Shabuway — Restaurant in San Jose

Picked the all you can eat and it's good value if you feel like eating a lot under no time restraints. If not, you can pick what you want. If there's a mixed preference within the group and some want the all you can eat and others do not, you can sit at the counter so everyone gets their own pot. They have 5 types of meat, and funnily enough I liked the Angus Prime most. It was funny cos if you choose to only eat that, it's cheaper. I'd recommend an all you can eat of everything just cos otherwise you'd have no variation which is harder to enjoy a lot of. We ate 2 plates of almost everything between 2 people. We got the veggie broth (mild and slightly sweet) and tonkatsu curry broth (moderately spicy). You may want to swap out the entire broth pot after 4-5 plates or so if you're gonna keep going. We ate 8 plates and the curry broth started burning and sticking to the side. Both broths got really oily towards the end and ruined the taste of the meat even with the water that was added. It was inedible past that point. So just ask to fill the broth with water once, and swap it out if you can after that. I added a pic of how the broth changes. The veggies were fresh and yummy. The dipping sauces were nice; though the gomadare sauce was rich for me, I really digged their ponzu sauce. The crab dumplings were not for me (not good, cheap, filling is unrecognisablely mashed crab thingy ick). But a good menu item to exist in case you go with younger children. Staff were professional, our server was friendly and helpful. Food never took too long to come out despite how busy it was. Place has two middle counter areas and a bunch of tables to the walls on each side. Idk what they do when they have a massive group, but they sat a group of 8 at their main large counter when I was dining there. They have a decent bathroom. The person who took me there already eats there with family regularly. I enjoyed the food and atmosphere though it can get loud with...

I recently visited this restaurant and ordered the Kobe beef. I was genuinely looking forward to enjoying a high-quality meal, but the experience was very disappointing.

As shown in the photo, the beef served had large sections of brown-colored fat. This is not only unappetizing—especially for shabu shabu—but also raises concerns about freshness. Who wants to eat meat that looks like that? The fat was brown and discolored, far from the fresh, marbled appearance you expect when ordering Kobe beef. If the fat looks like that, it shouldn’t be served to customers at all.

The first dish we received was somewhat eatable after I removed most of the fat. However, this dish, after a few bites, I noticed the flavor still didn’t seem right—it had a strange, metallic taste. I asked my son to try it, and we both agreed something was off. We decided to stop eating it.

Beef, especially premium cuts like Kobe or anything intended for shabu shabu, should be stored properly and served fresh—with a vibrant color and clean marbling. Discolored fat and off flavors are a clear sign of poor handling or quality issues. At the very least, dishes in that condition should not be brought out to customers.

I didn’t complain during the meal because my son asked me not to. Afterward, he asked if I would want to come back. When I turned the question back to him, he said he never wanted to return. Even a 15-year-old could tell that the beef didn’t taste fresh or healthy.

I won’t be returning. I hope the restaurant seriously reviews its quality control before serving dishes...

We came here during dinner time and waited about 10 minutes for a table. We went for the AYCE shabu with the Angus beef meat only.

Service: 10/10 The server who served us was very accommodating. We had originally chosen miso broth and seaweed broth but we realize the seaweed broth was just hot water and 2 small pieces of seaweed, so we asked the server to change that broth to Tonkatsu broth and she switched it immediately. We also asked for chili oil with extra peanut sauce and she also brought it out quickly. I also notice that as soon as we were done with oir meat, another plate would come quickly, which shows how attentive the workers were.

Shabu: 10/10 We love the two broth! If I had to choose which one I like more, I would say the Miso broth would be my favorite! The angus beef was brought to us with a thin sliced cut. The meat quality was very juicy and you can tell it's fresh since you see them slice it in the middle of the restaurant. Putting the veggie bowl in the broth with the meat made the broth super rich in flavor.

Overall, I would come back again when I'm craving hot pot. This is a great spot for...