WATDA — Restaurant in Waitematā

First time my friend and I went here, everything was amazing. Food, service and timings - all great. The second, not so much but I wanted to keep supporting cause the food was just that delicious! (Chicken katss is one of the best in Auckland I’ve ever had!) but tonight was very disappointing.

We called and ordered 3 x chicken katss, they said it’ll be 10-15min - perfect. They then called back, then hung up so I called back to check everything was still ok. I called, they wanted to confirm I was getting chicken katss to which I excitedly said yes, and said I’m getting 3, confirmed they understood, yep, great, ended the call excited for our flat dinner.

When we went to pick up, there was only one on the counter, already packed. They apologised that they messed up (even though it was confirmed multiple times) and said it’ll be 10min to make the others. At this point my flatmate was like nah, but I had to still get one anyway so we waited. This took about 20min (carpark ticket showed duration of time) instead of the 10min.

I went to pay and I realised that the first chicken katss that they had ready for me, wasn’t replaced or under a heat lamp but just sitting on the counter. The soup side dish and rice was replaced, but when I got home (5min away) it was cold and soggy when I opened it, while my partners one was super fresh.

All in all, not the most amazing experience but at least my partner had a good meal.

Would only recommend to come here and eat, on a week night as weekend orders can take 50min (plus), and if you order takeaway might be best to order in person not...

Watda reminds me of a Korean version of Icco in Kingsland. Bitsy meals, in a homely style, done mostly well. But not as good.

I really wanted to rate it higher, but value for money got me a bit stumped. I got for myself a spicy seafood soondubu, with extra fried chicken. The soondubu had 2 tiny prawns (essentially shrimps), 3 tiny mussels, and 2 bits of squid from what feels like a frozen seafood mix bag. Plus tofu and an egg. To be fair, the broth was quite tasty. But, for a $28 set meal - plus an extra $5 for the 3 nugget sized pieces of fried chicken (this much was fair - and the chicken was delicious), I admit I felt a bit cheated on value. Perhaps it's just the living cost crisis - I don't know.

I really wanted to like this place a lot. But even the 4 star might even be generous. The banchan range of potato croquette with house made sauce, sweet and sour mushroom thing, pickled radish, pickled cucumber and potato salad - was not bad. With the first 3 being good, and the latter 2 being meh. For this price point... I'd almost rather go to Ah Ssak in Upper Queen Street (now they do the banchan well).

Service is fine. The place is fine - situated in Ponsonby Central.

I reckon it may just be what I ordered? I looked over to my neighbouring table and they ordered the fried chicken. Portion wise, it looked massive and I had a bit of fomo. But yes, I'm aware chicken is cheaper than seafood.

I might have to try the other menu items before I can offer a...

Exquisite Korean dishes located in the middle of Ponsonby Central. Food was truly flavourful! We tried the Spicy Pork and Braised Waguy Beef. The pork was lean and tender with thick cuts and the spicy sauce that it was stir-fried with had a sweet and spicy taste to it and didn't taste like your usual commercial gochujang. The Wagyu beef was braised until soft and fell apart and was packed with sweet and salty soy sauce flavours.

Each choice on the menu came with rice, soup, and a few side dishes. The soup was seaweed soup with some minced garlic that took away that 'fishy' smell you get from seaweed, the small hamburger patty was surprisingly very crispy and had a bit of a sweet and five spice taste to it. The egg roll, and kimchi were standard, though the cabbage kimchi did lack a bit of heat and tangy-ness you'd normally taste from fermented vegetables.

The atmosphere and decor of the restaurant is indeed retro-chic. Although a small area, the design resembles the traditional elements and designs of restaurants in South Korea, but maintaining it's character to distinguish itself in the diverse eatery of Ponsonby Central.

Surely looking forward to their rotating menu and tasting more of the beautifully composed...