Aqua Japanese Restaurant & Takeaways — Restaurant in Canterbury

I initially left a one-star review without a comment, but after seeing the twisted response from the manager/owner—who referred to me as “one star”—I felt the need to explain.

We’ve been skiing at Mt Hutt for years and have always enjoyed the restaurants in Methven—except this one. Unfortunately, this was the only restaurant we couldn’t recommend.

Friends had warned us the food was very, very salty, but we decided to try it anyway. When we arrived for dinner, the restaurant was completely empty—not a good sign. The entire place had a foul smell, and we were already considering leaving.

Then a man came out, scanned us from head to toe without even saying "hello." What he said afterwards was shockingly unprofessional and rude. We felt deeply insulted and left immediately. It was a very strange experience. We’ve had wonderful service and food from almost every restaurant in...

A cute little restaurant in the Methven township, you're greated by two friendly dogs who occupy themselves around the room (my favourite part)

The dumplings were reasonably nice I enjoyed them, I wasn't a fan of what I thought was Soy sauce which actually turned out to taste more like teriyaki which was served with them.

The ramen broth was bland, it was full of frozen mixed vegetables and the Japanese mayo on top really butchered it....

As another reviewer mentioned it's miles off a traditional ramen, it's more like an instant noodle soup with frozen mixed vegetables which was a real shame.

The bowls are not very big and are very overpriced and underwhelming, I think a change of recipe is...

My friend and I weren’t expecting much — we were simply looking for a place that opened early for dinner, and this spot happened to be one of the few. But we were pleasantly surprised.

Chan, the manager, was incredibly friendly and welcoming. He even took a moment to share some of his experiences living in New Zealand, which gave the whole visit a really personal and warm touch.

The ambience had a casual izakaya-style vibe really relaxed, cosy, and unpretentious. It felt like the kind of place you'd happily unwind in after a long day.

The food was good — fresh, satisfying, and served hot. Exactly what we needed after a long, cold winter day. Nothing overly fancy, just comforting food that...