A group of friends really wanted to try Growl Growl, so I visited a second time and am so happy I did! It was about 40 minutes for our group of 4 to be seated (they were quite busy), but the staff were very helpful and seemed very efficient at restocking and turning over tables. The ingredient bar was well stocked and there were quite a few noodle and meat options, hopefully more veggie options coming as well! We had to be careful not to overfill the bowls because we wanted to try everything. It was super helpful that most bins were clearly labeled now - it made it a lot easier for anyone with food restrictions. The checkout process was simple although 2 soup bases were out of stock, luckily there was one vegetarian broth available (the Japanese Tomato Broth). The price varied a lot based on the weight of the bowl but it can definitely get pricy quickly. The food itself came out quickly and was delicious, the tomato broth was refreshing and flavorful. There was also a sauce bar and ice cream machine (which was working when we visited!) which were really fun additions. Overall we really enjoyed our experience here! read more

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I came right after work around 4:30, not many people yet. Grab a bowl, put in what you want, pick your soup base, weigh your bowl, and pay. Bring your sign number to your table, and the server will bring your food to you once it is ready. Just be careful, you might pay more here than eating at a hot pot restaurant since it's by weight. Free dessert and create your dipping sauce. The concept is fun but expensive. The ingredients are fresh but considered limited. As I walked by the kitchen, the broth was boiling nonstop, which is probably why it's saltier. I probably will not come back again unless my friends want to try it. But definitely a place to introduce to people if they want hot pot but don't like to cooked themselve and try a little of each ingredient. read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Mmmm soup. This place is new so I will give them the grace for being disorganized. The space is very small and the staff is extremely overwhelmed. There is a very small waiting area, and we walked in with about 12 other people squeezed in front of the unmanned hostess stand, all of us confused on where to go/what to do. 10 mins later a very frazzled woman came up to the pile of us and said a name, nobody responded then woman said "you already sat them", not a worker, a woman waiting for a table. We didn't know if we should tell her our names or sign our selfs up on the sheet sitting on the hostess stand. But through sheer luck the women came back and asked if there was a party less then 4, so we got sat. Very nice and easy set up, you sit down, they bring you a jug of water and you go up when you'd like and make your bowl. If you have allergies or any dietary restrictions this is NOT the place for you!! Cross contamination with every single ingredient. How it works: 1. Grab a big tin pot for yourself and tongs 2. Go to the self serve ingredients, set up like froyo toppings. 3. Grab what you want with your tongs (where the cross contamination happens duh) 4. Bring it up to the counter and they weigh it and you pick a broth. Pay and they then take it back to the kitchen. Take a number 5. Sit back down and wait. They will then bring your finished personal hot pot back to you. 6. Idk if they do this too all the bowls but the topped mine with a mix of chives and cilantro. As a cilantro hater I just scraped it off the top. My bowl was $20 and honestly a lot of food for that price and you know what. It was delicious. Seriously delicious, I loved it. They have a little toppings station for after with sesame paste, scallions, peanuts, peanut sauce and some other things. Honestly a great meal, and personally I don't care about the cross contamination because that's how most kitchens work. My only concern is that you are putting a bit of trust in the general public not to mess with the ingredients just standing out, idk if there could be a better system? Maybe put very clear cameras and signage about the cameras. Its not cheap but you make your own choice on how much it will be and I think I got at least double a big serving of ramen for $20, so worth it to me. Icecream is the crappy ice-y kind at like college dining halls so for an icecream snob like me, I didn't indulge but hey its free and I like I said, i can be a bit of a snob. Overall this place would be best improved through I think time as it is a newer restaurant. They just need to work out some kinks. Expect it too be very busy and a bit disorganized but overall you will eat a big good warm bowl of soup in the end so worth it in my personal opinion. read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Love that there's a malatang spot accessible to me now because it's in downtown! Such a great place for all kinds of groups or solo diners because you can pick your own ingredients and pay by weight. The service was as good as a DIY place can get; the ingredients are kept clean and restocked and the employees were friendly. I tried the Thai Coconut Curry and it was good! I think next time I'll either go for their Sichuan spicy broth or the classic bone broth and make my dipping sauce extra spicy. The self serve jelly dessert and ice cream was a very nice bonus after our meal! read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This is a Malatang/hot pot type restaurant and we came during their grand opening. Many items were not stocked and we had to ask them to restock the noodles and the desserts. Their ice cream machine was also broken so we couldn't get the free ice cream for their grand opening. We waited a very long time for our food to be ready. My food came first about 30 minutes and my friend's bowl came 15 minutes later. The broth was average and the ingredients were average. We were expecting more items but they are very basic. The ambiance is casual, and lots of seating. But they were busy on their grand opening. read more

Growl Growl - Hot and sour broth - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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One thing I have to say is, the restaurant is very hard to spot if you're not looking hard. Although it has a big store front, they don't have a sign that sticks out. And when you do find it, the actual name of the restaurant is hard to read behind those light grey lines. Besides that, the interior is very nice. Orange is their theme color and they rock it very well. I like the booth seats and even regular chairs. However, sitting in the booth kind of hurts my upper back, or maybe it's just me. The bathroom is clean and far away from the dining area, but easy to find. This place is like Malatown in Allston, if you've ever been there, where you grab a pot/bowl and grab your own ingredients. You get it weighed and pick a soup base and then the servers will bring it out to you when it's done. Growl Growl has a wide selection of meat, meatballs, tofu, and mushrooms, but a very limited selection of green vegetables. All I saw was bok choy, broccoli, Chinese lettuce, and cabbage. I hope they plan to add more variety in greens later on. The sauce bar looked big, but it kind of missed what I consider staples in hotpot sauce bars such as cut fresh chilis, BBQ sauce, and dark vinegar. They had some other things like lime vinegar. I still made it work tho and tried to make a spicy and sour sauce to pair along with the Sichuan Soup I ordered. The flavor of the soup definitely has more flavor than other Sichuan hotpots I've tried. The spice kicks you afterwards, but it's bareable. I wouldn't mind going here again. The ice cream they have reminds me of Spring Shabus beginning days, the chunky kind of vanilla and not really smooth type of soft serve. More like dole whip. I wish I could try the matcha too, but it was broken so I was only able to get vanilla. The servers do really well at directing you and service itself is quick. Although I wished they had a better system of seating. A couple that came in after me were given a table in front of me. But because they didn't leave their jackets at the table before going to order, another couple ended up thinking that the table was free and sat down. Aside from that, I think this place is living up to its hype. read more

Growl Growl - Ice cream - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I went to Growl Growl after seeing all the hype online and went with a couple friends on a Saturday night. I went during the soft opening and I was able to get a table before the lines formed. The restaurant was very clean and there were a lot of tables which is great. The concept was nice and you have to be careful to not pile on too much ingredients or else it can get pricey. There were a lot of people when I went and the food kept getting wiped out and the team tried to replenish as fast as they can, but there was definitely a wait for the new ingredients to come out. The sauce bar also wasn't replenished that much when I was there and the dessert/sweet station was empty. Also it was a little disappointing that the ice cream machine was broken. The team is still going through the logistics and I hope they find a way to make the food faster. It took almost 50 minutes for my entire table to get our food. One of the pots came out 20 minutes before the last dish. The food overall I was very good. The soup bar was delicious. I got the spicy base and I wouldn't recommend that for anyone who has a low spice tolerance because I got the mild and it was still pretty spicy. read more

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We've been seeing videos of Growl Growl all over social media and were excited to try it ourselves. Food: The food selection was decent overall, but there were some setbacks. The vegetable options were limited, consisting mostly of iceberg and romaine lettuce, with only small amounts of bok choy and napa cabbage. All the meat containers were empty when we arrived, and we had to wait about 10 minutes for them to be refilled. Additionally, four soup bases were unavailable, including the Sichuan Spicy Broth we were most interested in trying. We ended up choosing the Sukiyaki and the Sichuan Sesame Dry Mix. The sesame dry mix was flavorful but not very spicy, while the Sukiyaki broth was on the bland side. Wait: We waited a few minutes for a table, followed by about a 30-minute wait for our food to cook. If you're dining with a group, be aware that bowls may come out at varying times even if your orders are placed together. Service: The staff was the highlight of our visit. The waiters were friendly, attentive, and helpful throughout our meal. They checked in regularly, followed up with the kitchen about restocking ingredients, and when an issue with our order came up, they were apologetic and resolved it quickly and professionally. Overall: This restaurant shows promise but still has some kinks to work out. Since this was during their soft opening, they did not yet have ice cream or the dessert station set up. Hopefully, with time, they'll become more organized and settle into a smoother workflow. read more

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Social media definitely blew this place up way too much. I feel like it's hard to mess up hot pot unless the broth is off, and unfortunately the Classic Japanese Bone Broth I ordered was overly salty to the point where I couldn't enjoy the soup. My friends ordered the Sichuan Spicy Broth and felt the same way. The restaurant was super packed, so I can understand a bit of disorganization, but there were just too many things out of place. A lot of the condiments at the sauce bar went unrefilled for a long time, and the ice cream machine was empty the entire time I was there, which was a bummer. read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This place was very hard to find, I walked the whole square trying to find it. Broth was good I got the Thai coconut , I feel like it's more of a noodle soup place where all your stuff gets cooked in the back rather than a traditional hotpot place. Service was also good, but I can see this place get Hectic from the picking station to having enough seats and having the back cook your food for you. My favorite thing about this place is the dessert section. The sweet soup is a plus! I used their toppings to mix with the ice cream as well. read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Two words 'too expensive'. The concept was fun and cool where you get an empty pot and pick your own ingredients at the food bar. They weigh the pot at the cashier and you pay. Mine came out to $33 and some change. The cashier gave you a # sign and you went back to your table and the waiter bring out your pot with the broth in it. There also a sauce bar where you make your own sauce and an ice cream machine. The ingredients are fresh but the broth is lacking in flavor and the soup is warm but not boil. I remember I went to these pot hot restaurants in Taiwan a few years ago with the same concept. Anyway if you want better experience and decent price, walk a block down to Chinatown and there are plenty of hotpot choices like hotpot buffet, happy lamb..that are more affordable. read more

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Build-your-own hot pot ERA @growlgrowl.usa Choose your own broth, meat, noodles, veggies, pay $18/lbs, unlimited sauce bar, free desserts + soft serve‼ I really enjoyed their tom yum soup but if you're feeling a more sweet and savory broth, the sukiyaki is a great choice too My only downside would be that it can get a bit pricey and busy wait times during peak dinner rush hours! The flavors are amazing though! read more

Price: This is a great casual hot pot option in downtown for the price -- I'm not super into AYCE so for $18 per pound, this is a reasonable option to go for. Mine was 1.33lbs so it costed me $23.94, and even then I felt like I was stuffed! My eyes were bigger than my stomach and I definitely could have gotten less -- so for the price, this is great. Quality: The veggies and meats seemed pretty fresh, which was great, but it always seemed like they were running out of some meats and sauces and we did have to wait for the items to get refilled. The sparking fruit drinks were tasty as well -- we did ask if it could be less sweet. Got to try the bone broth soup and tomato based soup and both were tasty but could be less salty and oily (we drank so much water after). Service: I would say the service was the least impressive of this whole experience. Granted, we did go during soft opening and it was clear how disorganized and chaotic it was -- the hostess never remembered who came in first and we saw another group of 3 who came after us get seated before us (we were also a group of 3) and she kept asking everyone who came in first and kept forgetting. We ended up waiting for 40 mins. They'd also attempt to seat 3 people at a 2 person table so it looked crammed. Would definitely recommend them doing a reservation based system -- after they weigh your hot pot and you pay for it, it took them ~30-45 mins to cook each hotpot (and they bring each one out separately to the table), and they also took time to clear tables, so everyone seemed all over the place. I think a reservation based system may help give them some breathing room and be a lot more organized -- and hopefully provided better service (including refilling ingredients and sauces in time). read more

I tried Growl Growl recently and was pleasantly surprised. The restaurant was very clean and the staff was very helpful and explaining how it worked. I will say the overall selection could be better, especially vegetables. I think increasing their selection would go a long way. I tried to sukiyaki broth which was way too sweet for me but I'll definitely be back try other flavors. Overall it was good and I'll be back. read more

Growl Growl is incredible. I live downtown and deeply appreciate seeing a new restaurant concept in the neighborhood beyond your standard fast food chains. You choose your own ingredients, make your own portions (charged by weight), and you simply can't go wrong with any of the broths. The tea drinks are also quite good. Growl Growl can get expensive if you're really loading up your bowl, but the pricing is comparable to other hot pot and noodle-soup type restaurants in the area. I personally love being able to have however much food I want AND the ability to take whatever I don't eat to-go. The free ice cream is just the cherry on top. My friends and I were saying that it reminded us of going to places like Fire and Ice growing up where the food, and making your selections was half the fun of the experience. I've had the pleasure of eating at Growl Growl a handful of times now, and while it is usually very busy, it is always worth the wait. They could likely use some more staff because they are so popular! The restaurant itself is cute too, though small. Perhaps they can expand one day! read more

Growl Growl - Japanese Sukiyaki broth - very rich in flavor - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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The food was fresh and the service was quick when we went for lunch time. I got the Japanese sukiyaki broth which was very light but flavorful. Everything in my bowl came out to about $13. I had read some reviews about people saying it was expensive and my friends definitely spent more. I focused on veggies, mushrooms, and sliced meats instead of fishballs, etc. that add weight and now when I go back I'll know I can add more. One star less just because their ice cream machine wasn't working. read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Came here with a friend on Saturday afternoon. The place was pretty spacious and we were quickly seated by the waiter. He took the time to explain how the process work, we just had to grab a bowl, put a selection of ingredients in the bowl, weight it at the counter and choose the brooth. It was pretty busy that day, but they restocked the selections pretty quickly and everything is so fresh. We choose the sukiyaki and coconut curry brooths and both were good. I especially loved the coconut curry, so flavorful with a tiny spicy kick to it. The drinks were refreshing but it wasn't too amazing. There was also a free sauce bar to make your sauce for your ingredients and free ice cream/dessert bar! I was too full to try it, but next time will definitely make some room. read more

First time at Growl Growl! Such a fun experience and I love all of the different broth options (I opted for sukiyaki and my friend got tom yum). Excited for the dessert and ice-cream afterwards- which is also included! read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Great place if you know exactly how much you want to eat, and aren't looking for anything to crazy. They have good options for broths and even if you don't cook the meat yourself it's still good quality. Although, every time the free ice cream machine hasn't been working... Very sad. read more

Giving grace due to the fact it's a soft opening but there's a lot that could be worked on for better future experience (I would not come back though sadly) For starters the interior is very nice and admirable. The food selection especially the vegetables was lacking in so many ways. There was barely any meats & less than 10 vegetable options to choose from & the ones I did like were basically empty. A lot of options were missing their sign as well so I didn't know what I was getting and didn't want to bother the staff because of how slammed they were. The line and the whole organization system was also very messy and confusing and just overstimulating through and through. The matcha however was yummy and so were the cuttlefish meatballs, but other than that this place needs some serious work. read more

I had one of the worst restaurant experiences I've had in Boston at Growl Growl. The service was honestly terrible from the moment we sat down. Our server barely checked on us, and when we ordered drinks they didn't show up until we were almost finished with our food. What's the point of ordering drinks if they arrive when the meal is basically over? On top of that, the bill was ridiculous for what we got. We were clearly overcharged and when we asked about it the staff acted like it was no big deal and didn't even try to fix the situation properly. It felt like they were hoping we just wouldn't notice. The whole place felt disorganized and poorly managed. Slow service, overpriced food, and staff that don't seem to care about the customer experience. There are way too many good restaurants in Boston to waste your time or money here. I definitely won't be coming back. read more

Alright don't even get me started, unbelievable experience. Excellent customer service, very welcoming environment, and the flavor was just IMMACULATE. With every bite I took, I ascended further and further as the combustion of flavors just sent my mind through the roof as if I had actually met God himself, and I'm not even religious! It's like the 4th of July, but it keeps coming back, the flavors combine and explode in your mouth, and you can't quite get enough of it. Baby, I'd give this place a rating of 5/5 stars. I'd definitely recommend this to people and I most certainly will be returning in the future. read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Honestly the food was pretty tasteful and yummy. I've gotten only a handful of stuff and only paid $10 plus the rice which is only $1. It got me super stuffed and my sister felt the same. We got seated easily and everything was stocked, i honestly feel like if it's too busy then it can get hectic but they are still trying to get the hang of it. Honestly think that they thought they wouldn't get this busy so soon, so i feel like they're just a lil overwhelmed and feel rushed instead of just settling in. Bare with them y'all!!!! read more

Growl Growl - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I'm sorry what is everyone smoking in the video reviews that say this place is "so good", or "must try"? I'm starting to think influencers are getting paid to post fake reviews. This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. -There was bare bones staffing with one poor employee bussing tables and seating customers. -Half the broths were sold out, mind you I came at 5 pm. -The advertised 20% off for the soft opening was non existent. -There were no clean pots to use for our orders, no bowls for the sauces, and even if there were, the whole sauce bar was ransacked and empty -None of the food items were labeled and the cross contamination of tongs between veggies, meats, etc was gross. -To top it off, if you're expecting the complimentary ice cream don't bother the machine is broken. Don't be fooled by any tik tok reviewers like I was. read more

Service was fine and the ambience of the restaurant was very nice but couldn't say the same for the food. The sausage tasted like play dough and the classic Japanese broth was very bland. Can't say this place is terrible but definitely needs some changes in terms of food selection as it was very small. This restaurant definitely has room for some improvement. read more

This place needs a LOT of improvements. I went on my lunch break and it was pretty busy but the line was short. The ingredients were nice and fresh but very inconsistent as to what is advertised. I went looking for ramen but they were all out, and other meal items I seen people promoting I did not see when I went. Despite the short line it took about 10 minutes to be serviced due to ALL the staff running around. My bowl came up to $34 after being rather light, but I was excited to see what the hype was about. I waited for about twenty minutes with no indications of when my food would be ready, and once inquiring I was notified they hadn't started on my order yet... great. Another twenty minutes go by, nothing. There were a few other customers frustrated about the long wait time and some even left without their orders. After an hour, I received what I THOUGHT was my food. I took my food to go as I was already significantly late returning to work. Once I got back not only did I not receive MY order, but there was also a hair in the food. None of the workers wear the hair nets, so an incident like this im sure happens pretty often. I guess a plus is they offer you water from the same sink they wash their hands at? The place looks like it has so much potential but my experience was enough to never go back. read more

Growl Growl - hair in the food - Hot Pot Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Bad service. Didn't refund me for stuff they didn't give me... (after saying they would) I reached out to customer service and they ignored me. Ice cream machine wasn't on. Too expensive. Good flavor of food but terrible experience. read more

We came on a Sunday night and it was packed; our 25-minute wait turned into 40. I think there should be a system implemented where people would have to be asked to leave after a certain amount of time. Despite this, Tori pulled through and was a champ; they're super kind and helpful and that's impressive considering it was their first day working. Thank you Tori for a wonderful meal! read more

Really loved the tomato broth and fresh ingredients. 12/10, absolutely loved and would come back again!

The place has potential but the staff can't keep up. No one greeting at the door to let you know the wait or if you can sit down nor is there an option to be put on the waitlist, you have to wait in the entrance with everyone else waiting and the space is small. We also learned that some people waited for an hour to get seated and then an hour to get their food, it should never take that long considering the limited amount of tables and i've never had to wait that long at other places with similar concepts. The staff bringing out the food seemed confused as to who got what and was bringing orders to the wrong tables. Great concept and location but they either need to hire more staff or spend more time training people. read more

I will preface with the fact that they just opened and might still be figuring things out as a new restaurant but... WHAT A DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE. Right off the bat, the wait was quite long and the tracking system was just a receipt we wrote our names on. When we finally got inside, the food options were unlabeled and they were out of a lot of items. The layout made it so that the food weighing line blocked us from accessing half of the ingredients. The line at the weighing station moved extremely slowly. It was more expensive than other malatang options. Since they were out of ramen, I ordered rice but when the food came out they said they were making more and we would have to wait. About 10 mins later, I checked in abt the rice and he said they're actually out of rice and we would be refunded for the rice. So I ended up eating a ton of oily food without rice or noodle to add insult to injury, the ice cream machine wasn't on. The restaurant said they would refund the rice but it hasn't come in and also I reached out to them and they didn't respond at all. Such a shame because the flavor of the broth was very nice. I also want to add that usually I don't leave bad reviews but this was exceptionally bad. read more

i went last Saturday the 17th at around 5:10pm and safe to say i got there right before it got packed and only had to wait 10ish mins. food was good, service was mediocre, but i will say it made me so beyond upset when I had gotten up in the middle of eating to use the bathroom, I had went by myself so I took my purse with me but not my jacket, and I came back and they had taken my bowl. literally not a single word exchanged, i was IN THE BATHROOM, and i came back to my food that i paid for, only half eaten, gone. not to mention if I had not mentioned my drink order that was missing, I don't think they would have even made it. It made me quite upset as I tried going the other night while it was packed and was excited that I got in so quick this time just for me not to even fully enjoy my food. The male and female staff at the counter kept side glancing me as I was eating, as i was sat in the booth directly next to checkout, so I don't really know why my drink was forgotten and food taken. I don't know it just made me sad I couldn't enjoy this place that was so hyped up. read more