Boiling Point in
Gardena (CA)

The ingredients all tasted frozen and the hot pot was extremely salty, so I honestly don’t understand the hype around this place. I came during lunch when it wasn’t busy, yet my tea still took so long that I finished my entire hot pot before it ever arrived. The server moved with zero urgency and seemed unhappy to be there, the slouching, slow walking, and acting like it was a burden every time I checked in about my tea. If you’re going to have staff serving customers, they should at least provide basic, attentive service.

We are writing this with a heavy heart, hoping the owner will see this and understand how deeply this moment affected our family. On New Year’s Eve, my family and I came to Boiling Point to enjoy a special dinner and celebrate the last night of the year together. We walked in excited, expecting a warm experience, good food, and a memorable family moment to close out the year. Unfortunately, that is not how the night turned out. We were called to be seated, but before that, we had gotten our son something small to eat from outside since he is not a fan of hot pots. This has never been an issue in the past, as we have done this several times before without any problems. About five minutes after sitting down, a waiter approached us and told us that outside food was not allowed. My husband calmly explained that we’ve brought food for our son before and were never told anything. He kindly asked if an exception could be made just this one time, since it was New Year’s Eve and we were simply trying to enjoy a family dinner. He even promised it would not happen again. Instead of understanding, the situation escalated. When we spoke to the manager, Ying, we were told that our son had to leave and eat outside, and then rejoin us—or that we could all leave, eat elsewhere, and come back after he was done. This was extremely frustrating and heartbreaking. We truly believed the manager would understand, especially given the holiday and the fact that this involved a child. Instead, we felt dismissed, embarrassed, and unwelcome. What was supposed to be a joyful New Year’s Eve turned into a very disappointing experience for our entire family. We understand rules, but we also believe compassion and flexibility matter—especially on special occasions and when it comes to families with children. We hope this feedback reaches the owner so situations like this can be handled with more empathy in the future.

Food here is great, we like this spot a lot. But today, New Year’s Eve, my family and I walked in to have dinner. I have an 11 year old and he doesn’t really like the food here, so we bring food for him from next door to eat together, like every other time we come here. But today, the manager Ying told us he couldn’t eat with us because it was food from outside. I politely asked if he could make an exception since it’s new year. He said no, numerous times. He said my son would have to eat outside while we eat in. Or for us to go with him outside so he can eat then we all come in. This is wrong in so many ways how he chose to be an inconsiderate human being. I’m a manager where I work and I always try to work with the customer to make them feel comfortable, at home and like family. Very disappoint from them he manager Ying.

We were seated first but they took the order of 4 parties that sat after us. We had to ask someone to take our order which is atulid. Also the new waitlist system sucks. Never coming back.

Love coming here. The beef at flaming hot level is my favorite. The wait can be long at times but the food is so good. Once you're in the service is very fast.

The food here is always good, but the service is consistently disappointing. Every time I ask for sauce to go, it’s a different story some servers give me packets for free, others put it in a container, and a few even say they can’t give a container at all. I wouldn’t mind paying for it, but the servers should be consistent and know what they’re doing. Sometimes, I sit down and wait five to ten minutes before anyone takes my order, even when I’m the only new customer, while others who came after me get served first. It’s also hard to get their attention when I need something. Since I’ve worked as a server before, I notice these details easily it just feels like the staff here aren’t well-trained or properly managed.

Unfortunate we arrived just before 3pm waited to get signed in because of line wait to register. Did not qualify for the tea included with the meal. By 2 minutes. No explanation needed this waitress did not care whatsoever. We actually was the first patron customer since opening day of the establishment. First time negative experience from the get go. Unfortunate day.

I usually come here every week because the food is really good — always fresh and delicious. However, the service is quite disappointing. The staff don’t seem to follow the order of the waiting list; they often call people they know first instead of going by the scanned list. The employees also look tired and overwhelmed when it gets busy, which makes the whole experience feel unpleasant. It’s a shame because the food is great, but the service really needs improvement.

The portion is large and tasty. However, you should dip meats in sauces if you want them a little salty.

Small, clean eatery. Loved it. I'll be back to try other items.

Extremely disappointing experience. I ordered a Rose Milky Hot Soup to-go from Boiling Point, and halfway through eating at home, I found a large piece of raw fish inside the soup. Hot pot ingredients are meant to be cooked by the customer, but this raw fish was already placed in the soup, completely uncooked. It was disgusting and made me very concerned about food safety. After eating, I also started to feel unwell. For a well-known hot pot chain, this is completely unacceptable — unprofessional and irresponsible. The service and quality were very disappointing, with no regard for the customer at all. I will not be ordering again, and I strongly advise others to double-check their takeout orders to avoid going through the same experience.

A Taiwanese authentic personal hotpot! Highly recommended! the ingredients are mostly the same as the hotpot we had back in Taiwan. It was packed in a weekday night. p.s. if you come on your birthday, you’ll get a free hotpot + a drink! what a good deal

Went for lunch. Pretty small place and got lucky coming at the end of the lunch rush - it was packed! Each hot pot portion size is more than enough for a person. The hot pots were tasty and good (the Taiwanese one was definitely very spicy!). The drinks were really good. Note that lunch gets you a large iced green or black tea, but you can upgrade for a small cost to an actual drink (worth it). The one thing I did not enjoy was the addition of beef to the rice . It was... Sweet... And crispy. And squid ink black. Reminded me of leftover bits. Not enjoyable at all. I thought it would have been closer to a "lu ruo fan" - it very much the opposite. Overall, I'd definitely come back though, but just would get plain white rice. Hoping next time is better!

Food was pretty standard for hot pot, my experience however, was not hot at all. Took my family of 4 to go eat here and the waiter was lowkey rude from the get go, rushing us to order (keep in mind the restaurant was NOT packed at the time). After ordering, our order was messed up along with 3 other tables’ orders. They gave my mom the other tables soup with the wrong base, and told us it was the exact same order as ours (it wasn’t). They tried to pull the same stunt with the other table, but the lady had specifically requested the omission of certain ingredients because of an existing allergy so they made her a new soup (imagine if they gave her the wrong one anyways 💀). Once the orders were all fixed, waiter returned ONCE (singular, uno time) to refill waters, spilled the whole ocean on the table, didn’t clean it up so I had to use my only napkin to clean it and he never came back after that so I couldn’t even ask for more napkins. I was hoping to have a better experience, but the only thing I learned was to go elsewhere next time. This was super disappointing as it was a birthday dinner for my sister. I ended up getting the Beef soup. It was alright and the spice level was decent. Would not come here again, unless I feel like being ignored and gaslit at a restaurant. 0/10 service, mid/10 food. This makes me wonder if I did something wrong upon entering, but I’ve never been treated like this anywhere. I was appalled, truly befuddled! As someone who’s worked in the service industry, I’m always sure to be understanding especially during the holiday season, but my experience here was absurd. As if my very existence, no- my mere precence was enoguh to solicit unwarranted hatred by my server. Everyone else was super nice though, especially the Lady who was trying to fix everything. The guy with the burnt bleached hair though… anyways hope you enjoyed my review :)

Food and service is great, have no complaint, but waiting time is terrible, we had to wait for over 1 h to be seated so I would recommend to get there with plenty of time and not too hungry. But definitely recommended, I had #4 and liked it. I ordered the broth to be "mild" because I don't eat spicy food and felt it like medium not mild, so please be aware of that. Mild hot will be too spicy for kids for example. But yeah go and enjoy.

My favorite is the lamb one with medium spicy. I had it in Seattle during a trip and went back every time I visited Seattle! So glad to find I have one nearby after moving to LA!! Will definitely come back again!

Boiling Point is ridiculously good! Big variety of veggies, proteins, and add-ons amongst all of their different types of soup. I've had half the menu but the Taiwanese Spicy is definitely my favorite. Their scallion rice and green tea is SO good. Definitely a place to show your friends

The food quality is ok, a little bit spicier than I expected. I should give 4 stars but I took one star out because I found a small piece of plastic in the pot, which seems to be a small piece of packing bag. The manager had a nice attitude to my complaint. They suggested to give me a new pot. I didn’t accept that but just let them put this order out of the check.

Always consistent and one of our go to places Food/Taste/Flavor: 5/5 - overall recommendation is to shake apart the slices meat so it's not in a huge chunk and take them out of the broth so it doesn't continue to cook as you eat. Note that you can always ask for a broth refill! Try the different dipping sauces on the table as they have different flavor profiles (5) Lamb with vermicelli at medium spicy is very savory with a earthy undertone. (8) Taiwanese spicy with rice is the best option for intestines but it is VERY spicy Ambience: 5/5 - always slightly chilly to start with but you warm up as you eat. Very hip feel with brick patterns on one wall. Subtle music in the background Service: 5/5 - quick and systematic. Sign in through the tablet located by the front of the door Value for price: 5/5 - price has gone up but still seems reasonable for the delicious food

Wow. I’ve only had hotpot a handful of times, but this place is so good. I thought it wouldn’t be good since it wasn’t AYCE (all you can eat) but you get a ton of food. I got their beef hotpot with rice. It was great. The soup itself is scalding, so be careful and don’t burn your mouth! The flavors are so good though. The beef is so tender and fatty, corn is super sweet, all the veggies and tofu skin and other items perfectly complement one another. Make sure you do not pass up on their sauces on the table. Make yourself a dipping sauce in one of the containers they give you. I suggest a good spoon of the bean paste, a healthy couple spoons of the garlic chili paste (so crunchy and garlicky), and then pour some of the garlic soy sauce. Mix it all together and enjoy! Overall, incredible hotpot with friendly staff.

This place is one of our favorites!!! My personal favorite is “Taiwanese Spicy.” You should definitely try it if you like spicy. And yes, SUPER SPICY. There are a lot of people lined up for lunch and dinner almost every single day of every week and every month and every year. So you should definitely avoid and have brunch or lunner. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE!!!

Hot pot at Boiling Point is always amazing. The soup is very comforting and all the toppings are really good and quite filling. Staff/service is quick and friendly. I like this location because parking is easier.

This place has been a local hot spot for Chinese hot pot. I was not expecting a short line when we arrived. These types of restaurants have all sorts of technology to help them manage the wait times. Walk in sign up on the ipad, print your ticket or send it to your phone and wait. Our wait time was about 15 mins. Not bad! We picked a good time. The wait staff was a bit scattered but our food arrived promptly after ordering. It was delicious as always.

It is a good hot pot soup when the weather really cold. Price little bit ex....... but service unbelievable fast and you will feel you're the right customer to serv by.

Delicious!! Too many people want to eat so probably need to wait for the seat. Have a number machine in the store, need to take the number first and wait outside until waiter call your number. Food is really good!

Very good variety of soups and sides. Prime meats, friendly service, and mixture of hot and cold teas. Great place to go when it's cold, and you are just craving some good food and good times alone or with friends. But no reservations, so there always is a wait.

Food was good. Service was very slow. The portion was very big so two of us just shared one order and ordered one extra rice! We still couldn’t finish it though..lol I’d definitely comeback to try other food at the Boiling Point soon!