Hot Pot 608

“ Our group of five tried Hot Pot 608 on University Avenue last night. I always love a good hot pot and Hot Pot 608 did not let me down. We were greeted immediately and led to our table. Our waiter came by and learned that we had not been to this hot pot, so he walked us through the process. Like other hot pots I have been to, they have a sauce station with various ingredients and directions for making a number of sauces and you pick your broth(s) in advance, and they bring it to your table. You can have two separate broths in each pot using a divider. But this was different in that this is an All You Can Eat (AYCE) Hot Pot. Other Hot Pots also have options for AYCE noodles and maybe potato or sweet potato, but this was AYCE for everything including appetizers, vegetables, seafood, and meats. It was $35 per person which seemed high at first but once you realize how much food you can get it is well worth it. We started by ordering some appetizers. Honestly, I probably could have made a meal just w/those. We tried pot-stickers, pork egg rolls, fried chicken teriyaki, and shrimp dumplings. I wasn't' a huge fan of the egg rolls, they coating was pretty dense, but everything else was great. When I go back, I'd like to try the pork buns. We ordered our first set of meats as well as rice which they bring to you and then headed up to the refrigerators where they keep the vegetables, additional meats, seafood and noodles. I won't list all of the options, check out their menu, but suffice it to say it was truly impressive. I was really pleased w/the quality of the food including the seafood like squid, shrimp and fish balls. I also loved the variety of vegetables including lotus root, black fungus, enoki and king oyster mushrooms, Bok-choy, napa, and broccoli. It's a fun dining experience to cook your food in the broth. My favorite was the spicy marrow. We ordered more appetizers and more rice. There are some options for dessert but other than the custard bun I didn't try any. Honestly there were so many options to choose from, but I was so full by the time I left that I didn't try even a quarter of the different items. I would definitely go back to Hot Pot 608. A fun, tasty, and filling dining experience. ”

“ As a disclaimer, I'm not a hot pot aficionado and only have a few other hot pot experiences to compare to Hot Pot 608, but I always enjoy my food at Hot Pot 608 and it's my favorite spot in Madison. The staff is very friendly, and the layout/process is very simple and straight forward. I love that it's all you can eat, and I think it's a great deal at ~$33 for a delicious meal (includes appetizers and desserts if desired!) My favorite meat is the lamb, and their sauces are all fun to make. Great variety of toppings too. I'm a loyal customer! ”

“ We tried this self serve hotpot when we arrived Madison. It's easy to find in the business area next to other Asian restaurants. Easy to park on the street and walk along the street. Their hotpot is what you can expected, kindly combing hotpot and all you can eat bbq. To cut off wasting food, they limits the ordering of meet each serve. But you can grab more next time and other types of food. This place is big and friendly for group gathering. Waitress and waiters are very friendly and welcoming. ”

“ This place was delicious! We came early. I made a reservation on yelp, but we didn't need it early on a Sunday. It's an all you can eat restaurant. Most of the items are in refrigerators, but they bring the certain meats and appetizers out for you. We got 2 different broths (original & spicy), but I think the spicy is my favorite. I left feeling like I definitely over ate! ”

“ Place was absolutely slammed on a Saturday evening. They here definitely understaffed but doing the best they could. Nice setup as you can grab normal sides out of a fridge as self service, while the meat is upon order. The beef and pork were the best, the lamb was too thinly sliced and I think it led to some gaminess. ”

“ First time to a "pot" Korean BBQ. This is different than the "grill" based Korean BBQ places I've been to in the past. I like it! Good selection of meats and starters. The veggies and seafood are in a self service cooler. They bring a bowl of broth (we had 2) and you can select the type of broth you would like. We went with house and spicy. The house was better. Good presentation, attentive waiters and the food was fresh. Fun alternative to the burger, brat and cheese curd scene in Madison. We will be back and I will be bringing a bunch or Wisconsin Badger football players. Very good value!!! ”

“ Came with some friends, who found this place through...Insta? The unique thing about Hot Pot 608 is that most of the ingredients (?) are self-serve. They're all neatly arranged and well-labeled in fridges so you can get more whenever you want. No waiting around for a server who you're pretty sure is ignoring you because you keep getting expensive things! The exception is 5 of the "standard" meats, but otherwise even seafood is self-serve. Pretty good variety of items. We enjoyed the fish tofu and fish cake, my friends liked the shrimp paste (like a sausage made of shrimp, if you will). The "normal" fish cake was unusual, it had what tasted like seasoned pork in the middle. Tasty, but very unexpected. The fish roe version was also fun for those who like fish eggs. Also a couple non-hot pot items in the "appetizer" section, including custard buns which are perfect for a dessert...if you can fit it in your separate stomach. I think I gained 3 lbs. Surprisingly, they don't have hot tea just available, but it is included and they'll bring you out a tall cup of hot water and a tea bag. Other drinks are charged separately but self-serve in the fridges too. Certainly more expensive than other hot pot places, but the variety is pretty good and it's self-serve AYCE. Technically you get a 2 hr limit but they didn't seem to enforce it (we really slowed down toward the end...). ”

“ It's been years since I visited an AYCE hotpot (COVID + living in Wisconsin) and Hotpot 608 was largely a good experience on a frigid mid November night. The selection of items is pretty good and you pick up most of them from fridges in the middle of the the space (which, for a former IHOP, they did a good job of renovating). We got a variety of mushrooms, fish tofu, meatballs, and vegetables and all were solid. The sauce station has a good variety of oils, sauces, and toppings (garlic, green onion, etc.) The meats you mostly order with the waitstaff, and the "fatty beef" definitely is fatty, while the lamb and pork were above average quality. The price point is maybe a little on a higher end, although $35/person isn't horrible, given current inflation. Check it out! ”