This is such a great concept for shabu! I love that you can choose just shabu, just a grill, or both(aka "halves")! I love getting the best of both worlds. The meat quality is excellent and the service is attentive, patient, and friendly. Highly recommend the American wagyu for the shabu, and the wagyu for the grill (if you're up for the splurge). read more

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staff is very friendly. Menu is confusing due to the price difference in meat options between the boiling pot vs. half. Boiling pot has small (6 oz.) vs. large (8 oz.). The half does not have small/ large portions. Very confused at the portion size in relation to their price. read more

Best of both worlds... shabu shabu and grilled meat.. the quality of meat is delicious.. free edamame with yelp check in. At first you think the portions are small, but when you start eating - you'll get full.. had the 1/2.. prime ribeye for shabu with spicy miso and 3 meat combo for the grill .. tongue - prime rib - short rib and it can with veggies for both. Cute spot.... service was decent. Loved the combo option and the quality of meats.. if this place weren't too far, I'd definitely come back. read more

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Love the concept that you can have shabu and bbq meats at the same time! You can pick just the shabu pot by itself if the grill by itself, but I got the halves, because why not? I ordered the Tonkatsu broth the shabu boil and the American Wagyu for the bbq grill. Portions were a good size and I was able to share with my child. It was delicious and fun! read more

Life is comprised of halves and halves nots. At Halves Boiling Point + Grill, here's your chance to be a halves. Why settle for hot pot or grilled meat, when you can have both. The first step in this marvelous food journey is deciding whether you want hot pot, grill or both. If you choose both(halves), you start with selecting your soup base, from spicy miso, tonkatsu, spicy Chinese to other soup flavors(see menu). The servers will be happy to provide samples if you're unsure. We sampled the spicy Chinese and tonkatsu. You can't go wrong with either options but for my liking, the tonkatsu had the most flavor. Tonkatsu is made from simmering pork bones whereby producing deep rich flavor, very common in Japanese ramen. Soup basis are $1 other than the free option. Then you select your choice of meat for the hot pot and grill. Since meat cooks and taste differently when boiled or grilled, the selection of meat varies for each category. Pricing also varies depending on the quality and cut of meat. For example, for the hot pot , their basic cut of meat starts at $20 for the Premium 1855 Angus cut and can go high as $45 for the Miyazaki A5 Wagyu. If you're on a budget, you can't go wrong with the Premium 1855 Angus cut. I found it to be a suitable for the hot pot as the meat cooks within seconds and tender enough for my taste. For the grill, there are three meat items with no additional charge. However, starting with their prime short rib there is an additional charge of $3. With grilled meats you typically want a higher quality cut in my opinion so I highly recommend getting the short rib as it has a good amount of fat marbling. If you're interested in trying multiple grilled meats they have combos at additional prices ranging from $5 or $15. Each order comes with a cute bucket of veggies, rice and if you order the halves, you get three dipping sauces; including sesame, ponzu, and their house bbq sauce. All three were wonderful. The staff was very friendly and helpful in instructing how the meats should be cooked and what sauce goes best with each type of meat. If you have a party of 6 or more 18% gratuity is added to the bill. Additionally, if you have a party greater than 6, the group will need to be split up as the table configuration can only accommodate a max of 6 people. The inside decor has a very modern feel as it's bright and airy with high ceilings, and clean feel. The tables have a really cool pull out drawer so that you can store your phone or belongings. If you can't decide between hot pot or grill, why not try Halves Boiling Point + Grill. You will be glad you did. read more

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I requested for spicy oil drops in my sesame sauce and they packed the wrong soup's spicy oil which has chili flakes and seed. Called the restaurant. They argued and was adamant that the other servers saw it and confirmed they put it the correct sauce. Here you go, check the photos and tell me again if you guys packed the right sauce. Service is terrible! read more

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This place was very tasty and the service was excellent. Our server went through each item and described each option as we read through. The "halve" combination is pretty cool due to the option for grilling or cooking it in a hot pot. The choices for broth are good and compliment the assortments of protein. Pretty cool spot for my first time! read more

Halves Boiling Pot + Grill - Time to grub! - Japanese Near Me - Foothill Ranch, California

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What happened to my favorite shabu shabu local joint? It's a Friday night, the restaurant was empty and the manager and staff were more concerned with cleaning than waiting on patrons??? It's way too expensive to come here and be ignored...I'll just drive to Irvine next time. read more

I live in San Diego and I stopped by here through recommendation from my wife and I was intrigued by the concept of having the choice of both Shabu Shabu and Yakiniku. Yakiniku is one of my favorite things in life and this place had some pretty generous and delicious cuts of meat. I was craving some A5 Wagyu and since this placed had the Miyazaki A5, I had to get my hands on it. Food was outstanding and the service was top notch. Too bad the server didn't wear a name tag, but shout out to the servers from the dinner shift on the 6th of July. read more

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This place was so sweet and extremely friendly! So happy that we came here. We came 30 min before closing but they let us stay anyways and had 0 complaints, we offered to leave but they were sweet to let us stay and have dinner. Meat was delicious and the broth was outstanding! 10/10 would definitely come back! read more

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This has to be the new favorite spot. We had the Halves which is what they are popular for. The Japanese A5 Wagyu and Creekstone Ribeye is to so tender and buttery it was unbelievable I actually cried a little when eating the wagyu. JK was our server during lunch and boy can I say the guy knows his menu and the meat. He is there during lunch hours Tues-Thurs. I definitely recommend coming here whether it's for lunch or dinner. I had the Chinese spicy where as my husband had the spicy tonkatsu both very good. Ahhh I can't wait to go back for more!!! I'm so excited that they have special on Wagyu too!! Definitely everyone needs to try this place hot pot and bbq!! read more

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If you like being ignored from the start, come here! Service: I think service speaks volumes here and I mean that in the WORST way. When we entered we were not greeted and continued to be ignored for the next 30 minutes. I've worked in food and retail and can tell you, a simple "I'll be right with you" goes a long way or AT LEAST being acknowledged. It was so bad, that people who came after us didn't want to wait and left because it was so ridiculous. I understand it being busy, but it only takes three seconds to acknowledge someone. Food: I think this is the first time I chose to not finish a serving of grilled meat. I loveeeee korean bbq but the meat wasn't that great. I'm thinking it would probably be worth it if you order the wagyu but that in itself is $30 + the price of whatever hot pot you get. I tried the spicy tonkatsu broth and was highly disappointed. There was no flavor, just an oily mess. The top half of the broth was just flavorless chili oil that wasn't even spicy. I'm thinking this place would suit the tastebuds of those who like chinese hot pot? I personally love Japanese Shabu Shabu but this wasn't it. NOPE! read more

We waited for an hour and left without eating because they couldn't bus and clean one of the 3 open tables or 12 bar seats for us to get seated. They literally rather clean every single table and the entire bar before seating anyone instead of bussing one table at a time and seat customers first. I understand every restaurant is short staffed right now but I don't understand this restaurant's operating logic. In terms of food, we've had it once before and it was okay, nothing special. We said we would only come back if we were in the area and we were this time so we stopped by but what a waste of time. Do not recommend. read more

Celebrated Christmas Eve dinner here! I didn't know this place was here, until I searched for shabu shabu on Yelp. The concept is super unique: half the pot is boiling pot, while the other half is a grill. It's like Benihana meets Korean BBQ, meets Shabu Shabu. You also have the option of just grill or just hot pot. We came with 8 people and didn't check if they could accommodate that-we ended up sitting four and four, with the tables behind each other-they only have 6 seats in a row, so that didn't work out. Our waiter was very attentive, and while we were waiting he gave us a run-down of the menu. They were very busy, and the waiting area is right by one of their kitchen doors so it was hard to stand and talk without getting in their way. There's a lot of seating and a bar. For appetizers we shared gyoza, chicken kaarage, and edamame. The edamame was pretty flavorless, but the chicken kaarage was delicious! It wasn't heavily breaded, and it had the perfect crisp-it was my first time trying Japanese fried chicken. They didn't have any plates for the appetizers which was odd, and they seemed confused when we asked for one. Eventually, we got the bowl that you put your cooked food in. I never know what meat is what on the menu, so I just went with the short rib to grill, and I forgot what I boiled, but I asked for whichever meat had the least fat. All the meals come with rice, veggies, and noodles. If you don't want the basic broth, all the others cost $1; I got the tonkotsu. They recommend that you cook everything, and then eat the noodles last, like a soup-I liked that idea. The grilled short rib was delicious (I highly recommend it)-it tasted better than the meat for the shabu shabu. For dessert we ordered mochi ice cream, and green tea shortcake. The shortcake was light, and the mochi was fresh! It comes with 3 pieces and 2 slices of cake, so you get a lot for the price. I asked for a to-go box for the cake, but they didn't have any. The waiter gave me the soup container, which sufficed. Overall, the food was great, but the service was a bit awkward at times. read more

Halves Boiling Pot + Grill - Veggies - Japanese Near Me - Foothill Ranch, California

Update 8/31/19: the food here is much better. They have many different broths to choose from. Last night I chose the Mongolian spicy with angus prime boiling pot and it was delicious. This place still has some problems though. The tables are very small making it awkward for all the dishes you get. Also the service is horrible. Once our food was delivered nobody ever came back. Our drinks were empty, the boiling pots had to be turned off on our own as they were about to start burning. I had to wave someone down just to get the bill. I do hope they figure it out. They could sell more and get customers in and out quicker if they fixed their service problem. read more

Halves Boiling Pot + Grill - Empty drink glasses and broth in pot has boiled away - Japanese Near Me - Foothill Ranch, California

Had such a great experience here. We had a party of 11 on a Saturday night and they were gracious to accommodate. We got in and sat at the bar. Food was excellent as well as service. The quality of the meats were amazing. Super tender and fresh. I had the hotpot and grill combo and it was really good! I would definitely go back again. My only complaint is that i wasn't extremely impressed with the sauces. They were good, just didn't not me off my feet. But overall I would most definitely recommend. The tonkatsu broth and the ribeye for grilling. Give them a try! read more

Halves Boiling Pot + Grill - Half and half combo - Japanese Near Me - Foothill Ranch, California

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I love coming here, especially when I am craving both BBQ and shabu shabu. They have the option of shabu, grill, or halves - half grill half shabu (hence the restaurant name). The servers and service is here really friendly! They'll explain the ordering process and menu if needed. My favorite is the spicy tonkotsu broth. A lot of times I feel like shabu shabu places have really light broth but not here. The soup is full of flavor and you can taste it in the food you cook. With your choice of meat, it comes with a bowl of veggies and noodles. If you choose halves, you can also order meat for the grill. Overall a great and different dining experience! read more

Fun and wonderful place for the whole family! Kids love to be able to cook for themselves and actually eat pretty healthy Staff is great and the place is very clean.. food is excellent! Give them a try, you won't be disappointed read more

Pretty good! A clever idea and also decent in taste. I end up wanting to grill everything because grill just makes everything taste better than boiling pot lol. The broth is good though. This is a unique restaurant in the foothill ranch area where every asian place seems to be fusion lol read more

Overall, this place is actually really good! Love the idea of having both grilled meat and shabu together! At first we were hesitant because there was just one worker at the bar who seemed a bit busy with the whole right side (tables) nearly full. He did a pretty good job managing by himself for a while until another worker came out from the back a bit later. Anyway... on to the food! My gf and I both got the halves. She got the kombu broth with all natural American wagyu and the double r ranch prime ribeye. I got the same with miso broth. The shabu side of the dish/bowl seemed a bit small, but it proved to be just big enough where it wasn't a problem at all. It was kind of fun keeping a meat and veggies on deck on both sides, trying to time each bite perfectly :) The amount of meat seemed a bit small, but was definitely enough to satisfy my appetite. The quality was also better than expected! Thoroughly enjoyed the food. Oh and a side note--there are a lot of cabbage pieces hiding under the noodles in the cute little veggie bucket. Argh!! Wish I knew earlier but I didn't mind too much because I saved some of the meat for the noodles and the extra cabbage there was nice, especially since I had the miso broth to give it that extra flavor. Iono if any of y'all care about the rice.. but my gf is not usually about the brown rice and she really liked the brown rice here! To me, it tasted fluffier and more substantially filling tasting, if that makes sense lol. I still prefer the white rice :) read more

Came here on a Friday night and got seated right away. We ordered halves Omaha choice ribeye & pork toro and Premium 1855 angus cut & the black Angus short rib. We got spicy miso and tonkotsu soup. The soup and veggie came out right away, but we waited about 20 minutes for the meat. I added 3 chili drops to my sauce and it was the perfect spiciness. The ribeye was thinly cut and delicious with the spicy miso soup. Pork toro was cut a little more thick for grilling. Best pork ever! Worthy of a heart attack. There was good amount of veggies for both grilling and the soup. Comes with both rice and udon. Left fully satisfied. read more

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Second time having this place. The meat quality is SO GOOD! I got the halves american wagyu with the 3 meat combo. I got the side order of tongue as well and the tongue is on my top 3 list! Service is awesome and I'm so happy Foothill Ranch got some good asian food finally!!! read more

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Really impressed with everything at this new restaurant! The food is delicious, the meat is quality you can taste, and the staff was very helpful. The portions are large, and I had plenty to munch on the next day. One thing my sister requests is to have seafood options on the menu! We were told in a couple weeks their menus will have a new revamp, so I can't wait to go back and try the new items! read more

Didn't see the hype about this place. The veggies were very minimal and they charge extra for more when there are plenty of places that have started offering unlimited veggies. I was really disappointed in the veggie bucket, super minimal and not a large variety. The udon was soggy and mushy just being swished in the pot. The bucket they had it in made it hard to navigate and pick out items you wanted to cook first. However I think the thing I didn't like the most here was the service, hard to flag someone down and when we asked for straws it took so long we ended up getting up and getting it ourselves. The meat came much after the vegetables so by the time our meat arrived we were pretty much done with the veggie bucket. After a while my soup was getting low so I asked to get more and they gave me plain water which just diluted my soup to warm water. read more

Love the concept. Half grill and half shabu shabu. Food was great. Service was good. Knock out 1 star for the price. Dinner for two, total came out to $125. We only had water too read more

The food was excellent. It was not that busy so we could take our time to eat and enjoy our meal. The staff were very attentive and patient. This restaurant has a great ambiance. We would definitely go back again for another special occasion. read more

Came here randomly, craving for shabu. Nice setting, table are spacious and ambiance is nice. When it come to food we opted for some mix: shabu and grill. Nice to have the option and the choice. Quantity of meat is actually pretty good. Just a little disappointed with the amount of veggies. Anyway, I would recommend for a casual diner and if you cannot decide between shabu or bbq! Works for any taste! read more

Half shabu and half Japanese grill? Ummmm.. YES MA'AM! I have been dying to try Halves (which is such a cute name btw) ever since I saw someone's post about it. It's a little far from where I live but it seriously was worth the extra mile. The whole concept of it is pure genius, especially for an indecisive person like myself. I love shabu so when I see a new shabu joint open I have to try it and it's a plus they have Japanese grilling! I LOVE OPTIONS! Upon on arrival, I was greeted with "Hello, how was your day?" by one of the waiters Michael and I could honestly tell you he was Phenomenal! Michael was engaging in conversation with me and my fiance which made our visit pleasant. If it's your first time and you don't know what meat option to get don't worry because the staff will fully explain the menu which helped me a lot. Service was just TOP NOTCH! FOOD: You have the option to order shabu on it's own, grilling on it's own, or both. I obviously chose to do both because like I said.. I love options lol.. You also have the choice to pick your broth for your shabu and the meat for your shabu and grill. You get 3 Sauces: Ponzu, Goma, and their homemade BBQ sauce for the grilled meat. BROTH: Spicy Tonkotsu (A Japanese broth made from pork marrow) Highly recommend! SHABU MEAT: American Wagyu Beef- Good quality meat it wasn't chewy whatsoever! Grill Meat: USDA Prime Short Rib- LOVED IT! Very flavorful and my pieces had so much marble. Make sure to not cook it for too long because it tastes 10x better barely on the grill. Pork toro: My fiance got Pork toro and I wanted to try a piece. Also delicious and make sure to cook it until its crispy because it will change your life! I wish they were closer!!! I would come here often.. but I would still make the drive and try the other options! read more

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My wife and I haven't visited for some time. Most restaurants generally go down hill but not this place. It was awesome when we first went and it got even better today. Bigger portions, enthusiastic service (you have to flag folks down when things get busy, but it's understandable), great atmosphere. Highly recommended! Sole suggestion, the veggies should arrive cut up smaller so that they're easier to grill. See photo! Give this review a like or something if you agree. read more

Halves Boiling Pot + Grill - Suggestion, please cut up the veggies before bringing it to the table. It makes it easier to cook. - Japanese Near Me - Foothill Ranch, California

Food 5/5 Parking 5/5 Service 5/5 Not an AYCE but this place has the best quality wagyu for both the grill and the hotpot. The servers are very friendly and helpful to those who don't know what they're getting into. They have a new seafood hotpot a friend had and enjoyed as well. This place is a bit pricy but if you're going for quality then this place is unbeatable read more

Really love this place for a date or small family because you can do shabu or grill! The vegetable/noodle side that comes with the order is perfect not only because of portion size, but the variety in that little bucket is kind of shocking. As you keep digging deeper, there are more items to grill or add to your soup! The prices are reasonable in my opinion because other shabu or barbeque places can be really pricey by the plate. read more

Halves Boiling Pot + Grill - my brother - Japanese Near Me - Foothill Ranch, California

Yes to Halves! It's a combo shabu shabu and Japanese grill restaurant. Do you can choose to grill your food at your table, cook it in boiling broth, or both (halves). I did both because why not. I got the waygu beef too. They give you a choice in broths and I chose a semi-spicy one. It was really flavored nicely. You get meat, veggies, noodles to boil and meat and veggies to grill, and rice too. You also get the sauces to top it with. And their green tea is on point! For all the food you get this place is a great price point. I took a client here and it's also a great place for a business lunch. Parking is pretty good here too. Definitely check it out. read more

We came here early Friday night and only two guys were working the entire restaurant. They were very nice and got our food very quickly. They were good with the eleven year old we had with us and seem like a perfect place for date night. read more

I've eaten here twice already and both times went really well! Great service, excellent cuts of meat, and good portion sizes. It's a nice change from an AYCE KBBQ and you have the option to go grill, hotpot, or half grill half hotpot. If it's your first time, I recommend having the server walk you through the cuts and various sauces - I found myself asking for and liking their recommendations. If you're used to AYCE KBBQ, it'll seem a bit pricey since Halves isn't AYCE. However, once you got through the meal, I didn't feel like it was such a bad thing since I wasn't forcing myself to eat until I was beyond full. Nice date spot. Would definitely go back! read more

I was able to try Halves today and I really do like the idea of having both options of the hot pot and the grill. This really gives you variety when enjoying the different types of meat that is offered. On this visit I decided to try Beef Belly and boy was I pleasantly surprised. Ordered the large and it DEFINITELY was a large. The pieces of belly were nice and thick and the portion was again..DEFINITELY a LARGE. I really do appreciate that because they aim to allow you to really enjoy the meat. Quality was on point; if you decided to do a quick dunk, it's nice and tender and beefy; if you decided to leave it in to slowly braise, it becomes fork tender. Comes with your two staple sauces: Ponzu and Goma (Sesame Sauce). Ponzu was well balanced and great citrusy flavor. The goma sauce was fresh and earthy. Staple veggies that accompanied the meal; they were solid. So why the 3 stars? Service. They were friendly and nice, but attention was definitely not there. Had to flag them down each time and never once was I asked "how's everything? did you need anything else?" "why yes, would love for you to adjust the heat to be higher for my pot and if you can please refill my sauces." But this isn't fully their fault, lunch rush and it felt like they were understaffed with only 2 servers. I was the only one at the bar and everyone else sat in bigger parties at the table, but lil lonely me would have liked to have that "bar" experience. But no one was behind it. So will be giving it another try since I only ate the hot pot and want to try the other "half" of Halves. read more

Having an option B at Halves Boiling Pot & Grill with my LARGE American Wagyu Beef. The miso soup is perfect for cooking my nicely cut meat and goes perfectly with the sesame sauce and my favorite bbq sauce is also great for shabu meat. Very enjoyable! read more

A special mix of Shabu-Shabu and grill. The food was pretty good for sure. I took out one star because it seemed my lettuce were not properly washed. The waiter taking the order and the person bringing out the food were different. I would also recommend the waiter to tie the order to a seat number since people would forget what they order because of the wide combination of things in one order. We had 6 people in our party and some orders were mixed up because of that read more

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Wow this is awesome! Great for the undeceive people like myself. You can get a pot of shabu and also get some japanese bbq grill as well. The meat quality here was really good as well. I got the prime angus ribeye for the shabu and the prime short rib for the bbq. It came with 3 sauces. Goma and ponzu for shabu. bbq sauce for the bbq grill. It was really really good. Also came with a side of rice and a pot with veggies and udon in it. As for the broth, I went with the tonkotsu. A pork bone based broth. I could also smell and taste that they added butter in it which was delicious! They also gave a complementary glass of sweet iced green tea. I enjoyed having lunch here and may come back again soon. Recommendation: Halves shabu and bbq. read more

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First time here and loved it!!! Alan took really good care of us. Will definitely come back. Food was great!

Love the idea of half hot pot and half bbq experience. Beef toro, wagyu and ribeye meats are thinly sliced and top quality. Wish they had more choices for the sauce but they're okay. I usually either get the tonkatsu or the miso broth. read more