4. Restaurants

Zabu Zabu

98 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA, 94401
  • (650) 340-9228
  • Store is closed

Zabu Zabu Menu

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  • Roxy R.

    Menu a little confusing, got to look at it a bit longer. Party of 6, got the unlimited $28 sets. There were two pots and within those two pots you can get the standard; 2 different soup bases in each pot. You can order as much meat as you like and also got udon and ramen. Ramen fans, you'll love the ramen and although I don't really like ramen I must admit their ramen here is pretty good. Within the order, it also includes large cups of veggies. The only downside was that it was a Friday and there was a wait, at 6:30 it was a roughly a 10-20 minute wait. You can't be seated until whole party is there. Also when it's busy, it will be longer to flag a waiter down to order more meat or anything else. I recommend ordering several plates of meat when ordering because a plate is no that much. The order comes fast or a decent amount of time, most times. They also serve you choice of strawberry or green tea ice cream. The green tea was pretty good Including tip and tax the price was alright, for six people it was $35 per person. The only other thing is that parking took a while to find on a busy Friday.

    (4)

  • Claudine V.

    Great Shabu shabu. AYC!!! Hunny and best friend's husband probably ordered 10 round of beef. Bestie and I had beef tongue and pork which were tasty. Love the spicy broth and the tonkatsu broth. You have a choice of white rice, ramen or udon to come with the beef , together with all the veggies. If you come before 7 pm, the cost per person is $23 instead of $28. I also had their Lychee Martini which was pretty tasty. At the end, you get free green tea ice cream too. This place gets packed and smoky so definitely wear clothes that you wouldn't mind having a shabu shabu smell. Would definitely come back here again for another round of shabu shabu and may even try the AYC Japanese tapas which is also offered together with the shabu shabu for $33.

    (3)

  • Christina J.

    Decided to try Zabu Zabu as we were in San Mateo visiting friends. First impression was pretty good- clean, nice setup- friendly host. Menu was a bit confusing as to how to order- we had two adults and two kids so just ordered apps for the kids and we had Shabu Shabu for us (special was $20 each) choose meat (beef, pork lamb or beef tongue). We each got beef and pork and choice of rice udon or ramen noodles. Extra cost for flavored broth vs plain. Overall the food and broth were excellent. They said it's all you can eat so we ordered several platters of meat. For the price this place can't be beat. Will definitely come again on an empty stomach!

    (4)

  • Sabrina P.

    Came here on a Friday night around 9pm. Checked their website as well as Google for their hours and said they were closed at 11pm. As soon as we got there we were "greeted" by the host, who didn't even say hello but instead said "it's last call, sorry guys." My party and I looked at each other in confusion, and continued to wait for a table. When she came back she seated us and said all you can eat is no longer being offered for the night, but we can order a la carte even though AYCE price is a better deal by less than $5. We asked what time they closed, and she said 10pm, even though on two online sources it clearly said 11pm. I asked to speak with the manager, instead the host brought over a female server, and I asked why we couldn't order all you can eat when they weren't even closed yet. She again said because it was "last call" although I couldn't find anywhere on the menu that stated anything about that policy. I explained how we checked online and that their closing times were listed at 11pm and all she said was "I'm sorry I don't own the restaurant, I just work here." Lol. Regardless of what the closing time is, if there are items offered on the menu, it should be offered for the duration that the restaurant is open. We ended up leaving and eating at Gyu-Kaku around the corner instead.

    (1)

  • Sarina A.

    I give this place a 4 stars because I love the TOM YUM BROTH! i like how they are open for lunch 1130-2 (Shabu House opens at 5) and ALL YOU CAN EAT SHABU AND SUSHI is $33 for lunch. the meat isnt as thick as Shabu House but if its all you can eat anyways just eat more. Plus the all you can eat sushi too is a deal! Also, I like how the noodles are ramen noodles instead of udon. I like Udon noodles but not when I eat shabu because the noodles cook soo fast theyre always overcooked that you cant even pull them out of the pot. Good service with modern ambiance. Would definitely come back.

    (4)

  • Jack Z.

    Let me start by saying this place is simply amazing. The food is delicious. I've come here twice. First time: I had the all you can eat shabu shabu which has very quality meat. Do not get the sushi ayce, it really isn't worth it if you are going to get ayce shabu shabu already. All that rice is just going to fill you up and you will hate youself afterwards. Trust me. They have all the meats you would normally have. However don't get the ayce if you are not incredibly hungry because it is pretty filling and quite pricey to go AYCE. Second time: I suggest you just get normal plates of food if you are not looking for eat too much and want to pay a manageable amount for really good food. They have pretty incredible rice plates as well as udon and yakisoba(i think). If you go during a specific lunch time, they will give you many of the rolls that you would normally find in a Japanese restaurant for half price. Thats right you can get your lion roll or spider roll for half price. Enjoy!

    (4)

  • David K.

    The sauces were watered down and the meats weren't as good as some of the other restaurants. On top of that, they charge a service fee of 15% for a party of 2 without ever mentioning it. I have no problem leaving a standard tip or a service charge that's mentioned beforehand, but one that just shows up out of nowhere I do have a problem with.

    (1)

  • FangFang W.

    lunch buffet is amazing! Not too many choices but tasty! I love the sesame paste.

    (5)

  • Henry L.

    Zhabu Shabu Shabu whaaaaat This place gets Packed during rush hours yo And it's not hard to see why. Great service. Great decor. All you can eat beef and various meats. Lots of veggies with various kinds of mushrooms. Clean tables. What's there not to like? The table next to us was actually haven't a birthday party there. Nice! The beef comes in these square boxes that look really great. All the slices of beef are very thin and consistent in terms of size. The broth was also pretty good, especially when you dip the noodles and udon into it and slurp it up. Would definitely come back again.

    (4)

  • Dave N.

    I feel like for what you're paying, you get a lot at Zabu Zabu. I can see why they were Michelin recommended in my book. You get three categories - Shabu Shabu, sushi, and tapas. You get one unlimited for $28, and +5 more for another (up to $38 for all 3). Considering one a la carte order of shabu shabu is $20, you probably should pay up to get your value. In terms of the shabu shabu, everything's really good. Big fan of all meats - lamb and beef are my classics, and I normally don't like pork and beef tongue but they're really good here. Another reason why you should opt for unlimited, the meat is sliced REALLY thin compared to other places. Even my smaller friends easily want more than two trays by the end of it. As for the sushi and apps, they definitely range from okay to good. I like the karaage, my friend said the wings didn't feel very flavorful, etc. The sushi is higher quality than something like Sushi 88 which is nice, but I definitely would come here for shabu shabu. Service is normally good but can be spotty, even if you come at the beginning of dinner. Problem is you may get served by 3-4 employees over the meal, so there might be miscommunication or lack thereof. At the end of the day though, if I have the money and I need to show an old friend some great shabu shabu, this is where I'd go.

    (4)

  • Jess N.

    2.8 stars (Rounded up) This review is based on the lunch specials and my experience. Restaurant is situated at a corner of E 3rd ave in the busy downtown San Mateo area so parking can be challenging during peak hours. A shabu shabu / sushi roll chain located all around the bay area offering a la carte, lunch specials and ayce options specializing in higher quality meats for shabu shabu and a mix of other Japanese dishes to provide flexibly for all. Ample seating with a contemporary design leaving the open space good for a party of 2 or 10. I had ordered one of their lunch special shabu shabu options (see photos) and added a hand roll for $2.50. This location, perhaps the chain is not very clear on their options. The food is decent and if you are going for their meat offerings this is the place for you. The lunch serving was enough to fill me up but if you are in the mood for protein, I would suggest you consider the ayce option. I believe it's eight thin slices of meat fixed on a lovely plate. My hand roll arrived as a full on roll, and the waitress assured that the price would be the same as it was their mistake. Unfortunately, when the bill came it was the cost for roll and not hand roll. I did not mind the cost difference, it really is about the principal. The broth was never asked for refill. I would rather pay a bit more for a better experience. What you need to know: - If you have never been to Zabu Zabu, please scan through some of the reviews and ask questions before you order - There's a bar area - They offer beer - Sippy cups for children are available - Open viewing area where you can watch your sushi being prepared - One thing is certain, they are not clear across the board on the options and how to's - Lunch specials are well priced and if you are still hungry, add sushi/hand rolls for 50% off with your order - There is an additional charge for broth flavors. $3 during lunch specials and happy hour/ $6 for dinner and ayce during all other hours - Traditional broth "water with some pieces of seaweed" is included for no additional cost - Happy hour times (they seem to change frequently so call the restaurant to inquire their latest info) - Website is under construction. Not much information to clarify details - Good for ayce eaters - Check your bill

    (3)

  • Bob F.

    I have not had shabu shabu-style food in a while and this place caught my eye. This experience was quite good. I had the wagyu, which was a pretty good cut of beef, along with some veggies and tofu as part of their standard Shabu menu option. It definitely scratched my meat itch for a few days... The decor was nice and the tables seemed pretty clean. I went here on a Wed for lunch which was a bit slow (maybe 4-5 tables of people). The waitstaff were pretty attentive.

    (4)

  • Lorna G.

    My sister & I decided to try this shabu shabu style dining after watching a movie. We thought we loved our usual shabu restaraunt near our home, but found Zabu Zabu to be even better! The broth is much more flavorful, better variety in veggies, more variety in protein as well as the menu offering small plates, sushi & drinks. It's also cheaper than our usual spot for the amount & variety Zabu Zabu offers! We love the spicy miso broth, all you can eat with a mixture of pork & beef. Delicious of course! Great service, priced decently and large eating areas for customers. The best time to go is within an hour of opening so it's not too busy.

    (5)

  • Cherylynn N.

    Cold weather means... Cold nips. Female boners. You know what also cold weather means? Lots of beef facials a la shabu shabu and hot pot. Ya know to keep those female boners at bay and to keep warm. We initially tried going to our favorite shabu place: Shabu House but the wait was insane at their Burlingame location so we decided to give Zabu Zabu a shot (not keen on Shabuway chain next door).The wait was 15 minutes on a Friday night for two without reservations. AYCE Shabu is $28 which includes rice, udon, ramen, veggies, and ice cream. BUT they charge you $6 for broth which is hella whacked! They're sneaky and list the add'l charge on a different page in a small font. Very deceptive in trying to make it appear that Zabu Zabu's prices are cheaper than their competitors. If you're going to charge extra for broth...fine but be transparent about it. They do have HH every day from 5 pm - 7 pm for $23 for AYCE which offsets the cost of the broth(s). Unlike other shabu spots, Zabu Zabu also has AYCE "Izakaya" Japanese Tapas and Sushi which you can add for an add'l $5 each. I read reviews about how awful their sushi is so we did AYCE Shabu & Japanese Tapas for $33. J A P A N E S E T A P A S *Baked Mussels: bit.ly/1K1zFsu *Tempura: bit.ly/13JKaPy *Chicken Karaage: bit.ly/1CTwFMw *Ginger Miso Wings: bit.ly/1CTwzon Surprisingly, the tapas were all pretty good; better than the shabu portion that's for sure. The baked mussels had a savory cream sauce while the fried items were very crunchy and not oily. The tempura and karaage were definitely on par with restaurants that charge full price for these items. Skip the wings as they were way overbattered and had zero ginger miso flavor. S H A B U They offer 4 kinds of meats: "Wagyu" Beef, Australian Lamb, Beef Tongue, and Kurobuta Pork. All their broths (sake, sukiyaki, sake miso, spicy miso, tom yum, and sichuan) contain msg except the traditional kombu broth. We choose the traditional kombu (water with kelp) and the miso sake. I didn't try the latter since there was msg in it. *Wagyu Beef & Australian Lamb: bit.ly/1EIZHAD *Beef Tongue & Kurobuta Pork: bit.ly/1Bm6Y3g The meat quality was NO BUENO and sliced so thin that it was transparent. Even cooked for a few seconds, it wasn't very tender. Probably one of the poorest quality of all the shabu places I've been to. The ponzu and sesame sauce were both watered down. Unless you come for AYCE, it's not worth paying $20 for one order of the meat here. And for the same price for two as Shabu House (since they charge $6 for broth), I wouldn't come back to Zabu Zabu for their shabu. Service was really friendly, attentive, and quick. Probably because all their meat is pre-sliced and refrigerated. They tack on 15% auto-gratuity which I didn't mind since the staff was great and we would have tipped them at least 18% anyhow. Zabu Zabu has a trendy, clubby vibe and is great for large groups. We rarely eat our money's worth with AYCE but it was a chilly night so we slowly gorged for nearly the 2 hour limit. Had to keep 'em nips warm and all!

    (3)

  • Sandy C.

    I've experienced better shabu in my life and I've got to say that this wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I went during happy hour and all you can eat was $23 instead of $28. Yeah it's a good deal if you're hungry and all. The meal wasn't that great. It was really hard and wasn't tasty. They're both was really oily. The only good thing bout this place was the service and veggies. Other than that, I wouldn't come back here. OH BTW, AYCE doesn't include broth like many shabu places AYCE does. It's $6 for it.

    (2)

  • Crystal C.

    I usually like little fire pot in daly city. But my mom and sister love this place... Anyways before 7 they have a happy hour special and Zabu Zabu is HELLA expensive. That's the bay in me, I had to say "hella". But I wasn't kidding when I meant it was expensive... The service can kind of suck and the workers look like they're miserable and will purposely ignore you so you can't order anything lol. Anyways you pick your broth, and I usually like the Japanese miso. Very flavorful broth without overwhelming MSG like other places. The meat is beautiful. "you're beautiful, it's true" I always get 5 plates of Waygu beef, and my mom loves the beef tongue. I also get ramen and udon on the side with extra tofu because the miso broth tastes SO GOOD with it. I rec recommend trying it out, and then decide if you like Zabu Zabu or Shabu House / any other shabu places. Hahah.

    (4)

  • Sunny L.

    Food was average. I recommend the garlic noodles! Why the tall Asian waitress hesitate with an attitude to refill our water is beyond comprehension. Had to ask the manager to do it was an embarrassment.

    (2)

  • Nichole M.

    I honestly have a love-hate relationship with this place- I've been here over a dozen times, all times that I have left physically satisfied, and mentally frustrated. The waitresses that we have encountered here have been up and down- some very nice, considerate, and others incredibly rude, incompetent and just plain unfriendly. Last time I was here, our waitress was walking by every 30 seconds to take our check, every min asking us if it was ready! Get a grip, I can't believe how pushy they were. What's WORSE is she would walk back to the bar, take a few shots and walk back to our table to ask again! WHO DOES THAT! It drives me nuts how amazing their food is, I keep coming back. If the wait staff was friendlier, I could only imagine what it would do for their business.

    (2)

  • Linz C.

    Perfect for rainy day weather! My boyfriend and I came last night right when they opened to catch the happy hour all you can eat price ($23 from 5-7). We got one pot half spicy miso and half tonkotsu. I enjoyed both broths but the spicy miso could have been spicier. The meat choices were beef tongue, wagyu beef, karobuto pork, and lamb. We got everything except the beef tongue: my personal favorite was surprisingly the pork. I ate two plates of pork by myself. The beef was also really good, just melts in your mouth. We were given generous portions of meat and they came freshly sliced (as in they weren't served frozen like at other places). Our meal also came with an assortment of veggies (spinach, cabbage, tofu, carrots, dikon, king mushroom, regular mushrooms, shiitake mushroom, and enoki mushrooms), ramen or rice, and ice cream for dessert. The only reason i didn't give it five stars is the service. There were two waitresses and one was super attentive and we saw the other standing at the counter playing on her phone when we were trying to get more meat and veggies. Also after I dumped all our veggies into the soup broth she took away our bowl and didn't even ask if we wanted more. Other than that I really did enjoy my meal and will definitely be back. Just a heads up they automatically add tip (%15) to the bill so be careful to read it so you dont tip twice.

    (4)

  • Stephanie L.

    I have to admit, I'm extremely impressed with Zabu Zabu. Everything from food to service was spot-on! The best Japanese shabu I've ever had! My family and I were lucky enough to get seated right before HH was over. At $23/person with a mandatory 15% tip, you really can't get a better AYCE shabu shabu deal. To start, we had a plate of baked mussels, a rainbow roll, and fried agedashi tofu. All were delicious but I was eagerly awaiting the whole reason for coming here. We opted for the pork broth and spicy miso broth. My family unanimously agreed that the spicy miso broth was way more flavorful; not too spicy at all. You get to choose from an assortment of meat (lamb, wagyu beef, beef tongue, or pork). We tried all the meats but the beef and pork were my favorites. I actually love how the beef is sliced so thin because it cooks faster, which equates to getting in your belly faster haha. I love their method of stacking meat trays on top of one another to save room on the table. They've thought of everything! The meal also includes a plate of veggies. Enoki mushrooms are the way to go in my opinion. You can even have udon or ramen noodles if you so desire. At the end of the meal, you receive a small scoop of ice cream to balance out all that salty MSG goodness. Overall, an excellent hotpot spot if you're a bit tired of eating Little Sheep across the ways. The AYCE HH price is definitely a main draw. Seats are limited but the tables are comfortably spaced so it doesn't feel crowded. Minus one star for some inconsistencies with being seated, reservations, and asking multiple times for certain food items. But in general, service was good. You just have to flag down a server and they'll get you whatever you need, if they remember from the plethora of other requests tables are stopping them for. Highly, highly recommended. (Or not, since I don't want to wait too long for a table next time hahaha)

    (4)

  • Tanusree M.

    Came here on Valentine's Day to have dinner with my boyfriend. We got the all you can eat option. It came with unlimited veggies and meat selection. We got the split bowl with the Taiwanese spicy and original broths. They were both very good, but I enjoyed the original better just because the Taiwanese one had a lot of little peppers and spices floating around in it and it was hard to pick them all out. We tried the beef tongue, beef and lamb. We got seconds for the beef and lamb. The tongue was alright. We also ordered noodles to put in the broth. Overall, we left satisfied and full.

    (4)

  • Vanessa M.

    My friend and I came back to Zabu Zabu a couple of weeks after our first time and we were quite disgusted. While we were eating, we found a fly just crawling all over our meat. It was gross. We then notified our waitress and she apologized but asked if the fly was on it or if it was just flying. The fly was obviously visible. It was crawling as she was taking our meat away! They replaced our meats but of course, we were hesitant to eat it because what if we found another fly? They also gave us baked mussels and garlic noodles for free because they felt bad about our Zabu Zabu experience. And to top it off, they gave us coupons for $5 off our next meal at Zabu Zabu. I don't mind the free food, but I would've much rather had something taken off our check. what if we couldn't eat whatever they gave us? I came back, however, because again, what shabu place is open early? Haha. I would definitely advise future customers to check their meats before eating them.

    (3)

  • Kate T.

    I've been going here ever since they opened their doors at their San Mateo location. A friend of mine wanted to try another shabu restaurant aside from Shabuway, and we noticed this restaurant (when they just opened) and had to give it a shot. When we walked in, we were shocked at how elegant their restaurant was. It looked modern yet classy, the tables were equipped with the latest technology for fast cooking. The waitress had mentioned that there was happy hour anytime BEFORE 7pm, and we took full advantage of it! It was $26/person for all-you-can-eat, can't beat it! We were promptly seated and looked at their menu. They had a lot to offer! In the many times I have been here, I've tried the Saki Miso, Tom Yum, and Sechuan (Chinese spicy) broths. Their wagyu beef is neatly prepared in this large tray, thinly sliced. I would say, however, that the level of customer service has decreased since 2013, and it may be because of the increase in customers. They definitely need to find a solution to this to keep long-time customers still coming. After you have had your fill of the all-you-can-eat, they also provide you with a complimentary scoop of ice cream. You can choose either Strawberry or Green Tea, OR you can even request for a scoop of each (at no additional cost) if you can't make up your mind!

    (4)

  • Nikita K.

    I came here last week for a birthday dinner and at 8pm (our reservation time) sharp our table was no where close to ready. The birthday girl starts to get very upset with the waiters, and they really were not helpful, other than asking us to wait. With more than a week notice, this place should have closed off a table at least an hour before -- but logic was obviously lacking at the moment (lets hope they learn from this experience). But more importantly the food and price was excellent. We got the all you can eat sushi, appetizer, and meat deal. The appetizers were delicious. I really liked the ramen noodles and these beef rolls. They also had a great array of specialty sushi rolls (not just all-you-can-eat California roll), mostly the backed salmon one was delicious. They have the widest amount of broth options that I have ever seen, but spicy miso is still the best one. They had several meat options; however, I have to say the beef was not as marbleized as it could have been, and some slices had a thick layer of unwanted fat. 3.5 would be a more fair review for this place, but I rounded up because I realize the difficulty of accommodating a party of 12. But for an all you can eat, I think this place found an excellent happy medium for quantity versus quality in their food.

    (4)

  • Kelly N.

    Came here for a last minute early lunch. Got the all you can eat shabu. It was happy hour so the price was really good. Staff was friendly and attentive. Food was good, the meats were sliced a bit thin but that's okay it's ayce. The wagyu and pork tasted good but the lamb was sliced into very thing pieces, making it very annoying to eat.

    (4)

  • Kristie C.

    1. Price: $28/person, all you can eat shabu shabby...But they basically force you into getting AYCE since the a la carte prices are ridiculous ($6 for broth + $20 for shabu shabu one meat and veggies + $8 for sharing at a table?). 2 hour limit on AYCE, 15% automatic service gratuity (for all parties), and there's some group service charge. 2. Food Quality: these meats seem to be thinner sliced than little sheep, which is...sorta crazy. The veggies didn't seem super fresh and pretty, and Enoki straw mushrooms seemed pretty dirty on the bottom. 3. Soup Bases: "traditional" japanese tastes like water with some pieces of seaweed. "Spicy Miso" she literally mixed in front of us. "Sukiyaki" broth was just soy sauce and sugar. Everything tasted watered down, even the dipping sauces. So you can imagine how DISAPPOINTING it is when someone adds water to your bowl instead of bringing more ACTUAL broth. 4. Utensils/Cookware: no soup spoons, and ladles lay on top of each other - in a precarious and annoying position. No, they don't have tongs, so you can just pray your friends aren't sick and that the raw meat on your chopsticks has MAGICALLY disappeared. Or annoyingly designate some "raw" chopsticks as your hands and clothes become infused with herby/garlic smells. Also - our stovetop barely worked. 5. Service: our bowl barely even boiled at our table, she told us to "add more meat so the fat can reduce the boiling temperature" -- which by the way we tried anyway, since we were starving, but it failed miserably as science has it. Overall, service is pretty slow here -- way less staff than little sheep mongolian hotpot. TLDR: This place is trying so hard to be trendy. Womp WOmp. Too bad it has slow service with a menu that seems purposely confusing, goading you into getting AYCE... watery broths and low quality foods. I'd take the neighboring Mongolian Hot Pot over this place any day.

    (1)

  • Heejin L.

    The quality of the meat was not good. The beef tongue, when cooked became extremely tough. The meats are sliced really thin, if you like that. It's so thin, that it looks transparent. But I guess the black trays they use to put the meat on doesn't help with that either. The rolls are horrible. I usually don't eat rolls but they have AYCE combo with AYCE rolls so we just decided to try. The pork broth was unmemorable. The vegetables seemed fresh.

    (3)

  • Rebecca T.

    Zabu Zabu, I forgive you for my previous experiences here that were lackluster. I came back last week for a family dinner and the service has improved drastically. The servers actually came out and asked us if we needed anything and if they could get us more meat. THANK YOU!! There was no bullshit excuse of "beef takes longer to slice" this time around. Everything came out fairly quickly. The Wagyu beef had great marbling 8/10 times. One con was probably that the sukiyaki broth was a tad watered down. I didn't think it was nearly as flavorful as what my cousin said she experienced. After my recent experience, I would come back.

    (4)

  • Lauren K.

    For $23 AYCE Happy hour before 7 PM on a Friday night how good can that get? We opted for 4 different broths but the only one worth getting is the pork! The other meats are good but we stuck with the beef tongue and the lamb. The pork was a bit dry and the wagyu wasn't anything that special.. a little dry too. No wait when you get here upon opening and the wait didn't seem too long after we had left (maybe there wasn't even a wait at all?). There's plenty of tables anyway. After you're done your mouth tastes pretty salty from all the broth and sauces you've ingested. Having a scoop of green tea ice cream at the end is the perfect palette cleanser. Plus you can go to Sharetea or TPumps if you need to hydrate more. Service is excellent. They give you your refills fast! Worth the price and who doesn't love some good shabu.

    (4)

  • Leslie C.

    This was our first time doing shabu shabu. Our waitress was friendly, patient and very helpful. She explained what needed to be done and helped us start it off. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. The environment is trendy and clean. We'll definitely be back.

    (5)

  • Tony L.

    Had to wait because even though they take reservations they didn't feel like making it. Not even worth the wait.

    (1)

  • Agnes C.

    Hrmm, not sure why this place is only rated 3.5 stars. I would go here again. I highly recommend getting the Japanese Sake broth. (Tip: It's all about the broth! The taste of everything depends on it!) And eat the meats without dipping into any sauces. It tastes better that way imo and ibo (boyfriend thinks so too). We both did the all you can eat shabu shabu. Ordered three full sets of the 4 different kinds of meats (wagyu beef my favorite among the beef, lamb, pork, and tongue) and two rounds of carbs (you get to pick from rice, ramen, and/udon or pick all three) and extra mushrooms (more points earned because they had fresh shitake mushrooms), and boy were we full. So so so so so full. And we walked out feeling warm and happy and not guilty for eating a lot. Meat was laid out super nicely on black trays, cut thinly and looked bright red and had a nice texture. I liked the chewiness or bounciness of the meat when you eat it. I hope that doesn't sound bad. Just imagine some really nice quality meat. Just the right flavor and texture. And at the end...ice cream!!!! It was deliciousssssssssssssss. Just what I needed after so. Much. Meat. I wanted more green tea ice cream but bf said no :( oh well, next time. Overall worth the long drive in traffic for this. Loved how the waiters and manager were always taking away our empty plates and asking us if we wanted more things. Also we got our food and pot set up pretty fast. Didn't have to wait long after we sat down. Nice interior, black and red color theme, clean, smelled good when we walked in. If only hotpot at home was this good. Price? Don't worry about it if you're out on a special date.

    (5)

  • Sarah C.

    How have I not tried Zabu Zabu before!?!? It was a rainy Wednesday night and I had a craving for either ramen or shabu shabu. After lots of contemplating I decided to try Zabu Zabu (since i've been to Shabuway and Little Sheep before). I was stoked when the waitress told me that there is an ayce happy hour... SOLD! And remember that dilemma I had about choosing ramen or shabu shabu? Well I ended up getting my ramen at shabu shabu! The best part of the meal was the pork tonkatsu broth. It's reminiscent of the deep rich broth you get when you order ramen at a Japnese place, this broth was worth the visit. Anything cooked in this broth tasted delicious. I forgot about the sauces they give you at shabu shabu because the broth had so much flavor. I ordered the beef and the pork. The pork had some tough fatty pieces wouldn't order that again, but the beef was delicious and melted in your mouth! I also ordered two plates of vegetables which complimented the broth very well and udon and ramen to soak up the broth. At the end of the meal you get ice cream, that night it was green tea or ice cream. This is definitely worth the money! My only gripe is why do they charge you for the broth and why doesn't the pork quality match the beef!

    (4)

  • Jessica H.

    Ok, this place is good for parties. If you have a friend's bday, this is a great spot to celebrate with a group. We came here for my hubby's bday with 12 friends. All you can eat shabu was like 17 at happy hour. Sooooo cheap. You could have each hot pot includes two flavors of broth. I liked the coconut and the tonkotsu. Some are very bland. Beers are cheap too! Long story short. I don't love just sitting around eating pounds of meat. Hello, meat sweats is a real thing. So, I wouldn't come here for dinner with one person, but I would attend if someone was celebrating. It is like fondue, a total novelty.

    (3)

  • Shelly H.

    Everything was good. Took out 1 star for not letting the customers (party of 2) know the tips is included!!!

    (4)

  • Jennifer N.

    PROS: Sushi and shabu shabu are so delicious! Good atmosphere and nice decor CONS: Menu is weirdly confusing?? Not sure why they have 3 different menus and their main one is hard to follow Waited 45 minutes for 4 sushi rolls....really disappointed in that Prices are high if you don't get the lunch specials Overall, would recommend but should go for lunch time and don't let them take almost an hour for your food - say something!

    (3)

  • Daniel J.

    I love that this place is so spacious. You can easily fit strollers next to your table. The food is good, but I can't give it five stars because many times the staff forgets that you asked for something. I would classify this place as a buffet, but unlike traditional buffets, you are completely at the mercy of the staff to bring you what you want. No one writes anything down, so many times you don't get what you ask for, like another tray of beef, more wings, or whatever.

    (4)

  • Joanna S.

    Very enjoyable meal. It's a great meal on a cold winter night We had the all you can eat beef and pork with vegetables and noodles. The mushrooms were wonderful. Dh had the tomyung gong broth. I had spicy miso. It does get stuffy in the restaurant with all of the pots of boiling broth. It was great for my dry skin, but some people might be uncomfortable I definitely want to return.

    (4)

  • Larisa V.

    Delicious food and love that they include the appetizers and sushi in the all you can eat options. My friends love shabu, but i'm not the biggest fan and this way i have lots of yummy alternatives. This place would be even better if they had an all you can drink option!

    (4)

  • Jeannie L.

    I like this place. It's not my favorite but I like it. We were waiting in the waiting area while they were taking care of our reservations and the AC vent above us was dripping... not sure if it was the condensation of the steam or what but that was kinda gross. We got a really spacious table for six. Generally speaking the tables are really spacious, which is really nice. The only catch was that one of the seats was under another vent and it was dripping as well. SUPER GROSS. I rather not eat under a dripping vent... or have my food under a dripping vent. I ended up sitting at the head of the table and that was semi-awkward. Also, we informed them that it was dripping in that location yet they kept putting our food there! The food itself is pretty good. The spicy miso isn't particularly spicy but you get some heat from it. The meat is sliced really thin (usually). The entire meal, we had really thinly sliced meat except for our very last plate, where it was sliced really thick which made it rough to eat. They had a good selection of veggies and udon. Our first bowl of udon consisted of really short noodles, like it was just all ripped so it made it hard to get from the pot. All in all, not a bad spot to eat but not one of my favorites... the experience was probably hindered by the sheer annoyance of dirty water dripping on us.

    (3)

  • Farrah N.

    I've been coming to Zabu Zabu first at their branch in Berkeley when I was a college student, and imagine my excitement when I heard they were opening an upscale version in my hometown of San Mateo!!! However, we came during opening week and they didn't have their entire menu available (no yakitori skewers) and only a small selection of small plates. They were just starting to get their act together so we understood. The quality and cut of their meat is still excellent so we didn't mind just getting the Shabu. Since then, we have come to the San Mateo branch about 5x. They have constantly changed their menu and can't decide what they want to do with it. Ultimately, it seems that they are going to go the Shabu - Small Plates - Sushi route like they have in Berkeley (which has always been my preference). ... Great! I thought we were gonna get along great until my most recent 2 experiences last month and just a week ago. The waitresses here are ridiculous. Considering they charge an automatic 18% gratuity for any AYCE option, I would expect decent service. Our various waitresses were constantly strolling around staring at their phones, chatting by the cash register. For example, after I asked for a water refill, a waitress was like "uh yeah. i know." and continued to walk and text... and that generally sums up the entire dinner. Not acceptable if I'm being forced to pay for "service" that isn't given. Therefore, 2 stars off for overcharging for something that should be basic. The manager guy is really great and tries so hard but he really needs to ban cell phone use during busy hours of dinner...Bleh Otherwise, the food is great! LOVE LOVE LOVE the small plates and shabu option. We load up on beef and beef tongue shabu meants & The onion rings, gyozas, seaweed salad, oysters are all to die for. Pretty much the whole menu is :) :) :)

    (3)

  • Mike K.

    The food and service are great. The food is all you can eat. Who doesn't love that? They lose two stars because they have this quirky service charge...15% gets added to the bill. No, we were not a large group. Date night with my wife and we get a $10 charge added to the bill. They don't mention it and you need to spot it yourself. Careful how much you tip...I left $5 since they decided to add $10 themselves.

    (3)

  • Louisa T.

    So many good hot pot places! Note that parking here is a pain though (on weekends). Came here recently with the family and got a big table, in which two people can share a pot. The shabu pots are divided in the middle so you can get two soup bases. Our entire party got the menu B where it's all you can eat hot pot, and tapas. Note that some tapas are addition $1 or something like that (for skewers). The tapas were delicious! I wish I remembered everything I ate, but frankly I ate so much it was too hard to remember it all. I remember the garlic ramen being really good, and my husband really enjoyed that. The beef wrap was delicious, oysters in sake sauce, baked mussels... really everything was good. They even gave us sushi rolls that were fairly decent. After feasting on the tapas, I barely had room to start the hot pot part. But, I knew this was coming so having a small lunch to save room for this meal was a must so I could indulge- and I did. The meat quality was pretty good, but I feel like another place has better cut meat. The beef, lamb, pork and beef tongue, all great. I was surprised at the offer of beef tongue, and even more surprised how good it taste with hot pot. Interesting. The soup base we had was a sake broth on one side and the spicy Sichuan one on the other- both were fantastic. I kept drinking the sake soup base after I was done. If you throw your veggies in that soup based to cook, and it soaks up all the flavor, it is really , really good. Service was not bad at all, though they could be better about taking away the empty plates, but really not too much to complain about. $30+ per person for this may sound expensive, but really, I thought it was quite worth it considering all you get. Another place to add to my hot pot list.

    (4)

  • X L.

    I actually want to give Zabu Zabu three and a half star, but yelp doesn't allow half stars. We've been there twice for its "endless shabu shabu". The meat (especially Australian lamb) and ramen are pretty good, but the rest of the items are just so so. The free ice-cream after dinner is kinda horrible. We also like it because we never have to wait in line to eat there past 7 pm. THat's a big plus. p.s. their bathroom condition is not the best. Someone needs to take care of it.

    (4)

  • Joseph S.

    We tried their Enless Zabu which is $28 all you can eat hotpot. The broth is delicious and the meat are fresh and thin (so it cooks fast), the veggies are fresh and crunchy, I wished they have more selection of mushrooms (I love mushrooms). Service is good and fast. Overall, a good place on those cold/windy/rainy days/nights

    (4)

  • Elliott N.

    Accessibility (Parking / Wait Time) 1/1 Star: no wait. _____ Service (Waiter / Cleanness / Ambiance) 0/1 Star: service was a little bad. As our waitress never looked much in our direction so asking for more all you can eat meat was a pain. She also didn't offer us free ice cream at the end until was asked when we saw everyone else getting it. _____ Taste (0=Not Edible / 1=Edible / 2=Good (average) / 3=Must Try!) 2/3 Stars: the shabu beef was really good! The quality is good. _____ Overall Experience 3/5 Stars _____ Last Words The menu sucks, don't bother reading it. Just order all you can eat. The trays that the meat comes in is a really cool stackable concept. I feel like all all you can eat shabu places should do the same to conserve space at your table.

    (3)

  • Michael L.

    AYCE Shabu Shabu for $23 before 7 PM! It also includes your choice of soup broths, so for three people we had the opportunity to try four different broths! Broths I tried: Spicy miso: This was strangely sour. Not as good as I had hoped, personally. Tonkotsu broth: This was probably my favorite broth. Very flavorful, and it doesn't make your vegetables overly spicy like the others. Tom yum broth: Sour and spicy! Pretty flavorful, quite unique. Sichuan flavor: This was pretty spicy and pretty good, and had a good amount of herbs. They offer huge pots for your broth! So you can cook quite a bit at a time, if that's your thing. Of course it is shabu shabu, so you don't quite need to do that, but at least you can cook veggies first. Beef: The quality of beef varied greatly. Several platters, the beef was amazing. Others, the fat wasn't as well distributed. Overall though, I preferred the beef over the pork. Pork: The pork was quite good as well, with a reasonable distribution of fat. The pork was very tender however. For $23, I am pretty happy with what I got. The staff was friendly and regularly asked if we needed anything else, happily providing various plates of veggies, in addition to ramen noodles (or udon if you'd like), and lots of plates of meat. The ramen noodles were great in the tonkotsu broth by the way! Definitely returning for more shabu shabu here when I get the chance. (Remember to come before 7 for happy hour!)

    (4)

  • Chris L.

    This place is pretty good. The interior has a modern feel and it was not too busy if you come early (we got here around 630p on Saturday night and there was no wait for a party of 4). It's $33 pp for all you can eat two out of these three things: shabu, sushi rolls, or small plates. We had the rolls and they were ok. The shabu was pretty good. Service is excellent. They give you ice cream at the end. I'd come back.

    (4)

  • Crystal C.

    Woooohooo, this is the place to go to if you're hungry for AYCE shabu shabu. The interior decor is great, the service is fast and polite, and you can order plate after plate of delicious meat ranging from lamb to beef tongue. The spicy miso broth for shabu is pleasantly tasty and you can order more sides. I came in on a Monday night around 7:30 pm before the dinner rush and we all did the AYCE shabu service and came out with awesome food babies. The quality of the meat is very tasty, and I will definitely be coming back again!

    (5)

  • Leia T.

    Went on a night at happy hour for a hot pot buffet. The flavor was plain and there wasn't too many options with dipping sauce.. They supply a limit amount of food, so when we order mushroom they said they were gone...then why did you call it "all you can eat"? The service was fine. They get your orders in fairly quick.

    (3)

  • Camille B.

    Shabu craving fulfilled. With the weather getting cooler, Zabu Zabu hit the spot. A group of friends and I came in last night for dinner around 7pm. The wait time was just 30 minutes, which wasn't bad for a busy Saturday night in San Mateo. We opted for the endless/all-you-can-eat Zabu with 4 different broths (Chinese szechuan, tom yum goong, sukiyaki, and spicy miso), vegetables, and 2 plates of each meat to start. Our group's favorites ended up being the sukiyaki broth and wagyu beef. The sauces were not my favorite, compared to those at other shabu spots. The meat and vegetables were very nicely presented on their individual platters/bowls. There wasn't much table space, so we threw all of the ingredients into the hot pots and ordered more when we were ready. We definitely got our money's worth and were extreeeemely full/satisfied afterward. At the end of the meal, we had our choice of strawberry and/or green tea ice cream (ask for half-and-half and you'll get a full scoop of each). I really enjoyed the ambience of the restaurant. It was very modern/chic with high ceilings, adequate ventilation, and clean restrooms. Our waitress was nice and quick to respond to our massive orders.

    (4)

  • Lisa C.

    I came here TWICE in 1 week teehee :) First Experience: It was a birthday dinner for a bestie, A party of 3 hungry girls were ready to get their AYCE shabu on at 5:30PM. We definitely had a great time feasting and trying to figure out what Zabu had to offer compare to the other shabu places within the 10 mile radius. PROS: -Variety of meat (Australian Lamb, Wagyu Beef, Pork, Beef Tongue) -Variety of broth (there are 6-7 broths, but I personally like the Pork and Traditional) - Quality vegs (spinish, carrots, daikon, tofu, mushrooms, and of course, cabbage) So as we girls were eating and thinking how we can maximize the value of our $23 AYCE meal, the question is "Which type of meat is the most delicious and valued?" Answer: Australian Lamb and Beef Tongue Reason: Australian Lamb, from Australia. Hello. It has to be imported! Beef tongue, well.. think about it. You have a cow, with one tongue, and it's an organ that requires a lot of TLC to prepare and serve their customers. NOTE: Gratuity is already built into the bill (15%). SO if you pay in cash, and they ask if you want change, say yes. I paid with a $100 and the bill with $57. The second experience was just another birthday haha, but same idea as above :)

    (4)

  • Adam L.

    The atmosphere is good for hot pot standards. It's better than Shabu house in Burlingame, and Shabuway across the street. The service is ok. Not very attentive. Always have to ask to refill water and soup stock, etc. takes forever to order food cause no one around paying attention to you. But I came for the food and it's not impressive. The all you can eat is alright. Why did you guys get rid of the skewers!!! Overall I may or may not come back.

    (2)

  • Frank L.

    You can choose whether you want ayce hotpot, sushi, side plates, or any combination of the two or all three. We chose to have the hotpot and the side plates cause we wanted the baked mussels. It came out to be $42 a person. I think if you only have one selection its $38 so its pretty damn pricey even for AYCE. HOTPOT: Meat quality was pretty good. Also I liked that they have different kinds of broth. The Chinese schezuan spicy broth was pretty spicy. One of the more unique broths is the Thai tom yum broth. Ive never had hotpot with that kinda broth so that was the one i tried. It had a nice spiced and sour flavor. If u like tom yum soup def give it a shot. SIDE PLATES: Dont waste your time with the cold udon noodles. The shrimp tempura is also not so great. Id stick with the onion ring tempura, chicken karaage, Gyoza (pan fried AND deep fried), baked mussels, and beef wraps. SUSHI: We got some complimentary sushi. It was just ok. I wouldnt recommend getting it as part of the ayce combo cause theres too much rice and youll get full very easily. Also its not grade A fresh in general so theres def no need to waste stomach space on mediocre sushi. Overall i had a pretty solid experience but the higher price tier will keep me from comin back.

    (3)

  • Christina W.

    Two years later and their ridiculous policies still exist. Here's the low down this time: Came to eat with a group of 9 people. The restaurant was pretty dead -- less than 1/3 of the tables were occupied and a couple tables had yet to be cleaned and cleared. We ask for a table, and the response we get: "Nine people?! As you can see we are very busy." **Cue gazing around the near-empty room, blinking in disbelief.** (I suppose, in retrospect, having less than 1/3 of your restaurant full would be "very busy" when your establishment is so poorly managed. But, I digress.) He then told us we'd have to wait for them to set up a table. Fair enough, except that the 9 person & 6 person tables they ended up giving us were already clean/empty when we walked in. I flag down another hostess and explain (again) that we have 9 people, and also inform her 2 of the 9 people wanted AYCE, while the rest wanted to order a la carte. She tells me the ridiculous all-or-none AYCE policy is still in full force, so the 2 AYCE people would have to sit at an entirely different table. She offers me two reasons: (1) Their computer system doesn't allow them to have mixed tables of AYCE and a la carte orders (I suppose, again in retrospect, that make sense since they charge you a 15% SERVICE FEE ON AYCE); (2) It's against their policy because (echoing her coworker's words): "as you can see we are very busy" -- **Cue gazing around the near-empty room, blinking in disbelief** -- so they can't monitor us to make sure we're not secretly sharing food with each other. You know, there's very little I love more than going to a restaurant and being treated like a conniving food thief. So, to appease our AYCE probation officers, 7 members of our party are seated at a 9-person table (yes, the irony), and the other 2 second-class AYCE-ers were seated at an awkwardly diagonally positioned 6-person table, as though they were being punished by some form of passive aggressive social exclusion. Seriously, Zabu Zabu Management, your all-or-none AYCE business practice is so absurd. It's a wonder you stay in business, especially when "very busy" for your restaurant means 2/3 of your tables are empty. Get it together. [Note: The hostess was very nice, and this review isn't to criticize her. This is a criticism of the establishment's idiotic policy.]

    (1)

  • Julie B.

    After coming here for a friends birthday, I decided I will come back again prior to writing my review. The food here is good and the wait isn't that long but I highly recommend making an appointment so they can reserve a table for your group. They are very accommodating to large groups so don't feel intimidated. For those who loves meat and vegetables, I'd say this place is ideal for you. If any of you are thinking more variety than this is not the place. I really do love the soup base especially the Sake Miso Soup! Highly recommended. Reason for the 4 stars is because of its atmosphere and seating arrangements. You will not be leaving here smelling like you just ate a cow and to top it off, seats are spread out so you wont be listening in on other peoples conversation so i feel that's a bonus. Overall, I will definitely come back again if I only want just meat.

    (4)

  • Jie C.

    $23 buffet during happy hour (before 7pm)! That's awesome!!! I tried their wagyu style beef, kurobuta pork, Australian lamb, as well as their beef tongue. Their pork is incredibly delicious. So is their beef tongue. Other meats are also good. Love their spicy Miso broth. The Japanese sake broth is too light for me. But you can have it as soup.

    (5)

  • Danny H.

    Who says, who says you're not perfect? Who says you're not worth it? Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'? Trust me, that's the price of beauty at...ZABU ZABU! - Selena Gomez (who says) I wanted to take my friends to a shabu place this past weekend and this looked like a fun spot to try for the first time. I wasn't here just for the shabu (there's Shabu House for that), we were here for the small plates as well. The decor was hip, and the high chairs were conducive to shabu eating. Out of all the meats, the beef tongue was definitely the best one so if you're into beef tongue, you'll really like it here. I was more impressed with the quality of the small dishes though. Keep in mind it is AYCE so it's not mind blowing crazy stuff but standard solid options with good flavors. Service was impressive as there was always food on our table and they were prompt with all our orders. There is an automatic 15% gratuity here fyi, but they exceeded that here. The quality of the meat is average compared to other shabu places but with the small plates add-on option, it is still a solid shabu place to take your friends/coworkers.

    (4)

  • Thao T.

    sunday evening dinner: no wait! must have been my fifth time back here or so. STILL enjoy it so much. this time we ordered some sushi and it was quite satisfying. can't be the best sushi ever but you know, the dragon roll was so good. i still give this place 4 stars for great service, a kind staff, but most importantly the variety of items on their menu: a number of different broths for shabu, beef tongue, perfect thin-sliced beef, a choice of ramen AND udon, and a plethora of side dishes. fyi: i've never run into service issues here. they seem to be staffed well.

    (4)

  • Vicky H.

    Quality of meat is great and service is decent. The selection includes beef, beef tongue, pork, and lamb. There is a good selection of broth and I usually pick Japanese Sake (pork) flavor. We made reservation at 6:30p.m. and was able to take advantage of their Happy Hour rate (All-You-Can-Eat for $23, VERY reasonable). The décor is nice and comfortable, will be back again for sure. :)

    (4)

  • Joyce E.

    My boyfriend and I came to Zabu Zabu for my birthday dinner and I was not disappointed! My favorite Shabu place is Shabu House in Burlingame, so I was a little bit apprehensive when he suggested Zabu Zabu, especially with the less than perfect rating. Regardless, we visited on a Friday night at around 5pm and were seated immediately by the extremely friendly hostess whom, I might add, was thoughtful enough to give us a seat where we can view the Giants game. After browsing through the menu, we settled on the AYCE Shabu Shabu for the Happy Hour price of $23/pp (regular $28/pp) plus $6 for broth. Like most Shabu places, every person in your party has to get the same thing, which was fine with us. We ended up ordering two broths: Spicy Miso and Tonkatsu broth and both were very extremely delicious! I particularly liked cooking the meat (4 choices of meat; we ended up getting pork and Wagyu beef) in the Spicy Miso to balance the sweet flavor of the beef and the Tonkatsu to add a bit of flavor to the veggies. For carbs, we opted with udon, ramen, and rice. Yes, ramen! I was telling my boyfriend that you could basically cook your own ramen with all the ingredients. After the meal, a choice of strawberry or green tea ice cream is given to you! My only gripes would be that upon sitting down, I sat on a piece of glass from a beer bottle, which is pretty dangerous especially if you have kids running around in socks such as the table next to us. Also, the service was great for the most part, but I found myself having to ask multiple servers for more meat, more noodles, etc thus creating confusion and bringing multiple plates of the particular item I requested. An automatic 15% service charge fee is applied to the AYCE shabu. For the price, especially with the Happy Hour menu, Zabu Zabu cannot be beat! I highly recommend them if you're ever in the mood for some AYCE cheap shabu in the San Mateo area.

    (5)

  • Kristin C.

    Zabu-Zabu offers several different all-you-can-eat options and you can select one or multiple options with varying pricing. I've been here twice, once for a friend's birthday and once with my sister. 1) shabu 2) small plates 3) sushi I would definitely ONLY get the shabu. The sushi we had was mediocre and we were pretty sure the tuna was on the no-so-fresh side. For the shabu, you can get one or two broths -- I liked the spicy miso and spicy Szechuan (note they charge you $6 for broths even if you get the all you can eat option). The shabu meat was tasty and you can select from beef, lamb, pork, or beef tongue. Vegetarian selection is a bit sparse (enoki mushrooms, spinach, tofu, carrots, napa). Make sure your napa cabbage is clean before you put it in the pot. I would probably come back again but before the 6pm happy hour special ends.

    (3)

  • George F.

    On Sunday night we went to Zabu Zabu for a Shabu Dinner. We made reservations and found parking in the the structure right next door. The Decor is done nicely since converting for the Japanese dollar store. The ventilation is good and the tables are large. There is an AYCE for $23 for Happy Hour. There are 4 choices of meats Beef, Lamb, Pork and Beef Tongue. All were excellent! The Veggie choices were small with Napa Cabbage, Daikon, Carrots, Mushrooms and Spinach. We had the Japanese Sake Broth and the Szechuan Spicy Broth. The Sake Broth was exceptional. I would go just for the Sake Broth. At the end of the meal you can soak up all the broth with the Udon noodles. Strawberry and Green Tea Ice cream comes with the meal. Their cold sake $8 comes in very generous decanter. Service was good. They add a 15% tip on all AYCE orders automatically.

    (4)

  • Stephanie L.

    I came here for a friend's going away party. It's right in the heart of downtown San Mateo on 3rd Ave. Parking can be a bit difficult since it is downtown and very busy during dinner hours. They do have a few parking structures which makes it a bit easier. We had a party of 18 and were split into 2 separate tables, one table of 10 and a table of 8. I would recommend a reservation for this place, especially for large parties. The decor and furniture was very nice though. They have nice big comfy chairs and the place is very dimly lit when red tinted lamps. They also have a bar. Zabu Zabu offers all you can eat (AYCE) shabu, small plates, and sushi. It's $28 for 1 of the above AYCE, $33 for 2, or for all it's $38, I believe. Our table got the AYCE shabu and small plates for $33 a person. They have a good variety of small plates, but it's your usual japanese appetizers like edamame, gyoza, agedashi tofu, tempura, chicken karage, etc. They were average. They offer 4 different types of meat for shabu: wagyu beef, pork, beef tongue and lamb. The beef tongue is quite unique- tastes like beef but a bit chewier. Beef tongue is often not an option at typical shabu places. Their meats are very thinly sliced, so watch out they do cook fast. The cuts of meats were pretty good, they always had a nice marble to them, but I do like my meats sliced a bit thicker. The lamb and wagyu beef were my favorite. They also have a good variety of broths, I tried their pork broth and spicy miso, both were ok, could have used a bit more flavor and the spicy miso wasn't very spicy. You get to choose 2 different soups per pot. They also provide two sauces: ponzu and peanut sauce with green onions and shredded daikon to add to your own discretion. I did like their vegetable selections with 3 different types of mushrooms, tofu, spinach and napa cabbage. Their udon and ramen is pretty good too. And of course you finish your meal with ice cream: green tea or strawberry. They do have a happy hour: $23 for AYCE shabu before 7 pm. But they have a time limit of 2 hrs and in small print on the bottom of their menu they say they charge for excess waste of food. Service was decent, our server tolerated our table's indecisiveness, which was very nice and patient of her. However, our meats took a while to come out. And since we have a large party 18% tip was already included. Our bill ended up at $51 per person (we did also pay for the person leaving, which was about $7 additional per person), but still on the pricey side, IMO. Overall, I've had better shabu, this was just decent. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have gotten the AYCE small plates and shabu, I would have just stuck to the shabu. What confuses me the most is that their menu says shabu $20 (with your choice of meat) plus $6 for the broth versus $28 for AYCE shabu *scratches head*. It's only a $2 difference, why would anyone NOT choose AYCE? I might come back, just for their happy hour special though.

    (3)

  • Susie N.

    WARNING TO VEGETARIANS: DO NOT GET THE "ENDLESS VEGGIE SHABU" Why? First of all it's the same exact plate that you get when you order the endless meat shabu. So for the regular endless meat shabu it's approx $26 and it's the same for the veggie shabu. Basically I paid for an "endless" meat shabu but with no meat. At least with other shabu places, their vegetarian plates have more variety of veggies. This place gives you nothing. All they gave was a shitload of cabbage and two tiny pieces of tofu. Hello??!? I thought this was a veggie shabu plate?!? As far as their "endless" veggies, to get more tofu costs am extra $4!!! WHAT THE HELL?? I thought this was "endless".

    (1)

  • Daniel H.

    If you're in the Peninsula, you have a lot of choices for shabu shabu. My friends and I are big fans of places that offer an "all you can eat" (AYCE) option, which narrows the playing field a bit. Zabu Zabu offers a very reasonably priced AYCE option, offering two different broth types and plentiful portions of beef, lamb, pork, and vegetables. The broths are very tasty. I am a fan of their spicy miso and tom yum flavors, but they pack a punch. They also feature a sweet sukiyaki broth which is pretty tasty. The veggies are fresh and offer a great break from the meats. The service here is very attentive, and you leave satisfied and full. They also offer you an after-dinner ice cream treat to tide you over. There are other food options here, but I'm a big fan of the shabu so I've not tried their other selections. Highly recommended! Bring friends, but make sure you have time to wait, as they get super busy.

    (4)

  • Rachel N.

    I am very surprised that the reviews were not better for this place... I have been here twice... the first time, we got the shabu shabu, we had the japanese sake broth ( delish) and the Spicy one... We loved both, service was very attentive. The second time, we got the sushi and shabu shabu combo, which I may not do it again... it was a lot of food, I should have pick either or.... Their servers always walk around to clean up, check if we like to have more meat or veggies. I was very happy with their service... with my service industry background, I am not easy to please :-) I would recommend to anyone I know. Keep up with the good work!

    (5)

  • Alice C.

    Decor is nice, but the food was so bland I wouldn't even bother coming again. There are other alternatives in the area that are, in my opinion, way better. I came here because my girl friend and I love shabu shabu, and this place looks fancy and nice. It's a classic case of "don't judge a book by its covers" -- by the time I took my first bite, I realized that nothing really had flavour. The meat tasted like paper (well I guess it didn't taste foul either), the ponzu sauce and sesame sauce both lacked any sort of oomph, and we had to ask the waiter for some spicy condiments in order to be able to finish our meal. I could hop over to Suruki market, buy some meat, boil it in some water, and get something more tasty than what I had here. So nope. Not even the decor could redeem any star, because they failed at the one dish they had to deliver.

    (1)

  • Benny C.

    Great place with tasty shabu, a nice selection of sushi and tapas! They have tons of seating so you can bring everyone.

    (4)

  • Laolee X.

    What can I say about this that hasn't already been covered? Personally, I'd always recommend getting AYCE shabu and opting for a la carte small plates (and/or sushi). The small plates taste great (here's looking at you, baked mussels) but you can only have so much...unless that's what you went there to eat! Be sure you get there early if it's Friday or Saturday night as the place fills up quickly after 6pm.

    (4)

  • Suzi T.

    I was here last night with a large party of 15 for a family get together and while the food was great, I'm giving this visit 2 stars based on service because to me, service trumps food! I'd like to give our waitress the benefit of the doubt so I'll assume she is just very inexperienced (young with dark rimmed glasses). We ordered our meats and side dishes, and while some of the side dishes came, we waited over an hour for another 5 that we ordered. When we asked her about it the second time, she said it was coming, and 25 minutes go by, and when we asked her again (very frustrated and still hungry by this time), she didn't apologize, and merely asked us if we still wanted it. Then she rolled her eyeballs when we said yes. A little part of me was wondering if she waited on purpose so she didn't have to give us our small plates. Then she came by and asked us what type of ice cream we wanted, when our small plates didn't come yet. I replied that we're still eating and waiting on some dishes and she backed off. By now, I felt like she just wanted us out, or maybe she was lazy, but this is a really bad representation of the restaurant. Restaurant owners, I think it's time to retrain your staff, especially if a mandatory tip is added on to all bills. I'd like to feel like I received great service, and we surely did not last night.

    (2)

  • Nancy N.

    Good ol' San Mateo has soooooo many restaurants and the only thing ridiculous about it is the parking! Sorry, had to vent about that. Zabu Zabu!!! Oh my.... not your ordinary all-you-can-eat shabu BUT all-you-can-eat appetizers and sushi as well!!! Very decently priced knowing you have that many choices to choose from. Only problem you have to worry about is not having a big enough stomach. And parking. -_- I suggest coming here with a big group (at least 6 people) so you can try as many appetizers as you can. They give you a generous amount on each appetizer item, and you definitely don't want it to go to waste. Chicken wings, brussel sprouts, ramen, onion rings, mussels in broth and mussels with cheese topping were all great. For the ramen, ask for the one that's already cooked inside that is topped off with tobiko or else they bring the regular ramen out where you have to cook in your soup. The meat are pretty good here too. They have more selection such as beef tongue, lamb, pork, beef. Everything is sliced so it cooks really fast. Each soup pot can fit two flavor of broth. The spicy miso soup base was pretty good. Also they have Tom Yum soup base that you don't see at your usual shabu joint. Don't forget to order Sake!!

    (4)

  • Orly M.

    Really nice decor and lots of light. Came for happy hour on a weekday and not busy. Didnt want to cook so got the tapas. We got 7 dishes and they werent small plates so super full. (Better to come with a bigger grpup to share.) Food good (nothing really memorable) but price for 2 people made it seem like more of a special occassion place.

    (3)

  • Sophie Z.

    We liked this place a lot! We did the endless Shabu for $20. We liked that there was beef tongue. Even the included ice cream was very tasty. The interior is nice, clean and modern. Would be back again!

    (5)

  • Sheena U.

    If there's one thing I hate more than having to cook my own food at a restaurant...it's smelling like the food you've cooked. It lingers. Don't be surprised if your closet smells of broth, meat and earthly herbs long after. BUT BESIDES THAT ----- I was impressed. Me and my friends did the all you can eat option and I had the wagyu beef and the spicy miso broth. I probably should have stopped eating after the 20th tray of beef, but no regrets here. I literally could feel my cheeks swelling up to the point where I can see them as i look down - AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE CHEEKBONES!!! I have no regrets. The meat, however, is cut paper thin - it makes me wonder, if I really ate a lot of meat, or am I just filled up on carbs. TRICKERY! Helpful tips: -Glasses will fog as soon as you walk through the door. You will not be able to use them, so wear contacts if you can. -Stock up on tissues. You will be in close contact with hot broths, so therefore your nose will be running like a faucet. Your welcome in advance.

    (4)

  • Derrek O.

    My new favorite hot pot / shabu shabu destination! More often than not, simple preparation and good execution is all that's needed to change something ordinary...extraordinary. (ie In n Out Burger, House of Prime Rib). Such is the approach taken at Zabu Zabu. Although they have other offerings such as appetizers and sushi rolls, I'm all about their shabu experience. It's like going to a steakhouse and ordering a salad. Anyways, I digress. I came here last week and got their lunch / happy hour AYCE shabu shabu deal priced at $23/pp. You have the choice of 4 different types of meat: wagyu beef, kurobuta pork, lamb, and sliced beef tongue. There's half a dozen different broths to choose from and we went with the pork base and spicy. Both were super flavorful! A bowl of assorted veggies accompanied the broth and meats. Quality was fresh and everything super fresh. Service was solid and consistent...as should be when they automatically tack on 15% gratuity for AYCE. Will definitely be a repeat customer!

    (4)

  • Tracy J.

    It should have been a 0 star place. I just went there 10 mins ago and waited 10 min to be able to talk to the reception. She asked : How many? I said :2. She looked at the back with 1/2 table empty and said, sorry we don't have a table. I asked: how long is the wait? She said: I don't know, maybe 20 to 30 mins? We left. Another party of 2 left at the same time coz of the response. Sounds like 2 ppl parties have NO table from them! Will never try to go back . No customer service and poorly designed restaurant. Most of the tables were for 4-6 ppl party. Unbelievable! Warning: not for small parties! No table open period!

    (1)

  • Carol K.

    Yummy all you can eat shabu at a great deal. It was like 23 bucks per person during happy hour from 5 to 7pm. You get to choose the broth, meat, and noodles. I had thin sliced beef, pork, ramen, and fresh veggies. Loved the enoki shrooms. Soo delicious but I was so stuffed after eating here.

    (4)

  • Laura C.

    overpriced.

    (1)

  • Charmaine L.

    $23 all you can eat shabu shabu happy hour before 7pm. $33 for all you can eat shabu shabu, robata yakitori, and small plates! the soup bases are charged at $3 each. the only free soup is the traditional japanese which is simply water and seaweed. you can choose 2 types of soup per pot and we went with japanese sake (pork broth, no sake, like a ramen broth) and the spicy miso. both were very tasty and thick in viscosity like a soup rather than broth. i like how the grated radish, green onions, ponzu, and sesame peanut sauces are served individually instead of being on a community tray. rice, udon, or ramen is available as your choice of carbs. i thought the ramen was rather appetizing in the broth. however, the rice was a chinese long grain rice that did not match with the meats. i'm used to a stickier japanese medium grain with my shabu. meat choices include wagyu style beef, lamb, karubota pork, and beef tongue. tried them all and they were all decent, pork being my favorite. the tongue was a bit rubbery at first but i got used to the chewy texture and started to enjoy the variety in the bite. veggies were fresh, mushrooms were well cleaned, and daikon was tender. the service was efficient and very willing to answer questions. our water glasses were never even half empty before a refill, the plates of meat were always replenished in less than a minute, the waitstaff diligently kept on checking on us to make sure we had everything we needed. there is an automatic 15% gratuity charged for AYCE, regardless of party size, which i am comfortable with as i would normally tip more than that anyway. the restaurant itself is large and spacious with very high ceilings to air out the steamy atmosphere. it was very clean and comfortable. i definitely enjoyed my shabu shabu at zabu zabu!

    (4)

  • Truc L.

    This is my second time here and overall I would give this establishment a 3 1/2 stars. Ambience: 3 1/2 Food: 3 1/2 Service: 3 No wait as we got there when they just opened. We ordered the AYCE. We had two pots: Japanese Sake & Chinese Szechuan and Spicy Miso & Sake Miso. Flavors were decent, but the only one where I can tell a major difference is the Chinese Szechuan, as it had more flavor to it. Got all 4 types of meat along with veggies, ramen, udon, and rice. The meat quality this time was just OK. PROS: -AYCE options -Service for more meat was good, always had meat at our table -Free Ice cream (strawberry or green tea) CONS: again service is a hit or miss here..and while the service was OK it did take couple reminders to get the following: -Rice 4 times -Hot tea 2 times -Napkins 2 times Overall, ZABU was enough to satisfy me as I was hungry but I wasn't "wow-ed" this time around.

    (3)

  • Elaine B.

    Very nice decor - probably that's the only reason why I didn't give it just one star. Service is hit and miss. Our first time there the service was super friendly and warm; our recent visit there it was like they didn't want us to be there. :( Food is only average. I've had better shabu shabu than this. Some just 5-10 mins away. Hence I will not be coming back. Sorry!

    (2)

  • Luchang Z.

    the all you can eat hotpot is good，it's 23USD for dinner, you can add whatever you want, beef and lamb is good

    (4)

  • Lani S.

    Just got off work and all I wanted to do was grub! The place was empty but they sat us right between two of the last three guests so in my left ear there was a girl whining about her boyfriend all night.. partially annoyed they seated us there and partially annoyed with the girl like come on shut up. it doesn't even seem like your friends care. am i ranting again. yes. -_- Otherwise the interior is really nice and clean, the chairs are comfortable, and there's plenty of seating. When we were ordering I chose to just do one plate of beef to split with my friend and she suggested that we do two plates... so I trusted her. Ended up being way too much food when we got everything and it's not like we were about to bring home raw meat. Anyways for the two of us with two plates of meat, one beer, and one flavored broth we probably spent around 50+ including tip. I suggest spending the extra few dollars for the flavored broth and the traditional is just water. The food was good though no disappointment there. When they dropped the check it was weird because they kinda stood really close by until we put money down. Then picked it up immediately. Kinda awkward. Just think maybe the staff needs a little fine-tuning.

    (3)

  • Adam Z.

    Pretty happy with the service and meal. Always disgustingly full but content. Love the music and vibe here

    (4)

  • Joey C.

    I always do my best to come before 7 to get their happy hour special! I love this place so much! Why? Their meat quality is almost always amazing and they are the only place that has BEEF TONGUE. I always get the pork base broth which is Japanese Sake (I think) and my boyfriend loves the Spicy Miso. The broth is always delicious except this one time when it was sort of bland. I love all the meats but pork is my least favorite. I always switch off and get either udon or ramen (depends on what I'm feeling). I never finish my vegetables because the meat is a distraction. You can order half orders of the meat but a majority of the time the half order is a really bad quality so I don't do half orders anymore. After my meal, I get a nice scoop of Green Tea ice cream. When the bill comes, I only pay $23 per person. This is one of the best shabu spots and they open during lunch everyday!

    (5)

  • Ray G.

    Slow service, forgot about our table for the check after ten min of waiting and didnt even tell us about free ice cream :(

    (2)

  • Mae C.

    Great place: nice environment, good quality food, pleasant service. Automatic service fee charge is fair, only 15% on food before tax. You could also customize your order, for example, only shrimp for tempura. I recommend you try it at least once. Really good deal. You won't regret it.

    (5)

  • Anita L.

    I have been there twice. I think it's a great deal to pay $33 per person for all you can eat hot pot with wagyu beef and many other choices of meat. Plus the small plates are also unlimited! I usually end up ordering more small plates than ingredients for the hotpot. The beef rolls and grilled mussels are delicious! Other restaurants can easily charge $9 or over for each plate snd you can eat unlimited quantities there! However, during my last visit, the waitress who served us had an attitude and was kind of rude. I think she's an exception. The other staff are nice and courteous. Will visit again! It's another great place to go for Japanese style hotpot!

    (4)

  • Jeca V.

    OH MAH GLOB. Where do I start with this place? The meat, SO GOOD. I recommend all of them, but my favorite was the beef!!!! All the vegetables they give you compliment the meal so well and when you put it in the broth, YAS. I have tried all of the broth (since I went with a large group! [and yes, this restaurant is great for large groups!]) and they were so good!!! If you love things spicy, they have a very good spicy broth! The second time I went there, I brought my brother along and he doesn't like much soups and he is a picky eater, BUT he LOVED the soup more than he anticipated! And the sushi, MMMM. YASS. Just as good as the soup! I recommend the spider and spicy tuna roll! TIP: Get here before 7pm (I believe) and you can save money! It is cheaper before 7 :)

    (5)

  • Candice H.

    Zabu Zabu has opened up their second location in downtown San Mateo. They have revamped the old Ichiban Kan space with an aesthetically pleasing decor inside. It looks like a swanky lounge. I came on Saturday with the besties around 6:30 p.m. We didn't have reservations, but we got lucky (or maybe not lucky?) as there was one table left that could seat four. Only downside was one of the burners broke on that table so four people had to share one pot and burner. We were extra cozy that night! We got the AYCE shabu and since it was still HH, it was $23/person (not including tax & tip). There are four choices of meat: WAGYU Style Beef, Kurobuta Pork, Australian Lamb, and Beef Tongue. The assorted veggies included napa cabbage, shitake mushrooms, spinach, daikon, carrots, button mushrooms, enoki, and oyster mushrooms. You also had a choice of ramen or udon. We had the Traditional Japanese broth and Spicy Miso broth. The Traditional broth was bland and the Spicy Miso broth wasn't spicy and it was oily. Along with the food were two sauces: ponzu and peanut sauce. The peanut sauce tasted weird so I only used the ponzu. The food was fresh, especially the veggies. The meats were sliced super thin so it cooked easily and quickly. The pork was pretty good and not dry. I can't talk about the beef, beef tongue, or lamb since I don't eat those three items. However, my friends ordered five plates of beef, one plate of beef tongue, and one plate of lamb. All seven plates were devoured so I'm assuming they liked it. Service was great as the workers were very attentive. The only gripe was they added 15% gratuity to our bill even though we only had four people. However, in reading other reviews, it looks like they add 15% gratuity for AYCE during HH, which we weren't informed of. Overall, it was a good dining experience.

    (3)

  • steve n.

    0.9 star!! Restaurant close at 10pm, We got in the restaurant at 830, and the waitress rushed us for last call at 915. Reason: Xmas Eve, the restaurant will close early, then they put down the bill. (The guy behind the counter who told us the restaurant will close @10 before we sit down.) WTF: That's the same reason, we (customer) want to have a place to enjoy our Xmas eve dinner. They didn't even give us the dessert which suppose included with the meal. By the way, they should not "profit" mandatory tips in their total price on the check. They don't deserve good tips. 99% Disappointed 1% will come back again (next xmas eve, may be...) By the way, their beef really good with the broth, but Sabuway (next door) is better.

    (1)

  • TC D.

    This place was amazing.. I think the "birth pains" are over. My whole family enjoyed this place :)

    (5)

  • Ironchef C.

    I went there because the line at Little Sheep hotpot was too long and we were hungry. However, this place really disappointed me by its nonprofessional hotpot and service. And the experience was so bad that it pushed me to start my yelp reviews. First, it took too long for the pot to be boiling. In fact, the half with pork broth never boiled. We ordered endless shabu shabu with lamb and the side veggies and noodles. However, after we finished the first two plates of lamb. The waitress took the empty plates away and didn't say a word. At other hotpot restaurants, if it's all you can eat, the waitress normally ask if you want to add anything. So I was confused and thought it wasn't the all you can eat order. Besides, the waitress asked us if we wanted the veggie plate. It comes with the set. I don't know why she asked that. And later only brought one order of it instead of two. Other hotpot places always bring the veggies to you because it's the whole set. It's like if a dish comes with a salad, the waitress normally brings it to you without asking. And even if you don't eat it or eat a little bit, what says on the menu should be what we get. Also, the cabbage was cut into super big and thick pieces. It should have been cut on the side to make it thinner and smaller a piece. The people who work there doesn't smile. They all look as if they are angry. And never checked with us to see if everything is ok. The coke needed to be refilled and we had to ask for it. Whereas, at the Little Sheep hotpot restaurant, waiters keep asking you to refill it for you. (And the food there is way much better.) Even though the place looks ok from outside at the corner of the street, compared to real hotpot places, it's really somewhere I'd never go again.

    (1)

  • Jiyea C.

    $15 for lunch shabu (they have lunch specials on weekends too). We both got this option with spicy miso and pork broths and I enjoyed both, though I did not appreciate that they were charged separately ($3 each during lunch). We both got the Wagyu beef and it was thinly sliced and cooked quickly. While I liked my food here, I can't give this place more than 3 stars because of the service. There were only about 5 tables occupied in the entire restaurant and about 4 people working, yet we had to wait to get the attention of the staff. Also, we found that there was dirt on our veggies, especially the mushrooms. It almost looked like they weren't even washed. We brought this to the attention of the server, who (after a while) brought us new bowls of veggies, but we did not observe an improvement in the mushrooms. We eventually asked another server to just swap the mushrooms for tofu. If only B Street and Vine were open on Sunday for lunch...wouldn't have ended up here.

    (3)

  • Vincent W.

    AYCE tapas, izikaya and shabu, I'm in. For $33 + tax you get everything on the menu. Not sure why you wouldn't get all you an eat at a place like this. The shabu meat is tender and they slice it up thin. They even have beef tounge whih you can't get at most places. You get charged extra for different broth so I didn't try it so not sure if it is worth it or not. A couple of the good tapas were the fried chicken wings and bacon enoki mushrooms. Nice and clean and lots of space. Not sure why this place isn't as crowded as others but hey no wait so it's good for me. I'd probably pick this place over Shabu house in burlingame since you get a lot more selection for the same price. Only downside is no drinks. Not even wine or beer. They are missing out on a huge chunk of change for sure as everyone who eats shabu usually get beers or sake. At least this kept my bill cheaper, LOL.

    (4)

  • Jim C.

    Decent shabu shabu with attractive upscale decor. Came here for dinner. The place is clean and comfortable with modern design and tv screens in various spots. Surprising wasn't too busy, about 2/3 tables occupied. Menu has a number of options but rather confusing. Here's the deal: - You can get the all you can eat shabu shabu for $28 but it says you potentially need to pay for the broth for $6 additional. If you go with the "traditional Japanese" broth (which is basically plain hot water with a few pieces of seaweed), then it's free. If you go with any of the other "flavored" broth types, it is an additional $6 (but you can select up to 2 broths). - You can also do a la carte shabu shabu for $20 (with same rules on the broth above) Food: - Shabu shabu (3.75 stars) - plate of wagyu beef was decent (although thin - as thin as I've seen at other places). Sauces were on the table along with condiments to mix your on fave concoction. I would have preferred by peanut sauce thicker but it was alright. - Specialty broths (2.75 stars) - tried the spicy miso and plain sake one - they didn't have strong enough flavor and I was disappointed. I'd go with just the "traditional Japanese" soup base for free and make a kick ass sauce for dipping. - Chicken karaage - (4 stars) - nice crispy and a really tasty aioli-like sauce Service: - Generally nice and friendly. Had to flag down the server a couple times, but she was friendly and responsive when asked. Bottom line: Zabu's basically Shabuway with a nicer decor and with much more room in an open space and tables to have a good shabu dinner. Specialty broths overrated. 3.75 stars for food + 0.25 for decor = 4 stars.

    (4)

  • Jen C.

    I went with one friend last night since little sheep was busy. Price was $23 for all you can eat versus $20 a la carte. We both order the beef and it was delicious but our second plate of beef took twenty minutes and two requests to get. One plate was half fat and half meat. The other plate was cut wrong, instead of against the grain it was cut with the grain and extremely lean. It made it super tough. The broth, we ordered spicy miso and pork bone were both delicious but the spicy miso was def not hot. For the price it is better than shabu way but I would still rather go to Shabu house.

    (3)

  • Mary Anne P.

    I drove by this restaurant many, many times but never thought too much about it or what kind of food they serve. There are so many restaurant options in San Mateo, it's easy to just pass one up and choose one of your regular faves. I ended up coming here with a couple of my girlfriends. I never knew it was a shabu place. if had, I probably would have tried it out sooner. We walked in and the place looked very nice, clean and modern. We got seated right away (they open at 5pm, so we were waiting outside and the first guests to arrive, so yeah...if we didn't get seated right away, i would have been worried). We ordered the all you can eat menu. It was pretty good! You had a choice between four meats (beef, pork, lamb and beef tongue), choice of broth (you can pick two), and you get unlimited appetizers! That was probably what won me over. You can get order after order of any appetizer! I liked the fried tofu, onion rings, baked mussels, calamari, tempura. Being that I was super hungry that day (and not eating rice or noodles), the appetizers were amazing. The meat and broth were good, too. The dipping sauces for the meat and veggies were okay, I feel like Shabuway's sauces are a bit better, but Zabu's isn't horrible. I would come here again. I think it's a good alternative if I wanted unlimited shabu and didn't feel like driving to Shabu House.

    (4)

  • Claire S.

    I've never been the biggest fan of shabu shabu, not really my thing, and seems a little pricey, especially considering how cheap it can be if you make it at home. But, friends wanted to dine here, and so off to Zabu Zabu I went. LOCATION. This place gets crazy crowded, and tables don't open up quickly, so definitely make reservations or get there early if you want to avoid a wait. Our group ended up being smaller than the reservation we made, but they had no other tables, so we had a giant one half-full for the entire dinner, probably didn't make them very happy. MENU. Fairly diverse amount of things to order, around $33 for AYCE, including side dishes, which is a pretty good deal. The variety of meats, vegetables, and broths definitely make it a flavorful meal. The chicken karaage was my favorite side, but I didn't really have a favorite of the meats, they sort of all just tasted the same - grey, thinly sliced pieces of broth-flavored meat. SERVICE. My biggest pet peeve, and why I only gave 2 stars. It felt like our table was a no-man's land. We ran out of water early on, and despite waiters walking by, not one offered our table a refill. Of WATER. The boy ended up grabbing a pitcher from the bar himself, since no one seemed to want to give us any. The wait time for your meats and side dishes seemed excessive, and I was 100% positive that they had simply forgotten about us several times. I think they have a thing about wanting to bring orders out in full, so we waited 20+ minutes for 4 trays of meat, some chicken, and some spinach. I was about to reorder when it finally came out. Seems a bit much, really. I got most annoyed when a waiter knocked over the utensil holder on the table, which in turn knocked over one of the sauce bowls on the table. I jumped out of the way, dodging the clothing-staining sauce, and the waiter didn't apologize or seem to care too much. He righted the stand, brushed off the table, and walked away. I mean, really? I don't ask for much but that seemed a bit rude. In all, not my favorite place, mostly because of the shoddy service and high prices. DIY is a much better option (and cheaper).

    (2)

  • Bianca N.

    I WOULD GIVE 0 STARS OF I COULD. Honestly, just go to shabu house in burlingame. After 7pm unlimited shabu is $28. We were a party of 4 and got a 15% service charge. Wtf? The service SUCKED, the sauces were watered down and the meat was thin. Service: 1. I asked for a booth and the host said "we dont open that are on weekdays" but when the next party came, they were seated in that area. 2. We asked for forks and were handed dirty ones 3. We split the check and were suprised by the %15. We were also charged the wrong amount. My friend was charged the wrong amount TWICE. She was told the money would be held by the bank for 2 WEEKS. Unacceptable. About $112 was going to be held from her account. Obviously i wasnt going to let that happen. We argued with the manager for over 30mins. In the end, the server who messed up gave my friend the money that was going to be held. Were not being cheapos or anything, but for a non working college student $112 is too much to be suspended for, for 2 weeks .

    (1)

  • Judith L.

    It really is quite a shame that I just discovered how ridiculously delicious Zabu Zabu is but they say "better late than never" and it has never rung truer. I'll be making frequent visits now that I know! We came this past Friday night for dinner and though we made reservations for 845pm, it wasn't necessary because there were plenty of free tables. As everyone has said, there is a lounge feel to Zabu Zabu. I love that the decor is very modern and that the tables are huge (perfect for all the food to be placed!). The three of us chose the all you can eat option and were able to choose FOUR different broths for just two pots. So cool how you can try so many different broths!! We had chinese szechuan, spicy miso, sake miso, and pork bone. I tried all of them, but LET ME TELL YOU RIGHT NOW THAT THE PORK BONE WAS THE BEST. I've been thinking about it day and night, that's how amazing it is. The meat includes beef tongue, lamb, pork, and wagyu beef. ALL amazing as well! So fresh and the cuts for tongue, lamb, and pork are thin so it's not heavy nor hard to chew. The wagyu beef, needless to say, was our absolute favorite! We ordered it over and over until we were full to the brim. The veggies are all fresh as well and you can order more if you run out. We had the udon and it was AMAZING cooked in the pork bone broth. Omg I think I loved the udon as much as the meat... All three of us kept raving about the place that night as we were eating and as we were leaving. I am sad to announce that my boyfriend is bringing his family there tonight (as I type up this review) and I'll be opting out :[ BUT IT IS OKAY BECAUSE I WILL BE BACK. I WILL BE BACK. (11/100 in 2014)

    (5)

  • Kitty S.

    We tried all-you-can-eat shabu shabu only. The ingredients were very fresh, and the meat were thinly sliced so it cooked fast. Their sesame sauce was wonderful. The service was very good, too. We got what we wanted fast. The place was very clean and nicely remodeled and decorated. I particularly like their beautiful big dining table that can fit a lot of plates. The price for all-you-can-eat shabu shabu is $23 for an adult, and they charge $20 for kids 6 and older. Price for adult is ok, but for kids, I think it's too much. Overall, the dining experience there was pleasant, will definitely go again.

    (4)

  • Emily C.

    What the heeeeeeeellll? This is a shabu shabu place? It looks and feels like a lounge with shabu shabu involved. Frickin nicest hot pot place ever. The price is only a tad higher than most shabu places in the city ($35 WITH tax/tip) for all you can eat on the weekend (non HH price) in a really nice setting. You will still likely smell afterwards but the place is well ventilated. They also use electric stoves which probably helps with not smelling like smoke after. It's cute b/c instead of one big-ass stove/pot in the middle, there are small individual stoves. (We had a table for 10 and there were 4 stovetops!) The food is SUPER fresh! No browning on the veggies or questionable looking meat. The service is super nice and easy to flag down. The only reason why this place only gets a 3 though, is because the service can be a bit slow in bringing out your food, and the price. However, the ambiance makes up for it. Would def return again, I want to come during happy hour!!

    (3)

  • Sophia Y.

    3.5 stars Yeah... I didn't come to this place for shabu. I was drawn to their window advertisements for their pepper lunch plates (and yes, they only serve it during lunch... I tried to get one during dinner time one day -_-). For those who don't know what a pepper lunch is, it's your meat of choice surrounding a mound of rice with corn on top on a sizzling hot plate. You can also add an egg for an extra cost which I recommend. I got the lamb lunch plate with curry rice. Pepper lunches never really have too much flavor so have to add the soy sauce they give you or else it's pretty bland (especially the meat). Then you mix it all together and eat it. I though the curry flavor was pretty good. I'm glad I got that. The lamb was pretty good. Not the most tender and probably previously frozen, but it was okay. Overall, it was a decent meal. I think I like the novelty of it better than the meal itself. I heard their shabu was good so I'll have to come back and try their AYCE.

    (3)

  • Hans C.

    Good price. $28 per person all you can eat. Meet is sliced thinly and comes in nicely laid out plates. Good ambiance with TV monitor in front of us (Giant's World Series game 5 was on and they won. Go Giants!) Service was good and accommodating. Overall a pleasant experience!

    (5)

  • Jenny B.

    Hostess/waitress took 15 mins to take down our name, told us that the wait would be around 30 mins, and 1 hr and 15 mins later we were finally seated. Unless she is a new hostess and does not know how long waits usually are, why lie? Oh right because she knew no one would wait 1hr+ to eat at this place. For that reason alone I will not be coming back to this restaurant. Poorly designed restaurant as well. We are a party of two and took up a table for four! That's two spots that could have been for another couple. Hey Zabu Zabu, I wouldn't mind sharing a table if it means half the wait time.

    (2)

  • CHARLES H.

    This place is really like....."nah...................". I wanted to like this restaurant because the decor is pretty trendy with contemporary design. Huge open spot inside the restaurant which makes people want to enjoy the time dining there. The biggest reason I give two stars is because It's not authentic Japanese shabu and the meats (beef, beef tongue...etc) are WAY too less flavor. In other words, I am questioning the quality of the meats. Shabuway is just across the street and every time I finish the dinner, my girlfriend and I are always satisfied with the quality, even it's not all-you-can-eat style. I hate to be blunt but this place is more of hanging out with bunch of friends without having expectation in the quality of foods. I personally won't go back if I want to enjoy authentic Japanese shabu type of dinner. Another reason I can't give better stars rating because the poor service happened to my friend while they were waiting for us. (We were late. lol) Here is the funny story. When the waitress asked what we wanted to drink, my friend said, "get us a large Asahi." She asked, "okay, so how many glasses?" My friend replied, "6 glasses..." The waitress looked shocked and said " just 1 bottle?" Then my friend replied to the waitress, "Okay...give me 2 then." We were cracking up listening the story. I don't know whether or not the waitress wanted to make sure he was ordering one or saying ," 6 people just for 1 beer to share?" Anyway, i found out that's not really excellent customer service in my opinion. Bye.

    (2)

  • Mee V.

    Quality of food is excellent! We usually get the all you can eat deal and the food just keeps rolling out as you ask for it. The broth are very flavorful and there's enough variety to keep everyone in your party happy. I most eat veggies and wagyu beef only. Service is superb! There's usually a bunch of people working so they're never short staffed. On busy nights you might have to just grab one of them... But slow nights they frequently ask if everything's okay, if you need anything, etc. The staff are always so friendly and eager to help -- we always tip well because of the wonderful service! Location is great! Located in the heart of food central in downtown San Mateo is their beautifully decorated, modern restaurant. This eatery is always clean and attractive. Priced fairly! I've been here during happy hour and it's usually under $30 per person for all-you-can-eat. It doesn't get better than this! I'd highly recommend this place if you're into hot pot.

    (5)

  • Connie C.

    Oh hey, Zabu Zabu on the other side of the bay! This location is much bigger than it's Berkeley original. Also, it's located in a much nicer neighborhood with slightly better parking options. Oh and your phones actually get reception at this location. Oh and you have more than one stalls for bathrooms. Oh and you have a higher ceiling and better ventilation. Maybe it's just me not being at Zabu Zabu in a long time, but they now serve sizzling plates like Pepper Lunch and robata skewers. Of course, at a much pricier level. The Pepper Lunch lookalikes are $10+ easily. with a lot of add-on options that are $1-$2. Might as well just go all the way to Milpitas in my opinion. I didn't have their sizzling plates though, so maybe taste-wise it's more of your style? Who knows. I came here and ordered their lunch AYCE shabu shabu for $23. They have a bigger pot that holds two different soup bases. The pot is one of those hot pot looking ones, not the ceramic ones, feels less authentic though. We ordered traditional broth and spicy miso. Spicy miso is definitely not my thing. It tasted like I'm soaking my meat and veggies in sour and spicy soup. Eventually, we were only eating from the traditional broth side. Water + kombe + after many pieces of meat dipping = good enough. We tried their beef, lamb, and beef tongue with our shabu. Beef wasn't looking too shabby for shabu. I guess the marbling wasn't so even, some pieces were just extremely fatty. The taste was a bit off too. The lamb was alright for the first two plates. Third plates was getting a bit disgusting, small pieces with too much fat. I guess I don't like the smaller cuts as much because they cook a bit too quickly, it becomes harder to control for a medium rare texture. Beef tongue was good for few pieces, but when you are stuck with the whole plateful of it, you get really sick of the chewy texture. Overall, the meats are decently fresh, no stomach pains after. I felt like the original location had better broth and meats. Maybe it's just that day..

    (3)

  • Paul L.

    We go there early, so its very kid friendly. Kinda pricey, but always good.

    (4)

  • Kathryn X.

    Zabu zabu is my favorite restaurant in San Mateo downtown! Always have regular and spicy miso for the soup! One thing I like about the restaurant is their food is very tasty and healthy, no msg! Good Dinning environment and great service! Children friendly! My baby loves their ramen! Definitely deserve a 5 star!

    (5)

  • Rose F.

    We came for Happy Hour and it was very good. Pierre, who was the Manager greeted us and sat us down. He helped us with the items to order and boths for Shabu. Pierre was very nice and friendly to my mother and myself. We ordered a little of everything. I really like the lamb. The spicy both was very good. I would only recommend it to follower Yelper is they like it REALLY SPICY & HOT. The mussels and garlic noodles were also really good. The ventilation is very good and our clothes didn't smell like we were at a Shabu like most places. The decor is beautiful and very clean. Please come by and give this place a try if your in the area since they are serving beer and wine now. When I was here last they did not.

    (4)

  • Arcie Marie D.

    I really enjoyed Zhabu Zhabu. Could be because its been a while since I've had Shabu/HotPot. But this place really hit the spot. We opted for endless Shabu for $28 a person. For a few dollars more, you could enjoy endless sushi or small plates too. But the Shabu was more than enough for us. Choose your meat and noodles or rice and you also get veggies. You can upgrade to a flavored broth. Which I recommend. We did one original (included) and one upgrade for Sukiyaki broth. Did not like the traditional. It's really just water you add onions and radish to taste for flavor. But the Sukiyaki was so yummy. No need to sauce anything after that. A little pricey. 3 adults and the bill came out to just over $100. No sodas or appetizers. Gratuity is included in the tab. Your discretion to tip on top of that. We did leave additional tip because I was impressed with the level of table maintenance. Plates were promptly cleared by all staff throughout our meal-- whoever was walking by. And refills were quick and done without hesitation. More meat? Sure. Veggies and Noodles? Here you go! My only caution is to make sure you cook everything thoroughly. And once you add raw meat to the broth, make sure it is fully cooked before you pull out any veggies or noodles. My daughter had an upset tummy after dinner here because she was impatient. Next time, I will let everything cook just a minute longer. Fun to do with family or for a date night. I will definitely be taking my hubby here and a movie after next time we get a night out without the kids!!

    (4)

  • Warren W.

    It definitely isn't an "authentic" Japanese shabu spot, but has the potential to be better if they adjusted their pricing. Decor is upscale, and lounge-like, but that's not important to me if I'm going to come out smelling like shabu. :) Pros: you can choose ramen instead of rice or udon, cool broth options such as their light tonkotsku-like broth ("japanese sake") and tom yum, servers were pretty nice upon request for items. Cons: menu is unintuitive, you have to pay $6 for flavored broth (not clearly stated on menu), veggie option costs the same as meat (?!), could use some more ventilation (everyone was sweating). Clunky in the sense that there's not enough table space for the amount of bowls and trays given to you. Advice: I really had high hopes for this spot, but save $10-15 bucks and head to shabuway across the street. If you end up coming here, scrub it lightly because ventilation is a bit lacking.

    (2)

  • Steven O.

    Worst service!! No one answered the phone all day! Couldn't make reservations! Then they said there isn't enough food to feed a party of 7 or 15! As we were leaving, we heard the hostess that they were on limited food supply for the night!

    (1)

  • Chantal P.

    I'd say this is one of the better Shabu Shabu places I've been to. Maybe it was because we came for the AYCE lunch feast, but I surely got my money's worth and tummy's worth!

    (4)

  • Josh T.

    Came here on a Friday night when Shabu Way would have been a 30 minute wait, but this place was half-empty with no wait. It was before 7pm and so the server told us about their $23 all-you-can-eat special. That is a great price, and we thought we had found a great alternative to our regular shabu place. The meat was leaner, but it was also sliced paper-thin. Since this is all-you-can-eat, the thin slices don't matter right? Even though you got less meat per plate, you could just order more plates. But then when we asked for more meat, they brought out meat that was just loaded with fat. We didn't feel like eating it. Was it just bad luck, like they just got to a fatty part of the meat when they were slicing it for us? We peeked over at the next table, where guests had just been seated. After we got our fatty meat, they were then served their first plate of meat. It was lean meat similar to what we initially got when we first sat down. So it was not a coincidence. They give you decent-quality meat (sliced paper-thin) for your first one or two plates. Then if you ask for more they give you the cheap stuff loaded with fat. Initially we thought this place was a good find. $23 for all-you-can-eat is still a great price. But the gyp-factor weighed, and I just don't want to come here again. I would rather that they charged more money up front and not try to skimp on the quality. I will upload a picture of the fatty meat.

    (2)

  • Hang N.

    Still great! But just want to note that they automatically add 15% tip even if it's just a party of two. Not a deal breaker, but I just didn't realized it.

    (5)

  • Brent T.

    Swanky looking shabu-shabu place in downtown San Mateo. Came here for an early dinner. As it was before 7 PM, the happy hour all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu or small plates was in effect - $23/person! Not bad at all. We took advantage of the AYCE option seeing as it was only $3 more than the price of choosing a single portion of a single protein, of which there were 4 choices - wagyu-style beef, lamb, pork and beef tongue. There is also a choice of several different broths which I cannot remember. For starches, you have a choice of rice or a couple types of noodles. There were four of us so we got one of each of the proteins and 4 different broths, along with our various starches and the standard-issue vegetables and tofu. With the shabu-shabu, since we got AYCE the portions are not an issue there. The small plates seemed to be between $6-8 and I felt the portions were very fair. For the proteins, the beef was best but followed closely by the lamb. We did get brussels sprouts and tempura onion rings both of which were solid. Food and service were all good so no issues there. The one slight knock was the fine-print notice about the automatic adding of 15% gratuity to the bill for the AYCE option. Okay, yes it's on the menu at the bottom, in SMALL print. I guess we should've read the entire menu...dining out is apparently a contractual agreement. Nowhere on the original bill was there a note about gratuity being added - we just got a receipt with a single amount and a tip section. We asked for an itemized receipt instead which is when we realized what happened. I guess it's just my opinion that one shouldn't have to request an itemized bill. Nonetheless, the food was generally good and the service was solid, so I'd eat here again.

    (3)

  • Johnston C.

    Always love Shabu Shabu! And for lunch, this place is not too shabby too! Arrived past 1PM and there was no line up at all. Service was great and more importantly the food was delicious and filling! We ordered the shabu shabu beef for $15 and the sizzling pork for $10, which was very tasty! Definitely a good lunch place to be if you are hungry!

    (4)

  • Tehyon K.

    The broths are really flavorful. I like the fact that you can 2 different selections per pot. Also the vegetables are fresh and the beef is really good.

    (4)

  • Tiffany T.

    Pretty expensive! $49 for all 3 options. The Shabu wasn't good at all. The sauce was so watered down. The soup was ok, nothing special. The meat was ok as well, super thin. The sushi was pretty decent but again nothing special. The appetizers were ok, I only liked the agedashi tofu. I think people come here because they have really nice decor. But that doesn't reflect on how good the food is. They also seemed a bit unorganized. Overall their food is just alright, I would rather save my money and go to hot pot garden.

    (3)

  • Felicia S.

    4 stars for Zabu Zabu. We came in during happy hour 10/26 and the giants game was on. Great big tv screen...wish they had 2 tv screens so more customers could have a view of the tv screen from where they're sitting. I would totally give them 5 stars but the hostess that night was rude to us and everyone who walked in. You would think the first smile you would see when you walk into a restaurant is the hostess..um yea not with this lady. No smile. No type of welcome. Just a "how many?" Even when her tables in the back were occupied with their food and there were no customers coming in, she just stood there with no type of smile. I have a feeling she hates her job. I'm sorry but I hope her manager reads this and talks to her about this issue. I even overheard the table next to us comment on her attitude and presence in the restaurant. So i know it's not me overreacting. VERY RUDE. If they lose business, one of the reasons would be because of her. Other than the rude hostess, happy hour deal is worth it. All you can eat for $28. they have a variety of vegetables and also they serve ice-cream at the end. They have bomb broths. The server who helped u..i believe Iris? was very nice and helpful. Thank you Iris for your warm and helpful service.

    (4)

  • Shu S.

    Food was ok. Restaurant is clean. Prices are reasonable, but service is bad. It definitely was not worth 15% gratuity-type service. The waitresses were nowhere to be found. It was not even busy at that time. And to add to that, we had AYCE. Each time they came to pick up our empty plates, they would not ask if we wanted more. Anyway, all in all, food was ok. Service was BAD.

    (3)

  • Stephanie C.

    I was quite disappointed when I came here. Although this restaurant is clean, they didn't have half the items listed on their menu aside from the hot pot... I initially came here thinking they have a variety of food items which sets them apart from other hot pot place in the area...

    (3)

  • Chaz N.

    We took a friend here for his birthday and all in all I was pretty disappointed. First, the customer service here is pretty terrible. The menu is really confusing with the various all-you-can-eat options and then if one person orders one of the all-you-can-eat options, EVERYONE ELSE on the table needs to order the exact same option because they don't trust that you won't eat each others food, which is just about the dumbest policy I've heard. If you want to order something else, you have to sit on a different table. Again, really idiotic. You would never hear something so ridiculous at an American restaurant. Then they offered the birthday boy a free meal, but immediately retracted the offer because he didn't want to get the all-you-can-eat option. Finally, we asked them to do something for the birthday boy and they had no clue what to do. They then put together 2 to 3 ice cream scoops with a candle on it. I gave them a couple of extra stars because a) they offered us free ice cream at the end which no one ended up taking them up on and b) the food here was ok. Still think it was a bit overpriced for the quality and the rules for the menu are asinine.

    (3)

  • Ken K.

    Do you like to SHA BOO? I don't know yet if I like to Za Bu. OK I totally get this place now after one visit. It's a Cantonese world in here, first and foremost. Maybe Zabu Zabu is another Hong Kong way of saying "swish swish". If you are looking for something more Japanese style, Shabuway is it. The style is similar to that of Shabu House but this aims to be a bit more upscale in the decor. Hong Konger Canto types love hot pot in general. The problem is that nobody has figured out how to make HK style "da been lo" (aka HK style hot pot) profitable, and that is a specialized cuisine in itself that reaches outrageous heights in Hong Kong. Even the "best" DBL we have in town, I'm guessing Koi Palace, is only offered on certain days and you have to call ahead. Not the greatest of profit margins. But HK business peeps know the market....shabu shabu drums up better business than jack of all trade buffets, pseushi restaurants, and DBL. Egoes have to be fed, and the approach has to be an assault on the senses with variety, even if it does not always make sense philosophically. With traditional style shabu shabu, the emphasis is on quality ingredients and in some senses moderation. The really nice proper shabu shabu places in Japan, Taipei, HK...will go so far as to offer prime Japanese heavily marbled beef. Of course there are all you can eat places too. But those are a separate discussion. In SF Bay Area that formula goes right out the window. In short, the beef quality here is decent, very sliced thin and very small (this is the "Wagyu style beef"...I guess too many Kobe style beef plates out there?). Pee wee slices indeed, especially after cooking it shrinks even more. The biggest joke is the "Traditional Japanese water broth". At Shabuway they put a piece of small but thick dried kelp in. As you can see in the uploaded pic, they give you a lot of water, and a few shreds of very thin seaweed that probably don't give out much flavor. It's kind of like the old "Fosters: Australian For Beer" commercials...where a tiny stick of parsley on a steak is called "A SALAD". This is because they charge extra for broths except for "traditional water"...and they know the FOBs and FOBabees are suckers for the stuff (especially spicy miso). As far as veggies go, they use this weird button / crimini like mushroom, and one tiny piece of shitake. I'd say just stick with shitake. There are Japanese veggies that would also work nicely (e.g. the ones from Nijiya) but doh...this is a Chinese run zabu place....so there's watercress (which honestly doesn't quite work unless we're making a Cantones slow fire soup base, then it will become Da Been Lo and then people will get hella confused). So if you just want a single plate of wagyu style beef (which includes udon or rice, veggies, base "traditional water", you're looking at $20 + tax + tip per person, just a few bucks more than Shabuway, but the amount of beef is smaller/thinner (Shabuway ages their beef), though Shabuway has counter seating for individual shabu's. Bottom line is your preference determines how you will end up liking this place. For the all you can eat option, you can also upgrade to include Japanese style skewers. Most Asians/Asian Americans will be happy eating here if only to satisfy a fix and Shabuway has no tables (a lot more spacious here), and you don't want to fight with the rowdy Shabooers in Burlingame (it's a bid more laid back in here, except you wonder if you are in a Shaboo place in Hong Kong once you waltz in and sit down). But for those seeking a more basic and authentic experience may have to SHA BOO elsewhere.

    (3)

  • Go A.

    I love good hot pot but it has been a challenge to find a good one in Peninsula. Not any more! Zabu Zabu in San Mateo rocks! The restaurant is spacious and decor is very nice. Service was terrific too. But most importantly - the food is really good! We tried beef, beef tongue, pork and lamb. I love everything. The meat is very thin sliced and super tender. And I love their soup broth (both sake and spicy miso are excellent). Vegetables are fresh, ramen is nicely prepared too. All in all, it was a perfect night. We will definitely be back soon.

    (5)

  • Diane A.

    Great place to come with friends and gather around a hot pot full of deliciousness. I've been here numerous times and I do have to admit the meat quality is not always consistant but for the most part it's decent. AYCE is such an awesome deal!!! Happy hour dinner before 7pm which includes the 4 meats: beef, lamb, pork and beef tongue, your choice of ramen, udon or rice and you get ice cream at the end for dessert all for AYCE $23/person. Note: 15% Tip is included. Service is hit or miss. Some of the servers are very sweet, friendly and attentive. Then you get some not so friendly servers. No parking lot just street parking and nearby parking garages.

    (3)

  • Christine L.

    Come here during happy hour, when you can order all the protein plates you want for once fixed price. The beef is the outstanding protein here. Very rich meat when I came in craving shabu shabu. Service was okay, at best. I noticed that tables near us were being served much faster, and they came in *after* we made our initial order.

    (3)

  • Kristy L.

    Beef, pork, Lamb - all you can eat for very reasonable price! I think this will b my favorite shabu place from now on.

    (5)

  • Jenn G.

    We came here on a Saturday evening and had the all-you-can eat. There was a "before 7:30pm" special so I believe the price was $23 a person for the traditional broth. If you want other flavors for your broth, it's $6 more. The service was great and the meat was high quality. We enjoyed the beef and the tongue the most. Zabu Zabu definitely gives you as much refills as you can eat and do not nickel and dime you as a lot of all-you-can-eat joints would after a few servings. You also get vegetables (tofu, carrot, greens), and rice or udon noodles with your meal. Also, make sure to save some room for the ice cream dessert that is also complimentary! Minus 1 star for no liquor license... yet. I hope they get it soon -- it will definitely boost the business and bring in more clients.

    (4)

  • Kazu O.

    All you can eat for $23 happy hour? Cool, I can't possibly be disappointed at that price, right? Wrong! The service was great. The decor was nice. But that meat... no marbling, and no flavor. It's either super lean, flavorless cuts, or super stringy cuts with large portions of fat. Also, what's with the shabu shabu places around the Bay that water down their gomadare (sesame sauce)?? The rice was also jasmine rice... it just didn't taste right with shabu shabu. Meh.. I don't think it was worth the $23.

    (2)

  • Jennylyn U.

    I've tried a lot of hot pot places, but Zabu Zabu is probably one of the best experiences I've had so far. It's a bit pricey but the quality of food is worth it. They used to charge one price for all you can eat, but I think it's just for the shabu. All of the yakitori is charged separately. Ambience is modern, place is clean, highly recommend to try at least once.

    (4)

  • Rob Y.

    A-OK is a good description. We came here craving shabu and thinking we could put a hurting on them with the all you can eat option. If you go shabu only it's $28 but for $33, you get all the small plates you want so we tried that. Flavored broth was $6 extra which was disappointing to see because it should be included in the all you can eat pricing so we skipped that and started the meal. The small plates were ok. The agedashi tofu was the star while the gyoza, skewers and others were just meh. The free broth is quite plain. Seaweed and some salt so we put some soy sauce and green onion in there. We started with the beef and pork. The beef was actually a little tough even though it was cut very thin. The pork was very good and we ended up eating lots of plates of that. Overall, it was ok. A tad expensive for 2 people ($82 bucks after tax and gratuity) so I'm not sure I'd head back.

    (3)

  • Liana L.

    Hands down my favorite shabu place... my husband and I don't even bother going to our other favorite, Shabu House, anymore because this place is clean, hip and loung-y for us 30-somethings (also 20s!), spacious, and can accommodate large groups easily with little to no wait. Because of the high ceilings and the fact that tables are spread wide apart, you don't have to worry about smelling like meat boiled in sake miso soup, or rubbing elbows with the next table. Which brings me to the most important point... yes, I said sake miso soup! Besides having a delicious selection of broths available (Tom Yum, spicy miso, pork bone, and the amazing sake miso), the food is delicious here! You have the option of shabu, or tapas, or yakitori. The tapas i.e garlic noodles, chicken wings, mussels, etc. are really misleading as each plate is more than enough to share, which is great! The yakitori wasn't bad but haven't given it another try since my first visit. Fountain drinks (not including alcohol) are only $1 with unlimited refills with the AYCE shabu option. You can also mix AYCE options like shabu and tapas, or shabu and yakitori, or do all three at a higher price. Service is fast, and they have nice flat screen TVs at all angles to satisfy your sports games need. Price wise, its probably a little pricier than your average shabu place but I'd choose coming here over anywhere else any day.

    (5)

  • David L.

    Feel this place is a little bit pricey. $20 for one choose of meet + one bowl of vegies, and addition $6 for having shabu shabu broth. In addition, they are Indirectly forcing customers to get $28 all u can eat since it's only $2 different if you want to get shabu broth instead of water base with kelp. with the party of 2, they automatically adding up the tips, $35 per person. The portion of meet are small, so we decide to change it to AYCE. However, the food was generally good and the service was solid, so I'd eat here again.

    (3)

  • Karl D.

    The option of having unlimited shabu AND unlimited appetizers is awesome! The broths are good, meats are good and appetizers are pretty good as well. We usually get the chicken karage as a for sure appetizer. Quality of food for the price is pretty worth it I'd say. The service has also been quite good.

    (4)

  • Kim C.

    3.5 stars. I came here for the happy hour with my friend and we got the all-you-can eat for $23. As two girls, we weren't sure if we should opt for the AYCE or the set menu, but considering the AYCE is only $3 more we decided to just go for it. The space is very clean and modern. They use an electric stove which takes slightly longer to heat up. This resulted in longer hangry status. We got the spicy miso and the sake miso broth. I prefered to put the vegetables in the sake miso broth, and my meats in the spicy miso. Between the two of us, we ate 1 platter of the lamb and 4 platters of the beef. The meat was good, and thinly cut which is what I prefer. I used the ponzu sauce for dipping which was solid. I didn't try the peanut sauce. Service was attentive. Every time we were out of meat they came and checked on us. The meal also comes with ice cream, which is a great way to finish the meal. I will be back, most likely with my husband who can probably eat more than I do. Although 5 platters of meat between the two of us was quite a lot. I think we practically had to be rolled out of the restaurant we were so full.

    (3)

  • Alexis L.

    We waited until they were serving beer and wine to return, and alas, it was great. They not have a happy hour on all you can eat shabu, which takes about $7 off the price, making it a great deal. The service here is consistently excellent and the atmosphere is clean and open, unlike 99% of shabu or hot pot restaurants.

    (5)

  • Winnie L.

    Their pork bone soup base (broth) is fantastic! It simply makes everything you put in the soup base taste delicious, which is my mark of a fantastic shabu/hotpot place. I don't want to have to dip my food in a sauce if I don't have to. The quality of the meat and veggies are about the same in comparison to Shabu House. Service was fairly good but it was quite empty when we were there, so really no excuses for any less. The main problem I had while there was that the room was extremely cold. I kept my jacket on the entire time. Even with the arrival of the food, I did not warm up enough to feel comfortable enough to take off my coat. I get it...again, can't have temps up because there will plenty of steam and condensation. The frosted glass has always kept this place a bit mysterious and in this case, mysterious is no bueno. It made it forgettable even though I frequency downtown San Mateo quite a bit. Sometimes you want to see what people are eating and what the food is all about. But maybe because there's quite a bit of condensation, the frosted glass acts to make that less noticeable. When I have looked in, it does not look busy at all. I hope they address the issue of attracting more people/marketing because it would be unfortunate if they had to close. At any rate, I can't wait to introduce it to some friends to Zabu Zabu and enjoy their pork bone brother again. It's worth a visit.

    (4)

  • Sheribel A.

    I'd give this place a 4.5. Place is pretty good and the decor was great. Broth was amazing, but the dips weren't as good as shabuway. I didn't like how they switched the buffet it shabu shabu, small plates and switched the original choice to sushi. If I wanted sushi, I'd go to a sushi spot. The broths that we chose was amazing. Spicy miso (extra spicy) and bone marrow broth. Every small plate we got was great. ESP the baked mussels and onion rings. Service was on point. I'd definitely would come back.

    (4)

  • Ferdinand H.

    All you can eat - At present no EtOH. Had the wings, pork soup base, garlic ramen, mussels, agedashi tofu as well as lamb and pork. Major points of contention: Bones in the meat. Already warm (not the crisp frozen razor thin sheets) meat when served. Flavourless garlic ramen Good points: reasonably attentive service The wings were actually pretty tasty. All you can eat options (this is normally a negative for me...) Perhaps this will improve, and become a really strong venue, but given the plethora of nearby shabu-shabu no restoran... Draw your own conclusions. :)

    (2)

  • Chris C.

    Wow. There are some pretty bad reviews of Zabu Zabu that I think are down-right ridiculous. That being said, I was pretty impressed with Zabu Zabu. Not only is All-You-Can-Eat + Side dishes under $40, some of the side dishes are incredibly tasty like the chicken wings and baked mussels. The sauces are a little on the sweet side for my tastes but that's not difficult to remedy. If you do go the AYCE route though, make sure you can EAT! Oh yeah the green tea mochi was also fantastic. Please do not compare Zabu Zabu to Little Sheep. Shabu Shabu is not the same as Mongolian Hot Pot and both have merits. Little Sheep has a flavor and style I'm more attuned to, but the sheer selection of quality side dishes at Zabu Zabu definitely make up for it and the shabu itself was definitely not bad. I agree though that an adjustment of broth prices is in order. Otherwise, I'll be back.

    (4)

  • LJ G.

    Japanese cuisine. Went there for lunch. The special was not good. Chicken with black pepper and rice. Some of the chicken pieces had gross fat on them and some looked a little bit undercooked. I would have given only 2 stars but the brussel sprouts were fantastic! And another pet peeve of mine is when you ask them to wrap your leftovers and they just bring you containers and make you do it. If I ever come back it will only be for the sprouts!

    (3)

  • Sonny P.

    We were planning to go to Shabuway, but it didn't open till noon on Sat. Walking around we found this place, just across the street. How lucky we were! We loved the decor, the place was clean too! So we went inside. The table was excellent for shabu, with plenty of space to put all the bowls and sides. We ordered AYCE shabu for 6 of us. At $23 HH price a bit pricey but the food was a notch above Shabuway, with more choices of broth. We had 3 different broth flavors, Chinese Szechuan, Miso and Spicy Miso. All good, but Spicy Miso was the best for me. We just loved having many broth options. We didn't try the small plates, but the shabu itself convinced us that we will be back!

    (5)

  • Lawrence M.

    Awesome. I don't always shabu, but when I do, I prefer Zabu Zabu ;-). Great selection of broths, the selection and cuts of meat is primo, and the menu is loaded with other goodies.

    (5)

  • Carmen C.

    Went here for dinner the other night and really enjoyed it. Love the modern design. Love that it is 2 people a pot (not 6 people a pot like most other places). Love the different types of table. Love the service. For shabu, they have waygu beef (yum), kurobuta pork, lamb and beef tongue. The veggies include 3 kinds of mushrooms, 3 kinds of greens, carrot, and I think radish? They have 6 flavors of soup to choose from, although it costs extra (japanese sake broth!). They have rice, udon and ramen (fresh ramen, not the cheap ones you bought packaged and made in college). We cooked some ramen and scooped some yummy soup in a bowl and it was delish! Also, their pots are huge! If you don't want shabu or if you want some more variety, they have small plates. There's about 15ish options such as gyoza, chicken wings, garlic ramen, spicy cold udon, mussels, beef wrap, etc. Everything looked appetizing but couldn't have it all so I will definitely come back. Also, it says they will have yakitori "coming soon" which look delicious based on the options on the menu.

    (5)

  • Jen C.

    Better than expected! I've been to Shabu House and Shabuway and this place outshines them both! More options for flavorful broth choices and you can even choose between having udon and ramen! Good deal for happy hour AYCE if you come before 7pm. Would definitely come back again.

    (5)

  • Cherie W.

    Still thinking about our meal here 3 days back.... Haven't had hot pot for a whole long while since nobody including myself wants to do all the washing and cleaning for a DIY hot pot meal and you need a party to eat out with you for a hot pot meal. Yelped and found Zabu with a $23 happy hour shabu AYCE so went with husband and the 2 yr old. This has to be the cleanest, most hassle free and quietest hot pot I have ever experienced! Tables are spaced out perfectly. Tables are big. They use electric stovetop and everything looks new and clean. Decor is modern and seats are comfortable too. Ventilation was good. We didn't smell like hot pot after we left the place. Thumbs up! Food is fresh, especially the veggies. The meats are sliced paper thin and I like that. But the beef though named wagyu does not taste like wagyu beef. It was a bit tough and chewy. The pork was good though. We had a couple seconds of pork since my husband does not eat beef and lamb. I actually liked the pork more than the beef. But the last two orders of pork, like other yelpers mentioned, become fattier... I didn't have the chance to taste the lamb and the beef tongue since we didn't know our server brought out 2 orders of beef when we ordered just one. Since I am the only beef eater I didn't have much quota to take in another order of meat... My kid slurped up bowls after bowls of udon cooked in the sukiyaki broth. My husband found the spicy miso broth too spicy. The ice cream ended our meal perfectly. I yelped again to find other similar hot pot/ shabu spots and by looking at the photos looks like this has the best of what I want for a classy comfortable hot pot experience. I would come back and hopefully the meat quality will improve next time.

    (4)

  • Starry H.

    Happy hour shabu! Great cuts of beef, well marbled and good selection of broth (no charge at happy hour). Okay service, very attentive. For the price and the quality cut and free desert at the end of the meal, I've found a new shabu place finally :)

    (4)

  • Tony C.

    Veggie friendly! Great find! Zabu is a great place to dine with your meat loving friends. They will set you up with your own veggie pot! The menu is very accommodating, especially if you are a tofu person. Come hungry and leave satisfied!

    (5)

  • John P.

    Very aesthetically pleasing decor inside. My girlfriend and I decided to eat here after she finished work. We came in with some expectation that it would be like Mongolian hot pot. The idea is the same, shabu style. We got the endless happy hour deal. We chose the spicy miso and the traditional. The spicy one doesn't have as much flavor but we like spicy. We also got a tray of all the meats. Meats are sliced really thin but dont think that that doesn't mean you're not getting the quantity you pay for. We were stuffed by the end of the meal. We had a lot of seconds of mushrooms and veggies. We didn't care for the Australian lamb though. Not that it was bad, just because we don't like the taste of lamb. Onto the customer service. Superb. The service I would expect from a high end restaurant. Almost all of the staff touched base with us making sure we were okay and if we needed anything but one waitress stood out in particular to us. This is a shout out to Iris, (hopefully I got your name spelled correctly). Excellent customer service. Refilling everything and everything done with a smile. Since it was our first time there, we didn't even realize our meal included dessert and we were going to leave until Iris mentioned that we got ice cream too. Ice cream was pretty darn good. Overall, great dining experience. We would come again.

    (5)

  • A S.

    We usually go to Shauway (across the street) but my parents wanted to try this place. I'm so glad we did!! We ended up all ordering the all you can eat. Service was amazing, the waitress's made sure we always had food. They were very nice and attentive without being overly in your face. The food and broth selection were good. We will be coming here instead of the other place.

    (5)

  • Lea F.

    I liked this place, food and service was great. $30 for eat all you can happy hour buffet was a pretty good deal too! It was also a big relief for my family to finally agree on where to eat and for everyone to be satisfied with the dining experience. Until the next day when I realized the server had swiped and charged my card twice for dinner. What a painful fail! I've been limited with finances lately and a double charge was hard to swallow. I figured it was a minor error for the server, maybe she was so busy and got a little overwhelmed. I could understand that, but what I didn't like was that when I called and complained the manager was like "oh this happens all the time, our software charges twice often, wait 2 weeks to get your refund". WTF! Although I eventually got my money back, it was still a hassle that could have easily been avoided. If their software has reoccurring problems, wouldn't you think they would either do an upgrade or replacement? Sigh, this could be a good restaurant but they obviously need some more fine tuning.

    (3)

  • Linda N.

    $28 for AYCE Shabu but for $5 more.... AYCE Shabu AND Small Plates! Say what?! Shabu: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Beef tongue- small cuts but all fresh Small Plates: Chicken Karage- fried beautifully, not too greasy Sake Mussels- fresh, tasty Tofu- Yum! The pool of sauce gives the tofu a lot of flavor Dry Ramen- CRACK! after stuffing ourselves with all the meat and sides, we still wanted more Oysters with stuff on top- didn't care for the stuff on top (sorry for not being descriptive) Decor-5 stars Service- 5 stars; plus an extra 1 for our server who stayed calm, cool, and collective when a customer threw a tantrum because she didn't receive her bowl of rice Food- 5 stars Plates and Bowls- 5 stars

    (5)

  • Allison S.

    Still the same as I remember, especially the AYCE. We got the spicy miso, the sake, and the original, and all of them were great. The meat is sliced super thin and super fresh, and I love the carrots and daikon. I only wish they had more customizable options for the dipping sauces. Come hungry!

    (4)

  • Casey N.

    Ehhhh, had better shabu than this location of Zabu Zabu. We arrived at 9:45 and were told we could only do ala carte even though they close at 11pm. Being hungry, we were like, "whatever". The meat was not as fresh as I had hoped (wagyu beef) and while the sake broth was amazing as always, the quality of the meat could be tasted. What pissed me off was the service was not as good as I had hoped and a party after us were seated and allowed to do AYCE. I do not think I will be back here.

    (2)

  • Tasha S.

    It was delicious and the unlimited pricing is totally worth it! Super trendy and very clean. We loved the bacon wrapped tomatoes!

    (4)

  • David G.

    Very fresh and healthy vegetables. Definitely go for the happy hour deal.

    (4)

  • Amy W.

    The dining environment is good. They set the dishes very fast. BUT the pot took about 10 minutes to heat up. Basically we were starving to die waiting for this pot to heat up. The dipping sauces are similar to Shabuway, except that they are diluted and lack of flavor. The meat was not cut freshly and all stick on the plate. Although the restaurant gave us extra appetizer to make up the heating time, the overall experience didnt meet our expectation. And the food is overpriced compared with Shabuway and Little Sheep one block away. As a local diner in San Mateo, we will not visit here again.

    (2)

  • Jason L.

    Restaurant is nicely decorated and modern, and the plates and trays are attractive -- though it was a bit cold inside on a cold night which took a bit away from the charm. The staff and staffing is clearly still a work in progress. The rice was Cold. Not cold-ish, but Cold. It clearly must have sat in an unplugged rice cooker since the night before. The Shabu Shabu pots are a little annoying compared to say, ShabuWay. Only half of the pot (they are divided) seems to boil. The other side never boiled, in either of the pots. Why??? Also, the pots are much harder to get the food out of than the ones they have at ShabuWay. Also, they have no liquor license. Shabu-shabu without an Asahi is a big bummer to me. For this reason alone, I won't be back.

    (3)

  • Raymond L.

    The decor here is UBER Chic and made for very comfortable dining experience. We were going to go to Shabuway across the street, but it was going to be a half hour wait. This place had similar prices for All You Can Eat, better decor and wasn't filled with steam like Shabuway. It was a no brainer. This place definitely is NOT worth the money if you don't get the All You can Eat.. You get a single large tray of super super thing sliced meat for like $20. Luckliy all of us int eh party got the all you can eat, with shabu shabu, smaller plates and skewers, all for $33 each. Which isn't exactly cheap, but also not that bad. We went on a Tuesday so the place was pretty slow, but that didn't prevent us from having a good time. Decor and facilities - 5 stars Not much to say. VERY chic and comfortable. Euromodern but still warm and inviting. Venetilation was quiet, I didn't hear a single fan, but it definately was working because the air wasn't wet and humid as it can be in some places. Food - 4.5 Stars Borth - I got the Shicuan based broth, which was little under my level of spicy, but still very very tasty and actually didn't burn the eyes the way most Shichuan broth does. My friend got the pork broth which was super tasty. The pork and the wagyu are definitely the stars of the menu. The pork was ribbon with fat and delicious. The wagyu was sliced nearly see through thin. No a good deal when you pay by the tray, but as all you can eat the thinness meant that you just gave it basically a swipe through the broth and it was ready to eat. The beef tongue was tough and I'm convinced now it's better grilled than boiled. We didn't get to try to the lamb because we were already too stuffed by then. Note - They don't have much of a vegetarian choice. Our other friend didn't eat beef, so she was kind of low on options. She said she was satisfied with the vege slection, but it looked slim compared to other shabushabu placed. (But then again if you're a vegetarian what are you doing in a place like this?) It didn't matter though because the small plates and skewers were absolutely delightful as well. They have skewers of basically bacon wrapped everything from asparagus to enoki mushrooms to quail eggs. I think the griller had the flame on a smidge too high because the bacon had that slight over burnt flavors..but hey..bacon. The skewers themselves are only like 4 inches long so it's just a little bit of food. Again ranging from $3 to $5 a pop , not a good deal. But it was all you could eat, we loaded up and had a grand time. To me the star of the skewers was hands down the chicken hearts. These were perfectly flavored, perfectly grilled and tasted awesome. They also had a variety of small plates, edmame, chicken wings and the like. The chicken wings are really crispy and light. Don't rememebr much else because I was too preoccupied with stuffing my hole full of wagyu and skewers Yeah too bad they don't have their alcohol license yet, but the all you can eat does come with unlimited drinks, which usually isn't included. So free soda or tea. Yay I guess. Service: 5-stars I don't understand the reviews here saying the service was bad. We thought the service was phenomenal. Now true it was a Tuesday night and the place was slow, but the service was very attentive without being intrusive. We had multiple servers wait on us, never wanted for refills, napkins or anything. The staff also seem knowledgeable of the menu and the food and every seemed genuinely warm and happy to serve you. They didn't mention that the special broth would be extra, but that' okay, we would have gotten it anyway. Also one of us had their 2 year old daughter with her. Kids make mess, but the wait staff was there to assure us it was okay. I mean small stuff like that is nice. The skewers didn't seem to take a little longer than we expected to come out. That wait wasn't too long, but it was long enough to note that had the place been much busier the wait probably would have been too much. Also we ended up getting two orders of chicken wings when we only put in one order. No big deal right. And they even asked if we wanted to take our leftover food home (which was basically that extra order of wings. NO all you can eat place I've ever been to does that. All in all it was a very good place and made for a very fun and enjoyable evening. I will definitely tell my friends about this place.

    (5)

  • Jerome H.

    Bad services, Mean waiter! Bad food and expensive. I'll not come back again!

    (1)

  • Sherman L.

    I am not much for Shabu Shabu. But they have great sides and small plates. My Thai Tom Yum soup was nice and spicy! A must try place.

    (4)

  • Alex C.

    I just went to the San Mateo Zabu Zabu yesterday, which opened around January. I've been to the original Berkeley location, and this one is SUPER nice. The decor and environment makes it a really nice place to go to. They've upgraded from gas cookers (in berkeley) to electric, and the shabu shabu is still really good. The menu is slightly different than the Berkeley location (no Sushi, but they have different side menu) and instead of chicken, they have beef tongue. They also have a couple more choices for broth. The thai broth was pretty good, but sometimes I just like traditional, with the peanut sauce.

    (5)

  • Adrian H.

    Services started out ok but getting better now. Food's good but of course, the cooking's on the customers. The ingredients are fresh and the meats are nicely sliced so that help a lot. Interior is very nice. Definitely worth repeating visits.

    (4)

  • Nik M.

    I was disappointed for such a great location. The food was just short of nasty - greasy, no effort, no imagination, basic bland Asian food that is overpriced. And the service was somewhere between clueless and rude. Just because a place is new doesn't mean they should get your business. I bet this place will be gone in 6 months. Go down a block and spend your money at Himawari or Old Town sushi and leave this place to the creditors. Such a waste.

    (1)

  • Darren F.

    Very bad service, attitude and food! Feels like a unorganized restaurant chain to cheat Americans that does not know about Shabu Shabu! Go to Shabu Way across the street or Japan town cafe mums for all you can eat Shabu Shabu with excellent customer service.

    (1)

  • Kaitlin N.

    Wait staff were really friendly but at times it was hard to get their attention. Food was decent but I didn't like the dipping sauce so much as compared to other Japanese hot pot restaurants. We came on a Sunday night and it was pretty busy, though we didn't have to wait to be seated which is a big plus when you have a 2 yr old boy with you.

    (4)

  • Brighton G.

    Really nice fresh ingredients, delicious sauces, and a great atmosphere! I'm definitely coming back with some other friends.

    (5)

  • Lara Lee V.

    I came here with my boyfriend and we were excited to try their meat. We loved the ambiance, not too crowded, and they have good quality meat.

    (4)

  • Butterfly S.

    I was so happy that another Shabu place opened in San mateo, so I don't have to go to the only one in downtown San Mateo that is no very nice to one person customer. At first, I was disappointed that the veggie shabu is $20.00, unlike the standard $14.00. However, I don't mind, because great customer service is more important to me and I am willing to pay for it. The decor is very stylishly done and clean. The serve, Leanna, is great. She is super nice and helpful. I've been there twice since a week ago. Definitely recommend this place.

    (4)

  • Grace Y.

    Excellent place! This is my first time to come to this place! I will come again! Their meat are so good! It comes with free drinks and icecream. Compare with shabu way, their meat are better and more fresh! Their customer service are excellent!

    (5)

  • Andrew T.

    Zabu Zabu is a Berkeley institution with a new location in San Mateo. It's a welcomed addition. Went with friends and had a great time.

    (5)

  • Blake W.

    Loved my first experience at Zabu Zabu. I went with a friend who suggested we try it and I was not dissapointed. Wow, they really kept the food coming. I'm a big meat eater and was more than happy to put down several plates of the Rib-Eye steak. I went with the spicy broth and I would do that again. Many appetizers to choose from. The service was great for a place that had just opened. Moreover, I loved the modern atmosphere. I'll be back.

    (5)

  • Alvin T.

    Awesome!! I've been waiting for the San Mateo restaurant to open for quite some time. It turned out to be even better than their Berkeley one! The shabu is top notch! Very authentic and tasty! Their kurobuta pork is heavenly! I've tried practically all of the Bay Area shabu restaurants. Zabu Zabu San Mateo is by far the best! Hands down. Their Robata Yaki and small dishes are also delicious. What a great addition to their menu. All this in a very chic ambience. 10/10! Keep up the good work! And congratulations to another 5 star restaurant!

    (5)

  • Emily R.

    I was very excited to try this place when it was first opening. The place looks very modern and large. The food was very disappointing, the broth was very bland, so was the sauce. The appetizers were ok. I'm not thinking about going back there anytime soon.

    (1)

  • Gavin C.

    Expensive, very watery sauce, horrible service. There is a good shabu restaurant that's just right across the street. I wonder how long this restaurant can survive.

    (1)

  • Shirley N.

    All you can eat with several choices of meats and vegetables. Options to add sushi or small plates, which are delicious. Great for small and large groups.

    (4)

  • Marta L.

    I'll be honest... Off the bat I'm not the biggest fan of shabu shabu style meals but I said, let's give it a try. I wish I hadn't... The miso mix hardly had any taste. The two sauces that came with it did not have much taste as well. I ordered a wagyu BBQ.. The beef was tough, not very "wagyuish". The price was expensive. All in all, I will not return, sorry.

    (2)

  • Lola K.

    Superbowl was a bore so boyfriend and I decided to grab dinner instead. We decided Shabu because I had only had it once before (at this place's Berkeley location) and I really wanted him to try it and as I remembered, it was just as good. Boyfriend is now a fan too. -1 star because we told the waitress we didn't know what to order or how this works and she wasn't any help.

    (4)

  • Eddie K.

    This Zabu is my favorite place for Hot Pot. Seating is comfortable, nice open space throughout. Lighting is pleasant all around. Best of all, the good is Great, lots of variety. Service is good considering the place is so big. I gave it a 5 Star because the place very good all around. I'll be dining there again very soon.....

    (5)

  • Mandy C.

    This is going to become one of my new favorate shabu place. I love, love the decor. Who knew shabu can be so classy-looking. Anyhow... You can get a set meal for $22, or all you can eat for $26 or all you can eat with small plates for $33. Each comes with meat, veggies, mushroom, and eithe rrice, ramen or udon. Traditional kombu water broth is free, and other broth is $6 each. I recommend that you just say half & half with half traditional broth for free, and the other half for only $3. I got the half spicy miso broth. It was kind of bland and not spicy at all, but it's okay...I like my traditional one anyways so I can use the ponzu sauce. The beef here was great. It was nicely marbled. The kurobuta pork was very porky. The small dishes are really delicious! The baked mussels were heavily addictive. I also love the amount of veggies they give you. The service was good! The waitress kept checking on us and asked if we want more of anything. When she gave me the bill though, I realized they included 15% gratuity on it even though there was only 2 of us. But I got lucky since I got great service.

    (4)

  • K L.

    If you like overpaying for not-so-great hot pot, you've found the right place. You'll pay $30-50 per person and leave hungry. Zabu Zabu is super expensive at $20 minimum per person for the Shabu Shabu, and that comes with a very small portion of meat, some veggies, rice or noodles to put in the pot, and ... watery broth. If you want flavored broth, which is standard at all over hot pot places, you'll have to pay extra. If you want the regular amount of meat, you'll have to pay extra. The only viable option to get a realistic amount of food in front of you (and I'm not a big eater) is to pay $33 total for "extra meat" or the "all-you-can-eat option" so you actually get the normal portion say, Shabuway would give you. Btw, there is a time limit on the all-you-can-eat item ... ya, they are THAT cheap, they don't want you to eat too much food so they put a limit on there. As far as the robata-yaki small plates, they are not small plates. They are tiny singles. What you are getting in fact, when you order a $3 order of bacon/asparagus skewers or a $4 order of chicken skewers is ... one mini-skewer. Serious. We ordered four small plates to get a good sampling for $12. What came out, was 4 half-sized skewers on a small rectangular dish barely bigger than a soy sauce dish. Shabuway and Little Sheep for hot pot options in downtown San Mateo are vastly superior in quality. And they are both way cheaper. And they are both across/down the street. And the food tastes better. I wonder how long before this overpriced, under-portioned restaurant goes out of business at this corner location. I guess you can justify it by saying you paid for the somewhat swanky pink-neon decor. No, not really. - K

    (1)

  • Wendy C.

    Overall the experience here is great. The first plate of beef was really good. The next couple plates are not as great as they were different meat (bigger slices and more dry). I asked the waitress about it and she insists that its the same meet. I wish I had a picture. Beef tongue is excellent. Pork is mediocre and lamb is not good. I like the baked mussels and beef wrap but am not impressed with agedashi tofu, tempura, chicken karaage, and chicken wings. Also, the small plates are not small. They are regular serving size. I don't think it's worthwhile to get the small plates combo option ($33/pp). The Shabu only option for $28/pp is good enough.

    (4)

  • A W.

    The AYCE for $23 before 7pm was a deal. If one round of meat is all you can stomach, I'd said make your way to Shabuway for cheaper set menu prices. Otherwise, be prepare to shell out $20 for non-AYCE. The wagyu beef was sliced very thin. My beef eating guest and I ate 3 platters of meat between the two of us and then we each ordered an additional round of veggies. All in all, the waiters were attentive and I love how each person in our party had their own broth; the pots have partitions so a vegetarian doesn't have to cook their food in the same broth as a meat eater! But why would you go to hotpot and pay AYCE prices for veggies only? Just saying. It's like paying for a seafood buffet and loading up on rice. I'm reading reviews and it says people got ice cream with the AYCE menu. I didn't see any ice cream come my way. Then again, I already was too full to stomach it anyways. Reservations are not allowed unless your party is greater 5.

    (4)

  • Michael R.

    Clean, modern, healthy, and delicious. Came for lunch. Had the beef, spicy broth with coconut milk, veggies.

    (5)

  • Joshua J.

    AYCE Hotpot. Very nice environment, good lighting and setting. Good quality meat, my favorites are beef, lamb, and beef tongue. Price wise it's good a deal in Bayarea. ^______^

    (5)

  • Trang L.

    Came here after going to Little Sheep and couldn't get a table because the wait was over an hour long. This proved to be one of the BEST DECISIONS I've made in a while! We got the all you can eat option and since it was during happy hour (5:30-7pm), it was only $23 instead of $28. Excellent start! After reading the reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect of the food, but man, it was great. The beef was tender, fresh, and just delicious. The lamb was really good as well. I like the fact that the smell wasn't overwhelming. Get the pork bone broth -- you can't really go wrong with it. Extra point for the $1 sodas and free refills. Pretty sweet deal. Service was good and attentive. I couldn't really complain. Will definitely come back here next time. Sorry, but Little Sheep who?

    (5)

  • Ty H.

    My absolute favorite place to go to in Berkeley- delicious broths and fresh meats. We also get fantastic service, which I was hesitant about when I first saw that they add a service charge (sometimes the servers know they're getting tipped, so they won't always provide good service) but we've never had that problem. I would go more often, but it is a bit on the pricey side. Such a fun place for dinner though!

    (5)

  • SC C.

    We were hungry do we went for the all you can eat for lunch. It's $23/person and 15% tip is automatically added to your bill when we only have 2 adult and 1 kid. Who does that?!? I would be fine if service was better. There was only 1 waitress and 1 bus boy for the entire place during a 7/4 weekend Saturday lunch time. The place about 1/3 full and service was extremely slow and she forgot our order. We were waiting for our meat for 15 mins. My hubby lost appetite after such long wait when you are doing all you can eat. Anyhow food was only okay, ponzu and sesame sauces were water down. Long wait for everything.. Both people work there seemed like day dreaming. I would not go back!

    (2)

  • Dennis C.

    My first Shabu Shabu experience was very enjoyable. The meats, especially the beef, were very nice. I especially liked the vegetables (spinach, cabbage, mushrooms). I am not sure that the choice of broths influences the flavor more than the dipping sauces, however. I would definitely come back when I am looking for a large meal.

    (4)

  • Sophia L.

    We ordered the all you can eat option. Food was fresh and of high quality. Our server was exceptional and attentive. Despite sitting in front of a hot pot, the restaurant was properly equipped and temperature comfortable. We are definitely returning!

    (5)

  • Maying S.

    Come over for all you can eat from 5-7m only by 23 dollars . you ll find it is valued! I love it! So do my friends! And birthday people eat for free! Nice restuarant.

    (5)

  • Eddie F.

    This place still doesn't have their liquor license! That was a little bit of a bummer. What makes this place stand out is their selection of broths. We decided to get the Thai Tom Yum and Spicy Miso. Both spices were good, but I prefer the Thai Tom Yum because I like the slight sour taste. I'm not sure if it's worth the extra $6 for the "premium broth", but it was good. We decided to get the $33 AYCE special. As of Friday (8/9/13), the AYCE included the Shabu, small plates, and the skewers. Normally, you get to choose two of the three options. The shabu and veggies were nothing special. Personally, I think the beef at Shabu House is better. Some of the small plates I enjoyed were: chicken wings, brussels sprouts, tempura onion rings, and cold udon. The skewers we enjoyed were: bacon/quail egg, bacon/mushroom. All in all, it's a decent place. I'm not sure how it's going to fare with all the other restaurants in San Mateo. I would also give it more stars if they serve liquor.

    (3)

  • Navid N.

    I went to this hot new restaurant last night with my parents. I wasn't really thrilled with the dining experience. The meat was not of top quality and the ponzu and soy sauce didn't really help elevate the dish. But the dish which was the star was the tempura battered onion rings with spicy sauce. Hands down, the best onion rings I ever had. But overall, I was very disappointed.

    (2)

  • Tiffany C.

    So not the best shabu shabu but still not bad. We made it in time for happy hour so the AYCE deal can't be beat. We had excellent service unlike other yelpers. My main issue was the meat. Some pieces were fattier and some were leaner. Overall the meal quality was really just okay. Also what is up with not having a liquor license.

    (3)

  • Ryan C.

    I really wish I could give Zabu Zabu a 5 because their meat is excellent and they offer all you can eat. However, they charge you an extra $6 to order any soup base other than the traditional plain base. And because I was eating with a friend and we wanted to try the sukiyaki and miso soup base and split the pot in half, they charged us an extra $12! I've never been to another shabu shabu restaurant that charged extra for their soup bases. This is horrible business. All you can eat is usually $33; however, right now, because they are new they've been offering it for something like $27, which is far more reasonable. I would NEVERR come here and spend $33 + $6 for all you can eat.

    (3)

  • Lily K.

    I was excited to try this new shabu shabu restaurant because I frequent the joint across the street, but I was not too impressed. Decor: super chic, comfortable, and sophisticated. Service: below average, slow, and the servers were uninformed on drink options. Food: great garlic ramen side dish, too-thin wagyu beef that was 1/2 fat and incredibly tough when boiled. The peanut sauce was watery, but the ponzu good. The spring role side dish was fried with extra oil, and tasted like cardboard when the sweet and spicy sauce wasn't poured over it. Price: Expensive. The plate of wagyu beef was $22 and didn't fill me up at all. Compared to the shabu shabu restaurant across the street it was a definite rip-off. Unfortunately I won't go again, even though I really wanted to like it because of the chic decor.

    (2)

  • Cass J.

    No no no no...Just NO! Over-the-top decor, uninformed staff, tasteless food, oily broth, and high prices make for an unpleasant meal. Shabu is my comfort food. I trek to have shabu at least once a week, so it was only time that I'd make my way here to this newly opening shabu spot. Meat prices starts at $20.00. AYCE is $28.00. Now given that it was just one price for the regular, a normal question would be "How many ounces is the meat?" I mean for $20.00 bucks I want to know much meat I'm getting. The ignorant sever informs me that he doesn't know how many ounces the plate is, but instead just showed me what the plate looked like. This does not help because the cuts of meat can vary in slice size, thickness, etc. He looked at us like our question was an odd question to be asking in a shabu place. It was ridiculous. Finally, the host had to step in and answer our questions. Next, the meat, my slices of meat were so thinly sliced, probably 2 inches in diameter. This resulted in my beef becoming lost in the pot of broth due to the slices shriveling up. I became reluctant to let my tiny piece of meat go floating in the pot in fear that I would never see it again. My friends pieces of meat were twice the size of my slices. Again, this is why I asked the server initially, "How many ounces?" Each meat cutter can be cutting different sizes of meat at different thicknesses, that it doesn't matter what size the plate is. Furthermore, the broth itself deserves its own recognition in its own right. We ordered the spicy miso broth, and boy, was it OILY!!! I felt myself growing pimples as I ate. It had a good flavor, but the overabundance of sliced green onions and the oiliness really ruined my experience. And on top of, they charged you $3.00 a person for broth. WHAT?? All in all, this is just about the worst shabu experience I've ever had. Again, meat was sliced too thin, shriveled up into small pieces when boiled. Broth way too oily, and the uniformed server staff. It's all just a big NO!

    (1)

  • Stephanie D.

    Having always been a fan of Zabu Zabu in Berkeley, I was very excited when I heard Zabu Zabu was coming to the Peninsula! Attended last night for a birthday celebration with 11 Adults and 3 Kids. We were seated immediately and the service was excellent. The food was plentiful and wonderful. We ordered Combination B which includes unlimited Shabu Shabu & Small Plates. Everything tasted very good and I especially enjoyed the Tempura and Beef. The decor is upscale, which was a nice change from the usual hole in the wall feel many of these places can have. I would give 5 stars, but they currently don't serve alcohol (still working out kinks of getting liquor license). If they served alcohol, rating would be a solid 5. Heads up though, if you are with a group of 8 or larger, you need to sit at two separate tables (the tables don't move) so with our group we had two tables side by side. It was fine as everyone had their own side conversations going on, but if you are looking for a larger group of 9 or more to all sit at the same table and enjoy one conversation, that would be tough with the set-up of this restaurant. Will definitely be going back and won't be needing to drive all the way to Berkeley anymore!

    (4)

  • Tony Z.

    The shabu shabu is bad. If you want something authentic, this is definitely not the right place.

    (2)

  • Yan R.

    Was looking for a shabu place in San Mateo, came across this place. There were mixed reviews but I wanted to give it try anyway. The server explained how everything works, we had the happy hour all you can eat for $23, not bad at all. We ordered the sichuan, tom yum, spicy miso and pork bone broth. Sichuan and spicy miso were my favorite. Perfectly flavored and spiced. We also had the beef, lamb, pork and beef tongue, there were all pretty fresh and tasty. The beef was everyone's favorite. We used to go to Shabuway in Burlingame, but now this will be my go to place for shabu. Service is great too, very attentive and helpful.

    (5)

  • Rong Y.

    Not very impressed. First of all the menu is hard to understand, and the lunch option/price is not listed. Then the sesame sauce has maybe vinegar in it so it is sour. Everything else is not bad. The green tea ice cream is pretty good. But overall I am not motivated to come back again.

    (3)

  • Becca W.

    Let me begin with this.... 15% service charge automatically added to our bill for a party of 2. Yes, you heard right. 15%!! According to the server, they add this service charge whenever people order the "All you can eat" option regardless of the party size. Say WHAT?! I have had all you can eat options at other Shabu Shabu places like Shabu House or Shabuway and none of them have this ridiculous charge. The "All you can eat" option A is $28.00 plus if you don't order the "Traditional Broth" (Which is free) it's an extra $6.00 for all other broth choices. The two kinds of dipping sauces (Ponzu and Sesame) were watered down and bland. Our pot of broth never came to a full boil even though the cook top was already on MAX. Meats were not cut fresh to order as they were all stuck to the pan when served to our table. Even though service and ambiance was alright, the automatic 15% service charge and mediocre food really left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd rather go wait 1+ hours at Shabuway or Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot for a satisfying and reasonably priced meal. I will not be back.

    (1)

  • David P.

    Eat before you come or you will leave hungry. $50 dollars for 2 people is a bit much for what amounts to soup you have to cook yourself. Very limited choice on the menu. Basically pork, beef or lamb. If you want chicken it's on the back page of the menu and it's mostly the organs (liver or heart). The staff is nice enough but not tentative at all. You have to call them over if you want something. We came on Sunday evening at 7 pm and there were only 5 other tables so not busy at all. When we left... Not even a thank you. When I asked them if I could take the broth home in a to go tub, I was told that I could not. Excuse me? I paid $50 for this soup and no accommodation? You'd do better to go to Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot a block away. For the same price you get much more and a larger option on the menu. As for the taste of the food here, it was good. Just not enough for what you pay for.

    (2)

  • Jennifer H.

    We made it for happy hour price $23/all you can Shabu. We enjoyed the pork over the beef. Got to come back and try the all you can eat meal with small plates $33/person. Bummer they don't include the yakitori.

    (4)

  • Corinne W.

    Love this place! I've been going to the Zabu in Berkeley for a while and so happy there is now one on the peninsula. The small plates are very tasty. My favorite are the onions rings with a couple great sauces on them! I love how the shabu pots can hold two different broths! Very tasty and definitely a fun dinner out with friends! Two thumbs up!

    (5)

  • KK M.

    For the inexperienced Shabu-ers, Shabu is traditionally cooking raw foods in a dashi broth. Dashi broth = kombu (seaweed) + hot water. Occasionally, restaurants might offer a variety of broth but Shabu is plain. It is about the flavor of the ingrediants and simple dipping sauces. I was a bit disappointed when I arrived on January 18th for their grand opening. I have been to their Berkeley location several times and was able to recognize the hostess. Super friendly and super helpful as always! We did the all you can eat for shabu and small dishes with a small group Food: Food was good. They have a great selection. After we ordered a couple of times, repeated our order, reminded the staff and actually got our food.. it was ok. We pointed out that there was a hair in the food and the boss responded "ok" and took it away. No apology. We understand it is busy but just let us know you'll try not to let it happen again. Service: Need more training. I feel they should have had a soft opening BEFORE actually serving guests. Atmosphere: Everything was great but hearing other tables complain of the service was pretty bad. Price: $30 for all you can eat shabu, $35 for all you can eat shabu AND small dishes or yakitori, or $40 for all you can each everything: shabu, small dishes, and yakitori. I hope to have a better experience next time I come to this location but I really feel the staff needs to be better trained before serving. There was a bus boy that was very kind apologizing for us waiting, explaining its their first day. Overall, I would still go to the Berkeley location until I have found a better experience here.

    (2)

  • Carrie W.

    Get the original broth that comes with shabu shabu. Do not order the other broths...extra $6 each. Not worth it. I think the best deal is to do the AYCE shabu shabu with the small plates. Please note: everyone at table must order same combination. Other Yelpers nailed this: the onion rings are AMAZING, the garlic ramen was YUMMO, and the baked mussels are MUST HAVES. The waitress was nice. Once I smiled at her and asked her about her favorites, she perked up and was quite friendly. After taking our order though, service was almost non-existent. We could not get water. They never came to refill our broth which was evaporating away. We finally resorted to having the busboy take our refill orders for meat. The beef, pork, and lamb are cut so thin that they all tasted the same. The Wagyu did not seem like Wagyu. The marbling was not there. It was not until our sixth round of Wagyu that it actually looked like and tasted like Wagyu. I understand now the negative comments I have read on Yelp about food and service. But my experience was decent enough to want to give it another try. Will be back with other friends.

    (3)

  • Ellen H.

    A very fancy Shabu Shabu Restaurant with beautiful decor. The quality of the meats is fair, probably due to the fact that they have all you can eat options. Nearby Shabuway and Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot are superior. Overall - Good Food - Good Decor - Excellent Service - Good Value - Good Recommended dishes: Beef Shabu Shabu ($20) Baked Mussels Zabu Beef Wraps

    (3)

  • Marian K.

    I had a good time here despite reading some medium reviews. Now, they have all three categories (small plate, shabu, and grill) all u can eat for $33 only. Servers, in general, are good (sometime forgetful). Lighting inside is too dark that I can not even see what I am cooking. For those of you will usually eat at shabu house or little sheep, you need to come and try. I will bring my friends here again if they keep up their quality food.

    (4)

  • Gaven W.

    Quality of the pork, beef, beef tongue and lamb was excellent. The chicken kaarage was pretty tasty too! The decor is modern, clean and not crowded like the other hole in the wall places around the corner. The all you can eat is reasonably priced and loved the fact it includes the small dishes. The only negative was they charge 6.00 for their premium broths, I think 3-4 would've been more appropriate. All in all, I'd come back again and recommend it to my meat eating friends.

    (5)

  • May L.

    My husband and I are regulars here. We normally get here right at 7pm or a few minutes before 7pm, but we always get the happy hour price, $23 per person vs. $28. At any given day, I would give this place 5 stars. This one star solely goes to service today. As usual, We got there a few minutes before 7. We got seated immediately and minutes later, our waitress took our order. Not our regular waitress but we've seen her a few times before. Fast forward, the bill came and they priced us at the regular price. No biggie. After tax and gratuity, it's only a difference of $14. But confused by why we didn't get the happy hour price,since we normally do, we asked the waitress. She said she looked at her time and we didn't place our order until 7:02. We asked nicely if they could honor HH price since we got seated before 7 and if they can't, no biggie. This is where our waitress gave us a very long lecture about if every customer ask her to honor the price, they'll have no business and I could've placed my order earlier if I wanted the HH price. Still lecturing us, she said she'll honor it this time only but will not do it next time. At this point, we're pretty irritated. Confused by why the other times we went there before 7 and paid the HH price. Never once did we have to discuss anything about the bill not was it a problem. Also, we were extremely nice when we were asking about our bill. Not sure why the waitress was arguing with us. Pretty bad experience today.

    (1)

  • Ray L.

    Reasonably priced. I actually prefer the small dish over the hot pot. Good thing is that also able to make reservation. Will be back

    (4)

  • My P.

    They wouldnt give me a table until my bf came. WTF??? We had only 2 people n the whole restaurant is empty n she wouldnt sit me. No wonder why no one comes here to eat. Bad management service. I Asked for stuff n they kept forgeting.

    (1)

  • Julian H.

    Will definitely be coming back...I came for my first time yesterday and definitely enjoyed the variety much more than other shabu places. The meat is sliced a little thinner and comes in smaller quanitites compared to shabu house...but who cares since it's endless. What really makes this my new fav is the variety of small sides and broths that you can choose from. We ordered the pork bone broth on one side (on the menu it's called japanese sake I think), and spicy miso on the other...both were flavorful which really makes my day since I typically find the broth at other hot pot restaurants to be very bland. Oh...also received excellent service by the way

    (4)

  • Eegnam A.

    This location is much more fancier and bigger than the Berkeley location. The broths and meats were great, and I like the option of having sides along with the hot pot. The service is great and they can handle larger parties.

    (4)

  • Tiff W.

    Teetering between 3 and 4. The space is great and can hold large parties. With the said, there was only 2 parties there on at early Friday evening. I've been to the Berkeley location and think it's good. I have to say I like the service here A LOT better, went with the small plates options, the baked mussels was probably the only good thing there. Sake mussels were okay. Skip the fried chicken, not worth the calories. Tofu choices were okay. Beef wrap looked really good but also didn't taste that great. I might give it another try for the shabu option but it's hard to mess that up.

    (3)

  • Taylor N.

    .

    (4)

  • W. L.

    Very good food and lots of selection. The food is work of art. Check out the special dishes. Worth the price and you'll should check it out. All you can eat. Definitely will come back for more.

    (5)

  • Amelia H.

    No service whatsoever. The girl working there didn't even look around when there were multiple hands going up to try to get her attention. We sat for 30 minutes and not one person came to take our order. We walked out and she didn't notice. Not a good way to run a restaurant. Would've given zero stars but yelp made me give one.

    (1)

  • Jessica C.

    Came here for lunch, party of three. They have this ridiculous "policy" where if one person wants to get All You Can Eat shabu, everyone at the table as to order this. What?! And on top of that, there is a 15% service charge for endless shabu!! You are much better off eating at Shabuway!! At Shabuway they let everyone order what they want without some ridiculous policy and service charge.

    (1)

  • Marc C.

    Bit more pricey than Shabuway but much nicer environment that makes it worthwhile. Ask about the unlimited specials that are really worth while.

    (5)

  • lib c.

    had reservations here for valentines day! it was my first time trying shabu and it was very pleasant. ambiance was nice (minus the steamy windows but that's understandable lol), friendly staff, and good food.

    (4)

  • Joiera C.

    Very Clean and very modern and healthy. I will definitely come back. Prices should been a little less but its definitely worth to try this Zagat and Michellin rated zabu zabu. Best when its super cold out which is pretty all the time with our microciimate.

    (4)

  • Mee-stique K.

    The first time I came here, I had such a wonderful experience that I couldn't wait to come again! The two girl servers Rosa and Iris were super friendly and accommodating and they were the reason for my return. However, the second time I wanted to come, there was this new guy there who supposedly was the Manager and manage, he did not!! I had specifically made a reservation and even confirmed with them about having sliced chicken for shabu. Everything was fine until after that. I had called to change my reservation time for 30 minutes later as traffic was a little busy and they said it should be fine. However, when I arrived actually 10 minutes earlier than expected, they said they gave my table away and said I didn't come at the time I was supposed to! Pierre, who was the "supposed" manager said that there were other ppl waiting for tables and figured since I didn't come at the time I originally said, they didn't hold my table. So I got a quite upset and said that I specifically called to tell you I was running a little late and asked to hold my table. Even if you had walk in, you should've figured out something so that when I arrive, I would have a table available. Isn't that what a Manager is for? To figure out things like this? Not just to take the easiest way out of things. You should actually use your head and figure, "if I was to give this table away, will there be another one available for when the customer who made the reservation come in". That is called a good manager. You don't just give the table to who ever comes through that door! What is worse, there was another party after us and he gave that table away because he knew someone from that group! Now talk about favoritism.....that is not right!! What is even more hilarious, Pierre tells us that we have to wait 15 minutes for our table and that we would be the next one to be seated!! We turned around to see if there were anyone there and it was just us!! It's like...."ARE YOU KDDING ME???" OF COURSE WE SHOULD BE THE NEXT PERSON TO BE SEATED....THERE ISN'T ANYONE AFTER US!!!! If this Pierre is going to be the Manager of this restaurant, I hardly doubt there will be much people returning as he has just deterred us from coming back!!!

    (1)

  • Tetyana K.

    super delicious and super nice place. Their Ice Cream _ green tea is yuuuuummmmyyyyyyyyyy . At first we were a bit confused what to order and how ?? what??? and where ?? so we let the server to choose for us and it was great. I love it. definitely going there again and will recommend others.

    (5)

  • Kawhom L.

    Food is not bad but not too many choices and mostly beef that unfortunately I couldn't eat it. Nice place. I would recommend to the Mongolian hot pot. Price isn't different. Food is more varieties than here. We paid for $6 for soup. When we are done, I want to take the less of soup home but they said I couldn't take it. We already paid for it why can't we take it. First I gave 4 stars, minus 1 star for waiting time and no choice of food. Less 1 more stars about service that never bring you serving soup spoon or your utensil. You only have chopstick on the table that they are selling hot pot soup SERIOUS!!! We are waiting for 10 mins and asked twice for the bill. Definitely we won't come back. Good luck for your business.

    (1)

  • Krystal O.

    Came here for the second time last night and ooohweeee zabuzabuuu. Came around 8ish and was seated right away. My friend and I opted for the AYCE shabu, which costs about I think $28/person? This deal though.. is a great deal as it comes with AYCE shabu AND "small plates", which consists of pretty much anything you can think of. Ordered the chicken kaarage and the garlic noodles for starters, both of which were good. The garlic noodles had a good garlic-y taste and the sauce that comes with the chicken kaarage was amazeballs. As for the shabu, the soup base we chose was the Japanese sake (?) and the Spicy Miso. I really liked these two and they sort of balanced each other out if you want spicy and then non-spicy. All in all, the food was good and I left satisfied. Service was great too! Everytime we "finished" a plate or something could be "cleared" off of our table, the servers immediately took it away so that was nice. Would definitely come back here as this is probs one of my faves shabu places!

    (5)

  • Ren L.

    The best time to come is during happy hour before 7pm so you can capitalize on the unlimited meats for like $23 .... or $28 or something, I forgot. But it's better than paying $20 for a single plate, which definitely isn't worth it. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have a beer license (yet) which I found kinda disappointing since it's been open for a while now.

    (4)

  • Satomi P.

    Disappointed Their interior looks so modern n nice but the quality of food is so bad. With this price, I can enjoy a better shabu shabu. No matter all you can eat or regular shabushabu , the tray of meat is as thin as tracing paper. And it's $26-33 per person. Even I est slowly, I barely enjoy my whole tray of meat because it's too thin to chew and feel the texture . I don't even notice I'm having meats. So not worth it. also, for small plates, I ordered ginger music chicken wing, and I don't taste anythung special comparing with normal fried wings. Oh I saw customers sat down and left. And some don't even leave with a satisfied face. Only one thing is Good which is the onion rings.

    (1)

  • Lee T.

    Terrible customer service ! Called for reservation and was told that no need for party of four, but tables were available. Arrived within 15 minutes to be told that no tables were available as all have been reserved. Will make sure that none of friends do there. Should give it a negative star!

    (1)

  • Jt T.

    Zabu zabu is a bad experiences I've had. It's pretty damn pricey for one person. It's suck when there an extra 15% charge on bill for a service. Noway I'm coming back...

    (1)

  • Stephen C.

    With a group this would be a fun place. The design is very "modern" large open floor plan. I got the garlic miso- ramen noodles and brussel sprouts which were both amazing dishes. It was a tad bit on the expensive side. But i will be back, with a group next time

    (4)

  • James H.

    Could not wait to eat at the new zabu zabu in San Mateo! When we got there and ordered we realized that all they was serving hot pot. No sushi,no skewers no explanation... So I think I will pass

    (2)

  • Kimi W.

    Wow I was so disappointed, this may be the worst shabu place I have ever been to in my life. This review is based on food not service. Service was great and very attentive staff, but I come to restaurants to eat. If you want authenticity and/or quality, go to Shabuway for both, and go to Shabu house for quality. Clearly this restaurant invested more on the decor and ambience with huge space to make it a new trendy hot spot than food quality. The udon noodles were not even fresh...they looked like they were pre cooked and frozen, so broke apart so easily unlike the fresh real udon that is still strong, flexible and chewy. The vegetable variety is less than shabu way or shabu house yet the prices are more expensive...$20 for meat or veggie shabu. The quality of meat is better at the other restaurants as well as larger portion size, and shabu way does offer the lean Kobe, whereas I haven't seen that at any other place. My fiancé ordered beef, friend ordered pork, and I ordered veggie thinking my vegetables would be different from everyone else's...nope they just brought me the same veggies as the other orders. At least at the other 2 places, they have kabocha, asparagus, broccoli, and other greens if u order only vegetarian. The broth isn't even good quality! At shabu way there are actual thick slices or kombu instead of the paper thin seaweed at zabu, plus u have to pay extra for the other specialty broths, whereas at other places you don't. I'm sorry for having to write this, especially for a fairly new business. They need to make some changes here with the food. Total rip off, felt like I was robbed and want my money back but don't ever want to go back there to eat terrible quality food that belongs in a food court or cafeteria. Cheap food and expensive. They also included 15 % charge for tip for a party of 3...ummmm...didn't think we'd catch that?Why pay more when u can get more and quality still paying less elsewhere. Don't believe the hype... Go for the original and real deal at Shabuway.

    (1)

  • Celine L.

    Very Bad customer services. Gosh. please well train your waitress before they come out and serve ppls. especially with that two asian girls.I will never go back to this place to eat. they don't wroth it for me to give them tips at all. bad management. i gave them 2 stars because it will stay record on yelp. 1 stars Yelp can take it out. i personally will give -1. i hope the owner can take a look and knows about this.

    (2)

  • Andrew T.

    Pros: Sharp and trendy decor. Food tastes great. Cons: Shitty service. Expensive. Ordered the all you can eat special starting at $23. It comes with endless meat and a hot pot of their default stock. I wanted the spicy miso broth and that costs another $6. When ordering the special, a 15% gratuity is forced into the bill regardless of party size. Lunch for three all-you-can-eats and the special broth fee totaled $95. Our party had few complaints about the meat. The beef and pork were neat and thinly sliced. It was tender after a quick dunk in the pot. The beef tongue; however, was tough. The staff was inexcusably absent minded given that we were the only party when we arrived and one of four by the time we left. There was hardly any staff in sight most of the time. The waitress completely neglected our first request for additional meat. Our tea was never refilled until the bill came despite our repeated requests.

    (2)

  • Gorton L.

    Went here for dinner last night and had a great time. Nice decor, very clean, not buffet style like the chinese hot pot places. We had the AYCE, rib eye, lamb and pork. Passed on the tongue. Everything was very good. The meats are brought to you in trays, fresh sliced, not frozen. The beef was very well marbled. Tried several of the broths-the Sichuan one was my favorite. Small plates offered a good variety. Service was attentive, not intrusive. The owner stopped by to welcome us. Best of all, my buddy picked up the check! Only downside is that they do not have liquor yet and the Yakitori grill was not up and running. I was assured that's on it's way. I really wanted beer and sake to go along with the meal. Tip: DO NOT cook the spinach or cabbage in the spicy broth! It picks up all the little red peppers.

    (5)

  • Kristina K.

    Came here to try out the restaurant since I've never been. I would give a 4 for ambiance and 3 for the food. We ordered the regular broth and it was a plain hot water with seaweed, very ordinary. The flavor comes from the sauces they serve you, the peanut sauce and ponzu sauce with green onions. And since they're kinda bland, I wanted to ask for other condiments such as chopped garlic or chilly sprinkles like in Shabuway. Those are extra charges.

    (3)

  • Alicia W.

    Very pricey... But the food is good. They push for the endless shabu since its only $2 more than a regular set. Service was great, food was tasty, nice atmosphere. But busy so be sure to go earlier if you don't want to wait! You also get ice cream for dessert after too!!

    (4)

  • Sishi L.

    we came here before 7 pm, so is happy hour time, almost everything on the menu is discounted during happy hour time. we chose all u can eat option A, you have 4 kinds of meat: beef, lamb, pork, beef tongue and all sorts of vege and noodles. the restaurant is very roomy, well decorated. but the meat here are not that fresh comparing to shabuway....i think i will come again if im super hungry that day or i will just go straight to shabuway.....

    (3)

  • Kim N.

    Ive saw the construction of this place for a good year before they opened. When they finally opened it was only for dinner. Recently they opened for lunch and four of us decided to check it out. The space is huge, but it has a really nice design. Dont think many people know it's open for lunch yet as it was pretty empty and at the end we had the whole place to ourselves. After perusing the menu it seems like hot pot is just the first of many things they want to implement. There's a robata grill section that isnt active yet. Got the beef tongue shabu with ramen and a multitude of veggies and the ponzu/sesame sauces. Also got a chicken kara-age for good measure. Food was of decently good quality and the broths were decently tasty. However the price for lunch was high. The two items plus a drink came out to over thirty for lunch so if you're coming here I think you should just do the all you can eat for not too much more. Service is attentive enough but I guess it has to be when you're the only ones in. I think once they get all the menu items going I think Ill do a return visit. 3.5 stars

    (3)

  • J. S.

    Came here for the first time last weekend. I liked it, especially for the endless selection. (and it really was endless, the waitress come back with another tray each time~) The soup selection was good; my friends and I ordered spicy miso and sukiyaki. Veggies were perfect. Definitely will return and recommend.

    (5)

  • Eric W.

    This is a terrible restaurant!!! Pot sticker we're burn charcoal black and I sent them back! This is supposed to be all you can eat but I had to practically tackle the waitress to get more food. Each time she gave me some lame excuse like "The kitchen is very busy and it will take 20 mins. Do you want to wait?". Of course I want to wait, I'm hungry and I'm paying $28 per person!!! Ridiculous, miserable treble place!

    (1)

  • B G.

    We visited Zabu the first weekend they opened. They probably had some kinks to work out, but this is based purely on my experience that night for dinner. The service was mediocre. We had to ask a couple times for things and the service was not super fast. How hard is it to bring out broth and uncooked meat? They have an all-you-can-eat option. Half of our table wanted it and the other half wanted to order a-la-carte. They said that typically they won't allow half a table to do this, but they said it was ok since it was opening weekend. What really irked me was that they made us rearrange seats so that the all-you-can-eat folks sat on one end of the table, so to make sure that not even a morsel of a taste of food went to the non-all-you-can-eat folks. We all ordered entres. Who cares if we had a small taste of food!? They reminded us of this more than 3 times. They also stressed no-wasting. SERIOUSLY??? This is a semi-classy restaurant. Why treat us like hoodlums? The food quality was ok. They have a good variety. Decor is nice. They turned the discount Japanese variety store into this restaurant. Prices are on the high side. $22 for regular beef with seaweed broth. Anything other than the seaweed + water costs an additional $6. seriously? No other Shabu place that I've been to charges you for broth. Obviously, I won't be coming back. This restaurant will be short lived with the abundance of other delicious Japanese restaurants in San Mateo.

    (1)

  • Emma S.

    We decided to try this place after learning that the wait for Little Sheep was an hour. The decor is awesome and service seems helpful/friendly. We ordered 2 of the $20 "sets" which came with meat, veggies, and udon/ramen or rice and some pan-fried pork gyoza which was yummy. Additional broth is $6 so we ordered half of the Spicy Miso broth which was $3. The food was delicious but the wait was a bit longer -- not a super long time but not speedy either. The traditional broth (which was advertised as a "seaweed" base) looked suspiciously like water with some tiny seaweed floating in it. Complaint 1 is that if you opt for the traditional broth like I did and cook the tofu, noodles, AND vegetables in it, the citrus Ponzu sauce that was served got a bit old after a while with nothing else to season it. The meal also came with a sesame-peanut sauce, but I am allergic to nuts. Complaint #2: The food is pricey! We had three people and shared 2 sets because none of us were that hungry and our meal ended being $43 not including the gyoza. This is a great place to have once in a while and I probably would come back. Felt bad for nearby Shabuway which used to be packed and was empty.

    (4)

  • TIGGER P.

    tried out Zabu Zabu to check it out because it's in my neighborhood, but was very disappointed with the SERVICE. even the table next to me said the food was ok, but the service and wait is killing them. the dip makes the meat tasty, otherwise, it is plain and bland, it's just thin slices of meat (which we can purchase from any Asian store) and hot water. after my dip got watery, asking for another dip took 20 minutes after asking 3 separate servers for a an additional dip. asking for a refill on my cup of tea also took 3 to 4 requests before someone actually came to refill our tea cups. $175 for 4 people was kinda steep for protein, i could have had much better food, and definitely much better service, for that price. WATCH OUT, they "automatically" charge 15% service fee on all bills (regardless of the size of your party), and 18% on parties of 5 or more. i was more disappointed after a TIP line showed up on my credit card slip knowing a 15% charge already added on my bill - for the extended wait i needed to endure for a dip and a refill on my tea, i would have left a minimal tip of less than 15%. the service and price was the factor that would not make me return to this place. it was an experience though, but i've had much less expensive food and better service. the Ramen places around town would cost only 1/4 what we paid for at Zabu. $175 for 4 was just a bit steep.

    (2)

  • Amy B.

    I thought this place was bomb.com ! I had been looking for authentic Japanese cuisine in the Bay and I happened to come across Zabu Zabu. A fan of all foods, I was looking forward to indulging in some traditional and satisfying shabu shabu. After my experience with Zabu Zabu, I can say I found my new favorite Japanese restaurant. Amazing food, warm ambiance, and outstanding guest service. This place gets an A++!

    (5)

  • Marj C.

    Good food. Good ambience. Good customer service by our server (Rowena).

    (5)

  • ted w.

    This place is so good, and the all you can eat deal is really worth it. I used to go to Shabu House, but Zabu is now my new go to place for shabu shabu.

    (5)

  • George H.

    Compared to most of the shabu options in the Bay Area, Zabu Zabu ranks as one of the best. The wagyu beef is thin and marbleized, with plenty of soup options available. I recommend the all-you-can eat. For $8 more, you'll be sure to fill your appetite.

    (5)

  • Brandon S.

    Beautiful restaurant with great ambiance. Crowded, but never felt rushed. Very fresh tasting meat with a huge assortment.(lamb, beef, tongue, chicken...) Robata grilled to perfection. Energetic waitstaff frequently checking in with our party and replenished broth every 10 min or so. From reading some of the reviews, a few kinks need to be worked out, but HAVING ONLY BEEN OPENED A FEW DAYS, very pleased with our experience.

    (5)

  • Jewels V.

    Tasteless food. High prices. Random service charges. Customers are seen as dollar signs, not patrons who might want to return. This place will be closed down in a year.

    (1)

  • Irene K.

    So this place is finally opened. Very excited! So far everything is great. Friendly staff, nice decor, although a bit confusing on the menu and a bit slow on service as well. I'll update this review with details when dinner is finished.

    (4)

  • Rosa F.

    This is my new favorite place for traditional Japanese food. I had an amazing server who brought everything needed and even accommodated with any requests given from my friends. We had a great time while we waited for our shabu shabu to be cooked. Coming from Japanese descent, I am pleased to say that Zabu Zabu is the closest to authentic, good and real Japanese cuisine. If you're looking for something new and different, I HIGHLY recommend Zabu Zabu. Thank you Zabu Zabu for a welcoming and engaging experience!

    (5)

  • Kat K.

    The highly anticipated Zabu Zabu in San Mateo is finally opened for business. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by the modern decor. The restaurant is spacious but it exerts a very warm ambience. I am a beef person and i love all types of beef. The waygu beef is tender and delicious. But i have to say Zabu has the best kurobuta pork and I have tried all the shabu places in the bay area. The pork is perfectly sliced and it melts in your mouth. No matter how long you cook the pork, it doesn't get dry. The other places don't even come close with the quality of their pork. I love all the meat here but the fact that Zabu serves beef tongue is definitely a nice distinction from the other places. There is also a great selection of soup broth, and I always like spicy miso. I want to try the Tom yum broth next time. I have been looking for good yakitori place and it is hard to find a decent one. I am so excited that Zabu offers authentic robata yaki. Love the chicken gizzard and wings! I can't wait to come back and try more of their yakitori. It would be even better when their alcohol license is ready to serve sake and beer. Yum yum... Highly recommended to try Zabu Zabu out!

    (5)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:30 am - 2:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Accepts Bitcoin : No
    Good For : Dinner
    Parking : Garage, Street
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Upscale
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : Free
    Has TV : Yes
    Dogs Allowed : No
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

Zabu Zabu

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