Love this place! Lots of yummy gluten free options as well as good drinks! Inclusive for vegetarian as well! I loved the vibes in there and everyone was so friendly! Definitely going back! read more

tonkatsu pork flavor is pretty good. they load you with a bunch of grains (and free refills if you can get through the first bowl). I got the angus ribeye and it was tender with just the right balance of meat and fat. the ponzu is light and refreshing. looks like they added fresh lemon juice in it since I saw pulp. unfortunately, no refills on veggies.. I also really didn't like that the goma sauce is peanut based.. no traditional sesame flavor. I'm also a pretty big sauce person, so this might just be the determining factor on why I won't be coming back all staff were very on top of their duties. the main guy just looked like he did not want to be there, but was in fact friendly when he spoke and took care of my party respectfully read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - angus ribeye - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Such a great shabu shabu. Huge portions. Delicious food. Great and friendly service. Good selection of sakes. read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Sake! - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Came here for a late dinner around 9:50 PM and there were only a few other parties in the restaurant. We got seated right away and the staff was welcoming. We ordered the Kombu Dashi broth and spicy miso broth, both which had a lack of flavor to them. The kombu dashi broth has three pieces of kombu with no evidence of any dashi, and even after letting in boil for a while, the broth had no taste and just tasted like hot water. As for the spicy miso broth, it had a very sour taste and I was not able to taste much miso in it. It was very sad that this happened as the broth really makes or breaks the whole dinner. Not sure if it was because of the time we went that this happened. Overall though, everything else tasted fine, and the server would come to constantly check in on us and making sure we were doing alright. read more

After moving to the area a few months ago this place has been in the weekly rotation ever since. The veggies and broth are always fresh, and the meat is top quality - truly a cut above the rest. The vibes and ambiance of the place are on point, making it a perfect spot for a date night or with friends. A special shoutout to Michelle, who is always happy and attentive, ensuring the experience is nothing short of excellent. Highly recommend this place for anyone looking for a great shabu experience! read more

First time at Tabu. We thought the experience was great! Food was good, but we thought the protein portions could be bigger. Service was friendly, helpful & attentive. It's a cute little spot with a modern vibe. read more

Was on the way to Laguna Beach and decided to stop by here due to all of the positive yelp reviews. Was interested in the grass fed beef as well. I got the spicy miso broth, grass fed rib eye large, kale ramyun noodles, and veggies without carrots. Haven't eaten in the OC for a while so was surprised no vaccination verification, masking, 6 ft. distancing. Always makes me a bit nervous. Otherwise, food came out fast, and good portion sizes for the meat and the veggies. The broth was decent but not amazing. Not too spicy. The meat was good. The veggies were cut a bit too big but there was a good variety. I wasn't a big fan of the noodles and prefer udon noodles. My husband liked the ramyun noodles however. It's listed as udon but it's more a ramyun. Otherwise, the service was good/friendly. I checked in and we got the mochi sampler. It's the boxed mochis that they sell at the asian market. Haha. Not sure if I would go out of my way to come back again, but it was good enough! Update: husband said he thought the meat quality was great, and I do agree meat quality was good so upgrading to 4 stars. read more

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"My husband and I had the best time ever last night. Highlight was our server Michelle who was so sweet at helping us pick the food since we're new to Shabu. Her recs were incredible and we will definitely come back for double dates or girls nights" read more

Was very excited to come here due to its popularity. Didn't do much research and didn't realize it was a bar concept which was cool. However, I was pretty surprised by how lacking the broth was. Usually, I drink the hot pot soup (despite the disapproval of my friends) because of how tasty it is. However, I found myself dumping all of my ponzu sauce into my soup, to find flavor. read more

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I thought this place was okay. Came here for dinner on a Friday night - the place fills up quick after 7:00. I ordered the spicy miso broth and the certified angus beef large ($24). All entrees come with an impressive medley of veggies - napa cabbage, spinach, carrots, shitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, baby bok choy, broccoli, tofu + udon noodles. And rice - white or brown - whatever pleases you. I thought the broth flavor was okay - there wasn't a whole lot of uhmph to it, if you know what I mean. It wasn't spicy and the miso flavor was somehow lost in the all the mixing - I'd prefer one or the other, but I didn't get any of each. The dipping sauces were also alright. Nothing to write home about. Eh, it was a very okay shabu experience. I didn't love it, and it was on the pricier end so I don't think I will be coming back any time soon. read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - spicy miso broth + certified angus beef lrg = $24 - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

My party of four came on a weeknight and were seated almost right away! We enjoyed the free truffle edamame from the check, which was nicely seasoned. For dinner, I got the spicy miso + regular sized angus ribeye ($18). The spicy miso was a bit sour and not spicy at all for me, but you can ask for hot drops. You can also ask for more soup. The ribeye was delicious, but a little smaller portioned compared to other shabu places. It came with brown rice and a big plate of veggies/udon. I wish there were more enoki mushrooms (it was like a sprinkle of them!) If you go in a big group, you might have to wait longer since the restaurant is small. Since it's bar seating, it can be hard to talk to your whole group. That being said, Tabu Shabu has a date ambiance with the dim lighting, nice interior, great service, and quality food. There's also happy hour from 5-6pm where you get 25% off your bill. I left feeling satisfied, without the sluggish MSG feel! read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Spicy miso + regular sized angus ribeye for dinner ($18) - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

My girlfriend and I have had Tabu on our to-eat list for quite some time, so I'm glad we finally got around to crossing it off our list last night. When we arrived the place was pretty much packed, but we were able to be sat right away. The menu is pretty straightforward. Pick your broth, meat/portion, and rice or noodles. You can do what we did and pay an additional $5 for porridge at the end of the meal. Broth: I went with tonkotsu pork, but my original choice was the seaweed dashi broth. The broth was my least favorite part of the entire meal because it was just straight up bland. Next time I'll do the dashi broth and if there's not enough dashi flavor, I can always just add sauces into the broth and make it my own. Two item (meat) combo: My girlfriend and I ordered their pork and ribeye to share throughout our meal. The meat quality here is great! It's tender and each bite feels satisfying because it's cut to the perfect thickness. Dumplings: Soooo... I ate these dumplings assuming they were like chili dumplings you'd find at Chinese restaurants and stuff, but they aren't. They're meant to be put into the pot! But no worries, they're already cooked and just need to be heated up in the broth. The sauce they come with is sooo good! Just don't leave your dumplings unattended in the broth. Once they're over cooked, dumplings will break apart when you go to grab them. Porridge: At the end of the meal our server turned my girlfriend's soup into a porridge (sorta like congee but also like a risotto?). It's an additional +$5. If you're down to order it, I really recommend just ordering one because it's A LOT and more than enough for two people to share. It's really flavorful and it's also really heavy and filling. Ours was pretty salty though, so maybe next time I'd add water or a neutral broth (if that's an option) to offset the saltiness. Sauces: The ponzu here is great. It's got a nice tang to it, but also the right amount of saltiness. The gomu is good, but I'm not that much of a fan of gomu anyway. *HOT DROPS!* They're great at adding a nice kick to your sauces and soups. If you don't eat spicy or have a low tolerance, I'd suggest starting off with 1 or 2. My gf and I didn't find it spicy at all, but we also add ghost pepper chili flakes to a lot of our cooking too. We started off with 3-4 drops but ended up adding more during our meal. Overall the meal was satisfying and filling. It was a bit pricey, but everyone was really cool and the place was clean. The broth was the weakest part of the meal, but everything else made up for it. Our favorite go-to shabu place is really good, but closes a bit early, so I can definitely see ourselves coming back in the future. read more

Talk about poor customer service!!! We came with a group and waited over an hour. We had a server ( now we know also the manager Ursula) and had an issue with our experience here. However, in bringing up or issue in hopes we would get this resolved. She became extremely rude. We asked to speak to a manager as she was definitely not helpful nor respectful....Finding out she is the manager- or she says.... I was surprised to the lack of customer service and lack of wanting to resolve this issue to begin with. Didn't offer solutions or cared to even be helpful. By no means were asking for special service, discounts or anything- just acknowledgement, a possible solution and be heard to what had happened. I'm a bit surprised Tabu Shabu would have such an inexperience, customer service-less, impersonal manager at this establishment. Owners should look into better training and customer focused training for Ursula if they keep her as manager. I will not be going back. I'll take my business to Huntington Beach Tabu Shabu than go to go this establish and give business to establishment who doesn't care about their customers. read more

TABU SHABU!!!! food slapped, would eat that daily. i lost my socks, dont cook your clothing, my younger brother cant read. Godzilla challenge goes crazy. read more

A friend recommended this place and decided to try it out with me. Service was great, ambiance was really interesting with the bar setup, but the food was alright. I've had better hot pot at other locations for a better price, but it was worth a try! read more

Short Rib is the bomb and Tabu's service was flawless! Even if there is a wait, it's 100% worth it.

Good shabu place! Great BOGO deal on beers and sake on Tuesday. I thought the meats were on the tough side especially for wagyu. The broth wasn't super flavourful either. I definitely prefer Cal Shabu Shabu in Costa Mesa. But this is definitely another good option. read more

Ordered 1. Truffle Sea Salt Edamame (Free Yelp Check In) 2. Spicy Miso Broth 3. Brown Rice 4. Buildable veggie plate 5. Angus Ribeye - XL This place was great! For staters, we had the truffle sea salt edamame (Free Yelp Check In). The flavor was great, and the truffle was not too overpowering. Glad I was able to try this through the check in because I would have most likely ordered the garlic edamame instead. The shabu meal came with two dipping sauces, the goma & ponzu. The goma was slightly to peanut buttery for me, but I enjoyed the ponzu. It had slightly more of a citrus kick than the ponzu's offered at other shabu spots. For protein, I ordered the Angus Ribeye in the XL portion. I like that they gave customers the option to order protein from 4oz, 8oz, Large, XL, and more. The XL portion was more than enough. I also appreciated the fact that they gave customer's the ability to build their own veggie plate. That way you're not stuck with veggies that you don't like. They offered hot drops for your sauces, but unfortunately, they didn't allow for the hot drops to go in your pot. However, they did have two substitutions, ghost pepper powder or garlic chili paste. I opted for the garlic chili paste. You get a choice of noodle selection. I decided on the udon and it came out great. The service here was amazing. The servers were very attentive and helpful. All in all, I would definitely come back. read more

Lot of fun pictures and good customer service. In the movies and shows they have a challenge were you are able to get a free meal if you eat a certain amount of food in 30 min or under. 7:00 is when it gets busy. There are some downsides though like the seating is a bit cramped and you can't change the pot heat they do it for you. Family friendly and kids get a cool tool to make using chopsticks easier. Good fun place to eat at. 4.0 STARS read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Favorite picture - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Went here for an early dinner at 6:30 for a party of 4 on a Friday night to avoid a line. We were able to get in without waiting. The place is small and had some semi-loud music playing. The staff was friendly and helpful. I ordered the wagyu Kobe beef short rib meat for $22 for 4oz. I decided on the traditional kombu broth for cooking. Each protein dish comes with a large plate of veggies with Napa cabbage, spinach, mushrooms, tofu, carrots, broccoli and udon noodles. My meal came with two dipping sauces: ponzu and sesame sauce. Both were excellent sauces with good flavor. My Kobe beef was marbled just right and tasted so good. The plate of veggies would be very plain without the dipping sauces. I had a bowl of white rice and think you can get another bowl at no charge as a friend of my did. We shared the garlic chili edamame and was free on check-in. Overall, we all agreed our meal was very good. One friend commented the broth after your meal that they make was too plain. I was full so passed on it. read more

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Love Tabu! Definitely come early if you don't want to wait - we came right when they opened at 5. I like the miso broth, brown rice, veggies, kale noodles and reserve Angie prime rib. Their meat is top notch. Great customer service also. Love the option to have your soup after you're done cooking or to turn it into porridge. read more

Best Shabu place in orange country. I come here weekly. Michele one of the managers it's truly the best. Ambiance is so much fun all the servers in incredible! Recommend that place 100 percent ! read more

This place is SO good! It has one of the best dipping sauce I have ever had. They can put hot drops into ur sauce, I got one drop for each sauce and it brings out all the flavor. My boyfriend ordered a large ribeye combo but it turned out the meat was not enough for him, so he asked the staff if he can make it an extra large. I am surprised to see that they brought out the difference between large and extra large to him. Many restaurant don't do that, that is very thoughtful! read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Tabu Shabu was the bomb! Didn't take any photos because I was too busy eating all the delicious food! Service was great from our server Kasey. She explained the way Shabu shabu works to my friend who had never been before. We had chicken dumplings and got our free edamame for checking in on yelp (woohoo!) I got a large order of prime ribeye and it was perfect. You can choose swaps on the veggie plate if you don't want a certain veggie. Sauce is brought to you right when you sit down. The best part was at the end, anything extra gets put into a fresh big bowl with new spices, and you get to enjoy the soup! The atmosphere was so much fun, and I'm so glad we found this cute little place! read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Such a cute place!! - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Honestly idk why the ratings are so high. The broth is super bland like you have to go with the broth bomb option. Also like everyone mentioned the meat portion is pretty small and honestly the quality isn't even that great - it's comparable to Kaizen and Mokoji. I would've rather gone to Kaizen or Mokoji since their broth is better n they give more meat. The only nice thing is on Tuesday they do have bogo drinks if that's what u want to go there for but if u want shabu, 0/10 recommend. I don't like to leave bad reviews but honestly just very disappointed. read more

Just left right now. Quite disappointed. Restaurant wasn't even full and we received no service. No one cared...sat there motionless waiting for someone to come but no one did. We saw three other people who had come after us have their orders taken. Asked for a server, someone said they would be with us shortly. Guess what? Still no one ever came. Wasn't until we stood up to leave did our server then decide to come over and say "you wanna stay or what?" Hard pass. read more

First time here last night for my best friends birthday. The vibe, staff and experience was SO COOL. Delicious food! Coming back with all my friends! Tabu Shabu open one in Brazil! read more

This place was amazing! The servir helped me with everything and helped us cook our food. read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Had a great experience here recently. Our server, Ashley, was super accommodating and helpful, and the other workers were also very attentive. Food was great! I highly recommend their edamame. We mixed the truffle and crunchy garlic, and it was bomb. I ordered the sukiyaki broth (+$2) and it was solid. This place is pretty pricey though. A regular (4oz) portion of angus ribeye or chuck roll costs $18, and an extra-large serving of prime ribeye (8oz) will set you back $34. Their Happy Hour is great - 25% off your whole bill! read more

Just came here a few night ago and fell in love with this place! We had an amazing service and the food was so delicious! When we arrived they were busy but they made time to seat us pretty quickly. If you do arrive and there is a wait, they do Yelp Waitlist which is a great way to put yourself on the waitlist ahead of time. We got seated at the bar and took a look at the menu. The whole restaurant was shaped in like a U shape with the workers in the middle. I've never had shabu before so I was excited to try it. I took a long look at the menu and my friend explained to me how it works here! You order your soup broth, your grain, your vegetable and your protein. They have so many things to choose from that it took me awhile to look at the menu. After awhile we ordered an appetizer of the truffle sea salt edamame which was so incredible! So fresh and full of flavor not too much truffle but the perfect amount of truffle. If you check in on Yelp this is free! :) Finally I was able to decide what to order as my main. I ordered the spicy miso broth, with white rice, with veggies and the wagyu short rib. So how they serve this is that the first bring out the broth. You are able to make the broth as spicy or as mild as you want. Then you can throw in the meat and veggies into the broth. You can cook them at the same time or one at a time. The meat was so tender and delish! The veggies were all tasty too. They can totally help you while you are cooking everything too and if you need anymore sauce, more flavor or help they are here to help you! Overall I had an amazing first experience here and can't wait to bring back friends soon! :) read more

This is the second location I have been to and the food is amazing every time and at both locations. The service was great. All of the waiters were very attentive. The food was perfect! I ordered salmon and my friends ordered beef. We all took soup to go! read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Awesome setup, you get to get creative with your food. My first time there, I will definitely come again.

I've gone here twice now, and each experience was a pleasant one. This place does get a little busy during dinner, so expect a little waiting. They have plenty of parking spaces outside, so that will not be a problem. We sat at the bar and was greeted by a server immediately to take down our drink orders. Don't worry. If you don't have your drink ready, they'll bring out water for you and you can take your time. I remember i couldn't decided which broth i wanted for my shabu, so the server told me i could mix the two if i liked. Heck yea! My indecisiveness wins! Haha. Your shabu comes with broth (duh) veggies, meats, choice of rice or noodles, and dipping sauce. Since I'm picky, I was able to sub out the veggies I didn't like for something that I did like, with no charge. The staff was really nice about it. I was able to adjust with brother with the sauces and garlics they had on the side. If it's your first time, the staff be happy to tell you how shabu works as well as the little kinks to eating (ex: save a little bit of everything in the end to make your soup bowl :) My experience here, like I said, is always a pleasant one. The staff always checks in on me to make sure i'm ok or if I need anything. And when it's slow, we have small talk, which is nice. They do have music playing and the TV on. TIP: Yelp check in gets you free truffle edemame. Also, this place isn't good for big groups. So if you're going with a friend or two, this will work for you. read more

Best shabu in OC Delicious sauces, fresh veg and meats So fun for little kids Don't sleep on the kale noodle option read more

Excellent shabu shabu restaurant tucked in a corner of an unassuming shopping center. The setup is all bar and no booth but I think it's more fun that way anyways. Their veggies are always fresh and I really enjoy their ponzu sauce. read more

Came here for the first time for lunch and there was no wait. the meat quality is good and overall i had a great experience. i really liked how they would identify and place little flags on different meats if you got the combination plate! overall i think this will be my new go to shabu place! i came once for dinner and the only downside is that it can get really loud. read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I'm not too sure why this place has stellar reviews. In my opinion I think Mokkoji is 1000% better in terms of food/ambiance/service. The service was good but they weren't too attentive. I could tell they were laughing in the back for a super long time. I'm all for having fun on your shift but if I've been waiting for 8 minutes to our drinks refilled...I don't think there's really an excuse. Overall, service was not crazy disappointing but not amazing either. The food is decent. The meat is good, but the sauces are not flavorful enough. I do appreciate the available side toppings (garlic/green onions), but unfortunately they did not make much of a difference. Mokkoji is waaaay better, and their goma is far superior. Would maybe come back if I'm really craving it, but would rather put my name on the waitlist at Mokkoji. read more

Tabu Shabu - Costa Mesa - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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I LOVE GOOD HOT POT! I love good hot pot with a great atmosphere and staff even more!! Tabu Shabu is always such a great time. The staff is super friendly (they remember you after your first visit) and very helpful (their recommendations are great). Every visit I've had, the energy is buzzing - from the staff to the music to the guests. I usually get 1/2 and 1/2 broth of tonkatsu and spicy miso - plus my favorite hot drops. I love the Wagyu short rib and the lamb shoulder. You can tell that everything is high quality and that the kitchen puts in the effort for things to be perfect. Michelle (the one with the purple hair) has always been such a gem and truly a big ball of energy! She is always so patient and bubbly. I love coming into Tabu Shabu, and if I ever go anywhere else for hot pot - feel like I am cheating on them! read more

After seeing so many pages I follow visit Tabu Shabu, I finally had a chance to go for myself. I love Shabu... like typically go 1-2 times a month... if not more kinda love. I am a convert and Tabu is my new go to. The broth options are pretty typical but the Spicy Miso actually had spice to it, most places it is far more miso than spice. The ability to customize the rice, noodles and veggie to cater to what you actually want to eat is something I have never seen on a menu before. The meat quality was amazing, such perfectly sized cuts and such good quality. Truffle Sea Salt Edamame had me all heart eye emoji like. It was just so dang good. AND they have happy hour pricing on the Shabu, which was a surprise. I knew we were there during happy hour but I just assumed it was drinks as I didn't see it mentioned. My only complaint is the chairs are not very comfortable... and if you have thicker thighs your legs may not actually fit under the bar. By the time I was close to done eating I had to stand up because the chair made my butt go numb. If you are a shabu lover or a newbie or anywhere inbetween I highly recommend trying Tabu Shabu. read more

The marketing on social media has hyped this place up a lot more than what I perceive it to be. It's not bad, but it's not really good either. I think the highlight of my meal was the porridge at the end, but that also depends on who makes it. Each comes with broth, meat, veggies, your choice of rice and noodles, and dipping sauce (goma and ponzu). The quality of the meat and veggies were definitely good, but the broth and dipping sauce were whack. SPICY MISO - nothing special... wasn't bad, but probably the worst miso broth I've had. It's hard to describe how it tasted, but the miso flavor was a little off. WAGYU CHUCK ROLL - I would recommend getting this if you like your meat marbled but don't want to pay for the other wagyu option. GOMA SAUCE - had a weird taste to it. Similar to the spicy miso broth, it's hard to describe but the flavor was a little off. PONZU SAUCE - tasted like they added lemon juice to their ponzu sauce or something. Ponzu sauce is supposed to be a little tart but it's not supposed to have a lemon taste. Once again, the flavor was a little off. PORRIDGE - for an extra $5, you can ask them to make a large bowl of porridge at the end of your meal with your leftover broth. Not a lot of places offer this, which is why I wanted to try Tabu out in the first place. Junior helped me make the porridge and you could really tell how much effort he put into it. He was constantly stirring, mixing seasoning in and asking for my preferences so it could be just right. TL;DR if you like a good porridge, this is a good spot to try it. shabu broth was nothing special although the quality of their meat and service was good. But I wouldn't recommend this spot as a good shabu spot. read more