The X Pot – Las Vegas

Continuing our Las Vegas trip, Johann was gracious enough to handle reservations for our second dinner – The X Pot at the Venetian. I went in knowing relatively little about what to expect. What I did not expect, in any way, were the robot servers.

Let me explain. They don’t announce themselves. They don’t make noise. They simply appear at your side with your food, gliding forward with the quiet confidence of something that has never once questioned its purpose. Jarring is the right word. Silent predator is also the right word. One moment the table is empty, the next a robot is simply there, having materialized from somewhere in your peripheral vision. It’s an experience that takes some adjustment.

My history with hot pot is not a warm one. The first time I encountered it was over lunch with Ted in Pasadena, and it ended with a burnt tongue and a level of frustration disproportionate to the situation but entirely understandable given the circumstances. The fundamental proposition of hot pot – paying to boil your own food at the table – had never fully won me over philosophically. But I was curious. Johann had made the reservation, the setting was undeniably impressive, and perhaps The X Pot would be the version of hot pot that finally changed my mind.

All I remember is that we ordered the Chef’s Tasting Menu.

What I can say with confidence is that the presentation was beautiful throughout – each course arrived with a level of visual care that justified the setting. The X Pot is not trying to be understated, and it succeeds on its own terms aesthetically.

But aesthetics and appetite are different conversations. Despite the elevated surroundings, the attentive service – robotic and otherwise – and the undeniable production value of the entire experience, the evening quietly confirmed what Pasadena had first suggested: Chinese hot pot is simply not a cuisine I need to return to anytime soon. Some culinary formats speak to you. This one, for me, does not.

I’m glad I went. Johann and his mom’s company made it worthwhile, as it always does. And the robots remain, genuinely, one of the stranger and more memorable details of the entire Las Vegas trip.

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