I ate dinner there with a group of friends who had already ordered. While my girlfriend ordered the 'All you can eat' plan, I said 'I want just 2 side dishes.' At the end of the meal, they charged me as well for the All you can eat plan, then argued with me, saying that I did not say I didn't want the plan, when I specifically said I just want 2 specific side dishes. In all, 2 plans, including their forced 18% tip, comes out to over 95 dollars. I was overcharged 36 dollars for mediocre food, and was told by my friends that the hot pot was lousy. I'd recommend Tasty Pot for good hot pot in Berkeley; it's always near capacity, whereas this place had only 4 tables full at Friday dinner.
Clive Wong
Great food and great service!
Rob Killian
Love this place. Menu has changed a bit but the service is still phenomenal and the shabu/small plates are as delicious as ever.
Sky Lee
All-you-can-eat is a pretty good deal. Extremely friendly and caring owners. They even gave me chocolates for valentines day!
Jelais Goloran Gifford
its a wow!!!!!!wowwowin the small plates, men.....so good
John V.
The Spicy Miso was amazing! The lady was very nice. All of the staff was fantastic, but this lady in particular was splendid. Go here! Seriously. I feel satisfied, full, and wish I could come back for more. Also, ice cream, second ice cream, and Andes mints. Only a positive experience.
Jordan M.
Went here for a celebration dinner with a group of friends. Friendliest staff I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. And on top of that, the food was also amazing. 10/10 I recommend and will 100% be coming here again. Thank you omamasan!
s k.
I took my daughter here for her birthday. She had been here once before but was a bit apprehensive because she read some bad Yelp reviews. My experience was great. We ordered the AYCE shabu shabu with the spicy miso broth. We considered ordering the set menu but the AYCE was a better deal especially if you want anything other than regular broth. Next time I'll order the ramen rather thanto eat with the broth at the end of the meal. We ordered lamb, beef, pork, and vegetables (good variety). Everything was very fresh and plentiful. We rolled out of the restaurant. We ordered a bit too much, at the end, but didn't want to waste food. The service was spot on. The waitstaff made sure we had enough of everything. We went for an early dinner so it wasn't crowded. The restaurant is serving sushi again but we didn't order any. The table next to us did, and they seemed to enjoy it. I plan to return with my husband Feb 19 Returned tonight with my husband. Service was still excellent. Food was great. We tried the ramen at the end of our meal and it was so good - the broth made it. We got there at 6pm & there was a birthday party just starting. While we were eating the place filled up. There's a new menu. If you get the all-you-can- eat shabu shabu (Happy Hour), you get 50% off of small plates & non-alcoholic beverages. Also the automatic 18% gratuity is gone so you may leave a tip as you see fit. The menu indicates the all-you-can-eat Happy Hour dinner is from 5-7:30 but the server says they can make exceptions.
Elaine L.
Food is not worth the price. Flavor is basic. And menu is limited. Sharing costs $8 per person without any portion compensation. Service was okay so i give it 2 stars.
Doctor G.
Came here for lunch during the week. There's a sign outside the building, but you have to venture inside the building's atrium before you find Zabu Zabu. OK sized restaurant with lots of table stoves for shabu shabu. Since I was there for lunch, I had the oyako donburi which wasn't that tasty. Tonkatsu looked huge and I'll have to try that next time. Decent decor. Friendly service. I'll be back for lunch and maybe dinner to try the shabu shabu.
Shabu-shabu at zabu zabu is delicious. Love their baked mussels. Not a big fan of their sushi because they are stingy on the fish. Excellent customer service.
Julius S.
Honestly, I don't know how people are not enjoying themselves at this establishment. I have come here multiple times and each time I get what I come for: AYCE hot pot. I have yet to find a shabu place that beats this in terms of meat and broth, and I've been to many places. I always get helped by Mavis (AMAZING server, super cute personality and very friendly!) who knows exactly what I want: Sukiyaki broth, pork and wagyu beef, spinach, mushrooms, fresh garlic. Everywhere else I've been to, I haven't seen meats cut as thin as the ones you get from Zabu Zabu. The ones here are almost transparent and the peanut sesame sauce is AMAZING (tip: ask for fresh garlic and mix that in the sauces, and with the green onions too). I normally don't eat hot pot as soups with noodles. I cook the food in the broth and eat it with rice. SO GOOD. I am bummed though that their alcohol license is still pending approval. It's been quite awhile since they've been alcohol-less and they really need to get that back. AYCE can't be complete without alcohol! It is pricy compared to other AYCE places, but to me it's totally worth the treat every once in awhile.
Scott Sellers
No beer right now. But Shabu Shabu was hella good.
Rachel M.
I'm a s***** for shabu and my grub club work buddies and I wanted it on a cold December night. We ended up getting the all you can eat option, which meant we were all going to need a wheelbarrow to roll us out of there. The servers were super nice and we practically had the whole place to ourselves, which was cool. Trays of meat, bowls of veggies were brought out and thus commenced our soup sesh with our yummy broths. My favorite is the sake miso but I also would be happy with the spicy miso kick. We consumed plenty of beef/pork/chicken/lamb,l and I asked for tons of tofu, enoki mushrooms, spinach, and ramen. Just when I thought we couldn't eat any more, my coworker ordered 2 more beef trays and our server jokingly said we couldn't leave until he finished every last scrap, which he did and regretted after 20 min. The meal was finished off with some refreshing green tea ice cream. Tip- wear clothes you don't mind smelling like food because you will definitely smell like a pot of shabu shabu when you're done!
Ehoud A
Super nice people, had an amazing experience. The food was fresh and tasty. Definitely recommend!!
I ate dinner there with a group of friends who had already ordered. While my girlfriend ordered the 'All you can eat' plan, I said 'I want just 2 side dishes.' At the end of the meal, they charged me as well for the All you can eat plan, then argued with me, saying that I did not say I didn't want the plan, when I specifically said I just want 2 specific side dishes. In all, 2 plans, including their forced 18% tip, comes out to over 95 dollars. I was overcharged 36 dollars for mediocre food, and was told by my friends that the hot pot was lousy. I'd recommend Tasty Pot for good hot pot in Berkeley; it's always near capacity, whereas this place had only 4 tables full at Friday dinner.
Great food and great service!
Love this place. Menu has changed a bit but the service is still phenomenal and the shabu/small plates are as delicious as ever.
All-you-can-eat is a pretty good deal. Extremely friendly and caring owners. They even gave me chocolates for valentines day!
its a wow!!!!!!wowwowin the small plates, men.....so good
The Spicy Miso was amazing! The lady was very nice. All of the staff was fantastic, but this lady in particular was splendid. Go here! Seriously. I feel satisfied, full, and wish I could come back for more. Also, ice cream, second ice cream, and Andes mints. Only a positive experience.
Went here for a celebration dinner with a group of friends. Friendliest staff I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. And on top of that, the food was also amazing. 10/10 I recommend and will 100% be coming here again. Thank you omamasan!
I took my daughter here for her birthday. She had been here once before but was a bit apprehensive because she read some bad Yelp reviews. My experience was great. We ordered the AYCE shabu shabu with the spicy miso broth. We considered ordering the set menu but the AYCE was a better deal especially if you want anything other than regular broth. Next time I'll order the ramen rather thanto eat with the broth at the end of the meal. We ordered lamb, beef, pork, and vegetables (good variety). Everything was very fresh and plentiful. We rolled out of the restaurant. We ordered a bit too much, at the end, but didn't want to waste food. The service was spot on. The waitstaff made sure we had enough of everything. We went for an early dinner so it wasn't crowded. The restaurant is serving sushi again but we didn't order any. The table next to us did, and they seemed to enjoy it. I plan to return with my husband Feb 19 Returned tonight with my husband. Service was still excellent. Food was great. We tried the ramen at the end of our meal and it was so good - the broth made it. We got there at 6pm & there was a birthday party just starting. While we were eating the place filled up. There's a new menu. If you get the all-you-can- eat shabu shabu (Happy Hour), you get 50% off of small plates & non-alcoholic beverages. Also the automatic 18% gratuity is gone so you may leave a tip as you see fit. The menu indicates the all-you-can-eat Happy Hour dinner is from 5-7:30 but the server says they can make exceptions.
Food is not worth the price. Flavor is basic. And menu is limited. Sharing costs $8 per person without any portion compensation. Service was okay so i give it 2 stars.
Came here for lunch during the week. There's a sign outside the building, but you have to venture inside the building's atrium before you find Zabu Zabu. OK sized restaurant with lots of table stoves for shabu shabu. Since I was there for lunch, I had the oyako donburi which wasn't that tasty. Tonkatsu looked huge and I'll have to try that next time. Decent decor. Friendly service. I'll be back for lunch and maybe dinner to try the shabu shabu.
Restaurantji Recommends
Shabu-shabu at zabu zabu is delicious. Love their baked mussels. Not a big fan of their sushi because they are stingy on the fish. Excellent customer service.
Honestly, I don't know how people are not enjoying themselves at this establishment. I have come here multiple times and each time I get what I come for: AYCE hot pot. I have yet to find a shabu place that beats this in terms of meat and broth, and I've been to many places. I always get helped by Mavis (AMAZING server, super cute personality and very friendly!) who knows exactly what I want: Sukiyaki broth, pork and wagyu beef, spinach, mushrooms, fresh garlic. Everywhere else I've been to, I haven't seen meats cut as thin as the ones you get from Zabu Zabu. The ones here are almost transparent and the peanut sesame sauce is AMAZING (tip: ask for fresh garlic and mix that in the sauces, and with the green onions too). I normally don't eat hot pot as soups with noodles. I cook the food in the broth and eat it with rice. SO GOOD. I am bummed though that their alcohol license is still pending approval. It's been quite awhile since they've been alcohol-less and they really need to get that back. AYCE can't be complete without alcohol! It is pricy compared to other AYCE places, but to me it's totally worth the treat every once in awhile.
No beer right now. But Shabu Shabu was hella good.
I'm a s***** for shabu and my grub club work buddies and I wanted it on a cold December night. We ended up getting the all you can eat option, which meant we were all going to need a wheelbarrow to roll us out of there. The servers were super nice and we practically had the whole place to ourselves, which was cool. Trays of meat, bowls of veggies were brought out and thus commenced our soup sesh with our yummy broths. My favorite is the sake miso but I also would be happy with the spicy miso kick. We consumed plenty of beef/pork/chicken/lamb,l and I asked for tons of tofu, enoki mushrooms, spinach, and ramen. Just when I thought we couldn't eat any more, my coworker ordered 2 more beef trays and our server jokingly said we couldn't leave until he finished every last scrap, which he did and regretted after 20 min. The meal was finished off with some refreshing green tea ice cream. Tip- wear clothes you don't mind smelling like food because you will definitely smell like a pot of shabu shabu when you're done!
Super nice people, had an amazing experience. The food was fresh and tasty. Definitely recommend!!