Roaring Bowl

I have had better. Maybe I came in with too much expectation. First off ponsu sauce doesn’t go well with sesame sauce. Ponsu is citric and ruins the taste of the sesame sauce. Meat was fresh but that is not the point. When I come for Shabu Shabu, I am here for the sauce. Its good they have onion and garlic that you can add to your sauce.
I would say the soup is a bit tasteless. Not sure is it because I ordered the seaweed soup. I couldn’t taste the seaweed but I do see seaweed inside.
For the price. Its not really worth it. I got a combo and at the end I was not too full.
I am not going back.

Worst shabu shabu I have ever been to.
I was kinda expected to go there because I saw some good pictures of it. Service sucks and the food was too expensive than it should be. Servers were not pro and gave attitude randomly. Medium size place with few customers, vibe was ok. We ordered our meals and waited 30 – 40 minutes for the server to come up with a unboiled pot. We got our sauce and food after another 30 minutes. We order a combo and a vegetable, and the food came out to a few slices of meat and leaves, it was definitely a kid’s meal. First and last time ever. Do not go there if you really wanna fill your tummy.

This was a solid place. Not epic in terms of hot pot, but still good if you don’t want to drive to the International District.

This is such a fun place to eat. It’s like a fondue restaurant with ramen ingredients. I came with one of my friends and we had fun slowly eating lunch, trying each other’s broths, and stewing our own veggies. Great spot for groups of friends and cold days. It would also be a fun first date restaurant. I’ll definitely be back.

I’m not sure why this place hasn’t caught on yet! My fiancé and I always share the wagyu and pork belly combo – though we usually need an extra serving of veggies. The food is delicious and pretty fast and the friends I’ve brought along love it too. I’ll definitely be back!

Tried roaring bowl twice. This review is for the shabu option only. I’d give 3.5 stars if I could.
The vegetables, meat options, and sauces were standard like most other shabu restaurants. However the vegetables didn’t seem as fresh and we got an odd cut of bok choy that was mostly stem. Now that Shabu Chic is no longer an option, they may get more customers, which in turn may increase turnover of veggies making them fresher. But I’ll probably opt for the hot pot places in ID instead.

I’ve never had such a terrible experience with service before at any restaurant in my life. It was getting to the point of comical and I was wondering if they were playing a joke on us. I think our waiter might have been high, I could not fathom a reason for the unbelievable level of incompetence taking place at this restaurant.
We made reservations here for NYE. When we arrived, there was one other table. It took about 20 minutes for a waiter to acknowledge us and take our orders. I’m just going to list the complaints from this night from here on out:
1. Epic fails on taking the order — failed to ask anybody’s rice preference (white or brown) except my own — ended up bringing out random types of rice we did not want. Failed to inform up front that they were out of lamb, requiring us to redo our order choices.
2. After placing our order, took another 25 minutes to get our drinks. In a near EMPTY restaurant at this point.
3. The grill items started to come out one by one, yet with no utensils. We had to ask for utensils. The waiter brought 3 napkins for a party of 6 and we had to wait on more napkins.
4. My sake had a fly in it.
5. When bringing the broth, the waiter spilled a large amount of spicy miso all over my boyfriend and didn’t apologize or even get napkins to help clean up.
6. Once we finally got our food (another 25 minute wait) we had to ask for someone to turn the burners on. They only turned 2 out of the 3 burners on and we had turn the other on on ourselves. Granted it was starting to get busier at this point but this is basic stuff.
7. Sesame seed sauce had a hair in it.
8. I expected they might give a little guidance about how shabu shabu works, such as recommended cook times or some sort of explanation being as its a unique concept. They simply put the food down and left.
9. Since we had to make it to a show, I asked if we could have our checks at the same time as our food so we could wrap up. No checks, and had to ask for this twice.
10. Upon leaving we asked to speak to a manager, at which point we were told they had none. Our waiter came out a few minutes later and asked what we needed. I expressed my disappointment in the service that night, to which he said «they were busy» as a justification.
It’s too bad because the food was actually really good. I really hope the management at this restaurant puts some work into setting service expectations because it’s a shame to waste the potential of this place. It’s also quite expensive and I’d expect decent service to justify these prices. Bummer, we’ll be checking out some other shabu shabu places in town and hoping for better luck.

The broth here is rather blend. I came in and there was only one server and one person behind the counter on a weekend night. So things felt really slow which makes me wonder how long the place is going to last. The lamb and pork combo was quite nice. I had no problem finishing up the meat. You can really fill up with the noodles, mushroom, tofu, and the vegetables. The ingredients were fresh and clean looking. However, the kobu broth I had was anything but flavorful. Perhaps one of their heavier brother would be more flavorful?

Don’t think we’ll be going back here anytime soon. First of all, the place wasn’t the cleanest. The condiments that the waiter brought over to our table even had sauce drippings all over it. Talk about disgusting. Secondly, the service was bad considering they barely have any customers. We had to ask for our utensils because our server neglected to give us ours so we could eat and properly dish out our food. Some of the leafy greens I got were beginning to turn yellow. In spite of that, my husband generously tipped the burly waiter anyway. If you want a good hot pot place, I’d recommend going some place else, like Boiling Point.

I wish I could like this place more as the Unilocal reviews were what got me here in the first place. Unfortunately service is terrible. We came in on a Saturday night for a table for two. There were 20 seats available and the 2 servers working weren’t sure there was a seat available for us. We finally got seated and the table was cleared however no menus and chopsticks/​napkins were set. Finally after 10 minutes waiting and flagging down the server (he told me several times he’d be right with me) I asked if I could grab the menus from another table. After another 20 minutes and flagging down the server again, he finally got our orders placed. While we were waiting another pair left the restaurant due to lack of service. Also not sure why both servers are covering the same tables. Perhaps they are short on staff but management needs to implement more efficient operations.
The pots come with only ¹⁄₃ filled broth. We noticed the tables beside us (and from personal experience cooking hot pot at home) that it wouldn’t be enough. The server seemed surprised when we asked if we could get more broth.
15 minutes later we got our veggies and sides to cook.
At the end of the meal, the server told us that the dumplings were on the house. Thanks to that I’m giving 3 stars instead of 2.

First time here, definitely will not be my last. Went with the Wagyu and pork belly in the spicy miso. I am glad I went with this option, both for the taste and the quantity. If had just gotten the pork belly as was my first instinct, it might not have been enough for me due to how much the meat shrinks when it is cooked. They Wagyu was still ample even after it cooked.
The other «problem» is that while I love spicy stuff, the spicy miso was almost at the edge of my tolerance at times. Either I’m getting weak in my old age, or that is some really spicy stuff!
Either way, the flavors are absolutely wonderful and meshed well. The broth was extremely tasty, and only the spice kept me from drinking it straight. I could wish there had been a bit more veggies and less fungi on the side plate.
This is definitely a great meal, and no doubt even better if you’re feeling just a tiny bit sick and need a little help combating the germ gremlins.
Oh, and the four dollar sake special is enough for two people to get toasted. I’m glad I was walking and not driving.

Everyone needs a go-​to food spot and in Seattle this is mine. Roaring Bowl is a Japanese hot pot joint with a short, simple menu and a lot of deliciousness. You pick from 4 – 5 broths (I always go with the Schezuan Peppercorn which I think is hard to beat) and pick from a few options for meats. A big bowl of fresh veggies comes with any order of meat. The food tastes great, feels healthy and light and really hits the spot every time. Oh and it’s really cheap. It usually runs us $ 15 per person or so.
I really wish the owner spent a little more time and money on actually marketing this place because every time I go it is mostly empty and that’s a crying shame. They should also expand the menu to include more appetizers and drinks (increase basket size!). This is a gem of a place which needs more patronage.

This was a unique spot in that it did traditional shabu shabu but their flavors were not very savory for me. You could add all your own flavoring which helped, but nothing I ate really stood out to me flavor wise. It does have that awesome warm comfort food element, but the restaurant was a little too chilly for me to really be able to relax and enjoy myself. I’d maybe go back hoping for something a bit more savory, but it doesn’t match the shabu shabu I had in San Francisco japantown which was just so incredibly fresh and had pretty traditional broths with a bit more flavor.

Roaring bowl was fun. Good experience to have with my girlfriend.
The same group I was with on Halloween, this was our first meet. Gotta fill up the belly!
The lady and I ordered the Chuck and Shrimp dumpling combo with spicy miso and extra spicy miso broth. The broths were delicious. Vegetables were fresh. It reminded me of home. Very family style serving and just eating, sharing, talking, and definitely drinking.
I ordered a bottle of soju for the lady and I, but some of the members never had it so I decided to share with them as well. Definitely miss soju. It got them feeling good, haha. The first bottle was running low, and the waiter, who was super helpful and nice, saw that it was low and asked me if I wanted another in the middle of me finishing my cup… with no hesitation and words spoken, I nodded up and down to him. He got the memo.
Kudos!

Spicy miso — kind of bland
Szechuan peppercorn — really good. you can tell there’s way too much MSG in this for a human to consume.
Beef — ok, nothing spectacular
Pork belly — also, not anything special.
Portions are way too small for hot pot. The waitress said my husband an I would be able to share one, but in the end we both left still starving. Got the chicken wings to start and those were good. All in all, it wasn’t really worth it nor was the food that good.

12:30pm on a Sunday and there are only two filled tables (including us).
There are four items available under «grill» — chicken yakitori, pork, Korean beef short rib, and salmon. We ordered the chicken yakitori and it came with two skewers of tender teriyaki chicken. It was good but wasn’t particularly delicious and for $ 4, I wouldn’t order it again.
Anyway, Roaring Bowl has the usual shabu shabu setup. Choose a base (or two) and a protein. Per usual, it comes with a plate of vegetables and ponzu+sesame sauces. My boyfriend and I went with the Szechuan peppercorn and spicy miso broths, and got two large beef chucks, 7 ounces for $ 18 each. The portions are generous and the soup wasn’t bland at all, contrary to what another reviewer said.
–The Szechuan peppercorn base reminds me of home– tasted like Chinese herbal soup :)
–They provide nets so that you could scoop out the fats and oils gathered at the surface of your soup, which isn’t available at many shabu shabu joints
–The bathrooms are clean and spacious
–The décor is modern and the floor to ceiling windows floods the restaurant with natural lighting, good for photos ;)
–There was one waitress running the floor. She was friendly and attentive
–Food is FRESH! Vegetables were vibrant, meat tasted like it was just sliced

Took a journey here for shabu shabu. It definitely wasn’t worth the journey.
I should have suspected it wouldn’t be good when we entered around 6 pm and the place was deserted. Even the wait staff abandoned the place. Plastic menus and hard wood seating didn’t make it any better; it felt like an Applebee’s of hotpot.
We (three of us) ordered the pork belly, Wagyu beef, and lamb and shared a variety of four broths (wakame, sukiyaki, spicy Szechuan peppercorn, and mushroom — a special of the day). Most of the stuff on the menu was out, including some beers, sakes, and appetizers. The waitress explained that she was training new people and they stuffed everything into the freezer — why do we care or want to know?
But then, the food arrived. Broths were muted in flavor but sufficient. Meats were sliced in the middle of the open kitchen, emanating waves of buzzsaw noises throughout the restaurant. The veggie plates were standard but not super fresh nor rotten. Sauces were provided, and the whole table agreed the peanut sauce sucked and the ponzu sauce rocked.
By the end, we were stuffed and the bill wasn’t terrible. We rolled over to our car and drove home. But next time, I’ll check out Little Sheep or a less commercialized-​feeling hotpot place.
Pros:
Meat was pretty high quality
Ponzu sauce rocks
Gentle way to get into hotpot
Cons:
Untrained, awkward service
No hard liquor
Out of most stuff on the menu when we visited
Flavorless broths, and the ones that were «spicy» were really mild

Background info:
I’m a huge fan of both BP and Little Sheep. I was hoping that I’d love Roaring Bowl just as much, because it is so close to me, but that wasn’t the case.
The pros:
I enjoyed the variety of fresh veggies. The pork belly was delicious! The service was spectacular. They were playing some of my favorite songs from Metric! *gush*
The cons:
I found the spicy miso broth and the dipping sauces rather bland and underwhelming. I was also hoping for larger portions of meat. I left still feeling hungry and unsatisfied.
The verdict:
This restaurant is a-​okay, just maybe not for me. I’ll travel the extra distance to the ID for my hot pot cravings in the future.

I came here a while ago for restaurant week and I actually thought it was pretty good. However, I will say that it took a while for our food to come out, even when there weren’t that many people in the restaurant. When we came, there were a few soup bases to choose from and a couple of meats to choose from (like pork belly and beef). They had a bunch of premium meats as well, but they weren’t available on the restaurant week menu.
What I liked about this place was that it wasn’t too greasy tasting, and the vegetables were pretty fresh. The meats that they served here also weren’t that fatty (unless you get the Pork Belly of course). I feel like this hot pot place would be pretty good on a cold day. And just a side note, don’t eat the small peppers… they’re extremely spicy even if they might not seem like it. My tongue burned for a good half hour even though I tried a little bit.
From the meat selection we picked, it was solid and I’d say I’m a fan of this place, especially because of how clean it is. Again, they could do better with getting the meat and the soup bases out faster though. However, I wouldn’t know if the premium meats are any good and I’m not sure if I would pay for them. But for now, this place gets 4 stars from me!

Well I guess it’s time to update my «epic fail» review (see previous review). At the insistence of my coworkers, I have been back several times, long after they opened. Even had our team lunch here once. While I see slight improvements with their service each time I return, I am disappointed as drastic improvements are still needed.
I should at least put a huge caveat and say that the workers here are very nice and this review is by no means a way to put them down. However, being nice does not equate to providing efficient service. Eleven months after my initial review, I still have to find myself asking for utensils. Not only that, but the food does not all come out at the same time.
Perhaps this is based on the lack of staff. At my last visit, our poor waitress had to cut the meat and prepare the veggies herself in addition to taking and bringing orders. Seeing this, I don’t expect her to provide good service as she is running around doing everything. Management definitely needs to change this as its overloading the servers and affecting the customers’ experience. Consequently, our lunch took much longer than necessary.
However, all that aside, the food is definitely good quality. So if you have a few hours to spare, I would recommend it, but be aware that it will take a long time.