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    Kim Shabu

    4.3 (320 reviews)
    ModerateKorean, Hot Pot, Buffets
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Waitlist - Kim Shabu

    Live Current wait: under 5 minutes

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    KIM SHABU ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Kim Shabu

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    Jo-ann H.

    Went for their lunch on a rainy day and the price was super reasonable. It was around $21ish per person with 6 meat options to choose from (#6-12). The restaurant was pretty clean, and all the veggies were fresh. Honestly, it's one of the cleanest AYCE hot pot spots I've found so far. The staff were also very friendly and welcoming, which made the experience even better.

    Patricia T.

    It pains me to write this as I was truly excited to check out this place. I was in Koreatown and was looking for places to eat and this one had great reviews. It should've been a red flag already coming in with no customers in the restaurant, but I gave it benefit of the doubt. No issues with customer service as everyone was incredibly nice. When I was sitting at the table; I noticed a cockroach on the wall. Not wanting to alarm my parents I decided to ignore it. Thinking back, I really should have told them and gotten up right away because it made me iffy and anxious the entire time. Surely enough, my intuition was correct. After we got our food, I noticed the cockroach (don't know if it was the same one on the wall earlier or not) casually walking on our table where all our food was. Now I can't ignore it anymore and told my dad there's a cockroach right next to your plate. We flagged down the owner and told her about it. She was very apologetic and moved us to a different table and offered a discount to our bill. But during the entire time I was hypersensitive and on high alert for the bugs. It really just ruined my appetite and I couldn't find myself enjoying my meal at all.

    Menu
    Liz N.

    Returned to visit the shabu AYCE experience and new concept. Everything was very good and they definitely got busy as the morning progressed. Good options from the buffet line. Very nice employees! I got the house broth and my favorite cut of meat from the lunch menu was #7. Clean restaurant and will def be back

    À la carte menu

    A good option for AYCE hotpot in the Memorial City-Bunker Hill-Little Seoul area with very reasonable prices, especially for lunch! It's a quiet and clean place, and the front still has the Noodle House. Our server was very friendly and helpful, and I believe the manager also routinely came out to check on us (she also seemed friendly). Compared to places in Bellaire/Chinatown, it has less options for sides, but I think the quality makes up for it. My ONE advice: DOUBLE UP ON YOUR MEATS! The portions of "single" meat plates are much smaller than other hotpot places. The pic I've included is when we doubled up on our meat orders.

    Peter X.

    Quick service, friendly staff, and $30 AYCE dinner. I do recommend the dinner menu for the additional meats. This place is good for the price although I wished there were more options at the bar such as more veggie options and seafood. Pro tip: at the end of the meal, get some handmade noodles to soak up all that flavor from the broth!!

    AYCE HOTPOT
    Jeannie K.

    Kim Shabu is my happiest find of 2024 in Houston. This used to be a soup noodle place and has since been completely remodeled. It now offers - dare I say - the best individual hotpots in Houston. That's a bold claim given we have so many hotpot spots. So what do I base that on? 1. The variety of items. The seafood and veggie+ bar is impressively varied, and with 12 cuts of meat offered for dinner, Kim Shabu gives you permutations and combinations of concoctions between veggies, meats, seafood, carbs, and sauces. Don't skip on the rice cakes and the hand-pulled noodles towards the end. 2. The freshness. This is unbeatable. I don't know how they offer so many items and yet keep them all so fresh. I probably ate a pound of mushrooms and crown daisy each, and don't get me started on the meat. So fresh and so good. Such good quality. 3. The flavors. Both the House and Beef broth are delicious. While my pot tasted like really thick mushroom soup by the end of the meal, the broth was good from the get go. The sauces were also spot on. The avocado sauce was so good and spicy, and I also enjoyed the soy-based House and Ponzu sauces as well as the black sesame sauce. And the peanut sauce. And the ssamjang. I ate a lot of sauces. Service was also prompt. I'm really happy with this find! Edit: Turns out that I really disliked my experience here prior to the remodeling, but definitely go and support this new hotpot gig. The Shabu is fantastic.

    Roxanna V.

    This place never fails. Went in January and very recently with family and friends. Our visit in January was with a large party with some being vegan and non vegan. It was a wonderful experience all around. They have plenty of vegan options here and highly recommend for anyone wanting those options. They have no problems answering any and all questions as to what is and isn't vegan. The meats are always fresh, as well as the buffet. Hands on my favorite place to go and always highly recommend. The service is always wonderful. If you are looking to go for lunch and not dinner there options are half of what is offered for dinner but they are still great options.

    Katie A.

    First time here and had a great experience! It's very clean and well laid out. The service was great and the owners are so sweet. So many options to choose from the food bar. The broth was a bit bland and I couldn't figure out how to spice it up just right but there are a lot of great sauce options. It really is a great price for the quantity and quality of the food. I will definitely be back.

    front counter
    Chris W.

    Previously Korean Noodle House, Kim Shabu is a lovely family-owned hot pot joint out in Spring Branch. The clean, minimalist decor as well as the unassuming menus are endearing, but don't let that fool you - among shabu shabu restaurants, it holds its own against more bombastic peers in Chinatown and Katy. Here are my thoughts on our experience: Meats and soups: For dinner, choose from any of the 12 cuts on the list, of which 9 are beef, 2 are pork, and 1 is chicken. Everything we had was fresh and well-portioned; I loved seeing all the beautiful trays hit the table at once, then stacking them up high as we devoured slice after slice of meaty goodness. Most of us ordered either the deeply rich house broth or lightly savory dashi soup, which were also both excellent and complemented the shabu shabu options well. Buffet: You'll find your typical selection of Asian veggies, shellfish/seafood, tofu, mushrooms, and noodles out here. Reflecting the restaurant's Korean roots, you'll also see an extensive banchan station (I wish the kimchi had gotten refilled)! The sauce bar has both prepared mixes and basic essentials for you to create your perfect dip. The dessert and hot food sections were fairly limited, but you're not here to eat too much of that here, are you? Service: Our server was quick, efficient, responsive, and attentive - perhaps more so than at any other hot pot restaurant I've been to! I guess it did help that the place was pretty light when we went late on a Friday night. In short, while it may not have some of the more expansive options that other places do, Kim Shabu more than makes up for it with solid mainstays and excellent, personable service - I wouldn't hesitate to go back if I found myself in the area!

    Patrick L.

    This restaurant has great flavor broth, and a good selection of meats. I wish there was more sides available.

    By far THE best Korean shabu in Houston. The ingredients are so fresh and clean. Vegetables were literally spotless. All the meats were good and high quality (I hate it when restaurants give meat that's 90% fat). 휴스턴에서 왠만한 샤부샤부집 다 가봤는데 여기가 제일 맛있네요. 소스도 맛있고, 고기도 좋고, 육수도 맛있고, 야채랑 모든 재료들이 다 신선해서 기분좋게 먹고 왔습니다. 감사합니다!

    Porridge
    Rachel D.

    Very nice wait staff. Such a nice variety of hot pot ingredients. Fresh noodles and plenty of vegetable variety is a must! I missed the kimchi from when this place was a Korean noodle house, so glad I was able to have some again. I went on a Friday night and it was full, but it didn't feel full, crowded or loud. I was eating alone, so total plus not to be overwhelmed.

    Andrew C.

    On the corner of a strip mall, this hot pot place isn't huge but can seat parties of two to larger groups (there's a separate room with big tables). Each person gets their own pot and it's one price for AYCE - with discounts for senior citizens (10%) and kids under 4 eating free. Broths are House (chicken, beef, pork), dashi, beef, pork, chicken, miso or veggies. I went with the house but honestly - like with most hot pots the flavors at the end are all muddled. The have a buffet bar with the most neatly stacked and assorted vegetables and items for your hotpot - including kimchis etc. They also have a section for rice and some items that go well with rice . . . and a separate area with fruit and a whole ice cream section. Meats are very very thinly sliced - which means they cook in a matter of seconds. You can get two plates of meat per person (roughly 10 pieces), but you'll likely need to order some more as you go. Staff was so courteous and helpful and very kind. We even got some candy canes since Christmas was just around the corner. This place is definitely a bit of a neighborhood gem.

    House broth

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    So fresh, love the prices! Can't wait to come back in the future with my family. The service was excellent!! The broth was amazing

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    Page 1 of 8

    Ask the Community - Kim Shabu

    Is it only Shabu or can we still order the noodle soups?

    Hi, thank you for your message! Yes, you can still order the noodle soups! But we are out of internet… Read more

    I used to love the kimchi from Korean Noodle House. Do they still sell kimchi to go, and is it the same?

    Yes, we are the same owner and make the same kimchi every day!

    Are you the same owners as Korean Noodle House?

    Yes! My parents are still cooking in the kitchen!! We just changed our menu to All You Can Eat Shabu… Read more

    Do they have ponzu sauce?

    We do not have ponzu sauce yet, but we have other house-made sauces taste similar. We will actually add ponzu sauce soon, too!

    Are there gluten free items on the menu?

    Yes, they have some rice dishes which are gluten free.

    View All 8 Questions

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    I love the Chinese Korean style noodles. Jajang and…read morejjamppong are classics and can never be a bad choice here. I will definitely be a regular as I was for the same one in bellaire. Service great! Super friendly staff. Extremely attentive

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    Hits all the basics of an upscale kbbq restaurant. Fresh, high quality meat and the servers know…read morewhat they are doing. Felt like the pacing was a little off though. We got the combo thing with a bunch of different meats, and the large pork belly was cooked first so we ended up waiting for a good amount of time, and once we started slowing down the beef tongue cooked very quickly and faster than we could eat. The banchan were pretty hit or miss. The kimchi and salad were highlights. Overall taking away a star because I've had better experiences at other high end kbbq restaurants in different cities.

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