Shabu Club

"You can’t write a guide to the best group dinner destinations without at least one Japanese hot pot spot, and our favorite is Shabu Club in the Richmond. Throughout your meal, you’ll see servers constantly rearrange tables in the minimal space to fit a revolving door of groups and entire extended families. It’s also constantly packed with people who are hovering around shared vats of bubbling soup, and dipping all-you-can-eat slices of pork, lamb, and beef into the green sauce that turned this place into a neighborhood legend. Be sure to save room for the free ice cream cones they roll around for dessert." - julia chen 1, patrick wong

"At Shabu Club in the Richmond, you’ll eat your body weight in their iconic green sauce (it’s a ponzu, cilantro, and garlicky blend) while hovering over a gurgling hot broth. The Japanese restaurant is a big group destination with huge round tables, plenty of sake and beer on hand, and a decibel level that rivals that of a Warriors championship parade. AYCE is $43 ($15 for kids), but if you’re not feeling confident about your ability to become a cost-effective beef vacuum for the next 90 minutes, order a set where you can still pick and choose your meats, broths, and sides (they range from $17.50 to $32). And save room for the free cone of ice cream at the end." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, ricky rodriguez

"You want a birthday destination that’s casual, not boring, and fun without being, like, too fun (last year’s humiliating karaoke video receipts never die). Shabu Club it is. The Japanese shabu spot in the Richmond is great for groups, and all-you-can-eat pork, lamb, and beef is the best gift you can give yourself. Pack in around a vat of bubbling spicy miso soup, show off your meat-twirling skills—and save room for the free red bean or matcha ice cream they pass out at the end of dinner. Oh, and, you get one free AYCE dinner if you come with more than six people on your birthday. " - julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez

"This Japanese hot pot spot is a group dinner destination in the Richmond—and not just because friends and families always pack into the slightly chaotic, minimalist space to go in on bubbling pots of miso and spicy tonkotsu soup. Their iconic green dipping sauce, a ponzu, cilantro, and garlic-heavy concoction, deserves a spot in the Condiment Hall of Fame. And the menu of high-quality meats and sides (no seafood here) include perfectly melty slices of pork, lamb, and beef, and chewy hand-pulled ramen noodles. After consuming a pool’s worth of green sauce with everything, know that Shabu Club’s free matcha and red bean ice cream cones (the perfect finisher) await. photo credit: Carly Hackbarth photo credit: Carly Hackbarth photo credit: Carly Hackbarth" - Julia Chen