Zhangliang Malatang

Sam

I’ve come here three times this past summer, they have a wide variety of vegetables and meat options, and so many meats that I used eat as a kid.

Yu Wang

Super clean, neat, chain MaLaTang restaurant, definitely a must go in Berkeley if you like authentic Chinese food. They also have a good variety of flavors for spicy or non spicy taste. We have been waiting for this brand coming for a long time !

Shane Duan

Saw this as I was walking around looking for restaurant. Popped in and it did not disappoint! The flavor was great and personally I especially liked the grab-what-you-want style so that I can sample many items that I always want to just try a bit but never want to order the full dish.

Matt Fukuda

This spot delivers a malatang experience that feels both authentic and customizable. The star of the show is undoubtedly their dipping sauces. The selection is generous, featuring everything from fragrant sesame paste to tangy soy-based blends and fiery chili oils. They encourage creativity, and mixing their sauces feels like a culinary experiment that always pays off. Pair this with their fresh, varied ingredients and the comforting spice of the broth, and you have a meal that’s warm, rich, and endlessly satisfying. Whether you prefer mild or mouth-numbingly spicy, the dip sauces elevate every bite to perfection.

Great experience at Zhang Liang Malatang! The food was fresh, flavorful, and fully customizable. I really enjoyed being able to choose my own ingredients and spice level, and the broth was rich and satisfying. Portion size was generous as well. I left an 18% tip, and the service was efficient and friendly. The restaurant was clean, comfortable, and well organized. Overall, a very solid experience. I’ll definitely be coming back and would recommend this place to others.

Anousha Athreya

the service is incredible!! there's a variety of soups, toppings, and sauces to choose from and they go above and beyond each time i've been there

Connie W

Malatang is basically hotpot but you can pick the items you want and they cook it for you. Price is based on weight, they also have a sauce bar. Highly recommend if you want hotpot without the smell

Kenny Wang

[longtime student opinion] One of my favorite restaurants around campus. Price is by weight so whatever you do, do *NOT* get the corn. Yummy food, good sauce selection, good value. As a not-so-big eater, I'm often able to have a really good lunch for well under $15, but YMMV.

I have been here many times (15+). Very solid choice for soup lovers, best hot pot-adjacent restaurant close to campus. Reasonable pricing and fast service.

Good food but $70 bucks for two bowls of soup is ridiculous. My guess is the majority of their customer base.Is students going to Berkeley. So now , when the parents are spending two hundred grand a year for their kids' education , they should be aware that a hundred grand of it went to soup.

At first, I was planning on giving this restaurant 5 stars because of the rave reviews from a family member. I was excited about the concept of choosing what noodles and vegetables to put with your soup base. I even used Gemini Live to help me decide which soup base to use. However, when I started to select my vegetables I noticed that some of the bok choy was dirty and that some of the tong ho leaves were yellow. I then started wondering how fresh the meats were and how well-refrigerated they were since the display area did not seem cool at all. I am glad I didn't get any meat. This brought down my rating to 4 stars. The service was very expedient and not very friendly. The waiter tried to take away my bowl though I wasn't finished. The bathroom was not very clean nor nice. And finally, when we left the restaurant, I noticed the door was sticky. That brought down the final rating to 3 stars.

Frank Kim

At first, I was planning on giving this restaurant 5 stars because of the rave reviews from a family member. I was excited about the concept of choosing what noodles and vegetables to put with your soup base. I even used Gemini Live to help me decide which soup base to use. However, when I started to select my vegetables I noticed that some of the bok choy was dirty and that some of the tong ho leaves were yellow. I then started wondering how fresh the meats were and how well-refrigerated they were since the display area did not seem cool at all. I am glad I didn't get any meat. This brought down my rating to 4 stars. The service was very expedient and not very friendly. The waiter tried to take away my bowl though I wasn't finished. The bathroom was not very clean nor nice. And finally, when we left the restaurant, I noticed the door was sticky. That brought down the final rating to 3 stars.

ken jeffers

Good food but $70 bucks for two bowls of soup is ridiculous. My guess is the majority of their customer base.Is students going to Berkeley. So now , when the parents are spending two hundred grand a year for their kids' education , they should be aware that a hundred grand of it went to soup.

김수빈

Before I even finished my meal, the staff brought me the bill and seemed to rush me out. It’s a self-service restaurant, but if you don’t give a tip, the staff shows clear signs of being displeased. The tables are also placed too close to each other, making it uncomfortable and noisy.

Staff spilled boiling hot pot on my mother's lap, did not apologize, and did not remove the item from the bill. Where was the manager when this happened? Incredibly rude, rushed us out of the restaurant and complained in Cantonese that we did not leave a tip.

Worst customer service that I ever seen and they even force to charge the customers with additional tips without their permission. So inappropriate and they don’t even deserve such additional fees, everyone has their own right to give how much they want. Not charge on their bill out of nowhere. Don’t ever go to this place again, the worst hotpot place ever FACTS

GO TO TASTY POT NEXT DOOR. IT IS WAY BETTER! THEY ASK FOR MANDATORY TIPS with neagtive service. They claimed it to be a gratitude policy that is written nowhere in the menu or store as if we are eating at some buffet or fancy restaurants. They are buying fake reviews to increase their rating, but it wont help. This place needs to shut down asap. Some people say malatang and tasty pot is about the same, but in my opinion, you would receive way better quantity, food quality, atmosphere, and price if you eat at tasty pot. Tried this place 3 times over the past 2 years. During the first two visits, I just thought the taste was mid and flavorless, and there is basically no interior decoration at all. The staff was ok. This time, when I was waiting outside the restaurant for my friends to meet up to eat here. The restaurant owner impatiently asks us to go away if we are not ordering. Then later, when we sit in, the server serves our food at a extremely bad attitude. Again, not surprisingly, the food was mid as usual. Some nice things about this place is that they have a free sauce self serve table and the price is relatively cheap if you didn't order a lot since price depends on how much you get. TLDR; eat at tasty pot.

I’ve visited several times before, but my most recent experience was very disappointing. The overall quality seems to have declined. Most concerning, I found a molded vegetable in my order. I informed the staff but there was no apology or acknowledgement of the issue. I hope they will properly check and wash the vegetables to prevent this from happening again. During my last visit, the service attitude was extremely poor, and the waitlist system was very disorganized. I took a number and waited for 30 minutes, then I asked the staff about what number is called right now they responded with a bad attitude and told me they don’t simply call by number, which was confusing and frustrating. Because of the food safety issue and the service experience, I don’t feel comfortable returning. I hope management takes this seriously and makes improvements to both food quality and customer service.

this restaurant literally picks your tip amount for you without giving you a choice. i had to call him out on it and he looked lowkey surprised and scared that i noticed. i honestly regret even tipping after that (i changed it to a lower amount, not the one he picked). i should’ve tipped 0. this definitely feels like a way to rack up a lot of money off clueless college students who don’t realize what’s happening. be aware lol and do me justice pls

They DEMAND ridiculous amounts of tips for a place where you have to grab all the ingredients yourself. The guy with glasses selected the option for 20% tip by himself before asking me to pay and pretended like he made a mistake when I pointed it out. Also confronted me and my friends on a previous occasion when he wasn't satisfied with how much we tipped. Food is lowkey decent but the entitlement is genuinely insane.

Great way to ruin a meal: pressure customers into a 15%+ tip like it’s mandatory. Staff will cancel your transaction if you don't tip and force you to choose a higher percentage. I think you also tip twice and they deceptively hide it on your bill. Not coming back. Avoid if possible, or crashout on the waiter.

The food wasn’t even good to begin with. Our waiter, a bald man with glasses, was extremely rude. There was basically no service at all, and when we didn’t leave a tip, they actually charged us for takeout containers (we asked the table next to us, and they were not charged for that), which I’ve never seen anywhere before. As we were leaving, the waiter sarcastically said, “Thank you so much,” clearly because we didn’t tip. A tip should be earned, not expected, and behaving that way toward customers is absolutely disgusting. They need to fix both their looks and attitudes here!

This place is horrible. I’ve been here multiple times and have had similar experiences but I do like the food so it’s unfortunate but today what I experienced made them lose a costumer forever. They were incredibly rude to my guests and I, didn’t allow us to take our leftovers to-go, and made us tip. After the service we received we decided it wasn’t worth tipping and we fully went through with the transaction after skipping the OPTIONAL tip option. After that transaction was made the owner did not let us leave until we paid at least 15% tip. He even made a whole new transaction just to get tip. THIS IS ILLEGAL BTW!

Michelle Wu

this restaurant literally picks your tip amount for you without giving you a choice. i had to call him out on it and he looked lowkey surprised and scared that i noticed. i honestly regret even tipping after that (i changed it to a lower amount, not the one he picked). i should’ve tipped 0. this definitely feels like a way to rack up a lot of money off clueless college students who don’t realize what’s happening. be aware lol and do me justice pls

Bhs E

Violently threw up my food. I have no allergies. They called the police on me when I Tried to get a refund

Dennis Ho

DO NOT EVER STEP INTO THIS RESTAURANT WITH A SINGLE FOOT BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER EXPECT THE RUDENESS OF THEIR SERVICE AND ATTITUDE FROM THEM. THE FOODS MAY LOOK DELICIOUS, BUT THE WAITERS INTEND TO TAKE AWAY YOUR FOODS WHEN YOU ARE NOT FINISHED AND ADD ADDITIONAL TIPS, WHICH IS VIOLATING CUSTOMERS' RIGHTS. EACH CUSTOMERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO TIP HOW MUCH THEY WANT TO BASED ON SERVICES AND QUALITY, BUT THIS RESTAURANT DOESN'T DESERVE ANY TIPS AT ALL FROM ANYONE BECAUSE THIS PLACE IS OF BAD QUALITY. THIS IS A WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM THIS RESTAURANT. THE WORST SERVICE THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. DON'T EVER BOTHER COMING HERE AGAIN, SINCE THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY HAVE BEEN THIS RUDE AND IMPOLITE.

Lorrisa Lepevo

STAY AWAY FROM THIS ESTABLISHMENT. It has nasty service and waiters. The food was below medicore, and the staff had such bad attitudes. Take your money somewhere else!!! They don’t deserve a dime. Expecting tips for no damn service, and gave us attitude.

Li Yu Zheng

Worst customer service that I ever seen and they even force to charge the customers with additional tips without their permission. So inappropriate and they don’t even deserve such additional fees, everyone has their own right to give how much they want. Not charge on their bill out of nowhere. Don’t ever go to this place again, the worst hotpot place ever FACTS

S.H.

The food wasn’t even good to begin with. Our waiter, a bald man with glasses, was extremely rude. There was basically no service at all, and when we didn’t leave a tip, they actually charged us for takeout containers (we asked the table next to us, and they were not charged for that), which I’ve never seen anywhere before. As we were leaving, the waiter sarcastically said, “Thank you so much,” clearly because we didn’t tip. A tip should be earned, not expected, and behaving that way toward customers is absolutely disgusting. They need to fix both their looks and attitudes here!

Spam Account

This place is horrible. I’ve been here multiple times and have had similar experiences but I do like the food so it’s unfortunate but today what I experienced made them lose a costumer forever. They were incredibly rude to my guests and I, didn’t allow us to take our leftovers to-go, and made us tip. After the service we received we decided it wasn’t worth tipping and we fully went through with the transaction after skipping the OPTIONAL tip option. After that transaction was made the owner did not let us leave until we paid at least 15% tip. He even made a whole new transaction just to get tip. THIS IS ILLEGAL BTW!