All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and Korean dishes in Burswood, Auckland — unlimited barbecue plus regional specialties drawn from Korea's eight provinces, with soju on the drinks menu to match. Paldo Korean Buffet's Botany branch on Ti Rakau Drive serves dinner Tuesday to Sunday from 5:30pm, with an additional lunch seating on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 2pm.
The name nods to Korea's eight historical provinces, and the buffet reflects that breadth: alongside the unlimited BBQ, the kitchen lays out a spread of authentic Korean dishes with a regional bent. The full buffet and drinks menus are published as PDFs on the website, and the restaurant also takes function and group booking inquiries.
Reservations can be made by phone on 09 273 9797, and if you can't make it in, the Botany kitchen delivers through Uber Eats.
Everyone at the table wants something different, and usually that means compromise. At Paldo Korean Buffet's Botany branch, the compromise disappears: this is an all-you-can-eat restaurant where unlimited Korean barbecue and a full spread of Korean dishes are there for the taking, for as long as you want to stay at the table. Set on Ti Rakau Drive in Burswood, in Auckland's east, it has built its name on a simple promise — authentic Korean cooking, in quantities decided entirely by you.
Buffet dining gets a bad rap when quantity replaces quality; Paldo's pitch is the opposite. The point of the all-you-can-eat format here is range — a table can move from grilled favourites to regional dishes and back again without anyone keeping score. It is a style of eating built for groups, families and long conversations, where the food keeps coming and nobody has to agree on a single dish.
In Korean, paldo refers to the country's eight historical provinces, and the restaurant takes that breadth as its brief. Rather than presenting a single style of Korean cooking, the buffet promises regional specialties drawn from all eight provinces — a reminder that Korean food is not one cuisine but many, shaped by coasts, mountains and regional tastes. For diners, that translates into a buffet that rewards curiosity: there is always something familiar on the grill, and something you may not have tried before alongside it.
The headline act is the all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue — as much as you like, eaten the way Korean BBQ is meant to be eaten. Around the grill, the kitchen lays out its range of authentic Korean dishes, so the meal never narrows to meat alone. The restaurant also emphasises soju to match, and keeps a dedicated drinks menu for those who want something to raise alongside the barbecue.
The full buffet menu and drinks list are published as PDFs on the restaurant's website, so it's worth a look before you visit to see exactly what the current spread covers. And if you'd rather have the food come to you, the kitchen is on Uber Eats, delivering from the same kitchen that feeds the dining room.
The Botany branch sits on Ti Rakau Drive in Burswood, an easy stop for much of Auckland's east — handy for locals who want Korean food without crossing the city. Between the buffet menu, the drinks list and delivery through Uber Eats, there are a few different ways in, depending on the night you have in mind.
Paldo Botany runs two seatings. Dinner is served Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30pm to 9:00pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays there is also a lunch service from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. Mondays the restaurant is closed. If you're planning a weekend visit, note the gap in the middle of the day — between 2:00pm and 5:30pm the kitchen resets between lunch and dinner.
Reservations can be made by phone on 09 273 9797, and for larger parties it's worth calling ahead. The restaurant also takes function inquiries through its website, so birthdays, work dinners and other group occasions can be arranged directly with the team — an all-you-can-eat format tends to suit a crowd.
For first-timers, the format is forgiving. There's no need to commit to any one dish; start with small portions, find what you like, and go back for more. Pace is everything at a buffet, and the pleasure of Paldo is that the decisions — how much, and how adventurous — are entirely yours.
Whether you come for the endless barbecue, the eight-provinces spread or a leisurely weekend lunch, the deal is the same: sit down, order freely, and let the kitchen keep up with you.