Donguri Restaurant
“Unique, intimate atmosphere, carefully and creatively executed food that was homey, yet appealed to the foodie in me as well.”
“The food was spectacular (we had the Chilean sea bass and crispy duck breast).”
“Of the ones we got, the sweet corn tempura lives up to the Yelp hype, and we really enjoyed the duck breast with chili sauce (which may be seasonal).”
Donguri Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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By far the best restaurant!!
Everything tasted absolutely amazing. The homemade silk tofu was delicious and fresh, and was definitely my favorite.
The restaurant is very tiny but cozy. Ambience is quite nice. Prices are rather steep, but it's worth it.
RESERVATIONS needed.
I was surprised at how intimate Donguri was. The venue itself has about 10 or so tables, which I definitely do not recommend any parties over 4. They pay attention to details as to put a handwritten "reserved" sign on your table with your name on it. Everything was so cute. Service is spot on since they pay attention to their customers and the timing of when the dishes come out. So if you do not plan on sharing a plate, let them know or they may never bring out one of your dishes, assuming you are sharing everything!
Ordered:
1. Corn tempura: great appetizer to share. No sauce is needed since it is already seasoned sweet and salty.
2. Chef's Assorted Sashimi: the sashimi melted in our mouth. I wasn't a fan of the orange clam pieces? though but the rest was amazing with the mix of yellowtail, salmon, tuna, albacore, and etcc.
3. Broiled Chilean Seabass with Yuzu Lemon:
4. Roasted Duck Breast with Yuzu Lemon: tender and a pretty big portion
5. A piece of Otoro special: a great big piece of fatty tuna. pretty pricey though for around $10?
6. A bottle of smooth pear flavored Sake: good enough for about 2-3 shot full for 2 people
Great little spot in the UES for authentic Japanese food. Definitely will come back!
Came here for dinner on a Sunday night. I ordered the sweet corn tempura to start. My plus one got a cold eggplant dish. Both were very good. I then got the udon with shrimp tempura, which I also liked! Finally, closed it off with the green tea pudding, per Yelp reviews. And all the hype is right–it was amazing! The place is small, can maybe sit 15 at most.
Blink and you'll miss it, this tiny spot is now even more hidden, obscured behind a trailer involved in the 2nd ave subway construction. When you do find it, come for the corn tempura and stay for the inventive appetizers and specials, the attentive service, and the intimate surroundings. Seriously, though, why have I never encountered sweet corn tempura before? That stuff is so addictive, it should be regulated. The soft shell crab and sesame tofu appetizers were also delicious. My salmon sashimi over rice was simple and fresh and beautifully presented, but I admit I had order envy over the seafood risotto. A second bout of order envy happened during dessert — the green tea pudding didn't have the same intense green tea flavor as the ice cream.
Cross this off the list. We came here to have a special dinner, and wanted to try this place a while. Kept reading how expensive it was but that the food was worth it. The place is small, simple and soothingly quiet. Not hard to get a reservation or a walk-in table. However, the menu is not detailed and is confusing. Unless you are a regular, you are unsure what is appetizer-sized or not. The waitress, who spoke little English was terrible at explaining what was the right size for each order. My husband clearly asked if the the scallops could be an entree said yes but after ordering turned around and said, "oh, that is what you want? It's just 2 pieces." She could not describe anything to us well, and no other staff came to help her. We had the corn tempura, which was bland. And the cold Bluefin tuna seemed overcooked. I ordered the sea bass and it was good, though a bit undercooked. The special rice was very salty. My husband treated himself to the Wegu steak, which he said was tender and delicious. But at $15 an ounce, one would hope so. We did not stay for dessert. Some may say that we just don't know real Japanese food and/or don't like it when people cannot speak English–neither is true. We have had authentic Japanese food before, not just sushi and have liked it a lot. But for those not exactly thorough in it, this restaurant should be prepared to explain to customers what their menu is, and how to order. Their food prices are high-end; they should treat their establishment as such.
Eating here was quite a treat. The sashimi platter was just ok, but everything else was delicious. The sea urchin was some of the sweetest I've ever tasted. The desserts were outstanding too.
Food:
Monkfish liver – delicious
Uni soba – the Santa Barbara uni was extremely sweet and the soba was perfect
Tuna donburi – ok
Sashimi platter – fish was pretty good but nothing special
Eel tempura – delicious
Strawberry daifuku (homemade) – wow this was delicious
Sesame pudding – just the right amount of sesame and sweetness
This is a cute spot tucked away in a corner in the UES. I had the agedashi tofu which was really good as an appetizer and their inaniwa udon (thinner noodles than the typical udon). I thought the udon was too bland and pricey for what it was. I did like the tea they gave us at the end of our meal, though!
In short- absolutely loved this spot. Unique, intimate atmosphere, carefully and creatively executed food that was homey, yet appealed to the foodie in me as well.
Here's what we had.
House-made Milk Sesame Tofu- A very unique texture- slightly "gummier" than your typical tofu in a light ponzu sauce. Great starter.
Tempura corn- I've never tasted anything like this- with a dash of sea salt, this is more sophisticated in flavor than you think.
Soft shell crab karaage- Not a standout per se, but was solidly executed.
Uni with Dashi Jello- Would never have thought of this concoction- the savory dashi jello perfectly complements the sweeter uni (Japanese Uni, which is not as sweet as California Uni)
Broiled Black Cod marinated with Saikyo Miso- Oh M G. Simply so good.
Broiled Chilean Sea Bass marinated with Yuzu- See above.
I know, my descriptions aren't necessarily helpful for the two fish entrees. But they were both perfectly cooked, and were flavored just right…it's hard to say any more than what I did.
The two different sakes we had were distinct and flavorful.