This review aims to cover the overall Hakkaiza experience -
a) Locale: Pleasant and relaxed corner of Sørenga. The restaurant by itself was anything but cozy, it has a single table concept centred around sharing but at a steep price level though.
b) Service: We came in touch with the three out of four service personnel at the restaurant today, and they were all a bit disrespectful, impatient and 'not present'. You won't be getting any professionalism or courtesy here. The price levels suggest the service shall be of high standard but it is far from it.
Incident-1: In a near empty restaurant, we were offered a table by the bar which was poorly balanced and shaking alot. I instantly asked to be seated at the table next to me and the waiter instantly agreed. Then 5 minutes along, comes another waiter telling me the table was reserved, however agreed after he understood he couldn't fix it himself. However, at the end of our meal one hour later, the crowd in the restaurant was still quite low in comparison to available tables and I'm calling that earlier reservation statement a bluff, sorry.
Incident-2: While placing the order, I specifically asked for the green tea to be served at the end of service. However, it came (in a pot) at the beginning of service which i had returned. No apologies by the waitress, just a 'huff' and swift return. At the end of service, we got two tiny cups of lukewarm green tea water in tiny espresso cups without a pot. Two cups for NOK 76/-, daylight robbery and purely unprofessional. We decide to laugh the cheap behaviour off!
c) Food: We ordered the beef noodles, brocollini and korean fried chicken.
Beef in the noodles were succulent, and the broth was top. Seasoned very heavily though.
Brocollini was just average and the sauce was just so so so salty, i think my pressure levels are very high now.
Korean Fried Chicken was just poor, felt it was just dunked in sriracha sauce (and lots of salt).
FINAL VERDICT: Poor service, poor balancing of seasoning (salt) and therefore below average value for money.
Many other gems in Oslo under the Asian (and fusion scene), steer away from this one. read more