Shabushabu Xiaofeiyang Shinjuku — Restaurant in Tokyo

Wow. Surprised by the good reviews!

Our experience tonight was that this restaurant is probably the dirtiest I have been to in Tokyo. Further, the service was some of the worst we’ve experienced in this city. The only reason I’m not giving one star is because the quality of the food was actually pretty good.

In terms of the lack of cleanliness - See attached photos taken of the light sockets and air vents that were situated immediately above our hot pot. The walls and floor were similarly disgusting. Months and months of filth. Had I noticed this before we had eaten, we would have left immediately. It doesn’t take much to do some thorough cleaning once or twice a week. Come on ...

In terms of service - Our server had somewhere else he wanted to be and made it clear from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. His attitude was almost comical and we left feeling like it would have been better had we collected our own food from the kitchen.

On to the food - it exceeded expectations, particularly the lamb and vegis, which we enjoyed quite a bit. This place APPEARS low cost, but actually isn’t, when you compare it to the far far far superior Haidilo (these restaurants are almost polar opposites of if one another).

We won’t be back and I personally discourage you from patronizing this place. There are simply so many other far better, similarly priced, hot pot options...

I’m very sorry, but I took only one before and one after photo. I was hungry and busy cooking. I spent 5 nights in Chengdu, Szechuan, China a couple of years ago, and this restaurant reminds me of that time. The key difference was that the food here did not bring me to tears like the Szechuan meals I ate. Authentic Szechuan food is delicious, but it’s so spicy I couldn’t enjoy it like I hoped. This restaurant has toned down the heat for Japanese pallets, so it’s quite edible. Please give them a try; it’s one of my favorite places...

You see I came here and saw this Chinese hotpot chain and I thought it must be good, but in reality I was not met with that. I’ve had other hotpot establishments and honestly this is at the bottom of all my hotpot experiences. They charge you for so little, the drinks, the food, the sauces! It really is a shame, if you are looking for high dining hotpot experiences I recommend going to China and dining...