This might be one of the best value-for-money hot pots in Copenhagen, and it is the OG of hot pot in Denmark. This is Hot Pot Republic on Vesterbrogade. We were doing the Light Hot Pot Experience, but do not let the name fool you, it is a full spread. This visit was sponsored.
Hot Pot Republic sits on Vesterbrogade in Vesterbro, and it is the spot that put proper simmer-it-yourself hot pot on the map here. The Light Experience is the smart way in: a fixed price with a generous spread included, and the option to add extras however you like, so you are never guessing at the bill.
Golden wontons to start, crispy and drizzled in sauce, gone in about a minute. Then the star of the show, the hot pot itself, which arrives as an impressive spread of vegetables, meats and dumplings, plus the extras you pick yourself. Two broths share one pot: an umami beef bone on one side, and the classic spicy, numbing Mala on the other. Shrimp skewers, pork balls and glass noodles all go in, and you cook and fish them out at your own pace.
If it is your first hot pot, do not worry, there are instructions on the table, or you just ask the staff. It is hot, steamy and the perfect way to share a meal, genuinely fun to cook, try and taste the different vegetables, dumplings and meats as they finish. Do not forget the dipping sauce, that is where you make each bite your own. And if too much broth evaporates along the way, or you just drank too much of it because it is that good, do not fret: the refills are free.
Hot pot is the most social way to eat we know, and at 225 kr. per person the Light Experience removes the usual price excuse. Bring friends, claim the Mala side if you can handle it, and settle in, this is a long, hands-on, loud kind of meal, not a quick bite.
Best value hot pot in the city, from the place that started it here. Round two is always closer than you think.
But now… the real question is… where do we go next?
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