INLOVE. This is currently my fave meal of 2016 and given how much I eat out, it’s a pretty decent compliment. Chine is a very well-priced AYCE hot pot alternative in Chinatown. It’s a clean space, and everyone gets their own hot pot with choice of broth($ 3 – 4 each) — be warned, suicide and killer are LEGIT spicy. Once broth is picked, the pigging out can begin. Everything is done via an order sheet(similar to dim sum places and AYCE sushi) and you get two rounds — so no need to go super crazy the first time! You also get to make your own sauce at a station so tweak to your liking using seafood sauce, hot sauce, sesame paste and much more. The variety of food here is great, you have your typical beef, lamb slices(and there are several variations), as well as seafood(octopus, shrimp, mussles etc.), veggies(spinach, watercress, etc.), carbs(vermicelli, udon, etc.). In addition, they have a few great desserts such as the golden fried bun dipped in condensed milk. Pure deliciousness. The thing that put Chine at a solid five stars for me is the lovely service — everyone was super friendly and made some solid recommendations. As well, when our first order was not processed through due to a technical glitch, we received both several apologies and immediate action to ensure our food came out in the next couple minutes. Water/tea and soup broth was refilled constantly without asking. I walked out prob several lbs heavier from this meal(but definitely zero regrets). Note: on a weekend evening Chine was very busy so if you have a smaller group, you may need to share a table with other groups to curb the wait. Chine also accepts reservations for groups of 6 or more.
Chris C.
Tu valoración: 5 San Antonio, TX
I have to admit that I have always wanted to try a real Chinese hot pot but have been afraid to. I could not have picked a better place to try out a hot pot! The staff was kinda and helpful, they made sure I ordered a wide range of deliciousness! It felt like I ordered everything on the menu but once I started try stuff it didn’t matter. Everything had a great and interesting taste. Take the chance! Stop by and experience it! You won’t be disappointed!
Darren S.
Tu valoración: 5 Markham, Canada
An awesome, reasonably-priced hot pot restaurant in downtown Toronto? I’m in. This place is located very close to Rol San(to use an easy landmark) and provides excellent quality hot pot in a very pleasant environment. Apparently it’s quite a big chain in China, too, and I am pretty happy to see the influx of excellent foreign chain restaurants opening up here. The spicy broth is great, although we only dared to try the«mild» version of it. The creamy corn and taro broth is also a good option for those of a more timid disposition. There is no option for a split pot, mostly because the hot pot here is quite small in size. Still, it’s super cute and awfully good. You have to get the fried pork fillet. It’s packed to the brim with spicy peppercorns that will make your mouth go tingly and is an awesome side dish to have while you stuff your face with hot pot ingredients. I would highly recommend the NZ lamb(SO buttery smooth) and the five-spice beef(also a bit fatty — excellent for flavourtown!). Of particular interest is the screaming beef slice(yep, you read that right). This is essentially beef rolled around a spicy hot pepper. I couldn’t really finish it because it was way too hot, but my wife did(to my surprise) and she enjoyed it a great deal. Unfortunately there’s not too much dessert options, though the fried mantou breads were super awesome, and one of the best we’ve ever had. Eat it as soon as it comes to your table and prepare to have a huge smile on your face. And the best part? Even though it was a full house, the restaurant did not feel cramped or noisy. The space was designed and laid out just right, that if I didn’t turn around to look at the other tables, I would’ve thought the restaurant was half-empty. It’s a very nice space, I mean holy hell we could even have a proper conversation with everyone at our table at normal speaking volume! It gets awfully crowded past 6:30 pm though, so maybe best to come a bit off hours, but come you should. Its excellent and I heartily recommend it.
Winnie H.
Tu valoración: 4 Toronto, Canada
It’s a 3.5 stars review. As mentioned in other reviews, spacious, pretty clean compared to other established Chinatown hotpot locations. Personal sized hot pot. Went for family day lunch. $ 2 is added totalling $ 25.99 per adult. Drinks extra. Soup base is extra as well ranges from $ 2.5 — $ 3. Ordered lamb, pork, tofu, fish balls, mushroom, and veggies. Meat quality is decent. Overall, it’s a place I will go again.
Fang L.
Tu valoración: 5 Toronto, Canada
This is the best hot pot I have ever had in Canada. It is clean and the staff is friendly. You can enjoy the traditional Sichuan hot pot as well as delicious snacks such as Legendary Deep Fried Pork Slice and fried taro roll.
Emily X.
Tu valoración: 4 Toronto, Canada
Tried this place with meetup group. With drinks, tax and tips, it is about 35 per person. So full afterwards. I like the dish that wraps beef with chilli. The deep fried taro tastes good. It is a good hotpot buffet place. The service is not bad. The soup base tastes good itself. The veggie is pretty fresh. I came during a weekday night, so there is no line-up.
Victor L.
Tu valoración: 5 Toronto, Canada
One advice is to make sure you call ahead to book a table. I knew about this place from reviews and wanted to try them out. When my friends wanted to go for hot pot, I suggested them to come downtown and try this place instead of going to the one they originally wanted to try in Markham. Quickly, I called up the place to reserve a table with 7 of us. We were going late around 8 pm so it was the last round of customers for the night. Mind you that it was a Friday and I was hopeful that I would be lucky to get a table. When we arrived, there were lots of others waiting and we were quickly seated after telling them we had a reservation. Once there, we were looking at the menu and trying to figure things out. Keep in mind that they charge extra for all broth and drinks are pay as you go. Weekends The experience was great as the wait staff and owner would check up on us plus explain the options. There is a 2 hour seating limit but with the last round of the day, we continued to eat passed the deadline. We are definitely going back and hopefully, they have some new items on the menu soon.
Julian L.
Tu valoración: 4 Toronto, Canada
Arrived on a Wednesday night with three others and was seated promptly. Tables are large and well apart from each other. Each table has a little steel cart that can be tucked beneath the table or pulled out and used to hold plates of food. Sauce mixing table made concocting our own dips easy, service was fast and attentive. Variety was good and fresh, downside is that no dumplings of any sort, but I would trade no dumplings for good everything else, which is what I got. Tea and water are free but pop is $ 2.50 a can so if you e got a sweet tooth be prepared to pay. Speaking of sweet tooth, get their simple but tasty fried buns with condensed milk. And watch out for the Szechuan peppers tucked away in some of their«chile» meat offerings. Ventilation pretty good, also wish the bathroom had heating so that’s really what the knocked off star is for
Channing F.
Tu valoración: 5 Toronto, Canada
the broths are nice and there are lots of choices of ingredients for cooking. service is friendly. the place gets busy though and service does suffer a bit then. the place is clean for Chinatown. p. s.: I think they use msg in their broths.
BN F.
Tu valoración: 4 Toronto, Canada
Chine is a individual style hot pot restaurant that unique compared to original hot pot style in Chinatown. It looks modern, simple and clean with the okay service. No compliment drinks like plum tea or soy milk but they have deep fried sweet rolls for desert. Chine legendary fried pork is a must try !
Cecilia W.
Tu valoración: 5 Los Angeles, CA
This is THE place to be for hot pot. Great food, great service and decent price for all you can eat. Not a spicy eater, i still enjoyed the non-spicy soup base. Perfect pick-me-up for a cold ass day. Would recommend getting the beef and lamb slices, beef meatball and tofu.
Hardy K.
Tu valoración: 5 Toronto, Canada
Clean space, good food quality and very friendly staff. There is a bit of wait during peak hours.
Aye T.
Tu valoración: 5 Toronto, Canada
Where do I being? A great selection of foods ranging from land animals, sea animals and plants. On top of there are many soup bases. I had the suicide broth and boy was it spicy. It made a lot of use of the peppercorn which gave it a nice numbing. Couple that with the spiciness and we have a great marriage of numbing and spice. The service was nice, our waitress was very attentive. Food came out at a reasonable pace considering that the entire restaurant was full. BUTTHEOWNERWASTHEBEST. He was so down to earth with my friends and I. He would always come to us and make sure we’re happy, he would encourage us to order more and he just really made us feel at home. TLDR; Nice quality foods, nice variety, nice service and amazing owner
Jawoon C.
Tu valoración: 5 Toronto, Canada
I’ve been here about two weeks ago with a friend. the food was great but the service was even better. I don’t think I have ever received such great service at a restaurant in Chinatown. we are very slow eaters and we arrived at the restaurant a bit late. we were told after about half an hour to place our last orders and the staffs and manager stayed for us almost an hour after their closing time. We felt really bad but they made us feel comfortable and welcomed until the end. my friends and I are meeting up in downtown area and I strongly recommended we go here tonight. I was surprised they don’t take reservations but I’m sure it will be just as good as my last experience.
Heidi H.
Tu valoración: 5 Miami Beach, FL
I came to Toronto for a vacation, and I had my very first hotpot at this restaurant. It was Sunday afternoon around 4pm, so there were not many people. This place is spacious and clean. The waiter was super attentive and friendly, and he helped us from step one throughout the whole meal.(Since it was our first hotpot experience, we could use some guidance) I like spicy food, so I wanted to try the hot broth. There are three levels of the hot broth; mild, suicide, killer spicy. I chose suicide level, and it has good flavor and numbness but as a spicy loving person, I should have ordered killer spicy. Later I learned we could have asked for more paste for spicier broth if you want more kick. We tried all the meat, veggies and other selections they have, and my favorite was sliced beef, watercress, bean curd, and vermicelli. They also have a good sauce corner, lots to choose from. It was overall a very fun and fulfilling experience. We loved it and want to go back again. It is also pretty close from the Art Gallery of Ontario, and I strongly recommend going to AGO, and then visit this place as we did, and you will not regret it.
Frankie N.
Tu valoración: 5 Richmond Hill, Canada
Chine hot pot is clean, modern and most of all delicious! We had a party of 3 and decided to check it out. The only drawback was the lineup — which is to be expected when dining at peak hours. Pros: freshly sliced meats, a huge variety of food on the menu, excellent soup bases that you can’t find at other hot pot places(our favourite was the«black chick» — a rich, herby broth that is 10x better than your average chicken broth) Cons: service was a bit slow(very busy restaurant) so we missed receiving some of our items, their english fluency is about a 7/10, as most staff are mandarin speaking Overall: the best hot pot in chinatown in my opinion and definitely worth trying!
Andrew C.
Tu valoración: 4 Toronto, Canada
Chine is a clean, spacious restaurant for hot pot with solid fresh ingredients. I came to Chine for lunch as I’ve been burned a couple of times by the inconsistent opening hours of their popular competitor, Celebrity Hot Pot. Apparently Chine is a huge chain from China, which I wasn’t aware of initially. Like other hot pot restaurants, this place is all you can eat. You’re given a sheet of paper and you just check off what you like. There’s a few options for broth. I tasted the«legendary» spicy broth(mild) and the corn and taro broth. The former, even though it’s mild, has quite the kick. The spiciness intensifies as the broth boils off. It’s perfect for those who like the tongue-numbing action of Szechuan peppercorn. The corn and taro broth, on the other hand, was inoffensive. There’s a decent selection of sauces to choose from. My only comparison is Celebrity Hot Pot which has more peanut and sesame-based options. Nevertheless, there’s still a decent number of sauces though no raw eggs. The menu’s pretty extensive with some interesting pre-marinated options for meat. Granted, when the food comes, you’re quickly overwhelmed by what’s on your table, it’s hard to keep track of what’s what. Service was good. I never had to ask for my broth to be re-filled and food came out promptly. There were a few items that we ordered that never came, but the 95% of what we ordered arrived. Finally, two negatives: 1) there’s no drink fountain but it wasn’t a big deal for me. You can still get water or tea at your table 2) my slight raw meat germ phobia wishes there were separate tongs for cooking, though you can always ask for an extra pair of chopsticks.
Puneet T.
Tu valoración: 5 St. Lawrence, Toronto, Canada
Finally a legit hot pot in downtown Toronto! This place is great with high quality meats and ingredients. The staff is very friendly and helpful. My wife mistakenly ordered a broth that was too spicy for her and they kindly replaced it for free. We’re def coming back! Best hot pot on the Spadina strip.
Kevin S.
Tu valoración: 5 Boston, MA
Had dinner here with a big group. Awesome food and the service was even better! Everything was fresh and the taro rolls for desert were great. I would recommend this place for groups between 1 – 8. Make sure if you get the spicy broth not to go for the suicide or killer, unless you have the stomach for it!
Arno H.
Tu valoración: 5 Regina, Canada
Had lunch here on grand opening day. The staff are friendly and helpful. Although I’m mostly unfamiliar with authentic Chinese dining this was an enjoyable experience and a bit of an adventure. Take your time. Enjoy.