Overall, the food is questionable. Nothing really tasted good other than the Chicken Katsu. The seafood paella was disappointing and smelled like fish (in a bad way). Not sure why they have this kitchen appreciation fee….just raise the prices and stop with the hidden mark-ups. Ambiance is ok I guess and servers are nice. Good choice for people who are concerned about Covid too since they require proof of vaccination.

This review is a much overdue review for one of my favorite places in the greater Boston area. I've celebrated many life events here, from anniversaries, family/friends visiting, graduations... it was even one of the last restaurants I went to before moving away from Boston. The reason I frequented Pagu for these events in my life was because of the special experience I had here each and every time. The menu is innovative and constantly changing. I won't even try to review every dish in my photos; the important part is that each one is well thought out and delicious!! Since leaving Boston, I have not found a place like Pagu that always made me feel so at home while providing me with an incredible dining experience. It saddens me to know that they are getting a lot of hate for requiring proof of vaccination to dine in. I believe that the Pagu team is just doing everything they can to keep their customers and their staff safe. I hope we can all have empathy for others, especially during this unprecedented pandemic.

This is definitely a hidden gem. Bao here we’re very interesting and tasty. Other foods were delicious as well. But the problem is the alcoholic and non alcoholic drink, they all tasted nothing lol… we finally ordered one with guava that can taste a bit of something else. When we came in that day, AC was down, but the waitress opening the penthouse for us to sit in.

Skip this place. Service was great except every server filling our water managed to rest the bottle on our glass, then move on to the next table with the same bottle. Maybe I’m the only one grossed out by that? Overall the food was subpar. The duck confit just looks gross. It was very overcooked and flavorless. The squash purée was fine. My dining partner had the noodles with mushrooms. She enjoyed the noodles themselves. Flavor wasn’t there. Not spicy. Not umami. The sherry vinegar was the only thing you could taste. Maybe the pork would be better. The shishitos were good, hard to mess up. So was the tomato bread. This place must have gotten lost somewhere in between Japanese and Spanish (?) styles they were aiming for. It just didn’t do it for us. I like flavor and good food in general. Tapas is cool too but this place is not good. We had been excited to try it but decided to skip out after the first few awful dishes.

The service and ambiance was great! Food was ok. Ramen broth lacked dimension, cheese cake was pretty good not so creamy. The pork belly bao buns were well proportioned but nothing to write home about. Sesame Salad was good, fresh tasty, with different textures, and flavors. Tuna tartare was ok, tuna didn’t seem so fresh. Black cod croquetas were good, crunchy on the outside, warm and tasty in the inside, paired well with the chili alioli. The food’s presentation was nice.

Great dinner. Service was wonderful. The 86 grapefruit cocktail was good. The cava was wonderful. We had four small plates. The bao and shishito peppers were good. The salmon crudo was okay. The tempura string beans were amazing.

The staff/atmosphere was awesome, however the food was quite disappointing. I was extremely disappointed that I ordered a $19 „Spicy Knife Cut Noodles“ and it was very obvious that the noodle was factory made. (It’s different from the pictures they have on the previous Google photos. I uploaded the photo I took)

Absolutely stunning dining experience. The atmosphere is well balanced between being warm, social and intimate. It’s been inspiring to see a restaurant sticking up for the right thing throughout the pandemic and to see their resilience through it all. The food brings me back to my time spent in southern Spain and the fusion with Asian cuisine is electric. Cannot wait to dine again!

Excellent service, and the food is consistently outstanding. Loved the black ink bao but didn't get to take a picture. The wine was perfectly paired. Thank you also for accommodating food preferences for a modified dish.

A good mix of Spanish tapas and Pan-Asian cuisines. Recently took a visit for dinner, and we were able to get in without a reservation. We shared a couple of tapas and got the pig for the entrée. The fried peppers and the squid ink unagi bao were my favorites from the small plates whereas the cheesy wafflato and the striped bass ceviche were mediocre. The broth for the midnight ramen was bland, and the noodles ended up lacking flavor. For the pig, I liked that they included the crispy pork skin bits that added an extra texture. The pickled cabbage on the side was also a good pairing with the tender meat. We then finished off the meal with a matcha cookie. Although a bit overpriced, the cookie was very soft on the inside, and I liked the subtle matcha flavor that gave a great finish to the meal.

Really enjoyed this place! If you're craving bao, this is a place for you. If you're always bartering with yourself between Japanese and Spanish cuisine, oh wow is this the place for you. Paella & ramen in one place, with good portion sizes to get many. Was lucky enough to sit next to the prep area, what a show. Cool to see all the dishes you didn't order to plan for next time. Recommend the green pea bao in summer, and the ceviche looked insane.

It is hard to get to all great places in Boston. There are just too many. But Pagu should be on your list! The place is very inviting with a very generous outside seating area. The atmosphere just perfect for a date night. You can actually hear each other talking, sitting across from each other. The staff is amazing and very helpful. I loved the app selection. The pork steam bun should be my last meal. The roasted Brussels sprouts with some super tasty aioli were the big surprise for the entire table. Just perfect and delicious. I don’t get the papaya salad. IT’s not exciting to me. But I never bought a papaya at a farmers market in my life. Maybe just not my thing. Salmon ceviche… out of this world! I was surprised that the salmon was sliced that thick but it worked. Add this to my last meal list… When the black cod on cedar hit the table I could not wait to taste it. The smell was already heaven. And the cod was like butter. Very, very good butter. My vegan Paella was the best vegetable paella I ever tasted. (Sorry Spain!) Thanks to the entire team for a great meal. Chef Tracy Chang, I’m a big fan of your work!!

We had the pork baos, ramen, jamon iberica, tempura green beans, fried calamari, and seafood paella. Everything was ok except the paella was disappointing. The fried calamari was fried well and the green beans had a nice kick from the Thai chili sauce. Comparing to the other photos on Google, I got a sparse amount of seafood. The seafood was cooked well and rice had good texture but no flavor. It needed some spices and some more salt and usually I find restaurant food too salty. It just tasted like bland rice with olive oil and steamed seafood on top.

I absolutely loved my dinner here. It’s innovative and delicious - no fusion confusion here 😋 The plates I ordered and LOVED: Patatas bravas, fried string green beans, paella, pea and pork belly (yum!!!) baos. Drinks were great, too. All dishes were so fun, craveable, and unique. I went earlier around 5pm so no service issues for me 😊

I am thoroughly surprised. I didn't know what to expect when my wife said it was a Japanese fusion but everything we ordered was very good. For the most part i wanted to eat mostly appetizers and an entre to share. The hamachi sashimi is fresh and love the sauce they paired with it that made it sweet. Next up we ordered the pork bun and squid ink bun. Both are very good but think the meat should be slightly bigger to match the size of the bun, other than that, the taste is on point. The tuna tar tar was pretty good as well. Next up we got the entre and we got the Wagyu steak medium rare. It was absolutely delicious, pretty warm center and slightly red. Very juicy and pairs very well with the greens. What I also love about the place is the open kitchen seeing the chefs at work where you can appreciate the work they put in. For dessert we highly recommend the black sesame tofu. It takes a while for the taste to kick in but once it does, you just want the whole thing to yourself.

Pagu is a fantastic dining experience! I love the open kitchen concept, where from the kitchen bar you can watch the chefs up close work in action or sit in the dining area and still get a great view of the kitchen. One of the best spots in Boston for innovative dishes! Everything I ordered came hot and fresh. The staff was extremely nice and cared about our dining experience. I highly recommend trying out this spot, you will not regret it!

I wouldn’t recommend this place as the food wasn’t that great. Especially given the >$50 per person (excluding drinks.) Further, 3 of the 5 tapas we got were lukewarm at best which didn’t help the cause.

Food Over priced food and nothing was great. The portion was shockingly small, so we basically ordered the whole menu. Everything else The service was good.

We had an amazing experience planning & eating a group dinner at Pagu! Amanda was very helpful and flexible during the planning process, and everyone’s dietary restrictions (vegetarian, no dairy, no pork, no dried fruit, no seafood…) were met without at all compromising the quality of the dining experience. It made our week:)

Food and atmosphere were picturesque but ended there. Flavors were subpar. We were disappointed by the lack of depth in the ramen's broth and the croquettes and fried oysters in the bao were dry. The sharp knife noodles was literally just noodles with chili oil and shredded pork (good thing I added mushrooms). Be prepared to be nickled and dimed here - $2 extra charge for more aioli for the calamari and $4 for mushrooms with your sharp knife noodles. Your server won't confirm these charges with you when you place them. Surprise! There will also be an added charge for the kitchen staff on top of your tip. The cheap owners will make you fund all their staff. Finally, be prepared to show your vaccination cards. It was nice to try but we will not be returning.

Had a reservation for a Sunday evening, but probably didn’t need it. The place didn’t seem overly crowded. No complaints on the food - it was good, but I didn’t see much “fusion” between the Asian dishes and the Spanish dishes. Portions also seemed pretty small for the cost. Thought the tomato slice on the pan con tomate was weird - would have liked it better if it was the tomato spread like the traditional dish. Overall would probably visit again if in the area, but not necessarily worth traveling a distance for.

Food and drinks very well done. They fit well into an Asian fusion niche. As far as drinks, the bar manager Andy knows his stuff and the bar has a particularly good selection of Japanese whiskeys, some specially imported. Subsequently, many of the house cocktails involve these and are all above average. As far as the food, lots of great choices. All the bao is great - the green pea bao, the braised pork belly bao, the squid ink unagi bao - can’t go wrong. Other highlights included the chicken katsu, the tempura Brussels sprouts, and an absolute favorite of mine - the spicy mushroom noodles. Even the matcha cookie was good, and I don’t really dig matcha. Looking forward to returning.

The place is ok. The atmosphere was nice and the staff is super nice. We got to the table and the host gave us menus without checking them, we opened the little menu book at it was empty. Then we order drinks and food. Somehow the food was served to us waay before the drinks. The food itself was very experimental. We didnt really like it that much. The plates are not prices proportionally, some plates are $18, others are 60 or more, not clear which one is suppose to be shared and which ones are small enough for 2 people to share. Overall - it was ok but I dont think we'll go there again. If you like an experimental, fusion cuisine - you would probably like this place

When reading through the reviews of this place, consider that the majority of the negative reviews are from quite a long time ago. I visited in February 2024 for Valentine's Day and this place was very solid. Really good atmosphere and service, and every single dish was fantastic. Highly recommend the knife-cut noodles and the black cod croquetas.

Everything here is sooooo good!!! Went there last night as a date night and was blown away. Jordan(I believe that was our waitress’ name) was super sweet, attentive, and helpful! Also, I am allergic to dairy and pescatarian and there was so many options for me, which was awesome. The food is so delicious, and there was so many things I wanted to try but didn’t have the belly room to order, so I will be back soon. I am sober, so the non-zero menu, was AMAZING! I had two different fantastic mocktails and still have others to try in the future. The vibe, food, service, everything, was so great and I will be back again.

Made a reservation for two Sunday at 5pm for the patio to celebrate a birthday and was disappointed to find that the patio was closed that night because of a staff shortage. The hostess seemed kind of standoffish when I asked her why the patio was closed, which I didn't appreciate. While I understand that being understaffed is a very valid reason, I would've appreciated a heads-up because our choice for eating on the patio was to mitigate some of the risks of eating indoors. What annoyed me even more was that when we finished our meal an hour later, we passed by the patio area only to find that there were now several tables set up and a family eating at one of them. As for the food, everything we had was delicious. Standouts include the Pork Baos and Chicken Katsu. For two people, sharing two appetizers (the baos and ceviche) and two entrees (katsu and hand-cut noodles) was more than enough. They even gave us a slice of chocolate cake. Aside from the miscommunication about the patio, I might be convinced to come back. The waitresses were very friendly and the food was delicious. There were maybe only 4 or 5 other parties by the time we left around 6pm, but I would still make a reservation, especially for a larger group.

We had a phenomenal night at Pagu celebrating a vegan birthday and the staff went way above and beyond to accommodate us, to the point of surprising the birthday girl with a delicious olive oil chocolate cake. I can't express how appreciative I am to our waitress, the experience will have us coming back for many celebrations to come!