First Look: This long-awaited Korean barbecue, hot pot and sushi restaurant is now open on Staring Lane

Korean barbecue and hot pot lovers now have a new spot to try in the 225.  

Legend Pot, located on the corner of Staring Lane and Perkins Road, has been eagerly anticipated since the restaurant teased its opening in September. Currently in its soft opening phase with a grand opening coming in a few weeks, the spot offers an all-you-can-eat experience featuring hot pot, Korean barbecue and sushi.  

“It’s a brand-new concept you don’t see much anywhere,” manager Jay Jaing says.  

Korean barbecue and hot pot are known for the hands-on dining experience they both offer, and each table at Legend Pot is fitted with several hot plates to simmer soup and your choice of proteins and vegetables, and a circular grill seated in the middle to cook a variety of meats.  

The restaurant especially prides itself on its hot pot offerings, which are entirely customizable to the customer’s taste. Patrons can plop dozens of meats, noodles, seafood and vegetables into the eight different soup base options. The bases include staples like miso and Szechuan, as well as a pork bone broth that cooks for around 14 hours before serving. The hot pots are further customizable with the included buffet bar of sauces and seasonings.  

“It’s not just some soup that was just put in the water. We actually boil the soup overnight,” Jaing says. “We put so much into it, and there’s so much preparation.”  

In addition to the several meats and vegetables offered for the hot pots and barbecue, Legend Pot also features an extensive sushi menu. The all-you-can-eat lineup includes the classics like spicy tuna rolls and Philadelphia rolls, as well as hibachi and several appetizers like salmon tataki and poki bowls. Specialty rolls are also available, like the pink heart-shaped Heart Lover Roll.  

Of course, if it’s your first time doing your own hot pot or grilling your own barbecue, the staff won’t leave you hanging.  

“When this is very new to them, we kind of walk through with them how to work the grill, how long the food needs to be carried out, what kind of sauce you need to add,” Jaing says. “I say we have quite a bit of a different sauces. You can just kind of mix and match.” 

The interior itself is sleek and modern, with a few lighting touches like shooting stars across the ceiling and wall-to-wall screens along the back playing serene pictures of beaches and forests. But there are also a few fun features like a neon pink claw machine in the front offering a chance to win your own stuffed animal or a highly sought-after Labubu.

“They tried to build it for a younger generation,” Jaing says. “So it won’t just be like an old school, traditional hot-pot-looking store.”  

Legend Pot is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Find it at 2156 Staring Ln.