Mala Hotpot Hilliard

The food is extremely bland.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Unimpressed by this one. The veggie/ sauce bar is very limited and nothing was labeled. I found this place very overpriced compared to other hot pots- for example here you get one small plate of meat for $25-30, where you can pay $35-40 at other hotpots and get unlimited meat/seafood. I'll give it a star because it was clean. The staff wasn't super friendly or helpful either. Spend your money elsewhere.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 2

We used to love this place and recommended it to everyone. Lately though, the veggie buffet area has been unstocked. I mean we would be the ONlY people in the restaurant but the veggie area is empty. We'd ask if they were going to restock it and they would ask which one. I replied all off it but the tofu in particular... they'd restock just the one item. Meanwhile, the girl that worked there would be playing on her phone. Today we decided to try it again, as we hadnt been there in about a month. Checked the veggie area and saw that the fish and crab balls were empty. Asked the girl working if they were going to restock the items and she said no have no have. Not sure if that meant they were out of the items (how can you be out of an item that comes FROZEN?) or if the items were being removed from the veggie area, but if that was the case, maybe replace the empty spots with another type of veggie? So we left without eating. Only reason giving this place 3 stars is because it really was 5 stars at one point.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

A healthy, wonderful selection of beautiful meats and vegetables. Excellent sauce, choices, and adds available! Excellent service! Super friendly

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Angus Ribeye Slices, Fish Balls, Hot Pot with Ramen, Ramen, Ramen Noodles, Ribeye Combo

This place is my and my family’s favorite hotpot place in Columbus. 👍

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Cool concept but when the robots get your order wrong, and the only person working doesn’t understand English well enough to understand when you’re trying to tell them you never got the protein you ordered, that is a huge problem. The soup base was ok. The noodles were ok. The vegetables were underwhelming and not much variety. Also nothing was labeled. I wanted to like this place but bad experience all around.

The restaurant itself seemed dirty as well. Look at the window sills and you’ll see nobody dusts or cleans up the dead bugs in the window. Yuck! Will not be back.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

So tasty! Great options!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Soup Base

I had lunch at Mala Hotpot in Sep. 2024 for the first time. I definitely recommend this place to everyone. Food quality is very good. Restaurant is clean. Jazz music is great. Meats are not all you can eat but I think the amount of meat they offer for one meal is good enough so you wouldn't eat too much. Vege bar has many choices and is all you can eat. Ordering and paying on your phone is convenient. Robots are used to deliver meat plates.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fried Tofu, Seafood, Hot Pot with Ramen, Scallops, Lamb Leg Slice Combo, Soup Base

A unique experience in Hilliard, Ohio. So much fun and so delicious! I love Chinese hotpot!

Vegetarian options: Unlimited veggies to add to your soup. Lots of different tofu options!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hotpot Combo, Eye Round Beef Slices, Seafood, Hot Pot with Ramen, Miso Soup, Ramen Noodles, Soup, Soup Base

This place is great! Tonight was our first time there, and we went in not knowing what to expect. There was a little bit of a first-timers learning curve, but we caught on pretty quickly. Don't rely on the menu that's posted on their website- in reality, it's quite different than the one in the restaurant. Everything is ordered via QR code and a robot will bring your place settings and proteins/carbs for your got pot. Everything else is buffet style. It's truly an experience. We had a party of 2 and were there for almost 2 hours. Don't go if you're in a rush; allow plenty of time for you to enjoy the experience.

Kid-friendliness: I dont think this is a good place to bring kids. There are boiling hot pots of soup at the table, which could be dangerous for kids.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hotpot Combo, Seafood

We were celebrating a birthday, it was a new & fun experience. The waiters present were very helpful instructing us on how to order, set up, find sauces, veggies, etc. excellent service.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Hotpot Combo, Angus Rib Eye Slices, Tomato Beef Broth, Lamb Leg Slice Combo

Mala hot pot was an epic meal! The service was wonder, the food was outstanding!The vegetables on the bar were fresh, just totally delicious!The robot was cute , price reasonable!As they say, the 1st impression is a lasting effect, this was not 1st visit and will not be the last!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My first hotpot experience. It was fun and the food was very good. I would definitely return to this location.

Vegetarian options: Non-meat options for protein and lots of vegetable choices

Parking: Easy parking right by the location

Kid-friendliness: There were many children dining when we were there

Wheelchair accessibility: The location is WC accessible

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Seafood

Best hotpot, so far i have in town, mainly on the food, not the service. Apparently no service as most things were delivered by a robot cart, kind of interesting for the first time, but couldn't ask for any questions to it, they do have a waiter if needed. Majority of the foods are very fresh and virtually all of them tasted above average, and have quite a lot of varieties too, including potstick and ice cream, if you ordered any one of the (top 10) combination item. However, be aware they charged by age and headcount, not necessarily what you placed order, for example, if your table has 4 adults and you ordered 3 adult items plus a kids menu item, you still being charged for 4 items at adult price (I considered it is fair given the amount of food and quantity/quality they offered). Lots of free parking there too.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 2

Great place for individual hotpot. You pick what you want for protein, tofu for vegetarian . And some what like buffets for veggies, fish balls, corns, tofu and more , with including desserts.Clean , nice soft music. .

Kid-friendliness: Kid will love this !

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Beef Belly, Fried Tofu, Hot Pot with Ramen, Miso Soup, Ramen Noodles