Shabu House
Categories: Japanese, Fondue [Edit]
Neighborhood: Outer Richmond5158 Geary Blvd
(between 15th Ave & 16th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 933-8600
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Sun 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
159 Reviews for Shabu House
One of Shabu House's Favorite Reviews
So Eugy and I have been meeting Aaron, Seong, Omar, Lori and Cicero for some early ass Sunday hangover cures. Early ass meaning like 10am or 10:30am. Um, yeah... We like to eat.
So the Sunday after the house-warming party, the choice was Shabu House. I have yet to eat shabu-shabu in SF. I haven't even eaten shabu-shabu since last October and that was back in NY. So needless to say, I was EXCITED. And this place sure lived up to my high expectation.
We were a big group. They were nice enough to give us an all you can eat special for lunch on a Sunday. A few got all you can eat and a few got all you can drink. I don't really need to name who got the all you can drink right? *cough* Eugy, Omar, Aaron *cough*
I felt like I was eating for HOURS. The platters of meat and veggies were HUGE. We got the spicy miso broth and the chicken ginger broth. The spicy miso broth was my fav. ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. I wasn't talking too much. Except to make fun of Cicero's drunkenness from the night before. Hi Cicero!! ;)
I just kept eating and eating and eating and eating and eating... It was that good. Can't wait to go back.
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I hadn't been here before, but I was a big fan of the choices of broth flavor, versus the standard boiling water at other places. The spicy miso broth was really great and added to my enjoyment of the food. The place is a little on the smallish side though, so not sure if it gets as wild and crazy as the drunken revelry that takes place at Cafe Mums on the weekends. I learned that if you sit at the bar you get your own pot of water and don't have to share!
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**Disclaimer: I think I would have rated this place one-star higher if ALL the people in my party had ordered the all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu buffett.**
The reason for my disclaimer is that 1/3 of my 15-person party wanted to order the all-you-can-eat option, while the rest wanted to order off the menu. The restaurant has a policy that those who order the-all-you-can-eat must sit at a separate table than the rest of the party. It was too difficult to split up the tables, so all of us had to order off the regular menu instead of doing the all-you-can-eat option. This was way disappointing to the people on my end who wanted to order the all-you-can-eat, but I understood the reason behind the policy. Next time we'll come prepared with a group of super-hungry and alcoholic folks. Joke joke! =)
As far as the food.... it was pretty similar to that at Mums, but I definitely think Shabu House wins extra points because of their choices of broth (traditional water, spicy miso, ginger chicken) and the extra condiments that they provide on the tables (pickled carrots, green onions, garlic, ponzu, spicy sesame oil, peanut sauce). I ended up ordering the vegetarian shabu-shabu meal and the additional condiments really made a difference by giving the dish an extra kick.
The service was okay. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful, but she could study up on the restaurant hours and the menu options a bit more. We asked her what the restaurant hours were and she didn't really know... later we overheard her boss scolding her about it and going through all of the information with her. In addition, the service was a bit slow at times. The rice came when we were halfway through with our meal and we never got our shabu-shabu ladle that I had asked for.
Their prices were average for the entrees. I noticed that their all-you-can-eat option is $10 more than Mums; however, their all-you-can-drink option is the same price.
I really think this place deserves another chance, so I'll be coming back to try them out again. Stay tuned for an update... =)
Harry really takes care of you... The food is always fresh and not at all crusty like other shabu places. The place must be doing great. The waits are getting longer and longer.
I've been a regular customer since the grand opening and will continue to keep on coming back. I can never get sick of fresh tasy food. I just learned of their all you can eat deals... I guess that would be a good thing if I had not eaten all day... I am quite happy with a regular Kobe plate, but my 8 yr. old must have a large and them eat some of mine. The only bummer is that they stopped doing lunch during the week. But I guess I can always have lunch there on Fridays. Early dinners are your best bet... You know, befor ethe crowds...
This place is good. There all you can eat deal is good. Not only they give you all you can eat beef/lamb, they also offer all you can eat veggie. The beef is good. It isn't 50% fat like other shabu shabu places. Its about 20% fat, just right. There meat is sliced very thin, which is good to me. They cut the meat right off the chunk of meat when you want it. The downside on this is you have to wait like 5 minutes until you get your next plate.
I think if the late Dr. Atkins had a vision of heaven, this would be it.
Carbs? Here? Never.
Well, except for the beer. But that doesn't really count does it?
I mean, the more I drink, the skinnier I look so something must be working there.
In the past, Grace and I have done some serious damage at establishments where you actually have to pay for multiple courses.
Given that she opted for the all you can eat/all you can drink option, I was giddy with horrific anticipation at the pending carnage that was about to take place.
Between the two of us I am quite certain a side of beef wouldn't be a problem to consume.
The spicy broth here is what makes it. Just spicy enough to keep my taste buds occupado but not spicy enough to compete with Grace.
The goal of any dining companion is to make the fellow diner the center of attention. Could you imagine if the BROTH took center stage?
Shit. I don't even want to think about it.
The Kobe was stellar and the lamb was a close "gamey" second place.
The service is purposely slow to make sure you get full quicker so be prepared to wait this one out.
Parking is hit and miss but I managed to find a spot right out front. I guess I am just lucky.
Dunk.
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I often forget how much fun I have playing with my food! It's places like Shabu House that remind me. I got the ginger broth and I can't say it affected the flavor of my meat or vegetables much. Everyone's raving about the miso broth, so I'll try that one next time. The beef is superior to the lamb imho. You also get a bowl of rice and a side of vegetables (and a bit of tofu) and a variety of sauces. This is where your creative side will really come out. My favorite was the sesame sauce, which I mixed in with a couple of other sauces and I pretty much had all my meat taste like this concoction.
The meat quality may be better here than Coriya (which isn't quite shabu, but has a siliar concept), but the variety of meats, seafood, sauces, etc is greater at Coriya. Also, it's all you can eat, so if you are a hungry one you may get more benefit from Coriya.
The green tea ice cream is a nice, fresh finish to the meal. I was full, though not stuffed. The big size was just right and I came in not too hungry. If I was really hungry I may have gotten a big and a small order, but I just love meat that much. :)
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Pros:
Variety of broths
The spicy miso broth eventually helps add flavor to the sauces
Choices of beef or lamb
Cons:
Quality of the beef was inconsistent
Ponzu was a bit too sour for my taste
Slices were a bit too thin and had to resort to scraping chunks off the plate
Overrated. Would prefer Mums or Shabu Way over this place.
Im such a fan of shabu shabus, they are so good espically if it comes with non stop beef. Sadly this place doesn't give you that option untill 8pm. (unlike mums).. anyways. the spicy miso soup here is actually really good, I prefer it to be more spicy though.. that soup isn't spicy enough for me. The service here is really nice, the waitresses are really patient, even though I can tell their getting annoyed. Haha. Everytime I come here I usually get the combo of the meats, you get lamb and beef. Plus you get a plate of veggies. I love veggies, but they don't give enough I feel. The plate is mostly spinach, they make it look like it has alot more, but we all know how much spinach cooks DOWN. So yeah.. I come here quite often and its great..
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I've been wanting to try this place ever since I saw Kobe beef was part of the menu. Mmmm beef that's nicely marbled by massages and sake.
Anyways, i came here with a friend. and like many other yelpers may have already stated that its a nice small little place and reservations would be best, but i guess we got lucky when we went in around 7:00pm on a weekday.
Although, I had a long day and wanted a nice frosty bottle of beer, they had forgotten to bring me that and even left that on the bill. But honest mistake i guess, since they were kinda busy. anyways, my friend and i each had a plate of meat. I had the combo large with the lamb and kobe beef. The lamb is alright, although the thing about this shabu style is to not leave your meat in there too long, otherwise the lamb can get rather tough. The beef was really good, but again if you leave it in there too long, the fat kinda melts into the pot of broth, which btw, we got the spicy miso and it was good and flavorful.
I was even tempted to try some o the broth after its added fat and flavor from the kobe beef.
the veggies also made the meal seem light and certainly brought what could have been a not so full meal of just 8 oz of meat to a satisfying one. I guess if you do get a little gutsy, and certainly just want only beef, then the all you can eat would fit you best. in the meantime, start of slow, and just try it for a change.
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This is a good shabu place because it offers 3 different kinds of broth: ginger chicken, plain, and spicy miso.
The meat served was thinly sliced, perhaps too thin. Moreover, every time I wanted to put a piece of meat in the broth, I couldn't avoid picking up several pieces (or a big chunk) because the pieces kept sticking to each other. That was pretty annoying.
The wait time can be long here, especially on a Friday night. For us, the wait was about 30 minutes around 8:00 PM on a Friday night.
I would come back to this place only after I have tried other shabu places.
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OK, OK - I'm converted, folks.
Thanks to Shabu House - I am now converted to "Shabu-dom".
Shabu House is a cozy restaurant located on Geary in the Richmond (thanks, Euge, haha) area. On a Monday evening, it was a packed house when we entered, but within 5 minutes, a table was cleaned off for our party of four. Like all of the other Shabu-Shabu joints in San Francisco, the all-you-can-eat option is also available here, and for $39.95 - you can include the all-you-can-drink option. (Note: this option only includes "HOT" house sake - which means it SUCKS, Sapporo and Asahi beer, and soft drinks.)
Having been to Shabu-Sen recently - I can't help but compare the two.
Link: http://www.yelp.com/bi...
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Atmosphere/Ambience:
-SH: 3.5/5
-SS: 4/5
Notes: SS (Shabu-Sen) is nicer. It's better designed, a bit darker, and slightly more formal. Better date joint. SH (Shabu House) is brighter, and a bit informal for dates, but quite perfect for dinner with friends.
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Service:
-SH: 4/5
-SS: 3/5
Notes: SS had awful waitresses - with the exception of one who was outstanding. SH had the owner present, who made an awesome exception for us because we all detest hot sake, and our waitress was decent. That said, they lose one full point for the extremely sloooo-oooow meat service. All-you-can-eat is great, but not when it takes so long for the meat to come out. The first platter came out after 20 minutes, and each order thereafter took at least 10-15 minutes to come out after each time we ordered. Ploy on the part of the restaurant to get us full - I have no idea, but the dedicated meat-slicer worked slice by slice - sloooo--oooooow.
(Edit: The above was for Monday - and like I added below, I went again, and service was EXCELLENT on Tuesday, totally different staff....)
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Vegetables:
-SH: 4/5
-SS: 3/5
Notes: More selection of veggies at SH, but SS gives glass noodles too, whereas SH only gave udon noodles, but I'm not here for the noodles. Also, it should be noted that SS gives you rice - SH didn't offer, though I am sure it was available. (Edit: On Tuesday, they did.... what on earth.... they be makin' my review all lies!)
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MEAT:
SH: 5/5
SS: 3.5/5
Notes: American Kobe Beef offered at SH. SS offers upgrade options, but not available for the all-you-can-eat. SH offers OUTSTANDING, beautifully marbled yet really thin cuts of beef. The meat at SS is good quality, but very lean - - I much prefer the taste of SH's meat, which just melts in your mouth. If you like no fat on your meat, you might prefer SS. That said, SH offers beef or lamb - - SS offers beef, lamb, chicken or pork slices.
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TASTE of BROTH:
SH: 5/5
SS: 2/5
Notes: Incomparable. The miso spicy broth at SH wins - hands down. EXCELLENT flavor, you can have soup with your meat and they refill often. Tasty broth makes or breaks the experience, and I found the broth at SS so bland and boring - not to mention beyond help with the spices offered.
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SAUCES:
SH: 5/5
SS: 3/5
Notes: Ponzu sauce and Sesame Sauce at SH was MUCH better, as were the spices available - - even better when you mixed it all up.
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VALUE:
SH: 4/5
SS: 4.5/5
Notes: This is where SS beats out SH - - for about the same price, SS gives you two tiny appetizer dishes, whereas SH doesn't. It only earns 1/2 point, though, since I don't really want the appetizers.
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TOTALS:
SH: 30.5/35
SS: 23/35
All in all - SH set a new standard for me. The great broth combined with the great meat - and the sake exception made for us by the owner all made for a great night with some great food. While this may not be my usual "5-star" type of restaurant, it does raise the bar, and that deems 5-stars until I can find even better.
Dinner lasted nearly 3 hours - and every second was worth it - and I honestly ate entirely too much, but even the pain of THAT, including staring at the ceiling from a severe food coma, was worth it.
NO REGRETS.
I think I'll go again tonight....
Edited to add:
I did go again tonight.
The staff called out to me as we left, "See you tomorrow!" Hahaha.... good times. I am shabu'd out for the week, but next week, for sure!
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Absolute had its first practice of the season on Sunday. So what if we already missed a race and no one had been on a boat since last September? So what if my right shoulder and left butt cheek are killing me right now? So what if I need a nap?
After being drenched in the cold water at the estuary for over an hour, eating a mediocre meal that took over 2 hours and then working for a couple of hours, I was light headed, still cold and cranky.
It was dinner time by then so we considered Hard Knox (not open), Pizzetta 211 (too crowded) and then we were going to some Japanese place when we drove by Shabu House and another shabu shabu place, both of which had grand opening signs. We knew one of them had gotten good reviews but we weren't sure which one it was so we decided to walk by both.
On the way to the first one, some guy did a kung fu move and wanted to throw down with BoJ. We ignored him and then laughed at the same time. The first place was empty so we decided that Shabu House must be the good one since it was packed.
After waiting a few minutes, we were seated at the bar where we had a regular vegetarian and a regular beef because the waitress said one large beef would not be enough for the both of us. When the food came out, we realized she was wrong. Still, all the fresh vegetables and beef were tasty so no complaints. The spicy miso soup was really flavorful and actually spicy. The ginger chicken was a much more subtle and cleaner flavor and a nice contrast to the spicy miso.
I generally don't like shabu shabu or anyplace that will make me smell like food or requires me to cook my own food and create my own sauces or where oil or hot water can splash on me. I don't work in a kitchen for a reason. But, I would go back to Shabu House. Everything was clean, fresh and delicious.
When we got outside over 2 hours later (I guess we had a lot to talk about), the kung fu fighter was still roaming up and down the street looking for someone to spar with.
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LOVE IT! This place makes me think I can cook.
I didn't get to try the all you can eat, but I was set with a large kobe beef/lamb order when I was super hungry and it did the trick and I was three bites shy of finishing the entire spread. You get a ton a vegetables like greens, corn, baby carrots, mushrooms and tofu and a cute little mesh ladle in case you loose any goodies in the hot pot.
Cute, clean and definitely fun for groups or dates. The restaurant is very small so it's probably best to reserve a table ahead of time.
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If you want to avoid a line, go on a weekday or even LUNCH on the weekends. Just be sure you get there fast! I'm sure it gets pretty crowded considering the discount. I recommend the spicy miso broth if you like spicy. And their house sake wasn't bad.
mediocre at best...
we were super hungry and was down to get some good shabu shabu. After ordering, we waited a good 25 minutes for the waitress to bring us the beef which was sitting about 3 feet away. They also spilled water all over us when they tried to refill our glass. They need to train their staff better...service is sooooooo slow. How can that be when everything is brought to you raw????
The beef... sliced too thin for shabu shabu. It turns hard if you leave it a second too long, which shouldn't be the case. Overall, mediocre at best. Go to mum's....
Taste-wise this is my new favorite Shabu place because I have yet to find another place with flavored broth options (i.e. Shabuway). Prices are VERY reasonable and you get a freakin ton of veggies to go with your meat.
They do lose one star for being extremely understaffed - Mr. Owner, if you are reading this, HIRE MORE PEOPLE. Service was slow, although it was not the workers' faults, they did not have enough hands to deal with the half-filled capacity of the place.
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Best dinner deal ever!
Shabu Shabu is my absolute favorite at-home Japanese dinner, one that I've frequently requested as my b-day dinner choice ever since I was little.
(Sidenote: If you don't know what Shabu Shabu is, it's a Japanese-style dinner where you prepare a pot of boiling water/broth and dip raw veggies & meat in it, remove em' when done and eat them w/ dipping sauces & rice. It's called "Shabu Shabu" because supposedly that's the sound that's made when cooking your food.)
Sooo, I must have been sheltered all my life because I didn't discover until recently that there are restaurants that actually specialize in it!! I can get this shabu shabu goodness whenever my little heart desires!
And thus, in walks Shabu House.
For only $14, I got a heaping plate of fresh veggies (mushrooms, napa cabbage, carrots, spinach, & corn), w/ a few udon noodles, a bowl of rice (w/ free refills) and a spread of freshly sliced KOBE beef! To top it off, it also included a scoop of Green Tea or Red Bean Ice Cream! Boy had I died and gone to heaven.
Little did I know, that you can customize your broth! I had always had my shabu shabu with boiling water but, at Shabu House, you can also choose from Spicy Miso or Ginger Chicken. Granted you already get individual meat & veggie dipping sauces, but when you get tired of those, you can savor your selected broth flavored meats & veggies! My friend and I both got the Spicy Miso and loved it.
Service was perfect! Our server, Victoria, went above and beyond by offering to lower the spiciness of my friend's spicy miso by adding extra water AND wrapping up all our leftovers (which I think is uncommon at a place like that). She was a total sweetheart!
My only suggestion for improvement is to cook the rice better. Ours was a bit soggy.
Overall, Shabu House is clean, tasty, well-laid out, and has their system down pat-given that their service was so quick. I'm dying to go back to take advantage of their All You Can Eat & Drink $40 deal or their awesome happy hour (5-6 pm) where you get 15% off your entire bill!
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There have been a few new shabu openings on Geary. We mistakenly tried one prior to this place. We were thorougly disappointed. This place was so good. The spicy miso broth was really good. The large was enough for two people but unfortunately they require a minimum for each person so we were forced to order more food than we could consume... boooo. The ice cream at the end was a nice treat.
Dip, swirl, devour.
The way to go while dining at Shabu House:
1. Spicy miso broth
2. All-you-can-eat-and-drink for $40
I LOVE shabu shabu, and Shabu House delivers in service, ambiance and food! The staff was extremely accommodating to our rowdy party of 30 (max for table seating in the entire restaurant, walk-ins sat at the bar). The plates of raw veggies, kobe beef and lamb just kept on coming! The spicy miso soup made everything taste amazing.
The various sake (not included in the all-you-can-drink, just beer) we had were so smooth, and the sparkling sake was quite yummy as well. Shabu shabu + sake = a very satisfied gal!
I am recommending this spot for any large group dinner with my friends from now on!
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I thought I was done with the whole dip, cook, and eat food scenario - after a horrible fondue experience awhile ago, but Shabu House has wiggled it's way into my stomach and heart - and I am now a communal spicy miso soup veggie dipping freak.
Shabu seduced our large party with their fresh veggies, their thinly cut meat, their accommodating and friendly servers, and their peppy music.
The place was already busy before we arrived, but Shabu's staff - made sure that we were never waiting long for food, they were quick with the rice refills, and they kept the sake bottles coming.
When it comes to memorable San Francisco experiences, if you're done with the standard group spots - haul your group down to Shabu. There's something special about fishing out spicy marinated tofu chunks and cabbage from a bubbling pool of miso broth with three others, as your sake shot is ready to be taken in the other hand.
And once you're done - just head on over to McKenzie's for a night full of carefully selected juke-box songs, street fighter matches, and a rowdy game of pool.
The Richmond is the new place to be :)
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This place was a good happenstance type of find. We were just driving around, we saw it and went right in a got seated.
This was on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn't busy so we got served right away. The food was good and the pricing was excellent. All told, for two people, we ate well and all for under $25.
It's informal and a great way to have a light meal and still go away feeling full. Two thumbs up for shabu shabu.
Shamefully, I was a Shabu virgin before entering this cozy eatery. Thankfully, no one there held it against me. For less than $40 we all had the all you can eat and drink (beers and house sake only I believe) special and it was well worth it.
We chose the spicy miso broth and it was really good. It amazed me how fast everything cooked in it, like in 2 minutes you could have a mouth full of mouth-watering beef or lamb or veggies. Mmmmmm....
There were so many of us that we basically owned the place. At one point I looked up and the entire window front of the building was fogged over from our cooking. Yet, the staff never seemed perturbed by our rowdy ways. It was an awesome experience to say the least and one I hope to repeat sometime at a Denver Shabu place.
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The Yelp CM Team took over Shabu House and got it hot and steamy in no time. People must have been wondering WTF was going on behind those foggy windows...
I was a Shabu virgin, but it turns out it's sort of like hot pot, where you cook your food in communal pots of boiling broth. After ordering the all-you-can-eat-and-drink special for $40, piles of fresh veggies, raw kobe beef and lamb kept showing up magically. Just as fast we'd throw everything into the spicy miso broth, only to dig around with our chopsticks, pull them out and chomp them down.
With bottomless beer and unfiltered sake shots to cut the spice I was in sweet, sweet heaven, not to mention tipsy. More, anyone?
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Shabu House was stop numero dos for my colleagues and I - all 25 or so of us. Further proof that affordable, fun group dining does not have to equal Buca di Beppo or the like!
A close survey of the Yelp reviews gleaned that spicy miso was the way to go. Most of us requested it along with copious amounts of sake (nigori lovers unite!) and Japanese beer. Where else in San Francisco can you eat and drink as much as you like for a mere $40?
The staff at Shabu House was quite accommodating and their attentiveness ensured a good time was had by all. If you're entertaining a large group, especially one that's fun-loving, slightly adventurous with respect to food choices and enjoys a drink or six, Shabu House ought to make it on your short list.
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More of a 3 1/2 stars than a 4 but kudos to Shabu House! I can really appreciate a shabu or hot pot restaurant that doesn't leave nasty remnants of my dinner in my hair and clothes. The BF and I didn't do the all you can eat deal, instead, we got an order each of the regular lamb and kobe beef with the spicy miso. The meat also came with a decent assortment of vegetables. I fell in love with the sesame paste. The staff was also very attentive. Overall, it was a very good experience.
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I love the people I work with. Fun-loving, friendly, and full on fantastic, it would be pretty great to have dinner with any one of them. Well, when we get 25 of those fun-loving, friendly, and fantastic folks at one dinner, it's bound to be a party ... and a drunk one at that.
So, thank you to Shabu House for putting up with us. Thank you to our fellow patrons, for putting up with us. And thank you to my lovely cohorts for a memorable dip, cook, and eat experience.
The meat was so indulgent it was obscene. The veggies, always my favorite with shabu shabu were plentiful, and spicy miso soup base? Unforgetable.
My one dream for shabu houses to do would be to have an option to get a veggie plate refill occasionally instead of beef.
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Sake Sake.
Veggie Veggie.
Meat Meat.
Shabu Shabu!
Everything here is so good you just gotta say it twice. Then you've gotta go back for seconds, thirds, fourths...
Steaming caldrons of spicy miso are fantastic for cooking thinly sliced pieces of meat along with veggies tofu and the like - however, they do pose a few risks. If you are not careful you will get scalded and no one will feel sorry for you because they are too busy eating delicious pieces of meat and hucking bits of vegetable into the pot to notice the back splash. Also, you will leaving smelling like soup.
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Who knew?
Japanese Fondu.
Sake and Sapporro
And a hot pot of stew.
Basically, they bring out a steaming pot of broth (the table shares)...the spicy miso was causing my company dining compadres to sweat profusely (though, in all sincerity one of them was wearing a polar bear skin cap, another story), the ginger chicken broth was much milder and recommended for non-hot heads.
Then they bring out a large plate of veggies and several trays of thinly sliced meat. You toss 'em in (or actually you are just supposed to dip them to cook 'em, but of course I didn't know so I dumped the entire plate of everything in there)...lamb and beef. Rice, soy sauce and some other type of sauce for dipping. Good stuff. Filling. Beef coma ensued.
Tis the first time carbonated sake hit my lips. I'm a changed woman. Oh yeah, and a few Sapporos for good measure.
Shabu in Chicago anyone? Let's figure it out.
edit: I stand corrected, Chicago peeps come through once again...we do have Shabu. See we're not as boring as y'all think ;)
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The place looks nice and modern. They have counter seats and tables with built-in burners. They serve shabu shabu for lunch (10.99 regular & 12.99 large) and dinner (14.99 regular & 17.99 large) at very affordable prices.
They also have bento boxes (choice of 2 items, with miso soup and salad) during lunch time, but I don't recommend that. Avoid the bento box lunch!! I enjoyed both the miso soup and the deep fried gyoza, but everything else in the bento, like the unagi (overcooked and buried in sauce), or the chicken kara-age (overcooked: fried until it's dry inside) was below average. You can go to any place in nearby Japantown or elsewhere for decent bento boxes.
So the thing to order here is Shabu Shabu (having a side order of edamame or gyoza is nice too). I've tried both the beef and lamb shabu shabu in different occasions and everything was good - food and service was great every time.
I also like that this place takes the trouble of boiling the edamame to order, many other restaurants give you cold edamame that's been boiled hours ago or it's overcooked.
I would have given them 4 stars, but I took one out for the lousy bento.
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This is probably an undeserved five star since I've never had Shabu Shabu before, but the real question is WHY IN GOD'S SWEET HOLY NAME HAVE I NOT HAD SHABU SHABU BEFORE!? I love this concept. We all went with the spicy miso broth which I felt was an excellent choice, and then they just bring you plate after plate of meat! And you cook it in the broth! This is genius!
They have an amazing deal of all-you-can-eat/all-you-can-drink for about $40/person which might seem like a lot, but believe me - it's the way to go. Great for groups, parties, or gluttons/alcoholics - so basically an ideal choice for Team CM.
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Whoa. My first time shabu-ing, though I've dabbled in shabu's distant cousin, the hot pot, and it's fourth uncle twice removed, fondue. At a company dinner, we threw down with the all you can eat/drink option . . . annnd I was the last one still eating (it was good! meat is awesome!). The super thin slices of beef and lamb cook in approximately four seconds, which means way more instant gratification than fondue-ing with a huge chunk of American meat as your arm cramps up over the fondue pot.
Beer and sake rule the school here - if you ask for a glass of pino, you'll be quickly denied. But definitely an experience to put on the list - and lucky for you, this one comes with delicious slivers of meat, pods upon pods of edemame and little baby ears of corn.
A good meal indeed.
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We often travel some distance for good food - and especially shabu. Driving up to the city, we got the yen for shabu, and yelped this place.
The help was very friendly, but overall service was a bit slow - no doubt due to a large group that arrived just ahead of us. But the smells were good, so we stuck out the wait to be seated. The extra variety of meats was welcome, as was the broth. The ponzu very good, with a nice bright citrus note. But the goma sauce was bland beyond all help of the available condiments. A large helping of a good variety of veggies. The beef was very tender and evenly marbled. The lamb a bit strong even for lamb. Especially given the goma.
While this wasn't bad shabu by any stretch, we didn't leave with that decadent richness that comes from a really excellent example of the type.
It's a remarkable scene: long, shotgun style bar with embedded pots of boiling broth meets heaping plates of fresh veggies, giant Japanese beers for miles, mounds of sliced kobe beef, lamb and the occasional sake shot. Couple that with a room full of some of my favorite Yelp brass, and what's not to love? Good conversation, eats in waves, snappy service. We rather blotted out the sun in this smallish room with our grand entry, but honestly, I could have lingered here all night long.
If you give 'em a try, bring your appetite (as you'll need it), leave your watch at home (as this place is best experienced without the burden of the time crunch), and lots of your favorite people. Because Shabu House can take care of making sure that each of you share an unforgettable experience.
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It's been 48 hours and I still haven't escaped the smell of Shabu House. I made the mistake of putting the clothes I wore to dinner there the other night in my suitcase and now everything smells of shabu house. And this definitely does not smell like roses!!
My co-workers were all about the shabu house and while I can appreciate the fun of cooking your own food I probably wouldn't rush back here. Perhaps the problems is that I'm allergic to both beef and soy and this meal pretty much consisted of dipping raw beef into spicy miso broth...it's a miracle I survived the night! But then again it's not Shabu House's fault that I have random allergies and most people may enjoy staring at platters piled high of raw beef....but the looks of that just makes me nauseous! However, I did enjoy the veggies, seaweed salad, and rice...but you can get that anywhere!
But for all you carnivores out there you'll probably love Shabu House..and especially those of you who also have to be sake lovers. Unlimited meat and sake for just about $40....not for me, but it did seem to be for the other 30 people at my table!
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Bad service (their waitstaff seemed limited to 2 people and a cook/busperson in the back) so we had to wait forever for our food.
The food, though, was excellent. This place recently opened, and they are still trying to nail down their menus. Even though the menu offered bento boxes, they actually didn't have them, which was odd, but you can still get a donburi style (rice with meat) bowl and some shabu vegetables to go with it.
One notable point - they have 3 broth flavors (water/traditional, ginger chicken, and spicy miso), which is a wonderful deviation from my experience of shabu shabu with just the traditional option.
I was here a while back for a pal's birthday dinner with three other dudes.
We did the all you can eat ($30) half Kobe beef, half lamb gig with spicy miso broth.
The flavored broth was awesomeness.
I didn't really pay any attention to the veggies or tofu.
I mean I wasn't there for a salad.
Service was slow, but I don't blame the solo waitress, I blame the guy making the schedule.
Also, don't mess with the heat controls like the control freak in our group did. We had two pots. Ours was totally fine and had a constant rolling boil. Control freak was constantly messing around and his pot was always too hot or too cold. Just submerge, wait, and eat. Don't forget to skim occasionally.
Read the other reviews for more details, but trust me, you won't be disappointed at Shabu House. It's my new hot pot standard.
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Looks like the rest of the Yelp CM team did a good job of describing our experience at Shabu House last week...
It was fun for a group activity but make sure that your group is entirely into doing the 'all you can eat and drink' before committing. I would have preferred to order something different from the group but was told that it was 'all or nothing.' Oh well!
I stuffed myself silly with all kinds of veggies and way too much meat... the beer and sake washed it all down and I went home feeling ridiculously full and bloated. It was fun though - and I will agree with the recommendations that came before as far as ordering the spicy miso broth; it is delicious!
Bring your appetite when you go, and enjoy!
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