Christmas day I found Lao Ma Spicy. With its authentic Szechuan Décor, this warm place served up large portions and excellent authentic tasting food. The stew had many discoveries and sweet potato noodles... even better. The service was sweet and helpful.

****Inside**** Very cute and nice vibe. The music wasn't too loud and it was very comfortable! ****Bathrooms**** Very clean! ****service**** You order on your phone via the QR code on your table. I actually liked this so I can customize my order and have time to fully look over the menu. ****Food**** Was very good quality. I loved the dumplings and the Szechuan sweet noodles my sister got. My soup was definitely good quality but it wasn't my favorite. I didn't love the texture of the noodles but you could tell the quality was amazing. I was just looking for a very specific flavor that I have found abroad and was hoping this one would taste like that but it wasn't the same. However if you like sweet and sour soup I think you would like them! ***overall*** Really liked this spot overall and would definitely recommend!

Favorite dry pot place not just in NYC but the entire country! I've been to many states but I've still never found dry pot as flavorful as this one. Others just had chili peppers and not much szechuan numbing but this one had it all and it was GOOD. Service/Ambiance was typical, nothing to write home about.

The staffs were friendly, we ordered food to go which included beef and broccoli and wonton soup. The white rice was not included. Food was good. Food: 4/5 Service: 4/5 Ambience: 4/5

This is my favorite dry pot restaurant. Fans of Mala Project: please consider trying out this spot. Like many white Brooklynites, I was introduced to dry pot through Mala Project and was amazed. It turns out, dry pot is just delicious and Mala project is overpriced. Here, you select your ingredients from the bar in the back and a friendly employee builds your bowl for you. The meat items are priced by weight and there's a flat price for 5 vegetable items. I generally have gotten spicy level 3 as someone with medium spice tolerance, but I think on my next trip I will try 4, as 3 is only mildly spicy for me personally. The items all seem fresh and the seasoning is perfect. I genuinely prefer it to Mala Project and the price is much more reasonable. The bowl pictured was about $30 and fed two people (though I often eat the same about by myself and leave stuffed and satisfied.) The interior of the place is beautiful and all the servers I've encountered have been lovely. I will return here many times.

Came in on a weekday midday with two friends and shared the build your own dry pot and beef with enoki mushroom in tomato soup. The restaurant was pretty empty, but service was fast and nice. For the dry pot, you go up to the counter to choose what to put in it, and there are tons of options which was great. We got level 3 spice which was perfect for us - def not too spicy. Flavour was really good and I think we got a good amount of food for the price. However, the beef in tomato soup was lacklustre and didn't really taste like much. Wouldn't recommend unless you're looking for something really light. Good place for fast service and classic dry pot, but can't really recommend their other dishes

Came here after a friend recommended this spot. We came in for a late lunch and overall this is a decent dry hot pot spot. The location is pretty convenient and easy to find, just a few minutes away from the subway and NYU. Once we sat down, the menu was a little confusing at first but were then directed to the counter to the lady that picks items to place in your dish after pointing out what you want in your dry hot pot. Though beware, we were not that hungry but the price does easily add up. Each time we asked her to add a certain item she would grab a HUGE handful and so don't be shy telling her to not put as much of each item. She does constantly nudge you to keep grabbing more and more items which does cause this dish alone to be quite pricey. For 2 people who were not that hungry, we still spent $25/pp which is quite hefty. Next, you select the spice level from 1-5. The food came out pretty quickly and the server was attentive at refilling our waters. Just beware of the spice level. I liked that there was a lot of variety, but just wished they had more of the numbing cumin flavor I love in mala xiang guo.

This is legit my favorite dry pot restaurant! There are other items on the menu but this is what I come for. I used to eat here weekly when I was taking classes at NYU and this is my first time back since the pandemic. A couple of things are different but the food is as delicious as ever. There is a large raw food bar where you pick your proteins and veggies. The meat/seafood is $15.99 per lb, and the veggie is $13.99 flat and you can choose up to 4-5 varieties (it used to be unlimited varieties until the basket is full). The fatty beef is great and I like that they offer several types of mushrooms and even have quail egg. It's an impressive selection, more than I've seen anywhere else - no other dry pot place in NYC or NJ compares in variety. Lastly you pick your spice level, which is always extraaa spicy for me! I'm a spicehead with an extraordinary tolerance for heat and I approve. Rice is $1.50 a bowl, so on average it comes to $30-$40 for me not including gratuities, but one order is usually enough for 2 people of normal appetite to share, or for a second meal. Cost is comparable to dry pot elsewhere, maybe a bit more, but worth it for the customization. I'm obsessed.

The dry pot here is great but it can definitely get pretty pricey. I wish it was more self-serve so you can portion the plate out, but you have to point to a worker to choose your ingredients, and you are charged by the pound for meat. I think the end dish ended up being a lot pricier than I expected. That being said, there's a great variety of ingredients you can choose from for the dry pot station. I got chicken gizzard, intestines, beef, aorta, etc. and an assortment of yummy veggies. It's a fairly large restaurant with good amount of seating, and service is attentive. I would come back again but just make sure to watch out how many meats I put in my dry pot :)