Seongsu shabu-shabu, clear broth & Angus chuck flap: Shabu in Seoul

Today I'm sharing my visit to Shabu in Seoul Seongsu (샤브인서울 성수점), a shabu-shabu spot in Seongsu with a great atmosphere, well known for dates and wedding invitation gatherings.

Where is Shabu in Seoul Seongsu, and is there parking?

Shabu in Seoul Seongsu is at 53 Seongsuil-ro 6-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the first floor of Yuwonji Industrial Center, a 2-minute walk from Exit 3 of Seongsu Station. It's open 11:00–22:30 with a break from 15:30 to 17:00 and last order at 21:30. Parking is available in the building, with 1 hour free.

The exterior is clean and stylish, and it sits in a Seongsu side street, so it was easy to find even on a first visit. Seongsu is such a hot spot these days that restaurants with parking are hard to find, but this one has free underground parking in the building, so my partner came by car with no parking worries.

Shabu in Seoul Seongsu atmosphere and seating: good for a date?

Inside, the whole place felt pleasant and upscale. The seats are separated, so you can talk privately while you eat, which is why it's popular for Seongsu dates, wedding invitation gatherings and blind dates.

This premium shabu-shabu restaurant in Seongsu has neat, classy table settings, and I liked that even each piece of tableware felt carefully chosen.

Sauces at every table and tablet ordering

Every table has chili sauce, yuzu soy sauce, sesame dressing, Cheongyang chili peppers and minced garlic, so you can mix and match to your taste, which I liked.

You order on a tablet at the table, which made it super convenient to add orders along the way.

Shabu in Seoul Seongsu menu: 5 broths and 6 shabu meats

The five broths are clear mushroom, spicy mushroom, crab doenjang (soybean paste stew), sukiyaki and beef tomato. The six shabu meats are Grade 1 black pork belly, Grade 1 black pork neck, prime Angus chuck eye roll, prime Angus chuck flap, 1++ Hanwoo rump cap and Black Nine wagyu rib-eye. As a shabu specialist should, it had a wide choice of broths and meats.

My partner and I deliberated and went with the best-seller, prime Angus chuck flap + clear mushroom broth :)

Birthday and wedding invitation dinner perks, plus a receipt review event

They were also running a birthday event and a wedding invitation gathering event. If you book through Naver and note a birthday or wedding invitation gathering, you apparently get the following as a freebie!

• Birthday event: seaweed soup + banner
• Wedding invitation gathering event: champagne

They also have a Naver receipt review event, which gets you matcha ice cream for dessert, and I liked that.

Prime Angus chuck flap with clear mushroom broth: how did it taste?

We ordered prime Angus chuck flap + clear mushroom broth, plus extra shrimp balls. It all came out at once, and the spread looked really generous from the start: clear mushroom broth, prime Angus chuck flap, fresh vegetables and the shrimp balls we added filled the table.

The best-seller, prime Angus chuck flap, had really beautiful marbling and came out fresh.

The vegetables were fresh too. There were plenty of mushroom varieties, plus bean sprouts, napa cabbage hearts, bok choy and other veggies that go well with shabu-shabu, and they even provided rice paper, which made it more memorable!

The longer I simmered meat and vegetables in the clear mushroom broth, the deeper the broth got and the tastier everything became. I'd agonized between this and the spicy mushroom broth until the end, but the clear broth was clean and let me really taste the ingredients themselves, so I thought it was a no-regret choice!! If you can't decide, just picking the best-seller is a success!

Dipping the tender prime Angus chuck flap and vegetables in the sauce was really good. The description says it has a melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich juiciness, and it matched: the tenderness was fully there, and I was satisfied, haha

Shrimp balls at Shabu in Seoul Seongsu: worth adding?

I added the shrimp balls because eating only vegetables with the meat felt like a shame, and they were so good I'd have regretted not ordering them!! You scoop them with the spoon, drop them into the broth in whatever size you like, and they quickly turn into bouncy shrimp balls, haha

Cooked in the broth, the shrimp balls stayed moist yet springy, with a rich shrimp flavor, and they were delicious.

Egg porridge and complimentary omija tea to finish

If you order the clear mushroom broth, you get egg porridge, the classic shabu-shabu finish. When you're done eating, you pick the egg porridge on the tablet at whatever timing you like, and the staff make it for you, haha

The porridge kept the deep flavor of the leftover broth, and they topped it with sesame oil and seaweed flakes at the end, so I scraped up every last spoonful, haha

After the meal they also served complimentary omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) as dessert. It was a clean palate cleanser, and I could end the meal satisfied :)

What occasions suit Shabu in Seoul Seongsu?

From the prime Angus chuck flap and fresh vegetables to the broth and sauce combinations you can tailor to your taste, I was satisfied from start to finish. Above all, the upscale atmosphere makes it a good fit not only for dates but also for wedding invitation gatherings, birthday get-togethers and family meals.

If you're looking for a shabu-shabu place in Seongsu with a good atmosphere, a date spot, or a venue for a blind date or wedding invitation gathering, I recommend Shabu in Seoul Seongsu :)