Ebisu

I love Ebisu. Shabu Shabu (hot pot) is always a crowd pleaser and tastes delicious. Good broth and tasty appetizers. I love the green tea fried ice cream and other desserts that I’ve tried here. Service is excellent and it’s always a good experience when I go here.

My middle daughter wanted shabu-​shabu for her birthday dinner and Ebisu still does a nice satisfying job of this. Beef short rib was well-​marbled, thin-​sliced, and very tender — though I don’t recommend doing this, we tried some very rare (okay, raw) and it was like having a Kobe beef sashimi, delicious — and the other cuts were also good. Our favorite appetizers (hamachi-​kama, agedashi tofu, shrimp tempura) were still of the same quality as in our previous visits (IMO, Ebisu’s agedashi tofu is better than many other Japanese restaurants I’ve had in NYC, Boston, and DC). The main downer with today’s dinner was that Ebisu took our favorite dessert off the menu: the mango crepes. Major bummer … only dessert choices now are green tea ice cream, vanilla ice cream, and miso donuts. We settled for the green tea ice cream — pretty good actually — but no substitute when your taste buds have been primed for the crepes. Ebisu needs to reinstate it!

Food was AMAZING!!! Service was top notch. Waiter offered excellent suggestions and when we went back they let us custom order a soup based on what we wanted in it!

Extremely good! The crispy kale salad and crispy Brussel sprouts were excellent, as was the Hakka eggplant. The chicken breast teriyaki entrée was also excellent, not too heavy on the sauce and really delicious. My wife who usually finds teriyaki too sweet really liked it too. I didn’t super love the kimchi side, but that’s probably just me. Overall, highly recommended!

Went there once on the way to the airport to drop my gf off for her flight back home.
It was located in a non commercial area of town. The streets were pretty dark and not too much pedestrian traffic. Was about to leave since it seemed like it was closed (the small lot was empty and it was dimly lit inside) but decided to see if the door was open.
Inside the décor wasn’t terrible. The tables and chairs seemed like they were left over from the past life of the place and you can easily see that the many chips, paint flakes and other telltale signs of age were perhaps left unattended by design. It added a unique character, almost stating we don’t really care what you think of the place, just try our food.
So the food was so-​so. Perhaps it may be the best option in Providence but definitely not consistent with food that you would find in most metropolitan areas. Actually there was a Korean restaurant that tasted better in Milwaukee. For a place close to the airport, it was fine.
Staff was attentive and polite.
So not worth going out of your way to try out this place but if it is along your route to somewhere, it will provide a filling meal.

I should have stuck with the Shabu.
Ebisu’s menu has expanded over the years to Tapas, ramen, and the appetizer offering is about twice as much since the last time I went. Most of these additions are not worth it unfortunately. Stick with the shabu.
I got the Ebisu ramen, admittedly, it was my first time having ramen not from a plastic bag. I asked the incredibly nice server about the differences with the pork, and was told the bbq pork was leaner and more flavorful than the roast pork. He told me the broth was clearer than miso broth, with Chinese style noodles.
What I got was a big bowl of piping hot grease/​salt water with some flavorless, rubbery, wafer thin slices of pork, 2 big pieces of bok choy, and several mushrooms all floating half-​heartedly around some sad noodles. $ 11.95.
My dining companion got the chicken skin skewer, which at $ 4 was a complete rip off. It looked like what’s left on a skewer after you pull off a regular serving size of meat. It’s sort of crazy paying that much for something that most people would throw away, and an added insult to receive so little of it.
He enjoyed his (tiny) pork belly appetizer, even though it was dressed in a strange sauce.
I feel bad writing this review as it’s my first review in almost a year, also, the service was aces.
While I feel bad about that, I felt worse paying over $ 40 at Ebisu, and then leaving to eat at home. I paid $ 42 to eat the leftover lasagne I was avoiding.

We have eaten at Ebisu many times and it is consistently good. There are many kinds of satisfying meals you can get here, from ramen (very good, especially the pork miso) to a selection of Japanese tapas. The crispy brussels sprouts are addictive and there is a whole ‘meat on skewers’ section — nuff said. Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that the shabu shabu is just ok. Nice atmosphere, never too crowded or a wait to get in, service is good, good drinks, reasonable prices. Highly recommend!

I was in a mood for Hot Pot, googled nearby spots and ended up at Ebisu. The place looks like a hole in the wall from the outside, but those are the best spots! Right?! No. Not always.
Now, I only ordered Shabu Shabu so I am not speaking to all other menu items.
I feel bad giving this place a bad review because the service was SO great, and the server was so accommodating. Seriously — super sweetheart.
The Hot Pot was really bad. It looks good, but tastes bad. I tried all of their broths before we ordered. All.Of.Them. They all tasted like greasy, salted water. The dipping sauces are flavorless. I steamed my steak slices, and dipped them in the two sauces provided. Still no flavor. There weren’t enough meats and veggies. Doesn’t compare to Boston.
It was so bad that we couldn’t eat it. We wrapped it to go and headed up the street to get dinner because we were still hungry!
We gave the soup to my dad because he will eat literally everything… and…he couldn’t eat it.
People seem to be giving this spot good reviews which makes me think that maybe I had an «off» experience. I would need some convincing to give it another shot.

I love the food here, and it is definitely one of the most authentic Japanese restaurants I have been to in the area. I recommend basically all of the appetizers, and you are silly if you don’t give Shabu-​Shabu (Japanese hot-​pot) a try. It’s awesome. The location is a little on smaller side, but that also lead to service being great and the atmosphere not being overwhelming. If you’re feeling a hankering for Japanese, make this a stop for sure.

Fabulous, delicious, everything tastes super fresh. Service is great. Prices are affordable. Had a squid in teriyaki sauce that was so good, we had it twice. Highly recommend.

I am beyond thrilled about this place! the food is amazing and the atmosphere is great. the honey miso wings are amazing and so is the taiwanese style pork buns. the tori toro entrée with asparagus is amazing as well. they provide a wide variety of food choices and presentation is great. drink menu is extensive which is fantastic. service is wonderful as always. as someone who once worked as a waitress, it can be stressful on a very busy night when it may be you and one other person. I understand the stress that comes with serving people especially when it comes to larger parties. Every time I go with my boyfriend we have Will as our waiter and we respect the work he does to get the job done. Food as well as service never disappoints even on the busiest of days. Please give credit to your waiter or waitress on those nights.

Ebisu is a solid non-​sushi Japanese restaurant. One of the few places in Rhode Island offering Shabu Shabu (in my top 10 of food loves) as well as serving a very good bowl of ramen, yaki robata and they have great selection of alcohols (My number 1 liquid love… booze).
Service is great and the atmosphere neat and inviting. Looking forward to their second place on Hope Street soon.

This restaurant is an incredible experience. We went there for authentic shabu-​shabu (Japanese hot-​pot), and we were not disappointed. First, we got the fried Brussels sprouts, pork dumplings, bacon-​wrapped asparagus, and pork belly as appetizers; all tasty revelations. Then we ordered 2 different shabu-​shabu broths – pork broth and kimchee broth – with one order of beef and one of Surf and Turf (~2 pieces each of salmon, tuna, and scallops, as well as ~8 pieces of beef).
If you’ve never had shabu-​shabu, they bring bite-​size pieces of raw fish and veggies and very thinly sliced raw beef, that you swish around in simmering broth to cook it in seconds. So delicious and fun! We also got one order of duck ramen – and this was the real deal.
All the prices were reasonable, the service was excellent, and the food was amazing. (And the playlist was consistently awesome the whole ~2 hours we were there!) Highly recommend this amazing authentic restaurant.

What do I have to say about Ebisu besides it’s absolutely delicious and mind blowing? I’ve been coming here regularly now for a year or two. I am finally sitting down relaxed in my couch and writing a review. They have a great menu and their Shabu Shabu is my all time favorite. Also their ramen selection is pretty big ive had the sapporo miso I have to say it is delightful and put together perfectly. They have a great selection of cocktails and beers.
My fiancé is a big steak eater and he has eaten at alot places, if their is a steak restaurant upscale or not he’s been. So he ordered their Surf and turf. Wow it was the best steak he has ever had. Ebisu is really a hidden gem. I am really thankful I found this place!

This is one of my favorite restaurants in New England. Mom and pop style restaurant so it has a homie feel and food may take a little while but worth the wait. The quality of the ingredients are so fresh and almost everything is made to order. I’ve been coming here for years and the only downside is the wait on busy nights. Football nights they do wing specials, too! Come for the apps/​tapas and ramen!
Great variety of cocktails, sake, and beer. Definitely try the Buddha Beer and Hitachino Nest Variety beers.
Their tapas are all great and cooked well. The sauces are glazed liberally. My favorites include: king oyster mushroom skewers, sautéed eggplant, geso (squid tentacles), tuna wonton tacos (super crispy wonton with mango salsa and guac under each taco), rice burger (on the greasy side but the layers inside complement each other nicely with the cheese, mushroom and lettuce), tako Yaki is the best in RI, and I love their Nagasaki Chanpon Ramen done with a pork knuckle broth. It is one of the thicker broths, but so flavorful.
Hot pot is average compared to other places, but their sesame sauce and ponzu are what draw me to the hot pot here. And it’s always secondary to their tapas I come for.

I ordered pork Katsu curry: great portion & really tasty summer vegetable curry
Reminded me of authentic teishoku (lunch bento box) from Japan. My daughter ordered Pork BBQ rice. It was also great portion & tasty

This is the husband’s regular weekly spot when he wants Shabu-​shabu (hot pot). The pictures I’ve posted would give you a better understanding of what it is.
Waiter/​co-​owner greeted and seated us. I ordered the pork belly steamed buns & the kimchee broth. I opted for lamb. The hubby ordered the beef rib-​eye with vegetable broth. Service was prompt and portions were perfect to feed our appetites. I was happy I was able to receive fresh ramen for my hot pot while the S. O had udon noodles.
Pros:
*Good sized portions for a person and reasonably priced.
*Didn’t have to order extra veggies as there were plenty that came as sides to our hot pot order.
Cons:
*Pork belly buns didn’t taste as fresh as I’d hoped, it was edible but left more to be desired with its minimal garnishes.
Over all, I would come back here again. Great service and hot pot. I really want to come try a bowl of ramen!

On a quest with my mother to try some of the restaurants she has wanted to try but waited for my visit, yesterday we lunched at Ebisu. An article she read said that they are more popular for dinner which is why going at lunch when they are not crowded makes a lot of sense!
We were greeted and served by X (no relation to Malcolm) who is from Thailand, speaks very good English, also cooks at times and is very friendly and accomodating. The restaurant is cozy and nicely decorated.
We opted to pass on the 3-​course lunch special and to order two appetizers and a tapas. We began with fried Shumai that was light and tasty. Next we tried the pan fried Gyoza (dumplings) which were also quite good.
I introduced my mom to eating uncooked tuna when we split an order of tuna wonton tacos that are flavored with spices and made with tuna (duh!) and mango. They were exceptional. There are three in an order so while I was not stuffed, I left satisfied.

This is definitely a bit of a hidden gem. Not sure where to go on a Friday night? Ebisu is likely to be less crowded than most places in Providence!
The small dishes/​appetizers are uniformly good; get the fried gyoza!
And, if your group isn’t too large and you aren’t too worried about staining your shirt, go for the shabu shabu. You’ll receive a small gas stove filled with broth – the kimchi is a delicious, spicy option – and a number of vegetables including corn, mushrooms, and bok choy. Order up some meats – you can’t go wrong with beef – and «swish swish» them around until cooked. The servers are friendly and happy to assist.
There’s also a huge variety of sake cocktails. This is definitely a fun place to try!

We’ve been coming here since it opened. We’ve never had a bad meal. All of the ramen is delicious. Appetizers are also excellent. Probably the best ramen in the state. I like that it has relatively late hours and usually is never busy.