Kaze Shabu Shabu — Restaurant in Boston

Extremely Disappointing Experience, Unprofessional Staff

I recently visited Kaze restaurant located at 1 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02111, and I must say that my experience was incredibly disappointing. I feel compelled to share my unfortunate encounter to warn potential customers about the subpar service and overall unprofessionalism I encountered during my visit.

First and foremost, while I was dining, I witnessed a roach crawl up the wall near my table. This was not only unsanitary but also deeply concerning. Hygiene is of utmost importance in any dining establishment, and this incident left me feeling extremely uncomfortable and disgusted.

Additionally, the poor maintenance of the furniture added insult to injury. The springs from the chair I was seated on unexpectedly popped out of the seat and actually stabbed me in the butt. This was not only painful but also completely unacceptable. It demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and a disregard for customer safety.

To make matters worse, when I brought a drink from outside the restaurant that I had already purchased, the owner or manager, who seemed to be in charge, rudely insisted that I couldn't have it and made me put it away. This level of inflexibility and lack of understanding towards customers' preferences is disheartening.

Furthermore, when my friend and I requested to split the bill, the same lady flatly refused, displaying an unwillingness to accommodate even the most reasonable requests. We remained polite and understanding, yet she stared at us throughout the rest of our meal, making us feel unwelcome and uncomfortable.

Lastly, I feel compelled to mention that my friends and I were the only Black patrons in the restaurant. Although we do not want to play the race card, it seemed that some staff members treated us differently. For instance, when our food arrived, a server took my friend's bowl without even asking, as if assuming they were finished. This lack of basic courtesy and respect is deeply concerning and unacceptable in any establishment.

Overall, my visit to Kaze was marred by the presence of a roach, uncomfortable seating, unwarranted restrictions on outside beverages, uncooperative behavior regarding bill splitting, and the uncomfortable atmosphere due to perceived racial bias. I strongly advise potential customers to take these factors into account before considering dining at this establishment. I sincerely hope that the management takes these issues seriously and addresses them promptly to improve the experience for...

Absolutely the Worst Dining Experience – Avoid at All Costs

If you're considering dining at Kaze Shabu Shabu, do yourself a favor and go anywhere else. We had one of the most disappointing, uncomfortable, and downright rude experiences we've ever had at a restaurant.

Upon arrival, we were seated and handed menus—decent enough start. But that’s where the courtesy ended. No one bothered to ask if we’d been there before, no explanation of the menu, the broths, or how anything worked. It felt like we were an inconvenience just for showing up.

The table had two burners—only one worked, so we were forced to awkwardly crowd around the working side. Strike one. The food itself? Subpar, and that’s putting it kindly. Our broths were overly salty, and no one checked on us once during the meal to offer a refill or even ask if we needed anything. We sat there with empty waters the entire time, and trying to get anyone’s attention was like waving into a void.

We attempted multiple times to flag down our server, an older woman who we honestly felt was deliberately avoiding us. She glanced our way often but never came over. We had to flag down a busboy to finally pay our bill.

The sauce bar? Practically empty. Flavored milk teas? Absolutely disgusting—murky, lukewarm, with melted ice floating on top. No flavor, no sweetness, and just undrinkable.

The most infuriating part came at the end. My partner left a 10% tip—frankly generous considering the abysmal service—and the server confronted us about it. She demanded a 15% minimum and told us we wouldn’t be served again unless we complied. Then she scoffed at us, dragged the payment device away, and loudly complained to her coworkers about the tip while glaring in our direction.

That kind of aggressive, entitled behavior is absolutely unacceptable. I personally would’ve left no tip after that display. The only thing this place has going for it is that it’s open late—but that’s not worth being treated like trash.

Final verdict: Never coming back, and wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy. Save your time, money, and dignity. Kaze Shabu Shabu is...

Don’t come here if you are budgeted. You pay for more than just your meal. I Went here on an outing with friends to catch up. When we were greeted there was a woman only on her phone and placed us in this dirty corner of the restaurant with cushion seats that were awful. Not even a greeting just talking to someone on the phone like we were the ones interrupting her. Food was mediocre. I ordered shrimp tempura, spicy shelled shrimp, and seafood ramen but the ramen was beyond bland, I think I dumped loads of different sauces to get it to taste decently enough. The appetizers were actually really good. I loved the Thai milk tea. The service was slow and different people were serving us food and taking orders. My problem mainly comes from the demand of tips. I paid for my meal and split it amongst friends. I did not want to pay a $11 tip and I have my personal reasons why. I just wanted to pay for my meal. At the very end when we were about to leave the waitress stops me and my friends and scared us thinking we did not pay for our meals but she pointed at me and said I didn’t pay tip. I politely told her that I’m budgeted and could not pay tip and wanted to just pay for the meal but she demanded an $11 tip from me otherwise I was “stealing”. It was absolutely shameless and embarrassing that my friend had to take out $11 to pay on my behalf for a tip. It is not the customer’s job to make up for an employees salary. If you are this desperate for tips please let it be a reflection and duty of management to pay their employees better. I have no doubt that serving and waiting tables is difficult, but many customers have their personal reasons why they can’t pay extra for a tip. To belittle me and accuse me of stealing because I did not tip is absolutely disrespectful to my situation. If I had known there was a policy for tipping I would not have come here in the...