The 8 best hot pot restaurants in Chicago and the suburbs

Hot pot puts dinner on a burner in the middle of the table: a pot of broth simmers while everyone cooks sliced meat, seafood, tofu and greens in it. This list covers the hot pot Chicago diners line up for, most of it within a few blocks of Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue in Chinatown, plus two big-ticket rooms in the South Loop and a wagyu shabu-shabu spot in Schaumburg. It is for first-timers picking a broth and groups planning a birthday dinner.

The list favors restaurants where the broth gets as much care as the meat and where a table can split one pot between a numbing Sichuan mala and a mild mushroom or tomato base. Expect $30 to $50 a person at most of the Chinatown picks, where all-you-can-eat deals start around $30. The two South Loop splurges run from about $68 to $118 a person.

How we chose

The order weighs three things in turn: how consistently independent outlets (The Infatuation, Time Out Chicago, NBC Chicago, Secret Chicago and South Side Weekly) praised the broth and ingredients from 2023 to 2026, how much choice a table gets in broths and split pots, and what dinner costs per person. Each Chicago pick also appears in 2026 city food inspection or license records as an operating restaurant. Most Chicago hot pot restaurants are branches of chains based in China, so the list allowed international brands with strong recent coverage, took one location of each and left out national U.S. chains. The search also covered Japanese and Taiwanese shabu-shabu, Korean jeongol, Thai suki and suburbs within about 40 miles, which added one pick in Schaumburg; that bottom spot rests on the restaurant’s own site and menu plus Daily Herald reporting rather than independent reviews. Only eight restaurants cleared the bar, and Sichuan kitchens that serve hot pot as one dish among many are better covered in the best Chinese food in Chicago guide.

Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Qiao Lin Hotpot

On the ground floor of a supermarket building on Jefferson Street, at the western edge of Chinatown, Qiao Lin Hotpot pours Chongqing-style broth into a single, half-and-half or triple-flavor pot. Time Out Chicago counts six broths and steers diners to Kobe beef, pork belly, lamb shoulder and jumbo scallops, with matcha cake to finish. An 8.1 from The Infatuation, the top mark in that outlet’s Chicago hot pot guide, plus coverage from Time Out and NBC Chicago puts Qiao Lin first. Weekend tables are walk-in only, so arrive early and add a name to the in-person waitlist; on weekdays a Yelp waitlist usually opens around 4:30 p.m.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 2105 S Jefferson St, Suite A, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• In January 2023, NBC Chicago reported that the Chinatown restaurant was the first U.S. location of the Chinese hot pot company.
• The restaurant’s own site says every broth is made with 32 aromatic spices and six varieties of chili peppers.
• OpenTable lists the price range at $31 to $50 per person.
• A second Chicago location operates at 210 E. Illinois St. in Streeterville, and the brand has added restaurants in Seattle, Boston and Duluth, Georgia.

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Happy Lamb Hot Pot

The name points to the order at Happy Lamb Hot Pot, a large Wentworth Avenue dining room where Secret Chicago recommends the spicy, crispy lamb shank in a big portion. The Best of Both Worlds pot divides original and spicy broths, and the menu also covers seafood and marinated meats. The Infatuation’s hot pot guide, updated in May 2026, lists all-you-can-eat at $30 but still favors ordering a la carte for the longer menu. Praise from several outlets and a buffet price below most of this list put Happy Lamb second. Only parties of 10 or more can reserve, so smaller groups should plan on a wait, eased by a self-serve ice cream machine and free bags of chips.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 2312 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• City license records show the Chinatown restaurant moved in 2024 from 2342-2344 S. Wentworth Ave. to 2312 S. Wentworth Ave., so some older listings still carry the former address.
• Secret Chicago reported in December 2024 that the Classic Hot Pot Buffet came to less than $30 per person.
• The same brand runs Chicago branches at 2707 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park and 3207 S. Halsted St. in Bridgeport, according to city license records.
• The Bridgeport branch was named the best hot pot on the South Side by South Side Weekly in 2024, when all-you-can-eat there cost $27.

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Shoo Loong Kan Hotpot

Known as Xiao Long Kan in other cities, Shoo Loong Kan Hotpot brings an international Sichuan chain to a Chinatown room of carved wood paneling, red lanterns and big stone tables. A party can order up to three broths, among them mushroom, pork bone and a spicy house chili, and premium items such as A5 wagyu, shrimp paste and enoki go in by iPad. The Infatuation suggests opening with beef tripe in chili oil. Coverage from The Infatuation, Time Out Chicago and NBC Chicago, plus the three-broth option, earns third place. Order the chili broth with care: The Infatuation found it hot even at the lowest spice level, and the dipping sauce station carries a separate charge.

Hours: Mon-Thu 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Address: 2201 S Wentworth Ave, 1st Floor, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• The restaurant opened in 2022 in about 3,700 square feet finished in bamboo and gray stone, according to Time Out Chicago.
• The restaurant’s own menu lists Sichuan, Chengdu, wagyu and seafood hot pots, the seafood version loaded with shrimp, crab and shellfish.
• NBC Chicago’s 2023 report noted sister locations in Los Angeles and New York City.
• City license records list the business under the name Xiaolongkan, with licenses renewed into 2028.

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Wagyu House by The X Pot

Big groups and birthday parties are the crowd The Infatuation suggests for Wagyu House by The X Pot, an all-you-can-eat wagyu shabu-shabu and yakiniku restaurant in a shopping complex off Roosevelt Road. Every seat has an individual burner, so there is no shared split pot; each diner picks a broth such as spicy miso, tomato or sukiyaki. Robots roll out the ingredients as projections shift across the walls. When the current menu launched in 2023, the operator’s site priced the barbecue at $68 to $88 a person and the 5D hot pot room at $118. Four outlets have covered the restaurant; the price holds Wagyu House at fourth. Underground validated parking is steps from the entrance.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 1147 S Delano Ct E, Chicago, IL 60605

Why they made the list

• The X Pot announced the South Loop restaurant in May 2021, and city records show a first food inspection that September.
• Purebred A5 wagyu flown in from Japan leads the menu, along with salmon, yellowtail, red snapper, shrimp and mussels, per Glancer Magazine.
• The Infatuation rated the restaurant 7.9 when the review was updated in January 2025.
• The same brand runs a second X Pot in Las Vegas.

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Liuyishou Hotpot

Servers at Liuyishou Hotpot warn every table about the Chongqing base before the pot arrives, a bear-shaped block of seasoning melting into the broth. The Infatuation’s advice is a two-flavor pot that pairs the spicy side with wild mushroom, then taking turns. The all-you-can-eat lunch, $35 when Secret Chicago wrote it up in December 2024, includes egg rolls, sesame balls, fried buns, tea eggs, desserts and soda, with meats and vegetables ordered at the table. Fewer outlets have reviewed Liuyishou than the four restaurants above, which sets the fifth-place rank. Plan on lunch to lock in the fixed price.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 2215 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• City records show the Chicago restaurant received a food license in September 2022 and passed a city inspection in July 2026.
• Dipping items include beef tongue, aorta, snakehead fish slices and a beef and lamb platter, according to Secret Chicago.
• The minimal dining room has TVs and booths sized for groups of any size, according to The Infatuation.
• The condiment station posts suggested combinations for mixing dipping sauces.

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Haidilao Hot Pot

The show is part of the bill at Haidilao Hot Pot, the Chicago branch of the China-based global chain, upstairs in a hotel building at 107 E. Cermak Rd. in the South Loop. Tables choose up to four of nine soup bases for one pot, order on a tablet and take deliveries from a robot, while servers stretch noodles by hand beside the table. Secret Chicago put dinner at about $80 a person, the highest on that list. The Infatuation, Time Out Chicago and Secret Chicago have all covered Haidilao, and that price is what holds the restaurant at sixth. Reservations and a waitlist both run online, so book ahead for a weekend table.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 107 E Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• The restaurant fills about 7,000 square feet over two levels, with a 700-square-foot waiting area at street level and the dining room upstairs.
• The Chicago location was the chain’s first in the Midwest, according to the general contractor’s project page.
• The Infatuation notes fruit leathers at the condiment bar as palate cleansers and free soft serve at the end of the meal.

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Happy Cattle BBQ

Two cooking styles share the table at Happy Cattle BBQ, a Jefferson Street spot in Chinatown where one all-you-can-eat price covers hot pot and a communal grill. Each diner gets a personal pot of original or Szechuan spicy broth for fish balls, sliced lamb and enoki, while the grill takes short ribs, garlicky pork belly and shrimp in turns. Reviewing in May 2026, The Infatuation put the price at $33.99, or $43.99 with premium cuts, for a meal of about 90 minutes. As the newest pick, with one in-depth review so far, Happy Cattle ranks seventh. Save room for the free soft serve that follows.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 2023 S Jefferson St, Unit M, Chicago, IL 60616

Why they made the list

• The restaurant’s site says Happy Cattle has been open since 2023 and runs a second location at 7876 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview.
• The site advertises more than 50 ingredient choices for the all-you-can-eat meal, seafood included.
• Neon astronauts and spaceships decorate the busy dining room, per The Infatuation’s review.

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Shabu-Yo

Japanese shabu-shabu is the draw at Shabu-Yo in Schaumburg, the one suburban pick, run by a Japanese restaurant group with about 3,000 restaurants. Diners each get a personal pot of broth and cook wagyu that the restaurant’s site says is aged 72 hours and sliced daily, along with picks from a vegetable bar of about 20 items and a make-your-own sauce counter. OpenTable lists all-you-can-eat courses from $20 for vegetables only to $79 for crab and wagyu, with the Ultimate Wagyu at $49. The ranking rests on the restaurant’s own site and menu plus Daily Herald reporting rather than independent reviews, which puts Shabu-Yo eighth. Book online, since reserved tables get priority over walk-ins.

Hours: Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fri-Sat 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sun 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 1180 Plaza Dr, Schaumburg, IL 60173

Why they made the list

• The Schaumburg restaurant opened on September 29, 2021, as the brand’s first U.S. location, according to a January 2025 Daily Herald item.
• A March 2020 report in the Daily Herald said the restaurant would fill a vacant 8,400-square-foot building on Plaza Drive.
• The brand also runs a Naperville location at 1512 N. Naper Blvd.
• The restaurant’s OpenTable listing mentions robot food delivery and a birthday cake service.

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