Go Shabu — Restaurant in Houston

I have wanted to try hot pot for years, but did not want to leave my bubble that is the Clear Lake area! So when I learned that Go Shabu had opened, needless to say, I was ecstatic!

We had reservations since there were 8 of us, and we were seated immediately. Gen was our server and she was fantastic! As 6 of the 8 of us had never been, she explained the process and even brought out a sample of each of the different bases so that we could try them all before committing to one (she did this at my request, it's not necessarily something they just do).

I chose the Go Shabu Spicy and it was delicious! I would also recommend the curry base, as it was good, too!

Each table gets 3 meat choices ... so my husband and I got the chicken and beef strip, and my parents (who were at our table) got the brisket, and later got more chicken. They bring out as much as you need! They also have eggs in case you want to drop it in the soup and hard boil it or crack it open and cook it!

Their buffet bar offers gloves & hand sanitizer for your use, which is nice. Here you will find dipping sauces, veggies, seafood, even kimchi!

Once you have your base, you are ready to cook and you have basic cooking times at the table.

Don't forget to grab some ice cream to cleanse the palate! They offer red bean, green tea, cookies & cream, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate! The red bean was hands down the best!

They are also part of Bay Area Houston Food Lovers group, so you do get a discount on the card holder's entree, and my parents each received the Senior discount.

This is a great addition to the Clear Lake area and we are happy to have them for...

The food was excellent and this would be a glowing review if they hadn't tried for the second time (and almost succeeded) to trick me into double tipping. This is deliberate. Look how they added gratuity already and then present options for a tip on top of that which is coincidentally the same amount as the gratuity (and is NOT 18%). $183.68 + 30.54 + 30.54 = $244.76. They're double dipping! It's not even an accident. Look how $30.54 isn't 18% of 183.68 OR 214.22. Made up numbers, trying to trick you into thinking it's a option to tip the default gratuity ($30.54, "18%" (not 18%)) or just a little more. Mind you this is the bill for a family of 6, so the amount they're charging is already ridiculous before the double dipping tip scam. They don't need a $72.96 tip when all they did was bring bring meat out twice and drinks twice. They charge enough to pay their employees enough to not need to scam people for double tips. I didn't make a fuss about it the first time we came here and they almost got us with this scam because it was the first time we ever ate there and I gave them the benefit of the doubt that it was a mistake. But that was over a year ago and they're still pulling this. It is no accident. If your party is bigger than 4 beware!

EDIT: went back and found my receipt from 2023 just to make sure I'm not remembering this wrong. Yeah, same exact thing. They added $28.19 and then listed $28.19 as an 18% tip option again. 156.62 + 28.19 + 28.19 = the $213 they were hoping I would blindly pay. At least back in 2023 they weren't just pulling numbers out of thin air. $28.19 actually is...

Note: this restaurant is an experience and if you are not into cooking your own food it will not be for you.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience. On our first visit, the restaurant is well maintained and following health and safety protocols even with providing gloves for commonly used utensils in the buffet portion. The soup bases in the attached photo are the #3 Curry and #5 Sukiyaki. (Everyone in our party found the soup bases flavorful and good) Our party had meat choices of pork belly, lamb, and brisket. The buffet for all the options was quite loaded with all types of choices from noodles, vegetables, seafood (clams, mussels, crab legs, scallops and more) and other various additions such as sauce types. I personally had the lo mein with lamb with a whole bunch of different add-ins from the buffet such as dumplings, scallops, crab balls, etc. The ice cream was quite good as well, I tried each flavor - chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, mango, and green tea and at our table the strawberry was definitely a winner.

The staff was attentive to detail and making sure drinks were topped, soup was moving, and our party understood how to 'hot pot'. They have ladles and tongs for your use and chopsticks. They have traditional silverware if needed.

The price, I think this is quite a good deal of a price for what all you can get as a customer. Some will probably say $22 for a bowl of soup is steep - but you are the creator of how extravagant you want to make that meal and it can be quite the bargain at a point in time.

We will...