Van Shabu & Bar

Having spent a lot of time on the West Coast, I feel I have some authority on Asian cuisine. ;) Van Shabu can compete with some of the best hotpot & pho places I've ever been to. Service was fast, the place has style, it's clean, & the wait staff speaks English & isn't rude to white folks, & best of all- the food is fresh & scrumptious. I came here a while ago so I don't remember all of the specifics of our order except that the beef tongue was probably the most tender I've ever had.

...an unexpected gem in Dorchester...

All you can eat hot pot and sushi?  Yes, please!  Don't come in here expecting the BEST hotpot or the BEST sushi you ever had, BUT for one low price ($25 for Sat Lunch) you can get all the 3-4* hot pot and sushi you can eat.  Make sure to come hungry and check the schedule.  Some days its only all you can eat sushi OR hot pot (depends on the day).  Also, be warned that there is a mandatory 20% tip, but hey, even with that the price I pay is still much lower than what I would pay if I went to any normal hotpot or sushi place (I eat a lot ;))

Go if you've got the time to wait around for a bit. Service is friendly here but very slow and inattentive. I've been here on numerous occasions but still can't pinpoint exactly what it is that drags the service out to barely bearable waits. I've had bussing staff and bartenders wait on me because our waitresses would disappear for long amounts of time.

Terrible service aside (enough to knock off two stars), the food here is great. Fresh ingredients every time. That's what hotpot is all about, isn't it! Sushi here is just ok. It's the only decent sushi place in Dorchester. That's not saying much, I know, but it'll satiate those random sushi fixes.

But what's awesome about van shabu....IT'S ALL YOU CAN EAT....why are you still here reading this???

Oh and dollar oysters. Man oh man, I can definitely forgive the crappy service.