Tiffany S.

I've been watching all my west coast friends experience Chubby Cattle with envy - especially the hot rice dispenser!! I'm so excited we finally have a location here in Michigan (as of the end of last year (Nov 2025)). So Chubby Cattle is AYCE Shabu Shabu (Japanese hot pot)! They stand apart from other AYCE shabu places I've had in LA because they offer many tiers of wagyu - from American to Australian to A5. It was worth it for us to get the Gold Tier (at $80/pp) to have basically like a beef taste-off. You could really tell the difference with the A5. Also, we ended up LOVING the tom yum. Usually I'm not a tom yum broth girlie but the beefiness needs some acidity to cut thru. Tomato would probably be a good bet too! But we did house broth and tom yum. Also, as our server recommended, the gomu is the way to go on the sauce! They also have an expansive hot food and small dishes section that is so neatly organized and refreshed regularly. For the hot food, you can't miss their egg tarts! They're done portugese/de nata style and they're dang good and AYCE too. Liz B, our server, was such a sweetheart! Attentive and gave great recs and also proactively anticipated any needs (e.g. like scissors for seafood, even asked if we wanted a certain sauce, etc). You rock! They're pretty strict about the 90 minutes but we didn't need the full time - we were STUFFED by the time 60 minutes rolled around. The only thing that was disappointing was their matcha mochi - texture was way off and not fresh. Otherwise, had a great experience and will definitely be back.

Nick B.

It boils down to the fact that I wish they had the Korean grills. Broth just isn't the same. Meat was good. Pricing, ok, once in a while, not too bad. Service is good. Place is clean. Stuff comes exceptionally fast. Only down sides are the limits on the Wagyu when you do even gold and the fact that I'm basically doing Korean fondue when I want BBQ. They also wouldn't let me sample the broths before picking. I wound up changing out the spicy tankutsu for tom yum. Probably a one and done for me. I'll take Fogo de Chao or Texas De over this any day.

Nicole E.

Went to try it out. Got in by 4:10pm. People are waiting for tables already. Kiosk to check-in and join the waiting list. Seated within 5 minutes. Eric is waiting on us. Ordered two gold set meals. Limited Waygu special with one order per guest. $165.36 (less tip). Seafood is one order per guest. The crab was cold, hard to crack and water logged. The clams fell out of their shell. The squid were tiny pieces and easily got lost. The beef, chicken, mussel, abalone, rice cake, veggies and mushrooms were all good. The spicy broth isn't spicy at all, but the dipping sauce gives me much more flavor. The sesame balls and starters weren't so good. Fruit was rather sad as were the deserts and fried rice, kimchi too. All orders must be in within 70 minutes of your visit and you must be done dining within 90 minutes. It's loud and busy and hectic around the buffet area. The kimchi Baos were good. Service was good. The bone marrow wasn't so good, had little bits of meat to it. My husband wasn't a fan. For a nearly $200 meal for two, it was worth maybe $100.

Cory C.

I've been here twice so far, and I recommend spending the extra $10 to get the silver set: the Australian Wagyu is so much more tender and melt-in-your-mouth than the American. In terms of cuts, the ribeye was my favorite (most tender), followed by shoulder (stronger beef flavor, still tender), with brisket at a distant 3rd (tougher and chewy). The kurobuta pork was fresh, tender, and rich in flavor. Appreciate that they use organic chicken. They use good quality meats here! The seafood selections are okay - nothing special. I'd recommend focusing on the beef and pork. My brother did like the sweet shrimp (one of the specialty dish options): fresh, clean flavor. The sides/appetizers are what keep this from being 5 stars - they are hit or miss. My favorite sides there were the Wagyu fried rice and the karaage (Japanese fried chicken): the fried rice was flavorful and delicious, and the karaage was seasoned well with crispy breading and a juicy interior. Sweet potato fries weren't bad either - not too greasy and had the right amount of salt. The curry was run of the mill (tasted like the cubes from the grocery store), gyoza was not bad. The sides from the menu are not worth it: lots of filler! The "shu mai" is the worst. It's traditionally made with pork and shrimp, but this one is just stuffed with glutinous rice, which I've never seen before. The shrimp appetizers also have a lot of filler and/or breading. Thankfully I knew to avoid the filler items the 2nd time around so I could just have more space in my belly for the meats. I did like the desserts from the tablet: the plain Swiss roll was delicious with the cream in the middle and the chocolate crepe cake had delicious chocolate cream in between the layers. They were not too sweet! The custard egg tart from the buffet line, not so much: the custard tasted like movie theater butter which is not at all how it's supposed to taste... I appreciate the good variety of veggies and noodles that you can add to your broth at the buffet bar. In terms of the broths, tonkotsu is the one I enjoy the most, by far: it's got a rich depth of pork flavor and just goes well with everything. The house broth was really bland for me and the sukiyaki was overly sweet. For the sauces, there wasn't a huge selection. I wish they had a peanut sauce (I like mixing that with soy sauce and sugar at Kpot), but the sesame sauce did the job. Service was pretty quick: meats came out within a couple minutes of ordering and they also cleared out empty plates often. Wait staff was helpful. Our waiter Alan and he did a good job explaining how everything worked. He also gave us a heads up when we only had 8 minutes left to order food (70 minutes of ordering time, 8-10 dishes every 6 minutes, 90 minutes total). Ambiance is also classy: love the Asian lanterns and decor. It is clean inside and not too noisy at all. This place is pricier than Kpot, but with the much higher quality of meat and better broth (tonkatsu), it's worth it as a treat every once in a while. I am definitely open to going back in the future!

C S.

Restaurant was beautiful! The atmosphere was amazing--you really feel transported to another place. The food was delicious, and my husband especially loved the chicken skin dumplings. We had a lot of fun trying all the different hot pot options and dipping sauces. Everything was very clean, and the staff was friendly, helpful, and welcoming. Will we be back? Probably not, only because we've realized we're just not hot pot people. That said, we'd absolutely recommend it to anyone looking to try something new or wanting a unique dining experience!

Amanda L.

First time at this extremely trendy spot and it did not disappoint! The ambiance is so fun and instantly transports you to Asia, in my personal opinion. They went above and beyond with designing up the interior space to make it appear like you might be in a small alleyway grabbing some food, very night market-style! Our waiter - Ruby!!! - was absolutely incredible from start to finish and given that I came here with 2 of my friends and it was all of our first times, she was able to break everything down for us succinctly and clearly. There is definitely a time limit per table - 90 minutes - and that pressure is put on you right away, but it ended up being the perfect amount of time so we didn't feel entirely rushed at the end of the meal by any means. It was just a lot at the top that essentially as soon as you are seated at your table, your time begins! So if you haven't been here before, I would definitely recommend taking a look at the menu ahead of time if you can just to get a bit of the lay of the land and make that start of the process easier. We had to choose right away which level of dining we were going to go for and thankfully, my group and I are very decisive so it wasn't a long conversation to decide (especially given the entire table needs to do the same level as well. Ultimately, we went with the Gold Wagyu set, which gives you Japanese Wagyu! I have heard the basic wagyu set (American wagyu) is not good, but that the Silver Wagyu set (Australian wagyu) is definitely decent. For our first time, we wanted to ball out and it was absolutely worth it! Each set gives you specific limited items as well and the ones at the Gold level - especially the wagyu nigiri - were to die for! Service was crazy fast, we placed an order for all of our meats and other side dishes we might be interested in on the tablet and then went up to the counter to get our sauces and other side dishes. By the time we got back to the table, all of our ordered items were there in a tower at our table and we basically only got up once or twice after that to replenish side dishes for the rest of the time. Everything we had was DELICIOUS, but the particular stars aside from the wagyu nigiri, were all the Japanese wagyu dishes AND the chicken skin gyoza. Holy guacamole we got so many of those lil chicken skin buggers because they were ADDICTING and I have never had anything quite so yummy before! I completely get the hype of Chubby Cattle! It is unlike hotpot anywhere else in Michigan right now so is definitely a place you want to check out if you're a lover of the hotpot style of dining. So fun, such a great time! I will definitely be back soon!

James K.

This was a neat looking place, that was not very well thought out or priced out. I was kind of excited to see a possible competitor for K-Pot, but this wasn't it and it's ridiculously expensive. We went here for a birthday, and probably won't be back. The atmosphere is nice, don't get me wrong -and they have the ability to serve large groups as well as a couple, but the little bits of shaved food they give per request and the limited amount of veggies and other choices available make it not worth the trip. You have to serve yourself for whatever you want to add to your soup. This makes you have to get up and navigate a tiny maze full of people, staff working and others walking through. Once you're at the service area there are many standing deep waiting to grab items, while staff is hurriedly replenishing it all. The space to get around each other was not well thought out, and the price for a meal was literally double what K-Pot (or any other Korean barbecue) offers. I think we spent $38 per person with an option for $50 and a "membership" price you can purchase. The highlight however was our server Alan. He was a great guy, very friendly, very knowledgeable, extremely patient and took the time to explain literally everything, as we had a language barrier with our party. He was very much appreciated, and deserves a medal! We tipped him well for the highlight to the tough experience. I hope we run in to him again if he ever moves on, we can't say enough good things about him. We didn't voice our concerns to him, we just tried to make the best of it, and his stellar personality made the trip memorable. I personally don't recommend this place due to pricing, choices and portion, as well as the quality of food. Better to try K-Pot or something similar and save a few bucks, while not leaving hungry and disappointed. But if you do, at least ask for Alan's section so you have an enjoyable experience.

Absolutely amazing experience. The shabu is fabulous and a fun way to have a great dinner. Bring an appetite, as it is an all you can eat extravaganza. Bao, our waiter was very friendly and helped explain how ordering works. You use an iPad to order the meats you like and then cook them in a boiling pot of the broth that you choose. You get 90 minutes to eat all you wish, sounds like it would be rushed but it's really not. We did the Sukiyaki and the Tom Yum broths and both were great. Lots of choices of meat and seafood with additional items like noodles and other side dishes and you will not leave hungry at all but instead will end up delighted by the amazing meats. The various kinds of Wagyu are amazing. A really fun experience and a great restaurant for a special occasion.

Emmett T.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Chubby Cattle group had expanded their footprint and opened the first restaurant in the state of Michigan about two months ago. There are numerous restaurants from their portfolio in the LA/OC area, but none have made their way to my hometown. I met with a good friend and his wife for dinner recently at Chubby Cattle Wagyu Shabu House. The location was a corner suite in a random strip mall not far from the Novi Town Center. I expected more signage to be posted on the facade and marquee, but all that existed was some sidewalk signs. A Yelp tablet was available in front of the service counter to enter your party name to the waitlist. I didn't see the waitlist functionality activated on the business listing which was too bad because that meant you had to physically show up and type your name into the tablet. We arrived about ten minutes before they opened for dinner at 5 pm. Customers were allowed to enter early and use the tablet which we did. Within 15 minutes, a hostess escorted us to a booth that was across from the buffet stations. The dining area was a mix of tables and booths. Our server came over and explained the different pricing tiers and what the unique meats were available for each one. Ultimately, we stuck with the Basic Wagyu Set that cost $48 per person with a $10 discount if you were a Chubby Cattle member. The Wagyu selections consisted of American Chuck Ribeye, American Brisket, and American Shoulder Clod. The other available meats were Jidori Organic Chicken, Kurobuta Pork, and Lamb. More premium Wagyu cuts, Specialty Dishes, and Seafood Platters were offered at the higher priced tiers. Before deciding on the proteins, we had to select one or two broths from the seven different varieties. Our picks were the House Broth that the server described as fishy and the Spicy Miso Broth that he said was not very spicy. A communal pot with a divider in the middle was placed on the burner at our table to heat up the two sets of liquid. We asked for a tray of each of the three American Wagyu types for each of us along with an order of the Jidori Chicken. While those were being prepared, we went to the self-serve buffet stations. I got a glass of the Assam Milk Tea while my friends tried some of the fruit tea choices. My milk tea was creamy and not too sweet. A rice dispenser plopped out a scoop of rice into a bowl in which you could pick a small, medium, or large serving. That rice served as the base for the two kettles next to the dispenser. One contained Wagyu Beef Stew and the other was filled with Wagyu Curry. I placed a scoop of the latter onto a large serving of rice. The curry was savory and not spicy. It was so hearty that my friend went back for a second serving later. Each of us picked up assorted hot and cold items from the different buffet stations. I especially liked the Egg Tart because they were full size, and you don't normally see this Chinese dim sum item at the run of the mill Asian buffets. It served as a secondary dessert because of its sweet creaminess. The broths were boiling, and the raw meats were delivered by the time we sat back down. Between ten to thirty seconds of "swish swish" time in the broths were all that was needed to cook the meats. The Wagyu portions were thin but very tender. The lamb didn't have a strong gamey scent while the chicken was pretty bland. Ninety minutes was plenty of time for us to enjoy the hot pot experience and to nosh on the following cooked products that we ordered from the tablet at the table. * Fried Rice * Octopus Xiaolong Bao * Pork Dumplings * Shomai * Shrimp Tempura * Takoyaki From the above list, the tempura and takoyaki were the best of the choices. For dessert, there were selections available on the tablet, and we each got a different item. Mine was the Matcha Mochi that came as three pieces. It was the softest mochi I have tasted which was impressive for this type of restaurant. The basic set was a tad pricier than a regular AYCE Asian buffet, however the quality of the meats was superior. The one negative I had was the unavailability (sold out) of certain items that you had to order from the kitchen (e.g. Lobster Dumplings). I gave a 4.5 star rating for our meal at Chubby Cattle Wagyu Shabu House.

Mary Z.

We came for lunch on Christmas Eve and it was pretty empty. Got seated immediately. Our waiter June was very polite and helpful. He explained the menu and dining process well. We decided to splurge and chose the Diamond Wagyu set which is $98 per person. This comes with unlimited Japanese A5 wagyu. We definitely tasted a difference between the Japanese wagyu compared to the American and Australian. Our favorite was the Japanese A5 Wagyu Brisket. For the broth, we chose half Sukiyaki and Spicy Miso. We loved the Sukiyaki and didn't really care for the Spicy Miso. They have a nice selection of various beverages and a great sauce, bar and veggies and sides bar such as kimchi and an octopus salad my fiancé really enjoyed. For dessert, we really liked the earl grey Swiss roll.

Heather M.

Came here for me and my husband 14 year anniversary and we checked in at 4:30 at the hostesses for a chrck in time of 7 or 7:30 because I did the research and seen this place gets very busy and we wanted Tobe able to enjoy this new experience that's kind of like kpot. Now for anyone who thinks it's just like kpot you are alitt mistaken because it is slightly different. Let me explain how - We were a table of 2 we chose 2 broths to dip our meat in. There is no grill so it's basically you are making your own ramen. Depending on what you purchase depends on what meats and such that is brought to your table. We ordered the dinner of $98 per person so had unlimited waygu meats and everything else on the menu . We walked up to bar thst had the noodles, veggies and everything you would put in the broth. There was also white and waygu fried rice . At the bar were drinks as well like teas and sodas. There were also a few salads to like Kimchi. There was also a few fruits. On the table is where you order some Appetizers and all the meats. We could order unlimited of all these. We also had strawberry and plum Suka . Didn't have much alcohol content in them but they both were sweet and not bad to use. The dessert options were nice as well. I really liked the thinly layered chocolate cake.it had a chocolate mousse filling. The decor was vibrant and I enjoyed how they had it set up. Our server was cool. He answered every question we asked and at the beginning of our dinner explained everything to us on how it works there since it was our first time. We will vote back to have this again.

Ethan T.

Wow. First time in a while I was pleasantly surprised eating a meal at a restaurant. Actually. I admit I was a little intimidated by the cost of the meal but it was definitely worth. We got the Gold level meal and the Japanese A5 was so tender. Bao was our server and he recommended the sukiyaki broth, and he nailed the rec. The meat compliments the broth and it's light enough that you can keep eating without it feeling like too much. I'll definitely be back. Because they just opened this location, they have a special on their membership - usually it's $58 but it's $8 so it was a no brainer to sign up. If you're in between on this place - just try it. It is worth it!

Annie L.

This place is amazing! Our dining experience was top-notch. We are out of towners and are very impressed. The food is very fresh, authentic, delicious with a lot of variety. This is a great Hotpot place and you start out with a very nice soup broth as the base. You order the meat that you would like, and then go get the-all-you-can-eat vegetables, toppings, and accompaniments to cook in the broth which was one of my favorite parts. There was so much variety and lots of different types of mushrooms, even the expensive kind. I was impressed with the authenticity of the Asian vegetables. There was wood ear, Napa cabbage, bok choy, and many other healthy ingredients to make the hot pot so delicious. And the Wagyu meat was top notch, very flavorful and so thinly sliced that it cooks in only a few seconds! It was one of the nicest meals I've ever had and the hot pot experience is so much fun. The service was excellent! Our server explained everything so well and since it was our first time there, made a few no-pressure suggestions that helped us. I definitely would like to go back if I'm in the area again!