Shabuya — Restaurant in Spring Valley

Mood- Hot Pot

So Many Many red flags. Where do I even start. I guess the beginning. I called and asked to make a reservation. The gentleman that answered told me no they dont take reservations. I asked was it busy he said no. I said ok, and figured I would head over. I get there and was asked " Do you have a reservation" I almost had a level 3 melt down. I took a deep breath and told the hostess that I called exactly at 5:34 and asked if they take reservations. She gave no regard to this and asked if I signed up for the waitlist. I again said " No" as I was not aware of this and the gentleman I talked to said nothing. So I signed up for the waitlist.

Once my number was up, temperatures were taken and ushered over to table. Was told I would have the best server after this snafu. I received my bowl, it was dirty, I asked the server for a napkin so I could wipe my bowl out, I actually showed her the dried up food on the bowl, she took the bowl and brought me a new one. So you kind of see where we are going with this night. I was told to use my phone to place all of the orders and it would be brought out continually upon receipt. Some items brought out more quickly than others. I am referring to more than 10 minute wait times.

Opted for the Sukiyaki broth, Wagyu meats, veggies, and sides. When the broth started getting low. I placed the online order for broth. So waited and waited some more. Everyone was walking past and could def tell there was an issue, as my food was just sitting on the table because not enough broth. Finally Summer came by. They need to promote this server or give her a raise. She told me the broth is not seen on the receipt and that my server should have told me. She proceeded to take care of my table for the next couple of rounds. Refilling my beverages, suggestions, and overall just being a good representation of what a good employee should adhere to. And can I say the 3 stars is just for her. Or else I would have only given 1 star. This was by far one of the worst experiences I have had at a restaurant in awhile.

Will not recommend regarding service - will recommend for the food. The food was good. Pricing was fair. However the service was deplorable. Sad part all I wanted to do was share this experience with someone who had never tried hotpot before and I chose this place. Bad idea on my part. Even the table to my right complained that they were not really taken care of or checked on. I have absolutely no clue why this happened and why it would be deemed acceptable.

Ask to be...

Our normal hotpot place had over an hour wait time so we decided to try out Shabuya and were very pleasantly surprised. The restaurant has a very spacious modern interior which I really like, sometimes at hotpot and kbbq places you can feel very cramped but this place has tons of space.

You get an individual pot here instead of communal so you can choose exactly what broth you like. I actually enjoyed this more than a communal pot because I usually end up cooking for everyone but not this time:) The quality of the meat is fantastic, you can see the chefs in the back slicing it almost to order. Everything is extremely fresh. The beef belly was so thin and delicious it tasted like eating really good gyudon when dipped in a little bit of soy sauce.

My miso broth was excellent, I loaded it up with green onion and made my usual goma and garlic dipping sauce for my beef.

The side dishes were great, especially the fried fish. The california roll was a little heavy on the rice and cream cheese so I'd probably skip that but we had a tempura roll which was actually excellent and sushi restaurant quality.

The cold bar has a good assortment of fish cakes, vegetables and seafood as well as noodles and sauces for dipping. I'd say the highlight is definitely the beef though given its high quality. Our waitress was also excellent and kept up our refills, offering to bring more meat whenever we were running low too.

Overall I'd say this is one of the best hotpot places in the valley now and I don't hesitate to...

I visited Shabuya to catch up with the Yelp BFF over some AYCEhot pot and they knocked it out....

All the servers wear nicknames on their badges and 'Cheehoo' (my 808 peeps will appreciate his name=) was ours. He was fantastic from beginning to end and we loved his positive vibes We loved that you go order directly from your phone after you scanned the QR code. "Techmology!" The staff kept our tables cleared throughout the meal and the kitchen got the orders to the table quickly. Very well done!

Broths Original House: A clear broth that's savory with dashi, kombu, veggies and their secret spices. It's not spicy at all, and is a safe broth if you're indecisive about what to go with. Sukiyaki: A classic broth that's done well here. Your meats will cook well in here.

Appetizers Volcano Chicken Karage: The hot sauce has some heat, but is tasty and not too hot. Japchae: The glass noodles are a good side to take down your meats with.

Meats: Prime Flat Iron Steak Wagyu Blade Meat Special Short Rib Pork Belly Lamb Shoulder

All the thinly cut meats were quality and cooked easily in the broths. The presentation of the meats are social media friendly as the cuts are laid out on the serving platter well. lol

Shabuya is a great Shabu experience option that has something for everyone. When out of town visitors ask for a meal that they don't have back home, Shabuya is on my list of places to take...