I've always been a fan of Chubby Group restaurants, so I decided to give Wagyu Master a try. We decided to go with the gold tier. The meat quality was pretty good and I especially liked the lobster roll with uni & caviar. In terms of the buffet area, they had a great selection of ingredients to cook in your pot. There are a few reasons why i'm giving this review 3 stars. At the sauce station, there are clear plastic covers over the containers of ingredients and condiments. I noticed many fruit flies trapped under the covers. This was shocking as I did not expect it from a restaurant that is pricey and is known for their quality of food. Towards the end of our meal, the workers in the kitchen were a bit disruptive. They were laughing loud and being rowdy with each other. I understand that their shift is coming to an end and they were having a good time, but there was no awareness that people were still dining and we could hear them. What's saving this review from a 2 stars is that the service was great and everyone was attentive. read more

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This was our first time visiting this restaurant. It had high reviews. The food was excellent, but the ordering process was a little cumbersome at first because it wasn't explained to us very well. I would recommend for a first visit to only choose the raw meats from the buffet, not adding the "special" cuts. The "upgraded cut" that we added to our order were very small portions and nothing amazing. The muscle thin sliced meat that you cook at your table was to die for. Such a buttery taste. Great atmosphere. Great service. read more

Located on the 2nd floor up the stairs! Parking: parking structure or street parking We came on a Sunday night at 5pm and only had to wait about 15 mins. (Recommend to come early) This was probably by far my favorite shabu from chubby group so far! I like the buffet AYCE style where you can grab sushi, sashimi, chef specials and your own meat and veggies! The dessert is awesome too! They have egg tarts which was surprisingly really good! The mochi, earl gray cake, and layered matcha cake stood out to me the most! You also grab your own drinks! They have things from unsweeten tea, milk tea, lemonade etc. There's also a curry machine for ur own curry rice! We got the silver tier and it was already way enough food for us if you aren't particular with your wagyu. Service and staff was also amazing! Super sweet and on top of it with refilling and making sure he place stays neat read more

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I think this is my favorite restaurant at the moment of all the Chubby Group ones! One of my friends was visiting from out of town so we decided to come here. I would definitely recommend getting on the waitlist as soon as you can because the wait time increases exponentially as you get closer to peak dinner time. The inside was huge and spacious! I really liked how modern it looked inside, and the buffet area was maintained well despite so many people going through there. There were a lot of different buffet areas, including a sauce bar, proteins, sushi, other appetizers, meat, veggies, hot foods, and desserts. There was plenty of variety and everything was fresh! My friends and I went with the gold tier, which includes limited specialty A5 wagyu cuts, beef tongue, and one specialty item. For the broth, I went with just a simple dashi broth since I knew that the A5 wagyu being dipped into my soup would already make my broth super rich. For the specialty item, my friends and I all went with the uni and caviar lobster roll and we were NOT disappointed. I honestly think it was the best lobster roll I ever had. The brioche was perfectly buttery and toasted, and they were very generous with the lobster and uni. Every bite was actually so incredible. For the meat, all of the gold tier items were so good and melted in my mouth! Even though some of the cuts were limited, we were all satisfied and left STUFFED just ordering meats from the gold tier, even though we also had access to silver items. For the appetizers, there were so many options, but I was so addicted to the tartare. It was on a shrimp chip and I probably ate at least six of them... and I still think about it... The toro cuts of sashimi were also delicious, but I don't think they bring those out as often so definitely keep an eye out and snag some when you do see it! Overall a great experience, and our server Lia was very attentive and nice! She snatched up plates from us so fast and was very efficient overall. I'd definitely come back here for a special occasion! read more

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Arrived at 5pm, joined the waitlist, seated around 530pm. A bit of small delay at the front check-in (a tab unorganized). But we did really enjoy dinner, our server Lia showed top tier excellent customer service. She explained everything: layout of the restaurant, made recommendations, and consistently came by to check up on us and refilled our broth. Visited on Jan 18, we went with the Diamond tier. There were two specials added to the Chef's Selection: King Crab Legs and Ootoro Sashimi. Each person picks 2 from the Chef's Selection - we went with 2 orders of ootoro sashimi (each order comes with 4 slices, recommended), 1 order of the salt & pepper live crab (the flavor is so on point with cantonese seafood restaurants, not exactly meaty, but still highly recommended), and 1 order of the wagyu bone marrow rice with uni (skip, no flavor, it's a uni sauce). If you get the marrow rice, you can eat it with the crab. We picked the wagyu tomato oxtail broth (eh) and the spicy miso tonkotsu both (recommended). We like fatter richer meat options; first round was A4 chunk roll, A5 wagyu rich cut (recommended), A5 brisket, and A5 chuck ribeye (recommended). 2nd round; wagyu rich cut, chuck ribeye and 10 second crispy tongue (recommended). The self service station offers meats, seafoods, sushi/sashimi, veggies (we enjoyed the napa, mushroom, taro, and crown daisy), noodles, curry, hot pot items, fried items, dim sum and desserts (egg tart is a MUST). Drinks station - the milk tea was pretty good. We did a little shopping at Bath & Body Works, got parking validated for 2 hours. Will definitely visit again. Maybe next time, i will try a lower tier just so i can try more of the self serve station meats and seafood. read more

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We came to Wagyu Master Pasadena for Mother's Day and chose the Silver Level, which is their entry package. For this package, everything is self-serve, and you do not order from the table. There are more than 10 different meat options to choose from, which honestly felt a little overwhelming at first. In addition to the meats, they also offer seafood, crab legs, shrimp, fish balls, tofu, vegetables, noodles, and plenty of hot pot items. I joined the waitlist before heading over, and on a Sunday evening around 6 PM, the wait was about 30 minutes. The waitlist estimate was pretty accurate. The hostess was very nice, and the servers were attentive throughout the meal. The restaurant interior was a little messier than I expected, and the meat quality was okay. The dessert section was definitely under par. The mochi was disappointing--the texture was soggy and overly sweet. There was also a cake option that did not look very appealing. Honestly, for a restaurant like this, serving something simple and classic like green tea ice cream would probably leave a much better impression than these lower-quality desserts. Overall, it was a decent experience, especially considering the large variety of food options available. General experience: 4 stars. read more

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Super flavorful hotpot!! Saw this place on Instagram and was drawn to the sashimi and nigiri and it did not disappoint. We got the silver tier and it was more than enough options. Loved both the sukiyaki and spicy miso broths, and all of the meats were really high quality. I do think I still prefer Mikiya, but still loved Wagyu master. Our server was really attentive and helpful, constantly making sure we were having a good experience. The restaurant itself is a bit small, so it felt like we were always running into people when we were at the self serve stations. Our group did have a bit of trouble finding the restaurant itself so fyi it is on the second floor! read more

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I am a fan of Chubby. Right when I heard about Chubby Master, I placed it on my "Must GO" list. We arrived a little early and were seated in 10 minutes. Dylan was our server for the evening. He informed us that he was new. No biggie. He was nice and provided great customer service. He explained the different tiers and the discounts that they offered for members. We were excited and were hesitant on choosing Gold Tier or Diamond. We ended up with Diamond because I wanted to try the crabs. We should have went with Gold. I m sad to say that we were disappointed. Even with diamond, they only allowed 90 minutes. We chose to have 2 shows. That took up some time already. So we felt rushed. We shouldn't need to feel that way when eating at a restaurant. Esp when it ain't some cheap restaurants. Even with some cheap restaurants, we can sit and enjoy. So it was ridiculous. The shows were ok but for what?? To torch and cook one piece of Wagyu each show? Honestly, wasted our time. Also, the Wagyu that was torched was so rough. I thought it would be so tender that it would melt in my mouth..nope. I kept trying to bite it in half and was having such a hard time and I have strong teeth lol I kept pulling the meat as well...anyways..kind of embarrassing lol The Wagyu from the 2nd show was a lot better. We ended up laughing because all that work for one piece of meat. I get it that we had the option to choose 2 of the same show to get 2 pieces of meats, but it was just so silly. The crab was another disappointment. I liked the seasoning, but the crab didn't taste fresh. It was somewhat mushy. I was also looking forward to the lobster roll with the uni and caviar. That was a disappointment as well. They mostly put the claw parts instead of the actual meats. It also didn't taste that fresh. All the sushi was fresh. The curry was ok. The broths were meh. We got the passion fruit and sukiyaki. Passion fruit was a bit too spicy for us and sukiyaki was a bit too sweet. The drinks options were lacking. I was looking forward to some kinds of milk teas, but they didn't have it. They served sodas and lemonade. No teas option when Chubby do own Chubby Tea. Boo! lol I felt the desserts were the best. The ice cream Millie crepe was yummy. I m still thinking about it lol and of course, their earl grey cake was good like always. The visit was more of a 3 stars, but I will leave at 4 for now. read more

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Overall, I would give Wagyu master a 4/5. We ordered the gold tier and were allowed 1 special item per person. We ordered the lobster roll and a slice of their fancy Wagyu torched meat (I can't recall the name of the cut). The lobster roll was mediocre and would recommend skipping. The bun that the lobster roll came in was soggy, and it fell apart. The torched meat appetizer was delicious though. The sashimi and sushi were decent. Oddly enough, we felt as though the meats at the self service bar were much better than the meats from the gold selection menu off the iPad. The meats from the gold menu were a bit tough and didn't have a good balance of fat/meat ratio. We felt like we couldn't justify the cost and value of the meats from the gold selection. If I were to come back, I would go with the silver tier. Their soup bases were interesting and flavorful. We ordered the passion fruit and mala soup bases. The passion fruit soup base tasted exactly like passion fruit and was interesting. Both were fragrant and delicious. The desserts were pretty good! I enjoyed their matcha crepe cake and their mochis. Their egg tart was mediocre and didn't taste sweet enough. Service was excellent. The servers came to clear our meat plates as soon as we emptied them. The restaurant has a lot of seating and is very spacious. Wait times can get super long. We arrived 7 minutes prior to their dinner opening and there was already a wait. Personally, I would prefer Mikiya over Wagyu master. Wagyu master is not bad, but I think if I was craving hotpot or shabu, I would choose Mikiya. read more

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The food itself was a bit hit or miss for me. While the wagyu was good, it was honestly just okay, not bad by any means, but not as mind-blowing as I expected given the hype and price point. The service was friendly and attentive, and the staff did a nice job explaining the menu. The atmosphere is modern and upscale. Prices are definitely on the higher side, which is expected for wagyu, but that also raised my expectations for the meat. Some of the sides and overall presentation were enjoyable, though nothing really stood out. Overall, Wagyu Master is a decent spot with a nice vibe and good service. Worth trying if you're curious. read more

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What a great dinner experience at Wagyu Master!! I was here for dinner on Friday night, the wait was very long so I would definitely brace for a long wait. But it's located inside Paseo Colorado, so there's a few shops open to explore. I have been to many Chubby locations, including other Shabu locations and this one I probably one of my favorite. The staff was super nice and accommodating. Huge shoutout to our server, Brandon. He was super great, informative and attentive. He made the experience so much better. This is all you can eat shabu with all wagyu beef. You can order the special items off the kiosk and there's a pretty big buffet area with other meats, veggies, etc. I also bought a membership so definitely will be back. read more

Wagyu Master Shabu House - Nigiri - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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I have a menu photo tried the Gold menu The lobster roll is not good, try another selection. The Uni and caviar are bland with no taste, uni should have a natural creamy taste. The lobster chunks are ok, but a lobster truck way better. The A5 Wagyu cuts do melt in your mouth and are good. Worth the visit. Probably best for moderation as they are very fatty and you'll feel it The beef tongue is nice and chewy but kbbq beef tongue tastes much better to me The service does take a while to come out with the meats! So order more sooner. Feel like they do last call within 70 minutes The egg tart was good! Nice warm dessert to end the meal If you don't value sushi (was meh) and beef tongue heavily, then Mikiya might be a better option bc you get abalone and crab and grouper in the seafood platter read more

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Honestly, I was slightly disappointed after coming here, especially after seeing so many Instagram and TikTok food reviewers rave about how amazing this place is. The service was great, and the meat and appetizers came out almost instantly. However, the lobster roll with uni and caviar was a big flop. It was very fishy and cold, and I didn't want another bite. I ended up only eating the uni and caviar. The meat quality itself was great, and the sukiyaki soup base was tasty, but the buffet was very underwhelming. I took a look and nothing really looked appetizing. The sushi rolls and sashimi looked pretty questionable just sitting out like that, so I mostly skipped the buffet altogether. I did try the desserts, but those were nothing special either. The matcha crepe cake was frozen and very hard to eat, and the flavor wasn't great. The Earl Grey tea roll cake, however, was delicious. Still, for the price and the hype, I was expecting much better dessert options especially from an establishment like this. They also weren't serving any alcohol since they don't have their CA ABC license yet. I'll probably skip coming back for a while. For reference, I visited about a week after they opened, so it may have just been their soft opening so I will probably try it again sometime later in the future. I did ask our server if there would be any new items added to the menu since the appetizers and meat selection were very limited. He told us the only new addition planned is a lobster soup base once they are fully open. read more

Wagyu Master Shabu House - Lobster roll with uni and caviar - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Wagyu master is a good hotpot spot. If you have a voucher even better. The standard buffet selections are okay, not all the meats are the best quality from the buffet itself so I would try one-by-one and see what you like if it's your first time. The more premium offerings on the menu are high quality and worth it if you don't mind paying the premium price. I would say this to chubby group, this is my 2nd time here and both occasions I found the sashimi station to have little to almost no sashimi at the station. A lot of times there will be no yellowtail and a few pieces of salmon left so that's something they need to work on. The other buffet offerings like the fried foods, the burgers, and skewers are okay. I've seen other chubby group locations have a similar setup like this. Service has been consistently great, no complaints there. Inside seating and interior design is nice. I would come back to Wagyu master just needs a little tweaks on the buffet side. read more

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This place is def a must try! A lot of choices to pick from, and quality of food is pretty good. We got the gold tier which includes the buffet bars, an item to order, and additional meat options to order on the tablet. The highlights for me was their lobster roll with uni and caviar and the sushi bar. I had difficulty locating the restaurant at first. It's located on the second floor of the plaza, right next to the Regal theater. Service was great, thank you Rheiven! There's paid parking available so that was easy as well. read more

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Our favorite chubby restaurant so far. Andrew G was our server and was super friendly and attentive. The staff member bussing the tables was great as well. He was friendly and quick. I didn't get his name but he had curly hair. Everything was amazing. We got really full so avoid the rice dishes lol read more

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Parking: paseo parking, $7.50 for twoish hours? First off shout out to our server Brandon for taking real good care of us and explaining the menu well. It was also a pleasure to talk to him and it significantly increased the enjoyment of our meal and made time go by quickly. 10/10 customer service! He was fun and I had a good time. Also came by frequently to make sure everything was in order Nico came by for both the nigiri show and sukiyaki which helped whet my appetite and was enjoyable to wash. Thank you as well because he was very friendly too. My favourite was the wagyu nigiri special. It is definitely a step above the nigiri offered at the other chubby restaurants, so disappointed that it is limited, I'd probably order ten at a time. The sirloin sukiyaki was also crazy good and was extremely savory. other meats were as expected always delicious and came out quick. Shout out to my favourite the chuck ribeye man, perfect balance of lean and fat. Star of the show of the self serve was the bok choy, 100%, the other restaurants don't have bok choy as a self serve option so I went in on this. The quality of the bok choy was also surprising, I'm guessing it was A5 grade bokchoy. It was absolutely delicious. Seating area was great and the atmosphere and ambiance are as expected of a chubby restaurant. Good walk way width for two, but it can get crowded near the drinks. Fantastic addition to pasadena, especially for me since it's so close. Rest of the staff was friendly, empty plates were busted out quick. Coming back here again for sure. read more

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Out of all the chubby locations we've been to this one was by far the worst. Had a reservation for 8 but wasn't seated for another 15-20 min due to them needing to clear the table. At first not too off putting. However when we got to our seat they clearly had not wiped down the table. There was leftover bits of food and such still on the table. The server questioned the host about it not being wiped down to which she responded another worker had wiped it down. It obviously was not wiped & only cleared of plates and such. After a while of staring at it the server wiped it down himself. Watching him wipe it down was like watching those videos of women testing their boyfriends on how to wipe up ketchup... it was more of a pushing around than actually cleaning it up. We were not given tongs or ladles. There were no straws for any of the beverages which I'm normally not a straw user in general but there was a slushy machine & that requires a straw. Some items in the gold tier were limited to one per person but we only received one per table. The tartar I was looking forward to was limited and was only a small table spoon amount on top of a wonton. This was my favorite dish at another location where you weren't limited and it came in a actual serving size with a egg in the middle and chips for scooping The meat at the buffet had crusty edges so we didn't even bother with those. The bathroom was subpar in their cleaning standards. They added an auto gratuity even though we were a party of 5 & it says it's auto added with parties of 6 or more. & then they had the audacity to ask for an additional tip. Service was subpar. Food quality was mid. And cleanliness was questionable at best. Really disappointing since this location is in the neighborhood. Would rather travel out of the city for better quality food and service. This location is on the do not return list. read more

Wagyu Master Shabu House - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

We decided to try Wagyu Master after receiving a promo text, which I'm sure all Chubby Club members received. We came in with high expectations seeing that we love Chubby Cattle, but left with an expensive lackluster experience with subpar food. We were also a little confused with their promo wording. Our first impression didn't start off well. We couldn't immediately locate the place. No signs or posters about it. When did find the restaurant, the host was not there. We waited for a while until someone finally came in to ask us if we made reservations, which we did. I think absence of people waiting was a clear sign to avoid the place and was sort of an omen for what was to come. We showed the promo, which initially sounded like a decent deal. We decided to get the gold as that's what the promo said. It was implied that you get the 3 perks in 1 visit - it's not. It's 1 perk per visit as explained by the manager after we dined and only applies to the member - not a plus one. We initially asked a server but he couldn't explain it which is why we spoke with the manager. This was very misleading but we're already there, so I guess we just had to stick with it. We made a huge mistake here by getting gold - not just because it's pricier, but because the price doesn't reflect the quality at all. We came for the tongue, which they did not have at all. That was the reason why we drove here. We also realized that a lot of the gold options were actually sold out and haven't been stocked for a while - which they should have told us. Special dessert? Also out. We just thought it was a glitch since the broth selection also said sold out. It's very hard to justify paying a premium for a menu that isn't there. You're better off just getting their cheapest one since there really isn't an incentive to get higher tiers. Best thing to do is call prior and clarify if everything on the menu. We paid extra for nothing. We ordered what we could get from the abysmal gold selection. Now, seeing that it's limited, you'd expect high quality cooking and savory food. The tiny king crab claws tastes okay. Nothing special about it. The Uni lobster roll? Skip it. It's bland. As for the broth, the dashi tastes like regular water and the mala broth is muted and lacks the traditional medley of spices you would see at an authentic hot pot place. The meat quality is okay. It tastes the same as any other hot pot place - texture and all. Wagyu at this point is purely marketing and the meat is so thin you won't really be able to taste the difference between this and a $19.99 AYCE. Although they did have a plethora of stations, none of them really stood out. The sushi/sashimi were bland. You'd need to slather it with soy sauce to get flavor. It's just like any other buffet. The silver tier selection had decent meat, but again, no different than what you could find at a $19.99 AYCE place. The egg tart here is not flakey like Rowland Heights Chubby Cattle. It wasn't warm either and chewier than expected. The milk tea here is sweeter as well. The service is decent but nothing to write about. It's not the same as their Rowland Heights Chubby Cattle. You don't get the same level attention and care. Also worth noting--within a short window, multiple 5-star reviews appeared that reference specific servers, and some seem to be written by or about employees themselves. That made the feedback feel less like independent customer experiences. You'll see a pattern if you scroll through the reviews. There is nothing special about this place. We expected a lot from Chubby Group, but Wagyu Master needs a lot of work. This experience alone makes it feel like getting a membership was not worth it. $160 with tip for two people is not worth it at all. It's extremely overpriced for the quality of food that you get. We literally felt ripped off. You're better off eating at a chain hotpot or going to any hot pot place in Rowland Heights for better quality food. No reservations needed and I guess there's a good reason for that. Abysmal at best. This place is very misleading and be wary of reviews here. We will not be giving this place another chance and I'm sure we'll be getting the same generic response. Update: We did get an AI response. read more

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The food is good and better than during the soft opening. Our server Wen is super chill and friendly. Coz of him, the dining experience is great. Wish the AC is stronger tho read more

Wow yall this place is banging. Not only is the service excellent but the food was delicious. I made my own concoction for the dipping sauce. We ordered the top tier and wow by the end we were too full when the rest of the food finally came which took a significant amount of time we back because I didn't want to waste food. However the young handsome general manager demoted us from top to mid tier as we didn't get to enjoy the top tier because we were so full. To me if it's your first time get the top tier. But once you been there the basic or medium tier comes with all that you will see in the photos. Definitely a date night spot or a great for family gatherings. Employees were friendly, food fresh and delicious do you need anything else? Lol read more

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Kit was awesome! First time at Wagyu Master but not the first at a Chubby Group and this didn't disappoint. The food is always great and service is also top notch. We went with the basic and chose not to upgrade and we found that the meat selection was more than enough for us! Will be back for sure when we're in the area. read more

Another miss from the Chubby Group. From the moment we walked in, the place felt worn down. The booths didn't seem very clean, and the restrooms looked like they had a rushed, unfinished renovation. They felt dirty, almost as if they ran out of time or budget before opening. I've been to most of the newer Chubby Group concepts, and unfortunately this was another disappointment. The shabu broths lacked flavor, and the meat quality didn't live up to the marbling they advertise. The hot food looked like it had been sitting out for a while, and the items I tried either tasted old or were simply low quality. If you've been to their other buffet concepts, you'll recognize many of the same dishes here. The only Chubby Group restaurants I've enjoyed enough to revisit are Mikiya and Chubby Cattle. At most of their buffet concepts, the sushi doesn't compare well to other AYCE sushi restaurants, and I've occasionally found the meat to look or even smell questionable. The biggest disappointment was leaving a buffet without feeling full, especially considering the prices they charge. There are plenty of better ayce options at this price point, and this isn't one I'd return to. Honestly, makes me want to stop trying any of their new concepts. read more

I had such an amazing experience here compared to Niku and Wagyu Factory! From start to finish, everything exceeded my expectations. Eric, our server, along with the rest of the staff, were incredibly attentive. I didn't feel rushed compared to the other sister location. The quality of the meat was outstanding--every cut was rich, tender, and full of flavor. My absolute favorites were the beef tongue and the beef tartare... both definitely a must get!! The crab claws in the spicy broth were also delicious, packed with flavor and just the right amount of heat. Honestly, everything we tried was good--no complaints at all. So many food selections. Unlimited drinks too! Ambiance is clean. Only complaint is that since my hubby is a member, this location only allow one more person for the discount. They don't have liquor license since they opened in January. Wished they had ice cream to eat w our warm egg tart and cake. Overall, definitely a must try! read more

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Wow, I was in the mood for some hot pot. Came by this new place in Pasadena called the Wagyu Master, and it did not disappoint! The layout was large, with a lot of meat, veggies, and seafood options. 10/10 for all the toppings and meat selections they had! Our server Rheiven was amazing, 10/10 for service! We went with the diamond options. We love hotpot, and this place has now made it into our top 5 rotation! I would 100% recommend you give them a try if you're local or in the Mood for some great hotpot. It's located in an outdoor shopping center, so plan to park and walk to the restaurant, which is on the 2nd floor of the outdoor mall! read more

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Service was not the best on the day we went. It was Saturday around 5:30pm but it wasn't that crowded. We only saw our server at the beginning and had a hard time flagging him down throughout. We got the premium menu so the premium item nigiri and teppanyaki steak were really good. It was our first time there but no one told us the sauces were all the way in the back. Overall the food wasn't too bad but on the expensive side but the ambiance and service could have been better especially for Chubby Group. read more

I love Shabu. I was so excited to try this, but this was a huge disappointment. The meat didn't taste right. Everything looked fresh, but it did not taste very fresh. It may have been out for a while. Compared to the other Chubby Cattle restaurants I have been to, this one was extremely disappointing. Especially for the price. There were a bunch of flies around the sauce. I won't be coming back. read more

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I honestly wasn't a big fan of hot pot or shabu before, but Wagyu Master totally changed that for me. I'm hooked now and will definitely be coming back again and again. The quality of the meats here is outstanding, and the selection is huge. Besides the wagyu, their sushi and sashimi are super fresh, and they have a great seafood spread with crab legs, mussels, clams, shrimp, and many more! Even the veggies and noodles for the soup are top-notch. Everything they put out is high quality. The gold tier rate paid for the lobster roll alone topped with uni and caviar - even if that's the only thing you get you already get your money's worth. Also, it's a huge plus that they actually take reservations even on the weekends, which makes the whole experience so much easier. If you're looking for a spot that hits every mark, this is it. read more

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Staff was nice. However, unfortunately our experience fell short for the price we paid. The restaurant was filthy, every table was dirty and never bussed. No plates or bowls were available for sauces or rice or buffet items. Self-serve your own drinks. My wagyu meat had thick pieces of small bone and tendon in it that almost Chipped a tooth. I got sick from the sashimi and sushi, I get it was the end of the night but I didn't want to get sick from a Father's Day dinner. I've worked in the industry and have been to other sister restaurants which I've enjoyed, however, this experience was no where near worth the price as much as I tried to enjoy it. read more

In reality I would do a 3.5 but not an option here. Went here for a birthday dinner. My husband eats meat and I don't. I had called ahead a few days and their phone service connects to an AI through which I left a voicemail and no answer. I called back the next day and left a voicemail. A few minutes later someone called me back. They said there was no manager on stuff to speak to but they will leave a note. I called back the day of the reservation and they said that because I'm vegetarian and I won't be eating any meat I don't have to pay the full price they would give me 40% off but then when I walked in they changed it to 20%. I absolutely loathe bait and switch. They said they called the second manager who gave them this new amount. But hey I'm also glad that it took $16 off the bill. There's a lot of stuff with tiers and memberships and points, which makes things a little confusing. Almost every table I overheard talking about their options. I just wanted to sit down and eat, which you're only allowed to do for 90 minutes. The other thing was there's some food items that are finished off with a flame which generate a lot of smoke yet they don't have any fans that suck it up. Now for the good stuff: I was told that the quality of the meat was very very high. So I think this is more of a celebration or special occasion type place rather than an everyday weeknight dinner. Unfortunately a lot of the options that were advertised were not available such as the veggie tempura or other buffet items. There was no service and no one to help or refill broth as well compared to other hot pot restaurants I've been to. I did enjoy the large variety of vegetables and tofu that they had. Some of the bok choy still had dirt on it though. Our server was knowledgeable and suggested me to get the dashi broth which was vegetarian. There was also very minimal dessert options. But the ones they did have were of high quality. Also once again weren't labeled. Parking was $6 at the paseo garages. If you're not familiar with the area it's a little bit hard to find. Right next to DSW and is labeled shabu house Would come again but probably get a lower tier because they still have pretty great selections just with the buffet. Or if you go for the higher one it would be for a special occasion. read more

My friend took me here for my birthday dinner and it was amazing! I've been to other chubby cattle restaurants but this was the first time coming to this location and I loved the shabu shabu experience. I loved how clean everything was and how much variety there was in what you can choose for the already prepared dishes as well as the hotpot choices. Our server was Ed and he was amazing and very accommodating to our needs. I ordered the spicy miso tonkotsu broth and it became saltier and saltier the more it boiled. When we told them it was too salty, they were very nice and understanding about it and helped us switch out our broths. If you are sensitive to salt, get the dashi broth. The Taiwanese broth with spicy mala is good but just to warn you, it's not very spicy or too mala-y. It also tends to become very salty if you let it boil too long. Overall, it was nice, clean, and very yummy. Would definitely come back. read more

Wagyu Master Shabu House - Look at that spread! - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Honestly. The worst, uncomfortable, awkward experience ever. We had reservation at 8pm. Was told its going to be a minute (Understandable). Around 830pm they said oh the table is wiped but not set up but we can sit you guys down. We got sat down but there was still remnants of cake crumbs and soup remnant splashes on the table. They first tried to give us our plates, but we said there is still food from the previous guest. We gave the plates back and the guy started wiping the table in such a slow manner. Like watching paint dry. And I wish I wasnt exaggerating. He still missed some spots. After wiping down he asked about what tier we picked, but also add they were closing soon. We asked what time, but he just said nervous awkward tone "soon... because well, dont wanna say... but we are short..but the boss, idk lol.." (Umm... ok...). I asked him since they are closing soon, what items are still available to obtain (concerning its late and normally places are out of food). They guy just explained the difference between the silver and gold tier. I stared at him like "umm huh?". My friend reiterate that I was asking what items are not available and he said "OH you guys are good everything is available." And then left. (To note: this was a saturday night and they close at 10:30p when we checked online for the time) We got the Gold Tier and started putting our order in the tablet. We got the food items we wanted from the buffet. The meats didnt look that good for it had some type of crust so we left those alone, but we collected the other items that look decent. I went to the fried/cooked spot but they were out of the skewers that I was interested in. What im most sad is the "wagyu tartare" was only 1 per person. They other chubby cattle had them unlimited and this place only allowed 1. To add, the wonton chip (or whatever it is), that the Wagyu tartare was sitting on was stale. (Sadly disappointing). What stood out to me: - Fish cakes: cute little bags but wish they told us what flavors they are. We notice some are yellow insde and others were orange - Meats (gold tier): ordered our meat on the tablet vs the buffet and it tasted/looked much better. - Lychee/Strawberry Slushie: Delicous! - Out of milk tea and was never refilled back - dim sum dumplings: wish they were labeled of whats what and whats inside the dumplings themselves. We did ask a person (same guy who was our waiter) whats inside, and he nervous laugh and just said "they are good but dont eat the red ones" and left. We stood there like what... and asked another person and they said pork and shrimp. (I really dont get our waiter tbh, young kid i get it but still) Also I didnt know, but i grabbed a steam basket with 1 dumpling, but later notice others had 2 inside. (Probably a customer confusion and didn't know they can grab the whole basket). - soup: we got house soup and leve 2 spicy miso soup. (btw: we never got our utensils and have been using our small soup spoons to grab the soup and ingredients the whole time. Practically 40 mins later, i looked around and saw other tables had them and we've been struggling this whole time without them. Finally got to ask for them and the guy with long hair in the pony tail apologized and quickly got what we needed fast. Soup was good. Your standard expected soup. So the audacity here. There is a total of 5 of us. The paper printed & online states "6 or more people, there will be a gratuity added automatically". We said we are fine, we are 5 people. Later at check out, they automatically added it and the tablet states "5 people, added gratuity" we were like "wtf... ok.." BUT not only false advertising, but they even ask after paying to add another tip! This is where people dont read, get confused, and add more when they already have an auto tip added to their bill. Practically double dipping. And the service we had here was dog shit. The only two people that were good was the Hostest who updated us and guided to our table. And the waiter (not ours specifically) with long hair pony tail, came to check on us continuously after giving us our Ladle/Songs that were been missing for the past 40mins (we struggled for our food for a while). Overall, first time coming here, never coming back here again. Ive had better Shabu Shabu elsewhere. read more

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Rheiven and Joanne were absolutely amazing!!! This was my first time and we came to celebrate my daughter's 19th birthday!!! We loved the food, the ambiance, the service, and the quality of food was incredible! I can't wait to return! We became members (suggested by both Joanne and Rheiven) and can't wait to return an also try other locations!!! Thank you again for a great night! HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER!!! read more

Wagyu Master Shabu House - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Wagyu Master is relatively new and the restaurant looks elegant and clean. I have always been a fan with Chubby Group restaurants so I am excited to try it out. They offered three level tier and we went for the middle - gold. For gold tier you can get food at the self serve bar as well as ordering through the iPad. The highlight of the restaurant is they only serve Japanese wagyu beef. I enjoyed the options and the self serve bar has both cooked and raw ingredients such as grilled skewers, fried snacks, egg tarts, burger, curry rice, sushi, and drink station. Chris took such a good care of us and since we ordered everything from the IPad and majority of the items are self serve, you get your food fast. Everything was above average. Definitely a nice place to visit. read more

Came to try the gold tier at Wagyu Master and it was not bad but definitely very pricey! The menu is pretty expansive and I love that their salad bar had so much variety of vegetables, sushi/sashimi, more meat plates, fruits, desserts, drinks, and just so much. It really reminded me of hot pot places in Asia but 5x the price. The 90 minute limit is what makes me want to dock a star - I felt like it wasn't enough time to eat and talk and carefully look through the restaurant since it was my first time and I was catching up with friends. Food is great though, I think my friend got a little bit of food poisoning from the seafood but luckily it was nothing too severe. Ambiance is very dark and moody inside. Servers are pretty quick and friendly. read more

We just went as a family and the dinner was a blast on a Wednesday evening. We got the silver tier and it was more than enough. The meats self serve selection has A4 Wagyu and they were so tender. My favorite broths are spicy miso and Taiwan Mala spicy one. I also tried the Yunan passion fruit broth, it's unique but not my favorite. Im not a sweet broth person so these three are probably gonna be my top choices if we visit again. Another favorite item was the salmon and tuna sashimi. So fresh and a great appetizer. All of their hotpot veggies and sauces are fresh. Don't forget to try their Wagyu curry. Vey hearty. We are already planning our next visit and it is well worth it for weekday dinner pricing with membership. The only drawback was that the AC was blowing too hard on top of us and I got pretty cold when eating. I hope they tune it down a bit so the fan wouldn't blow on customers so hard. Overall very caring service and joyful experience. read more

Rheiven and Joanne did a great job! They also helped roll us out after we were no longer able to move of our own accord. Recommend! read more

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Service 2/5 : When we went in , the head of house looked at us and continued to vacuum / clean. We didn't wait long but we made eye contact and we had to wait awkwardly. We were then seated and although mood improved later on, the server was slightly rude. Quick and abrupt yet when I look around there was not much customers. I do understand that it was a weekday and maybe it was slightly understaffed but half the work the customers do themselves since it was self serve. Luckily the runners greeted us well but what made us upset the most was no one told us on last calls. We got up one more time and realized nothing was there anymore. I asked a runner when did they put items away and they said someone should have mentioned your last calls. We ended up leaving not hungry but definitely not satisfied. So yes for most of it being self serve, I thought most things on the service side went wrong. Food 4/5 : Probably my favorite place not because of the hot pot but for the Wagyu sliders. We had sukiyaki and miso base and sukiyaki was thick and a little too sweet but it pairs well when you mix with miso base. Sashimi was good and the meat was only decent. I found the meats somewhat too firm even though there was many cuts with large amounts of fat. I would definitely go again if the service was better. Ambiance 2/5: it's hard to appreciate the interior design and high wall ceilings when our group was so poorly greeted and left unsatisfied. Even though I thought that place looked decent, it's the experience from service which made me feel unwelcome at Wagyu house making the ambiance worse. Seated 4 people well though just don't let the empty plates stack on the table and use a shelf to leave empty plates since runners can be busy. read more

Saw the great reviews and was excited to check out this all you can eat sushi, waygu hotspot in Pasadena. I was in town for work and my friend was also visiting for a conference, so we set this as a meeting spot. While the food was decent, there seemed to be a lack of a spirit of hospitality and for those that don't know what they are doing (ie hotpot noobs), you're kind of left without much guidance. I think they just dropped the ball, we sat down and no one came to ask us what "package" we wanted to order for a while until we flagged someone down. They were apologetic about it and offered to extend our time, but it just started the meal on a little bit of a confusing note. The food itself was decent once you get the hang of it. I recommend going with someone who is pretty well versed in eating hotpot who can help guide you through. read more

Came by on a Wednesday night because of their new promotion: free upgrade (one per membership). Our server, Eric D, was friendly and attentive. I enjoyed the variety of options. If you've been to chubby cattle and mikiya, it feels like a mixture of both restaurants. We ordered the taiwanese mala and sukiyaki, but the mala was lacking in spice and flavor. I highly recommend getting the gold tier for the specialty dish and higher cuts of meat. They do validate for parking. I ended up paying $1.50 though because I stayed longer. read more

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