Haidilao Hongdae Hotpot: Navigating the Waitlist & Prices 2026

Famous for its hellish wait times,

Haidilao Hongdae branch!

I finally got to visit it myself.

Previously, when I visited the Haidilao Daehangno branch,

I managed to reserve and visit without much difficulty,

but Haidilao Hongdae's

reservations and wait times are seriously no joke.

Here's my struggle-filled, self-funded review of the weekend Haidilao Hongdae wait times.

First off, one of the reasons Haidilao Hongdae is

so incredibly popular is, I think,

because of its location!

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It's located on the 5th floor of the Lotte Cinema building,

right in front of Hongdae Station Exit 8.

They also offer 2 hours of parking support.

As soon as you get off at Hongik University Station and head to the building entrance,

you can physically feel the fierce competition

starting right from the elevators.

Haidilao Hongdae: The Waiting Game

There were three of us, and we planned to arrive a bit early,

get our names on the waiting list comfortably,

and enjoy an early dinner.

So, we went around 2 PM on a weekend and put our names down,

but by then, we were already 165th in line.

We thought, "Surely we can get in by 6 PM, right?"

But...

You can see the average waiting times by day of the week

on Catchtable, and on Saturdays and Sundays,

if you go in the afternoon, you can expect to wait over 4 hours.

Going in the morning is a bit better, but even then,

the waiting list grows incredibly fast, doesn't it?

If you're aiming for lunch, it's best to do an "open run" (arrive before opening),

or if you're going for dinner like us,

it's more efficient to put your name down in advance

and schedule other activities around it 🥲

Haidilao Hongdae: The Reservation Challenge

So, you might think, "Why not just make a reservation in advance?"

But let me tell you, even Catchtable reservations are incredibly tough.

Looking at early March, for instance,

there are some weekdays where you can reserve in the morning, but

evenings are completely booked,

and weekends are sold out far in advance.

Often, even the "notify me when a spot opens" option is fully booked.

Haidilao Hongdae: My Experience

We went in with a full-on strategy,

planning to wait it out at a spacious cafe

and play board games.

After about 3 hours of fun at the cafe

and exploring the streets of Hongdae,

we noticed our turn was finally approaching the 20th spot.

We decided it was time to slowly head back to the restaurant and wait outside.

So, we went back to Haidilao Hongdae.

By this time, it was already 6 PM...

But here's the thing.

Perhaps because it was peak dinner time,

the waiting line started moving incredibly slowly from this point on.

We thought we'd get in within about 30 minutes, but

we ended up waiting over an hour even after arriving at the restaurant.

As intense as the wait can be,

there are plenty of events

to make the wait less boring.

Once you're seated and waiting, a staff member

comes out with a cart and offers everyone a cup of plum tea.

It was a bit sweet, so I couldn't finish it all,

but it was definitely refreshing and made me feel much better.

They even give you a QR code

so you can pre-order your hotpot!

You can also get a free

nail art service

(though I didn't see anyone actually getting it done).

You can also participate in mobile games,

and if you score above a certain point,

you can win coupons for drinks or extra hotpot toppings!

I managed to get over 50,000 points in the Mahjong game,

and received a drink coupon.

One thing to note is that

you can only get coupons while you're waiting,

and they say you cannot use them once you've entered the restaurant.

After that incredibly long wait,

we finally entered Haidilao Hongdae at

7 PM...

I had originally planned for an early dinner 🤣

In conclusion,

we made our reservation at 2 PM and ended up waiting for 5 hours.

Once you're shown to your table,

you can store your coats and bags

underneath the chairs, just like that.

For our hotpot broth, we chose

just two: Tomato Soup and Qingyou Mala (Original).

Instead, we added lots of hotpot toppings!

You can adjust the spiciness level of the Qingyou Mala, and

we chose 'less spicy'.

It turned out mild enough for my friend, who can't handle much spice,

to enjoy!

Beef chuck flap,

bean curd sticks, vegetables, tofu,

shrimp paste, baby octopus,

enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and more.

Haidilao Sauce & Topping Recommendations

At the Haidilao sauce bar, where you can mix your own dipping sauces,

there were four popular sauce recipes

to guide you!

K-Sauce,

Sesame Oil Garlic Sauce,

Sesame Paste Sauce,

Chili Sauce

There were these four kinds,

and the K-Sauce looked delicious to me,

so I went with that!

It was fun to mix and match various sauces to our own tastes,

and try each one!

For me, the K-Sauce,

which had a sesame paste base with a hint of spicy aroma,

was the most delicious.

There was also porridge, fruits, and more.

Now that our sauces were perfectly mixed,

it was time to fully dive into the Haidilao Hot Pot experience!

Among all the toppings,

the shrimp paste balls were definitely the most delicious 🦐

If you ask a staff member, they'll shape the paste into perfect balls and

add them to your pot for you.

You can really taste the bouncy, fresh shrimp in every bite,

so I highly recommend ordering these!

Haidilao Hongdae Events

The overall atmosphere at Haidilao Hongdae was,

to put it positively, non-stop fun,

or to put it negatively, a bit chaotic.

It felt a bit like being at an amusement park 😅

Beyond their famous birthday party event,

if the person in the red gown

lets out a cheer,

they hand out gift bags, apparently?

We didn't get one,

but the table next to us did,

and they won a doll item!

Among the hot pot toppings,

if you order the Kung Fu Noodles (~$2),

you can also witness a spectacular noodle performance!

The performer was so enthusiastic that,

at first, I felt a bit shy,

but it was truly amazing and entertaining!

We also finished our meal with rice cakes and fruits

(the lychees were especially fresh and delicious!)

Along with the bill,

they also bring us some palate-cleansing candies.

They felt a bit like those

smile candies that used to be sold at stationery stores for about ~$0...?

but with a hint of mint flavor.

(Honestly, they weren't particularly tasty.)

As for the price of Haidilao Hongdae's hotpot,

we went as a group of three and chose two hotpot broths,

adding plenty of toppings,

and the bill came out to around ~$73!

On our way out,

we noticed that in an area called 'Jeongyuk Gongbang' (Meat Workshop),

you could see them freshly slicing beef

through an open kitchen!

They also had origin labels displayed,

and because there are so many menu items,

the origin varied slightly depending on the cut.

For beef, they used three types: American, Australian, and Hanwoo (Korean native cattle),

all of them were utilized.

Right until the very end,

Haidilao Hongdae doesn't miss a chance for an event.

You can take home one of these gift bags,

and inside are the same snacks and candies that you could enjoy while waiting!

The waiting time was so long,

and it was so hectic that I felt a bit drained,

but Haidilao Hongdae definitely seems to offer a lot, haha.

Last time I visited the Daehangno branch, I don't think they had

the gift bag event.

Though it might vary depending on the time of day, right?

Still, if your goal is to experience Haidilao hotpot,

I'd recommend visiting a different branch with shorter wait times instead of the Hongdae one.

While I did enjoy the delicious food,

I'm not sure I have the confidence to endure that wait again,

so I'm not sure if I'll visit the Hongdae branch again!

Haidilao Hongdae

Wellness Archive Index

Delicious and dopamine-inducing, but not worth a 5-hour wait.

Before the Trip (Expectation): ★★★

During the Trip (Experience): ★★★

After the Trip (Memory): ★★★

*What is the Wellness Archive Index?