Sakura Shabu-Shabu

Nice meat they have! I ordered the wagyu beef belly and it’s awesome! The little downside is the vege portion is a bit small. Other than that this place is perfect for shabu shabu!

Horrible service. Place is not even busy and food took forever. Server forgot to come back with more water for our pot, forgot extra sauce, forgot the extra bowl, forgot extra orders. Seriously spent 2 hours here and majority of it was waiting. Super annoyed and will never be back.

I’ve been here twice. Food and service are OK. I wanted to love this place because it’s close to my house, but I’ve been to better shabu places. Everyone was nice, but service was not great. We had to flag someone down each time we needed anything. Food wasn’t great. My mom always orders an appetizer for her meal and I always like hers more than my beef shabu. I’ll come back if my family wants to go, but it won’t be my first choice.

I’ve noticed a lot of sakura shabu shabu opening up where I live and where I work.
So, I decided to give it a try.
Me and my co workers went during lunch for their lunch special.
Not sure what the meat was. But it was a set of 1 plate of meat + veggies.
Normal shabu shabu.
I didn’t like the fact that they charge extra for a different soup base, but oh well.
Overall, okay for the lunch special but nothing made me think ‘I have to come here again’.
Oh and the servers were really attentive and nice; which I liked.

Just went here for the first time and I have to say My parents and I had a great experience! Good amount of choice, and I was not disappointed with the amount of veggies I got for the veggie option! It’s a little confusing if you’ve never gone to a hot pot place before, but everything was great! (Mom got shrimp and dad got beef and everything was fresh!)
I loved the selection of mochi, and tried red bean mochi for the first time and wow! Super good! Green tea mochi good of course and the black sesame was good too, the texture was a tad odd but still good.
Overall we all loved it and def. plan to go back!

We’ve come here a few times, FOOD IS GREAT. No complaints about food at all, it’s what keeps us coming back.
But we had the worst service, to date, yesterday. Wed night, fairly busy, 2 servers. We couldn’t get their attention, had to walk up to the counter for napkins, water, check, etc. 2 different couples came in, stood around to be seated, asked us if it was self seating, and we saw both parties leave (at different times) because servers didn’t even acknowledge them.
It’s essentially a self cooking/​dining experience, shouldn’t require that much from the servers. Servers need training on scanning the room, customer service and not losing customers when there’s empty tables.

We found this newer restaurant to be both clean and comfortable. Arriving at 11:15 am on a weekday we had a slight concern that there was no one else there. This issue was resolved within a few minutes when one party after another filled this smallish restaurant to the rafters by 11:45.
Vegetarians and vegans: you will be delighted to learn that they offer three different vegetarian broths, tofu and delicious vegetables, rice, udon noodles and more that fit our diets! They have a sautéed tofu side on the menu that I will try next time. I went with the mild miso broth, adding green onion, ground sesame seeds and a lot of garlic… awesome!
Meat eaters, they thought of you, too, offering Angus steak, shrimp, lamb, etc…
Everything came beautifully prepared and laid out. Very fresh ingredients!
The only downside for us was the speed of service. There was a long delay after ordering to have the broth brought out, less of a delay for the vegetable plates, but a significant delay for the protein (for those who ordered meat). It was also challenging to have the check brought over, but they then processed it quickly.
Very pleasant server. Unilocal Check-​in today came with a free bottomless beverage (soda or iced tea).

The pros:
$ 10 shabu lunch special– not a bad deal.
Clean and modern environment.
Water was served promptly upon request.
The cons:
SLOW service. You would think service would be quick since the kitchen does not have to do the cooking? The time it took for us to get our veggies and meat made us felt like they were harvesting the veggies from the garden and hunting for the cow after we ordered. Don’t they understand one has to go back to work after lunch?! I do have to give credit to the servers, they were very nice when they checked on you. But sometimes you couldn’t even get their attention if you wave your hands in front of them. They must be really focused.
The quality of the meat was not the best and portion was small.
If you are in the area, try it. Maybe you will have better luck than I do on service. But I am not rushing back.

Oooooh mer gerrrrrrd!!! Service is suuuuuuuper slow here. The problem is both in the back and front! Four of us walked in and waited 10 minutes to get seated in a mostly empty restaurant. We watched incredulously as a girl came over, greeted us, said she’d be right with us, asked us how many people, then patiently and slowly wiped down a 2-​burner table to seat us when there were two other perfectly clean and set-​up four-​burner tables ready to go. When she finally got done wiping and tried to seat us at that table, I just asked for the one that was already clean and good to go. Am I missing something? Did they just not want to clean four pots? It was 30 minutes by the time we put in our orders and got our sauces.
In previous trips, hubby and I have just ordered the wagyu beef belly. Mom was treating today and insisted that we try the «good stuff» (but not TOO good) so we ended up getting 2 large wagyu bellies as usual as well as a large 1855 Prime Ribeye and a large Natural/​Organic Prime Ribeye. After eating all three, I have to say… you definitely get what you pay for. Between the two fancy cuts which were the same price, I think I preferred the 1855. It wasn’t as marbled but was meatier yet tender.
I felt sad for a few of the other tables that were there before we were. It felt like they waited longer than we had to for food. Maybe someone came back from break. But the table next to us ate half their veggie plates before their proteins made an appearance. Another lady finally got up from her table with her credit card to try to get her bill. She was already done eating by the time we got there and she patiently waited for at least another 15 before giving up.
My stars really are for the food. Everything is delicious here down to the goma sauce and ponzu sauce. The meats are fresh and the portions are big. The servers are friendly, just not well-​trained. You just have to get past the «getting all your veggies and meat» hurdle and then you’re self-​sustaining until you need a sauce or soup refill. We were there for a little over an hour and a half, mostly just waiting.
I think the slow service is still worth it but that’s cuz I’m a sucker for shabu. But beware the slowness.

Really good deal for lunch! The lunch special is only $ 10! Half the price than what it usually is for dinner. The lunch special comes with a decent amount of food with meat and veggies. Definitely coming back for lunch again.

Went here for lunch today. Got there around 11:45. There were people seated at about 4 tables at that time.
Took a few minutes for someone to come out & seat us. Took another few minutes to get menus. We ended up ordering the lunch special — see picture below.
Probably took 20 minutes or more for the food to start coming out. By this time, most tables were taken & the staff was pretty overwhelmed.
Food was very good and pretty filling. I had mine with spicy broth, friend had miso broth. Both dipping sauces were also tasty.
You get free bottomless beverage with Unilocal check in, but since no one ever came by to check on us, it was never refilled. Asked for the check but never got it. Ended up walking to the register in order to pay the bill.
Food alone would be 4 stars but service was barely 2 stars so have to give them 3 stars.
Will go back but not when we’re short on time.

New Years Eve dinner in front a hot steaming bowl of steak, noodles and veggies. What else does one need? High marks all around and in my city!
Don’t forget to ladle some broth into your soup bowl and add all the condiments!
We’re coming back soon.

Surprisingly better than expected! A very clean shabu restaurant with modern décor. If you’re seated at a table then each person will get their own stove to cook their shabu but if you’re seated at a booth with more than 2 people then your pot will come with a divider in the middle.
I ordered their lunch special which was priced at $ 9.98 or so. Their lunch special includes: 6 pcs of beef, veggies, udon, bowl of rice and 2 dipping sauces. As for the broth, their standard broth is the original wakame but they also offer Japanese Miso/​Spicy Miso for $ 1 extra or Sukiyaki for $ 2 extra. I decided to go with the Japanese Spicy Miso based on the reviews I read and it definitely did not disappoint! I’m usually not a big Shabu person because I feel like their broth is always pretty bland but the Japanese Spicy Miso was extremely flavorful. Also, 6 pieces of beef sounds little but I was so full at the end. During my second visit, I was disappointed in the quality of the beef-​it was rather tough and hard to chew compared to my first visit. I guess its just a hit or a miss on the meat. The entire meal itself is a very decent amount of food for only $ 10. Also, if you check in on Unilocal you can get 1 bottomless fountain drink!
I’m not sure why a lot of the reviews were complaining about service because we got awesome service from multiple servers! They were all very attentive and friendly during our visit.
I can definitely see myself coming back in the future, especially because Sakura is only 10 mins from my work!

I’ve been here a couple times for lunch and I am definitely a fan! It’s great to have a shabu spot down here in Lake Forest. The restaurant is clean and modern looking — each guest gets their own shabu pot (unlike some places where you have to share a pot with a divider in the middle). They have awesome lunch specials — only $ 10! However, it only includes 6 slices of meat (which is totally fine for me b/​c I still get full) — and it also comes with rice and vegetables. You can get more slices for $ 12 or $ 13 — still a great deal!
The only thing I would complain about is that the service was a little slow. The times I’ve gone, it wasn’t really busy, and it took quite a while for any of our food to come out. And we’d have to flag the servers down when we needed stuff. But it wasn’t that bad, since we were able to flag them down. Other than that, this place is great :)

I ordered the lunch special here, which was $ 10.95. It didn’t come with a lot of beef. I think ordering something larger, which wouldn’t be much more, would be a better bet. The shabu shabu plate included bok choy, tofu, noodles, broccoli, carrots, cabbage and onion.
The taste of the beef was very good and the thickness was just right for me. Two sauces were included: a ponzu sauce and a goma sauce. I thought the ponzu sauce was too tangy and didn’t use it. The goma sauce, which was sesame based, was really good.
This may be nitpicking, but I am taking off a star for service. Although the service started out with a cheery server, we had to flag someone down for a water refill, and flag someone down for the check. The restaurant wasn’t busy. That said, I am still open to going here again as it is a good and nearby choice for Shabu Shabu. Perhaps the service will be better next time.

My friends and I decided to try Sakura since it was the only shabu place that was open at the time (and most shabu places in and around Irvine are closed from 2 – 5 PM). I honestly didn’t know what to expect since I’ve never heard of Sakura but it had good reviews on Unilocal so I went with an open mind.
We got there around 4 PM and it was empty, which was expected since it was at an awkward lunch hour. The server was really nice and seated us immediately. That was about as fast as service went, everything after that just dragged on. The pot came out not too long after placing our order, but the veggies, sauces, rice, and meat took FOREVER. Most shabu places I have been to bring out at least the veggies and the sauces first while they cut the meat in the back. I’d be a bit more understanding if the place was busy, but there was literally only one other party. The workers just stood at the front the whole time while we sat there with an empty table.
So after a good 30 minutes of waiting (and let’s not forget, we’re still one of the only customers there), everything finally came out and let’s just say it was a bit underwhelming. The ponzu sauce was ridiculously citrus-​y and had a really strong orange flavor to it. The goma sauce wasn’t anything special, but at least it was better than the ponzu. The spicy miso broth was okay, as was the beef belly. I did like the veggie bowl though, as it had big chunks of tofu and a large portion of udon.
Also, I’m very confused about the Unilocal deal. It says you get bottomless drinks if you check in, so me and all of my friends checked in. When we told the server, she said that only one of us could use the deal even though we all checked in separately. It made no sense why only one of us could redeem the deal, so none of us did.
I’ve definitely tried better shabu places, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. I’ll probably just stick to Mokkoji or Miyabi in Irvine for shabu. Only when I have a really bad craving for shabu during the times they’re closed would I give Sakura another shot.

Update: Had it again recently because of frds, I actually liked it this time. just don’t order the lunch special cos it’s not good.
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The portion is way too small for the price (may look big pictures but it’s actually small), and the ingredient is really average. The soup base does not taste good either.
The waiters here are very friendly, and service is fast, but that’s about it. Will not come back again.

This place has really nice décor. It’s clean and new. The prices were a bit on the pricey side.
I got the free beverage with the Unilocal check which was nice.
The miso broth was ok. Not much more flavorful than the regular broth with added soup base.
The seafood was fresh but the lamb wasn’t that great.
If I was in the neighborhood, I would definitely stop by. This is not the type of place I would go out of my way to visit.
Happy Shabuing!!!

We initially came here based on its convenience to our home. However, after a few visits it really has stood out from other Shabu places in the area.
This place is very clean and the staff is very nice and helpful.
They do not have any bar seating, only table and booth seating available which I really like.
Lunch special is a pretty good deal at only $ 9.98 for 10 slices of ribeye.
My boyfriend and I usually order the large choice ribeye with original kombu broth and Matcha iced tea. Unlike many other shabu places, the slices of meat were not too thin. And they don’t advertise their meat to be Kobe beef when it isn’t like others places. We are always seated right away at any time of day.
They are generous with their portions. They have a no-​frills approach to their shabu and you are able to dine peacefully.

This place is located next to lee’s sandwich and Daphne’s greek café right off El Toro.
I came here a little past 8PM on a Wednesday and the place was pretty busy. This isn’t your traditional sit around shabu place as they have their own booths and tables.
I got the wagyu toro 12 slice with original wakame broth. The wagyu toro (beef belly) was long (more generous than other Shabu places) and thin, which made for quick cooking. The veggie plate consisted of spinach, lettuce, mushroom, enoki, tofu. carrot, broccoli, onions, and udon (upgrade for $ 1.00 more for glass noodles). Everything tasted fresh and crisp — thinking they took a water bottle spray to give it that «ah crisp» look which makes a nice presentation.
Only con is that they charge for extra ponzu and goma sauce which is a bummer cause I love goma sauce! Also the goma sauce is a bit watery.
This establishment still has its new fresh smell and service was great here. Will be about $ 20 bucks a person for dinner.
Great date place! I’ll be back.