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    Halves Boiling Pot + Grill

    4.3 (878 reviews)
    Open 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    Halves Boiling Pot + Grill Reservations

    Order Halves Boiling Pot + Grill Takeout or Delivery

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    HALVES BOILING POT + GRILL ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Lili K.

    Loved the AYCE! We just did the shabu shabu boiling pot, but I definitely like the concept of having a grill, too (perhaps next time...)! The service was top notch, and the food was great. The mango shaved ice was unique, and I liked my veggies, sides (edamame, etc) and udon. Btw, kids under 5ft are half off, which wasn't advertised on the menu...so yay!

    Spicy tonkotsu broth, Creekstone short ribs for shabu and grill, hot drops, and garlic & green onions.
    B K.

    I am a regular and visit Halves at least once a week for the past couple of years. The servers are very attentive and very nice. They no longer give me a menu anymore, because they know what my order is. I always ordere Halves (shabu & grill) with spicy tonkatsu broth, creekstone short ribs for both shabu and grill, condiments, and 3x hot drops, The meat quality has never disappointed me. The rice is always cooked perfectly. The sauces are always on point. The dining area is always clean. I have no complaints about this place whatsoever. Actually I do! My complaint is they are closing on 04/30/26. I am sad that there will be no more Halves. I hope they reconsider opening another location. But if they don't thank you for always providing great service and great food. I will truly miss this place and I will continue to go until the doors are officially closed.

    Keycee D.

    Experience - 06.23.25 around 7-8:30 pm I'm updating my review based on my experience tonight. I've been going to halves for awhile now and has been our go to for friends & family visiting from out of town. Came tonight with my cousin's last night. It was between Halves or dpot but we decided to go here. When we sat down, my cousin's last night noticed their new limited time AYCE offer! We were both excited UNTIL the waitress asked how tall my toddler was. I looked at her confused and asked why he's under 3? She said he will get the discounted $20 I was curious to hear that when I know my 2 year old would not eat $20 worth!! I agreed to get his height checked thinking the fee would get waived. Walking back to our table I felt the energy of the waitress giving an eye contact to the other waiter making me feel that I was being a difficult customer. The energy for me changed. I felt like we were being watched just to see how much my 2 year old was eating. My appetite was lost, I felt so turned off and confused. We got our receipt and I see the $20 charge. Basically my AYCE meal went from $36 to $56 because of my 2 year old!! I have never been charged at an AYCE shabu shabu or KBBQ spot, nor a buffet at Disneyland because my child is under 3!! I paid $20 for my 2 year old eating a bit of my rice (with us combined, we only ate half of the rice - if that!) their two tiny tofu slices, and some udon noodles! He didn't even eat a whole strip of meat!! Not worth $20 at all!! We could've gone to an AYCE for less than $56 and my 2 year old would've been free! This experience made me leave very disappointed, annoyed & aggravated.

    Grill + Spicy Tonkotsu
    Lol L.

    I have been eating here for years. It is my favorite restaurant to go to for A5 Shabu Shabu. The soup flavor and meat is tasty and good. Service: attentive but nothing outstanding. i feel like they are understaffed. Ambiance: bar like decoration. Modern but nothing particularly awesome.

    Halves menu split grill/pot (2x)
    Jacob B.

    Didn't think i'd get this kind of restaurant experience in the States, let alone at a smaller restaurant without steep wait times. Don't let that fool you - it blew me away i'll go again every time i'm in the area. (Food - 9.5/10) - While the price may seem unreasonable, the quality backs it without question. 2 orders of the halves menu, beef toro/ american wagyu and the mix meat grill option with savory broths were outstanding with flavor, presentation, quality, everything to ask for. We also gambled with a Beef Carpaccio, which usually in the US loses the coin toss but this one impressed despite being simply plated. (Service- 9/10) - Went on a random Tuesday with only 2 servers on the floor but they absolutely were quick, informative, and on top of everything we needed. (Ambiance- 9/10) - Dimly lit but perfectly spacious small restaurant with great table setups. Really liked the split grill/pot and overall decorative aspects of the eating space.

    the premium salt to go with wagyu

    Not a terrible location. Expensive food but portions are small. The service was ok but we came in as the only customers in the restaurant, later it filled up. Novel idea, but the pan was so tiny (half shabu, half bbq.) The worst part is that they had no condiments for the bbq meat they served. You serve japanese wagyu, and when I ask for some salt, this is what he gave me. Is this the kind of salt you expect for $100 portion of meat??? come on man do better.

    Amy T.

    I really enjoyed Halves the last few times I had it! The portion size is decent for the price, and they have everything you'd want from a shabu restaurant. My only complaint would be that the service is pretty slow because it seems like they're a bit understaffed. Our waiter was running around the whole restaurant serving every table :/ We had also waited a bit over an hour due to our 7 person party size. Overall, the food and broth is great! Shabu restaurants in South OC are few and far between (Halves might be the only one actually lol), so we will keep coming back :)

    Tam M.

    Amazing service here and an overall great experience when you can't decide on hot pot or bbq you get the best of both worlds here! Their meats were great and when you mix their sauces it's good too. We got to try the following soup broths: Tonkatsu 9/10 recommend Spicy tokatsu 8/10 Mongolian spicy 7/10 They were all decent soups but I liked the tonkatsu the most it was refreshing but still hearty.

    Halves pot
    Tammy S.

    Interesting experience with halves pot, with half a hot pot and half grill. We order the broth flavor, meat for pot and meat for grill. The sauces that came with the food were great and the meat quality is good. They also have A5 wagyu as a hot pot option and it is very tender and soft and fatty. Even though the people sitting across the table seems far, we can still talk at a normal volume even with music in the background. The korean music was pleasant. Service was decent. It was a good 1st time experience.

    I love the concept of having a split grill and hot pot. I think it's great to have the best of both worlds: bbq and shabu shabu. You do get a good portion of meats and vegetables/noodles. The sauces are customizable and delicious. The times I went were early dinner so it was never packed and the staff was attentive because of it.

    Ayce!!!

    Great service! Love the food! Shrimp is very fresh! Highly recommended! Not crowded at 6 pm. Will definitely return.

    Ribeye split
    Shell S.

    Coming from San Francisco I am picky when it comes to Asian food and I am usually unimpressed by Orange County's Asian restaurants. Service was good. Seats were VERY uncomfortable. The bench against the wall is way too far from the table and it can't be moved forward. I was sitting on the ledge and my back was uncomfortable the entire time. The food was OK but it's not my favorite, for me it was quite bland tasting and way overpriced for what it is. I had the ribeye split (grilled and broth pot) and it was $50+. It took forever for my veggies to soften and get grill marks, my friends were done with their food (they only got the broth) by the time my veggies were cooked properly but by then I had to pack my food to go since we were scheduled for another activity.

    Claudia H.

    Half hot pot, half bbq grill, one full belly! Absolutely delicious, especially that Mongolian broth. A bit pricey sure, but well worth it for good quality meat. We went on a Sunday evening and it wasn't too busy, one waiter behind the bar and one waitress working the floor, both were very friendly and helpful. A lot of the negative reviews mentioned poor service, I can see that if the restaurant was packed, 2 servers may be overwhelmed, but this is a cook your own food restaurant, serve yoself! lol, we experienced excellent service all around.

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    Love the food and the ambiance! The staff is always so helpful and nice. Love coming here!

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    Page 1 of 22

    Halves Boiling Pot + Grill Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Halves Boiling Pot + Grill

    Are there vegan options?

    Not really an option for true Vegan or Vegetarian option at Halves. After all, their main promotion is Wagyu beef. You can order just the vegetable for boiling pots but don't think there is a lot of option fro the BBQ grill

    Is there a gluten-free broth?

    Is outdoor dining still open?

    They finally answered and no they don't. Unfortunate. Anyone know of a shabu place that still does outdoor?

    Is this Buffet?

    No. You can sit at a table or bar but it's either grill your own meat or boil your food in a broth of choice, or both

    Is the broth keto friendly? Thanks!

    Yes

    Is this place good for vegans or vegetarians ? What are the options?

    They have a soy base broth and veggies.

    Does the restaurant have lunch specials on weekdays?

    Hi Gloria, Yes, we do have beef toro & pork belly hotpot for lunch special Monday to Friday.… 

    Is this a 'll you can eat place and what's the price range?

    No, you order the meats you want and you get a plate with a set amount. Prices are on their menu: https://www.halvesusa.com/menu-menyu

    View All 12 Questions

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    We've been meaning to try this place for awhile now. We've tried their sister restaurant Frank's…read morenext door and wasn't impressed when they first opened. It's been awhile so I'm willing to give it another shot. Plenty of parking outside, the restaurant itself is really cute with tasteful decor. You order with a QR menu from the table. We ordered fish noodle soup, the 3 dumplings and soy sauce chicken with rice. Everything was pretty good! The fish noodle soup had a good fish profile in the soup, with a kick of white pepper which I liked. It tasted clean and healthy. The dumplings were really good. It definitely tasted like in house made dumplings. Much better quality than other restaurants in the area. The soy sauce chicken rice wasn't bad. But I thought the price was a little egregious. It should be max $15. All in all I'm glad we gave this "chain" another chance.

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