Who else hasn’t eaten bean sprouts and egg fried rice? It’s like a state banquet. I’ll be really sad if someone doesn’t pack a portion to take away when someone comes. It’s so delicious. It’s worth walking ten minutes in the cold wind to buy egg fried rice. (Egg fried rice can be bought separately without having to eat hot pot. Those who are too lazy to turn on the fire are in luck)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nathan Zhao
Be aware of the “check in” policy. They don’t honor reservations and were exceptionally rude to my mother when we were a mere 5 minutes late. This is a violation of their own posted policy on the door (10 minutes). I never want to leave a bad review but this was one of the worst experiences I’ve had.
John M.
Great hotpot place. Would recommend the shrimp paste and the tomato broth. The ingredients were all fresh and the sauce bar was nice to create different sauces for dipping. Would come again for hotpot.
Eric C.
Probably the best hotpot spot I've been to. Hard to beat the quality and quantity at its price point
Taste B.
The best of the best No contest Food ,Service, Price, all five stars I've been there four times already and not once there's been anything but perfection. Thank you for this level of quality
Sophia X.
Pretty much best hotpot I've had in America period. Everything is piping fresh, high quality, clean, and the closest thing in experience and taste to hotpot in China.
Andrew Zhao
Was just some of the worst customer service ever. No respect for reservations or waitlist. Will gaslight you and manipulate into thinking you’re in the wrong. Some horrible workers can’t lie.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Andrew Z.
Was really excited for this place, heard a lot of great things. But overall just horrible customer service. They have a policy posted in front of the restaurant, that the manager doesn't even follow! I've never seen this before! They aren't afraid to gaslight people and manipulate them into thinking that they are wrong! Some of the most horrible people I've met on this planet. If you want to have a good restaurant experience, this is not the place to go. I've never met more soulless, heartless, and downright disrespectful humans in the restaurant world.
Florence K.
Love having hotpot here! We had a reservation for 2:30pm but it still took 45 minutes to get seated so highly recommend reserving ahead of time. There was also a buy one get one free drink special for lunar new year
徐成
The hotpot tastes great, the food is fresh, and the service is good，There is a rich condiment station to choose from
As far as hot pot in Boston goes, Qiao Lin is by far the best! Some might prefer the quantity at an all you can eat place, but I prefer the higher quality and specialty selections at Qiao Lin. If you are coming on a Friday or weekend night, be prepared for a significant (at least 1-2 hrs) wait. You can get on the wait list ahead of time via Yelp, but to move past a certain spot on the list you have to check-in in person with the host/hostess, so this means you might be waiting around even with the Yelp waitlist for a while. There's not really a great place to stand to wait so I'd recommend checking in then going to chill at another place or in your car as they text you once your table is ready. Weekday nights are crowded but the wait is very bearable, you can still get on the waitlist ahead of time, and the line moves way faster. We waited perhaps 15 min for a table for 4 on a random weekday night. You can choose your items while you wait so you can order it ahead of time as your table is being prepared, which is nice. Service has been very good- waitstaff is attentive and polite, waters are always filled, dirty dishes are quickly removed, clean plates are offered. They do kind of rush you on the weekends though. I had one hostess who literally stood at our table until we had finished our dessert to shoo us out...understandable, but not fun. They do charge you for the sauce bar ($2.99 per person and every person at the table has to opt in), but it also includes little appetizers and dessert soups/candies. Our favorite broths are the mushroom broth (so full of umami), the golden chicken collagen (creamy but light), and the spicy broth (classic can't go wrong option). We've also had the tomato one which was really tasty. Really all of them are great. The waitstaff comes to top off all the broths halfway through your meal, too. Our favorite dishes are: the kalbi (pricey but worth it to try at least once), the meat "meter," the short rib, the homemade shrimp paste (so fresh and flavorful), the homemade cilantro meatballs (so tender). I liked how you can watch them freshly shave all the meat cuts. I have tried most the fish options and I found just the plain ol white fish filets to be the tastiest for the price...the snakehead fish was a tad rubbery and the "special" fish was full of bones and was rather tough. Would also pass on the fried pork rind stick. I like the combo veggie plates (we always get the mushroom and the melon plates), all the veggies have been super fresh. We've gone 3 times now and each time we eat about $30-50 per person depending on how much meat we get vs how many veggies.
Jean Guo
This place is great - good selection of dishes and nice ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Daniel Lee
New favorite hot pot spot in Boston. Sorry Spring Shabu, you’ve been dethroned. Everything here is unique, from the massive serving platters/pot/chopsticks, to the plating style, to the random fake tree in the restaurant. And it’s a very reasonable price for what you get. Make sure to get on their waitlist ahead of time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chongqing Crispy Pork Stick, King Oyster Mushroom 鸡腿菇, Triple Flavor Pot
Albert Chang
The food is authentic. The broth for the hotpot is one of the best that I had tried in Boston. The portion of the food is generous compared to other hotpot restaurants. I especially love the drinks they made.The restaurant is very busy during the regular meal hours. The environment is full of guests who are waiting to be seated. The environment doesn’t feel very relaxed for people who are eating.Parking is extremely difficult. Drivers around there are aggressive. Be careful when trying to find a spot there.We were both very full afterwards. A little surprise that the bill came much higher than we expected. For 2 people, we spent $140 for a meal.Parking: Parking is very difficult, especially during the regular meal time. The street is very busy and congested.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rachel Zhang
The best hotpot spot in Boston! I like their freebie buffet, they offer all kinds of snacks chinese dessert. And it’s easy to book on Yelp to lock your reservation. The meets are fresh and the price is reasonable.
Who else hasn’t eaten bean sprouts and egg fried rice? It’s like a state banquet. I’ll be really sad if someone doesn’t pack a portion to take away when someone comes. It’s so delicious. It’s worth walking ten minutes in the cold wind to buy egg fried rice. (Egg fried rice can be bought separately without having to eat hot pot. Those who are too lazy to turn on the fire are in luck)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Be aware of the “check in” policy. They don’t honor reservations and were exceptionally rude to my mother when we were a mere 5 minutes late. This is a violation of their own posted policy on the door (10 minutes). I never want to leave a bad review but this was one of the worst experiences I’ve had.
Great hotpot place. Would recommend the shrimp paste and the tomato broth. The ingredients were all fresh and the sauce bar was nice to create different sauces for dipping. Would come again for hotpot.
Probably the best hotpot spot I've been to. Hard to beat the quality and quantity at its price point
The best of the best No contest Food ,Service, Price, all five stars I've been there four times already and not once there's been anything but perfection. Thank you for this level of quality
Pretty much best hotpot I've had in America period. Everything is piping fresh, high quality, clean, and the closest thing in experience and taste to hotpot in China.
Was just some of the worst customer service ever. No respect for reservations or waitlist. Will gaslight you and manipulate into thinking you’re in the wrong. Some horrible workers can’t lie.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Was really excited for this place, heard a lot of great things. But overall just horrible customer service. They have a policy posted in front of the restaurant, that the manager doesn't even follow! I've never seen this before! They aren't afraid to gaslight people and manipulate them into thinking that they are wrong! Some of the most horrible people I've met on this planet. If you want to have a good restaurant experience, this is not the place to go. I've never met more soulless, heartless, and downright disrespectful humans in the restaurant world.
Love having hotpot here! We had a reservation for 2:30pm but it still took 45 minutes to get seated so highly recommend reserving ahead of time. There was also a buy one get one free drink special for lunar new year
The hotpot tastes great, the food is fresh, and the service is good，There is a rich condiment station to choose from
Restaurantji Recommends
As far as hot pot in Boston goes, Qiao Lin is by far the best! Some might prefer the quantity at an all you can eat place, but I prefer the higher quality and specialty selections at Qiao Lin. If you are coming on a Friday or weekend night, be prepared for a significant (at least 1-2 hrs) wait. You can get on the wait list ahead of time via Yelp, but to move past a certain spot on the list you have to check-in in person with the host/hostess, so this means you might be waiting around even with the Yelp waitlist for a while. There's not really a great place to stand to wait so I'd recommend checking in then going to chill at another place or in your car as they text you once your table is ready. Weekday nights are crowded but the wait is very bearable, you can still get on the waitlist ahead of time, and the line moves way faster. We waited perhaps 15 min for a table for 4 on a random weekday night. You can choose your items while you wait so you can order it ahead of time as your table is being prepared, which is nice. Service has been very good- waitstaff is attentive and polite, waters are always filled, dirty dishes are quickly removed, clean plates are offered. They do kind of rush you on the weekends though. I had one hostess who literally stood at our table until we had finished our dessert to shoo us out...understandable, but not fun. They do charge you for the sauce bar ($2.99 per person and every person at the table has to opt in), but it also includes little appetizers and dessert soups/candies. Our favorite broths are the mushroom broth (so full of umami), the golden chicken collagen (creamy but light), and the spicy broth (classic can't go wrong option). We've also had the tomato one which was really tasty. Really all of them are great. The waitstaff comes to top off all the broths halfway through your meal, too. Our favorite dishes are: the kalbi (pricey but worth it to try at least once), the meat "meter," the short rib, the homemade shrimp paste (so fresh and flavorful), the homemade cilantro meatballs (so tender). I liked how you can watch them freshly shave all the meat cuts. I have tried most the fish options and I found just the plain ol white fish filets to be the tastiest for the price...the snakehead fish was a tad rubbery and the "special" fish was full of bones and was rather tough. Would also pass on the fried pork rind stick. I like the combo veggie plates (we always get the mushroom and the melon plates), all the veggies have been super fresh. We've gone 3 times now and each time we eat about $30-50 per person depending on how much meat we get vs how many veggies.
This place is great - good selection of dishes and nice ambiance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
New favorite hot pot spot in Boston. Sorry Spring Shabu, you’ve been dethroned. Everything here is unique, from the massive serving platters/pot/chopsticks, to the plating style, to the random fake tree in the restaurant. And it’s a very reasonable price for what you get. Make sure to get on their waitlist ahead of time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chongqing Crispy Pork Stick, King Oyster Mushroom 鸡腿菇, Triple Flavor Pot
The food is authentic. The broth for the hotpot is one of the best that I had tried in Boston. The portion of the food is generous compared to other hotpot restaurants. I especially love the drinks they made.The restaurant is very busy during the regular meal hours. The environment is full of guests who are waiting to be seated. The environment doesn’t feel very relaxed for people who are eating.Parking is extremely difficult. Drivers around there are aggressive. Be careful when trying to find a spot there.We were both very full afterwards. A little surprise that the bill came much higher than we expected. For 2 people, we spent $140 for a meal.Parking: Parking is very difficult, especially during the regular meal time. The street is very busy and congested.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
The best hotpot spot in Boston! I like their freebie buffet, they offer all kinds of snacks chinese dessert. And it’s easy to book on Yelp to lock your reservation. The meets are fresh and the price is reasonable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5