The first Korean hot pot and barbecue restaurant in Ocala is officially open for business, offering diners all-you-can-eat options.
After years of anticipation, K-POT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot opened its location at 2621 SW 19th Avenue Road in Ocala on Monday, October 9.
The restaurant, which is in the midst of a soft opening, takes over the former location of Logan’s Roadhouse, which closed its only location in Ocala in 2020.
As its name suggests, the restaurant features two specialized forms of dining in hot pot and Korean barbecue. Both forms of dining allow diners to prepare their own foods while they eat.
In the case of hot pot, soup stock is left simmering at a “hot” temperature inside of a “pot.” A variety of ingredients and foodstuffs are then brought to diners to cook using the hot stock.
Soup bases for hot pot include Szechuan, miso, and mushroom, among other varieties. Typical hot pot ingredients include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wantons, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood.
For Korean barbecue, diners are given a variety of raw meats that they may prepare on a grill that is built into their table.
Among the many meats available for grilling at the restaurant are beef, chicken and pork bulgogi, brisket, and short rib, among others. Raw seafood options include shrimp, salmon, octopus and calamari.
With the opening of the Ocala location, K-POT now has five active restaurants in the state of Florida, with a dozen more in various stages of planning and construction.
The new Korean spot joins several other restaurants that have celebrated grand openings in Ocala this year.
Big Lee’s BBQ opened its first brick-and-mortar location near the Korean restaurant in July.
The Sunny Pint, a new tap room in east Ocala, is in the midst of a soft opening at its new location at Six Gun Plaza.
Benmar Construction announced that Mellow Mushroom’s new location in Ocala, which was first reported by Ocala-News.com in 2019, is “coming soon” to downtown.
In September, The Flame Indian Kitchen, a restaurant specializing in authentic Indian cuisine, and J Marie Brands, a shop specializing in cheesecakes and desserts, both celebrated grand openings in Ocala.
This summer, District Bar and Kitchen, Crave BBQ and Hot Dogs, Sweet ‘N Savory Eats, Morelli’s Pizza and Subs, Ola Drive-Thru Coffee, Slice, and Fat Boys BBQ all celebrated grand openings.
Ocala’s third Chick-fil-A is currently under construction across from Culver’s, which opened its first location in Ocala in October 2021.
Remington’s Prime Steakhouse is renovating the former location of The Blue Wagyu, which closed its doors at 6998 N U.S. Hwy 27 in January 2022, in preparation for its new steakhouse in west Ocala.