Yoshi Shabu Shabu 🍜 — Restaurant in Plano

2023 Review: I've actually been back several times over the years since they've opened this location. I haven't been to the Richardson one in a long time.

I used to think it was a fancy date night place but ambiance has become more casual, wearing shorts and t-shirts is a norm. Maybe it lost its luster since I've been more often. Can still be a fancy date night, it's however you want to enjoy it!

The quality of the food has turned to cheaper meats and they don't offer pumpkin anymore in the veggies. Otherwise food is still good but 5+ years ago it was way better.

The reduced stars is because, unfortunately for this location, the service has gotten pretty bad the last few times I've been. It's not due to being understaffed, they actually have plenty. I was trying to flag anyone down and literally 3 different kids looked at me and then pretended they were busy and went to go do something else. They definitely weren't busy because they were all standing around near the back of the bar when I was trying to get their attention. All I wanted was more water for the broth because it had evaporated out. I had to dump my water cup into the soup myself to top it off. They're not as attentive as they used to be around here. Also, they don't ask the whole table at once for needs. This happened during several separate dining occasions, enough for me to notice. They speak to one person at the table and then immediately leave to go do it, but if you had asked others at the table, you could have done or gotten multiple things at once instead of coming back and then needing to go do each task individually lol like dude, I'm trying to help you out by asking at once for efficiency, ask the table, not just 1 person. It literally went, person A "can I get more of just broccoli?", okay he went and got it, person B "oh I wanted just more veggies too". Person B was ready to ask same time as person A but didn't get a chance the first time. Person C was never asked and also wanted more broccoli but the waiter had already left to go do something else.

Anyway, I still come occasionally but only cause this is a group fav.

Lots of people still like it so it's not the worst. Your mileage may vary.

2017 Review: Was rated at 5 Star

If you want a pricier than normal experience, Yoshi Shabu Shabu delivers.

Yes, there are other hot pot restaurants that you can go to around town but there's something about Yoshi that I enjoy in a different way.

You have limited meat choices: 3 different grades of beef such as choice, prime, or wagyu Chicken breast Pork Sashimi grade salmon Some other things

I often just get choice beef because at how thin the strips of meat are. I really can't tell the difference between the different grades. Someone with a more sophisticated palate than me might be able to.

Everyone gets the same vegetable plate (lettuce, a few pumpkin slices, broccoli, some other things I forget) for the pot unless you specify otherwise.

You can share a pot or have your own if you don't want to share with someone else. I recommend getting your own so you can customize the soup base however you like. For me, I like mine spicier than most.

The food is enjoyable and I always have enough left over to take home and enjoy...

We had been coming here since they first opened…the food quality and service was definitely much better in the beginning but Yoshi always remained our go to for Shabu. Unfortunately this will no longer be the case. The last few visits we had here were disappointing. After Covid, like with many restaurants we noticed they did downgrade the quality of their offerings. For example, the vegetables went from a large plate overflowing with Napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, spinach, etc. Now the vegetables are given in a small bowl and no longer include enoki mushroom. We understand that the economy is different and changes have to be made to ensure businesses can still thrive. The vegetables are supposed to be unlimited but after asking for a second portion at our last visit we kept getting the run around by every employee, no less than 5 ppl including the owner. They kept telling us that they had unfortunately ran out and someone was in the back prepping them. After waiting over 30min for our veggie refill we finally gave up and wrapped up our meal w/o them. We just figured it was bad luck/timing until we noticed that all the tables around us had been given veggies. If you ran out, how is it possible everyone else who came after had plenty? If the cost to give unlimited veggies is keeping you from providing them, why not just charge for them? Instead of giving us the run around and leaving us feeling like we did not get the full satisfactory meal that we paid for? Even after leaving our last few visits not fully satisfied with the customer service we were given, we still gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided to book a birthday dinner here this past weekend. Knowing we would have a big party, we booked the private room one week in advance. They contacted us twice during the week to confirm, which we did. Then on the day of the party someone called 30min before our reservation to say that we could not have the private room anymore and would have to sit out in the regular dining room. There was no apology or explanation. Just simply the owner gave it to someone else. If the room was not available, why were we contacted twice during the week to confirm and no one said anything about it not being available? If for some reason the room was double booked, they should’ve handled the situation with more empathy and customer service. But instead they gave the impression they did not care if we came or not. So we told them to go ahead and cancel the reservation and took our party elsewhere. There are far too many other establishments out there that provide better customer service and value their patrons...

So excited when I heard Yoshi had opened nearby! Shabu shabu was a favorite during my countless trips to Japan and I rushed to try out this local opportunity.

The facility is very Japanese in its clean, functional layout but is way bigger and brighter than what I've experienced over there. There are "singles" along a bar which allow the staff great access to help you as you go through the meal. Tables are set up with one heating pad for two opposite seats. There is a private room which looks like it might accommodate 10-12 at the table.

There is a good selection of Japanese beers, sake and plum wine as well as domestic choices. I've always enjoyed the Asahi Super Dry beer - the first "dry" beer crafted and what I found to be the only dry beer I've liked.

Yoshi offers way more choice than I found typical of Japan - more sauces, flavoring "bases", many more different meats. You also get individual vegetable trays and can tick off which components you want and whether you want reduced portions. I favor very basic shabu shabu but this offers a lot of individual expression.

The basics are a hot pot of water, vegetables to make a broth, and the meats. Normally it's thinly sliced beef and Yoshi has a number of different grades. Also offered are pork and chicken (not sure how those might be sliced) plus salmon, shrimp and scallops.

The thin beef slices cook quickly with just a few swishes; In one visit we sampled the salmon and scallops and both of those require a more prolonged dipping. The salmon definitely needed the mesh ladle as it otherwise crumbles if you use chopsticks.

It is wise to remove the cooked veggies and meat, using the rice bowl to absorb some of the water and to let the items cool a bit. Then you give them a dip in one of the three sauces offered and savor the tasty combo. Again, I like pretty basic shabu shabu so I mostly use the ponzu sauce but the peanut and teriyaki ones are also quite good.

Save some veggies for after the meat cooking so you can fortify the broth for the final step - a noodle soup featuring udon, ramen or "malony" which is made from potato flour. I am always pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the soup (I've switched from the udon to the ramen as my standard).

If you can manage dessert, the nom nom frozen bars are very good. The coffee bar has been a family favorite but as it seems it's everyone's favorite, it's not always available.

This is a fun experience and the staff is superb. They have been liberally giving our $3 off coupons for lunch and I've handed out some of those to friends who have later raved...