Cadence was an amazing server! He was very attentive and helpful. Would definitely come back and ask for him to be my server specifically!

This was one of the best restaurants ive ate at, the all you can eat service was awesome. Lidong was my waiter he was kind and nice I would recommend this restaurant. read more

The food was a 10 out of 10 and the broth just made it better. Mikey helped us both our broths and what types of meat we would enjoy best. I would definitely come here again. It has a good vibe. read more

Shabu Works has quickly become one of my go-to lunch and dinner spots in San Marcos, and for good reason. The food is consistently great -- fresh, high-quality ingredients and a fun, interactive dining experience that never gets old. If you haven't tried the New Zealand lamb shoulder yet, stop what you're doing and order it. It's tender, flavorful, and honestly one of the best proteins I've had at any shabu-shabu spot. It's become my personal staple every visit. The lunch options are excellent -- good value and a solid spread that doesn't leave you wanting. Whether you're grabbing a quick weekday meal or a leisurely sit-down, it hits the spot every time. A special shoutout to Li Dong, who is an outstanding server. Attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable -- he makes the whole experience even better. It's the kind of service that keeps you coming back. Highly recommend Shabu Works to anyone in the area looking for a warm, satisfying meal with great hospitality! read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Sichuan mala pot and pork bone - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

Always busy, and crowded because its good! AYCE hotpot Big parking lots Good services Good foods Reasonable price read more

Very yummy had server Elena And she quite helpful came around and turned down our heat for stove We never been here or do this much So very helpful Not many folks here yesturday Not noisy Lots choices for afternoon a buffet with chicken and toppings for soup and salad area We serve own drinks Theres a bar Shaved ice area with toppings Very awesome birthday freebie meal with my friend read more

Alright, it's been a little over a year now and I love coming here! Not for dinner though, I come here for lunch. It's the best deal around. All you can eat for lunch, and the pricing is on point. Also you can stuff yourself and skip dinner and be okay, and not go to sleep with a beef hot pot belly. The meats are limited during lunch but we just get the beef belly and eye round. That's really all you need. 4 plates. 2 plates of veggies, some noodles and it's all good. I go to Cava next door and it costs me almost $20 for not so good food. But come here and pay $25 and get all you can eat! Thats member pricing, just buy the membership. Everything is usually fresh at lunch time too. The soft drinks, milk tea, flavored tea and bingsu are a good addition. Love this place and so glad it's in San Marcos. It's the best hot pot we have! Best broths are mala and Mongolian if you like spicy. Spicy miso and tonkatsu is pretty good too. The one broth I did not like is the spicy Tokyo. Tasted like nothing, just spice, no salt or real flavor. Skip that and go with other spicy broth. Service is on point now. They got it down. Service is fast. They do need to give you more napkins though. 1 is just not enough. read more

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This place was a cool little experience, make sure you go in pairs so everyone gets their own side. You can customize the broth, they had so many different broths to choose from I got the miso garlic which was good! Then they had a buffet style area for you to choose what sauces, veggies, different types of noodles, seafood options for your pot. It's nice they had so many different options for people to choose from. I def will be going back to try more things. Best part of it was that it was all you can eat for 2 hours. read more

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I love a good hot pot place! So good! I especially like it when it's buffet style. We went on Valentine's Day and it was pretty busy! On the weekend they have seafood. You get 2 choices of soup. We got TONKOTSU PORK BONE and UMAMI MUSHROOM. The UMAMI MUSHROOM tasted super buttery. The TONKOTSU PORK BONE was more my favorite. The meats we got were CAB top blade, Pork belly, Wagyu chuck tender, angus beef belly, and NZ lamb shoulder. My favorite was lamb and pork belly. All the meats are thinly sliced and so tasty! To drink, I grabbed the crystal boba with Okinawa milk tea and lychee jelly with lychee black tea. I love them both and the lychee jelly was so great with my tea! I grabbed one of almost everything! My favorite was the mushrooms and boiling my egg. My all time favorite noods is the glass noodles! I just love how thin they are and they hold a lot of flavor from the soup. It's super great that they have a shaved ice machine for the dessert! A perfect finish to hot pot. I had 2 bowls! I put a lot of toppings on mine. All the syrups, fruit, fruity pebbles, and sliced almonds made it sooo good! The restaurant has a bar, and so many tables to sit with a couple or a group. It was a perfect Valentine's date if you love unlimited options to eat. read more

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We tried Shabu-Works for the first time. The wait was long for Saturday dinner. We joined the waitlist through Yelp at 8:00, and got a table at 8:50. We had to wait in the parking lot for 50 min. since we had to be close to join the wait list. The place was clean for AYCE. We had spicy miso broth and mushroom broth. The mushroom one was plain with not much flavor. The hot food was less than my expectations. The regular popular things like gyoza, teriyaki chicken and katsu were there but the quality of the hot food was AYCE. A lot of items to choose from for shabu shabu! My favorite was fish, vegetables and clear noodles. So many different things and could not try them all, so we must go back again! The quality of the included meat was better than expected for AYCE. They were tender, and two out of three we picked didn't have a thick fat band around the edges, which we liked. It was an interesting dining experience for sure. We will try to avoid the wait next time. read more

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Solid place in San Marcos! I've been to the location in Mira Mesa many years ago, and that was also pretty good (just smaller and harder parking). This place is extremely clean, food options aplenty, and very good customer service. Pricing is also great! Esp for lunch. Soup bases to must try: tonkatsu and the Mongolian Meat quality was actually really good too! Very thin slices and not too fatty. I also love that they have a bunch of drinks to try (outside of soda) and also shaved ice station! My family will be a regular here! We just bought more gift cards to take advantage of the holiday deal. read more

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Service was great! We were waiting for a friend and the host saved us a table. Because when my friend came it started to get packed behind us. Aaron explained the whole process to me and always came to our table asking if we needed anything or needed more meat, which is really appreciated. The place is beautiful and so spacious. I could see why it gets crowded. Unlimited fountain drinks and they even have shaved ice !!!! I went with my girlfriends and we had such a great time catching up with eachother I forgot to get the shaved ice. Guess im going to have to come back and I cant wait. read more

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My family and I who are originally from Oahu love Asian Cuisine. We currently live in the Bay Area (NorCal), but traveled to Oceanside (SoCal) for my daughter's graduation (Master's in Healtcare Admin), which was held at Frontwave Arena. The night before her graduation we yelped for a place to eat any AYCE asian food, and Shabu-Works popped up. The reviews had 5-star ratings with great reviews, and the menu looked great, so we decided to eat dinner there. It was pretty busy, but we were seated within 45 minutes. The staff were not as courteous as I had anticipated from the reviews, but maybe they were just so busy and mechanical going thru the motion of getting people in and out that service was pretty bad as we often had to flag down staff to remove dishes or with more meat. The food selection was excellent though with a lot of fresh veggies and seafood on top of the meats, and I enjoyed their hot food selection, especially the mapu tofu, which I feel like I ate more of than the shabu-shabu. However, speaking of the shabu, the biggest drawback is that they only allowed us to have 2 broths. One of our guests love extra spicy food, so we chose one broth with spice and the other side with garlic miso tonkatsu (which was flavorful and very good), but everyone else who did not want a spicy broth had to share the other side. We all did try a bit of the spicy side to taste, but since not all of us eat spicy, we were all stuck with just one broth! When the one guest ate up the spicy broth, we asked if we could try a different broth intstead, especially since it was our first time there and were told we can ONLY have 2 broths and once the 2 broths are selected we cannot select any other broths even though one side was already completely empty of the broth, which was very disappointing because the broths are what makes a shabu-shabu, a shabu! The ambiance was okay. Lighting was good. Our area was clean, but it felt very tight spaced and cramped with the big broth hot pot in the middle and our plates stacking up and NOT cleaned out in a timely fashion. I really don't want to give a negative review, especially since this is only my 2nd review on Yelp, and my first review that I gave was an excellent 5-star, rave review rating for Sonu BBQ. However, given that the staff was inattentive, not as hospitable, and robotic coupled with the very limited selection of broth to only 2, I have to sadly and honestly give only a 3-star rating. What truly saved this review from a 1-star is the fresh food quality and selection, so the yelp reviews regarding the food are spot on. I just wish the service was better and that the restaurant allowed us the ability to select more than 2 broths, especially if we were done with 1 broth, which could have been easily replenished with a different broth. read more

We love to cook all of our meat and noodles in the sukiyaki broth because it's so flavorful. Then we also get the tonkotsu which is a better base because it's not as sweet and we'll mix the half and half of the broth in our individual soup bowls! They also have a lots of sauce options to doctor your soup to your liking! The wagyu meats are our favorites because they melt in your mouth. This place has a lot of options at the buffet and lots of drink options too! Milk tea and a variety of fruit teas. They have boba - the popping fruit ones. Wish they had the traditional black ones but they don't. Service was great too! They were always checking on us whenever we were getting low on meat and needed another round. read more

Really great hot pot, we will definitely be back! Keep up the excellent quality. The service stood out, absolutely friendly and accommodating. Clean and modern interior. The quality of the meat and vegetables is great. They also have milk tea and fruit teas on top, all soft drinks, and a shaved ice dessert bar on top of a great condiment bar, fried katsu and karaage (karaage is not as crispy), and more. read more

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enjoyed this location having only been to the mira mesa one before this. it's the same pretty much, well decorated and good selection of bases and meat. i love that they do the free meal on your birthday but she didn't check my id :/ read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

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Paid by card. Shabu- Works is located in a plaza and offers a lot of plaza parking. I go here at least once or twice a month and ended up getting the membership for the discount. The workers are quick to serve here and are friendly. I also like how you can add yourself to the waitlist through Yelp. I love how the ingredients are so fresh and there are so many to choose from. I usually like to get one spicy broth base and a non- spicy broth base. I forget they have a shaved ice bar as well, but I'm usually so stuffed after shabu. I would definitely recommend this place and would go back. read more

The best hot pot restaurant In San Diego, 10 out of 10. I really recommend Tom Yum soup base, in addtion there are many kind of drink you can get. Staffs are friendly. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

I have only ever come here for lunch, and I have not really had to wait. The restaurant is very clean, and the waiting area is separated by a slot wall from the dining area, and I think that's really nice. I always find it uncomfortable when you have people standing around waiting near your table as you're trying to eat. For beginners, they do a pretty great job of explaining how everything works. Choosing your meats is pretty straightforward, but choosing your broth can be the difficult part. Something that a lot of people may not know is that you can get a small taster of the broth! One thing to note: If you like the broth that you tasted, but feel like it might be a little intense, just know that you won't really be drinking the broth. It's used more to cook your meat and vegetable vegetables and add flavor. They have a good selection of broth and meats on the menu. The things on the menu (if I remember right, that's just meats and broth) are brought to you by the server, and everything else is a self serve buffet. The vegetable buffet also has cooked meat as well as some seafood options and a very large variety of vegetables. They also have a dessert area with boba and shaved ice. The wait staff is friendly, helpful, and attentive. Whether you're in the mood for Shabu, or you're looking to try something new, I would definitely recommend giving Shabu-Works a try! read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

The beef belly is my favorite meat here. Great options for broths, but my favorites are probably the sukiyaki and spicy miso. The ramen noodles are fresh, not instant. I try not to eat too much to fill up but I can't help it lol. Teas are ok. Definitely recommend coming here for your hot pot fix in north county. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

Turn it all the way UP! The food here is amazing. I frequent a lot of hot pot joints but this one takes da cake. The meats were thinly sliced to perfection, the hot food selection is great , and the service was tremendous. Come to this location before there's a line out the door! FIH' STAH read more

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Ate here for dinner and lunch. Service is good, waiter/waitress comes around to pick up dishes. Doesn't leave it stacking up. Buffet and sauce area is kept clean. Broth has good flavor. Warm food buffet area, food was fresh due to busy lunch time. Seating and table = clean/well maintained. read more

I've never been to a hot pot. It was sooooo good! You can sample the broth before you order them. It's legit all you can eat. Endless meat, veggies, sea food, cooked foods, dessert & drinks. Not just sodas but all kinds of teas & other drinks as well. I will definitely be going back so that I can try more stuff. My stomach could only hold so much! 10/10 highly recommend. read more

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So, it's been almost a year since my first review of Shabu-Works. I've been in about a half dozen times since then, and they have kept up the excellent food quality and fastidious service that we experienced right after their grand opening. The buffet is stocked with dozens of delicious choices: Seafood, veggies, noodles, white and fried rices, fried chicken, tonkatsu, gyoza, and so much more. They even have a soda, and iced tea bar, thus drinks are actually included in the price. The tables are spaced far enough apart that you actually have a little breathing room. So even when they're hella busy, you don't feel crowded in. This is the best hot pot restaurant around, and it definitely fixes my Japanese food cravings every time I've eaten here. I love this place! read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Heaven in a bowl! - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

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SO. DELICIOUS. Been here two times and I've loved all two times so so much. Servers are friendly and honestly feel like friends when you talk to them. 10/10 would swim in the Mongolian broth read more

I absolutely love this spot my husband & I come here atleast 2 times a week seriously! All you can eat and a ton of options of fresh vegetables and add ons that you can add to your hot pot at your own expense. Waiters are so nice and always attentive. The ambience during lunch is the best in my opinion if you prefer more of the chill vibe while dinner it is a bit busier HOWEVER the service is still great I love this place they also do discounts depending on the day! read more

SHABU-WORKS® - US Wagyu Beef Chuck Tender 6 oz. Angus Beef Belly - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

First time here and we will be coming back! Food, service, ambiance 5 Stars!! Made reservations for 7:30p on a rainy Thursday evening. We got seated immediately. Note: your entire party must be present in order to get seated. Francisco was amazing. He explained everything to us. Gave us his recommendations and even let us sample some of the broth before deciding. We decided on the sukiyaki broth and the garlic miso to tonkatsu and The Mongolian and Tonkatsu pork bone broth in another. My favorite was the sukiyaki broth which has a sweet terikayi flavor. It complemented the wagyu beef. The other fam fav was The Mongolian. It was a bit spicy for me but still yummy. The hot bar was fresh and had a variety. Chicken karage, dumplings, wings to name a few. They also have raw seafood: crab, calamari, fish, lobster balls and more. Fresh veggies too. Variety of drinks and teas to choose which are included with the meal. Mango tea with popping boba was a hit. And the dessert bar had shaved ice. And various topping and sauces. Highly recommend. Make reservations because I'm pretty sure this place gets pretty busy. read more

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Shabu-works is our favorite spot for hot pot. We usually go to the Mira Mesa one but wanted to try San Marcos and it did not disappoint!! I actually think the San Marcos location is better. The layout is more spacious, it's more modern and bright. The snow cone machine was easier to use. And the hot food section was great! The chicken Katsu and teriyaki chicken were cooked perfectly! At the other location the chicken katsu was either overly fried that it was hard or the teriyaki was dry. The servers were friendly and attentive and always checked in on us. Definitely will come back to this location. read more

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Always my first choice of AYCE hot pot spot! Service was friendly. Good place for family dinner. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Bar area - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

Shabu Works This was totally guided us to this restaurant from Yelp. Not familiar with the area, trusted reviews and was very satisfied with the actual experience. Wagyu Stew was a winner, very good selection of meats and extra items to choose from. I liked picking out from the buffet bar, the self service drink area is a nice touch along with the cooked buffet items. I personally enjoyed our experience read more

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The service is fast and located in a plaza (which is great to walk off the meal). The food quality is great and the buffet bar varies from already made hot foods to raw vegetables and seafood to cook in the shabu. The dessert of shaved ice is well accompanied by various toppings which I love. The atmosphere is relaxed and family friendly, a great place to bring your family and friends to enjoy a meal. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Mongolian and Tomato Base soups - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

So different from the location in San Diego location. This location I feel is bigger and cleaner. The food and so yummy. Even my super picky eater child ate a pretty good amount of soup. Our server was great and always asked if we needed more meat. This place is AYCE, so you have to get up and get veggies and other miscellaneous items - all stocked up. read more

Food: great food. Many options, even for picky eaters Ambiance: clean, not too close to other guests, comfortable seats Parking: plenty of parking Service: good service. If you're done with your meat don't be afraid to ask for more. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Get the beer--Japan- Light Lager. Perfect and light. - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

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We all know this is my family's usual spot- we literally have the membership. After many visits I've decided the mala is my fav. I've had the Szechuan broth at haidilao and it's always good but too spicy. The one at shabu works is justtttt rightttt. Perfect amount of spice and yummylicious. For those who haven't been yet, here's what's in store for you: It's set up like a buffet so you can grab everything you want to add to your shabu (besides the meat which you order to your server). There's soda + fruit/milk teas and a shaved ice bar with many toppings. Hack: I take the jelly toppings from the shaved ice bar and add it to a fruit or milk tea then u have boba!!! There are many appetizers as well as veggie, fish, and noodle options. Highly recommend getting on the yelp waitlist (u have to be within 2 miles to join) bc it can get very busy. I think the price is soooo worth it and ONCE AGAIN is literally like the one of the only authentic Asian restaurants in the area. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Tomato harvest and Szechuan mala - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

This is still one of our favorites. Bwhile others will comment on the hot pot, I especially enjoy the food bar and all you can eat shaved ice. It's the draw for me and my crew. Good atmosphere and it is clean. read more

My wife and I come to Shabu Works all the time. It's one of those spots that just becomes part of your routine because it never lets you down. Every visit feels familiar but still gives us something to look forward to. The food is consistently fresh, the service is solid, and the experience always hits the spot. This time, I went with the tonkotsu pork bone broth, which has become my go-to. It's mellow and comforting, not as heavy as the spicy or miso options, and it lets the meats and veggies really come through. If you're someone who usually leans toward clear broth, this one gets pretty close and brings just enough depth without being overpowering. My wife ordered the Mongolian broth which, as always, brings bold flavor and a little bit of kick. It's great if you're looking for something more aggressive in the best way. Normally we go all out and get every meat, but this time we focused on a few favorites. Both Wagyu cuts were tender and rich, the chicken breast was lean but still juicy, the lamb had that distinct flavor we love, and the beef belly brought all the fatty goodness you expect. Nothing felt like a filler item, and each one held its own in the pot. The sauce bar is still one of the best parts of the experience. It's fun customizing your own mix and figuring out the perfect combo for each dip. The veggie bar and noodles were fresh and well stocked, and the whole setup just makes it easy to settle in and enjoy the pace. Whether you're new to hot pot or this is already your thing, Shabu Works makes it easy to love. Everything is clean, easy to navigate, and built around quality ingredients. We always leave full, satisfied, and already planning our next visit. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Soup - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California

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A comprehensive AYCE hotpot experience. Ordered a split pot with half mala and half mild tonkotsu, which worked well together. Meat orders were given to the sever, and seafood/veggie/noodle options were self-serve. The self service stations were expansive and well maintained, and the drink bar/shaved ice bar was the perfect way to end the meal. A great way to warm up during a cold day. read more

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We came for lunch & the price is so reasonable for lunch! We were impressed by the hot bar, unlimited soda/boba, and shaved ice dessert! The ingredients were fresh & delicious. My only two cents is please bring raw onions- I'd love to add them in my shabu! Service was quick and attentive! You're allowed two soup bases for free! read more

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My wife and youngest son were spending the day in the San Marcos area and decided this was going to be our dinner choice. We were lucky enough to enter right before the need for the Yelp wait list to be activated and were seated right away. First impressions of the San Marcos Shabu-Works was that all of the staff were young and very pleasant and professional and the restaurant as a whole was very clean. Our party of three was seated at a t-top with just one burner for the hot pot, which was divided in half for two different broths. It was decided my son and I would use one side and my wife would use the other side. My family prefers the restaurants that have a burner for each dinner so each can have their own individual hot pot broth that can seasoned to their persona liking or if there are any food allergies or dislikes, it won't be an impact with shared hot pot. Soon a server appeared and explained the menus options. We ordered our meats and soon went to check out the other AYCE offerings for the hot pots. I must admit, for the non-member price of $37.95 per adult, I was kinda expecting a little more in variety, both with the fresh veggies and seafood offerings. I saw the typical fish balls, lobster balls, prawns with heads, fish filet pieces, crayfish, shellfish, crab legs, bok choy, enoki mushrooms, napa cabbage, tree fungus, tofu cubes, corn, ramen rice noodles, hot white rice. They also had fried chicken, which all of us really enjoyed. The condiment/sauce bar was pretty decent and we all could make a close variation of the sauces we each like using similar ingredients here. I was so happy to see pickled ginger but when I tried it at the table I was immediately disappointed and grossed out. Not sure if Shabu-Worksd makes their pickled ginger in house or buys it from vendor, but it was the saltiest pickled ginger I ever tasted. No hint of sweetness or ginger taste, just off the charts saltiness. After three rounds of multiple meat trays for each round, we finally tapped out. Time for dessert! The shaved ice machine was probably one of the most popular areas and the most crowded. They had multiple toppings along with multiple squeeze bottles filled with syrups and other liquid flavoring to add to your shaved ice. That was really fun and it was a first for all of us to see this offered at any AYCE buffet we've been to. Overall, not a bad hot pot place, though we would choose others in the same price range with more offerings in the OC area. But if we are in this SD area, we would definitely consider Shabu-Works in San Marcos as a choice for dinner. read more

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Food: 3/5 Drinks: 5/5 Portions: 5/5 Atmosphere: 5/5 Cleanliness: 5/5 Customer service: 5/5 Speed: 5/5 Price: $$$ Outdoor seating: no ADA access: yes Restrooms: yes Dogs: no Kid Friendly: yes Vegetarian options: yes Vegan options: yes limited Ambiance: casual to date night Pros: super friendly staff Cons: not worth it for vegans/vegetarians. You're limited to veggie soup with one soft tofu option. $40 for super salty broth. read more

SHABU-WORKS® - Hot Pot Near Me - San Marcos, California