I’ll be frank… not everyone is going to love Winter Park's Hotto Potto as much as I did. This Asian-style hot pot eatery with its DIY soup experience isn’t for everyone.
But if you…
a) are up for something different,
b) enjoy the fun of interactive dining, and
c) can appreciate a ‘hole in the wall’ locale as long as the food is good,
… then you’re a perfect candidate for Hotto Potto.
So, here’s how it works:
Step one: diners sit at special tables outfitted with a boiler in the center. This is where your hot pot will sit filled with the broth you have chosen from the menu.
Step two: order from the list of meats, veggies, and noodles, which will arrive at your table in separate plates, bowls, and baskets.
Step three: add your raw meats and veggies to the boiling broth, following the instructions that indicate how long things need to be cooked before you can eat them.
Step four: add some zing and zest from the dozen or so sauces at each table, including garlic, ginger, and spicy Szechuan.
Step five: spoon out your meats/veggies onto your plate or scoop out the soup into your blowl.
Step six: slurp, chew, munch!
Here’s a video I created to demonstrate because, honestly, judging by the number of questions I could hear diners ask their servers, we Orlando folk don’t readily grasp the concept of hot pot dining.
When I shared on the Orlando Date Night Guide Facebook page that Marc and I were headed to Hotto Potto this past Saturday, the comments were mixed, ranging from “DON’T GO” to “I love this place.”
As I wrote earlier, I loved it. Marc did not, but he doesn’t like fondue restaurants or any place that requires him to cook his own food. Me… I’m a big fan of DIY dining. (Have you tried the DIY pancake experience at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill & Griddle House?)
Joseph Hayes of Orlando Magazine also checked out Hotto Potto; here' what he had to say.
So, what do you think… Is Hotto Potto for you?
