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