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    Saboten

    3.2 (98 reviews)
    InexpensiveJapanese, Fast Food
    Open 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

    Saboten Photos

    Business Info

    SABOTEN ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Loin set
    Abbe W.

    My daughter wanted katsu for dinner but according to her it was cold so the katsu might have been sitting out for a while. Taste was a little bland. We are used to California's way of making pork katsu. Overall, it was just OK.

    Ms. A.

    7/8/2023 Decided to come back to saboten!!! I grabbed dinner here. I ordered the katsu pork loin, and the coating is very crunchy, nice and light,and the pork is well cooked. The sauce was light and I enjoyed their katsu. Or come with side pickles and cabbage and I ordered extra cabbage. I wish saboten will come to Washington!

    Tenderloin and shrimp combo
    John M.

    We swung by this place (in a large food court) while shopping in the Aberdeen shopping center. We got 2 sets both shrimp and tender loin cutlets combos. Will definitely be coming here again bc the kids loved it. The food in general are pricey but that's the way it's been every where you go; inflation and all. But definitely worth it to come here.

    Very very good.
    Andrew A.

    American mall food courts have nothing on Asian ones, even those in Canada. The tenderloin and Japanese curry was restaurant quality delicious. Unfortunately, the cabbage on the menu looked scrumptious, especially the fresh Green color, but the real product was White and somewhat tasteless. They definitely need more seats.

    Jboogie L.

    Ok for pork loin set for $15.95 CAD. They had miso soup, pickles, rice and cabbage along with the protein. The curry sauce is more on the sweeter side.

    loin katsu don
    Tony J.

    Japanese cutlet food stall in the Aberdeen Centre food court. Tried it on a weekend lunch time and the whole food court was busy. Ordered their loin katsu don which comes with a small bowl of miso soup. The place was busy so they took a while to get the orders out. 15 minutes before I got my food. My friend who ordered from a different stall was almost done eating when I got my food. Katsu don tasted decent. Had the correct flavors. The pork loin katsu had a decent thickness and crust. Overall was alright, a bit slow due to the busyness.

    Saboten Set
    Kelvin L.

    Light, crispy, and delicious. Took a bit to come out but I'd rather have it fresh than cold. Plenty of seating as it was located in the food court. Would recommend.

    Chicken set
    Shelby S.

    We were wandering the food court in Aberdeen Center when we stopped here to get dinner. Saboten was one of the few places that accepted credit cards, so we were grateful to get some food since we didn't have any cash on us. The chicken set meal was sooo good! The chicken was super tasty and it came with sauce to put on the rice. The miso soup was also great, but we weren't big fans of the plain cabbage on the side. Our order came up relatively quickly and it was easy to find a table amid the food court. This particular spot is right at the start of the food court, so easy to find too!

    Loin Set ($11.75): simple yet satisfying!  Solid choice.
    Jack W.

    === 1. VERDICT/VALUE There's not a lot (or any) competition for tonkatsu in the Aberdeen food court, so it's easy for Saboten to be a good choice if you have a hankering for fried, breaded pork...but portion size and price make Saboten a solid choice regardless! === 2. FOOD Loin Set ($11.75): simple, yet satisfying! A good-sized piece of pork tonkatsu highlights the dish. The coating may not be as light and delicate as that found in Japan, but the coating here is not too thick, crunchy, or hard. The standard fare of rice, shredded cabbage, and miso soup round out the set. I wish there was an option to get more rice and cabbage (as is typical in an authentic restaurant); however, that's not possible here due to COVID or otherwise. === 3. SERVICE & ENVIRONMENT It's a food court stall, so you're really here for limited interaction and takeaway. From that perspective, service was alright, the meal was prepped in about 10 minutes during the lunch rush hour, and the environment shared the same colours and contemporary decor as the rest of Aberdeen Centre. It also means it's wide open, so those with wheelchairs and baby strollers will have no issue coming and going. Parking is as available as it typically gets at Aberdeen (which can be challenging from lunchtime onwards)!

    What you actually get!
    Masanori D.

    This restaurant is at the food court inside Aberdeen Centre. Here's the basic rundown: Food Quality **** (4 Stars) Price ***** (5 Stars) Service *** (3 Stars) Food I ordered the Saboten Set: two small pork cutlets and a fried prawn served with rice, miso soup, and shredded cabbage. As you can see in my photos, what you think you are getting and what you actually get are quite different. However, for only $12.95 CAD ($9.87 USD), I can easily let it slide. The breading was on a thicker side for Japanese katsu. Both the katsu and the fried prawn were crispy but not oily. Also, the meat and the prawn inside were generous in size. Service Yes, the cashier was not the friendliest (as other Yelpers reported), but I can let it slide for the price and the decent quality for the food. I was here around 5pm on a Tuesday, and there were not many customers. I got my food in about 5 minutes after ordering it. There was a plenty of seating at the food court. Recommendation It is not a great restaurant by any standard, but it's a really good food for a mall food court. Beside, we can get a meal for less than $10.00 (USD), which is unbelievable. When I'm at Aberdeen Center, I'm sure I will come back here again. ***************************** If you found something useful in my review, please hit "useful" to let me know. Your feedback helps me improve my future reviews. If you love food and traveling, follow me, or better yet, let's become friends on Yelp! If you think your friends will find my review useful, please share it with them! Thank you and happy Yelping!

    Rosu (loin) katsu kare with extra side order of rosu katsu
    K H.

    Rated A for Average. If you need a quick bite and are craving katsu, this place located inside Aberdeen Centre's food court is OK. The curry is good and slightly sweet, but there is not enough for the amount of rice. The katsu breading is good but comes off easily. The rosu meat is tough. Meat will get stuck in between your teeth, and sometimes you have to eat the whole piece in one bite.

    Denise W.

    When Saboten first opened, I heard the lineup was over an hour. After so many years after their grand opening, I finally got a chance to try their fried chicken. I got the Shrimp katsu and pork katsu. To my surprise, the shrimp katsu and pork katsu was super delicious. It was not over cooked (juicy inside). Best of all, it goes super well with the sauce they provided. It's hard to explain the batter that they use. But the pork and shirmp was very fluffy crunchy (not sure if that is a good description). The entree comes with rice, cabbage, miso soup and pickles. Very delicious. Portion is a bit small but I am a small eater so that's ok. It is expensive for food court food. If you add $0.50 to your meal you get to add cold tea with it. I highly recommend giving this place a try.

    Saboten set. Tenderloin, prawn
    Maggie L.

    Tried out saboten set for a variety of their food. The katsu and prawn were tender and juicy and cooked very well. It comes with a lot or sauces and options to eat your pork tenderloin katsu and prawn tempura. This was very reasonably priced as it was only around $12 and you get a bit of everything! Great deal

    Aberdeen Saboten.. Used to be good...

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

    While a decent cutlet can be had at Saboten, the service is a bit slipshod and chaotic.

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    8 years ago

    Crunchy pork Katsu and tempura. A quite unique place in the food court. Curry is a bit s9 so. But you can't beat the price for that.

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    Page 3 of 3

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    Ganbei Izakaya Japanese Restaurant

    Ganbei Izakaya Japanese Restaurant

    4.6
    (58 reviews)
    0.6 km

    Love this place! The food, ambiance and service. The ambiance is super fun with lots of anime…read morecharacters and a big screen playing anime. The staffs/owner were very friendly and made great recommendations. Had the hamachi carpaccio, so refreshing and appetizing. The homemade ponzu (lemony) sauce has a nice finish with thin sliced onions and veggies. The Engawa Arburi nigiri was recommended, and it was phenomenal. It is the 'fin edge' of flounder. Super delicate, with seared (arburi) flavor and melts in your mouth. Yum! The other highlight was the Wagyu beef cubes severed on stick. Two skewers 4 cubes each. The Wagyu was perfectly cooked. It melts in your mouth with every bite. We also enjoyed the 7 piece Omakase sushi set. The fish was very fresh and satiating. Love the lotus root chips garnishing. We loved everything we had but would likely skip the Omakase appetizer Platter. Perhaps we were spoiled by the hamachi carpaccio appetizer. We still enjoyed it but For the same price, we would prefer the sushi set. It had 9 small plates in a beautiful serving box including- tiny sashimi cube of salmon, tuna, tamago, and my fav is the komochi nishin (herring fillets ("Nishin") layered over a base of crunchy capelin roe), also included in the tiny plates of apps were, chicken karaage, baby taco, sliced taco, taco in red sauce, and seaweed salad. We look forward to be back!!!!!

    We came here for a lovely Japanese meal after I flew int YVR. Parking is easy and the menu is super…read moreexpansive. There's something for everyone. Service is also great! Here is what we ordered: * Mentaiko udon: our fav dish. It was so creamy and delicious * Salmon aburi: yummy * Chicken gizzard * Omakase sashimi: high quality * Oyster motoyaki *Agedashi tofu

    Photos
    One piece ‍
    One piece ‍
    Aburi sushi set, chicken skin yakitori, and mentaiko cheese yakitori
    Aburi sushi set, chicken skin yakitori, and mentaiko cheese yakitori
    Beef tongue

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    Beef tongue
    Saku

    Saku

    4.5
    (56 reviews)
    1.1 km

    Great experience here while having family lunch. I had a toddler with me and they provided kids…read moredining set. The restaurant was well lit and clean. Server was friendly and attentive. When my daughter dropped utensils on the floor , she came by with clean ones. The food was all cooked to perfection. I really enjoyed the rosu nabe, although it was somewhat salty. The zenbu katsu i highly recommend. We've ordered this every time we went. It's a great way to sample everything they have.

    Up until recently, my favourite katsu place was Katsu-san because of their special apple based…read moresauce that I prefer over the typical tonkatsu sauce. However, Saku may have won me over with their sharable combo set. My friend and I came in for dinner last Wednesday. It was quite busy for a weekday and we waited around 30 minutes. I loved the interior of this place! It's clean, but warm toned, and stylish. We opted to share the Zenbu set (comes with variety of pork, chicken, cheese, seafood and veggie tempura) and realized we could get refillable rice, soup, and salad for both of us. This was awesome! I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken thigh. I normally always order pork katsu, but the chicken was tender and juicy. The scallop was huge and not rubbery at all! There was more than enough food for the both of us and we even both had leftovers for lunch the next day. We also ordered the lobster croquette, which was fun to try. Like any croquette, there was a lot of mixed ingredients apart from the lobster, but it was still tasty and fun. The staff were attentive at refilling items and were easy to flag down. This is definitely a place that I would return to again and again when I'm in the mood for Katsu.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Self-grind sesame
    Self-grind sesame
    Very refreshing

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    Very refreshing
    Nobi Nobi

    Nobi Nobi

    4.5
    (65 reviews)
    6.3 km
    $$

    i love nobibi for their soft serve because it's not too sweet but a good way to end the night. they…read morealso make cotton candy in store and have a lot of drinks to chose from. the parking inside the plaza gets chaotic so i always park on the street.

    I've been to this place many times as I live in the area. This is a family run Japanese style meal…read morebox restaurant with a cozy and warm ambiance. The menu contains a variety of rice combo dishes that you can select (pork, chicken, beef, fois gras, curry) and a tempura noodle set as well. Occasionally, they also have specials as well. My boyfriend and I ordered the beef set and the tempura noodle set with pork. I love how there are a variety of side dishes that come with the set. This is great for those who like variety and want to have a complete meal with all the food groups. My favourite is definitely the pickled daikon/carrot and the cabbage salad! The food is not too salty and the broth was perfectly seasoned for my palate. My boyfriend also ordered an espresso romano which I had never tried before. The foam on top was surprisingly refreshing with a tart aftertaste of lime. The prices were also very fair with most sets averaging around $19-20 before tax. You order at the counter and pay after you're finished. This is a great place for a quick bite especially if you're in the Ironwood area of Richmond.

    Photos
    Interior/Hallway
    Interior/Hallway
    Featured dessert
    Featured dessert
    Chicken Karaage .. crispy & juicy

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    Chicken Karaage .. crispy & juicy
    Kyabia Japanese Restaurant

    Kyabia Japanese Restaurant

    3.7
    (73 reviews)
    0.4 km
    $$

    My friend chose this place to celebrate his birthday, as he heard good things. It was a week day…read morerainy day, and the restaurant was pretty quiet. When I first walked in, we see the setup is very traditional Japanese style with small dividers and booths. The waitress took me to our booth, and left the tablet for me to use to order food. I like how they provide tablet and also have the option to order by scanning the QR code. We ordered several dishes to share. The aburi sushi set was one of the highlights. It came with 7 pieces of different kind of Aburi sushi. We like how they torched not only the tipping, but also the rice. It added so much flavor to it. The Taco wasabi was also very refreshing. My first bite had a kick to it, then I got used to the wasabi. We also got to try some of the bbq dishes, such as the Gyutan (beef Tongue) and the Ton Toro (pork belly). The Sukiyaki beef nabe was delicious, however, it was very salty, and ot was over killed by salt. The Foie gras fried rice was suppose to be one of the most anticipated dish, however, it was a little underwhelming. We could find a lot of foie Gras, which was a bit disappointing. The service was decent, They even changed our plates during our meals. The food came out very quick after we ordered. However, for some reason, they didn't like to communicate with English. Every time when I spoke English, the waitress spoke Chinese back to me. See I'm not sure why. Overall, it was a pretty nice place for small group gatherings. It's a bit pricey, but the quality was there.

    Food was delicious and fresh, service was okay but their sashimi was so good! You could tell that…read morethat really pick fresh sashimi, and their food they make it from scratch! I ordered this egg drop soup and it was so delicious! The beef short ribs were Also tender!

    Photos
    Kyabia Japanese Restaurant
    Grilled Sanma
    Grilled Sanma
    Fried Chicken Cartilage .. Tako Wasabi

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    Fried Chicken Cartilage .. Tako Wasabi
    Edokko Nigiri Sushi

    Edokko Nigiri Sushi

    4.5
    (46 reviews)
    3.8 km

    We arrived around 1pm on a Tuesday afternoon and were added to their 45-minute waitlist. Luckily,…read morethe restaurant is tucked inside a little mini plaza, so we were able to walk around and kill time while we waited. Beef Don & Udon - the kids loved it. Unagi set - WOW. So yummy. I'm literally salivating just thinking about it. I also thought it was cute that they provided instructions on how to eat it. Chirashi gozen - fresh, yum, and love the abalone! We will definitely return next time we're in town to try other items!

    We decided last minute to come check out this sushi spot and called to make reservations but they…read morewere full. They told us to join the google waitlist when we wanted to come in so we checked about an hour beforehand and there was no active waitlist online. We were seriously refreshing the screen as we were driving over to the restaurant. When we got to the restaurant they told us to join the waitlist and lo and behold there were already 5 people ahead of us!! The restaurant is small and the waiting area even smaller -- with 5 ahead of us we ended up waiting about an hour!! We got the dinner sets of soba/sushi, chirashi, and unagi. Everything tasted solid but seems small for the price. My little (who doesn't eat much) finished the whole meal set and said she was only 50% full and proceeded to eat snacks in the car after dinner. The staff spoke Japanese so you know it's pretty authentic but for the price and the wait, it could've delivered more.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Shokado dinner
    Shokado dinner
    Saba Bo Sushi (3.75/5)

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    Saba Bo Sushi (3.75/5)
    Tsujiri Richmond

    Tsujiri Richmond

    3.8
    (168 reviews)
    1.2 km
    $$

    Tsujiri is one is my favorite places to grab a Matcha Yogurt Frap. The matcha and the sweetness…read morethey add is just the right combo for me. Recently I also came to try their high tea. It was fun to eat on the tatami mats in the back - we got the whole space to ourselves since we came on a weekday. Note that the sets come in 2 and whatever tea you choose is for both people. The set was unique and very filling - it came with a mini unagi rice bowl, matcha yogurt with berries, sweet corn custard, 2xnigiri, and hojicha cake, etc. Their menu changes every few months though so best to check their Instagram to see what's new. Warning: Parking on the lot is 1.5hrs only for the whole day and they are strict and will ticket you - this includes if you are running errands earlier in the day in the same lot and had left and returned. Safer to park in the farther lot for 3hrs of free parking.

    Came here on a rainy day and it was the perfect place to enjoy a quiet, cozy afternoon. Tsujiri has…read moresuch a calming atmosphere. The matcha drinks and desserts were beautifully presented and tasted rich and authentic, with that deep, fragrant matcha flavor that's never too sweet. We have today: Hojicha shaved ice, replaced with matcha ice cream. This location in Richmond had ran out of Hojicha ice cream for a long time. We asked every time when they will have hojicha ice cream back and staff doesn't know either. Hojicha Chestnut Shortcake, Cake is soft and fluffy, and very too sweet. It is always my favorite. This time i gave a 4 stars is because they discontinue serving Onigiri ( rice ball) and savory item. That's too bad! I love their Onigiri and ramen! Staff said the one inside the open road Toyota still has savory item. Maybe next time I will try that location

    Photos
    Private area for high tea
    Private area for high tea
    Matcha daifuku, cheesecake, Matcha and cream sandwich, cake and banana with strawberries.
    Matcha daifuku, cheesecake, Matcha and cream sandwich, cake and banana with strawberries.
    Salmon onigiri, unagi onigiri, salad, and mochi with kinako and sesame.

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    Salmon onigiri, unagi onigiri, salad, and mochi with kinako and sesame.

    Saboten - japanese - Updated June 2026

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