Terrific addition to the local food scene. Hotpot craze has struck the nation and all the cool kids want this. Let's see, is this up to LA or Boston? No ... it's not flashy, sleek, downtown nor is there a line of people waiting to get in on Friday at 9pm. That said, it's fun and worth checking out. A couple notes: we went just after it opened. The slice beef came out barely defrosted -- once volume picks up expect that to get better, the fish was just ok, but the shrimp was great. We will be back and expect this to get better and better. read more

Just went there with my co workers for lunch and had a great experience. Food was fresh, the place was clean and it wasn't too pricey! Will be coming back with family members this time. So glad Cincy finally has a decent hot pot place. read more

Mala Hotpot - Hot Pot Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Fantastic spot. Authentic hot pot with great service. We go once a month and have never had a bad experience yet.

DLW is a hotpot fanatic. She was disappointed at the dearth of restaurants serving it in Cincy until just recently, but now Mala has finally opened in the former spot where a fairly tired French place once stood near Cincinnati Asian Market. She can have it anytime now! The space is quite large, split between two rooms, one of which houses the kitchen as well as one dining area. Between the two rooms there are probably 150 seats, and each one has its own hot plate. They are clearly anticipating a lot of business, although on a Sunday afternoon at 3 there were only a few tables occupied. The concept is individual or mini-hotpot. Each person gets his or her own soup, instead of sharing a communal one. On weekends at least, they streamline the ordering process by offering combos: one meat, veggie, mushroom, tofu and starch per person. Each category has four or five options. Dipping sauce can be customized by the eater at the no-frills bar, but it is an upcharge. Still if you're eating hotpot, sauce is a must. DLW chose chicken mushroom soup, fatty beef, chung ho (morning glory greens), king oyster mushrooms, fried tofu and potato vermicelli. It was as glorious as she hoped, with the beef a big winner. I had spicy beef soup with lamb, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, silken tofu and rice vermicelli. I can take a good amount of spice, but the medium level was attention-grabbing. Lamb was also good, but I wish I had gotten the potato noodles, which had great chewy texture. At $20 per person this was a great way to eat a lot of food fairly healthfully for not much money. read more

Phenomenal meal, all the kids exclaimed multiple times how much fun they were having and how good lunch tasted! We will DEFINITELY be back soon! read more

Mala Hotpot - Hot Pot Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Waiter was helpful and explained process. Authentic food and flavor bringing back memories from my travels over the years in Chengdu China. Great food read more

Such a fun place for family/friends to gather and experience HotPot! The food is delicious with lots of variety.

While I've never had bad hotpot, this place was one of the best in terms of service! It was surprisingly quiet for when we went (Friday at 6:30pm). Really good value, for $50 we got more food than we could eat and two pints of Sapporo! I can't wait to go back. read more

I was looking for a hotpot place when I went to Cincinnati and came across this one, my first impression was the place was clean. We were seated right when we got there and was given the menu. A combo (a serving of meat, side and veggie) costs about $17.99, plus an addition of $1.99 for the sauce. I've been to couple hotpot places that offers unlimited sides and meat for $25 and offers free sauce, so I thought this place was pretty expensive. Nonetheless, the food was good and I had a great time here! read more

Mala Hotpot - Hot Pot Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

This place is amazing! We went for dinner and split the seafood combo and angus beef. So much food and such good quality! Its a great environment. The staff is helpful and efficient. Update on the review: I had originally given it 5 stars but after my second visit I lowered it to 3. The quality of soup and meat were not the same. Frost on the meat and it was tough. The soup base was not nearly as flavorful. $64 before tip for 3 people was very high for the quality and taste. You can get an all you can eat hot pot for that. read more

Mala Hotpot - Hot Pot Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Don't do it. This place is horrible from the start. They do not greet you when you enter. We had to ring a bell and still wait. The place was almost empty. The atmosphere is not really good. If feels like sitting in a waffle house. The service was terrible from the start. Very poor explanation of how things work and they do not come around to check on the customer. You have to yell across the room and/or waive to get their attention. Corona is on the menu but they were out of stock (funny because you can get this at at least 10 stores in a mile radius of this place so no excuse). I ordered another type of beer (which was very warm), and when I asked for a second one I was told I got the last one and would need to try another selection (BS!). On to the food.... The cuts of meat are disgusting low end crap I wouldn't feed my dog (if I had one). Everybody got different things so we all tried each others and six of us agreed that every meal was terrible. Now the bill arrives... 6 people only one person drinking adult beverage (2 total) and the total was $189.00. They saw fit to add their own tip in that total which I quickly adjusted. Needless to say I will never visit this establishment again. It was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had and wanted to make sure they got an honest review. When I got home I went straight to the bathroom and it got ugly for a few minutes. My wife did the same so something there was actually worse than it appeared. read more

Food was okay... but portion size to price you pay is not worth it. Also the owners are very stingy and we're reluctant to give us sturdy to go containers instead trying to persuade us to put soup in a plastic ziplock bag. Your waiter is also a robot so asking for more water or napkins is not an option. I personally would not come back. read more

This place used to be great before pandemic but no more self-service sauces & side dishes. No more fresh onions, fresh cilantro & various hot sauces, all those make a huge difference in the overall experience of the hot pot. The waitress is awful with attitude. Very disappointed! But the quality of hot pot itself is still good just missing the self mixed sauce part. read more

Not many places like Mala in Cincinnati! We loved making our own Ramen bowls. There were an abundance of ingredients to make your bowl however you please. The service was great ! read more

Nice customer service. The lady who served us was pretty informative and polite. We came on their first reopening day for dine in since Covid. A cute little robotic serving table brought out our meats, veggies, etc! It was adorable and fun to watch . The hot pot was yummy and affordable. Will return next time we're craving hot pot. read more

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Kind of a mixed bag... Service was WAAY UNDER staffed. Friday night & they had ONE cook, ONE waitress/hostess, ONE bus boy and one robot. Wait was long, every time you needed something. Dipping sauces were DELICIOUS. Meats were FROZEN SOLID... Veggies were fresh. Seating is very uncomfortable, especially if you are not SKINNY. Niether the table nor the booth move, you are wedged in. Robot brings your food, cute gimick. Not worth a return, Sorry. read more

This place was just not for me. The food was not good and I just had no idea what to do here. I went with friends and just wish chose a different place. My boyfriend enjoyed it but agreed we would not be going ever again per the ambiance and the food was just a tad weird tasting. read more

Food made me sick, they give no direction and the staff speaks no english. The waiter harassed me about my tip percentage when all she did was seat me. read more

One of my favorite places in Cincinnati. Love hot pot and this is quite good. Slightly pricey, but very clean and excellent meat.

Great service . Little confused when I check in . But after that everything went on well, each of us have a pot. Food is so fresh and delicious! read more

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The staff was extremely helpful and nice! The food was delicious as well, and there was a large selection (extremely cheap in my eyes as well! Only spent about $25 dollars per full meal, and the sauce bar is free). I found the miso soup base to be incredibly flavorful, and my friend enjoyed the mala base as well. The entire spot was cozy, clean, and very comfortable. Also, the robot server is adorable! read more

Drove 40 minutes for dinner for them to be closed. Need to update hours. They're not open Wednesdays.

They have several beef options, seafood and vegetarian offered upon request. I got the beef and tomato base which I found to be more tomato not enough beef. There's a good variety for dipping sauces. read more

I had a decent lunch here, but there's definitely room for improvement. My slices of beef were frozen together, the beef broth wasn't that flavorful, and the service was inattentive - for example, we finished our water pitcher partway though the meal, and they didn't refill it. Overall, while the food wasn't excellent, it wasn't bad either. If nothing else, it's nice to have some more variety of lunch options in Evendale, and hopefully the food and service will improve as they become more established. read more

This is a fairly new place, in the building that used to be La Petite France. It has been totally redone in light colors and looks great. We enjoyed the "cook it yourself" aspect, and the staff was very attentive in showing us first-timers how to do everything. One disappointment is the "appetizers" --- really strictly condiments and sauces, which are $1.99 per person extra. All I wanted was some hot pepper oil, and they let me take a bit without an additional charge, but with their dinner prices at $18 and up -- the condiments should be included. I might go back if I wanted to take someone to a different kind of place. I really prefer my meats grilled --- boiling the lamb meat in the broth didn't really optimize the flavor. read more

I was so excited to hear there was a hot pot in my area. I was pretty disappointed because the service was terrible. We were seated quickly but then waited quite a long time to order. I felt they were not attentive at all. I had to hunt down the waitress 2 times for containers to put our leftovers in. The food was just ok not great like I hear it was. The food was way overpriced for the amount you get. The thing that bothered me the most was they told me I had to give 15% gratuity on a party of 4. I've never been treated like that before. I will not be back nor will I recommend it to anyone I know. read more

I love this place. I have been there twice and I always enjoy my experience there. The wait staff is super sweet and knowledgeable, and the addition of the little robots is fun and cute. I also really appreciate that you can really build your meal from the bottom up, and cater to essentially any diet or eating restrictions! Great place to bring friends. I probably wouldn't bring younger children here just because of how hot the pots and burners get that would probably be a hazard for the kiddos, but coming here with friends is so fun and is such an experience more than just a meal. When you're done eating make sure to hit CAM international market as well! One of the best asian markets in the cincy area!! Tons of great produce and goodies that youre sure to enjoy. read more

First timers to try this place, not much help offered by waitress. We will try it again now that we know the serving size and how to order.

Quality of meat is not good, not fresh, no good! Soup base taste like plain salt water! If you want to try authentic Chinese hot pot, don't try this one! read more

I love you Mala hot pot !!! This place has everything and every bite is fresh and hot !! Great selection !!

The best food I've eaten in a while! Such a cool process of preparation and piping hot throughout whole meal. Flavors were outstanding! My new favorite restaurant! read more

The best hot pot in town! There are such great and fresh options. It is my favorite restaurant!

This place is AMAZING!! Their food is so high quality and so tasty even though their hot pot is relatively cheap compared to the other places I've been to! (~$20/person) I personally got the seafood combo with the tomato broth and it was delicious. My friend got the lamb, which was also amazing. My favorite is probably the fish tofu. They also give you so much food -- overall super satisfied and am definitely coming back!! read more