I have never been to a hot pot restaurant before but it was great! I got the spicy Szechuan broth and it was so delicious! I got the seafood one and it came with a lot of vegetables. I also got the udon. Friendly and...fast service!More

We often explore Chinatown when we visit Boston and Shabu Zen is one of our favorite stops. This is traditional Japanese hot pot. You sit at a lunch-type counter and a broth of your choice is boiled at your station. Lots of offerngs - various...grades of beef, lamb, and vegs. You drop in bits of food, and then enjoy with the various sauces they offer. Not fancy, always crowded and lots of fun. We were there on a day when characters in dragon costumes marched thrugh the restaurant. Pics attachedMore

Service and food quality here deserve 5 stars. Don't forget the Yelp waitlist tool to make reservations. With traffic and finding parking the staff were great at accommodating us. This place is not AYCE. The top 3 broths that we enjoyed were the miso, kim...chi and tom yum. Definitely recommend getting the 3 broth pot so you can get the best of both worlds. The appetizers here are no joke. We loved the gyoza, spicy edamame, and the baby octopus. We kept ordering the prime grade beef combo, prime beef tongue and sirloin. Its the qualify here that sets the bar. The meats don't come out frozen and the veggies are fresh and crisp. You do spend more than your typical AYCE, but you leave not feeling sluggish. I recommend trying to get here early and getting seated in the middle dining area. They do feature drink specials sometimes so its best maybe to dine on those days if you plan on drinking. I'll definitely be back to try their other broths and their premium A5 wagyu.More

We came to this restaurant because it was highly ranked on Trip Advisor. It was amazing Shabu! The broths were delicious, and the meat was perfect. The amount of food was perfect; my husband and I got individual items (mixed meat for me, surf and...turf for him), while our daughter and her boyfriend split the large Rib eye meal. We got a bottle of plum wine that had 6-7 while plums at the bottom of the bottle. It was yummy. A variety of mochi finished off the meal perfectly. I would highly recommend this place e for shabu shabu!More

I'd be confident in saying, my girlfriend and I have been to Shabu Zen 100 times now.... This is coming from someone who doesn't like to visit the same place twice.. Shabu Zen has a place in our heart, with the friendliest servers in Boston...and some of the simplest, yet tastiest food available in the city, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Shabu Zen to anyone looking for Hot Pot and a great dining experience. We visited on Chinese New Year and had dragons accompany us for dinner!! Special shoutout to Hung, thank you for always looking after us! See you soon :)More

Went there with my wife. We ordered the meat combo with the Chinese spice broth. The broth was delicious and the portion was very big. Overall we enjoyed sitting there, it is a great place for a cold day. It is a little too expensive...for what we got in my opinion, thats the only reason to take one star....More

Great Chinese. Really enjoyed cooking our own foods in the broth. Great for a dinner party with friends. Highly recommended

This is not just a meal. It is an experience. Lovely staff who explained the finer points of how to do hot pot correctly. Fair prices. Relaxing atmosphere.

This is quite an experience in itself. The food and the concept is amazing. We had never done a hot pot meal. Brilliant !!! The food is beautifully cut and fresh. Such flavours and everyone chooses what they want. Wow! Just come in here. You...know when all the locals are here it’s going to be great and it was. The service our waiter all so so good. CheersMore

Had a business dinner here, and the quality of the meat/broth really impressed me. A regular sized plate of meat per person ended up not quite enough, so go for the jumbo size. Pleasantly surprised that the spicy szechuan broth was spicy but not OMG-I-want-to-pass-out...spicy, it was quite nice, and delicious. 5/5 would go again on my next trip to Boston!More

My colleague and I picked this place based on its Trip reviews, and we weren't disappointed. They have a mix of bar and counter seating and tables -- the tables were full so we took a couple of seats at the counter. Service was prompt...and responsive. We both got the short rib and ribeye combo -- I picked the Szechuan sauce, my colleague the Miso. I can't speak for the miso (though he ended up using mine!), but the Szechuan was delicious! Spicy and tangy with the peppercorn buzz. The meat was of excellent quality and the mix of vegetables good. I had vermicelli to complement my shabu-shabu. Prices weren't cheap but given the quality of the meat I can't complain. We ended up splitting a third large portion of ribeye -- so you way want to start with jumbo portions if you have an appetite. Great meal, we were both full and happy, highly recommended.More

Great ambience! Friendly and quick service. Food fresh and reasonably portioned. - not too much, not too small.