The Korean BBQ and Hot Pot Trend Is on Fire at These Cleveland Hot Spots

You are not imagining it: Cleveland’s Korean barbecue and hot pot restaurants are multiplying. In just a few years, Greater Clevelanders’ options for this dining experience have more than doubled. With both hot pot and Korean barbecue, diners do the cooking at the table. In the case of the former, that is done by adding meats, vegetables and noodles to a choice of simmering broths. In the latter, it’s achieved by grilling meats, seafood, and veggies on a tabletop grill. In both instances, diners dip cooked foods in a variety of sauces and enjoy them with accompaniments like leaf lettuce, rice or banchan, an assortment of Korean side dishes. Perhaps less flashy, old standbys like Cleveland’s Korea House and Miega Korean BBQ and Seoul Garden Restaurant in Parma provide excellent Korean barbecue experiences. But for those looking for something new, here are a few recent additions.

One Pot  USA   
One of the buzziest new places to enjoy this trend landed in Cleveland Heights in May. The all-you-can-eat spot offers a modern space-age setting. Each sleek table has a central built-in grill for barbecue and individual hot pot burners at each seat. onepotusa.com

Gogi En K-BBQ
This past winter, the former Solon space long home to Akira Sushi reopened as Gogi En. This sister establishment to Sushi En in Playhouse Square focuses on Korean barbecue, with tables featuring built-in earthenware cooktops for grilling. gogienkbbq.com 

KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot  
One of the largest KBBQ chains in the country, with more than 70 locations, opened in Strongsville over the winter. Like most of these restaurants, KPOT offers a dizzying selection of all-you-can-eat broths, meats, seafood, veggies, noodles and sauces. thekpot.com

Fiyah Korean BBQ & Hot Pot   
The contemporary gymnasium-size dining room is ringed by glass garage doors. The restaurant, which landed in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood last year, offers tabletop Korean barbecue at each roomy booth. Hot pot is limited to the bar. fiyahkoreanbbq.com 

YI Hot Pot & Sushi & BBQ 
Unlike the others here, YI, which opened in Solon in 2023, lets diners control not only the cooking but also the procurement, with self-serve stations of meats, seafood, vegetables and sauces. yihotpotsushibbqsolon.com

Kintaro Hot Pot 
Since opening the region’s first all-you-can-eat sushi and hot pot restaurant in Brooklyn in 2016, the group has grown to five stores, with most offering AYCE sushi and hot pot (but no Korean barbecue). The prices have certainly crept up, but the variety of options is as impressive as ever. kintarooh.com

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