already driven 35 minutes, we decided to stick it out. We got the A2 table. Our server, Pickel Rick, explained the whole Hot Pot + BBQ concept. We chose both options together—and the whole table has to agree on the same setup (so one person can't do only hot pot while another does only BBQ…Come on, they are smart too Hot pot was $32 and +$5 more and you can have both= means $37 per person + tax… The BBQ grill lets you control the heat, and the induction keeps your hot pot soup warm. Ordering is all done through a tablet on the table. This is an all-you-can-eat thing, any meat (Pork, Beef, seafood, chicken, Lamb) for BBQ… and you can increase/decrease the temperature of the BBQ. So it's all sorted out! Induction is there to keep your soup/pot warm, order any type of noodles (Ramn-Rice-Pho to add in your soup with all veggies, dumplings, and whatnot, so keep ordering from the tab they give you to order. They have a big selection of meats, seafood, veggies, and sauces. The quality is decent, and the food comes out quickly. The hotpot broth has good flavor, and grilling the meats at the table is enjoyable. It’s basically a “cook your own food” style, so it’s fun if you like that kind of thing. It was a fun experience, ordering chicken/prawn/jumbo prawns/ lamb/ dumplings = putting it in soup or into BBQ platter… some got less cooked, some were well, and some I am gonna call “well done” We were there for about 2 hours, which is actually their time limit. They even mentioned you get a small refund if you leave early (first time hearing that!). Also, if you’re celebrating a birthday with a group of 6+, the birthday person eats free. That’s a nice perk! Great, hearing this first time… There is also a sauce bar station – for all sauces, fried rice, Fries, and Fruits Service can get a bit slow when the place is packed—we had to wait for forks/spoons at one point. But overall, it’s a fun place to go with friends or family, especially if you like trying something different.
Wow! What a new experience for us! Means I have seen Hot POT places many times across the shores, and though they don’t give a vibe from outside (IMO), but once you step inside, it's a whole different world. Kearny KPOT has almost ~13K reviews on Google with a 4.9 rating, which means just wow! So we decided to go there instead of our nearby Parsippany location. The first thing that disappointed us was the waiting time. They only take reservations for parties of 6+, and we ended up waiting about 70 minutes, with a kid along with us. Since we had already driven 35 minutes, we decided to stick it out. We got the A2 table. Our server, Pickel Rick, explained the whole Hot Pot + BBQ concept. We chose both options together—and the whole table has to agree on the same setup (so one person can't do only hot pot while another does only BBQ…Come on, they are smart too Hot pot was $32 and +$5 more and you can have both= means $37 per person + tax… The BBQ grill lets you control the heat, and the induction keeps your hot pot soup warm. Ordering is all done through a tablet on the table. This is an all-you-can-eat thing, any meat (Pork, Beef, seafood, chicken, Lamb) for BBQ… and you can increase/decrease the temperature of the BBQ. So it's all sorted out! Induction is there to keep your soup/pot warm, order any type of noodles (Ramn-Rice-Pho to add in your soup with all veggies, dumplings, and whatnot, so keep ordering from the tab they give you to order. They have a big selection of meats, seafood, veggies, and sauces. The quality is decent, and the food comes out quickly. The hotpot broth has good flavor, and grilling the meats at the table is enjoyable. It’s basically a “cook your own food” style, so it’s fun if you like that kind of thing. It was a fun experience, ordering chicken/prawn/jumbo prawns/ lamb/ dumplings = putting it in soup or into BBQ platter… some got less cooked, some were well, and some I am gonna call “well done” We were there for about 2 hours, which is actually their time limit. They even mentioned you get a small refund if you leave early (first time hearing that!). Also, if you’re celebrating a birthday with a group of 6+, the birthday person eats free. That’s a nice perk! Great, hearing this first time… There is also a sauce bar station – for all sauces, fried rice, Fries, and Fruits Service can get a bit slow when the place is packed—we had to wait for forks/spoons at one point. But overall, it’s a fun place to go with friends or family, especially if you like trying something different.
We had a wonderful experience our server was Angie and she was amazing. She was so kind and helpful. It was our first time and she definitely made it an amazing experience. We are definitely coming back. The customer service was top tier. I would recommend any to visit!