By far my favorite AYCE Shabu in San Diego. Truly a gem. The aesthetic of the restaurant is beautiful. Every self service station was always filled and kept clean. Service was beyond amazing. Our service was very attentive as well as everyone else. What I really liked about the place was the wide variety of soup options, veggies, seafood, sauces and unlimited drinks/dessert. My boyfriend and I ordered the sukiyaki (sweet soy broth) and Mongolian broth (spicy broth). Both carried a ton of flavor and paired very well with all the meat choices. Meat was brought out freshly sliced. Every meat selection was very tender and felt like a buttery texture in your mouth. My favorite spot so far!

This place is absolutely fantastic! The service? Lightning fast and super friendly. The waiters? Totally on the ball. The ambiance? Buzzing and jam-packed with people. No wonder it's so popular! And the food? Simply divine. Tons of meat options, and the wagyu? Out of this world!

Shabu works is located off the 15 freeway with a decent sized parking lot. When you walk in, you'll see a vegetable bar, noodle bar, sauce bar with a soda fountain and a bing su station. Once seated, you can order from their list of broths and meats. It does get pretty busy during dinner time but luckily you can add your name to the waitlist before arriving to the restaurant.

I haven't been to Shabu Works in quite a while so I decided to come in on a weekday for dinner. It wasn't too crowded and the waiting was only 20 min. They have a hot bar of buffet foods as well as a self serve station for noodles, tofu veggies and seafood. The sauce bar and shaved ice bingsoo bar were less impressive than I remembered but still delicious. The soft drinks are also free which was cool because most places charge extra for drinks. We were a party of 3 and were allowed to order up to 3 meats per round. We tried a bit of every cut, but to be honest, we couldn't tell what was what. There were definitely some favorites amongst the meat options but I couldn't tell which one it was on the menu. I also noticed that we never got refills on broth and the servers kind of walk past you when you want to order more meat. You really have to be intentional and have them come over. They didn't stop by and offer. Overall, good place to go if you're feeling all you can eat!

My boyfriend and I went to this place for a random dinner one evening during our anniversary trip, and it did not disappoint! Highly recommend that if you're going on a Friday or Saturday night to join the wait list from home. We joined the waitlist 20 minutes prior to arriving, and we were able to get seated within 10 minutes of arriving. It is AYCE, and I will say that the meats were so amazing. They tasted so fresh and tender. We ended up getting the sukiyaki and Mongolian, but the Mongolian was extremely salty... I also wish this place would have a Tom Yum type soup base, think that would give it a 5 star rating! The vegetable selection was a little slim in comparison to other AYCE places, but we were happy with what we got. We loved the sauce bar selection, which included options of different chilis (that's a staple for us at AYCE hot pot). What topped this place off was the bingsu station! I do wish they had like grass jelly or black boba options, but the red bean and condensed milk combo was AMAZING! Overall, we enjoyed our dinner and came out full!

Came here for a Saturday lunch 12:30PM after my sister and friend raved about this place. We were seated right away and found parking easily. Service was attentive and friendly. I loved the buffet style so we can grab our own veggies, seafood, sauces, hot foods, and unlimited soft drinks and teas. Even a bingsu station! For the price (~$37 AYCE per person), it was great quality and I definitely recommend it. Will definitely be coming back :)

Great food and service! Our fave soup base were garlic miso tonkotsu and the mongolian. Come in for your birthday and get a free meal :)

Located near sharetea in the lower plaza where chuck-e-cheese & Trader Joe's is. Pretty large place and plenty of seating. Service is good, our waiter was very attentive. Hot pot here is solid. We always get the split pot, our favorite broth's are the Mongolian, sukiyaki, It is AYCE, you order your meat and everything else is self serve, including bingsu (shaved snow). The AYCE price also includes drinks. Free AYCE on your exact birthday with ID as well.

For the SD folks or visiting friends, if you're ever in the mood for shabu, this is the place to go. I was very impressed by the sauce bar. Some are house made and super unique. It's build your own make your own. So if you like it more spicy then go ahead load on the chili sauce. They have a mini hot food section. The veggie station. Carbs station. Seafood station. Drinks station. And a bingsu station for dessert! Soup broths are super tasty and flavorful. Also lots of choices to choose from. Meat quality is superb.

Out of the many hotpot restaurants in San Diego, Shabu-Works is among one of the strongest choices for AYCE shabu. The selection of soup bases is unique, and they have a variety of protein options with meat, seafood, and tofu. We went for the dinner portion (currently $36.95 per person), and we celebrated a birthday, so their meal was free! Ages 12 and under do get a lower price as well as $3 off for seniors. The service was spot on. Our plates were off the table after each round. Our broth was constantly refilled. I'd go for one mild broth and one spicy if you are deciding. We got the Spicy Tokyo and Garlic Miso Tonkatsu. I'd say the Tokyo spice was mainly made with togarashi flakes, those ground chili flakes that you see in Japanese ramen. I liked the Garlic Miso Tonkatsu better as it went well with all my choice of toppings. We didn't have to wait to order more or flag anyone down as it was especially busy in the evening which makes the experience and service unbeatable. I did like the assortment of vegetables and seafood at the bar and their teas. Everyone at the table enjoyed the winter melon tea! It was refreshing after all the savoriness. The bingsu bar had plenty of toppings but hard to reach a side of it because it is blocked off by another counter. Although traditional bingsu is milk based, I'll take anything to cool off the hotpot! I'd go here every once in a while, as hotpot is a big meal, especially when it is AYCE!