This is so much an experience. I've been a fan of Happy Lamb for almost fifteen years. If you're new to hot pot, it's a communal style eating similar to fondue, where you essentially boil your ingredients in bubbling soup. Delicious soup, might I add. Happy Lamb Hot Pot used to be called Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot until they renamed all their locations across the US and China. I can't not do it. I always get the half and half original and spicy soup base. I cannot do any other base but that. How my soul yearns to try everything, yet half and half I must go each time else perish. Just kidding - I've also tried the vitamin c tomato broth and golden cabbage marrow broth, both of which are solid. The tomato broth tastes sweet and mild at first, but after some flavor building, it starts getting very zesty, almost like a bun rieu broth. The golden cabbage very much tastes like those pickled mustard green packets - be aware you're in for a potent sour pickled cabbage smelling concoction that is surprisingly spicy. I used to always get the fried tofu pods because they're cute yummy things that soak up the soup flavor, but they changed their sourcing so now they're stale. For meats, I would always recommend beef and lamb. The fattier cuts are usually more tasty. They update their menu names every so often; in the past, I've generally gotten supreme lamb shoulder slice and beef and lamb combo (lamb is the winner here as the beef is lean). They've also had an assorted meat combo platter that came with beef, chicken, and pork - of which the dry and grainy chicken was a complete waste of space. The pork has been consistently mediocre. I've also tried the supreme fatty beef w/ beer flavor, which comes in a cute bowl of blood and beer that fizzles into the soup and comes out tasting exactly like its name. The marinated garlic beef is surprisingly good and not too thick, but put it in your soup after you've already tasted it without a bunch of garlic. Seafood is annoying to deal with in hot pot so I'd just stick with meat. I like getting the beef tendon balls, as their cross cut makes it split into four chewy slices when it's ready. I've tried their 5 assorted house made meat balls which were 3 balls each of pork, chicken, beef, shrimp, and lamb, which all taste like what shu mai and har gow are made of; pork and lamb were the tastiest, and they were all meaty. They take a long time to cook and may have given us a stomach ache when we ate them. For vegetables, I'd recommend enoki mushroom, a-choy (Taiwanese lettuce), and tong ho (chrysanthemum greens). The tofu combo platter came with fresh, fried pods, and frozen tofu - I don't like the frozen tofu from this because it's spongy with a weird taste. I always get the house special wide noodles (wide bean noodle), as it's chewy, translucent, and fun to eat. It may be a bit hard to get from the pot, but it's worth it. I've tried their egg noodle before which is thin egg noodles boiled, then pan fried and dipped in soy sauce and fried garlic - not worth it. They used to have inconsistent AYCE seasonally, preferring a la carte menus, but now it seems to be offered all the time. It's AYCE lunch if you are seated before 3pm on weekdays (amazing policy). They have complimentary juice, candy, and snacks when you walk in. There's a sauce bar with additional savory snacks and fruits for $2.99/pp which is not needed at all - sometimes they automatically charge you this, so look out for that if you don't utilize it. They have a premium menu upgrade for an extra $10/pp which honestly, is really worth it (that's crazy coming from me since I almost never do premium upgrades) - you get access to SO many goodies that do taste VERY premium. They now use robot servers to bring out some of your orders. I like this location in San Mateo more than Union City because there's more appealing menu options, and it's not self serve. It's a little more expensive, but it reflects the higher quality while still being reasonable. Anyways, just wanted to let you all know that I'm a very happy regular loyal customer at this Happy Lamb Hot Pot! They do surprise unadvertised promotions from time to time (for example, I was very delighted to walk in on a random Valentine's day to unsuspectingly receive cute rose shaped meat). I always feel happy at Happy Lamb.

I've been here three times. Once with family a long time ago when it first opened, but the last two times I came was with my husband within the past two months. The last two times we came here, we got parking a block or two away. It also wasn't really busy when we were there. The first time was on the weekend for lunch and the second time was on a Tuesday for dinner. We were greeted and seated immediately. The table is already set with utensils, napkins and small plates. We opted for ala carte instead of all you can eat since we didn't want to waste / pay for extra food we couldn't eat. There's a sauce counter for you to create your own sauce. Some ingredients include: cilantro, soy sauce, green onions, sesame oil, chili paste and chili flakes. Next to the sauces there's small bites like cherry tomatoes, egg rolls and seaweed. Zach and I didn't go for the small bites either time. And to note: the time we went on a Tuesday there were a lot of kids.. they don't all know how to use the tongs and so I saw some of them grab the small bite items with their bare hands.... Also, it's an extra $3 per person if the sta see you grabbing those. We got fish filets, the vegetable combo platter, lamb, angus beef, pumpkin, dumplings For the soup, we got "the best of both worlds", one half is spicy, the other isn't spicy. Both times I also got a side of udon. The food came out really quick, sometimes by the waiter, sometimes by their robot. What's great about the ala carte option is that they allow you to bring your leftovers home. The waiters are very attentive, especially with the water since we would get pretty dehydrated from all the salt. The quality of the meat is pretty good and the veggies were fresh. Next time I probably wouldn't get the fish filets. Looking forward to the next meal !

$30 ayce for dinner / weekends. Meat quality is great, and my husband says he would choose this over Seapot. (Seapot's dinner / weekend pricing is a lot higher than this though). They do charge $2.99/person for the sauce bar in addition though. So it's actually more like $33 for ayce. And another $10 if you want to upgrade to more premium meats.. honestly not worth it in my opinion to do so. The best part though is that kids under 3 eat free, and older kids is $10. Lamb and angus beef were both great. Lamb looked lean, but was actually tender. Angus beef was relatively well marbled. Tomato soup is tasty and I preferred it over the house marrow broth, which is wayyy too salty. Overall enjoyed it. Sauce bar has some sub bar apps, but I did enjoy the coconut sago dessert soup. Would skip ice cream - more icy than creamy Came around 5:30pm on a Sunday night and no wait. At 6:15pm, wait was probably about 1hr. They do have an in person Yelp waitlist

Came here on a Friday evening with two friends and glad we got there before 6pm! They don't take reservations for groups less than 6 people, and it starts to get busy by 5:45pm. By the time we left, there was a long line to get in. Staff and Service: - You have the option to do AYCE or a la carte. The AYCE menu is more limited and is roughly $35 / person. We did the a la carte option due to more menu options and it wasn't anything ridiculous. And we even had more food than needed - If you purchase the AYCE sauce addition for $2.99, you get unlimited access to the sauce bar, fruit, gyoza and spring rolls, etc. Food: - We got two different types of meat (angus and short rib). Both were tasty. We also got the mushroom soup and the original soup as the hot pot soups. I can't remember which one, but one of them tasted kind of funny and ruined the taste of the beef for me - Gyoza was good considering it was just in a bowl next to the sauce bar - Veggies and tofu were good. We recommend getting the Chinese donut - There is a vanilla soft serve machine as well next to the sauce bar for dessert (it's more icy than creamy) Miscellaneous: - Parking is available via metered parking out front and local parking garages (both are free after 6pm and on weekends)

Love the happy lamb restaurants, and we have always been happy with our experience at the San Mateo location! Prices are pretty reasonable for the quality of the food and great for small or bigger parties. Recently went for Chinese New Year dinner with a party of 8 and was seated at a large table that was sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant. On a Wednesday night, we actually got a table with no wait! We always get a combination of spicy and non-spicy broth and both are so good! Love the selection of meat and vegetables, and the lamb as advertised is so tasty! We usually order a combination of lamb, beef, and pork meats, and for the veggies we get the napa cabbage, bok choy, and tong ho. The fish ball with roe is always our go-to extra add-in. Tried the knife cut noodles this time, which we actually liked more than ramen and udon noodles. We felt like the sauce bar was a big upgrade since we last came. Now it included spring rolls, potstickers, and a full fruit/dessert bar. Getting the bar AYCE is always a must because it also includes vanilla ice cream. I always have to get ice cream at the end of hot pot!

High quality meat, delicious soup broth, and quick service. Their all you can eat menu is very limited so we ended up ordering a la carte. The services were large so it worked out well, he would love to try all you can eat in the future. The restaurant was clean and got super busy by 6:30pm. They have juice and snacks for those waiting which is a nice touch. The seating on the booth side was tight for us, but otherwise it was great! Highly recommend the unlimited sauce bar to take your meal to the next level. It comes with fruit, ice cream, and spring roll / gyoza as well. I would def try again!

now offers AYCE and a la carte! lunch AYCE is ~$25 ($35 premium) which is a GREAT deal for the quality here. SERVICE Usually when I come at lunch there is only one server and it does get relatively busy, but they still make time to come by refill drinks + broth + orders -- 5/5 FOOD Honestly the quality of meats here is great! I personally get the short rib cut from the regular AYCE, but the premium offers a USDA prime version. Their cooked foods are also great, I recommend the wings (2pc). The portion sides for all the side dishes are also great so I never really feel like I've wasted much, and can order lots. They also have an add on sauce bar for $2.95 -- 5/5 OVERALL Really love coming here! Recommend

There is self check in ipad waiting list at the door for parties of 5 or less. Phone reservations via answering machine are broken. You must walk in at 5pm opening or walk in, in person, or keep calling by phone until someone answers a day or more earlier to ensure seating a large party. Large private room for use in back of restaurant for a party of more than teb. 2 semi private tables in the entry leading to this. Once seated the service is great. Be aware that your seating is time limited to about an hour and staff will push you firmly to leave. The establishment abides by strict rules that if you understand, will be easier. Fun place with quality meats, and vegetables. Service Staff works hard. Soft serve ice cream, small desserts, self serve sauce bar. Our family loves Happy Lamb.