Shabuway
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Sat 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Sun 5:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
98 reviews
Sunnyvale, CA
"Sushi korean style. Now the place is a mix of sushi and korean food. The place has improved since the first time I was here. The music was…" read more »
164 Reviews for Shabuway
After my first time there, I was really stoked and excited about shabu-shabu. My second time there made me realize it's not that amazing. The shabu-shabu is actually fairly decent. Atmosphere is reasonably taseful though the slow waving fans on the ceiling do absolutely nothing. Also, my always racist remark about places like this is that this place isn't run by Japanese. Not a big deal but somewhat of a let down when their accents don't match up with their food...?
Just for emphasis, their shabu-shabu is good. The prices are perhaps a bit high but it's worth it in the end. You leave feeling healthy even after a full stomach. Good stuff - not amazing. Oh and you have to pay a charge for splitting something unless each person orders something individually... lame.
Really love this place, the only thinkg is they need some people that knows how to speak better english. I like it becuase it's quick but sometimes when you go at busy hour it's so busy in there that people are standing outside. Other than that i think the food is great and healthy.
I have some mixed feeling reviewing this place. This has been one of our favorite places to go in downtown Mountain View in the past 3 years or so. We fell in love with the original Shabuway in San Mateo and was so excited that they opened the 2nd store in Mountain View.
We've had very pleasant experience here, dining alone or w/kids up until about 6 months ago when things started to change.
1. The regular cute and friendly waitresses are replaced by younger but "colder" waitresses.
2. Udon no longer comes with the veggie plate. You pay $1 extra if you want a serving.
3. Today for the first time, they charged $2.50 for a 2 year old child we had in our party. Of all the years we've been here, we've *never* been charged for the child. However, the waiter showed us the rule on their menu stating "children under 6 are charged $2.50" and said that it had been the case all along. I found that extremely strange since we had been going so often. Their explanation was that they do offer the child a bowl of white rice and sauces as well. Frankly, we did not need the extra bowl of rice and sauces... c'mon the kid is only 2.
The kobe-style beef is still very tasty though. However, for the kind of nickle-and-dime attitude and the negative change in customer service, I really don't mind downgrading a bit and just doing the shabushabu meal myself at home. I can easily go to Nijiya Market (also in MV) to get thin-sliced beef and cook it at home.
I think they've lost my business.
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The place in nice with the traditionnal, the food is simple an healthy !
The place is always crowded on week end's but the waiting time is not that long.
Hadn't been to this place in awhile, but I dropped by yesterday night. Man, it was packed. This place has good business. I really like hot pot, so I had a good time, but I have to say the shrimp pot stickers weren't that great. They were ok, but they only had shrimp and fish meat, where were the veggies in the mix? I don't know if it was because I just got back from a tiring day in Yosemite and was excessively starved because of that, but the shrimp pot stickers + veggie plate just didn't fill me up. Maybe it's because I just flew back from Hong Kong earlier in the week where I was used to 10 course meals that I could not possibly finish, but in any case, I was still a bit hungry by the end of this meal. I still love hot pot, and Shabuway's so conveniently close by, so I dig the place. I'll just order more veggies next time.
Eh. That's pretty much how we felt. Eh.
It was nothing spectacular. We loved the idea and the concept of Shabu, so perhaps we were expecting too much. But it just didn't deliver.
The beef was average at best. The dishes lacked flavor. The shabu process just doesn't provide any flavor. The sauces certainly helped...how could you eat it without them? But overall, for the price and the atmosphere (which was stale), we left underwhelmed.
Ended up going across the street to Kapps Pizza to get something with flavor.
yeah ... ive been to both now, they are exactly the same, equally as good... like i said before...you cook it, so if its not good it means you suck at the most simplest of tasks for cooking food and i probably wouldnt trust you to make microwave popcorn...there fore you would be useless in society and should die... the end..
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It's unique for Castro but they raised their prices recently so I think it's pretty much a rip off now. It costs them so little to provide you with a few veggies and meat ... you do all the cooking. They should either (a) give you more variety to choose from or (b) cut their prices by $2.
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Eh. From Taipei-living days, I remember Shabu-Shabu to be tastier, with a bigger variety of vegetables and meats. This wasn't terribly exciting, but wasn't terrible, either.
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My hairdresser recommended this restaurant. This place is great! By far better than Shabu-Shabu House in San Jose. My husband and I went here and were very impressed. The quality of the beef and the fresh vegetables were outstanding. We like the "hip" atmosphere. We will definitely be regular customers here! It does get really crowded on the weekends, but this isn't a problem if you go early.
Shabu shabu, the onomonopaedically named Japanese dish, is pretty much what is on the menu here. Boil some water, throw in some udon, veggies and meat and when they are cooked, pull out and dip in either ponzu or sesame seed sauce, perhaps letting it cool a bit on the rice in your rice bowl, and devour.
Key ingredients are quality beef, sliced thin and the sauces. The sesame sauce here is awesome and for me is central to the experience. The wife, on the other hand, prefers the ponzu loaded with garlic. Either way it is tasty and kind of fun. Japanese wife and her coworkers really like this place.
This restaruaunt is fun and a bit of a different experience, if you are used to being served. I love the 'boiling pot' in the middle of all tables and the fact you can 'season' your pot to your own taste with the containers of ingredients at each table. The meat and veggies on the menu are of good quality and very reasonable prices. My co-workers thanked me for taking them here!
First off, I love the look of the place, which is very modern and minimalistic. However, those are usually not qualities I seek in my food. At Shabuway, for $11.99 plus tax and tip, you get to boil thinly sliced beef and vegetables in water and dip it in soy sauce. Hold on...can't I do that at home??? Yes, I can!!! (and just as well!)
Sorry, I'm being facetious. Admittedly, the meat is very fresh (they have an exhibitionist meat slicer to prove it), and they do provide a nice peanut sauce, not to mention the swanky atmosphere. But, I can't get over the fact that the broth is boiling water and nothing more. The bottom line is that Shabu Shabu is great for people on a diet, people committed to a life of strict asceticism, and skinny narcissists who visit restaurants only to be seen. For everyone else, I suggest Chinese Hot Pot--they actually give you SOUP for dipping the raw meats and veggies (what a concept)! On the other hand, you would be hard-pressed to find any Hot Pot restaurant that looks as nice (or smells as nice) as Shabuway.
The decor and food are good, the portions are a bit on the light side. I do miss the talent of a chef. Two sauces, garlic, onions, etc. Good solid food, the smallish TVs are cool.
Interesting concept -- but how can they make this more inspired?
There's a ton of great lines in the movie Hitch, but I can't find it here
(http://www.imdb.com/ti...), but it involves Max
(Sara's boss) making small talk while they're creating their own food and he talks sarcastically about (more or less) "we're making the food, yet we're paying for the privielege."
The food (8oz/10oz) is cut razor thin and the veggies are ok. The decor is good except for the bright lights (strangely I'm becoming weirdly sensitive to this).
Then my operations hat is on and they don't have to pay for their chefs and we cook it. LOL Now if they had gas lines heating the food it's good. If electricity, they're hurting.
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A good place for a solid, somewhat healthy, lunch or dinner. I say healthy because you leave not entirely stuffed so you don't feel gross and glutinous, and you cook your own meat and veggies in boiling water, so there isn't a lot of oil.
The thinly sliced meat is very tender and delicious if you just sear it lightly in the boiling water, and then dip it into the ponzu or sesame sauce. The water is rather thin and not very flavorful, so it helps to add all your veggies (like cabbage, mushrooms and baby carrots also udon noodles!) right away and let it simmer for a while so that at least the veggie flavor is there for the base. Having the sauces is pretty essential to eating the meat and having it taste good. The vegetables are decent but also not flavorful without any sort of sauce (as to be expected when just boiling it).
I think the shrimp potstickers are a good addition to your meal. They are dainty and fall apart easily in the water but they add a bit more heartiness to a somewhat light meal.
The decor is fairly 'trendy' but when you're in the middle of cooking and/or waiting for a table, you really don't notice it that much. Watching the meat slicer is pretty neat though. Order the large side of meat if you're extra hungry.
Awesome! Very simplistic and tasty food. Missing the 5th star because you can't split a meat plate.
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Brought back memories of my time living in Tokyo. Came here with a couple of girlfriends for a weeknight dinner out. We went fairly early since we heard they can fill up pretty fast. The food is good, it's kind of hard to mess up shabu-shabu. The portions are really nice size and a good price. Lots of veggies (mushrooms, cabbage, carrots), tofu and more than enough tender meat with the regular order, i couldn't imagine getting a large order...you must be a big big eater for that. The only thing that was weird was the egg. When I get shabu-shabu or sukiyaki, I order a raw egg so I can dip the cooked meat into it. Well, I assumed that's what I would get when I order an egg with my meal. The egg was not raw, it was very soft boiled. I had no idea what to do w/ it. Next time I'll just forgo the egg I suppose.
They also have sukiyaki as an option, I plan on trying that next. The flavored broth gives a nice depth of flavor to the thinly sliced meat compared to the water used with shabu.
Overall a good place for a nice social meal with friends. You can eat a lot and not feel overly full and guilty b/c there is little oil or fat in the food you're eating.
+ Very good meat, thinly sliced. The meat slicing machine was right by the waiting area. Watching red meat being cut up made me hungry.
+ Decent portions of meat and vegetables. I would have to say the price is fair. However, my voracious friend still wanted more food afterwards.
+ Good sauce to go with the meat, including brown sauce and yellow sauce.
+ Gives us a strainer to scoop off meat sediment.
+ Cool looking ceiling fans.
- wait was very long. Took over 1/2 hour for group of 5.
- they forgot to turn on the stove when we sat down, so we waited around looking at the pot asking, "why isn't it boiling?"
u decide:
* no spicy broth
* name is too punny for me
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Shabuway takes Japanese Shabu Shabu cooking and puts it in a modern atmosphere. The surroundings are sleek and cool. Rows of rattan fans sway back and forth above your head as you don't just experience, you take part in this traditional Japanese cuisine. Translated "swish-swish", Shabu Shabu is the swishing action the occurs when you cook a very thin slice of beef in the hot water of the hot pot at your table or counter. Apparently it's a very healthy way to cook because the extra fat in the meat boils off in the water. Hey, works for me! The vegetables are amazing. The meat is lean and the experience is unlike any other you'll get dining out.
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One of my favorite spots to eat lunch with the guys. It's cheap, barely 10 or 12 dollar per person and meat quality is surprisingly really good. I usually get a large with lean beef and dip it in the punju sauce. It's not completely authentic Japanese shabu shabu but a trendy hip and simple way to eat it, but still pretty good. It's true the service is minimal and they forget to give you water and stuff but it's just a cool place to satisfy your hunger pang for meat, really healthy cause you are boiling it too.
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Food is great....simple to choose for those procrasinators.....just beef or veg. Waiting time is crazy if you go at the typical dinner time.
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Talk about bang for the buck.
I went here after golfing on a lovely sunday afternoon. The place was packed! We sat at the counter. How cute, we get our own pots!
The quality of the meat here is... OK... I mean, it is presented very well and all, but it is a little too stiff for my taste. But I shouldn't complain too much about it since it is approx. $12 for meat, veggies, and noodles.
The operations of this place is run very efficiently. I mean, honestly it is just cutting up meat and veggies and putting it in front of the customer. That is probably why they can run this thing at such low revenue/ customer. I am impressed.
Wouldn't be back on my own but certainly a good way to fill your tummy after a nice round of golf. (I sound like a Japanese oyaji if you know what I mean!)
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Eh. Clean meat. Healthy veggies. Boiling water. Good, clean, healthy.
Eh.
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I've passed by Shabuway many times as I've tried to pick a restaurant along Castro Street. And each time, I've seen long lines of patrons, tempting slices of beef being cut in the window, and a lively atmosphere with reasonable prices.
I finally decided to try Shabuway on a Friday night and after almost an hour wait, I can say I left thinking, "that's it??? I can do that at home."
Perhaps it was due to the large crowds and accompanying hype; perhaps its due to the fact that I love Chinese hot pot with the more intense flavor; or perhaps it was simply due to the fact that waiting for 1 hour to boil some thinly sliced meat in water seemed a bit much.
The good:
1) the quality of the beef, as many have mentioned, is quite good. Although not Kobe, the slices are freshly cut as they are ordered.
2) the price is $11.99 per order, which is reasonable and includes, beef slices, vegetables, and udon noodles.
3) the food is on the healthier side, especially compared to Chinese hot pot. No oil is used and the beef is non-marinated. The two simple sauces (sesame seed and vinegar) are meant to add taste.
The not-so-good:
1) I found the food healthy, but nowhere as tasty as hot pot, which is also typically all-you-can-eat and similarly priced ($15).
2) Although boiling water is consistent with traditional shabu-shabu, I prefer places that use broth. The food can be as healthy but the flavor is much better.
3) I disagree with those that say something similar couldn't be done at home. In fact, after eating here, I'm going to my local market, buying a kerosene burner and buying top quality sliced beef and vegetables to do at home. I have no doubt, there'll be no wait and it'll be relatively affordable.
4) No AmEx accepted here.
Overall, from now on when I see the lines, I'll happily walk on by and know that I can do my own "Shabu-shabu" at home.
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Imagine fresh bright red slices of raw beef, about 1/16th" thin layered artfully on a plate.
On another plate add a layer of udon noodles, a couple of cubes of firm tofu, some napa cabbage leaves sprinkled with baby spinach, two baby carrots (from a bag) and top with long white enoki mushrooms.
In front of you is a stainless steel pot filled with water that will soon be boiling. Next to that you will have two bowls with sauce: one beige with a delicious sesame paste+miso, and the other with a soy-vinegar mix.
Throw in some condiments like fresh green onions, chopped garlic, chopped daikon radishes, and some hot chili sesame oil.
Add terrific sushi rice and you have a recipe for a really fresh, meal that you make for yourself for about $9 for a regular serving of either regular or lean beef.
There are other options but I did not try them.
So after a roof scalding lunch at Royal Teppan Steak House where I thought I was having real shabu shabu (NOT) http://www.yelp.com/us...
I was not expecting to like this version but was very pleasantly surprised. The meat cooked in seconds but the veggies needed added seasoning because the water is not flavored in any way. Next time, I will add the chili oil + garlic + green onions first to flavor the broth, THEN add the veggies udon and meat.
And the sesame-miso sauce on the rice was just too good--really, don't even try to resist.
The other soy-vinegar sauce was a nice counterpoint to the sesame-miso and did best on the meat.
Good beef; tender and marbled; not lots but more than enough for lunch. Three oinks and and extra star for the nice quick service and unique lunch atmosphere.
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I've been eager to try out shabu shabu (Japanese hot pot) for a while now and a few of our friends decided to go there for dinner. Service was alright, as I thought they were slightly slow in getting us seated when there was obviously open spots. Since I'm mainly used to Chinese hot pot with the spicy flavored soup, meatballs, tofu, veges, and rice vermicelli, I was slightly disappointed when I went to Shabuway. It's required that everyone order one entree or you have to pay an extra $6 or something to be allowed to share with someone else (that's quite the bummer if you're the type that eats very little). I ordered the shabuway original which came with kobe style beef, vegetables and rice. The pot was just filled with plain water and we were given an assortment of vegetables that consisted of carrots, 2 pieces tofu, napa cabbage, and enoki mushrooms. The portion of beef slices was pretty decent. Along with the meal, they gave you two dipping sauces: one ponzu and the other sesame seed sauce. I didn't quite like the thickness of the sesame seed sauce, so instead I took the ponzu sauce and added ginger, green onions and a spoonfull of shichimi togarashi (7 spice seasoning). I also added shichimi to the water that cooked the food to give it some flavor. In general the food was decent, but I just felt it wasn't really worth the price for easily being able to do this yourself at home with more food. One thing for sure though is if you're looking for something that's really healthy and too lazy to do it yourself, this is the place to go. This is the only shabu shabu place I know of, but now I'm probably slightly biased because after trying shabu shabu, I prefer chinese hot pot.
This is the first shabu shabu place I've been to in the bay area. Never bothered to try because my friend Lydia makes the BEST hot pot in the world, and I hate eating too much which always happens at the end of a hot pot meal.
Why came here then? Both my bf and I are in the mood for something hot but not heavy in a stormy night. So we went, I was ready to give most of my food to him. Surprisingly, the portion was just perfect for us. A plateful of Kobe style beef, (notice: "kobe style", not "kobe".) Because of the word "kobe", they could charge twice as much, but they didn't. $11.99 per person is way too reasonable. The beef was so tender, if you only let it "dip" in the broth for 3 seconds like the way it's done in Japan. If you let it bath in the broth for 5 minutes, don't complain that your beef is tough and old. The portion of veggie is a little small for me, but you could always order more.
The sauce, the sweet one with beige color, is fantastic with rice. Put lots of green onions in it, dip your beef in it, then eat it with rice....oh I ate too much rice. I hate rice, but I ate half of the bowl because of the sauce. Pretty amazing.
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This is japanese hot pot. Which means the pot is nothing but water. You can spice it up if you want. There is garlic.. some kinda ginger sauce.. chili oil.. soy sauce.. and some spice powder mix. Most people dont spice the water up.
The there is the meat. You order a regular or large.. and it comes with a side of veggies (napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, baby carrots). Also comes with a side of rice. I remember it used to come with a side of udon noodles as well, but not anymore.
You add garlic / ginger / green onions / spice mix / chili oil to the soy sauce bowl. .You take a slice of meat with your chopstix.. cook it in the boiling hot water pot, then dip it in sesame sauce paste and then dip it in the soy sauce yumminess mix and eat it with rice. SIMPLE but uber yummy.
It is a very trendy setting.. super clean place. You can sit on a table.. you share a pot there with your group. Or you can sit at the bar which has individual pots.
Love this place... went there at peak lunch time today 12.30 on a friday!! And it was not crowded at all. Definitely recommend this.
There is a Shabuway in San Mateo too.. also excellent!
He says :
Yum.....slices of beef and vegetables "cooked" in hot water. I usually get the large portion (you can order the meat lean - yeah!) with an extra side of vegetables. People might complain that it seems like you could cook this at home but it's a welcome change from the fried food/stir fry/etc.
Good service too......Recommended!
She Says:
Overall, I think Chinese or Mongolian hot pot is much more savory and satisfying... but there is a simplicity to this that one can come to appreciate. It's fresh, lean, and light... esp nice on a cold winters night.
This place doesn't compare to the more authentic shabu shabu that you could get in Hawaii but it'll do since there's no other nabe or shabu place in the South Bay worth mentioning. I usually come here for that once a month crave because this is more of a best-value venue than savory destination. For even better value at the considerable cost of quality, see Hot Pot City.
Shabu is great for those cold rainy days. So don't be surprised to find a long line through the winter/wet season. I'm not sure where the other rants about service came from but I've always had consistent cordial service from the staff at this location. As for portions, I'd recommend going with an Original to start with and then supplementing it with an extra Original order. Frankly I think the "Large" has just as much meat as the Original. Also, this is not the best place for groups so try to limit your party to 4.
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Good place for people who like eating meat in a healthy way. love the peanut sauce.
It's a trendy place but make the drive up to SF and go to Cafe Mums if you want really, really good shabu-shabu. And it's all you can eat there!
After a particularly difficult week, my friend and I decided to get dinner together on a Friday evening. The place is packed, but since we agree to seating at the bar, we were seated within 15mins. Yeah!
I ordered the regular shabuway original. It comes with a serving of side vegetable, udon noodles, rice and a plate of well marbled beef, sliced paper thin. Two dipping sauce are served with the shabu shabu, a vinegar/soy sauce mixture and a peanut base sauce.
The food is cooked in hot boiling water. I added the vegetables first to make it a vegetable broth and then swish my thin slices of beef in the water to cook. A fine mesh net is provided to filter the scums away from the boiling water.
I like the peanut dipping sauce, which has a good savory, sweet flavor. The vinegar/soy sauce is a little too tard and seems to take away some of the beef's nature flavor.
My personal taste leans towards more heavily spiced food, so I was not wow by the subtle taste of the food. But both the beef and vegetable tasted fresh. This is a very simple but satisfying comfort food. I will be back on on certain occasion.
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This place is better than other shabu places I've been to before. The decor is modern and they have flat screen tv's on the wall for entertainment. The ingredients are fresh and it's a fun place to go to for a date or a small group of people. It's not a huge restaurant so there is usually a wait during peak times. It's a great place to have a cozy lunch/dinner when it's cold outside. The staff is friendly and helpful to those who are shabu noobs and don't really know what they are doing when they visit this type of restaurant for the first time. They come and scrape off the floating bits of fat from the meat that comes off in the water every once in a while, which is kind of nice.
This place is more fun, than filling. The portions for me are just right...i didn't leave completely full but i didn't leave hungry either. It's good if you are in the mood for a lighter meal. Or if you want, you can order extra or a larger order. But some may still leave feeling hungry or you might get hungry soon afterwards.
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This is a fun place to bring 4 friends and have a nice dinner. I liked the sesame dip which I dipped everything in. Cooking everything on the table gave us much time to catch up on old and new stories. The meal was not heavy and we left feeling good about our dinner choice after walking up and down castro for a spot to eat. A healthy choice.
This was the second time I've visited, but for lunch. Still it was a great experience. You select what you want and you cook it, adding spices of your own.
Ambiance: It's small and accommodates for either a group of 5 or a small group of 2. The bar area allows you to cook your own while sitting at the table you have to share a pot with a friend. It's clean and organized.
Food: Typical selection is the Regular Beef. You get a plate of thin sliced raw beef, a side of tofu, white Asian cabbage, some udon noodles and enokitake mushrooms. You also have minced garlic, some minced spiced daikon, and chopped green onions which you can add into your boiling water to cook your food. You are also given 2 sauces: a sour soy sauce and this creamy peanut like sauce for dipping your meat. Your selection comes with a small bowl of rice.
Service: It's quick and friendly. =)
Great place to go when it's cold, not to mention it's pretty healthy since you're boiling everything yourself to eat. =p Check it out.
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This place is modern looking and fairly new. The price is considered reasonable and everything is OK. Nothing special and nothing terrible. I know this is a branch location and I think my experience at the San Mateo store was slightly better in terms of the meat quality I got. I stopped going to places like this cuz I figure I might as well buy the good beef from Mitsuwa and have it at home (it's so damn easy). When I feel like going out for Shabu Shabu, we'd drive all the way to Cafe Mums in SF for all you can eat (and drink)! But as far as a non all you can eat shabu place is concerned, this place is not a bad place at all!
Yum Yum & did i say YUM?! This place is absolutely delish and pretty simple to choose from on the menu. The service is usually quick and friendly, the choices few, but if your coming here, u already know what you want. Cooking your own food, at your own pace is great for time to catch up w/friends & have a delicious fresh meal. the dipping sauces are great, esp the peanut one!
wait time is RIDICULOUS. so be prepared to stand around.
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