Not just your average hotpot

1 Hot Loft

While some might feel put off by the museum-y feel imparted by the interior decoration, any hot pot fan will be pleased as punch with the selection of liquids in which to dip your food. Duck soup, mushroom, meat and tripe broths all offer a welcome light alternative to the usual heavier hotpot fare.

2 Lemon Leaf

If you ever wondered what would happen if you mated hotpot with pad thai, wonder no more at this Nuren Jie staple. The curry hotpot is divine, although the décor can leave one wondering if the interior designer came down with a bad case of jungle fever.

3 Kagen

Another outpost in the Hatsune empire, Kagen is known as much for its incredible teppanyaki as it is for its scrumptious hotpot. Should you decide to eschew hotpot and go for the knife-tossing teppanyaki, don’t miss the prawns, some of the biggest you’re ever likely to find in Beijing.

4 Long Island Hong Kong Seafood Hotpot

If you’re fretting about the extra pounds you’ll be packing on this winter scarfing down hotpot to keep warm, be sure to give this Hong Kong-style hotpot joint a visit. Fresh seafood is the name of the game here, the perfect counterpart to the low-calorie, organic hotpot liquid you’ll have as your dipping companion.

5 Hai Di Lao

Lest we let conventional hotpot drop off of our list entirely, we include this pillar of the Beijing hotpot world. While there may be better individual hotpot spots, this restaurant’s multiple locations means that there’s a delicious traditional hotpot stop near you.