Review: KPOT Korean BBQ in Belden Village falls short

JACKSON TWP. - Venturing into the much-discussed KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot for dinner with my friend Nicole, we were eager for the cook-your-own-food experience and the promise of endless options.

At 4100 Belden Village St. NW, KPOT occupies the former Sears Automotive Center. It is part of a growing chain with more than 50 locations nationwide since its inception in 2018.

Arriving ahead of schedule, I asked to be seated but was informed that the restaurant's two-hour dining limit would commence upon seating. I decided to wait and instead peruse the menu.

Once seated, we opted for the Korean BBQ. Nicole asked our server Macala what she recommended, but was disappointed to learn she had no recommendations.

At $30.99 per person for dinner, excluding beverages, the Korean BBQ or hot pot option promised an all-you-can-eat experience within a two-hour timeframe. Our initial selections included a few pieces of thinly sliced short ribs, garlic chicken, pork belly, prime brisket, garlic shrimp, jumbo (not really) shell on shrimp, eggplant, garlic, sliced pumpkin (squash), sweet potato and pineapple.

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The sauce bar, situated along the back wall, seemed promising, but the slow selection process and lack of variety left much to be desired. When we went to check it out, there were two people in front of us in line. The selection process for sauces was lengthy, and I thought it would become impossible to navigate when the restaurant was crowded. We encountered an odd selection of cold appetizers (onion rings, French fries, edamame) and mystery desserts (cookie? cake slice?), red Jell-o and slices of honeydew melon. Nicole asked a nearby server what the two mystery dessert items were and was told she didn’t know.

Back at our table, amidst scattered dishes and a smoking grill, we realized the absence of cooking tips or instructions. Opting to rely on our culinary skills, we forged ahead, ignoring the option of instructional videos via QR code on the wall in our booth.

Using tongs to handle the thinly sliced meats, we faced challenges with food sticking to the grill. Our server intervened, insisting on grill changes (twice) midway through cooking, disrupting our dining experience.

One of those times occurred while we were in the middle of cooking a significant quantity of our food. The server still insisted we remove the food for a grill switch. With an impatient server and no clean plates, we were instructed to move the half-cooked food to the plates that originally housed the raw food items. Once the new grill was in place, the items went back on the grill.

Anyone who cooks knows that once you remove raw food items from a plate, those dishes should be washed immediately before placing any cooked food on them to avoid foodborne illness.

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We ordered a few additional items: the KPOT steak, which was a thin flavorless piece of beef, and a few more shrimp (the item that saved an otherwise lackluster meal). There were a few teenage boys at a table across from us enjoying their hot pots, but I noticed they were cooking mostly noodles in broth at that same $30.99 price point.

Ultimately, our KPOT experience fell short of expectations. Cooking small pieces of food proved time-consuming with minimal assistance or flavor enhancement from the sauces. The repeated grill changes added inconvenience, raising concerns about food safety practices. Disappointingly, neither of us left feeling fully satisfied after a two-hour, cook-your-own, all-you-can-eat endeavor.

Reach Bev at bshaffer@gannett.com or 330-580-8318.

If you go

WHAT – KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

WHERE – 4100 Belden Village St. NW, Jackson Township

PHONE – 330-754-6077

HOURS – 12 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 12 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: KPOT in Jackson Township offers little incentive to return