Henry VIII Shabu Shabu

This place is closed.

The spicy broth was good and I always love shabu shabu.
But, otherwise, this place was a bit disappointing. The portions were small for the price and they didn’t give nearlyyyy enough meat. It’s definitely not bad, but I would look to other places if you want shabu shabu.

After walking around Union Square we noticed a few restaurants in this street section that seemed to be booming. Since we were looking for a place to eat on a time-​crunch we didn’t really want to wait for the super long lines from the other restaurants. This one was busy too, but it wasn’t as busy as the rest so we decided to give it a try.
The first thing you’ll notice about this place is that like many of the restaurants around it, the seating is tight. It’s not a huge restaurant and big parties are harder to come by so just be self aware if you have a lot of people with you.
The food here was decent, but it wasn’t amazing. You can choose between broths like many other shabu places, but there wasn’t a lot of meat here. We even got the large portion vs. the small and if you are planning on sharing with someone, be prepared. It’s not a lot of food. Overall I wasn’t amazed by the place nor was I blown away by the flavor. Our server was a little slow and it was hard to get their attention despite them running past us multiple times. I would come back here only if I had nowhere else to go, but other than that it was just okay.

$ 19.95 for a pot of sukiyaki /​lamb beef combo, with a huge slab of beef, tofu, enoki and ramen. Not bad at all. Tasty Miso soup and sweet tangy of the sukiyaki. We were going to try little sheep on Mason but the wait was too long so gave this place a try instead (just around the corner). Small intimate spot. New trainee so service is a bit slow. But not unbearable. Ordered poki salad and the karage chicken appetizer. Pretty tasty. Sit by the door for a breeze of fresh air.

umm interesting to say the least. It liked it. The portions are kinda small if you are trying to share but too big for 1 person. It is not like mums or happy shabu shabu.
The preparation is okay. Its hard to give it a detailed review as there really isnt much to it. You go and order. Eat decent food and that is it.

I love this place! I’ve been here twice now when visiting SF and think the shabu is awesome. Good portions for the price and friendly staff. I have left both times feeling full and satisfied

Wow! Don’t understand either why the so so reviews. I’m parking myself here every time am in town from now on.
Henry Shabu = Henry Yumi

I don’t know why this place doesn’t get the amount of love it deserves.
I think it’s just overshadowed by katana-​ya next door, but freal, don’t wait 30+ min for food next door when you can just come right in here and eat some delish shabu!
I usually split a large order of beef shabu with someone else, and it’s PLENTY of food and it’s so delicious. Their spicy miso broth is A+. And it’s nice not having to go all the way out to inner richmond or Jtown for some dece shabu.
Give it a try peeps!

This place fell way beyond the expectations of my stomach lol but within expectations because I read reviews before walking in.
We wanted to go next door to Little Fat Sheep hot pot but it was an hour wait and they need 6 people to hold a reservation.
It was half full on a Friday night at 8pm so it wasn’t looking great. The service was pretty poor right from the beginning, it took a while for us to flag someone down (this became a theme) in a dozen table restaurant to ask some questions. Of the 2 servers both were hard to ask anything without feeling like we were bothering their focus of not looking at other customers while blazing from table to table. They seemed a bit under staffed.
The food was expensive for what we got and everything seemed to cost extra. We got a large plate for 2 people and sushi on the side, but everything we got was for 1 person because technically it was 1 meal??? We paid $ 50 for a meal for 1?
At the end of the night we left full and not over stuffed like a buffet would have been.

This has got to be one of the worst shabu places in the city. You’re much better taking the 38 (or a short drive) to Japantown and taking a shot in the dark picking a Shabu Shabu place. Never have I been nickeled and dimed at a Shabu Shabu place, until last night.
For the same price as all you can eat at much higher quality places ($ 25), this place will serve you up one 12 oz plate of «fresh, never frozen» beef, a side of veggies, choice between ramen or udon, small bowl of rice, a ponzu dipping sauce, and a peanut/​sesame dipping sauce. Radish/​green onion is extra (+$ 1, enough for one person). Need more rice? +$ 2, extra broth? +$ 3, extra set of sauce? +$ 2.
Note the «fresh, never frozen» beef (as touted on their menu) in quotes. The quotes are necessary because the first plate of beef we received was all frozen except for three pieces. My SO didn’t believe me when the plate touched down and I exclaimed it to be frozen. I joked that we could get them for false advertisement, and have it knocked down on the bill. Once cooked, the texture was rough and tough, due to thick cutting and previously frozen state.
Now most other places have frozen beef and thats fine but its the business practice of lying to your customers that doesn’t sit well with me. This should have been a sign to leave.
After finishing off our first plate of beef, we decided to add a side. I specifically asked for fresh beef (as advertised), not frozen but was given frozen again. When I made this request with the waitress I received a snappy response when she told me the last plate I was served was fresh (the ice crystals told a different story).
The ponzu sauce had got to be the most sour ponzu I’ve ever had. The peanut/​sesame was a relief from the sourness but might as well had been paste.
Never, ever again!

Food is decent. Service is horrible. Definitely never come back.
They have 2 waitresses. One is a scammer and the other is a liar. The scammer charged us $ 8 extra. When we asked the other waitress about the charge she told us it was tip and we don’t need to tip them anymore. Wth? As their menu is stated, they only automatically charge 18% tip when the party is 6 or more. She then told us it was a mischarge because it was a new girl who gave us the bill. Such bs.

I went here because Katana-​Ya was so busy (as usual) next door. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but was pleasantly surprised with my experience!
Minus the very long wait for the waitresses to get our order in the beginning, everything else went great! I ordered the mild spicy miso broth, with ramen and roasted beef for my shabu shabu. I was very pleased with the flavor of the broth. It looked so red and spicy when it arrived, but it tasted flavorful, not overly salty and had just enough spice for me.
The hot pot stays SO HOT! Even when I put the setting down to 1 for the last half of my meal. I ordered the regular size, and for 20 $, it was more than enough food. I also appreciated the fresh cut beef and not thawed out of the freezer. Towards the end of my meal, I could only eat the meat as I was so stuffed. Didn’t even touch my bowl of rice!
Great to end the meal with the green tea ice cream, included in the shabu set.
The waitresses were very nice!
Would come back.

This place needs more stars on average! For two people, we got a large miso shabu shabu which comes with plenty of thin-​sliced beef, noodles, vegetables and tofu. You cook it all to your desire and then spoon what you like into your bowls with rice and two sauces on the side. Quite filling for about $ 25, service was a-​ok, couldn’t really ask for more — love it! Oh and have the green ice cream at the end — refreshing! And we will be back!

It was okay. My sister and I shared a vegetable shabu shabu which came with rice, choice of noodle (ramen or udon), huge mound of vegetables, soup base, and ice cream. The vegetable selection was okay. There were mushroom, kabocha squash, few leaves of spinach, tofu, but it was 90% napa cabbage. We also had an order of shrimp and pork gyoza which I thought would be deep-​fried, but it was for the shabu shabu. The miso soup base was okay. Meal cost around $ 15-​$ 16 for the veggie shabu shabu. Not worth the price.
This place is very small, so large groups should not eat here.

What used to be a pretty decent shabu restaurant in the heart of the tourist mecca at Union Square, has taken a sad downturn.
Cuts of meat are bland. They all taste the same, no matter what you pick. Veggies are brown and wilty. What happened guys?
The only saving grace is that there is almost never a wait here while all of the out of towners crowd the equally mediocre ramen restaurant next door.

My friend and I both got the spicy chicken hot pot. The chicken was pretty tender but also flavorless and the vegetables were on the smaller side. The broth itself was nicely spiced, though a tad heavy on the salt. All in all, average shabu that I wouldn’t have minded paying $ 20 for if one of the waitresses hadn’t been such a beetch.
From the moment we walked in until the moment we left, she treated us (and most of the other tables) with a sneering, condescending level of disdain that was evidenced by her rude manner of speaking and her contemptuous looks. In contrast, she was all smiles and jokes and friendly chatter with two parties in the restaurant whom she clearly knew personally (she said something to that effective rather loudly every once in a while), making it a point to ignore everyone else in the process.
Shame, because the other waitress was really nice.

Came here a few times and I am hooked! The location is in a very business neighborhood so parking is limited. I usually park at Ace Parking garage on Taylor (cross street is Geary). The place is super small so reservation is highly recommended, even for a party of 2!
There’s something about the roast beef that just melts in your mouth… beef experts, a little help here? It’s tender, soft and oh so delicious. **drools**
For Shabu–
Meat: choices: roast beef, beef, lamb or half/​half.
Noodles choices: ramen or udon
Soup choices: miso or spicy miso
Icecream: green tea or taro
includes rice and veggies.
$ 20 for all of this is a tad bit price, but quality over quantity in this case.

Ordered the regular hotpot with lamb and beef for three people. We had read that it was all you can eat on Unilocal,but to confirm we asked the waiter. We were still a little confused as to why there would be sizes when it was all you can eat (perhaps it was just the broth size) but since the waiter said yes, we went with it.
So it turns out, the waiters don’t understand what all you can eat is because after finishing our ~12 pieces of meat, we asked for more only to be asked if we wanted ANOTHER regular. Wait. Another? We asked again if it was all you can eat and now our waiter said it wasn’t, you just get the one plate of meat and vegetables. Obviously we felt ripped off and were too put off to order another meager portion for another $ 20. While the food was good, the unsatisfactory portions and misleading service, we will definitely not be returning.

Located between chabaa and katanaya is this shabu shabu place.
Not what I expected. You also can not request just mushrooms because they will just give you everything, and the ones I did not use just went to waste. The lamb was not tasty but the beef was pretty good. The spicy miso was not spicy nor did it have flavor. Pretty disappointed in this place. Service was so-​so, the lady kept turning off our «stove» which made it longer for our soup to boil. I doubt I will ever be coming back here. Step up your game son! haha

All things odd are the name of this game.
When Mr. NSS and I first met, I thought he was odd. During mid-​convo at an after party, he walked off. Two minutes later, I got a FB friend request from him… as he sat across from me. The first time we went out, we went to happy hour as a group and he slapped my face with a corndog. Uhh got game?
Henry VIII Shabu Shabu is just as odd.
ODD medieval name for a Japanese Shabu restaurant.
ODD seating for 20 with just two tables for two, two communal tables, and counter seating facing a blank wall.
ODD music playing. Indie music and Russian opera tracks. What the heezy?
ODD limited menu with Roast Prime Rib and Chicken as the only choice of meats. Chicken? WTF.
ODD staff. I asked if there was MSG in the broth. Our waitress thought I was asking to be served MSG.
ODD thick and huge slabs of Roast Prime Rib slices (not very small mouth-​friendly) that breaks apart upon picking up.
ODD Spicy Miso flavor broth that tastes nothing like miso but like kimchi (not in a good way).
ODD Chicken broth that doesn’t taste like chicken (very watered down).
ODD utensils. No ladle was available.
ODD undercooked rice.
ODD sesame ice cream tastes like coffee grinds (very hard, pre-​scooped and re-​frozen).
Oddball aside, Mr. NSS and I instantly clicked once we started talking (which probably means I’m just as odd). In the end, he turned out to be an amazing catch. I wish I can say the same is true for Henry VIII Shabu Shabu. In the end, he just gave me… the runs.
OTHER NOTES
*Concept and menu is not very well-​thought out and neither is the execution.
*My avid shabu going (non-​Yelper) friend thought it was one of the worst shabu places in San Francisco and is worthy of one star. =X
*Menu:
–Three broths: Spicy Miso, Chicken Broth & Seaweed
–Two types of meat only: Beef (regular — $ 19.80, large $ 24.80) and Chicken (regular $ 17.80, large $ 22.80)
–Veggies, Ramen or Udon, Rice & Ice Cream included
*Spillage from Katana-​ya crowd next door (same owners) not wanting to wait for a table.
*Good for unsuspecting tourists not locals who are use to solid shabu.