We were looking for an ayce hotpot spot in Lowell after a conference and was recommended this place by a local. We came in between lunch and dinner hours, but chose dinner because it just has more options for $39.99. By more, I mean we can order three kinds of seafood (shrimp, mussels, and calamari) and 2 more cuts of beef. They didn't have much variety on the tablet, but they did have fishballs/quail eggs/veggies/noodles at the self serve bar. Honestly it was pretty pricey for the selection, as well as the time limit they put on us despite the restaurant being pretty empty. I feel it's common for ayce places to have a time limit on eating, but there was a time limit on ordering here too. However, the moment we tasted the broth, that was worth it. I've never had such good tom yum broth at a hotpot place! It definitely elevated the rest of the experience. They also put care into making things look nice, so that's a plus. Our server were pretty clear with time limit and all that, so it wasn't a surprise. Everyone was really nice as well! Overall, a positive experience. My meal was paid for, but if I had to personally pay for this, I don't think I would come for dinner. read more

Shabu Shack - Japanese Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

See all

We've been to this restaurant several times, and while the food has always been just okay for the price ($29.99 for all-you-can-eat hotpot), this most recent visit was a new low. First, the selection at the self-serve bar has become very limited compared to before. They still have a 90-minute dining limit, which is standard, but they've now added a hidden rule that we had never been told about: you can only place orders during the first 60 minutes of the meal. What makes this worse is how they apply it. More than half of our party arrived a bit later, and the first few people who arrived were told to go ahead and start by choosing the soup bases. What they did not tell us was that this action would start the 60-minute countdown, even though not everyone had arrived and no actual eating had begun. By the time everyone was there and ready to order, most of that hour had already passed--without any warning from staff. On top of that, the portions they bring out are extremely small, and the serving speed is painfully slow. We would finish what little they brought each round and end up just sitting and waiting for the next one, which made the 60-minute ordering window feel even more restrictive and unfair. When we asked about this unclear policy, we were told to wait for the manager--who took nearly 20 minutes to come over. And when she finally arrived, she spoke to us with a condescending attitude and essentially said, "What more can you expect for $29.99?" The contempt in her tone was shocking. I'm not sure how other customers feel, but we're done with this place. We won't be coming back and we DO NOT recommend it to anyone. No restaurant should treat customers with that level of disrespect. read more

Great food. The mala was a great broth, perfect level of spice for everyone. The herbal beef broth was great too. Good meat selection which was all great. Veggies, mushrooms, and meatballs were excellent. Mai tais were great, though a little too much lime. We will definitely have to come back. Gave it a 5 because it's above a 4 and the other reviews were so low. Probably more like a 4.3-4.5. read more

The inside looks good but not a lot of parking, need to jaywalk across busy road if you park on other side. And LOTS of problems that just built up that you can see noted in other reviews as well. Waitresses don't even do water refills and even add a 18% tip themselves! No soft skills. Waitresses are college students who tend to talk to each other, not very friendly and are inexperienced. Additionally, this place is too unauthentic and obviously so, there is no sauce selection. ONLY soy sauce or barbecue They don't even have gluten free soy sauce to accommodate allergies. Unlike other well knowns like Spring Shabu Shabu. Sauce is 90% of the game. Seriously. Don't drink the tap water, we noticed that they don't wash the glasses clean, could taste dish soap. Price to portion ratio is not good, the ordering system is order each item separately and cost is on higher end. Especially in comparison to Spring Shabu Shabu and majority of hot pot places that are all you can eat. Took 30 minutes for just the soup and vegetable platter to come out despite not being busy. Not enough liquid added, had to add water which diluted it ourselves too. Took another hour before the meat came out, we had only been eating vegetables for half an hour. The seafood had sand in it. For some reason, maximum heat on the pot cannot cook the meat all the way through. It should take three dips to cook a piece of meat. $168 worth of disappointment for four people. read more

Celebrated my boyfriends birthday last night at Shabu Shack. Overall, we all enjoyed the food and would come again if we wanted hotpot without making the drive to Boston. The service was not the best but also not the worst either. The food took a while to come out, We had to ask for water a few times and felt like no one really checked in on us or came by to clear the table as plates were empty. When the staff did come by, the waitresses were friendly. As a newly opened restaurant, I do feel like there are some things that need to be worked on. For starters, they charge $14 minimum for broth. It can be one flavor or you can choose two. From the photo I post you can see that there is hardly any broth in the pot. For a relatively large pot, the broth was filled about half way. The portions are small for the pricy menu and the only menu item that we ordered which we did not enjoy was the thick cut, tough beef tongue. Cute place but kind of small for hotpot. Probably about 12 or 13 tables and a bar area. If you are in the mood for hotpot and you're in the area, it's worth trying but be warned that you may still leave hungry. read more

Shabu Shack - a variety of food items on a table - Japanese Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

I'm not a hotpot aficionado but I know the experience here was excellent Plenty of parking on Saturday afternoon Impeccably clean and decor was nice Waitress was A+ Food was delicious, fresh and high quality Price was very reasonable We had gyoza & tempura apps Beef hotpot with kimchee and shoyu broth read more

This place is chaos. It really felt like we weren't wanted as guests. Everything we asked our server was a nuisance to him. There were no drink refills, mistakes with the food that was brought, and a complete inconsideration for our group as a whole. I've never had hot pot where you aren't provided with adequate sauces accompanied by garlic hots and scallion. Then they charge for extra herbs but their extra serving is a dollop or a morsel size. The chicken broth is sub par at best. We left still hungry and we ordered multiple appetizers, extra ramen, rice with our meal combos and a couple of meat combinations with veggies. Very disappointed . It's a bummer because the place is actually cute and cozy with a pretty waterfall wall near the bar. I can at least say the meat and veggies were fresh but man compared to everything else that isn't even saying much. read more

The food here was good and tasty. In my experience for the ala carte service, I think portions were good just the pricing is a bit higher than standard . I don't feel You could compare this to spring shabu because it's an entirely different hot pot experience since it isn't an ayce establishment. If I could compare this to anything it would be either kaze/shabu zen. I don't think it's as good as the three restaurants I mentioned. But It is above what we can get around lowell for shabu style. the appetizers were also very delicious! shabu shack definitely hit the spot for me and I will def be coming back again. As far as everything else, they did a great job with renovating the old Gaelic. The parking situation, it's fine imo plenty of street parking and the problem with crossing the busy street, you can walk to the corner where the stop light is and cross safely at the cross walk. I personally had an overall good experience and I may have been lucky but my server came often to check on us. Im happy and satisfied to have this shabu restaurant here in Lowell especially when I'm too lazy to take the drive elsewhere. read more

Great service and super yummy broths. We got the beef, veggie, and mushroom platters with some rice and udon and drinks with a really nice atmosphere and plenty of extra food. For 6 people/ extras and drinks it was only around $200 with gratuity so a great value. Enjoyable experience all around read more

Shabu Shack - Meat special - Japanese Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Our second time here, it eas a special request from one of my kids, and both of my kids just begged me to review the place. (This never happens.) We had the seafood, the strip, and the lamb. All delicious. I love the veggies mix, too. Keep up the good work! read more

This place has been one of my go-to since opening day. They have amazing service, their food is delicious along with their drinks. Do yourself a favor and visit. The service is unmatched. The staff truly cares about your experience. They know what they're doing and what they're talking about. I 100% recommend if you looking for a good Hot Pot place to dine in. read more

I would give this negative review if I could because my family went in and ate during their meals they found flies in the soup this is honestly disgusting and disappointing. read more

Shabu Shack - a black fly on a white towel - Japanese Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Clean, fun atmosphere. Great waitstaff and food is delicious. Tom yum soup is fantastic, generous beef portions. read more

The food was delicious and the service was great. Like many hot pot restaurants, you share the pot. I like that their pot had 2 separate types of broth. The meat was perfectly portioned and delicious. The vegetables were fresh and delicious. The presentation was beautiful and the staff were attentive and accommodating. I can't wait to come back here! read more

There's pros and cons to this place. We came here with a party of 10, they don't take reservations so we had to split up. Let's be straightforward, ambiance and interior is really nice but food is where it matters the most. The selection of broth is great and flavors were there. The broth are $14 for a choice of one or two picks. I got the Tom yum which was delish, spicer than a lot of places but that's why I liked it and I also recommend the duck & mushroom (which cost additional $9/half). My major complaint is that if I'm gonna spend that much you better fill up my pot! When it came out it looked like someone drank half of my broth... I looked at my friends tables and they too felt chipped in the amount of broth given. Prices is definitely way up there compared to the amount given. Some of meat quality was okay. Don't expect to be full unless you ordering a lot of sides which adds up quick. I don't typically eat a lot in general but man was I hungry still... i had to order more carbs like noodles ($5) to fill myself up. I'd rather drive Boston knowing that I can be full without breaking the bank. Also service was not great. My friends complained about not getting their water refilled, luckily my waiter gave us pitcher because we KEPT asking for water. Maybe they should give pitcher to each table with 3 or more people (just a suggestion). Every time she bring the food over before I could ask to add more stuff she walked away so quick. So I had to either wait or wave her down. My friends felt service wasn't great compared to Boston. I'd probably give this place one more try later down the road if I'm craving hotpot and too lazy to drive to Boston. I will update whether or not my opinion still stands. read more

I have been to this location multiple times since they have opened. The food is great, the staff treat you with the upmost respect and the drinks are awesome! read more

The food was excellent and there were many different choices. The service was a little slow and we had to ask for clarification on the menu because the server assumed we had had hot pot before. Overall the experience was great and I will be returning. read more

I was so excited to finally have a hotpot location close to home. I had high hopes for this place, but unfortunately it is a mess with the customer service. I've been here twice already, the first time service was mediocre, but I wanted to give it the benefit of doubt and try it again. Nothing has changed, the teenage staff are extremely unprofessional and some have no idea what they are doing. The servers are always huddle by the bar or in a circle, gossiping as loud as possible. To be honest it was very cringey listening to them talk about others badly. Have you no shame doing that in front of customers? I also notice I never see any manager on the floor. It's like a wild zoo in there with no zoo keeper. The food is good but definitely not good enough to be irked by the terrible customer service. I came one with one friend, and they added gratuity. For TWO people?! Never in my life have I experienced anything as ridiculous as that. The gratuity was 18% too! That's pretty dang high seeing how our server probably only deserved 15% at most. I have worked in the industry myself, so I know what is well deserved for tips. They probably add gratuity because they know their service is awful and no one wants to leave them a good tip. Sorry not sorry, you need to do better. I have also seen the owner respond to bad reviews, clearly cannot take constructive criticism and the owner was rude and unapologetic. That is not what customers want to see, like I said, do better. read more

Bad experience overall, price bad, food bad, service terrible. I would not recommend this place at all.

shabu shack is still in the their soft opening phase, so they're still trying to smooth out any bumps before opening. interior is very clean and relaxing, it wasn't too busy for a thursday night. we ordered the tom yum broth and regular chicken broth. for meats we got short rib and the new york steak. we were better off ordering the beef party instead of just two meat plates because they were essentially the same price except one has better presentation and more options, i'll order beef party next time. i wish they had more sauce options and gave a little bit more in terms of sauce add ons. i found the portions a bit on the smaller side compared to their price. i feel like it is hard to mess up hot pot, and shabu shack is still working out kinks which i understand. service was a bit slow considering there weren't that many tables being served and we ordered one more plate of beef and it didn't come out till the very end of our meal which i thought was a little weird. servers definitely need a little more experience and practice but they'll get there eventually. overall, shabu shack is a nice place to go on a date because it isn't too loud and ambiance is nice, if you don't mind spending a little more for hot pot and are in lowell you should stop by! read more

Shabu Shack - a table with a lot of food on it - Japanese Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

I know this place was just recently opened and would like to give them more time to fix the current issues with their establishment but I must give a review of my recent experience. The quality of the meats was pretty good and vegetables were fresh. An issue I have with them is the pricing to portion ratio which was relatively small and to compare it with an all-you-can-eat buffet like Spring Shabu-Shabu, you are not getting your money's worth. The sauce selection is absent, there was only a soy and barbeque sauce where as Spring has a wide array of sauce ingredients to choose from. If you're a fan of having your own individual pot, this will upset you to share a pot with others who might like certain things you're not into. The staff waiters/waitresses were very young and apparent that they were inexperienced. They would not bring the sauces unless asked where other hot pot restaurants do unless it's a self serve station for sauces. They didn't bring out water and we had to ask for it and blamed the Chef, "THE CHEF!" on why service for water was so slow. Hopefully, they will take this review as constructive and not a slight to their newly opened establishment. I would really like for them to succeed and improve but they need to address some of these issues. read more