Restaurant in New York City, United States
Interactive, low-key, genuinely worth booking.
Shabu-Tatsu is one of New York City's most consistently recognised casual shabu shabu restaurants, earning ranked status on Opinionated About Dining's North America list three years running. Open for dinner daily in the East Village, it is easy to book and built around an interactive format that rewards diners who want to engage with the meal. A reliable choice for casual Japanese hot-pot dining in Manhattan.
If you are choosing between a hot-pot night in New York City and one of the East Village's few dedicated shabu shabu restaurants, Shabu-Tatsu is the cleaner answer. It is not a trendy omakase counter or a $400-per-head tasting experience — it is a focused, do-it-yourself Japanese hot-pot spot that has earned consecutive recognition from Opinionated About Dining in 2023, 2024, and 2025, including a ranked position of #466 in Casual North America for 2025. For a neighbourhood restaurant on East 10th Street, that kind of sustained recognition from a credentialed, critic-driven guide is meaningful. Book it for an interactive weeknight dinner, a casual date, or a small group who wants to engage with the meal rather than be served it.
Shabu shabu is one of the more participatory formats in Japanese dining: thin slices of meat and vegetables are swirled through a pot of simmering broth at the table, cooked to your own preference, then dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce. The format rewards patience and attention. You control the cook, which means you also control the outcome. For food enthusiasts who want to understand a cuisine rather than just eat it, the interactivity is part of the appeal — the meal is a process, not a production.
Shabu-Tatsu sits at 216 East 10th Street in the East Village, open seven days a week, dinner only, from 5 to 9 pm. Booking is easy relative to much of New York City's competitive dining scene, which makes it a reliable option when you want a considered dinner without weeks of advance planning.
Shabu-Tatsu's format means the table is always the counter, in a sense. Each diner manages their own pot, their own pace, and their own dipping combination. There is no chef's counter in the traditional omakase sense, but the interactive structure produces a similar effect: you are close to the process, making decisions in real time rather than receiving dishes passively. For a group with different dietary preferences or different appetites for rare versus well-done, that control matters. It also makes the meal genuinely conversational , the cooking becomes the rhythm of the evening rather than an interruption to it.
Compared to a kaiseki meal or a tasting menu, where the kitchen makes every call, shabu shabu at a focused restaurant like this puts the diner in an active role. If that format suits you, Shabu-Tatsu delivers it reliably. If you prefer to be guided through a meal by a kitchen team, a different format will serve you better.
The trajectory here is positive: moving from a recommendation to a ranked position, then climbing within that ranking, suggests consistent quality rather than a one-year spike. A 4.3 on Google across 511 reviews at a casual East Village dinner spot is a solid signal that the experience holds up across a wide range of diners, not just specialists.
Shabu-Tatsu is open Monday through Sunday, dinner only, 5 to 9 pm. Booking difficulty is low, which is a genuine advantage in New York City. If your first-choice evening fills up, the consistent seven-day schedule gives you flexibility. Given the 9 pm close, plan to arrive by 7 pm at the latest if you want a full, unhurried meal. Phone and online booking details are not listed in our current data , check directly with the restaurant to confirm your preferred method.
Quick reference: East Village, dinner only (5–9 pm daily), easy to book, interactive shabu shabu format.
Shabu-Tatsu's peer set in New York City skews toward Japanese and Asian dining, not the $$$$ tasting menu circuit. For context against the city's high-end dining tier: Le Bernardin, Atomix, Per Se, Masa, and Eleven Madison Park are all operating at a fundamentally different price point and service model. Shabu-Tatsu is not competing with those rooms , it is the better call when you want an engaged, casual dinner with a specific Japanese format rather than a structured tasting experience.
For Japanese dining in New York City at a comparable casual register, Shabu-Tatsu's OAD recognition gives it a credible claim on your time. If you are planning a broader New York dining trip and want to place it in context, see our full New York City restaurants guide. You can also explore hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences across New York City. For a shabu shabu point of comparison in Tokyo, Kintsuta in Tokyo shows what the format looks like at its most refined.
If Shabu-Tatsu fits a casual, interactive dinner slot, these other Pearl venues cover the wider spectrum of serious dining in the United States and beyond: Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Smyth in Chicago, Providence in Los Angeles, The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, Emeril's in New Orleans, and Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico for a European reference point.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shabu-Tatsu | Shabu Shabu | Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #466 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #484 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Recommended (2023) | Easy | — | |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | $$$$ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Casual clothes are the practical call here. Shabu shabu involves an open simmering pot at your table, which means steam and the occasional splash — dress accordingly. Shabu-Tatsu is an OAD Casual-ranked spot in the East Village, not a white-tablecloth room, so there is no dress expectation beyond comfort.
You cook your own food: thin slices of meat and vegetables go into a pot of simmering broth at your table, and you control the pace. It is a participatory format, so expect to be hands-on rather than waited on. Shabu-Tatsu has held an OAD Casual North America ranking three consecutive years (2023–2025), which signals consistency worth trusting for a first visit. Arrive hungry and give yourself time — rushing the format defeats the point.
Shabu-Tatsu's format centres on individual table pots rather than a traditional bar counter, so the bar-seating option is not relevant here the way it would be at a sushi or ramen spot. Every seat is effectively a cooking station. Walk-in availability is generally good given the low booking difficulty, so getting a spot without a reservation is realistic, particularly early in the 5–9 pm dinner window.
Dinner is your only option — Shabu-Tatsu opens at 5 pm seven days a week and does not serve lunch. Book for early evening if you want flexibility; the 5–9 pm window is the full operating range, so late arrivals risk a compressed experience.
It works well for a low-key celebratory dinner where the interactive format itself becomes the event, but it is not a white-tablecloth occasion restaurant. If the group enjoys a hands-on, communal style of eating, the OAD-ranked consistency at Shabu-Tatsu makes it a reliable choice. For a more formal special occasion in NYC, Per Se or Eleven Madison Park fit that brief better — Shabu-Tatsu's appeal is relaxed engagement, not ceremony.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
