Gokudo Shabu Shabu Hot Pot-Richmond — Restaurant in Richmond

This has been my faouvite hot spot place, but my impression has gone downhill during my 2 recent visits. The newly renovated tables are very uncomfortable. They are being built very thick and low, making it hard to keep legs under the table (and no crossing legs for sure).

I've paid another visit today. First, no reservation can be taken over the phone. So, I went in earlier to make sure I could get a table. As I went in at 1pm, there were only a small handful of customers there, so I got the table right away. Minutes later, one of my 2 friends has arrived. As we were looking at the menu, one of the staff came to us and told us they could only hold the table for 5 more minutes, otherwise they had to move us back to the bar table. We said we will order right away, but he insisted that's not the point as the 3rd person in our party hasn't arrived yet. I asked what is the minimum required for using the table, he said 3 or 4. I looked at the entrance. There were absolutely NO ONE waiting. The restaurant was only 30% filled as well. I said the same thing to him and he said it's the rule. We ordered anyways, and then he asked us to order for the 3rd person as well. I was pretty annoyed by then and just told him we had to message her first to see what she wanted. By then, our friend has arrived as well.

If the restaurant was very busy, and there's a long line up of customers waiting, it would be more understandable. But the restaurant was fairly empty with no one waiting at all, and knowing our friend was on her way, I found their customer service was extremely bad.

I've also recalled way back then (5 years ago), I was able to make a reservation at 7pm on one random night. It was 6:58pm and we were only a minute away. We received a phone call, asking us if we were still going. And as we arrived, we didn't get the table I have reserved, but since we had a 2 years old with us and I was 2 weeks away from my due date, bar table was not an option. They ended up asking us to come back another day. And I must say their attitude wasn't the best as well.

It took me another 2 years before we went back because we were very annoyed. Their customer service was improved at some point, but it was definitely very disappointing at our...

Please see the date stamp of the postings here. Some go back 5+ years and any concerns have already been addressed, or new problems have arrived.

I would give this place a super-solid 3.5 stars, but 4 stars because of our observations. First of all, very clean restaurant. Fresh ingredients and great staff. Washrooms are excellent and well attended to. Selection of meats and vegetables was plenty. If you get the Groupon you order the meats you like, and a couple more show up in the form of sausages and dumplings. The fish at the time was Basa. We got 10 pcs and were disappointed by the size and blandness of the fish. It was fresh, but the small pieces cooked too quickly to absorb flavour..... queue in the delicious savoury sauce. It was a blend of garlic, soya sauce, green onion and some other things that saved the meal... it totally saved the vermicelli noodles too.. delicious. It seemed we weren't the only couple with a Groupon. It brings the pricing to a slightly better than an average Richmond shabu shabu meal for two. Regular price of the meal we ordered would be overpriced for Richmond, but acceptable in the touristy parts of downtown Vancouver.

For the soup - my wife ordered a mild version of spiced chili and oil. It made me cough, and I enjoy hot sauce a fair bit. It had to be diluted with duck stock twice to make it more palatable. I wonder how the hot version is... I got the satay soup stock. It was okay, but not peanutty enough. Crushed peanuts were few and far between, and on the bottom of the broth. I wasn't expecting a peanut fondue, but adding creamy peanut butter to dissolve in the stock would be next-level. If it's there already, I didn't detect it...

Service was great. The whole restaurant was handled by one great waitress. As the evening progressed a very young man helped with busboy duties. We never felt neglected for attention. We saw her balancing the other tables with dexterity and finesse. Worth a try. I enjoyed taking the time to have a meal and enjoy company. We visited for over two hours, and...

Love coming here for some shabu shabu with friends and family. Quality might not be the freshest, but overall its delicious and the sauce they give you is just iconic. The amount of food you get (combo - 7oz choice of meat) it's very filling...i tend to never be able to finish everything. The menu has changes recently. You now have to add $5.99 to your choice of meat to make it a combo, which includes a veggie dish, house chicken broth soup (additional charge for the specialty soups), a drink (green tea, black tea, or milk tea), a side (rice, udon, or vermicelli), and dessert (usually its the Asian jelly you see in the pictures... Sometimes they have the sweet Tofu dessert). So in total (average), you would pay about $16 for 7oz of meat, add $5.99 for the combo, add $3 to change to a specialty soup... Which comes to a total of $24.99 (excluding tips and tax). Also, they have stamp cards! You get a stamp for every combo you order. Once you fill up the card you can get a discount of your next combo.

Aside from the food, service is great. Quick service and staffs there are super nice and friendly. If you are going during the fall/winter (cold weather), make sure to make reservations because hot pot is a very popular meal to have in the cold seasons. I recently went during the summer and it wasn't very busy even during dinner hours (I walked in with no reservations and got a seat right away).

Note: I was told they will be going under renovation Soon and won't be opened back up til September. From what I heard, layout will still be the same or similar, it's mainly gonna be a revamp. Im really excited to see some changes to the shop since it has been around for awhile and it's nice to see a new fresh coat of paint (and...