The parking lot was fairly packed when we pulled in on a Saturday night, but it only took about five minutes to get a table—not bad for a walk-in party of eight. The short wait made more sense after entering the huge building and noting multiple rows of tables that could comfortably fit 10, as well as a full bar. There's also a waiting lounge area with plenty of couches and a projector covering the entire wall with whatever happens to be the night’s big game.
Plano’s Seapot is the chain's first location outside of California. It opened back in 2023 and quickly became a hotpot hot spot, likely due to its consistency and the novelty of the revolving topping bar. Given its popularity, it wouldn't be shocking to see another spot pop up in Carrollton sometime in the future.
Start with the Base
You'll start with a soup base. Out of the eight different options to choose from, we went with the Spicy House, Thai Pot, Spicy Miso and Kimchi Soup. For first-timers, we recommend playing it safe with the Thai Pot, which has a good blend of savory and sour with a perfectly manageable amount of spice, even for more sensitive tongues.The Spicy House had the most intense heat, with a kick that hits hard initially but doesn't linger too long; this was a favorite amongst our heat-seekers, who handled their soup without so much as a sweat. However, one sip out of a friend's bowl sent me scrambling for my water, so I decided to stick to my Thai pot for the rest of the evening.
Pick Proteins
There are eight different meats to choose from, as well as Akaushi wagyu beef as a premium option for $7 a plate. It's all you can eat with a 90-minute limit, so there's plenty of time to work through the menu and find a favorite. Out of everything we tried, the pork belly was the most savory, but we just kept coming back to the beef brisket for its simple, yet satisfying richness.There's an optional Korean BBQ add-on for $5 more, but we passed this time around. While it allows you to order from a list of KBBQ-specific meats, we've found it to be more work than it's worth. The hotpot cooks the meat just fine on its own, and it tastes better that way too.
The Sauce Bar
There's a sauce bar at the front with a wide variety of ingredients and base sauces to choose from. We made our custom dip with ponzu sauce, sesame oil and chili oil then sprinkled in minced garlic, sliced jalapenos and a few different spices.There are also appetizers at the end of the line, including crab legs, spring rolls and chicken wings. The selection seems to vary based on the day, so sometimes there are fries, chicken nuggets and crab rangoons available.
The Soup Conveyor Belt
Seapot’s main attraction is its rotating bar (think conveyor belt) of soup options, which includes a variety of mushrooms, fish balls, and vegetables. If you’re looking to try something new, they also have snails, which were dangerously chewy (and tasted… earthy?), and mini octopi with a mild, salty flavor that were much better in comparison.There are also several types of noodles, each with a different texture and thickness. There’s something for every taste, just be sure to keep an eye out to the side so you don’t miss anything. Be warned: whoever’s sitting closest to the topping bar should be fully prepared to stop mid-conversation and drop their chopsticks to lunge for a fleeing tray of dumplings for someone further down the table.
Cooking Your Hotpot
We grabbed one of the ramen bricks and some of the thinner noodles, as well as some small mushrooms and imitation crab, and tossed them in. There's a dial on the side of the table that controls each burner’s heat level, and we suggest starting at a 4 or a 5 and lowering the heat to a 1 once it starts to boil.The meat cooks fairly quickly, but doesn't burn in the soup, so there's no reason to eat in a hurry. Just dump the tray in the bowl, crack open a bottle of soju and soak in the good times. Don’t leave gyoza in too long, though, or they’ll fall apart in the broth.
Value and Happy Birthday!
The price point is high at $20.99 for lunch and $31.99 for dinner, but showing up with an empty belly and a bit of determination makes it easy to get your money's worth. The wide tables and endless food also make Seapot a perfect place for small celebrations between friends, which makes the 30 bucks that much more bearable.Speaking of celebrations, expect to hear their birthday song at least five times while eating. It seems like no matter the day, it's always someone's birthday at Seapot.
There are happy hour specials with different discounted drinks depending on the day. On Saturdays, they offer $10 bottles of soju, so we happily ordered a few.
Just like any KBBQ joint, the meat is all you can eat, but failing to finish everything ordered will result in an extra fee added to the bill. With the right pacing and good communication, there shouldn't be any issues. To play it safe, just make sure to check how full everyone is before ordering more.
It's usually a hassle to split the bill at places like this, so be sure to coordinate and know who’s picking up the bill and how much to Zelle them before leaving the table. We don’t get much of a “hotpot season” around here, so you don’t want to get left out of the next night out for not settling up your debts.
