Holy hot pot! Another anticipated restaurant has opened at Tacoma Mall
Happy Lamb Hot Pot, an anticipated addition to Tacoma Mall’s new “Village” development in the former Sears lot, opened April 20 at noon.
Simon-owned Tacoma Mall first let slip Friday on Instagram that the Mongolian-inspired hot pot destination would unlock the doors on Monday with 20% off everything. It’s a big deal for the city’s restaurant scene — hot pot lovers had to travel into King or Thurston counties to get their fix.
The Happy Lamb in Tacoma is the first South Sound location for the chain, which has 100-plus locations around the world, including 30 in the United States. Washington now has four, the same number as Illinois and surpassed only by the eight in California. The Bellevue franchise owner, Hongyan Zhu, is listed alongside Gyanyu Li on state business filings for the new Tacoma restaurant. There is also one in Seattle’s International District and Lynnwood.
Happy Lamb’s specialty is a 6-hour bone broth that involves boiling, resting to settle and coalesce, boiling again, sauteeing and simmering and stirring in some finishing seasonings before serving. The result creates what the company refers to as a “no-dipping approach” to hot pot — meaning you dip the meat into the well-seasoned broth to cook and need little else.
The menu allows for generous customization. Choose up to three broths for your hot pot feast, from the house original marrow to a spicy version, one enhanced with curry or mushrooms, a tomato-based version or the “golden cabbage” described as sour and spicy. Meats include the namesake aged or prime marbled lamb, Angus beef and short rib, garlic-marinated beef and pork belly — all thinly sliced for super-quick cooking in the broth. Then mix-and-match with additional bites like tofu, mussels, meatballs, various noodles from glass to udon, rice and wontons. A buffet also offers additional snacks like egg rolls and desserts.
Order a la carte or go wild with the all-you-can-eat option.
Erika Dimas, a Tacoma-based food content creator with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, shared the opening on her page over the weekend. Having visited the Seattle location, she noted the variety, quality of meats and “sauce bar” as highlights.
“I’m so excited for this one because yes, we don’t really have a hot pot restaurant here in Tacoma!” she told TNT Diner in a message. While a few restaurants offer hot pot, “This one is different because that’s really what they specialize in.”
Happy Lamb has been around since 1999 — sort of. It originated in Baotou, Mongolia, under the name Little Sheep. As the brand quickly expanded, it was scooped up by Yum! Brands, whose mega-players include fast-food giants KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger & Grill. The founder, Zhang Gang, spun off his own company, Happy Lamb, in 2017.
Happy Lamb sources lamb, its signature protein, from Mongolia, United Kingdom, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, according to its website.
On Monday just after noon, the restaurant had filled up, while a few dozen more people awaited their turn in a line that weaved along the sidewalk near Macy’s. Just in the last few months, this new area of the mall welcomed Shake Shack and Dave’s Hot Chicken, The News Tribune previously reported. Three other Asian food concepts, Supreme Dumplings, Simply Thai Restaurant and Gong Cha bubble tea, are slated to join the party this fall.
Happy Lamb Hot Pot - Tacoma
- 4502 S. Steele St., Tacoma, 253-393-6865, happylambhotpot.com
- Daily noon to 9:30 p.m.
- Details: new hot pot restaurant at Tacoma Mall Village; expect a busy vibe as it settles in
The News Tribune’s Brian Hayes contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 3:39 PM.