Sapporo Ramen & Shabu-Shabu

My wife and I love this place. We’ve been regulars since it opened and had never tried shabu shabu before coming here. We love it. The shabu shabu is great. The ramen is also amazing. The happy hour prices are so so cheap!!! Give it a try. You might fall in love with it like we did.

I’ve never left a restaurant so upset! If there was an option for less than one star, I’d give this place that! From the food to the service, everything was one of the worst experiences I’ve had. Ever.
A couple of my friends and I decided to grab a bite to eat before heading home. We were in the area and so we decided to give this place a shot. My first mistake was not checking the reviews before going. We walked into what appeared to be a nice looking, clean, promising restaurant. Wow was I wrong
We were seated at a table and we’re provided our menus. I always go through the menu and check for offerings that don’t have pork due to my dietary and religious constructions. I found a seafood Ramen that looked promising and had no mention of pork and so I ordered it.
The Ramen came out and I dug ini first had some of the noodles which looked and tasted like cup of noodles Ramen and I felt that something was not quite right. I figured it was maybe the overcooked noodles. Then I had some of the broth and again for a sense that something was not quite right. That’s when I stopped and went to look for the waiters as they disappeared somewhere in the back and hadn’t been to our table to check on us since we got our meals. I asked what they used as the broth since I got this overwhelming feeling that there may be pork in the broth. And I WAS RIGHT! I couldn’t believe that they used a pork base in a seafood Ramen! Worse yet, there was absolutely no mention of this on the menu! And to add insult to injury, the waiter began justifying this by saying that I should have asked what the base was. Are you kidding me??? Oh, and the best part is that he finished by saying that they have other broth options including vegetable and chicken and I should have asked them for a different base! Thanks genius, next time I’ll magically know you use pork broth when it’s written no where and ask for your other broth in my seafood Ramen
It’s quite upsetting that in a place where people are so diverse and have so many different religious and health constrictions, restaurants that are new and are catering to the mass demographic don’t disclose what’s in their meals. It’s awful and disgusting and I would never recommend this place to anyone

There are so many better places to get ramen that this should be your last resort if you’re feenin’ for some ramen. It’s actually probably the worst ramen I’ve ever had. My boyfriend got the pork ramen and I got the chicken ramen. The chicken was tough and stringy and weird and the broth tasted off. It was my boyfriend’s first time eating ramen and he thought it was okay, but then I took him to another ramen spot a few weeks later to show him good ramen and he went, «Oh yeah, that last place wasn’t even close.»
I will say that the service was good. The place wasn’t very busy because it was a Wednesday evening, so that may have helped. But the server was attentive without being overbearing and our food came out hot and in a timely fashion.
The last thing is that while the restaurant looked very clean, the women’s bathroom was nasty. I don’t think they’ve ever mopped the floor in there ever. The whole bathroom just looked gross. We won’t be going here again.

My favorite restaurant in Glendale… We come here all the time! Both the shabu shabu and ramen are great! Plus you can’t beat the happy hour.

Found this place by accident on Christmas and couldn’t have been happier. Very cool atmosphere and people. Friendly servers/​chefs. Prices were so cheap. I ate by myself and didn’t feel weird at all. The holiday games were on TV. But here’s the part you all want to hear, the food. I ordered the butter specialty. It was so so good. I was slurping away. I ordered a beer expecting a small one and to my surprise got a HUGE Sapporo. I was already 6 margaritas down so I could barely finish the food and beer but did. I walked 10 miles wasted back to where I was staying on cloud nine. My feet were bleeding because I lost my shoes, but it was worth it

Came here for ramen and udon on New Year’s Day. We ordered the fried chicken ramen and a medium vegetable shabu. Both were delicious and the veggie shabu was perfect. TONS of vegetables, udon, tofu, etc, and rice and dipping sauces for $ 15. If everyone ordered a rice, this could feed two or three people, and it’s easily vegan and pretty healthy! With the great service, huge portions, and cheap house hot sake, Sapporo is a new favorite!

Exquisite food and excellent service! Ramen is highly recommended. My wife and I will definitely be back. Food came promptly. Very clean.

I was craving for ramen so I made a quick stop here. The place is pretty big with a big rectangular circle in the middle filled with burners for you to make Shabu Shabu. They also had regular seating if you didn’t want to be around the big rectangle seating.
The place was very clean, well lit and really nice servers. I started with the following:
Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura ($ 8) — It was good but I don’t understand why the shrimp and the vegetables had different batter. The shrimp was very thick and doughy and the vegetable batter was very light and airy. Maybe the shrimp was already pre battered. Next time I will only get the vegetable tempura.
Miso Ramen ($ 9) — It was good but in a very small bowl. I’m used to big bowls with lots of noodles, meat, veggies and hearty broth.
When I go next time, I’ll try the Shabu Shabu, I’ll just stick to Nippon Ramen for my ramen fix.

Always great service and amazing food!
Never had any issues there, it’s always a friendly staffed place that caters to what we need.

I loved the Chicken Ramen!!! Delish!!! Left room for dessert… perfect end to a yummy dinner!!!

The service was alright and the food was lacking.
Personally, the service was good, but I did notice another party that has to ask twice for their beer and had onions in their ramen although they specified for none.
The food was very ordinary.
–SHRIMP TEMPURA RAMEN: It tasted like any basic ramen out there, nothing to rave about. The tempura I didn’t like very much because of the way they made it. I usually always order shrimp tempura at other Japanese restaurants and these weren’t even close.
–SHABU SHABU: My friend ordered the spicy miso pork broth with one of the cheaper priced meats. (I forgot, sorry) The meat and the broth was pretty good, but compare it to other restaurants… ordinary. It did have a good portion, though, and they do have small-​extra large portions of meat.
–SETTING: it’s cute! Has mirrors on one wall to give it the «bigger than it actually is» effect

This review is currently for the ramen only – I haven’t tried the shabu yet. I’ve been here twice now and thought the ramen was decent, but not great. The spicy miso tasted a little too close to instant packet ramen which was a little alarming, but the other ramens I tried were better.
I’ve read a lot of good reviews here regarding the shabu so I probably have to give that a shot and update this review in the future. Unfortunately, even with the dismal state of ramen in Glendale, Sapporo was not able to stand out for me a place I’d go to for ramen – even if highly convenient. I would highly recommend this restaurant take an effort in improving their ramen, as there is literally zero competition in this city.
The service is good, the restaurant is clean and tidy, and the parking is relatively easy on the street. The location is great as well! Looking forward to see how good their shabu shabu is.

Overall, it’s a decent place to get Shabu. I’ve had better but I did leave quite satisfied with my meal and the overall experience.
The Good:
–I liked the Lean Kobe and Beef Chuck!
–Service was pretty good overall for our check, extra rice, water, etc
–Easy 90 minute free parking structure nearby
–Place is relatively clean
–I eating Shabu in the booths vs my usual place at the bar, easy to control your own heat
–Good variety of noodles and veggies on the veggie plates
–Dipping sauces were decent
The Needs-​Improvement:
–Free Red bean ice cream tastes like a mix between chocolate and cherry, but not red bean
–Brown rice is a dollar more? LAME
–The Satay BBQ flavored soup is not worth it for the $ 3
–My Shabu pot had barely enough water to cover my broccoli (not enough water)
It was a ok deal with my discount voucher but I’d be hard pressed to come back and spend full price.

We’ve tried this place at least three times.
Personally it’s not at the top of my list of ramen joints.
It’s not the kind of taste I’ve gotten used to.
However, my gf seems to like it here, hence the three visits.
Their pork ramen bowl was ok.
I’ve had it three times, & those three times, the pork was tough for ramen standards.
The broth didn’t taste like any ramen broth I’ve gotten accustomed to.
So yes…
Nothing to rave about.
Nothing special.
Nothing exceptional.
It was so that, well I forgot the name of it! (the ramen bowl I had)
That speaks volumes.
So yeah it’s just ok.
If not for my gf, one visit here would have been enough.

Great price for the amount of food you get at this Shabu place. We definitely ordered a lot of food, but was able to finish all of it. A friend and I went on a Monday night, and it was slow when we arrived around 7 but people started flocking in after us. We were seated at the bar since they only have 4 booths and all were being used. I like the vibe of the restaurant. Very bright and open.
We started off with the Seaweed Salad, Edamame, and Vegetable Tempura. They were good, except the Edamame didn’t seem so fresh. I had the Shabu with Japanese curry flavoring, the large Short Ribs, and a side order of Ramen. The Shabu order came with vegetables, and a bowl of rice. Everything was good. My favorite is the peanut sauce for dipping. I also tried some of my friends Lean Kobe Beef. As usual Japanese food is never has enough flavoring or spices for me so I always dip everything in the Siracha sauce, or anything with a kick to it.
There were only 2 staff members waiting on everyone in the restaurant. They did a decent job as it seems that they were a bit short staff… probably wasn’t expecting people this late. I think what did slow them down was the idiot across the bar from me asking 10,000 questions. Not only did he want to know about everything on the menu, he also wanted to know how to eat it after getting his food. I’m guessing the waiter spent 15 – 20 minutes answering his questions.
Parking is not free in the area. I believe it’s $.75/​hour on Brand Blvd. Not sure what the price is for the parking lots located between the alley.
I got the Groupon deal, paid $ 15 for $ 25 worth of food.
Check in on Unilocal & get a free scoop of ice cream.
Definitely worth giving this place a try.

Came here for lunch. I ordered the chicken katsu plate and my mom ordered the porkchop plate. It tasted good! Wasn’t that busy. The waitsr and Server were so prompt in ordering and delivering the food and drinks and always checked on us! This place is good. The restaraunt looked pretty, the bathroom is pretty! And if you order ramen they have a specials eating where the put the ramen on top of an electric stove I suppose to to keep it warm! Thats awesome!
When you come here check in on Unilocal you get a free ice cream!

If you’re in the market for Shabu-​Shabu and/​or Ramen in Glendale, then this may just be the spot for you! Came here on a Saturday afternoon with my family and was surprised that it was completely empty.
Con’s: The restaurant is on Brand Blvd so parking is a little tricky. Prices are a bit high. Not good for large parties since they only have booths. If you have a party of more than 4 you’ll be stuck sitting at the counter.
Pro’s: If you can’t find street parking there is a parking garage adjacent to the restaurant. The restaurant itself is very clean. Despite being located on Brand Blvd it was not busy at all. They have different types of broth to choose from. The waiter comes by frequently to adjust the heat so you don’t over cook your food.
Overall it was a pleasant experience. Would I go back there again? Probably not. I’ve been to several other Shabu-​shabu spots that had more to offer with their menu than this place.

I came here using a Groupon, and to verify that I could use the deal anytime, I called them. The lady on the phone said it was fine to use the deal for lunch. I found out after I sat down that the deal was for dinner only, but the dinner prices/​portions were capable of being served at lunchtime. But the guy who served us was initially very hesitant to let us sit there and eat. I knew that even though I misread the deal, it wasn’t a big deal to give us dinner prices/​portions. After disputing this with the staff he agreed to let us eat at the dinner prices and portions. It was uncomfortable because it was as if he thought we would scam him by using the deal with lunch prices. Duh, I’m not dumb!
The food was good and the meat portions were plenty. The broth prices are a bit lame. For the plain broth it was just water and standard price. However, if you want flavor, which we did, it would cost $ 3 more per pot.
The server was friendlier throughout our meal so the customer service was decent. But when we came at opening time, he was not ready. A kitchen staff had to entertain us and seat us and get us water while the server took his time to get ready.
Because of this whole awkward experience I was not ashamed to use my check in deal to get a free scoop of ice cream. We got the red bean ice cream which was better than the ice cream we usually get at other Asian restaurants.
If the prices were more reasonable and the staff were more friendly, we may consider patronizing this restaurant again. But based on this experience, I can safely say we will not return, even if we had a deal.

MAHHHHHH ive tried a lot of places better than this place. The thing that does stand out to me and why their prices are probably higher than others is because is the meat quality. … (the beef is all USDA Certified)
I got the House Pork Belly Ramen and the boyfriend got the Miso Ramen. The Miso broth was on the sweeter side and the pork belly ramen had the authentic ramen flavor. Like others have said, the flavoring is more mild than salty which is fine, but nothing really stood out about the broth.
THAT PORK BELLY THO– was probably the best pork belly ive had with my ramen in my life. I LOVED IT! It was cooked PERFECTLY!
I didnt get the hotpot cause the pictures on Unilocal didnt really tickle my pickle and it honestly looked quite similar to the broth used for the ramen (not sure tho) and I wanted noodles
If you order the shabu (hot pot) notice that itll be $ 3.99 for the flavored broth + the type of meat you want. This is normal for fusion shabu restaurants to charge seperately for the broth and meat.
Services was good, server was extremely nice and attentative and the resturant itself was designed nicely. Only confusing thing is right when you walk in you see a ASAHI beer led light but this place is called Sapporo! JUST SAYING… a little confusing. LOL

Nothing beats shabu shabu and ramen on a rainy day!
Came here with a group of friends this past Sunday for dinner after an outing and we were seated promptly after making reservations for 10. A majority of the seating were bar seats so make reservations early if you come with a large party! I love how Sapporo serves ramen AND shabu shabu! There’s so many options on the menu so there was something for everyone.
I opted for the shabu shabu and wasn’t disappointed. I shared a XL entrée of lean Kobe beef (23.99) which comes with one bowl of rice and veggie platter. On the side we also ordered an extra bowl of rice ($ 1), small entrée of pork ($ 6.99), and added flavored miso broth for an additional $ 3. This was enough for both of us and we were pretty full by the end of the meal.
Service was good, although they did accidentally switch orders for two of us. Gratuity of 18% was included in our meal but I’m not sure if it was because we came with a large party.
Tip*
Check in on Unilocal for free ice cream! They give you a big scoop of Vanilla, Green Tea, Red Bean, or Cookies n’ Cream!