Kaizen Shabu

I had my first OC shabu shabu experience here and it was fantastic. It's located in an artsy part of Downtown Santa Ana with plenty of street parking nearby. I choose the spicy miso broth and the combo meat. So I got 5 oz each of pork and beef. Next time I would do the sharing option, it's a lot of food and you get to choose two broths. The beef was very good, make sure you don't let it cook in the broth too long. The atmosphere was upbeat and the employees were very nice, I can't wait to go back.

Showed up around 8pm for a busy Saturday night. Was told about 20-30 min wait, so went next door for a cocktail until they called us when our seats were available. The owner was super welcoming and offered hot sake on the house. Got some shishito peppers to start. Great flavors and seasoned perfectly. Ordered the American wagyu and lamb for the proteins. The wagyu was fatty and tender, definitely the favorite. Staff was friendly and helpful. Would recommend all my friends for a visit.

I am in between a 4.5 and a 5 stars. We had a reservation to this place and when we got there, the host kept pushing us to the back to wait. We weren’t clear to what he wanted and kept waiting in the wrong spot and kept pushing back. This place is street metered parking or parking in the lot with a meter. They had outside dining, fortunately, we were able to sit inside because I was cold. The wait to be seated was less than 5 minutes. When we got seated, we were greeted by the owner. He introduced himself and gave us hot sake on the house, which was nice! I am a weak drinker and my boyfriend was driving, so unfortunately, some of it had to go to waste. If you are new joiner and not driving or a weak drinker, I suggest getting the sake! We ordered two combo plates and two cocktails. The combo plates comes with 2 meats, veggies, sauce, broth, and rice. One of the combo plates I ordered angus beef and pork belly and the other one I ordered angus beef and korabuta park. They were sooo