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HE&C Tea Pot in Palo Alto

4.6 (102) 544 Emerson St, Palo Alto, CA 94301, United States

Location on the map

Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, California, US

Phone: +1 650-521-0069
Site: https://hecteapot.com/

Opening hours

Monday:11:30 AM–9:30 PM
Tuesday:11:30 AM–9:30 PM
Wednesday:11:30 AM–9:30 PM
Thursday:11:30 AM–9:30 PM
Friday:11:30 AM–10 PM
Saturday:11:30 AM–10 PM
Sunday:11:30 AM–9:30 PM

Edit info

Total reviews rating 4.6

102 Reviews for HE&C Tea Pot 2024:

Review №1

2023-07-03 04:55:14

Very nice atmosphere and great place for group outing. Was told from other group members that the soup bases were good but the spicy base is not as spicy. Was not a fan of their beef skewers but the sesame balls are good. It is super accessible to uni students (just take the marguerite and walk). It also is such a nice venue and has overflow seating so would recommend as a venue for bigger groups (8-10)

Review №2

2023-10-13 20:42:46

Delicious and elegant hot pot place! Love the pot design. The A5 beef is really good, all ingredients fresh. Service is also great, we got some appetizers for free. Definitely recommend.

Review №3

2023-11-21 08:45:13

The broths are so rich and the meat was so tender! Im a huge fan of the Sichuan broth and Golden Chicken broth. Both of them are super flavourful but arent too greasy or heavy, and the Golden Chicken broth is tasty to drink with noodles. Also, the lamb skewers are some of the juiciest Ive had in the area!Atmosphere was casual and comfortable, and a great place to share a meal with friends.

Review №4

2023-10-15 03:50:24

Food is fine, nothing spectacular. The golden chicken broth is pretty good, I’m pretty sure they add top ramen chicken powder into it!The amount of meat you get for the price is atrocious though.Also service is VERY slow, the sauce bar was empty everytime i went. Message to management: hire more people and/or do more training. 1 waiter per 10 tables is pretty unacceptable during Saturday night. Our waiter was super helpful but it was very obvious he was super swamped and stressed. We also didn’t get multiple things delivered to our table that we still got charged for - luckily we noticed before we paid so we didn’t pay for items that we never received. Shout out to our waiter for trying his best, definitely didn’t envy his workload.The rice we received also looked 6+ hours old, which is pretty disappointing for the price point at this restaurant. The lamb and wagyu short rib was pretty good, but the chuck roll wasn’t very good quality and you only get 6 slices for $15 for a relatively cheap cut of meat. This is not high quality Japanese wagyu, most likely American or Australian wagyu!The prices are similar to HaiDiLao, but less selection, worse service, and worse food quality. I wouldn’t recommend as there are many other hotpot places that offer better dining experiences and food quality at similar prices.

Review №5

2023-08-05 04:19:07

This place specializes in personal hot pots. The place is designed to look pretty modern and picturesque. The menu was a bit confusing but we ended up getting the lychee shrimp balls and two hot pots: beef with tomato base and lamb with spicy base. Both were very good but honestly the spicy wasnt spicy at all. If you want to get sauce, its an extra 50 cents per sauce.Food overall was good, not outstanding but not bad. Service is quite slow and its hard to get the attention of the staff but they are very nice.

Review №6

2023-08-01 04:33:37

Food was just ok. The meat quality was good. They dont give much meat or vegetables for the price. Also, the pot did not retain heat. Had trouble cooking the meat even if it only required a few seconds to cook. No sauce bar. Ive had better at a lower price point.

Review №7

2023-11-09 23:18:47

Great got pot restaurant. Food is fresh with many choices and service is fast and caring for details. Price is reasonable as well. One of the best I have ever been in Bay area

Review №8

2023-07-30 20:36:26

The food and service were excellent, and the affordable wagyu combo for two was a delightful treat. The dishes tasted delicious, and the portions were generous. Highly recommended for a satisfying meal!

Review №9

2023-06-18 19:38:19

Tasty + affordable hot pot!Family owned little spot with great individual serve hot pots. The owner told me that they brew their own broth for days to get a rich flavour. I got the tom yum base which was sour and medium spicy.One pot is a good hearty size and runs around $30-40 per person. They also do boba and chinese dessert!

Review №10

2023-04-04 07:49:27

It was my first time trying HE&C tea + pot and it was a pretty fun experience! I love that they had a very traditional way of heating the pot which is quite different compared to the more modern version electric heat - in terms of the options of soup bases I wish that there were a little bit more to choose from, but they do have the classics of original, spicy, and szechuan spicy which had mala to it. I personally opted for the szechuan spicy but even then I dont feel that its as spicy or as mala as i wouldve normally experienced elsewhere!I do like the convenience of being able to order through the QR code at the table. you pick your pot based on the meat first and after that you can choose the soup base, the types of noodles, and then it will come with a complementary items like veggies, fish balls, tofu, and other side items!a great plus is the amount of amazing dessert to choose from in store but theres also a bunch of amazing options nearby!in terms of service, I would say that most of the staff were really friendly, but due to the high volume of patrons also in the store, I would say that they arent as attentive as some of the other hot pot spots Ive been in since it feels like their staff were spread thin!overall the store front is very spacious in terms of seating with indoors and outdoors option available within their indoor dining they also have two levels.theres no private parking lot but theres a ton of street parking lots available and public parking spaces available near by!if you are looking for a hot pot spot, thats more with a modern twist, but has notes of traditional style hot pot then id highly recommend checking this spot out!!

Review №11

2023-02-25 04:53:07

My friend and I found this place randomly and really liked it. The personal hotpot has a variety of veggies and other stable fixings. The food is quite fresh and delish. Service is attentive and very pleasant. I liked the lamb skewers. Reminds me of home. We are definitely coming back to try more things :D

Review №12

2023-06-27 06:58:45

Food was alright, not spicy enough for the Sichuan pot base imo :)Not much food per pot, so youll def want your own pot, but pretty reasonable pricingCute spot tho

Review №13

2023-10-21 22:58:43

Came here for a ~12-person team dinner for work. Ordering was easily done via their mobile site - you pick your broth, carbs, and protein, plus any of their numerous cooked apps and sweet drinks, and off you go. The personal hot pots look gorgeous and are much lighter weight than they look (so be very careful moving them around). They run on some kind of depleting solid fuel so the heat can’t be adjusted. Server was friendly and patient with our massive order and adjustments.

Review №14

2023-02-05 05:34:51

A place with pot and milk tea. The pot looks nice and fancy. However, the amount of meat is relatively small.Food quality is good. We also tried grape juice tea, coconut sago, and lamb skewer, all are good.

Review №15

2023-03-06 04:31:45

This is a good hotpot option if you’re craving for some on a rainy day when you’re by yourself. I would say 1 pot is big enough to share and then add more meat and that should be enough for 2-3 ppl. We got the tomato broth and the spicy broth to try this first time and tomato one was really good. The spicy broth was not spicy at all… which was a little disappointing but overall not so bad. I would recommend trying it out if you’re in the area since the servers were really nice.

Review №16

2023-05-08 02:31:05

This place is good for meat lover, also good for join their member program $24.99 but you can ask for free dish for six times, great deal !Service is friendly !

Review №17

2023-01-02 22:54:59

Excellent traditional Chinese food (hot pot). Fabulous service. Superb decor … Very convenient and safe location with lots of parking … you can grab lunch or dinner, then walk to other equally nice places for drinks, ice cream etc ..

Review №18

2023-07-09 21:42:13

Food was great, didn’t realize that Tom yum kung would be spicy. Too spicy for me, but very tasty.

Review №19

2023-03-17 05:20:13

I had dinner here with some of my friends and I came here because my coworkers were raving about how good this hotpot place was. Most of their compliments were about the broth. The inside of this restaurant is beautiful. Since its a new restaurant in the downtown palo alto area, everything is pretty, including the presentation of the hot pot. While I loved the aesthetic, the pot was raised a bit too high for my liking. It made it uncomfortable to grab items from the hot pot without touching the rim of the pot (which is very hot, my friend got slightly burned trying to grab soup to put in her bowl). I did love the soup base and I enjoyed the portion size. What I would skip on is the drinks they have there. I tried the mango sago drink, which was their most popular drink but while they grabbed mine from the fridge, it was room temperature and watered down in flavor too. I would only come here for the hot pot. I do wish the heating system underneath the pot could be adjusted as well. While I was eating, I felt the broth was boiling the entire time which made it pretty difficult for me to eat (too hot/burned my tongue, and ingredients would start to overcook).

Review №20

2023-10-08 01:04:47

I used to love this place when it first opened (the angus beef option + the different default veggies and corn that came with it). I came back a few months later, and wow the value has significantly decreased :( there’s nothing in the pot except the broth now, the amount of meat you get is very small w average quality. Came w 2 ppl total, spent ~$110 but walked out not full at all. The taste of the food itself and the broth is still great - just not worth the price anymore..

Review №21

2023-04-22 05:56:58

I heard about this place from a friend calling this an internet sensation so I had to try it. Wow, its expensive. And wow its expensive. Let me explain. First of all, its one of those personal hot pot places that originally were popularized by Taiwanese shabu shabu places such as Boiling Point from SoCal and later Tasty Pot in the Bay Area. I dont think the owner of this place is from Taiwan but honestly its not that hard so I dont really care whether it has Chinese or Taiwanese origin. The food portion is tiny as you can see from the photos. The lamb is cut a little thick but so few pieces. The noodle portion also is tiny. There is no additional portion of rice given. The food by itself is at minimum around $25 for basic beef or lamb pot (way more for wagyu beef). And if you add a tea thats $5 more and if you add up tax and tip it would be at least $35 -40 per person for a personal hot pot. Yes its in Palo Alto so you can decide whether its worth it. Its not bad but Ive never had bad shabu shabu as its one of those least difficult to operate as the restaurant goes. The pot itself is fancy but not flavorful enough to be authentic Beijing style hot pot. Also the pot takes awhile to come to boil. Overall its cool to try once and I personally would drive to other similar but more mainstream places.

Review №22

2023-01-02 21:14:20

TLDR: great food, lovely service, yummy option on a cold day.We’ve never done a hot pot dining experience before so we weren’t sure what we were in for and we were a little confused with the ordering process.I ordered the original plus beef and vermicelli noodles which was really good and could have fed two of us . The pot arrived ready to boil and once boiling, I added the beef and the vermicelli noodles which cooked up very quickly.My husband and our18 year old both got the vegetarian/mushroom option with udon noodles which they too really enjoyedWe left with a container and a half of leftovers.Next time we will get one for two of us which makes the price of $22.95/pot very reasonable. Add some extra goodies if you are feeling extra hungry.We sat outside with our puppy but the inside is super cute.Definitely worth trying. They are eager to provide good value for great food and it’s always fun to try something new.

Review №23

2023-12-05 16:23:43

The value you get for the money is not worth it. I get it’s a more expensive area, but for $32 after tips per person, I got a simple hot pot that has less meat than conventional franchise restaurants.

Review №24

2023-03-23 06:42:08

While a bit more expensive than comparable options (~$25-$30 per meal + tax/tip), they were able to accommodate our large group of 16 for a birthday brunch on their second floor, and provided wonderful service too.

Review №25

2023-07-02 02:37:49

Firstly, they have excellent customer service. My family is vegetarian, and the waiter went above and beyond to accommodate us. We had come here to try hot pot for the first time. I enjoyed it, but cannot say much about the food itself due to my aforementioned lack of experience. My only complaints were that it was a bit noisy and that getting someones attention to be seated can be difficult if they are very busy.

Review №26

2023-10-08 21:03:17

Delicious beef. i love the golden chicken broth pot- must try

Review №27

2023-08-26 06:31:02

- The soup base is mediocre. We ordered two pots. The original pot was meh, the chicken pot was VERY salty (the unhealthy kind). We ended up cooking everything in the original pot because the chicken pot was just way too salty.- The portion of the sides (veggies, mushrooms, etc) is quite small.- The meat quality is not as good compared to other hot pot places like Happy Lamb or Liu Yi Shou, Shabuway, etc.- The service was just ok. Looks like their server still need some trainings. One of the staff was talking very loudly about customer’s order constantly. It gives a cheap vibe to the restaurant.- Both of us had a bit of stomachache after dining there. It wasn’t very serious so we just ignored it. But my guess is that maybe the food quality isn’t that great.Overall, 3 starts for this place. We had high hopes for this one because there aren’t many nice Chinese places in Palo Alto. But we are quite disappointed after our first visit. I don’t think we’ll be coming back.

Review №28

2023-09-07 20:26:40

This is an amazing hotpot experience in Palo Alto. They’ve done everything right - from the decor, to service, meat quality, variety of appetizers, soup base and even boba drinks are all top-notch. I’m totally pleasantly surprised and will definitely come back.

Review №29

2023-09-16 02:44:22

We had the hot pot here but not the drinks. We ordered angus beef and the original and tomato bases. I think the tomato base was nice and flavorful. The quality of the beef, fish balls and meatballs was good! Portion sizes were reasonable but not too large considering the prices. However, they are pretty on par for the downtown Palo Alto location.Service was welcoming, warm, and attentive, but the food took a while to come out. It seems that as a newer restaurant, they are still working on making the process smoother. I’d recommend HE&C if you are looking for a non-AYCE hot pot spot in this area.The boba and hot pot concept is cool, but we didn’t try any of the drinks this time.EDIT 09/2023: We went here again but the meat quality has now significantly decreased. The angus beef option is no longer offered.

Review №30

2023-07-15 22:45:11

The food so delicious, the service amazing, high recommended come to try. Love it.

Review №31

2023-04-22 21:29:21

Hot pot in PA! Very tasty and the meat has good quality

Review №32

2023-02-14 20:49:03

Great food! Great service! Soup is non greasy compared to other hotpot stores.

Review №33

2023-03-26 06:37:41

One of the best hot pots I have ever tried. The staff were super friendly and welcoming. The place is very clean. The ingredients were so fresh and the dishes are so authentic and cute. Very cozy place. Family oriented. Great menu variety. The spicy lamb broth was to die for.Rick, our waiter, was fantastic. He was very helpful in choosing the best dishes and checked on us so many times to make sure we are having a good time. He gets 5-star.

Review №34

2023-11-05 04:14:35

The food was delicious. Loved the skewers and the soup base. The boba also very good. Thank you.

Review №35

2023-02-18 04:54:19

This place is great. Huge portion of hot pot and some really special boba teas. The salted cream cheese drink is delicious and unique.

Review №36

2023-01-02 22:56:12

This new restaurant is so cute and premium! Great food quality and taste, with wonderful customer service! Had a lot of fun with family and friends here:)

Review №37

2023-03-21 19:39:38

Love the soup base and beef! So delicious.Very reasonable priced too

Review №38

2023-11-09 20:23:39

It is just cost $24.99 and taste good

Review №39

2023-02-15 04:27:10

First time here with my family — food was delicious, portions are generous. The ingredients were fresh and soups were so flavorful! Atmosphere is nice. Drinks are just as good as the food. The staff were very friendly and helpful in choosing menu items.

Review №40

2023-03-24 05:58:35

Food was good. We shared one pot which we thought initially wouldnt be enough but in the end glad we split. The meat portions were ok, a bit on the lighter side but overall tasty. Wish they had more sauce options. Bubble tea was decent.

Review №41

2023-07-09 19:11:56

Cool spot! Very nice staff, and the food is good. The soup base is really tasty.

Review №42

2023-03-02 06:17:10

Food is really value for money - the pots looked as good as they looked, and the broths were amazing. There was a lot of meat and variety in hotpot ingredients provided too. Boba was really refreshing too - ask the host for his recommendations (grapefruit and peach oolong is great) Great service as well. Would definitely come back again

Review №43

2023-02-12 06:29:13

The food is average and pricy. If you are Chinese with hotpot experience before, I would recommend you find other better place in Bay Area.The service is terrible. Apparently they don’t have enough waiters to serve customers on busy weekends. The serving and ordering system are absolutely in a mess. It takes extremely long time for your food to get ready. And the servers have to keep asking you what food you just ordered, but still they ended up missing one or two dishes for you. It seems like they don’t have a reliable system to track your order.What is more ridiculous is your soup base and your entree (meat) can come separately and there is a long delay between the two. So by the time you can cook the raw meat in the soup, the fire underneath is already out.Definitely will not come back anymore.

Review №44

2023-02-18 03:52:20

Very cool place! Clean, good food, convenient, and inexpensive price. If you only have 1-2 people wanting hotpot in Palo Alto, this is the place! I recommend the lamp shoulder meat! People there are very nice too! I like this place!

Review №45

2023-02-12 03:19:17

This is such a cute boba/hot pot place! The service was the best I’ve ever had at a restaurant :) 23.99 for a hot pot and you can share that comes with one meat and noodle, plus extra for extra meats, veggies, or sauces. The decor and ambiance is very cute too. Highly recommend

Review №46

2023-02-17 22:58:47

Ordered tomato soup base with Angus beef and the original soup base with seafood. Very tasty!

Review №47

2023-03-23 18:45:13

Really good soup and great friendly atmosphere. Nice people. The menu is a big checklist. It has 4 kinds of soup base, a choice of lots of meats, noodles, dumplings, spice pastes and vegetables. They also have very good skewers, I had the fried chicken which I will get again. They deliver your order in a large boiling hot (HOT!!) pot to your table. Some of the items are in the pot some like the meat, noodles and cabbage are on the side for you to cook. Tea drinks, boba stuff, I had a Mano sabo ? Like a Lassi very good. Fun and as far as I can tell very healthy, lots of vegetables or not, up to you. I predict it will become a very popular place.

Review №48

2023-02-17 04:20:49

Absolutely loved the hot pot! Great broth and ingredients, the service was excellent, reasonable prices, and the staff were so friendly and attentive. Will 100% be coming back soon.

Review №49

2023-01-03 00:01:05

Both the hot pot and desserts at HE&C are super yummy. We ordered tomato and original hot pot bases, both of which were full of flavor. We also love the crispy sesame balls, and the creamy cake. Highly recommended.

Review №50

2023-05-30 01:08:54

The hot pot is really good but it’s boiling hot so you have to wait a few minutes for it to be ready to eat. The food is really good over all.

Review №51

2023-02-15 04:35:34

Great hotpot. Love the tomato based soup. Super delicious!

Review №52

2023-11-21 01:33:06

Very nice customer service!

Review №53

2023-03-04 05:41:36

Their pots are very aesthetically please but they’re very frugal with the meat portions and don’t have any good dipping sauces. They’re very still working through bumps as a new business.

Review №54

2023-03-16 22:27:51

The soup was delicious and it was set in an artistic pot

Review №55

2023-02-15 03:52:55

Nice place in Palo Alto. We ordered tomato and spicy soup base. We like the tomato one better. Service is good.

Review №56

2023-02-18 05:40:07

Absolutely amazing! The high-quality ingredients and delicious broth made for a mouth-watering hot pot experience. I cant wait to come back!

Review №57

2023-07-16 23:46:54

First time trying hot pot! Service was excellent!

Review №58

2023-01-22 22:43:45

Very tasty pots for my non-Chinese taste. Very courteous staff explained how to cook the pots. Well definitely come again.

Review №59

2023-03-30 15:48:34

Good hot pot restaurant. Menu items are okay. Small dining area. Good staffing. Can be better.

Review №60

2023-02-18 07:00:47

I enjoyed a spicy hotpot with a variety of vegetables. The fish and pork were also plentiful. I will go back again!

Review №61

2023-11-24 01:44:35

Very cozy little place

Review №62

2023-07-23 03:58:47

So delicious. The staff was so kind and friendly.

Review №63

2023-07-08 02:29:27

Great food and amazing desert. Love it.

Review №64

2023-02-15 03:42:38

Great experience. Vibe is trendy, has good looking hotpot, food feels healthy and delicious.

Review №65

2023-02-14 02:39:06

They are enforcing one pot per person starting this week.Tiny portion and pricy, tastes alright, might be expected given it’s location.

Review №66

2023-04-10 02:15:55

Food is good. Price is little high for hot pot. Yea is too sweet.

Review №67

2023-01-14 04:04:44

Great food, but servings are too small, not enough for a woman. And understaffed, service needs to be improved

Review №68

2023-03-18 03:42:20

Delicious wagyu beef hotpot and lamb hotpot

Review №69

2023-03-18 18:10:38

Pretty good hotpot.

Review №70

2023-03-04 22:56:31

Great food with fresh ingredients, wanna especially callout the superb service the restaurant provides

Review №71

2023-02-03 20:39:09

Very very friendly staff.

Review №72

2023-02-14 02:54:55

Fresh and hearty food. Very friendly staff.Worth very penny

Review №73

2023-03-06 10:31:29

The best hotpot restaurant in the Bay Area Ive been to!

Review №74

2023-02-15 05:09:34

Excellent hot pot, good service and tasty food!

Review №75

2023-11-21 03:05:52

Great food and service.

Review №76

2023-07-15 21:26:42

Healthy food, tasted good!

Review №77

2023-07-15 02:09:01

Great atmosphere great food!!

Review №78

2023-02-22 18:43:16

The service was so good! Very good atmosphere. Highly recommend

Review №79

2023-08-28 17:46:02

Great vibe and friendly service.

Review №80

2023-07-15 22:50:40

Very good 👍

Review №81

2023-11-24 01:44:49

It’s just incredible

Review №82

2023-07-15 02:15:41

Great hot pot!!

Review №83

2023-07-15 02:02:38

Nice pot and great service

Review №84

2023-02-14 03:00:12

Very clean, yummy food and drink, recommended ！

Review №85

2023-05-30 03:58:44

Nice and healthy with high quality

Review №86

2023-02-14 03:04:28

Very Good！

Review №87

2023-07-19 04:21:46

The skewer is amazing!!

Review №88

2023-02-17 04:29:25

Hot pots and skewers are good.

Review №89

2023-10-08 21:06:11

Nice Food！

Review №90

2023-02-27 00:31:46

Tasty food and nice service.

Review №91

2023-07-13 20:10:47

Food so good

Review №92

2023-02-14 22:03:12

Both good and services are good

Review №93

2023-02-17 02:14:47

Excellent food and service

Review №94

2023-03-19 22:56:40

Good!

Review №95

2023-02-16 07:16:41

Amazing hotpot!

Review №96

2023-07-17 22:33:55

This time I went and it was amazing. The A5 Wagyu hot pot set meal is $59, which includes a vegetable platter, staple food, free seasonings (one each for sand tea, mahjong, spicy garlic), and my favorite Wagyu beef skewers, which taste very tender😃😍 Dabao eats udon noodles I am very happy with the wagyu beef, macaron ice cream and delicious cold drinks🍹I will come again

Review №97

2023-02-14 03:39:50

The ingredients are quite fresh and the meat is very delicious. I ordered the mutton pot and my husband ordered the seafood pot and an additional beef. I personally like it very much and will come here often. I am used to eating hot pot and like sticky ingredients. I hope the boss will add more. Variety of dipping sauces.

Review №98

2023-05-13 05:50:16

There was too little meat, so I had to rely on the vegetables and noodles at the bottom of the pot to satisfy my hunger.

Review №99

2023-04-16 05:43:53

The price is affordable and the food is delicious. The beef is delicious and the egg waffles are also delicious.

Review №100

2023-02-15 16:57:49

The original soup base of the hot pot seems to contain medicinal herbs such as angelica, astragalus, and so on. The ingredients are very fresh. The soup tastes very nourishing, and the milk (fruit) tea is also very delicious. And it’s rare to encounter such friendly Chinese restaurant staff in the Bay Area. I’m very touched hahaha

Review №101

2023-01-08 06:27:45

A newly opened store, the small hot pot is very special

Review №102

2023-02-14 04:02:33