I've been overdue for a review, but I happened to stumble upon Paku Katsuya after a painfully indecisive discussion over where to have lunch. A friend and I came here after taking a walk around the park and decided to give it a try. We ordered Paku's Assorted Tonkatsu Set and a Katsu Sandwich Set, which we upgraded with fries and a drink (lemonade for us!). First off, the portions were massive. Between the two of us, the assorted tonkatsu set alone probably would've been enough to fill us up, but the sandwich was a nice addition. As for the tonkatsu set, we really liked it! The katsu was crispy and juicy, and my friend especially liked the shrimp katsu. The cheese and ham katsu was fine, if a little light on flavor, but if you love a good melted cheese pull, that one's for you. Overall, everything was pretty solid. The fries were fairly standard, while the sandwich itself was flavorful and filling. We found the sauce on the sando to be a little one-dimensional on its own, but it paired nicely with the cabbage slaw and accompanying dressing. The lemonade was also served in a surprisingly generous cup, which we appreciated. If there was one thing we wished they had, it would be Japanese curry sauce! The katsu sauce was yummy, but we would've loved the option to pair the cutlets with a rich Japanese curry. With how crispy the katsu was, I think it would've been a perfect combination. All in all, Paku Katsuya is definitely somewhere we'd return to if we're ever near Boston Common and once again can't figure out where to eat. The portions are generous, the food is satisfying, and it's a great option if you're craving katsu. We'll have to come back sometime for dinner! read more

Paku Katsuya - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Katsu set is great in terms of quantity and presentation - comes with some sides like miso soup, rice, sesame seeds which you can grind, and sea salt+wasabi to be added onto the katsu. Service is amazing with people frequently checking in on you. Price is on the steeper end ($23.50 for a set; the assorted set is $28!); however, the sides are refillable. I got two refills of the cabbage and one refill of the miso soup before I got too full to ask for more. Doing this will at least help make your money's worth. Just from this alone, I would definitely come back! I personally wouldn't go for the ramen or drinks as there are probably lots of better places in the area but for the katsu set and overall atmosphere/vibes, this place delivers. read more

Paku Katsuya - pork katsu set | $23.50 - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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If you like katsu (either chicken katsu, pork katsu or fish katsu), Paku is THE place to go! O M G!!! It is so good! It blew our expectations out of the water. My favorite part was how they walk around and give you free refills of the sides (everything except the katsu). I love that because I love the pickled veggies and Japanese slaw. Or just getting extra rice is great! The service is excellent. The staff is very attentive and courteous. The restaurant is clean and the decor is pretty no nonsense. It is more of a 'quick eats' kind of place, and not a first date kind of place. It's simple and casual with the food as the highlight. read more

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If you're looking for a place that has delicious Ramen and Katsu then you found it! From the crispy Katsu to the unlimited side dish refill it's got everything you gotta ask for! I loved the spicy Ramen and be careful it is SPICY! Staff here is very nice and attentive--which I loved! I really wanna try their drinks next time because they seem very interesting. read more

Paku Katsuya - Chicken katsu set with curry on the side - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Service was 10 out of 5. Server didn't let our water run dry that's for sure... food was 4/5 - plenty of it but on the pricier side. The tiger prawns were good. Wish the braised pork was more "braised". read more

Paku Katsuya - Tiger prawns - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Definitely worth a visit! One of the few places where portions sizes are actually larger than what is shown on the menu! I was shocked by the size of the tray. While it doesn't seem like a ton of food at first, you do get unlimited cabbage - which you will need. Katsu sauce is naturally really salty, so the cabbage cuts the flavor. It was also a fun experience to ground our own sesame for our food, each dish comes with their own pestle. Food is a bit pricy, but overall a fun experience. We got our food pretty quickly, even for a busier Saturday night read more

Paku Katsuya - Mixed chicken katsu - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Located in downtown Boston I recommend just taking the T in since it's across the street from Park Street - parking will be annoying. The restaurant is well lit and cute. I got the Paku's Assorted Tonkatsu Set. It comes with 2 pieces of cheese katsu, regular tonkatsu, and 1 shrimp tempura. Every set comes with unlimited shredded cabbage and miso soup. Every katsu was crunchy on the outside. The cheese katsu was my favorite which was pork katsu topped with cheese. When I think of Tonkatsu I think of Japan. And one thing I really miss about Japan was their Tonkatsu (not their sushi surprisingly). I say the flavor is pretty good here but I do wish the Tonkatsu pork were thicker cuts. This place does its job whenever I'm craving Tonkatsu. Drinks I got their Strawberry Matcha Latte and their Passion Fruit Lemon Tea - both were decent. read more

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Such an amazing experience. The service-including refills- was so fast. The waitress did an excellent job of explaining options and food was delicious. I loved the crispy katsu and delicious sauces. Unlimited sides was also super helpful. read more

Paku Katsuya - Ebi Katsu Set - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

If you're looking for an authentic katsu meal in Boston, I think this is the place. Nothing mind blowing but the katsu is good quality and fried perfectly. Comes with unlimited cabbage, pickles, miso soup and rice which is a plus. I also really liked how you can grind up your own sesame seeds for the katsu sauce. Definitely want to return to try the fried shrimp. Only complaint is the service can be kind of slow but this place does get quite packed. read more

Paku Katsuya - Tonkatsu Set - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I came here on a Monday night after work with friends and got a table pretty quickly. I think the staff was attentive but noticeably inexperienced. I have a friend with a nut allergy but when asked if their sauce contains a specific nut they were unable to answer with certainty. They also were out of stock for the cheese katsu and lychee sparkling drink which was interesting for a katsu restaurant with limited menu options. That aside I ordered the chicken katsu which was breaded nice and thin which was good. And my group did stay for a full 2.5 hours and they didn't rush us out. Overall, not a bad spot but I think operationally still needs some work. read more

Paku Katsuya - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Wednesday noon time, the place was busy but not packed but due to 1 server, the service is slow. Many items are sold out such as the cheesy katsu and none of the drinks are available. The server was too busy and he never gave me the menu, I just ended up looking up online. I ordered Ebi Katsu which the shrimp was huge and served hot and crispy. Nice presentation. Definitely will come back to try the pork or chicken katsu but not anytime soon. read more

Paku Katsuya - Ebi Katsu - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

This place is right across from the Boston Common in downtown. It opened recently and I've been hearing about it on the socials. I finally tried it and I'll be honest - I don't get the hype. The food is fresh, but it didn't taste any better than other similar places I've tried. Although they offer unlimited sides, the value of the meal is not there based on the quality and service. Food comes out slow and if you ask for extra of the yellow pickles for instance, they bring you out exactly just one...even thought I asked for a bunch to save time. The dishes were expensive for what you get, IMHO. I've had better and can't recommend anyone to go out of their way to try this place....but if you really wanna try it, go for it. It was really just OK. read more

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This is the best passion fruit drink I had in Boston. The place is super cute, everyone is very friendly. I only got the drinks and it's 100000/10 read more

Paku Katsuya - Passion Fruit Lemon Tea - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Great place for katsu! The portion sizes were pretty large, and you get unlimited soup, cabbage and rice. I got the pork tonkatsu. The pork itself was good, but a little dry. We went right when they opened at 11:30, the service was fast and I felt like they paid a lot of attention to us. I also love the decor inside, it feels like a very cozy Japanese restaurant. read more

Paku Katsuya - Menu 4/2026 - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I came back about a month later to see if things have improved and I'm still conflicted. This time I went earlier right when they opened for dinner and was able to get seated right away. We ordered within a minute after the table next to us ordered and the waitress stated that there would be a bit of a wait, which I was okay with since everybody essentially sat down at the same time so there would be a lot of orders at once. Somehow the table next to us got their assorted tonkatsu sets and finished their food and left before we even got our meal. To make matters worse, there was another table across from us that ordered after us and they also got their set before we did and they ordered the same thing we got. It took about 50 minutes for the food to finally arrive and it was plated well, but again missing lemon on one of the assorted tonkatsu platters. As I stated before, the food carries this place and the second time did not disappoint. In fact, the food was ever so slightly better than the first. The pork was less tough and the cheese on the katsu was more melted. Their miso soup is very good and the cabbage with their sesame dressing is simple, but so satisfying. I'm happy to report that the service has somewhat improved, but still far from where they need to be. The servers were inconsistent in explaining the set meals to customers. There was one instance when bringing the set meals to the table next to us where the worker asked the table if they had any allergies to which the customer stated shouldn't they have asked him when ordering regarding his potential allergies or lack thereof. It is a very standard thing to ask when taking orders, but it also isn't really something you see as much in Asian restaurants to which they leave it up to you to disclose your known allergies when inquiring about the menu. I didn't get a chance to ask for her name, but the waitress with the pink hair deserves much credit for her service. She demonstrated adequate ability to multitask managing host stand while servicing tables and remembering what people had asked for and following up unprompted. The other two servers were slower and assisted us with refills/payment only when prompted, but were still pleasant and friendly. So overall, not bad this time, but could be more proactive and hopefully they learn more from their experience on the job. After seeing what this place is like for the second time, it's clear that they just need more staff both in the kitchen and front of house to allow the existing staff to do their jobs easier. On my way out I noticed they do have signs on their door for hiring all positions so it seems like things are trending in the right direction. There should be no longer than a 30 minute wait MAX from ordering for the food to arrive. As of right now, it seems you should plan for 2 hours for a meal here on the weekend not including wait time for the table so be wary if you're on a tight schedule. It's hard to give it more than 3 stars at this point until they get their operations and timings down as well as consistency with proactive service to check in on tables, but the food is legit and time will tell with the appropriate staffing and training. read more

we came here on a weekday night and there was no wait! The tonkatsu and cheese katsu set were the best. everything in the set came with unlimited refills except for the meat itself we especially love the cabbage with the sesame dressing and the miso soup as well. This place is great for group dinners or even solo dining and the portion size is huge! read more

Paku Katsuya - Tonkatsu Set - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Come early to grab a table as space is limited! The menu is simple with your choice of pork katsu, shrimp, chicken or pork with cheese. There's also ramen options too if you're not feeling rice. The pork katsu set came with a lot of food for $23. I added an egg on the side and that was perfect for the meal. The pork itself was a hit or miss - some parts were dry and some weren't. My partner ordered the assorted set which came with one shrimp, 2 pieces of cheese katsu and a regular portion of the pork katsu. My partner didn't really like the cheese katsu as it was literally just the pork carved out with a piece of mozzarella stuffed inside - so a thin layer of pork with a lot of cheese. There were many drink options but the peach oolong caught my eye. It was a great refreshing pairing with the katsu! Service was great though! Boston doesn't have many katsu places so this is a great option. I'd def come back but wouldn't go out of my way to come. read more

Paku was great! It was fantastic! The food was so good! The portions were so big! We're definitely going again! read more

Paku Katsuya - Pakus Assorted Tonkatsu Set - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

A good addition to the downtown Boston restaurant scene. I ordered the tonkatsu set and the pork was a bit on the dry side but not too bad. Not sure if the dashi was just very diluted this one time or what, but I could barely taste any flavor in the miso soup. The placement of the rice and soup bowls on the tray also confused me. I'm used to having the rice bowl on the left and miso soup on the right as this is usually how they come out in teishoku in Japan. But it was an easy switch on my end. I would be open to coming back to try their other sets. Hope they can add a beef katsu to their menu in the future! read more

In a city with amazing food options, this place stands out. Not only was the food incredible, but the service was friendly and attentive. Every aspect of this meal was high quality. The server told us that the miso is very high quality that they purchase directly from Japan. Even the rice was amazing. Can't recommend this place highly enough. I'll be back next time we're in Boston. read more

Paku Katsuya - Katsu platter - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Tried their tonkatsu set. It's pretty authentic. Everything tastes good. The only disappointment is that the bottom of the tonkatsu is soft. It's not crispy like the top. The portion is big enough. Service is good. They have seats during weekend lunch time. read more

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The service and food was AMAZING! Everything was a little expensive but you get so much and free refills on cabbage and rice.

food was very yummy! honestly haven't had any katsu since being in boston and once this place opened i knew i had to try! i think it was very good but i will saw the cheese katsu is a bit overwhelming in terms of cheese and not too much meat which i understand but wish the ratio was a bit different. love that there is unlimited cabbage, rice and miso soup which is lovely! service was pretty quick and nothing to complain about and the vibe was pretty chill however i do know the waits on weekends have been insane. read more

Paku Katsuya - tonkatsu set and cheese tonkatsu set - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Awesome food and even better service!!! 20/10 would recommend, the sesame sauce goes great with the cabbage and the meat is delicious! The servers are very attentive and kind. It was a lovely experience! So much food for the price too. read more

This was so yummy! The cabbage came with a sesame sauce that was delicious and they came by several times to top up my sides as desired. The tonkatsu was perfect and everything balanced out really well with the sides. Service was great! read more

Paku Katsuya - Tonkatsu Set - Japanese Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

New restaurant opened last week right across from Boston Common. Ordered the Assorted Tonkatsu Set and it was very good and filling! The cheese katsu was especially good. Pork was a bit on the dry side, but all the sides including cabbage, rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables were unlimited. Will definitely come back. Service was very good as well. read more

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