The Sichuanification of Austin dining continues with a new hot pot restaurant ready to make its debut. Old Alley Hot Pot, by the same group that brought Austin Mian & Bao in 2024, will begin its soft opening phase Wednesday, July 9, at 11900 Metric Blvd., Suite F.
Old Alley Hot Pot (龙门阵火锅 lóng mén zhèn huǒ guō) comes to Austin by way of Houston, where it has impressed visitors for five years with its grandiose traditional interior and spicy offerings. As at any hot pot restaurant, guests will get to cook their own ingredients in boiling broth.
The menu dives deep into Sichuan flavors — not just with the famous mala seasoning using mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns and red chilies, but authentic, harder-to-find ingredients to cook in it, including honeycomb tripe, goose intestine, duck gizzards, and beef aorta.
Guests will get to choose from several soup broths including spicy beef tallow, fish maw (dried swim bladder) and chicken, pork bone, and a vegan tomato. Those are paired with meats like beef and lamb, and vegetables: wood ear mushroom, lotus root, Japanese yam, and gòngcài (tribute vegetable) among them.
In addition to hot pot, guests can also order Sichuan street snacks, including brown sugar rice cake, deep-fried pork bites,and Chengdu fried rice.
“Old Alley Hot Pot is more than a restaurant—it’s a love letter to Texas, a nod to our Sichuan roots, and a place where culture and community come together around the hot pot table,” said co-founder Tony Xu in a press release. Xu was a semi-finalist for Best Chef: West in the 2018 James Beard Awards, for his restaurant Chengdu Taste in Alhambra, California.
Although the English name carries an air of mystery, the Chinese name — a dialectal phrase referring to "spirited conversation and storytelling," according to a press release — is meant to embody a friendly and communal atmosphere.
Both Mian & Bao and Old Alley Hot Pot are part of the Taste Corps hospitality group, which largely focuses on Sichuan cuisine. While Old Alley Hot Pot sticks to tradition, Mian & Bao juxtaposes spicy Sichuan with sweet and mild Shanghai. Both are notable for bringing uncompromising Chinese menus to Austin.
Hours during the soft opening will be daily 4 pm to 10 pm; they'll expand after a grand opening to come. Like Mian & Bao when it opened, Old Alley Hot Pot is starting without much of an online presence.
