Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, San Mateo

Service: 5 star
Ambient: 5 star
Almost everything: 5 star, I like the dedicated tong for picking raw food, food delivery robot is pretty cute
Food: 3 star ‍️

Meat is mediocre, taste like cheapest hotpot meat from 99 Ranch. Spicy broth is not spicy.

所以别的都很好 就是肉不太行 感觉和大华火锅肉片差不多 辣汤底挺不辣的

While not a hot pot connoisseur, my daughter and I had a lot of fun at this place. Our server was kind enough to explain how to order and what to do without making us feel stupid. We've never seen robotic servers before, and that added to the novelty of eating here.

Love the service robot. It's gimmicky, but really endearing.

Food is great of course. The soup stocks are very flavorful, as well as the sauces. I loved the lamb and how well it pairs with everything. The table setup is good, too. They put more finesse than you usually see at a hot pot place. Recommend it to anyone who loves hot pot.

2021 Update:
We were very excited to see that renovations were complete and were happy to come back once we had our vaccines. We even spotted the robot waiters crossing around inside - how cool!

But then we managed to get in, and right away there was a problem - they replaced the old tabletop resistive coil burners, which worked fine, with new induction coil burners sunk down into the tables, with vent fans. These induction coils emit an ear-splitting whine in the 15khz-19khz range depending on how high they're turned up, which was louder than the (fairly noisy) background chatter in the restaurant. Trying to enjoy a meal while being assaulted by the same sound a dental drill makes was very difficult indeed. I got some earplugs from the pharmacy over the road, but they only barely made the noise tolerable, and made conversation a real chore.

Sadly, because I have taken care of my hearing, I cannot comfortably eat at what used to be one of our absolute favourite restaurants. I will not be back, which is a pity because the food is still great. I can now only recommend this restaurant to people who are at least partially deaf.

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Original review:

Really nice place to eat. The food is phenomenal (six stars!), but the service can sometimes be a little inattentive or not strong with English (four stars!), so I'd say this is a five-star place.

Prices are not unreasonable if you don't go completely mad - keep in mind that the more expensive cuts of meat are still being *boiled*, so those fancy textures aren't necessarily worth paying for. Our favourite meats are the Angus and the Fatty Beef, which are two of the cheaper options. We typically also get Broccoli and Napa Cabbage. We get the regular broth, as the spicy broth is beyond our tolerances. Those are the two gluten-free broth options, but there are about four more which we haven't tried ourselves.

We go here quite a bit, especially with close friends who don't mind dipping chopsticks straight into the communal pot! =)

I really liked the food and customer service, fantastic location right next to where I live. The cashiers are always very friendly. Will visit here again.

We had an extraordinary experience in this restaurant. We enjoyed the first-rate ambience and the menu. The staff are very attentive. I am glad we finally managed to try this restaurant.

One of my preferred places to grab some food.great location, neat, and excellent customer service. Highly recommended!

I often take my friends to this place with my highest recommendations. I go to this restaurant often. This recommendation is always successful. The the food there is great and the crew is welcoming and cooperative. Every time we visit this place we pass a pleasing time. I warmly recommend this restaurant.

Henry was very kind. Very considerate. The whole staff was sweet/polite. First time there. Party of 6. Went for my birthday. I got a special treat. Staff was very informative. I would recommend this to all my friends and family. It was about a 15 minute walk from Intercontental San Francisco. On the way back, we did some shopping.

I looooove hot pot. Their broth is really good. They have an all you can eat price on a special day but other than that you pay per item.

My favorite hot pot place in Millbrae closed. This is my second favorite and it's still good. Just wish they offered AYCE, as I would love to order a little of everything for variety, the a la carte adds up fast. Still great food and service though, I recommend it!

Met a friend for her birthday here while driving up the coast. We were looking for Mongolian BBQ but his was close enough. I’ve never had Mongolian food, but it was great! Very spicy, but not hot. You cook the meat in one of two broths (one spicy, one not spicy at all). Good stuff.

Service fairly attentive, good value servings, but table top hot plate not operating properly and we had to make do.by moving soup pot around, complained, but no point as place was packed and moving was hopeless.

Nice Mongolian place. Bit pricey for 2 people but good food and relaxing place. Service staff are good.

Another very good hot pot spot. The spicy broth is delicious, and the food selection is plentiful. Service is a bit slower as it took a very long time for our 2nd order, but that is probably because the venue is packed. $10 corkage fee, which is reasonable with some fine wine.

As for the meat, it was fresh. The veggies we ordered also were very fresh! We were all shoved into one round table, which was a bit tight, but nothing that we couldn't handle. Make sure to book early as this place gets very busy on weeknights also!

Always super busy. Broth was good but its got way too much MSG. Price is rather high for a casual dining place

Really nice place to eat. The food is phenomenal (six stars!), but the service can sometimes be a little inattentive or not strong with English (four stars!), so I'd say this is a five-star place.

Prices are not unreasonable if you don't go completely mad - keep in mind that the more expensive cuts of meat are still being *boiled*, so those fancy textures aren't necessarily worth paying for. Our favourite mmeats are the Angus and the Fatty Beef, which are two of the cheaper options. We typically also get Broccoli and Napa Cabbage. We get the regular broth, as the spicy broth is beyond our tolerances. Those are the two gluten-free broth options, but there are about four more which we haven't tried ourselves.

We go here quite a bit, especially with close friends who don't mind dipping chopsticks straight into the communal pot! =)

Came here with family (9) order enough food and then some was really good forgot pictures. Sorry folks order 3 kinds mushroom plates, beef, lamb and chicken order some appetizers and veggies will come soon! Great for cold weather. We came at lunch time when they open on a weekend didn't make reservations they accommodate us.

The most delicious hot pot broth in my opinion. Usually get some beef and lamb, and alot of the veggies; Napa cabbage, shitake, spinach and fried tofu are favorites. We usually end up taking a long time here, 1.5-2 hours.

The restaurant is very clean and serves fresh food. If you have never experienced hot pot before, this is the place to try it. They have a large selection to add to the broth that simmers on the induction cooktop. The staff are super helpful and very attentive.