Happy Lamb Holborn Hot Pot: Mongolian Broths

On the edge of Holborn, where New Oxford Street feeds into Shaftesbury Avenue, Happy Lamb Hot Pot delivers the Inner Mongolian tradition to a consistently busy restaurant that opens every day of the week. The communal pot approach here differs from Sichuan or Teochew styles: the broth is rich and milky-white, made from slow-simmered lamb bones, and the table receives a shared vessel rather than individual units. The address is 2 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1AD, and the kitchen is open noon to 10 pm daily, including Saturdays. No reservation is required for groups of four or fewer, though booking is wise on weekend evenings.

Mongolian hot pot, known in Mandarin as Menggu huoguo, traces its lineage to pastoral nomadic cooking where whole lamb was broken down and simmered in large communal vessels over open fires on the steppe. The London adaptation at Happy Lamb preserves the most important element: lamb is not an afterthought but the centrepiece. The signature broth arrives already milk-white from the collagen of the bones, and sliced leg of lamb, fatty tail, and whole organs are all available on the menu.

Happy Lamb's menu also includes a striking range of accompaniments that signal its Mongolian rather than Cantonese or Sichuan origins. Fermented tofu appears in small pots alongside the table — a condiment that does not appear on the standard London hot pot menu at other venues. The broth itself is seasoned with goji berries, dates, and dried scallops, giving it a sweetness that balances the richness of the lamb. Ask the staff to describe the current rotation, which shifts slightly by season.

The standard approach at Happy Lamb is to build the table around the lamb platter (sliced leg), a selection of meatballs and fish balls, napa cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, and firm tofu. Order one round of each, then decide what to repeat. The lamb leg slices need approximately thirty to forty seconds in a rolling boil; the fatty cuts need slightly longer. A popular request among regulars is the hand-pulled noodle added toward the end of the meal to absorb the enriched broth.

The dipping sauce station at Happy Lamb is self-serve and generously stocked: sesame paste, fermented shrimp, chopped spring onion, coriander, garlic, chilli oil, and oyster sauce are all available. The standard approach is to start with a sesame-heavy mixture and then add heat to taste. Budget about £35 to £45 per person for a complete meal with a drink. The restaurant does not require a minimum spend. The kitchen operates until 10 pm on all days of the week.

Happy Lamb occupies a two-floor venue on New Oxford Street with seating for roughly eighty covers across the two levels. The ground floor is louder, fed by the foot traffic from the street. The upper floor runs quieter and suits groups that want to linger. Decor draws on a muted palette of natural timber, brushed brass and dark tile, with occasional pastoral artwork referencing the Mongolian grasslands without being heavy-handed about it. The music is contemporary rather than traditional.

The clientele is broadly mixed: London-based Mongolian and Chinese diaspora communities make up a significant share of regulars, alongside colleagues from the nearby legal offices around High Holborn and student groups from the nearby University of London buildings. Friday and Saturday evenings tend to fill by seven. The restaurant takes walk-ins readily before six on those nights. The phone number is 020 7971 1820 for same-day enquiries.

Happy Lamb is at 2 New Oxford Street, WC1A 1AD. Holborn tube station on the Central and Piccadilly lines is the closest stop at a four-minute walk east along High Holborn. Tottenham Court Road station is five minutes west. The block around the restaurant is bookended by the British Museum to the north and the legal Inns of Court to the south. Neal Street in Covent Garden, three minutes on foot, has independent fashion and record shops worth a browse before dinner.

After the meal, Seven Dials in Covent Garden is a ten-minute walk south — the piazza and surrounding lanes contain a good concentration of cocktail bars and natural wine shops for a post-dinner drink. The Comedy Store on Oxendon Street is twenty minutes on foot via Leicester Square and runs late-night shows on weekends. For those heading north, Fitzrovia's Charlotte Street has wine bars open until midnight on weekends.

Address: 2 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1AD. Phone: 020 7971 1820. Hours: daily noon to 10 pm (Monday through Sunday). Nearest tube: Holborn (Central line / Piccadilly line), 4-minute walk; or Tottenham Court Road (Central / Northern lines), 5-minute walk. Pricing: approximately £35–£45 per person. Style: communal Mongolian lamb hot pot. Walk-ins welcome for groups of four or fewer.

The restaurant can accommodate groups of up to twelve with advance notice. The menu includes a vegetarian broth option with mushroom-based stock. Halal-certified options are available on request. Beer and soft drinks are served; there is no full cocktail menu. The space is accessible from street level on the ground floor.

Choose the first broth and protein before filling the table with extras. Hardy vegetables can go in early, while thin meat and noodles are better added in short rounds. This makes the shared pot easier to taste and keeps the table clear for conversation. Holborn connects naturally to the British Museum, Bloomsbury squares, and theatreland, so a short walk after dinner is simple even in winter. Arrive before the main office and theatre rush, keep the serving utensils with the raw ingredients, and let the broth remain gently simmering rather than aggressively boiling. Happy Lamb is strongest as a relaxed group meal with an uncomplicated rhythm. The shared format is especially comfortable on a cold evening because diners can pause between rounds, compare broths, and keep the meal conversational rather than rushed.