Chongqing Lao Zao 重慶老灶 Reviews Summary

Spice Level

Pros:

• "The authentic Chinese spice level adds a delicious kick, not catering to the milder U.S. palate."
• "The spicy is SPICY."
• "Hot pot is spicy but incredibly flavorful that you almost don't need the sauce."
• "The spicy soup base is delicious."
• "The best of spice is that it is not only spicy but so aromatic."
• "If you can’t handle spicy please be careful cause the spicy here is not joke!!"
• "Super spicy and numbing even with the least amount of spicy."

Cons:

• "The MILD spicy soup base was almost too spicy even for me, and I consider myself an above average spice lover."
• "Their mild is incredibly hot and filled with chili flakes."
• "Spicy soup was not edible because it was too spicy."
• "The mild was too spicy for us, but we're wimps."
• "Spicy soup w/ super 🌶 did not even trigger me a bit."
• "They should readjust spicy level."
• "The taste is pretty good, but it really is VERY oily."

Service

Pros:

• "Service is friendly and fantastic, our server spoke really good English and had great recommendations."
• "The staff are very attentive and helpful."
• "Service is excellent, they will clear the emptys off your table and change your plate if needed."
• "Service is always great and they’re very attentive."
• "Service is friendly and professional - everyone speaks English as well."
• "The servers can speak English as well, and overall they were attentive, polite, and informative."
• "The service was top-notch, making the overall dining experience enjoyable."

Cons:

• "No reservation available, long wait time."
• "We ended up calling out to the waiter and waving our hands multiples times only to get completely ignored by the staff."
• "The service was also lacking in attention to detail, as a staff member accidentally broke my ceramic cup."
• "Ive come to this place so many times but I just find them lacking on customer service recently."
• "The service was below par, the waiter didn't attend to us much."
• "Lady at the front was RUDE. Service was HORRIBLE!!!"
• "Although our service was not good (our waiter insisted that we ordered too much and asked us to reduce the number of items!"

Ambience and Decor

Pros:

• "The decor and ambience were very inviting on a cold winter day in Flushing."
• "Amazing traditional decor throughout this whole restaurant."
• "The prettiest interior for a hotpot restaurant I have ever seen."
• "The atmosphere of this place is immaculate."
• "With lovely chongqing-style decorations, this restaurant is a great place for spicy lover."
• "Great ambience!! I really liked the interior design of this Hot Pit place."
• "The interior design is authentic and well decorated with Chinese traditional elements."

Cons:

• "The seats weren't that comfortable, but the aesthetics were worth it."
• "I wish the seats had cushions and backrests because sitting on a stone bench was not awesome after half an hour."
• "Outdoor seating in a cold night with no warming fan, took much longer for the hotpot to boil."
• "The enamel cups were all full of chips; we had to drink with clay bowls."
• "The second floor of the establishment is not handicap accessible."
• "There was an overall lack of respect and no attention to detail."
• "The taste is pretty good, but it really is VERY oily."

Price and Value

Pros:

• "Overall great experience with good service and reasonable prices."
• "Also pricing is friendly, $50 per person for an unforgettable experience, highly recommend it!"
• "The pricing is very reasonable for NYC, it was about $65 for two of us."
• "It was extremely affordable, considering the quality of the food and service."
• "Everything is fresh and the price is very reasonable and worth it!!!!"
• "The place is surprisingly affordable."
• "The price is not too expensive for its quality. It’s fair."

Cons:

• "The dishes are overpriced as well, although they do taste good."
• "Fairly expensive hot pot with a long wait."
• "Pricy: $60/person, including tax and tips."
• "The food quality was way below my expectation and the portion they gave comparing to what they charge is pathetic."
• "I do believe that for what you're getting, the pricing is a little steep."
• "Mushroom base was also tooo salty but not fresh."
• "I also don't want go there again since there are so much more good restaurants with good service out there in New York."

Wait Time

Pros:

• "Getting seated took around 2 hours, but the wait was well worth it."
• "Visited this Chinese hotpot place and despite the long line, the experience was worth the wait."
• "But if you go after 9pm on a weekday, you should be able to sit with no wait."
• "We came at 11 pm on a Friday and had no wait."
• "Weekdays at 12 P.M you are guaranteed to get a seat."
• "If you come at the right time no waitlist."
• "Waited for 2 hours but was worth the wait."

Cons:

• "No reservation available, long wait time."
• "I don’t think it is worths hours of wait."
• "Be warned that the wait is long, usually 2-3 hours Friday-Sunday, esp at dinner."
• "The only bad thing is that you have to queue for a long time every time."
• "The average wait time is 2 hours if you don’t have a reservation."
• "There is often a very long line (2+ hrs.), but when you make it in, there are a lot of empty tables."
• "It’s really frustrated that they do not let three of us in until four of us are here."