Been frequenting this restaurant over the past 5 years or so on an annual/quarterly basis. While there have been some not so great experiences, overall Lavender is a great deal for the price.If I remember correctly weekday lunch is ~$16-18pp and weekend lunch is ~$22pp. I don’t believe there are extras on the weekend, and I can’t speak for dinner.Typically you won’t have to wait in a line to get in unless you’re here for weekend lunch rush hour, which dies down after 1pm.The hot pot options are individual small pots or one large pot for the table (seats 4). There are also larger tables for parties of 8 or more with individual pots.There’s a soup menu that you can choose from - I go for mushroom as it’s basic and has good flavor. The tomato soup was bland.Employees are hit or miss - but lately the service has definitely improved. They’re getting faster with getting the soups out and refilling drinks.There’s a robot meat shuttle for the beef/lamb, which has expedited the kitchen to table process.Sauce and toppings bar is extensive with the usual options (soy sauce, sesame sauce, chili oil) along with some lesser used ones (celery?).Sides wise there is enough to satisfy most people, from tripe to fish balls to vermicelli.Cleanliness could be better (some furnishings are dusty). The restaurant has some interesting decor choices.Don’t come expecting a haidilao experience, but an experience with decent unlimited meat and sides.
The best thing I had to eat was the bowl of self service steamed rice and a glass of water. Wait no I take it back…. The glass of water was the single only edible item on the menu. Lavender Hot Pot is a good reminder of what a restaurant should never aspire to be. From the filthy and uncomfortable decor, to the old and unrefrigerated meats, seafoods, & perishables- the one thing they are guaranteed to serve is a healthy dose of amoebic dysentery.
Revisit after 3 years, food quality down from average to terrible. All-you-can-eat hotpot, the only 2 meat beef and lamb both are no good, very few choices if veggies, ice cream machine was out of order, all 3 soup bases we chosen were basically tasted the same.As a Buddhist we mainly came for the nice Mahakala wall mural, very disappointed on their food. Will never go again and would not recommand anybody to go.
Went here for the lunch special. I believe it was $19.99 for all you can eat. Before it was 15 dollars. Anyways even though there was a price increase, the food was still delicious. There is a section for a bit of veggies, seafood, and tofu/noodles that are separated accordingly.The meat comes around in these cool serving robots where you need to touch their face in order to stop them. (if you go, you will see what I mean) the robot has a weird child voice to them that's slightly off-putting. Anyways they have slices of lamb and beef.As for the broth, there are a bunch of variety so you can't go wrong. The temperature control is right by where you sit.Dessert has a bunch as well. You can make your own grass jelly and fruit combo and it's right next to the sauces.Overall very happy of the price and the quality.
We went here because they could easily seat our large group at two adjacent tables. They have a great selection of broth to choose from (I got miso). You can select and cook your food at your table, and there is a robot to carry your tray for you if you need it. Tasty and interesting experience.
I love that they have a robot going around the restaurant with the meats. There was only beef and lamb available. The service was a little bit slow, so it took a while for any requests that we may have had. There was a guy singing what I thought was karaoke, but I wasn't sure if he was lip syncing. The decor was mixed with what looked like Taiwanese decorations and some country western decorations. The price was not bad for hot pot. I wish there was a little bit more selection. I wasn't also too keen on the selection to make my own sauce.
Ì you feel very tired and looking for some hot good food, must come here. So nice decorating and all food very good.The price is ok.
We have been here before. This time, the food was not good. I give it a 1 star. I was embarrassed because my brother was with us. With a table of 5, our automatic tip was 18% of the full bill. That's 18% of the tax as well. We shouldn't have to tip on the tax. One bright note was the live singer. He sang Asian songs as well and American classics and newer songs. I thanked him and wanted to leave him a tip. Unfortunately, my party had left and I didn't have my wallet. The singer gets a 5 star!We will not go back.
This place is kinda weird...Very cute atmosphere/interior but I wouldn't suggest it. All their food definitely looks like it's been left out all day (or even overnight), and everything just feels unclean. Like even the sauce bottles and toppings looked expired. Also, they have a very small selection of hot pot items, especially for vegetables. They didn't even have enoki mushrooms, bok choy, or lotus root ): and the only real vegetable was cabbage/lettuceOne pro though was their water was insanely good, hands down the most refreshing restaurant water I've had in the area, so there's that. And it's cheaper than other AYCE hot pot placesOh and the bathrooms were pretty gross, don't think they clean them.
The food was good, the options for sauces was amazing and the broth was very delicious! The decorations were very elegant and the music was very sweet.