I came to Shabu Zen on a Saturday night around 5:45 P.M. The restaurant was almost full. Luckily, there were still a few empty spots and I was seated immediately. However, I did notice that 45 minutes later, there was quite a line formed to get seated. This restaurant is perfect for catching up with friends, going for date night, or eating out alone. I found the service to be prompt. The dipping sauces, broth and food were brought out about ten minutes after ordering. The dipping sauces consisted of fresh minced garlic, chopped scallions, soy sauce, sa cha (Chinese BBQ paste), and minced chile peppers. Feel free to mix any or all of the above together for your own combination of flavors. I ordered the gyoza appetizer to start off with and it was good. I also ordered the Seafood platter (salmon, cod, scallops, fish cake, and squid) with udon noodles and spicy Mongolian style broth. I tried some of the Deluxe Meat Combo (USDA prime ribeye and boneless shortribs) with vermicelli noodles and spicy Szechuan style broth. Both hot pots came with sides of vegetables. The seafood, meat, vegetables, and broth tasted delicious, and it was a nice comfort food experience. However, both broths tasted similar enough that there wasn't a big difference. As many others have already mentioned, I find the prices to be expensive considering the portions you get and the extra charge for specialty broths. Overall, it is a tasty experience, and you'll be satisfied if you're not looking to eat massive portions of food. read more

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We came in at 7:30 pm on a Sunday evening and the place was pretty filled, but they were still able to accommodate three of us right away. People working there were friendly and service was great! There are many choices for meats and soups. Each entree comes with a choice of rice or noodles, an assortment of veggies, and a house broth. I shared a Meat Combo (beef and pork) plate with my friend and it actually filled us up quite well, though we are both relatively small people and don't eat as much. It's so nice that they let you share an entree here since it's quite a bit cheaper that way and you don't really waste any food. You can also get your own portion of broth a la carte if you're sharing. I know a few hot pot places that require everyone to get an entree, so props to Shabu Zen. Though some people prefer fattier meat for hotpot, the beef and pork slices here were not fatty at all, which was perfect to our liking! Each slice only takes a few seconds to cook, so it can be a bit easy to overcook. Overall, I enjoyed eating here, although I would say that the dipping sauce options felt limited (unless I didn't know they offered other dipping sauce options besides the default) and the broth could've been more flavorful. I'd definitely come here again if I visited Boston again and was craving some hotpot. read more

This is my absolute favorite shabu shabu restaurant. I've eaten at quite a few and I always think back to my time in Boston at Shabu-Zen and how much I miss it! Located right in Chinatown. My favorite broth is their tom yum, super flavorful with the lemon grass and just the right amount of sourness. We ordered the combo plates and the meats are very high quality, the marbling is drool worthy. They really take care of you here and it's worth the wait in my opinion if there is one. read more

Shabu-Zen - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Very expensive, not that great of a hot pot place. Not worth for the money. Not a lot of selection like most hot pot places in town.

Very good. The service is really good, the food comes fast and the ingredients are fresh. Last time I went, we got their jumbo shrimp, silken tofu, fish balls, green leaf lettuce, cabbage, quail eggs, beef cuts, and pork cuts. We also got a few fish/seafood cuts. I think the prices are going up steadily because of inflation unfortunately but the meats and vegetables here are really good quality. I've been about three times over the last few years, and I've always had a good experience. The broths are very flavorful, and you get a wide selection. My personal favorite is the mushroom, tomato and tonkatsu broths, and the jumbo shrimps, fish filets/seafood cuts, and beef cuts. read more

OMG the broth was so amazing. We ordered Tom Yam and Mushroom Broth. one of the best shabu2 place I've been. I will definitely be back. Good jobs guy' read more

Shabu-Zen - Awesome BROTH - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Forgot to take a picture when our meat arrived but we also got surf and turf with lamb and jumbo ribeye beef. Also ordered a lychee saketini. I think we ordered too much for three people so we were super full but it was nice and warm to the soul because it was freezing and windy outside. The tomato beef broth was nice and flavorful. Not a huge fan of the lychee saketini (but I'm also not in love with the taste of alcohol either). The lychee was nice and sweet though haha. read more

Shabu-Zen - beef tripe normal broth on left, tomato beef broth on right - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Service was quick and friendly! Everyone there is so nice. I always get the Tum yum with extra spice and alternate between the ribeye and beef. I recommend the udon noodles with the tum yum! Broth flavor 10/10, so flavorful! read more

Shabu-Zen - Tom Yum! - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This was probably one of the most disturbing restaurant experiences I've ever had. Was the first customer on a Sunday at 11am. Sat at the bar with my husband and ordered a ton of a food. Began making our hotpot and cockroaches started crawling from under the bar onto our food. I thought I was going to be sick, it was so disgusting. The waitstaff mumbled "sorry" as we got our things and left our uneaten food - it was clearly not a surprise to them and they seemed totally unbothered by the cockroaches crawling all over our food. Ruined my lunch and didn't even have the appetite to eat anywhere else after effectively ruining my celebratory getaway with my husband. Avoid at all costs. read more

LOVED my meal here! We came in on a Saturday night. Had a very short wait and got seated at the individual spots in the center of the restaurant. I ordered the Mongolian broth which was A++++!! Not too spicy but so perfect I didn't need to add anything to make it tasty. My husband and son got the Japanese miso broth and they felt like they needed to add some spice and flavor. We got the top of the line beef-- the A5 wagyu. Everything was sooo good, very fresh, and it's all a super fun way to eat. Staff was attentive and friendly. I will return if I'm in Boston again. 100%!! read more

Place was really nice inside. Food was good, friendly service, etc. Glad we stopped in - just randomly walked past it and it looked nice so we tried it. read more

Despite my family and I being regulars at this restaurant, I've never wrote a review here and I thought that it was time. We have a waiter that ended up coincidentally being our regular waiter every time we visited. My dad loves him and he's not a very easy person to please. Think stern hard-to-please asian dad. Our waiter would always bring out chopped red peppers (something they used to bring out when they first opened but don't anymore) and extra stuff to put in our sauce without asking. He'd come and greet us in Vietnamese, ask where my mom was whenever she doesn't come out to eat with me and my brother. It honestly always a please trip to Shabu-zen just because of our waiter (and food of course!!). We just oddly never gotten his name, but will update this review when I find out! Anyway!!! On to the food review part! Broth is always good! My family usually does half spicy Mongolian and half Chinese herbal. The broth is the reason why we don't go to the Allston location much. It's slightly different. Things we always get: A2. Prime Grade Boneless Short Rib (Jumbo) A11. Surf and Turf (My mom likes the seafood Fish Paste*** (personal FAV) Sauteed Baby Clams Sauteed Beef Tongue Raw Beef Tongue Rice (it hits different here, trust) read more

Shabu-Zen - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Still my favorite shabu spot but WOW - their prices are now crazy compared to other shabu locations. It has me going elsewhere simply for that high dollar reason. read more

One of my favorite places for hot pot! Very friendly staff and always easy to get a table. It's a cozy little spot tucked right into the middle of Chinatown. Highly recommend the Mongolian spicy broth. Great selection of food and always leave super satisfied :) read more

Shabu-Zen - Mongolian spicy broth - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Always the first place we visit in Boston. Our favorite meal in Boston. The food was off the chart good (and the French and Italian dinners the other nights were close runner ups). The seafood and beef was super fresh, the broths were full of flavor and the service was perfect. Highly recommended! read more

Taste: 4/5 it is very good, pretty hard to get any better unless the dipping is expanded. Setting: 4/5 inside looks very nice and clean. The middle section is somewhat crowded but manageable when they separate you from other by a seat which isn't always possible. Service: 5/5 everything as expected, can't complain. Price: $15-$20 Overall: 5/5. I mostly visit this place for lunch so it is somewhat quiet. It's somewhat crowded at night so the experience isn't all that great when there are more customers around. It is a personal thing, to be able to eat in quiet, calm place during lunch sure reduce stress for the PM work hours. LoL. read more

Overall, mediocre food ( especially limited sauce selection) with a hefty price tag. I probably wouldn't come back any time soon. I ordered individual dishes and I'm out more than 40 bucks all said and done. Damn that's expensive! I've only ordered a beef, a shrimp paste and two veggies.... it's not like I ate a lot. Service sucks! You have to wave at those waitresses to get anything, and they never refill your hot pot with more soup when it's apparently time to do so. read more

Shabu-Zen - All these dishes came to $37 before tax, way too expensive! - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Service and food quality here deserve 5 stars. Don't forget the Yelp waitlist tool to make reservations. With traffic and finding parking the staff were great at accommodating us. This place is not AYCE. The top 3 broths that we enjoyed were the miso, kim chi and tom yum. Definitely recommend getting the 3 broth pot so you can get the best of both worlds. The appetizers here are no joke. We loved the gyoza, spicy edamame, and the baby octopus. We kept ordering the prime grade beef combo, prime beef tongue and sirloin. Its the qualify here that sets the bar. The meats don't come out frozen and the veggies are fresh and crisp. You do spend more than your typical AYCE, but you leave not feeling sluggish. I recommend trying to get here early and getting seated in the middle dining area. They do feature drink specials sometimes so its best maybe to dine on those days if you plan on drinking. I'll definitely be back to try their other broths and their premium A5 wagyu. read more

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Pros: The food is just simply bomb. My favorite broth to get is the Tom Yum and Kim-Chee because some places like Hot Pot Buffet or Spring-Shabu doesn't offer Tom Yum which is my favorite! Their prime rib eye/beef or prime grade short ribs will always be the best meats and it's great that each meat plate comes with a side of noodles/rice and veggies. I also recommend their sautéed beef tongue (my all time favorite place to eat sautéed beef tongue is Shabu-zen), and stuffed meatballs (don't knock it till you try it!). They also have their special soy sauce and it's fun mixing in the garlic, pepper, scallion, and bbq sauce to dip the food in! Service: The team of servers at Shabu-Zen have always been great and attentive. It's like they always knew when we needed something. Cons: The only con I have is that it can be a bit pricey depending on what you order or how many people the party is composed of. But it's worth every penny and to be expected because of the great quality. Also because it's located in Chinatown it's best to go in the evening where there are more parking spots and no need to pay for meters. Overall: Shabu-Zen has always been on my top list for hotpot spots in Boston. Every single time I've gone I was not disappointed by the food or the service. read more

Shabu-Zen - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

My group of 5 arrived around 7PM and were seated immediately. We ordered the house broth and A5 wagyu, lamb, supreme seafood, along with some veggies. I thought that it all tasted good but I think that the prices were very expensive. The noodle and meat portions were very small. I can get AYCE hotpot for $35/person in Virginia that has the same quality/tasting meat as Shabu-Zen as well as a customizable topping bar. The servers were very attentive and the bathrooms were clean. read more

Shabu-Zen - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Absolutely a wonderful experience for two from NH. Wonderful wait staff. Waitstaff helpful in assisting in ordering (we had no idea how to order or eat it). I highly recommend if you're in Boston. We will be back. read more

Shabu-Zen - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Absolutely amazing hot pot. This was my first experience at a hot pot restaurant and I was so impressed! The food was delicious and the portions were perfect. Came with veggies and noodles of choice to make a bowl of your own. Great for sharing. We also split the green tea, mango & strawberry mochi. So good! Sat super fast for a party of 3 on a busy Saturday night. read more

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So happy to be back at Shabu Zen! This place brings a lot of memories, as I used to come here almost every week when I was living in Boston (especially during the winter months). The menu is impressive, with Shabu-Shabu as their main focus; Steamy pork broth, fresh sliced meats, vegetables paired with their dipping sauces - simple and that's the beauty of it. The restaurant is quite spacious, bright with clean interior. Just a proper place for a nice meal out. They have plenty of tables for communal pots or counter seating for an individual pots. They also have a few private booth tables for diners who prefers a slightly more private dining experience. On our last trip here, we ordered their Prime Ribeye Beef and Supreme Seafood! The seafood platter was deliciously presented and happy to say they are very fresh and meaty. The original pork and chicken broth were also very light (if you fancy a more bold and rich broth, I highly recommend their Tom Yum soup). The meat was thinly cut and the assortments of vegetables goes into the soup as well. The quality was undoubtedly good and the dipping sauce (sesame and soy sauce ponzu) was the best we ever had!! The pricing was a little high, expect to spend about $60 for two and portions was on the tiny side. Other than that, Shabu Zen never fails to satisfy with their fresh seafood, quality meat, and great service. It's definitely the place to go whenever you crave for Japanese style Shabu-shabu in Boston. read more

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I encountered the worst situation that I have not had before until at this restaurant! Shabu-Zen should fire the receptionist, the tall young lady with long white hair!!!! She was so rude to the customers!!! My friend booked the table for 3 at 7:30pm, I came there at 7:35pm, the receptionist told me the table was not ready, came back in 10mins, which was ok, so I went out to wait for my friends, then when one of my friends came later, she told me her friend could not make it, so only 2 of us!!! we came back to the restaurant, the receptionist asked where were the 3rd person? !!! I only got you the table when you have 3!!! and she brought other customers behind us to the table!!! What the f*!!!! That how you treat customers like that? You know what, I will never ever come back to this restaurant again! It was my first time, then I had such the worst service!!! read more

Like my previous review- The service is still excellent, year after year. One of the best services in Chinatown I've experienced. The food is good, the quality of meat cuts is nice, although nothing to write home about. The broths are decent too. I noticed they have not raised their prices as sharply as most of the hot pot places in the area due to the Biden-inflation. Just a modest few dollars increase. So, decent value if you want a reliable, friendly hotpot for the evening. As a neighbor, I highly recommend this Shabu-Zen. read more

My girlfriend and I came here for Thanksgiving dinner while we were in town for the long weekend. After looking at multiple places, we settled on going to this place because it did not have a wait. We got the beef and lamb combo ($22 total). I thought the quality of the meat was excellent but I was not particularly a fan of the sides. I thought they could have given us more vegetables or sides for the price we paid. Also... not a fan of the sauce selection. They give you a small ration of sauces on your table to mix. Usually at hot pot, there is a sauce bar and you can make your own concoction of sauces, but this place does not offer that. My girlfriend thought it was expensive and overpriced. We both enjoyed our meal but it wasn't super special or fancy. Just an average hot pot meal in Boston Chinatown. read more

Shabu-Zen - beef and lamb combo - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The soup is always amazing and the service was great. Our group came around 6:45pm and we had to wait 30-40 minutes for a table because it was very busy. Utilize the Yelp waitlist. You cook the food yourself so everything is fresh off the stove. Great for a cold day read more

Shabu-Zen - A1, A2, A3, beef tongue - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This place seems to have gone downhill as of late. It was among the premiere spots in China Town for Hot Pot. I usually end up here for late dinners. PROS: The place is usually really clean and well lit. The atmosphere is nice. The meat and veggies selections are pretty varied so you can get a bit of everything you like. I've only done the high and low counter seating, but each person gets their individual pot to cook in. You will run out of table space with all of your ingredients, if you're like me. The servers and staff all seem polite, when you can find them. CONS: The broth quality and ingredient quality wasn't up to par on my last visit. It was late at night. The service was a bit slow and it was difficult to locate the waitress, who seems more occupied with side chores than actually tending to customers. Don't they have other staff who can fill soy sauce bottles? It also seems pricey, given some of the other hot pot places do "All you can eat" for a fixed price. Here, your choices will run up a big bill. OVERALL: Still a decent spot for hot pot. read more

This was my first experience doing the hot pot and it was great. The restaurant was busy on a Saturday evening. After a few minute wait we were seated and explained our options. I opted for a beef/chicken combo and the spicy Mongolian broth. It was delicious and I loved the ability to cook the meat to my own preference. I'll be sure to come back here the next time I'm in Boston. read more

Shabu-Zen - Spicy Mongolian Broth - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This place is a bit less bang for your buck, but overall the hot pot was pretty good! Got the tonkutsu and spicy szechuan broths with a variety to sides!! read more

Shabu-Zen - Hot pot (tonkutsu on the top, spicy szechuan on bottom) - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The best food, best service, best place. We visited Boston because my granddaughter graduated from college and we went three days in a row. We travel a lot and we haven't found anything like it any were else . The BEST!! read more

The receptionist welcomed us very friendly. However, thing was changed after we found a bug on our Vegetarian Delight plate. We called one of the employee near by to show her the bug. She saw it and brought the plate to the kitchen. A few moment later, she came back and told us that the kitchen did not find any bug in the dish. Luckily, we took a picture a the bug before we called her. We showed her the picture and then she left to go to the kitchen. A minute later, she came back and ask if she could borrow my phone to show to the kitchen. At this point, we had already disappointed about this service. Another employee came to our table just to say they were going to give us a replacement. We were not full but we just decided not to order anymore foods from this place. This restaurant has 4.1 stars so that's why we decided to try this. However. It is just a disappointment. read more

Shabu-Zen - The bug we took before calling the employee - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Overall solid hot pot. Great staff, fast service and good food. The meat taste good and broth was nice. The meat was a bit expensive with each meat around 25 dollars. Should I come here? If you are planning on ordering more then one meat you ought to go to Hot Pot Buffet for around 30 dollars a person. read more

more like CHINESE HOT POT even though they advertise "Japanese shabu" NOTE: you can split the hot pot 3 ways & if you want to try 3 diff soups or levels of spicy! ---tom yum hot pot mild spicy ---tom yum hot pot medium spicy: perhaps my favorite!! ---kimchi hot pot: tasted more like miso than kimchi ---rib eye: liked the thinness & quality of the beef!! ---short rib: also enjoyed the fattier taste of this beef! ---complimentary kimchi for the table ---free red bean soup dessert: tasted too much like barley ---each order comes w/ lots of veggies & either rice/udon/vermicelli noodles! mix your own sauces w/ the ingredients provided at the table to ADD more flavor after cooking!! the restaurant gets CROWDED so come early or put your name down & come back (we missed our name being called but they still seated us next when we returned) read more

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Had a high expectation coming in, was referred to by a sibling who says that it was the best shabu2 she has eaten by far, hence the 3 star . The food was good. The quality of the veggie/seafood was okay, meat was pretty goods. Ordered the shrimp paste, veggies, dumpling (frozen), meatball(frozen), and was not very impressive. Good place, good ambience, and great service though. Recommended if craving for hot soup in Boston! read more

This place was pretty full on a Sunday night. The hostess took a bit to get to asking us how many were in our group. The restaurant itself was clean and very big. There's a center individual hot pot bar seat area and then tables with joint hot pots around the perimeter. We chose to sit at a table and share one pot. The server didn't come by our table till 15 mins after we sat down. Then after we ordered food and drinks, the food came before our drinks did...and only after we asked for them. We chose the Japanese miso and Mongolian broths and had a split pot. The miso broth was mild and good if you like the flavor to be more in the sauce not the broth. The Mongolian broth was not super spicy but still flavorful. We got the meat combo plate and a seafood platter. The meat was pretty fresh, though not a big portion. The prices are a big on the high end. The plates come with vegetables and your choice of udon, vermicelli or rice. The vegetables plate includes corn, enoki and shiitake mushrooms, Bok choy, Napa and some other greens. Overall decent place but not very attentive service. read more

Shabu-Zen - Meat o combo and seafood combo platter with Mongolian and miso soup base - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The food, still good but they've raised their prices and are actually putting less on the plates which may just be a Boston survival technique but it still is wrong given that the staff attentiveness and friendliness has changed plus the soup prices have increased while the quantity of food has decreased! Further it used to be if you requested one vegetable be taken off the standard veggie plate they would substitute by adding more of the standard veggies already included in the plate. They do not do this anymore, new policy. I'm not a fan of mushrooms, half the plate is mushrooms do I only got have a plate of veggies. Unacceptable to me. The staff only served my food then never came back. I had to ask for the fresh chili pepper and not the red paste (The red paste is a cheap substitute but horrible tasting). I considered more food! No one asked so decided it was enough. When I asked the manager what was happening she said new staff but didn't offer to help in any way. The Mongolian is still one of the better soups but what used to buy me $18 worth of veggies and meat now buys me $28 dollars and you get less food. No alcohol included just n Saratoga water. The meat is good, veggies fresh but the potions have shrunken considerably over the years while the prices have jumped. Plus the staff are distant, illusive and not attentive. It's just not worth it anymore. Disappointed, saddened and torn writing this review. They don't seem to care anymore about pleasing a customers. Little heartbroken, ok maybe a lot. Shame I will be looking for a new place to go and bring friends. I have brought over 25 people here through the years and will be on a serious hunt for a new hot pot, shabu place. Shabu you have broken my zen for you. All good things come to an end. read more

This place is more like a Chinese shabu fusion (expected since this place is in chinatown). My rating basically reflects what I thought of the food and the experience. We each ordered a half lamb and beef combo with udon and pork broth ($15). Disappointed that the veggie plate had some random veggies and not much napa cabbage. This was my first time eating shabu with a tomato, broccoli, bok choy, and corn. We also had to ask for sesame sauce which I found to taste really strange (burnt). They said it was house made when they saw that I wasn't using it. Even the ponzu tasted different and I found myself barely using that too. We thought the meat was good and not dry. I usually like my udon round and chewy but the udon they gave us was cooked dry and skinny. Halfway into the meal, we had an awkward conversation with our server: Server: I forgot to ask in the beginning.. Have you eaten here before? Me: No, I haven't. It's our first time here. S: Oh, okay. Let me show you how to eat shabu? M: Yes, we know. We've had shabu before. Don't really understand since we were half way done with our meal and he along with other servers were watching us eat the entire time (we were the first table next to the kitchen counter). I just felt a little uncomfortable with people watching and then him asking this. read more

Shabu-Zen - Half lamb half beef - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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...-_-... I went here recently with2 friends after the lunch rush was over, so it wasn't busy or overcrowded. I don't know what happened, the portions are very small compared to what I remembered when they were first opened, but the prices are still the same. So after I finished eating, I was still hungry. The service was very slow. The waitress forgot to order our appetizer and we ordered Tea ( which included free refills) but the waitress never refilled it unless I tried to get her. I had to ask for a refill 3 times. I like it when waitresses don't hassle you or rush you but she never came to our table to check up, at all. I think its nice to go to a hot pot place at least once to experience it, but I will most likely not return to this location. read more

Shabu Zen ruined me for future hot pots... and I didn't even know it at the time. What an experience! We went on a weekday evening, late-ish (well after 9pm), and the place was packed to the hilt. Packed the two hours we were there. (I seriously wondered if anyone worked in Boston if they're out shabu-ing it up til 11pm on a school night - ha). We told them it was our first time, and they patiently explained the whole thing. Lots to explain. Lots of choices. I went with the short rib dinner with noodles, spicy Szechuan style broth, plus a side of shrimp. Ken chose the Surf and Turf dinner with rice, spicy Mongolian style broth. I normally wouldn't go short ribs, but I was intrigued by the gorgeous curls of raw meat that went by, inquired, and thought 'I gotta have it'. Glad I did, because that meat was so tender. Sure, it should be, only being waved around in the hot broth for a couple seconds before dipping in sauce and shoving in mouth... but it was. Yeahh me. Ken's steak was good also (he preferred it actually), but most of his surf was just OK to me (once again, he really enjoyed it... so to each their own). I loved the veggies in the hot pot, mixed with noodles and slurped out of my dipping sauce bowl. Loved everything about this place - casual, laid back, eat at your own pace we'll add more broth if you run low. My kind of dinner. When we got home, we searched for Shabu Shabu immediately...found one... but just not the same. No dipping sauce. No noodles. No flavorings to the broth. So, if my first addictive taste of Shabu Shabu is wrong...well... I wish they had a wrong place here in the D! read more

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