Donburiya
“They are always so nice and every dish I took has been amazing – my favorite is the Tan Tan Men and Sukiyaki Don!!!”
“Excellent casual japanese – I would go as far as to say on par with Ippudo but without the wait.”
“Excellent casual japanese – I would go as far as to say on par with Ippudo but without the wait.”
Donburiya
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
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This is such a good place to know when in Midtown or Upper West Side because it's hard to find an inexpensive decent Japanese place in those neighborhoods that has a nice ambiance as well. The ambiance is casual , reminiscent of a cool tapas bar. Although their specialty is donburi, I really enjoyed the 担々麺 (擔擔麵)tantanmen, a spicy noodle with sesame paste based soup. I tried their katsudon as well, which I thought was pretty decent. I read other Yelpers' reviews complaining about the service but our servers were all attentive and friendly, I have nothing to complain about. I was impressed that they serve Lady M's matcha millecrepes, but the serving portion of each slice was too small…. wish it was slightly thicker!!
I've been here twice so far and will have to give this place a solid three stars off of both experiences.
The first time I dined in and it was a solid four star experience. Good food. Close to the office. Quick food prep time. Nothing was terrible except this awful chlorine smell in the back of the restaurant. Were they cleaning during prime lunch hours? Very odd. Other than that the dine in experience was great. Oh, but they don't split the check more than four credit cards or so. Sooooo if you come in a large group either venmo or bring cash if you're a grandma and don't believe in venmo voodoo.
Second time was a take out experience. They don't deliver, unlike what is advertised on Yelp–oops! Rude hostess on the phone–okay, you could be having a bad day, I've worked at a restaurant before, and regardless of what ppl may think, hostesses are human and the customer is not always right; quick pick up time, good; food quality? Definitely not as good as eating in; actually really horrid–never order take out again. Maybe the chef doesn't come in on Sunday's.
Verdict? Eat in. Don't order take out. If I smell chlorine again when I'm eating in I'm docking another star, if not, donburiya is a keeper!
This place isn't as bad as I thought based on some of the negative reviews. I came here because the wait at Ippudo was 1 hour and a half at 6PM and I was hungry. The waitresses are busy but I didn't feel neglected and our waitress did check up on us here and there. Upon entering the restaurant, the staff greets you from all over. It's a long and narrow restaurant so we were seated towards the back at regular tables and chairs. The front area has high top tables and chairs. We ordered the tonkotsu ramen, tan tan ramen, and pork katsu don.
Tonkotsu – not a bad broth but wish there was more pork meat. Most ramen places I have been to serve two slices. Egg does not come with this so you have to order separately. Lots and lots of ramen in this dish. Free ka dama (extra set of noodles) with this broth.
Tan tan ramen – my husband thought this was okay. Spice wasn't bad but he preferred the regular tonkotsu ramen noodles instead of the bigger wavier noodles that came with his dish. I gave my free noodles to him so he could enjoy it with that broth.
Katsu don – The flavor was on point and meat was great but I wish there was more pieces or chopped a bit smaller so you can feel like you're getting alot! There was about five pieces of pork – much less than other spots. Too much rice and not enough meat to go with it. The dish came with miso soup. Although I'll say it's a thick piece of pork, not like the thinly pounded ones.
Overall, it's not a bad spot. No wait times and service was good for a quick meal.
A-OK
Solid Japanese spot in Hell's Kitchen/Midtown. Didn't have a wait on a Sunday night like other restaurants in the area but it filled up later in the night.
Had the:
– Pork katsu/Egg Donburi: katsu was a little dry, possibly overcooked, the egg was tasty, lots of rice. Overall, a very filling dish. Would get it again if craving donburi bowl
– Crab omelette: didn't expect it to be imitation crab. Only alright, wouldn't order it again
Come here if there's a line elsewhere in the neighboring restaurants. Plopped in between a few other Japanese spots on the same block. Cute lighting and decor. Filled with Japanese customers, so must be legit/authentic!
Totto Yakatori had a huge gigantic wait (no surprise), so we came here which is right next door instead and it definitely worked.
The interior area is very nice, lots of high tables, booths, and a giant bar area.
One got the ramen, I opted for this chicken/egg/rice bowl dish and it was actually super good. I didn't want the heavy ramen, so being able to eat just chicken and veggies tossed in some teriyaki sauce with a side of miso soup was perfect. The portions are HUGE, so you'll get your moneys worth.
I would opt for one of their egg bowl dishes or ramen, seemed to be a favorite.
The sesame ice cream was probably the best part!
Service was really nice…a little confused.. wouldn't ask too many questions, but otherwise very sweet!
Total for two dinners + dessert was ~$27.
My friend and I were craving ramen one night and decided to give this new restaurant a go after the long insane lines at the nearby popular ramen joints. And I'm so glad we did!
The restaurant is long and narrow with communal high top tables in the front and low 4 seater tables in the back. There is also seating at the bar which was pretty crowded. There was a party going on in the back so we sat at the high tables in the front. The restaurant was pretty chilly inside but after a couple of sake shots and savory ramen broth, my friend and I were feeling much better.
It was 9pm on a Saturday night and we were very hungry. We shared a delicious looking Jidori Oyako-Don (cooked range free chicken, vegetable & egg over rice), Tonkotsu Ramen and Agodashi Ramen.
The tonkotsu ramen broth was very rich and salty. Fills you right to the stomach. The Agodashi has a milder taste and is enjoyable as you keep eating. I was shocked by the amount of noodles they give you! It seemed never ending that I even forfeit a third of my noodles to my friend (which is very rare of me since I do love my noodles). All this noodles for under $12!
The Jidori Oyako-Don comes with a side of miso soup and pickles. The rice bowl itself was good choice.
We were so stuffed from dinner but somehow managed to sneak in some dessert. What caught my eye was the hoji-tea dessert. Well that's new! We got a sampler of hoji-tea, seasame, and matcha ice cream (in order from my most favorite).
I had to take off one star because the service is pretty slow but that might have been because I believe there was only one waitress running back and forth. We waited a long wait time to order, short wait for the food, and long time to get the the check. That didn't dampen our spirits though. Overall, next time you're in the neighborhood and craving ramen, so stop by Donburiya!