Best Hot Pot in Houston: Chongqing, Shabu-Shabu and Beyond

Hot pot is the rare dinner where you are the cook, the table is the kitchen, and nobody minds if you take two hours. In Houston, that means a pot of chili-red Chongqing broth bubbling next to a pot of mild bone broth, a sauce bar with more options than a hardware store, and a plate of beef sliced thin enough to read through.

Most of the city's hot pot lives along Bellaire Boulevard in Chinatown, with a few big-name destinations out in Katy and Sugar Land. This guide covers how hot pot works, which style to pick, and eight places worth your evening, every one confirmed on its own official site.

Here's the line to send the group chat: in Houston, the hardest part of hot pot isn't the spice level. It's choosing between Chongqing, Inner Mongolia and Tokyo without leaving Bellaire Boulevard.

The quick list

• For the full Chongqing experience: Liuyishou, a chain founded in Chongqing in 2000.
• For an all-you-can-eat wagyu splurge: Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House.
• For a pot all to yourself: Shabu Zone, which serves individual hot pots.
• For a broth that needs no sauce: Happy Lamb, with locations on Bellaire and Westheimer.
• For a family-run classic: Tan Tan, serving Chinatown since 1986.
• For Korean BBQ and hot pot at one table: KPOT on Bellaire.
• For the famous global name: Haidilao in Katy.
• For a Sugar Land option: Volcano Hot Pot on Highway 6.

How hot pot works

You sit at a table with a burner built in. A pot of broth arrives, often split down the middle so you can have a spicy side and a mild side. You order raw ingredients, or help yourself from a buffet line in all-you-can-eat spots: thin-sliced beef and lamb, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, greens, noodles, dumplings. You cook each bite in the simmering broth, fish it out, and dip it in a sauce you mix yourself.

The style changes the whole meal:

• Sichuan and Chongqing: the fiery, numbing kind, built on dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns. Order the split pot unless you're very sure of yourself.
• Inner Mongolian: lamb-forward and built around a rich bone broth.
• Taiwanese: often served as individual pots, so everyone gets their own broth.
• Japanese shabu-shabu and sukiyaki: lighter broths, premium sliced beef, and a quick swish rather than a long simmer. Sukiyaki leans sweet and savory.
• Vietnamese and Thai: lẩu and suki-style broths that bring lemongrass, sour and tom yum flavors to the table.

Insider tip: cook in order. Broth-flavoring things like mushrooms and corn go in first, thin meat goes in last and comes out fast. Leave the noodles for the end, when the broth is at its richest.

How we chose

We looked for restaurants where hot pot is the main event, not a side menu, and aimed for a spread of styles and parts of town. Every pick had to show its Houston-area location on its own official website as of October 2026. We left out several well-loved spots because we couldn't confirm them on an official site, and we'd rather send you to fewer places than to a closed door.

Prices and hours change often, especially at all-you-can-eat spots with lunch and dinner pricing. Treat every number below as "typically" and check the restaurant's site before you go.

Chinatown and Bellaire Boulevard

Bellaire Boulevard is Houston's hot pot street. If you're new to the area, start with our guide to Houston Chinatown and Asiatown.

Liuyishou Hot Pot

Bellaire Blvd, Chinatown · Chongqing-style hot pot

Liuyishou was founded in Chongqing, China, in 2000, and it has grown into an international chain with restaurants across China, Canada, the U.S. and beyond. The Houston restaurant, at 9889 Bellaire Blvd, is the place to try the full-strength version of the city's famous chili-red hot pot.

What to order: a split pot, with the spicy broth on one side and something gentle on the other, plus premium marbled beef and wild mushrooms.

Why it's on the list: this is Chongqing hot pot from a Chongqing brand, on the same stretch of Bellaire Boulevard as most of this list.

Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House

9896 Bellaire Blvd, Chinatown · Japanese-style all-you-can-eat wagyu shabu

Mikiya is the splurge. It's an all-you-can-eat wagyu shabu restaurant that started in Temple City, California, and its menu is built on tiered sets, with the brand listing prices from about $45 to $98 per person. The Houston restaurant features A5 wagyu, sliced fresh.

What to order: the sukiyaki broth if you like sweet and savory, or the spicy miso if you want something bolder. Pick a tier that matches the occasion.

Why it's on the list: it's the best way we know to turn hot pot into a celebration dinner. It's typically open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Tan Tan Restaurant

6816 Ranchester Dr, Chinatown · Chinese-Vietnamese hot pot

Tan Tan was opened in 1986 by the Chiu family as a small family business, and it still cooks Chinese and Vietnamese food just off Bellaire Boulevard. Hot pot here is a menu section, not the whole show, which makes it ideal when half your group wants hot pot and the other half wants noodles.

What to order: the seafood hot pot or the combination hot pot to share.

Why it's on the list: decades of Chinatown history, and it typically stays open until midnight Friday through Sunday, which makes it a dependable late-night hot pot stop.

Happy Lamb Hot Pot

8488 Bellaire Blvd, Chinatown, and 5901 Westheimer Rd near the Galleria · Inner Mongolian hot pot

Happy Lamb is the one to bring the person who says hot pot is all about the dipping sauce. The brand is known for what it calls a "no dipping" approach: a bone broth cooked for six hours and seasoned so well you don't need sauce, though there's an unlimited sauce bar anyway. It sources lamb from Inner Mongolia, the U.K., Scotland, New Zealand, Ireland and Australia.

What to order: the bone marrow broth and a lot of lamb.

Why it's on the list: it's the clearest example of Inner Mongolian hot pot in town, and the Westheimer location is handy if you're shopping at the Galleria. For more around there, see our Galleria and Uptown restaurant guide.

Shabu Zone

11201 Bellaire Blvd, Suite 2, west Chinatown · all-you-can-eat individual hot pots

Shabu Zone has been serving all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu since 2018, and everyone gets their own pot. It's the one-pot-per-person setup many people know from Taiwanese hot pot: you pick your own broth, nobody fights over the spice level, and picky eaters are free to be picky.

What to order: wagyu beef and seafood, with your choice of mala, tom yum or tonkotsu broth.

Insider tip: a fan favorite, quoted on the restaurant's own site, is mixing the spicy broth with the tom yum. Shabu Zone also recommends booking ahead, and takes reservations online.

Why it's on the list: individual pots and a long list of broths make it a great first hot pot.

KPOT Korean BBQ and Hot Pot

10790 Bellaire Blvd, west Chinatown · all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and hot pot

KPOT is the answer for a group that can't decide. Your table chooses Korean BBQ, hot pot, or both for a few dollars more per person, and the whole table has to make the same choice. On the official site, lunch on weekdays is typically $21.99 for adults and dinner is $33.99, with a two-hour limit and lower prices for kids.

What to order: both. Grill marinated meat on one side, simmer vegetables and noodles on the other.

Why it's on the list: it's the easiest hot pot to sell to a kid or a skeptic. KPOT also lists a location in Webster, near Clear Lake.

Katy and Sugar Land

Haidilao Hot Pot

23220 Grand Circle Blvd, Katy · Chinese hot pot

Haidilao is a global Chinese hot pot chain with a big following, and its Katy restaurant on Grand Circle Boulevard is the brand's Houston-area home. Come with a group and plan to stay a while.

Insider tip: Haidilao Katy runs both a waitlist and reservations through its own booking page. Use it, especially on weekends.

Why it's on the list: it's the hot pot destination for the west side, and a fun pairing with an afternoon in Katy.

Volcano Hot Pot

3434 Hwy 6, Sugar Land · cook-at-your-table hot pot

Volcano Hot Pot is a small chain with locations in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas, and its Sugar Land restaurant is the closest pick on this list for Fort Bend. The brand describes its hot pot as a broth-based, cook-at-your-table meal in a modern setting.

Why it's on the list: a solid Sugar Land option, so you don't have to drive to Bellaire Boulevard. Call ahead for hours, since the brand's site doesn't list them. For more nearby, see our Sugar Land restaurant guide.

Hot pot tips before you go

• Go with three to six people. Hot pot is better shared, and more people means more things to order.
• Ask for a split pot the first time you try a Sichuan or Chongqing broth.
• Mind the clock at all-you-can-eat places. Many have time limits, and KPOT's is two hours.
• Book ahead on weekends. Shabu Zone and Haidilao both take reservations through their own sites.
• Watch your sleeves. The burners stay hot, and so does the broth.
• Drink the broth at the end. After an hour of meat and vegetables, the mild side is the best soup you'll have all week.

Save this: the Bellaire Boulevard hot pot checklist

Screenshot this and work your way down the boulevard over a few weekends.

1. Spicy: Chongqing-style split pot at Liuyishou.
2. Rich: six-hour bone broth and lamb at Happy Lamb.
3. Personal: your own pot and a mala-plus-tom-yum mix at Shabu Zone.
4. Classic: seafood hot pot at Tan Tan, open late on weekends.
5. Splurge: a wagyu tier at Mikiya for a birthday or an anniversary.
6. Both: BBQ and hot pot at the same table at KPOT.

Bonus round: drive out to Haidilao in Katy for the big-name experience.

Make a day of it

Pair dinner with a walk through Chinatown's bakeries, tea shops and markets. Our guides to things to do in Bellaire and Chinatown, the best restaurants in Bellaire and Chinatown and the best Chinese food in Houston will fill the rest of your day. If the lẩu got you curious, our Vietnamese restaurant guide is next. Planning something romantic instead? Try our date night restaurants.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best area for hot pot in Houston?

Bellaire Boulevard in Chinatown. Liuyishou, Mikiya, Happy Lamb, Shabu Zone and KPOT are all on it, and Tan Tan is just off it on Ranchester Drive.

Is there a Haidilao in Houston?

Yes. Haidilao's Houston-area restaurant is in Katy at 23220 Grand Circle Blvd, and it takes reservations and runs a waitlist through its booking site.

What is the difference between hot pot and shabu-shabu?

Shabu-shabu is the Japanese style: lighter broth and thin-sliced beef swished briefly. Chinese hot pot covers many regional styles, including the fiery, numbing broths of Chongqing and Sichuan.

How much does all-you-can-eat hot pot cost in Houston?

It varies. KPOT on Bellaire typically lists weekday lunch at $21.99 and dinner at $33.99 for adults, while Mikiya's wagyu tiers run from about $45 to $98. Check each site for current prices.

Can I get my own pot instead of sharing?

Yes. Shabu Zone on Bellaire Boulevard serves individual hot pots, so everyone picks their own broth.

Is Houston hot pot open late?

Some spots are. Tan Tan typically stays open until midnight Friday through Sunday, and Mikiya until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Check before you go.