Genki Wagyu Shabu House now open in Rockville’s Twinbrook Quarter

All-you-can-eat restaurant offers Japanese hot pot experience, sushi, high-quality beef

June 25, 2026 11:45 a.m.

Genki Wagyu House aims to offer an upscale Japanese hot pot experience. The restaurant boast two levels for seating. Photo credit: Ceoli Jacoby

Genki Wagyu Shabu House, a modern Japanese hot pot and sushi restaurant, is now open in the Twinbrook Quarter development in Rockville, according to restaurant partner Frankie Cheung.

The restaurant at 870 Festival St. started serving diners Wednesday evening and will be in a soft opening mode for the next several weeks, Cheung told Bethesda Today on Monday. During the soft opening, the 4,000-square-foot eatery will only be open for dinner service from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, he said.

Cheung is also a partner of the IVEA Concepts, the group behind several restaurants in the county, including Kanpai BBQ & Shabu Shabu Buffet, Kajiken, Uzu Revolving Sushi, Okaeri Japanese Café, Gyuzo Japanese BBQ and Kyoto Matcha. The group opened Molly Tea, a location of the Chinese chain next door to Genki Wagyu House, in April.

“We are so excited to get both opened now,” Cheung said.

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Patrons of Genki Wagyu Shabu House can expect an upscale “shabu shabu” hot pot experience in which diners can dip high-grade Wagyu beef, seafood, tofu and vegetables in one of six broths of choice, according to Cheung. The meat and other foods are cooked quickly when dipped in the hot broth for several seconds.

The restaurant offers three tiers of all-you-can-eat hot pot experiences with the “basic” silver experience priced at $58, the gold experience priced at $78 and the diamond level at $98, according to Cheung. The diamond hot pot experience includes two appetizers, a selection of A5 Wagyu (the highest grade of Japanese beef), a seafood platter and unlimited sushi.

The bar at Genki Wagyu House in Rockville. Photo credit: Ceoli Jacoby
All-you-can eat food offerings will be available for diners to choose from at this spot in the restaurant. Photo credit: Ceoli Jacoby

The eatery’s sushi menu features an array of options from sashimi and nigiri to signature maki rolls and hand rolls, plus appetizers such as salmon carpaccio, according to the menu. Other appetizers include a Wagyu Katsu sandwich, Wagyu tartare and grilled lemon beef tongue.

Cheung noted that Genki Wagyu Shabu House differs from IVEA’s other hot pot restaurants in the area in its primary focus on the Japanese “shabu shabu” experience.

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He explained that typically other hot pot experiences involve putting all the meat, vegetables and tofu into a hot pot of broth to cook and then scooping out the food. With the Japanese shabu shabu, diners cook each bite at a time.

“We want customers to cook their meat just within like five to eight seconds,” he said, adding that Genki Wagyu Shabu House offers a more upscale experience than the restaurant group’s other hot pot restaurants.

“We want to provide a fine dining experience crossed with the all-you-can-eat experience,” he added.

Aside from an all-encompassing hot pot experience, the double-level restaurant has been designed with traditional Japanese elements that evoke red Japanese torii gates and tea rooms.

The upper level at Genki Wagyu House. Photo credit: Ceoli Jacoby

“We spent a lot of time designing it,” Cheung said.

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The design of the second level draws inspiration from the red torii gates in Japan. That level will be closed during the soft opening, according to Cheung.

Seating in the restaurant varies from booths to tabletops and barstools. The restaurant can seat up to 120, according to Cheung.

A grand opening date has not been set, said Cheung, noting the restaurant will be tweaking its service during the soft opening and aims to perfect operations before opening both levels.

“We want to get our team ready, provide the best service to the customer before we have a date for the grand opening,” Cheung said.

At the Twinbrook Quarter development, Genki Wagyu Shabu House joins Terra Gaucha, a Brazilian steakhouse that opened in December; Wegman’s grocery store; and the Molly Tea shop. Afghan eatery ZiZa Kabob is planning to open in August, according to its website.

Genki Wagyu Shabu House is located at the Twinbrook Quarter development at 870 Festival Street. Photo credit: Ceoli Jacoby

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine