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I went to Shabusen for lunch. It's like $13 per person for all you can eat (sushi + Korean BBQ). After you add HST, it's about $14.55 per person + tips. I have to say this lunch is definitely worth it.
Food: It's fresh enough. Nothing tastes bad or bothers you. I like chicken and spicy pork for BBQ. The beef slices for BBQ might not be the best quality of meat. But they are Ok. There's a limit on sashimi (8 pieces per person) but it's fine by me. I was busy working on BBQ anyway. There's other stuff you might want to order and work on. Some side dishes are great like tempura and croquette. Sushi and sashimi are decent and fresh enough.
Service: It's fast enough. They are very polite. I am grateful for their politeness because I have seen many mean servers at other restaurants that make me not want to return. It's such a breeze of fresh air that there are good servers at Shabusen.
Value: Well, it's all you can eat. You will never leave there hungry or half full. You get to have Korean BBQ and sushi at the same time. The quality of food is good enough. Some tastes pretty good and some are average.
Ambiance: I like the seating arrangement a lot. You get to sit next to the big window and look outside. The tables are not too close to each other. So it's not cramped and you have full privacy. People at the next table won't even be able to hear your conversation unless you are loud. I like the big space a lot because there's so many cramped restaurants in Vancouver that make me miserable. It's nice to be in a restaurant that they are not stingy about space.
Over all, I had a great dining experience. $14.55 can't get you a lot of varieties and food in most restaurants in Vancouver. But you can get both here plus good service and decent seating. It's really worth your money.
PS: This review is based on whether the quality reflects the price or not. I don't use fine dining standard to pick apart any inexpensive restaurant.
The only times I come here are because of birthday celebrations. It's a bustling large place but not necessarily good for large groups as you're likely relegated into their seemingly shrinking booths where you are basted in the surrounding aromas and smoke.
Going for the BBQ you tick off a list of all the raw stuff you want. We always load up on the meats since there never seems to be enough of it and much of it that doesn't end up on the plates ends up getting burnt or falls through the grill. The grills can't seem to handle the load over the course of a meal and always feel like it runs out of steam before we're satisfied.
Service gets amazingly slower with each visit. Considering much of the items on the menu need not be cooked it sure takes a long time for it to come out of the kitchen. There are considerable lengths of time between orders and when they do come it's a mad rush to clear the area where the server is setting down all the little dishes. It's not unusual for a server to forget some items so count on it. What's worse than the service is the short 1.5hrs time given for your table to finish your meal and much of the time is spent waiting for your food to come. There doesn't seem to be a strategy to get around the slow service. Often I do come out full but never a satisfied feeling.
Not much value considering the slug-like service and having to cook your own food all in a short allotted time slot. I don't mind as it can be a fun time done sparingly (once a year thing) but not on a regular basis.
Went there with 10 other girls and we had the all-you-can-eat korean bbq and all food items came out tasting great and fresh. Sashimi was plentiful (didn't see any type of limit), tempura was average, spring rolls were nothing special, korean bbq items were good, rolls were good, oyster motoyakis and chopped scallop cones kept disappearing from the table so they must have been good. Overall a great filling night.
We had reservations for 8 but didn't get seated until about 8:20 which was fine because a few of our party were running late. Really packed at the door and tables could not be set up fast enough. Service was decent since it was difficult to flag someone down for ordering sheets, to hand in ordering sheets, to order pop, etc and it took a long time to get our teapot refilled.
Ambiance was great but a little smoky since all of the bbqs were up and running. Came out smelling like bbq so def. can't be in an intimate situation after eating here! It's a little expensive but it's worth it since there are no limits on sashimi and the menu is quite extensive.
I was skeptical of my visit here but wanted to try it since I had read that this location was better than the Burrard one. My Burrard experience wasn't great and after being served Salmon fishheads / tail for their bbq salmon dish, I vowed never to return. As it turns out, the Granville location is much better.
The food was pretty good, the sushi and kitchen items are comparable to what you get at Tanpopo. Its about the same price at $12 for a limited all you can eat lunch menu. The tuna sashimi was a little better than I expected, with good sized chunks, served cold and fresh. They limit you to 8 pieces per person, which is plenty if you ask me. The service was prompt but it wasn't overly busy. The value is great considering the amount of food I ate for 12 bucks.
Great variety for all-you-can-eat bbq + sushi (or bbq+hotpot). Always busy, always fresh, always friendly! Call-in for reservations! Avoid the walk-in line-ups! Be punctual or arrive a little early!
Just don't ever ever visit the Burrard downtown location. God awful in service and food.
I am a lover of Shabusen and would highly recommend it to anybody who loves fine Japanese cuisine and Korean Barbeque.
Though not a fan of sushi myself, I can still comfortably say that Shabusen offers a wide variety of well-priced maki rolls, lunch boxes, and sashimi. The Korean Barbeque is also great and lots of fun, offering enormous, tasty portions during the dinner service. You get a little less during lunch, but luckily the All You Can Eat prices during the lunch hour are more than fair at $13 dollars per person.
The wait staff are all very friendly, but the restaurant can get very busy. A little understaffed in my opinion, so sometimes people can seem very focused or look irritated. During the busier hours they can also tend to forget menial things like your drink or refilling your water, but a quick reminder usually does the trick and I have yet to encounter any problems with not receiving something that I have ordered.
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCED. On Friday nights or Saturdays, the restaurant is usually booked solid by noon, so make your reservations early.
GO VISIT SHABUSEN. GO VISIT NOW.
Food ServiceAmbiance
We're absolutely crazy about Shabusen.
It seems every month or every other month, we will end up at the Shabusen on Granville or Robson at least once for all you can eat. We go so often because of the combination of AYCE sushi AND korean bbq. While their sushi isn't vastly better than any of the other AYCE places in the lower mainland, it's the korean bbq that really cinches it. They have a good choice of meats to choose from, spicy lamb, spicy chicken, and beef short ribs being some of my favorites. On top of that you can opt for shabu-shabu (hot pot) as well if you're a large party with multiple grills. What a great way to experience 3 different meals in one! It's really great value for good quality and the same price as regular AYCE sushi places.
The place is always ALWAYS packed, so make sure you call ahead to make a reservation. Don't be afraid to be seated at the sushi bar, as you get your order quickly (directly from the sushi makers) that way. We will definitely be back many times, no matter how long the wait is.
Went there on a Sat night and agree, you need a reservation. good thing we did and were seated right away in one of the booth/rooms. The orders were quickly filled and nothing seemed to be missing. Good service with prompt clearing of dishes, grill replacment etc. The only thing is that the air did not seem to circulate as it gets quite stuffy due to the grilling.
If you;re looking for a place to eat when you;re very hungry... You should hit Shabusen. Great deal only if you can eat alot. Lots of selections including sashimi or even hot pot.Salad bar is lacking but overall the food was great. Call in advance for reservations or you can end up waiting for 30 mins plus like we did.
I would say this location is much better than the other in many ways. The food is fresher/better, they offer a salad bar as well (nice to get some veggies). The service is a lot better here too. This location isn't as squeezed together and tightly packed as the Burrard location.
I've been to the Granville location a couple of times and it has alway been a good experience. Don't look here for fine dining, but just decent food and loads of it. If you're looking for all you can eat cuisine, this place is number 1.
You fill out what you want on a piece of paper and simply give it to the server so there's no confusion. Though it's more impersonal, this method's better for this type of all you can eat as it makes it alot easier for larger parties to sort out what to get.
There's a parking lot with free parking downstairs, so parking's not too much of a problem. There was also a parking guy watching over the small lot while I was there today.
I've been here many times in the last year. The place is great value for money. The food has always been good, even if the service ranges from nothing special to poor. I really like the bibimbap here as it comes in the proper hot stone pot and isn't too oily. I never have done the all you can eat thing, but others I have been with have gone for that and they were satisfied.
I heard that Shabusen is pretty popular and I don't know why.
Came here w/ my family and a visitor and we ordered a bunch of regular menu Jap food. Everything was OK, nothing wow. I just couldn't understand why it's so busy there! I could easily go to any regular Jap restaurant for that quality and taste.
Maybe they have good Korean bbq?
I am a big fan of AYCE Japanese places & I am glad I got introduced to this place.
The ambiance is better than most as it's decor is sophisticated in its colours, there are plants that compliment and it has great natural lighting.
The value of $22 per person on dinners is excellent because unlike other AYCE places, it allows for unlimited sashimi which is a huge plus for me. It also inclues unlimited bbq korean meat and the servings aren't skimpy either.The only downside I can comment on is the lack of desserts on the menu, only one in fact.
Service-wise I think there is a lot of room for improvement. The staff doesnt seem very dedicated or friendly into helping you and when our 2 hours was up they didnt show any qualms about letting us know.
The food itself is what you can expect from AYCE. The presentation is nice, the variety is plentiful and the portions are solid. Although there is no memorable dishes and nothing I couldn't get same somewhere else.
To conclude,it's a good place for parties, family dinners or if you are super hungry after an activity.
Came here for dinner with a party of 4 on tuesday night and was surpised to see that it was quite busy. Last visit to this location must have been over 10 yrs ago. Had the ayce sushi and korean bbq for 21.95 per person. Food was solid although some more selection of sashimi and nigri sush would have been nice but for the price, no complaints. The quality of the sushi however was decent but could be more fresh. The cooked food on the other hand was good especially the tempura (no shrimp tho, just yam and veggie). Service was ok since it was a busy night. We had to ask for our waters 3x and still didn't get it. Not a fan of ayce in general but this place is not bad.
We have been coming to Shabusen for years and after all this time they have been able to maintain the quality (and quantity) of food.
We usually go for the "all you can eat" which includes u-grill Korean BBQ items and a copious selection of fresh sushi and salad items. They also have a la carte menu selections available as well.
The service is pretty good especially for such a busy place. You just select what you would like and the quantity, fill out your card and give it to the server. The dishes come out quickly.
The quality of the sushi fish is really great and the BBQ beef, ribs and chicken are always well marinated.
Compared to other all you can eat Korean BBQ places this place rocks and everyone should visit at least once.
Prices are decent for what you get:
Dinner All You Can Eat: $23.95/person
Lunch All You Can Eat: $13.95/person
The standard all you can eat place, one of my favorites and more contistant I find. We had a reso for 530 pm on saturday night and by 615pm the place was packed.
I also notice that the rolls may be prerolled but they are always fresh tasting and the perfect temperature. The dinner menu has fantastic value for the price. Variety of a la carte dishes, rolls and sashimi, the main event is always the Korean BBQ which is just fantastic.
As far as food this time was absolutley delcious, the sashimi was great as were all the rolls we had. For 6 of us we definalty got ur moneys worth. For the BBQ we ordered shrimp, lamb chops, beef ribs and chicken. Mid grilling we asked to change the grill for a clean one and it was no problem at all. There is also a self serve salad bar that some people tried - they said it was okay. I avoided it.
The space is big and offers a variety of seating. The washrooms are typical for the type of place, clean enough.
Overall we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The service was good. They definalty don't ask "how was everything" or the other typical server questions, I appreciate it though, all you need is right in front of you, they come around often enough with either food or to pick up plates so you can use that as the opportunity to get more tea, water, wasabi or whatever else. So to say that the service is horrible is inaccurate - there is no service really they drop off food and then leave. What more do you want.
Again, overall a great place for ayce and bbq and one of the better places in the city where you can stuff your face full of generic japanese food.
My wife and I went to this restaurant on Friday afternoon for lunch. We noticed that there were several tables available but the host stated that they were reserved. So we ended up sitting at the sushi bar. It was quite enlightening watching how the sushi was being made. We ordered several sushis, Korean Bar-B-Q and sashimi. The sashimi was excellent. Granted we had a limit of 8 per person, the salmon sashimi was large and tasty. The sushi was fresh and came in a timely manner. The Korean Bar-B-Q was delicious, there was a fair amount of meat at our end of the bar. All the meats was marrinated perfectly but the beef was the most tender and flavourful. The service was prompt and attentive. I was very impressed with the treatment overall. It is much better than the Burrard counterpart. I would highly recommend this place for lunch. I am looking forward to trying the dinner menu.
Had dinner there on Friday Mar. 21st. Found teriyaki beef in Box A was just barely warm, chicken in Box B was the same. The tempura in both boxes was soggy and just lukewarm. It seemed that the food had been cooked/heated up ahead of time and then kept warm for a while before serving it. It didn't seem like it was cooked to order like it should have been. The beef was more like boiled beef in texture instead of quick fried. The quality of your successful restaurant should not be compromised with shortcuts in the kitchen.
I've been to this location several times in the past couple of years. Always fast service, and decent all-you-can-eat for the price.
Food - OK. I really enjoy the Korean BBQ items. Other than that, everything else is pretty average. Sushi is pre-made and quality can vary greatly, depending on the night and chef working.
Service - Always very fast and friendly. Not very personable, but what else can you expect from an all-you-can-east restaurant? Their main goal is to get you fed and get you out.
Ambiance - Absolutely love the BBQ in the middle of the table. Never, ever gets old for me. Decor could use an update.
Recommended. Fast and decent all-you-can-eat for the price.
| 1. | Burrard (2.9 km) |  |
| 1. | Caffe Barney (10 m) | |
| 2. | Bean Around The World (11 m) | |
| 3. | Kyo Korean BBQ & Sushi House (18 m) |  |
| 4. | Luke's Corner Kitchen & Bar (24 m) |  |
| 5. | Meinhardt Fine Foods (40 m) | |
| 6. | Phoscao Cafe (45 m) |  |
| 7. | Picnic (57 m) | |
| 8. | Ouisi Bistro (67 m) | |
| 9. | West Restaurant + Bar (104 m) | |
| 10. | Cafe Crepe (112 m) | |
