Great spot for a communal gathering or work/team meeting! The food is great, especially at the price! Our team of 6 ate here and had a blast! Recommend if you have a group gathering!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Angela K.
Worst customer service ever. I'd give zero stars if I could. We had 2 adults and a 1-year-old, and they sat us at a table for 2 people. No big deal, I thought we could just put a high chair at the end of the table for the baby. The worker said we couldn't put a high chair there and brought us a booster seat and expected us to just cram it into the tiny booth seat that was barely enough for 1 adult per side. The booster also had no seat belts, which would have been unsafe for a baby to sit in. There were a few bigger tables available, so we asked if we could sit there instead, but he kept saying those tables were for 4 people. So a party of 3 is expected to sit at a table for 2 but can not be seated at a table for 4? Doesn't make sense to me. In the end, we just left since they refused to accommodate us. Won't be back.
Marcela S.
First time here and we really liked it and the kids loved it! Food is very well proportionedThe broth was very good we had sesame hot oil and the black garlic broth. It got busy and they were understaffed but they pulled it together. The only thing is that kids age 4 and up pay $17 bucks I think that's a bit too much for little kids and the price for vegetarian or vegan is the same price as for the meat lovers!
Haiyin W.
Good food, good meat, less reading reviews, go eat!Beef is better than lamb. Set entrees are a good alternative if you don't want ayce
Denise C.
I loved the contrast between the rich Tom Yum Goong soup and the lighter fish soup. Both soups were flavorful and the ability to choose according to your preference was a real boon. The meat was nicely marbled, cut to the right size, tender and cooked in seconds. My favorite was switching between the wagyu and brisket because the brisket was full of delicious fatty flavor while the wagyu had a more balanced beefy flavor. Among the vegetables, my favorite was the spring chrysanthemum because the bitter vegetable absorbed the soup well. The tofu skin also absorbed the broth and added flavor. I was surprised by how much I liked the sesame sauce, as I usually only use "ponzu vinegar" when eating hot pot. The mix of orange vinegar and sesame paste was fantastic, with the acidity of the orange vinegar pairing well with the creaminess and earthiness of the sesame paste.Service was friendly and quick.The food was fantastic. Not a huge variety of dishes and the food was high quality.
Marcela S (MA)
First time here and we really liked it and the kids loved it! Food is well proportionedThe broth was very good. It got busy and they were understaffed but they pulled it together. The only thing is that kids 4 and up pay $17 bucks I think that’s a bit too much for little kids and any vegetarian or vegan the price is the same as meat eater!Vegetarian options: Plenty veggie options and only tofu as a protein option.Parking: Free after 6pm or you have to pay more paid parking in the back!Kid-friendliness: Food for kids but no kids menu or coloringActivity books
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Han Cao
You can only order one meat per person at a time, and they cut it super thin like shown in the pictures.It’s not satisfying to eat a thin piece of meat like this.Do not recommend.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
Lily T.
My friends and I love shabu shabu and wanted to try a place we've all never been. We were going to venture out to the SJ location, but noticed there was a San Mateo location, which is closer.Many shabu places have long wait times, and we were planning to go on a Sunday, so we made reservations for 6:30pm. Surprisingly, when we arrived, there were only 3 parties inside eating. Boy, were they understaffed!!! There was no one at the front. We waited around until we saw someone who looked like they might work there to tell them we had reservations. He pointed to our table, and we went over to get situated. We looked over the menu and filled out the paper to place our order. Broth: Black Garlic Tonkatsu and Nagoya Spicy Red Miso Dashi-- both delicious! Meat: American Wagyu Kobe Beef, Beef Toro, and Berkshire Pork-- good, perfect thin slices. oSides: Fish tofu, quail eggs, gyozaVeggies: Napa, tong ho, spinach, taro, lotus root, daikon, pumpkin-- warning, there's no enoki!! But there's so many other options that shabu shabu does not usually have, so it felt more like Chinese hot pot at this point.All in all, our experience was just okay. I would have actually given this place 2 stars, but I feel so bad for the one man who was working all by himself. He was the host, waiter, and busser. It was literally a one man show. I am more disappointed if anything, because I really wanted to love this place. Service definitely could have been better if they had proper staffing. Instead, we were left frustrated half the time because we could not get help. When we finally did get his attention and asked for things we needed, he would forget half of it, so we would have to sit and wait to wave him down to remind him. In this case, they could really use a call button at every table. Also, gratuity is automatically added to the bill, but for what? We barely got any service. Automatic gratuity is usually added to groupd of 6 or more and is usually noted on the menu or somewhere in advance. Seems that a lot of places are just adding it to the bill regardless these days since covid. Sorry to say, but we do not see ourselves coming back.
Ricardo J.
The food was very good. We got chicken and beef in the spicy sesame oil stock. Waiters came around regularly to check up and offer assistance. Would come back:)
Anita Luo
4 rounds of meat. One plate of meat per person each round. So for two people only got 8 plates of meat despite being ayce it's not enough for us. But the meat is top quality and the service is on point!
My partner decided to make dinner reservations for us here. Upon checking in, we noticed that they were super understaffed and probably only had 2 people serving the entire place. It took us a while to be seated and to order. We decided to do the premium AYCE since you get the America wagyu options. It was decently priced, and most of the AYCE places are pricey nowadays in the Bay. We got about 4 rounds of meats and veggies before we were full. They do limit you to only one meat option per person per order. Once the order was in, the food did come fairly quickly. My only complaints were that it was heavily understaffed and hard to flag down someone to put in your order. Food was pretty average, and cuts of meat were really inconsistent with quality.
Rick D
The beef was a bit tough. Except for the Prime Black Angus Toro. All the other items were great. Vegetables were fresh. Fish and shrimp too. Gyokai tonkotsu dashi kuro with black garlic oil broth was excellent. Our server was very attentive and kind. I will be coming back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Prime Black Angus Beef Toro
Patricia L.
On the pricy side but high quality meats (they serve American wagyu Kobe beef) and lots of variety for the shabu. We typically do the AYCE because if you get the a la carte the incremental difference isn't that much. Prices for AYCE are $35 for premier which excludes the wagyu and seafood, supreme for $38 which includes the wagyu and seafood and $50 for AYCE and drink.Fun spot to come with friends!
Martin Bermudez
All you can eat option rules are confusing and annoying.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kanto Style Sukiyaki
Aaronray Antonio
Best Tonkatsu soup I have ever tasted. And service was great!
Great spot for a communal gathering or work/team meeting! The food is great, especially at the price! Our team of 6 ate here and had a blast! Recommend if you have a group gathering!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Worst customer service ever. I'd give zero stars if I could. We had 2 adults and a 1-year-old, and they sat us at a table for 2 people. No big deal, I thought we could just put a high chair at the end of the table for the baby. The worker said we couldn't put a high chair there and brought us a booster seat and expected us to just cram it into the tiny booth seat that was barely enough for 1 adult per side. The booster also had no seat belts, which would have been unsafe for a baby to sit in. There were a few bigger tables available, so we asked if we could sit there instead, but he kept saying those tables were for 4 people. So a party of 3 is expected to sit at a table for 2 but can not be seated at a table for 4? Doesn't make sense to me. In the end, we just left since they refused to accommodate us. Won't be back.
First time here and we really liked it and the kids loved it! Food is very well proportionedThe broth was very good we had sesame hot oil and the black garlic broth. It got busy and they were understaffed but they pulled it together. The only thing is that kids age 4 and up pay $17 bucks I think that's a bit too much for little kids and the price for vegetarian or vegan is the same price as for the meat lovers!
Good food, good meat, less reading reviews, go eat!Beef is better than lamb. Set entrees are a good alternative if you don't want ayce
I loved the contrast between the rich Tom Yum Goong soup and the lighter fish soup. Both soups were flavorful and the ability to choose according to your preference was a real boon. The meat was nicely marbled, cut to the right size, tender and cooked in seconds. My favorite was switching between the wagyu and brisket because the brisket was full of delicious fatty flavor while the wagyu had a more balanced beefy flavor. Among the vegetables, my favorite was the spring chrysanthemum because the bitter vegetable absorbed the soup well. The tofu skin also absorbed the broth and added flavor. I was surprised by how much I liked the sesame sauce, as I usually only use "ponzu vinegar" when eating hot pot. The mix of orange vinegar and sesame paste was fantastic, with the acidity of the orange vinegar pairing well with the creaminess and earthiness of the sesame paste.Service was friendly and quick.The food was fantastic. Not a huge variety of dishes and the food was high quality.
First time here and we really liked it and the kids loved it! Food is well proportionedThe broth was very good. It got busy and they were understaffed but they pulled it together. The only thing is that kids 4 and up pay $17 bucks I think that’s a bit too much for little kids and any vegetarian or vegan the price is the same as meat eater!Vegetarian options: Plenty veggie options and only tofu as a protein option.Parking: Free after 6pm or you have to pay more paid parking in the back!Kid-friendliness: Food for kids but no kids menu or coloringActivity books
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
You can only order one meat per person at a time, and they cut it super thin like shown in the pictures.It’s not satisfying to eat a thin piece of meat like this.Do not recommend.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 2
My friends and I love shabu shabu and wanted to try a place we've all never been. We were going to venture out to the SJ location, but noticed there was a San Mateo location, which is closer.Many shabu places have long wait times, and we were planning to go on a Sunday, so we made reservations for 6:30pm. Surprisingly, when we arrived, there were only 3 parties inside eating. Boy, were they understaffed!!! There was no one at the front. We waited around until we saw someone who looked like they might work there to tell them we had reservations. He pointed to our table, and we went over to get situated. We looked over the menu and filled out the paper to place our order. Broth: Black Garlic Tonkatsu and Nagoya Spicy Red Miso Dashi-- both delicious! Meat: American Wagyu Kobe Beef, Beef Toro, and Berkshire Pork-- good, perfect thin slices. oSides: Fish tofu, quail eggs, gyozaVeggies: Napa, tong ho, spinach, taro, lotus root, daikon, pumpkin-- warning, there's no enoki!! But there's so many other options that shabu shabu does not usually have, so it felt more like Chinese hot pot at this point.All in all, our experience was just okay. I would have actually given this place 2 stars, but I feel so bad for the one man who was working all by himself. He was the host, waiter, and busser. It was literally a one man show. I am more disappointed if anything, because I really wanted to love this place. Service definitely could have been better if they had proper staffing. Instead, we were left frustrated half the time because we could not get help. When we finally did get his attention and asked for things we needed, he would forget half of it, so we would have to sit and wait to wave him down to remind him. In this case, they could really use a call button at every table. Also, gratuity is automatically added to the bill, but for what? We barely got any service. Automatic gratuity is usually added to groupd of 6 or more and is usually noted on the menu or somewhere in advance. Seems that a lot of places are just adding it to the bill regardless these days since covid. Sorry to say, but we do not see ourselves coming back.
The food was very good. We got chicken and beef in the spicy sesame oil stock. Waiters came around regularly to check up and offer assistance. Would come back:)
4 rounds of meat. One plate of meat per person each round. So for two people only got 8 plates of meat despite being ayce it's not enough for us. But the meat is top quality and the service is on point!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Restaurantji Recommends
My partner decided to make dinner reservations for us here. Upon checking in, we noticed that they were super understaffed and probably only had 2 people serving the entire place. It took us a while to be seated and to order. We decided to do the premium AYCE since you get the America wagyu options. It was decently priced, and most of the AYCE places are pricey nowadays in the Bay. We got about 4 rounds of meats and veggies before we were full. They do limit you to only one meat option per person per order. Once the order was in, the food did come fairly quickly. My only complaints were that it was heavily understaffed and hard to flag down someone to put in your order. Food was pretty average, and cuts of meat were really inconsistent with quality.
The beef was a bit tough. Except for the Prime Black Angus Toro. All the other items were great. Vegetables were fresh. Fish and shrimp too. Gyokai tonkotsu dashi kuro with black garlic oil broth was excellent. Our server was very attentive and kind. I will be coming back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Prime Black Angus Beef Toro
On the pricy side but high quality meats (they serve American wagyu Kobe beef) and lots of variety for the shabu. We typically do the AYCE because if you get the a la carte the incremental difference isn't that much. Prices for AYCE are $35 for premier which excludes the wagyu and seafood, supreme for $38 which includes the wagyu and seafood and $50 for AYCE and drink.Fun spot to come with friends!
All you can eat option rules are confusing and annoying.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kanto Style Sukiyaki
Best Tonkatsu soup I have ever tasted. And service was great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kanto Style Sukiyaki