Shabu Garden

Shabu Garden exceeded my expectations! We visited last Sunday without a reservation, arriving right at opening time, 5:30 PM.We chose to sit outside, surrounded by lush plants and a wooden fence, creating a relaxing atmosphere. We opted for the All-You-Can-Eat Sushi and Shabu combo at $39.99 per person. The quality of the Shabu meat was excellent, and we loved the variety of fresh vegetables and carbs available in the buffet area.The sushi was a highlight--everything was fresh and delicious. My favorites were the Cherry Blossom and Orange Blossom rolls (no rice); they were incredibly refreshing and a must-try!Service was top-notch. The owner greeted us warmly and took the time to chat, while the rest of the staff was friendly and professional. Plus, the cute cat, Mayon, added a charming touch to our experience.We thoroughly enjoyed the food and ambiance at Shabu Garden and highly recommend it to friends!

I walked into Shabu Garden with high expectations based on the reviews and their Instagram page. Unfortunately, my experience didn't live up to the hype.The biggest issue with this restaurant is that they are seriously understaffed. I visited on a Saturday afternoon around 4:15 PM. I was told there would be a 10-15 minute wait, which turned into nearly 20. Not a big deal. However, once we were seated, it took another 10 minutes before anyone came to take our drink order, ask about soup bases, or even check if we had been there before. That was my first red flag. The staff wasn't slacking off; they were clearly overwhelmed, running around trying to keep up with seated guests while also cleaning tables.We opted for the hot pot (or "shabu," as they call it). After ordering our soup bases, our server suggested we grab items from the buffet-style setup. I've been to several hot pot and KBBQ spots over the years, and I'd rank this setup in the bottom 50%. They offered some hot items like rice, egg rolls, and fried shrimp, as well as cold items like seafood, tofu, and ramen. While some things were decent, others were just bad. The white rice, in particular, was terrible. This was surprising, given that they also serve sushi. It was somehow both sticky and dry at the same time. I wish they had left it in a rice cooker for guests to scoop themselves rather than placing it in a container.One thing I did enjoy was their sauce selection. It was fantastic. They had peanut sauce, which I love. I do wish they had kimchi, but since this is a Japanese hot pot spot, I understand why they didn't.Another issue was the self-serve soda station. They were out of clean cups, and it took nearly 15 minutes for them to bring more. By the time I got back to my table, the soup had arrived, but we hadn't had a chance to order meat yet, so we just stared at our boiling vegetables for another 5-10 minutes.When the meat finally arrived, it was excellent. They only offer four meat options, but they're solid choices, so I have no complaints there. Combined with the sauces, everything tasted great. The original broth, in particular, was phenomenal. One of the best I've ever had. But despite that, I don't see myself coming back.The lighting in the restaurant was horrible, very dim, which made it difficult to see if the meat was cooked properly. On top of that, the tables were way too small for hot pot. The burner and pot took up almost half the table space, leaving us feeling squished. It was uncomfortable trying to cook, eat, and manage everything in such a cramped setup.The final straw, and the reason I'm actually writing this review, was the automatic tip. A $19.19 gratuity was added to my $158 bill for four adults, with no signage indicating this policy. I understand tipping, and I recognize that the servers were working hard, but automatically adding a tip, especially at a place where we cooked our own food and retrieved our own items from the buffet, is frustrating.Overall, the food had its highlights, but the understaffing, slow service, poor lighting, cramped tables, and unexpected gratuity make it hard for me to recommend this place or return myself.

Tried out this place because of reels/tiktoks. When we visit, the aesthetic garden section was closed for the night, but we did wanted to dine indoors anyways. Spacious place and easy to miss as the main sign is a Japanese sushi restaurant name and not Shabu Garden. AYCE Shabu is $29.99, and add $10 for AYCE sushi. Gratuity is included at the end. The broths were very limited. 3 choices and they all were of miso base. Appetizer bar was a little sad, and cups for drinks and rice were barely stocked. Veggies and the meats were the star of the place for sure. Service was just okay. Would I ever go again? Probably not.

Service 5/10 not very attentiveFood 2/10Price 1/10Meat was old, dark color. Not many options for veggies and other stuffs. The broths were alright. We got the original and miso. The miso tastes just like the original, nothing special.They add 15% gratuity to the bill, but when you pay, they still ask for more tips. If you dont read the check and not notice the gratuity, u'd give them more tips on top of that. Not planning to come back. Dinner for 2 adults and 2 babies with 2 soda with tips was around $110. I could get a better hotpot dinner at Mokkoji and pay less.

I forgot what the name of our server was but he was the only one wearing a white shirt while everyone else wore black. He was so attentive and so nice. He sat us down, got out menus and we got the hot pot option. Within minutes our server had everything set and ready to go.This place has a buffet bar for the hot pot items like lots of veggies, a sauce bar, 3 noodle options & other proteins like calm, imitation crab, shrimp & etc. They also had a few hot bar items like rice, fried rice, noodles, fried shrimp & etc The meat options were ribeye, brisket, beef belly & pork belly. We tried everything but the pork and I got the miso broth while my husband got the regular broth.Everything was really good. It's an extra $10 to add AYCE sushi - which we do want to try next timeTons of parking in this plaza!

My first time having hot pot and I loved it! They sent over a few different meats for us to try and although some were out of my comfort zone they were all tasty. There was a good selection of other foods we could add to the soup, also. We also did the all you can eat sushi. All very good rolls. The server wisely advised us to take it easy on ordering rolls. Even though it's all-you-can-eat the rolls were normal to large size, so our little group ordered one each and split them. All were delicious! The owner came around to say "Hi," and chat. He was so kind!

The service was amazing and the food was even better 10/10 would recommend(I'm stuffed asf rn)

The food was great and the service was amazing, the setting was also very nice, I highly recommend checking it out.

Great food Great service! First time ever trying hot pot and this place didn't disappoint.

Came here walked through the door and was not please with how dirty and outdated the place was. Then to only be told that they are doing last call at 8:00. Which kinda sucks since I called around 7:40 here they told me last call was at 9:00 - 9:15.Wont come here again.