Tabu Shabu - Thousand Oaks — Restaurant in Thousand Oaks

This restaurant is TERRIBLE.

TL:DR - miserable staff, long wait for food, tiny portions and they apparently don't know how to prepare white rice.

First of all, the service was atrocious. All the staff seemed miserable and cranky. It took 45 minutes to get our food. Mind you, the food is RAW, you do the cooking. So WHY did it take so long? When we complained about the wait, they told us there were untrained staff in the kitchen.

Next, the serving sizes are ridiculously small. We've been to Shabu Shabu all over LA. Tabu has the worst portion sizes of any of them by far. It's a joke. Also, the salmon is sliced so thin, it falls apart in the broth and is impossible to eat. Lastly, the beef was served on a plate in a pile, which made it difficult to pull apart the slices in order to cook them.

The white rice we got served was literal mush. It was disgusting. When I pointed that out to the server, he said, "yeah, we've been working getting that fixed for SIX MONTHS!" You're a Japanese restaurant and you haven't figured out how to make white rice in six months?!? That should tell you everything you need to know about Tabu Shabu right there.

STAY AWAY. There are MUCH better Shabu Shabu...

I wouldn’t recommend this place to my worst enemy. Horrible service Meat selection/quality is sub par at best price is extremely expensive for 1 bowl of food the amount they give you Isn’t what is promised, especially after you cook it. The 1/2lb is like 10 thin slices of meat for $40. If you want sides of more it’s like $3 per slice which is absurd considering you can go to Shabuya all you can eat shabu with better service and better meat for $35 we never complained about their trash unorganized service but then proceeded to complain about our tipping that they didn’t deserve at all. We waited for 15mins for them to bring veggies out and another 10-15min for them to bring raw meat to our table, no prep needed and they still lagged. TIP means To Insure Proper service. There was none. Looking at how they unorganized they were with servers I could only imagine how the kitchen looks and how the meat is handled. I wouldn’t be shocked if they don’t use gloves or hairnets. I’m almost willing to bet $ on it. Don’t come here unless you’re willing to spend $60 for 10slices of thin meat, rice & 1 round of veggies...

Saw this place across the street when I was at Badass Tacos, so I decided to come in for dinner. It was Saturday night and there were only 3 seats open, which we took. There are mostly high chairs, but there a couple low chairs if you need accessible seating. The service was solid. Our waiter and the waitress that came around were clearly knowledgeable about shabu shabu and the menu offerings, providing their recommendations during ordering and tips as we started cooking. The staff really got us excited about the experience. The quality of the meat was what you pay for here, so don't be scared off by the high prices. The wagyu and salmon were quality cuts and tasted fresh. The vegetables were crisp, and if you asked, there servers were really accommodating of dietary restrictions and requests. The rice was perfectly cooked too. They have their beer license, and the beer on draft tasted fresh. The meal was expensive, but well worth it. The only area of improvement would be the broth, as it could be a bit more flavorful. Tabu Shabu is definitely a unique new spot in Westlake Village, and I'd definitely...