Shabu-Shabu — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

My family and I celebrated my son' 42nd birthday here and ... WOW, what a great time.

It's a hot pot place where you make your food choices from a written AND a live action menu where additions to the broths you choose from the written menu float by on a conveyor belt that operates throughout the entire restaurant. Yep, you just just take what you think might make the best soup ever! And it never disappoints.

There were four of us at our table. Each of us had our own "hot pot" with our chosen broth. First, we ordered miso broth and 3 other varying degrees of spicy bases from a list on the written menu. All were delicious! Then, while our base broths were being created and delivered to our table, the conveyor system floated by and we chose corn on the cob, broccoli, rice, Ramen noodles, rice noodles, mushrooms of several varieties, onions, cabbage and many other options too numerous to mention to put into our hot pots.

Next, we enjoyed perusing the raw meat buffet tables. Huge numbers of options there. In the center of your dining table, there is a grill upon which you can grill Kobe beef, chicken, several fish options, shell fish, little smoked weiners, and much, much more. (All presented on the raw meat buffet in various forms, so you can pretty much grill whatever you'd like, from steaks to chopped meats for lettuce wraps and everything in between). Potstickers, octopus, squid, and other items can also be found on the raw meats buffet.

At one end of the buffet there is a fancy chest freezer that holds, at the perfect temperature, shaved "rolls" of more Kobe beef, pork, and chicken you add to your hot pot soup. At the other end of the buffet are veggies like lettuce (for wraps, if that is what you'd like to grill), and fish balls, meat balls, tofu, quail eggs and more.

Opposite the very large raw meat display, there is a 2-sided station. On one end, you can combine various oils and seasonings to make your favorite dipping sauce for whatever you grill ... potstickers/dumplings, etc. I added a spoonful of my sauce (with chopped peppers, onions, and Hoisen sauce, among others) to my hot pot soup for a touch more flavor.

On the other side of that station, you'll find fruit, melons, and the sweetest little desserts. We enjoyed the little cupcakes - chocolate with chocolate frosting and "funfetti" sprinkles on top!

AND THEN ... a robot joined us at our table and 'sang' Happy Birthday to my son!!

If you have never been to a hot pot and grill place, I highly recommend Shaba Shaba! What a dining experience! Give yourself 2-3 hours to take it all in. It is definitely much higher quality than fast food!

It is a bit pricey, but the food, the service, the atmosphere, and the talented wait staff (our server was Ross and he was great!) are more than worth the prices. This place is fabulous!!!

Some things I forgot to mention:

There is a bar, alcohol is served at your table. My kids ordered beer and one cocktail each. I don't drink alcohol, but they did say the drinks were good, if not a bit higher priced when compared to other restaurants that have bars. Shaba Shaba is much more than just a restaurant with a bar. I'm not an expert in this department. I can tell you everyone in the family enjoyed this experience. We will definitely do it again!

You can also buy Japanese sodas here. They have four flavors ... not all are on the printed menu. We had peach. There is lychee, original, and one more you can order from the bar. Your servers are quite helpful with anything you need. Don't be shy with your questions!

They have a full menu of milk teas if that's your pleasure.

This is an all you can eat establishment. HOWEVER, in order to maintain high quality product with minimal waste, the menu states there will be a charge for food left on the plate that you don't finish. (Doggie bags for uneaten food are not permitted.) Go back for more as often as you like. But only take amounts you can eat. The restaurant reserves the right to weigh your plate and charge...

I had the all-you-can-eat shabu shabu and grill experience and I left very satisfied with the authenticity and quality of this restaurant! Whether you're craving Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Singaporean food, you can craft your broth and sauces to your preference with a wide assortment of ingredients.

I got the Tom Yum broth which I highly recommend if you plan on eating a lot of seafood. The sour and spicy soup helps neutralize any fishiness.

I also tried the tonkatsu broth which went very well with meat. It was mild, savory, and simmered with goji berries.

Overview of shabu shabu selection 🍲

🍥 Fish balls: I'm quite impressed with the assortment of fish balls (crab sticks, prawn balls, squid balls, Fuzhou fish balls) -- there were 8+ types of fish balls from different Asian countries.

🦞 Seafood: There were crawfish, fish fillet, shrimp, mussels, clams, octopus, squid, etc.

🥓 Grill/BBQ: Beef bulgogi, chicken slices, pork belly, etc. were plentiful if you want a KBBQ experience! Meat was pretty high quality and very juicy.

🥩 Hot pot meat: There was beef, chicken, pork, and lamb, all very thinly sliced to cook quickly in broth.

🥬 Vegetables: Bowls of taro, seaweed/kelp knots, spinach, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, napa cabbage, mushrooms, woodyear fungus, etc. made its way around the tables on conveyor belts.

🍜 Starches: Ramen, udon noodles, shirataki noodles, rice noodles, and rice cakes come on conveyor belts. There were also tofu, yuba wrappers, and fried soy sticks which helps soak up the broth.

🧄 Sauces: At least 16 different sauces available -- sacha sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, sesame paste, Chinese vinegar, sesame oil, Korean soybean paste, wasabi, ponzu, and more.

🍣: Sushi was alright. Not the best but I didn't come here...

This was one of our more anticipated places to eat when my bf and I were visiting Nashville. Unfortunately we came on an extremely busy night. The wait was about 30 minutes, so not too terrible. When we got inside the place was packed and it was super loud. Lots of people up and about because of the way there is the raw meat buffet. We got the hotpot only. The only problem offering the grill to people is that some people will leave bits of meat on it and let it burn leaving the area smelling like smoke. They do have exhaust fans over each table so it is not as bad as it could be. One thing that I thought was a little pricey was getting a soft drink. I got a lemonade and it was $4. Other than that, the price for ALCE hotpot is about normal. $26 per person. What really stands out about this place I feel is the conveyor belt that takes different noodles and veggies beside tables. You can simply take a bowl off and cook. It’s super nice they have the cooking times on there too. Now onto the actual food. I go the sukiyaki broth and my bf got the spicy one. They weren’t super flavorful which was disappointing considering all the extra food and what not the restaurant provided us. At other hotpot places I’ve been to they allow you to get a different broth once you’ve finished the current one but I believe this place charges you for it. They do charge you if you have any leftovers, but it’s up to you to gather how much food you can eat so just don’t get too much and you should be fine. All in all, it was a pretty neat place, but not overly exciting or anything. Also, parking was hard because it was so full that all the lots spaces were taken. We had to pay to park, it was only...