** PLEASE READ BEFORE TRYING THIS RESTAURANT ** I've seen several positive reviews of this place and prior to my last dining experience at SZ, I'd be inclined to agree. However, a couple of months ago, celebrating a friend's birthday, I had **the absolute worst dining experience of my life** at this restaurant. Here's how: The minor: 1) The hostess paid little to no mind to us and told us we'd be seated within 30 minutes. After over an hour, nothing - no apologies, no anything. The major: 2) While eating my soup I noticed several live bugs swimming in my bowl. They looked similar to fleas (not roaches). The person across from me had the same problem (we were sharing the same pot). We immedately called over the waiter and here's what happened. 3) The waiter called over the resident manager who confirmed they were actual bugs and made some statement that they "hide in the fresh vegetables". After taking away all the food, she proposed to take 10% off of the total bill, which wouldn't have even covered one of the two bug-infested meals. Outraged, I demanded at least half the bill off to which she said (after haggling and negotiating since she wasn't budging)... 4) I'll call my manager. So we wait... "I can't get ahold of him. I can do 10% and that's all". So I said we'd wait. After about 20 minutes and asking her to call the manager a couple more times, we eventually get our two spoiled meals with drinks and appetizers comped (which turned out to be roughly 40% of the bill). Unreasonable, but I settled. 5) When we got the bill, we noticed they overcharged us a meal we didn't order AND overcharged another member of the party for a higher cut of beef than he'd ordered. After more fighting, they realized their mistake and fixed the bill. From start to finish, they could not have done anything more wrong. At the minimum, someone should be on staff at all times with authority to make decisions about who to comp and when. Further up, lessons in restaurant etiquette. At the most, bug-free food. After this incident, I emailed the restaurant as well as Phantom Gourmet. I never got a response back. So, with my newfound Yelp account, I decided to share this experience to make sure nobody goes through the dining experience my friends and I went through. ...7 years later we still tell this story about our worst dining experience ever. Hasn't been outside yet!! read more

Dear Shabu Zen - Food: I love your hot pot! Your meat (prime rib) are juicy and tasty. The variety of veggies were awesome. I absolutely love the fish balls. I love how we can have two separate broths at one table. My favorite broth would be kim chi. The spice for that broth is always "just right". I tried the "berry, berry martini" tonight and it was delicious. I love that it has gummi bears in it. And the $5 dollars special for this martini wasn't too bad. Service: This is the reason why you guys are getting a "one star". You told us that the wait for 4 people was 30 minutes. We say okay. We saw an empty table for 4 and no one was sitting there. We asked you if we can sit there. You say that it is waiting on a party. But I know that Shabu Zen DOES NOT take reservations from anyone. So I thought it was a bit strange. That table was empty for the next 25 minutes. The table next to that empty table of 4 left. But you didn't sit us, however, you push the two tables together and sat a larger party of white customers, which just arrived after us. On top of it, you took one of the chairs that we, the waiting customers, were sitting on for that party. This is unacceptable and discriminatory. First, you do not sit another party down when that party arrived later then the other two parties sit there.. You could have sit us first at the empty table, and by the time the table next to it is done, you could rotate another small group in. And that large party will just have to wait for another 30 minutes for a large table to be empty. And second, do not put empty chairs out for your customers to sit while they wait for the table and then take it away because one of your tables need it. What happen if the waiting customer say no. The hostess actually took the chair without asking if anyone was sitting there, so I told her ...that is very poor customer service. And she explain to me that she didn't see anyone sitting there and i told her that you saw us. You know that we were sitting there. On top of it, she gave us and attitude after she sit us down. This is not the first time that I experience discriminatory service at an Asian restaurant. Non-asian customers tend to be treat better than Asians. However, Shabu Zen is not a cheap, hole-in-the wall restaurant. You could have treat us a bit better with the price that you charge. Very disappointed. read more

Loved this place until tonight. Poorly managed and rude staff. Arrogant waiter was goofing around, eating on the job,and while joking with coworkers started laughing and spit out food in front of us and on our food. Appalling. When asked to be more professional, he replied that I should "calm the f*** down." I complained immediately to the young girls at the desk, but they were essentially powerless and lost, explaining that "he had a temper." Just appalling. Go elsewhere. Zero stars. read more

One of my favorite places for hot pot. They're open at really convient times and have delicious food. Staff is friendly and quick, I've only ever had one slow experience but one out of fifteen times are great odds. Highly recommend and for hot pot is nicely priced the bill is usually about $20 a person including drinks. read more

Rude hostess. We have a party of 5. They had a 6 seat table available and with no reservation. But, they are trying to push us to sit on the bar seats (we have young kids making this impractical) and simply refuse to give us the table with 6 seats, even after we asked nicely. They were also amazingly stuck up about it as well. There were nobody else waiting on a relatively slow Sunday, and I am just shock they are willing to let a table be empty, just to have 6 people versus 5, and to have us leave than just have a tiny bit of service and business mindset! They clearly are not owners, as an owner would know the importance of customer service. There are 4 other shabu places in walking distance in Chinatown and just as good. So don't bother with this one. They've grown to be too full of themselves to care anymore. read more

My sister and I came here on a Friday night. There was a 15 minute wait and we were seated at the main counter. We decided to split the surf n turf meal and had the Mongolian broth and the house pork broth. We also ordered tea and pork dumplings, however the dumplings were never brought out. The pork broth was good, but very basic. We both preferred the Mongolian broth. It was slightly spicy and very flavorful. Having never tried hot pot before, I found it easy to engage in and it was the perfect meal for a rainy night. We enjoyed the atmosphere and also agreed it would be a nice place to come for dinner with friends/a date or even to have a night out alone. read more

This place is a disappointment. It's like there's no proper management. They refused to seat me at 12:25 am on a Friday night when the posted time is 1:00 am When I asked, I was rudely told that they're not seating Anymore cause they're slow. Well In that case their website should also change according to the status of the restaurant. I wouldn't recommend this place due to their lack of customer service. read more

My friend and I were there for a dinner. I ordered chicken broth and my friend got vegetable TomYum broth. We were very excited as it was one of our favorite place to eat. As our order arrived, we started eating. We were having good time until my friend noticed something with black color on her broth. She took it out on soup spoon. After looking clearly at the "weird thing" on the spoon, we realized it was an INSECT. It was unbelievable. My friend stopped eating right away. We called a Waiter and told him we found an INSECT on the broth. He took it without saying anything. After 5 min, a waitress came and asked "Do you want to change the order or cancel it?" without even saying Sorry to us. That was the worst experience we had. It's not that we were dying to hear sorry from them, but they didn't have any customer service skill at all. They took the incident as nothing happened. Firstly, my friend was a VEGETARIAN, and secondly it was an INSECT. No one came and apologized to us (seemed like they didn't even have a manager). At the end, even though they did not charge $13 for Vegetable Delight for the order of my friend, they still charged $4 for the TomYum broth which contained the INSECT on it. WE ARE NEVER GOING BACK TO THIS PLACE AGAIN. read more

Hot pot is always my favorite and this restaurant met my expectation.

One of my most frequently visited restaurants in boston. I like the allston one better because of typically larger crowd here. Favorite broth is the sichuan broth, highly recommend! read more

The owner has become cheap, they no longer serve fresh chili peppers, but hot chili oil. At least offer it on the menu. (I don't mind paying for it even though it used to be free). read more

I don't get the hype of this place. 2.5 stars at most. I've had waaaaay better Shabu in California at various places and also in Hawaii. I could eat shabu 2-3 times a week if I didn't travel so much. This is the only shabu place I have ever been to that serves such small portions of their "fresh veggie plate". I got 4 small Bok Choy, maybe 5 slices of Napa cabbage, 2 small pieces of tofu, a small slice of tomato, a 2.5 inch piece of corn on the cob, and some enoki mushrooms. Every shabu restaurant I've been to provides at least 2-4 times of this with plenty of Napa cabbage and spinach. Shabu Zen gives you soy sauce as sauce and little tiny plates to mix your own sauce. A poor selection of green onions, garlic, red peppers, and Chinese bbq sauce. Traditional shabu places give you 2 sauces: sesame sauce (for meat) and ponzu sauce (for vegetables). And usually provide an unlimited use of green onions, daikon, and garlic to mix into your sauce. The meat I ordered was the priciest on the menu. USDA prime rib of beef or whatever. $20 for 10-12 slices. Beef slices were sliced nicely thin and good sized. However, it was dry and gross. Maybe the chef just kept slicing and gave me something else (choice beef) but it was not the quality of meat that I would ever eat again! Rice was dry! I got the bottom of the pot. I had a few bites of crusty, hard rice. Gross. I really wanted to like this place because I loooooveeee eating shabu and I was excited about all the reviews. But this place had bad quality meat, poor veggie plate, and bad sauce. 2 stars for food 3.5 stars for service - my server nice and it wasn't busy. I would never eat here again because of the meat and the sauce. Thumbs down on shabu for Boston. :( read more

Friends first time trying hot pot and she loved it. Good quality food and tonkutsu broth was delicious. Lamb and beef was delicious.

This shabu lacks of costumer service and the food is not bad but it's not the best compared to the other location in Allston. I would of prefer my server to actually asked me if I needed anything between my meal but I guess they prefer to talk to each other and take their time. I'm not gonna lie, 25 dollars for 2 people is the ideal price for meal if you get there before 3 oclock. Over all the food gets a 7/10 and the service gets a 4/10. read more

The food, was okay, same as any other shabu place here in boston. my biggest complaint is that this shabu-zen makes lies about the minimums at the tables. Their menu clearly states that during dinner hours there is a minimum charge of $60 dollars per table. I went on a weekday, lunch time, and asked for a table and said we would order at least $60. they told me the charge was $75. we ended up having to sit in a row at the bar, while the tables were left EMPTY the whole time. why are they so unwilling to accommodate their customers? the other shabu places, even the one in allston, are MUCH friendlier. i read a review down there that they told them minimum of $100. STAY CONSISTENT and stop lying to the customers. read more

I have been living in Boston for 2 years，this is the most terrible restaurant I have tried. I don't know why people gave it such a high rating. It is so so so expensive!!!The waitresses are with the worst service. We three spent more than 120 dollars and got few things to eat. U cannot image how horrible and mean every dish!! ----Chloe read more

Meat cuts are low grade and stingy. At best, it is a quick and dirty, last minute lunch decision. Wouldn't recommend it really.

Horrible service. Good thing I've eaten Shabu before or I wouldn't know what to do. This place is not a Japanese shabu restaurant, but a taiwanese hot pot restaurant. Where's the goma sauce? Hot drops? Soup base? Nothing? Anyways, I would not recommend this place to anyone. And btw, it's not the best shabu in town. read more

This is the worst hotpot place I've ever been. Service was terrible, waitress acted like did not want to work and talk to customers at all. everything that we ordered comes in a super small plate. The amount of food doesn't match with the price. The soup taste just like water, it was so bad. The beef wasn't good either. I went there with two friends. We weren't even full after ordering so many dishes because they were so small. The bill came out to be 116. That was crazy! I wouldn't recommend this place to any of my friend. read more

This restaurant was built around Shabu-Shabu. Each seat has a burner for the broth to rest on. For those who don't know, shabu-shabu is Japanese "fondue" But instead of oil, cheese or chocolate, a boiling zippy broth is used to cook your meat, seafood, poultry or vegetables. This is a fun restaurant as you cook your food in the broth and then get to mix garlic, scallion, chillies and Japanese BBQ sauce according to your taste. Service is polite and quick and the prices are surprisingly low. Sashimi and appetizers are also available for those who don't want to get "Shabu-ed". Get there early and take the T. read more

I went here on New Years Eve during the day with two friends, and a 13 year old boy. All were happy to partake in the hot pot cooking, and it was lots of fun. I was glad that the youngin' got into the hot pot cooking and ate pretty much everything on his plate, except for the weird little mushrooms. They offer a variety of different interesting items to cook yourself in the broth (we ordered the spicy kim chi broth, which was yummy) and good veggies items for non-meat eaters. It was roughly about $10 a person, more if you got the bigger platters of meats or seafoods. read more

Hot pot, wherever it's served, is an event. The participation element is great for dates, and the ability to easily customize your dish is great fun. In the winter especially, it's warming and comforting. Please be slow, though, because otherwise you'll burn your mouth, esophagus, and everything else along the way. In comparison with Little Q, the Quincy equivalent, the broth is sub par and a bit plain, but the ingredients are among the best you'll find. My advice on the meats is to stay on the cheaper side, as a lot of the subtle elements of high quality meat will be lost in soup's complexity. Also, the dumplings are a must. read more

This was my first excursion into Chinatown, and after a little bit of being lost coming up from the T (par for the course for me) I was able to meet up with some folks and have the exhilarating experience of paying to cook my own dang food! Well when you put it that way... no, it's actually pretty good. Definitely had one of those "this is where local eat" kinda moments, cause the family at the next table had shabu skills that put us to absolute shame. It was crowded, but not horribly so, I'd recommend reservations. While the dining experience was new, and the activity helped inspire engaging conversation, I was really glad we had someone in the group who had been there before to help my sorry butt. The price was really nice, even with edimame and a glass of plum wine. I'd go back, but check it out see for yourself, make it a date, like another lonely outing to Panera is what you really want, Sheesh. read more

Gotta love the post garlic breathe. Let me tell you...don't eat this and go out afterwards! Unless you want all the attention in the room focused in on you. A++ read more

I am visiting from Los Angeles, and I just ate here today and wow, I was so impressed with their service. I have tons of food allergies.. I mean I am basically allergic to like everything (gluten, dairy, nuts, shellfish, ..) and they were able to accommodate me. The server was able to tell me exactly what to avoid and what was safe. Usually Asian restaurants have no idea what "gluten" is lol, and most of the time their servers are their sons and daughters or just clueless as hell. I loved dining here and next time I come to boston I will be coming here again. Also they have gluten free soy sauce!! read more

The layout is nice, a wide open space with a big flat panel TV in the corner to add a nice touch. A clean establishment but the server wasn't very helpful. Food being plopped down in front of you with no explanation seemed rude and if you've never eaten there before you may not know what it is. She did explain when I had asked however. Drinks went unfilled until I had to get the servers attention. The music needs to be changed as well, playing pop music was a tad irritating. The food was good and very well priced, portions were generous. The servers lack of experience did bring down the overall feel of the place, otherwise a good eatery. read more

Terrible service and terrible food. Unprofessional servers. Portions are tiny, soup tastes like it comes out of a packet. Do not come here.

The noise at 11pm on a Monday night was so loud that I could not hear the person across from me the entire time. And instead of controlling the situation, we see the waiter taking shots of alcohol with the noisy guests next to us and completely ignoring us. Water and beer were spilled over and splashed on us on multiple occasions, one of which by the waiter, and when it happened he muttered a barely audible "sorry", and went back to drinking with the guests. Waiter was barely serving us (another person had to give us the check). Food is over-priced and not at all good. We have been to nearly every single hotpot place in Boston (we eat hotpot on a weekly basis) and this has been the least tasty and had the worst service. In fact the chicken broth tasted like plain water. Will never be back again. read more

Ah, Shabu Zen... When I first moved to Boston, this was one of the first places I went to. I complain a lot about Asian food being sub-par in Boston, but actually, they get shabu shabu really well. The food is fresh, they have tasty broths and side dishes, and I love that you have the option of rice OR udon noodles (as I tend to lean more towards noodles). For apps, I always get the gyoza and the beef tongue, and for meats, I usually go for the lamb. I've had the other special broths before, but my fave is the original. This place gets -1 star because it's always packed and I hate waiting, and also they once accidentally spilled hot tea on my friend's hand and did not apologize. Allston locale gets 5 stars because we've never had to wait and no one has spilled tea yet. :) read more

Good food but unfortunately doesn't abide by customer service. Server misheard and made a mistake in the ordering and manager said it was our fault in not notifying earlier. Messed up our bill too and had trouble taking off what we never ordered in the first place. Would not recommend to any of my family and friends to visit here for hot pot when visiting Boston. read more

I've been here three times. The first time I came my friend had recommended the place and we had a great experience, the food was good, waitress was nice, now the second time I came I recommend it to my friends and we came as a large group. Let me tell you how awful our experience was! The waitress was so freaking rude that I literally wanted to slap her! My friends had questions and we're asking her she started huffing and puffing and rolling her eyes!! What?!! We were all so pissed off that we didn't get to enjoy our food. She ignored one of our orders and treated us like we were the most difficult customers she's had all day! After that I wanted to come back here because my friend was visiting and she suggested we go I told her what happened last time I was there she still wanted to go so we went. When we first went in the waitress rudely asked "how many" I was like what is going on here?! She didn't even say hello! We sat ordered our food and luckily we had a nice waiter. Would I come back? I really don't know. read more

Shabu-Zen - Chinese herbal soup - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I think it's owner is Japanese... Some of my friends thought the hotpot there is realy yummy, but I like Q restaurants much more. I oredered chicken as my main dish, it tastes just so so...The free tea is good, though. read more

I was at Shabu-Zen for dinner on a Sunday night. It was my first experience with hot pot and I can't wait to try it again. The service was ok, but I do wish they were a little more helpful. The food was fresh tasting and I really enjoyed the broths, though the spicy Szechuan was my favorite. We started with some spicy edamame that were very good. They had a spicy crunchy chili oil on them that was outstanding. I would have gotten another order but we wanted to save room for the hot pot. We ordered 2 broths for our hot pots, tomato veggie and spicy Szechuan. We ordered a large order of ribeye and a regular order of chicken. Those came with the choice of rice, udon, or vermicelli. We got udon and rice, and preferred the udon. Both meats were delicious but we agreed we would get more red meat next time or try some pork. We also got a side of jumbo shrimp that were really good cooked in spicy broth. There are a ton of different veggies so pick whatever you like. What kept it from getting 5 stars was the service. It wasn't poor, but not very helpful. Luckily the people sitting around us were veterans so we picked up a couple tips(you're supposed to mix all the spices they give you at the beginning in the soy sauce). We had to ask a couple times to get drink refills and even after asking a couple times it was still slow. The service definitely would not prevent me from going back. read more

My Favorite! the original broth is very delicious and heartwarming. i like to order either A1 or A2 combo.

I really love this place. I keep going back and somehow I still haven't written a review. The waiter was very prompt which I appreciate, especially given how packed this place is every time I go. Its a pretty good deal and I always leave feeling full but not stuffed, which I take as a good thing. Also, try the mushroom plate, its really fantastic. I've eaten at the counter and at a table and I definitely prefer the tables. So far I've been about five times and have yet to have a bad experience. read more

It was decent. Not too expensive. They try to provide a Japanese style Wajyu, but that is not easy. 15min waited for seating while half of the restaurant was empty. Waiter sometime forgot our order. read more

I love Hot Pot. I love Shabu-Zen. The restaurant is small but very cozy and I find it much more comfortable than their other location. The staff is great and is more than willing to help out customers that are new to the Hot Pot experience. The broth and Hot Pot ingredients are great, as is everything else on the menu. I try to make it a point to eat here every time I am in Boston. read more

Since I heard of this place (or one with the same name) in Sao Paulo, decided to try. As soon as we arrived, someone pushed my husband and I to the bar counter. A waitress came by with no patience at all and I asked how it worked. She said something quickly in a very bad English and was looking at me impatiently. I was looking for something raw, Japanese style and not something that I have to pay to cook for myself! Waitress said we could order something and left. Came back again and tried to explain something like 2.000 words in a minute and pushed us to order what she suggested and left again. The garlic and other things already on the table were clearly not changed after the last costumer. We ate the sushi or sashimi and order the combination. Our plan was based on what we enjoyed more, order some more. Well, there three varieties and three pieces of each. One of them looked and smelled strange like a brown snail. We had a burst of laugh and could not stop because we paid 10 bucks for that, and the waitress was very rude. We asked for the bill and she left it on the counter, facing the other side. It was horrible, never again! It was my first time trying it, so I didn't know what to do with all the garlic, chilis, and hoisin sauce or how to eat the noodles (with or without the broth). We just winged it and it came out nicely. At times I was a little concerned about overcooking or undercooking something, especially when you discover something read more » in the bottom of the pot at the end. However, it is those findings that make for an interesting meal. read more

Very cool and unique dining experience. I have never been to a place quite like this and thought that the food was phenomenal and the service was great. I recommend this restaurant to people who love Japanese food. read more

I am a regular visitor of Shabu-Zen. Being raised in Taiwan, shabu is always something I miss from home and I am so glad to have Shabu-Zen around although it is not exactly the same from back home. I usually order their short rib (A3!!) and always pair it with sesame sauce or raw egg yolk. Occasionally I would order the vege platter when I feel like being healthy. Shabu is definitely a healthy way of eating because everything is boiled and not artificially processed. Also order sauteed beef tongue and baby clams for appetizers! They also have a wide variety of smoothies and are all very tasteful. Staff are attentive and I always leave the restaurant incredibly full and satisfied. Highly recommend for those who have never had shabu! read more