Paskatsu — Restaurant in Waitematā

I tried out Paskatsu last Thursday, 13/2.

Fulfilling my hunger was my top priority so I let the waiter know my appetite and asked him to recommend something. Funnily enough, instead of recommending a pasta or katsu dish (which is the namesake of the restaurant), he suggested I try out their kaarage rice bowl dish. Being a trusting fellow, I went for it.

What I received was a heartwarming bowl wherein crispy pieces of chicken were fried Japanese style. The chicken was then simmered with freshly cut onions and spring onions, soy sauce, and finally glazed with a fluffy runny egg. It was served with a cabbage salad topped off with a sesame dressing, seaweed, a hot bowl of miso soup, and some pickled ginger.

Let us get back to that rice: perfectly steamed Japanese rice is the bedrock of the dish. And the karaage? Huge tasty juicy pieces. Now, granted, the cooking process came at the cost of a crispiness but each piece was wonderful and well seasoned as bite after bite after bite left me wanting more and more.

The atmosphere is fun and fresh, and tailored for the younger crowd with upbeat music blended into the tropical-style interior. I have to say that the entire restaurant was shiningly clean and orderly. And the decor: the green from the foliage combined with the warm brown furniture created a cozy environment.

The service also went well. The male server was always attentive to me and served me with genuine smiles all throughout my meal. Such hospitality is greatly...

Visited this restaurant for the first time with my brother. Service from staff was 10/10, great communication and organisation for the waitlist as tables were filling up! I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant, especially in the courtyard!

I ordered the famous Paskatsu combination with Tonkatsu and Spicy Prawn Pasta w Spaghetti ($29$ while my brother got the Tonkatsu with Hell Sauce on the side ($24) as recommended by the waitress.

Both dish portions were incredible and good value for what you paid for! I wish there was a little bit more rice for the Tonkatsu (I would say 1/2-2/3 of what you would usually expect). My pasta however was not yet al dente and still a bit hard and came out cold. I wish there was a bit more sauce and pasta overall and potentially a little less katsu on the plate. Nonetheless I loved all the flavours, and I’d definitely recommend trying the pasta + katsu combination!!

Biggest downfall is that we waited approx. 30-45mins for our food to be prepared - I can’t say it was because they were short staffed because they had 5 waiters in our area which was more than plenty in my opinion.

Would I come back? If I got invited to go with some friends; I wouldn’t have any complaints, but, not sure if it’s going to be on my list of frequent locations though. Nothing particularly amazing, but definitely try it for the...

My first time here (I'd been wanting to come here since I heard about it from a friend) so finally had dinner here with friends on a Tuesday night before we went to a show in the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre. I didn't make a booking as there is no phone number on their Google listing but apparently you need to make your booking via Instagram (which I don't have) but found this out when I asked the waiter who seated me. It wasn't busy at all (perhaps because it was a Tuesday or because it was 5pm) so there were a quite a few tables to choose from. I ordered soju and had the pork loin special I think it was and to share we had the takoyaki. Really like the takoyaki (would order it again for sure) but I found the pork cut a bit dry and flavourless. I wouldn't order it again but looking forward to trying the rest of the menu, in particular the katsu and spaghetti - two of my favourite things. Good location and the waiters were nice. I did like the ambience. Finally had the katsu and pasta for lunch with a colleague (it's only possible to order it for 2 ppl) and while I did like it I preferred that it seemed to be missing a katsu. The replica at the entrance had 4 pieces in total....