Donburiya

Excellent casual japanese — I would go as far as to say on par with Ippudo but without the wait. The difference is Ipudo focuses on a few things (and does them very well). Donburiya has a huge selection and also does them well. The prices are also more reasonable than Ippudo.

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 Unilocalers’ 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’m a bit biased as I come here all the time. If you’re looking for top of the line Japanese food like sushi bars or speciality places like Yakitori Totto/​Ippudo, this is not it, so temper your expectations.
Like a previous reviewer said, this place serves a wide variety of traditional Japanese izakaya items, and they’re decent. They’re tasty, and the portions are great.
My personal favorites are (in no particular order): Sukiyaki don, nagahama fu ramen, tan tan ramen, se-​abura ramen, saba shio, the sautéed okra appetizer, and stroganoff dish.
You’ll also notice that most of the crowd that comes here is actually Japanese, which I think is a testament to the authenticity of this place’s grub + atmosphere.
There have been some nights where I came in and it’s pretty empty, which always surprises me because of what a gem this place is. For the price, you can’t really beat this izakaya.

man i reading some of these reviews
and honestly dont listen to the low ones
they obviously dont know shit about japanese food and you comehere to drink and try their izakaya foods
if you want real ramen dont come here then
they have a great selection of japanese style tapas and also great curries and rice dishes, very fairly priced even cheaper than fast food places
living in japan for 5 years i can say this place is legit and everytime i come here the customers are about 75% japanese ppl
straight most legit izakaya in the entire city

Excellent casual japanese — I would go as far as to say on par with Ippudo but without the wait. The difference is Ipudo focuses on a few things (and does them very well). Donburiya has a huge selection and also does them well. The prices are also more reasonable than Ippudo.
I had the snow crab salad to start which was delicious. Simple and fresh. Followed this up with the grilled squid and shishito peppers which was excellent. And then finally the tan tan men ramen which was absolutely delicious. All washed down with very reasonable priced Sapporo and sake.
I went home very satisfied — and very full! I’m just sad that I’ve been in the neighborhood for 6 years and never been before. Looking forward to becoming a regular!

FIrst time here and really enjoyed it. We had the potato croquettes as a starter and they were delicious. Loved the dipping sauce it came with as well. Ordered the Chicken Don as my main and was really impressed with it. Perfectly cooked egg, lots of veggies, flavorful chicken, just great. Also comes with miso soup which is a nice touch.

We found a large piece of plastic from inside the dish, so disgusting. Highly not recommended. Never go there again.

great food. great price. the wait staff was incredibly friendly. People tend to get caught up in the service and interior design; however, I am all about the food. this place was great. I had the KatsuDon which is a pork katsu donburi. It was delicious. Reminded me of eating in Japan.
For three Donburis, an order of Edamame and an order of macha ice cream, total was $ 51. that cannot be beat.
I highly recommend this place. What is fun about eating in New York is sometimes the best places aren’t the nicest, or most renowned. Give this place a shot and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

By far This is the best place to get Ramen in all U. S!!!
We have been in so many popular places, but this one is always the best.
Always consistent, always great service, always available for satisfy the appetite.
The late night Manager of this place is the best.
This restaurant is rocking everything!!!
Best Japanese food in NY

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.

Poor execution.
The first thing I noticed as I entered the restaurant was the fact that it’s the same ownership group as the prior restaurant, East 55. The second thing I noticed was the fact that the restaurant interior is really nice now, so I was hopeful.
We ordered katsu curry and beef stroganoff. The katsu was really dry and overcooked. The curry and rice were fine.
The beef in the stroganoff was extremely chewy and unappetizing. However, the stroganoff sauce was good.
Overall I’m disappointed and feel like they’ve only upgraded the interior without upgrading the food standards.

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!

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.

This is officially my new favorite after work spot! A bunch of us had a great time here. They have pretty good food and drinks on the menu for a very reasonable price and also many selections from authentic Japanese appetizers to rice bowls to noodles to set entrees. I wanted to try everything.
The quality of the food is not excellent but it’s not poor either. It is much better than the food around St. Marks so it’s definitely an upgrade. It’s perfect if you want a little more quality and a less rowdy setting. St. Marks is for young college students in their early twenties. Here caters more to a slightly older crowd, mid-​twenties and over.
The service can be a little spotty. They’re not quick on refilling water and you almost always have to flag them down to get served. It seems like the server sometimes does not really understand what you’re saying either. There could be a language barrier as their English is not so good. But it’s the heart that counts and I feel that they really want their customers to have a good comfortable time.
If they improve their service a little, they can definitely be worthy of 5 stars. :D

Slow service, the food is average, don’t recommend. There are way better Japanese restaurants around

Great Japanese place that replaced what used to be East. We’ve had a few meals here since the opening — everything delicious. Good assortment of different types of cooked and raw options. Friendly staff. Clean. Well priced for midtown. Very authentic Japanese food.

I felt compelled to write a review after experiencing poor service, or rather no service. I have been here in the past and have experienced substandard service but have attributed it to opening day kinks and gave the place the benefit of the doubt. After being seated and not being served with even a glass of water or approached to take orders for 15 minutes on a unbusy night, that drew the line and left the restaurant. No one bothered stopping me either.
Great job remodeling from the old East restaurant. It’s time to remodel the attitude.

I expected a lot from this place since I love over rice dishes. They seemed promising since its owned and operated by Japanese people but I was let down…
The food: Its average… I tried the Cabbage, the Karage, the Harami, yellowtail collar, black cod, clam soup, crab croquette, California don and Tan Tan Men ramen.
The best among those were the black cod and yellowtail collar but they were too small for the price.
The California don is a very sad dish with not much going on. I wouldn’t recommend it. Maybe their other don would be better, I don’t know. The Karage tasted like wheat and chicken which is not that juicy.
I pretty much sampled all the food but didn’t finish most of it. The Harami is ok but the portions are crazy small, they tried to make the filling by adding scallions, in reality there were 4 thumb size beefs!!! I had to dig around expecting more but that was it.
The service: most of the girls working there was attentive but once their favorite customers came by, you are own your own. They look at you but will not respond to your calling because they are busy drinking and eating with Other Japanese customers! I was like who does that. That’s the first thing you learn as a server that you DO NOT DRINK AT WORK! Let alone eat customers food. Well, I guess that’s Japanese tradition. But it seemed very disrespectful to other customers.
I only gave 2 stars for the décor. That’s pretty much it.
Last words: this place is only good for being the last resort to go to when everything in midtown closes. Like Sake bar Hagi. They open late night like 3−4am I think, so when you are drunk and tired and don’t care for the service or quality of food. This is the spot.

We discovered this new restaurant because Yakitori Totto above it had an hour and a half wait and it wasn’t even 7pm yet on a Friday night. We were not about to wait and overflowed into this new place. The menus tout highly attractive pricing for its items, especially in this neighborhood. After the food came out, we realized why. Portions are smaller than expected from what we imagined them to be from the pictures but still tasty and authentic. Not all dons are made the same with some being larger than others. For example, our salmon sashimi, fish and roe don came out as a regular sized bowl but the eel tofu don was in a much larger bowl. Both equally delicious.
The service was top notch and all the servers who we interacted with spoke Japanese. The layout of the restaurant is very modern and slightly edgy, but with the background music playing it may be too loud for older people. We overheard an elder couple sitting behind us to be moved farther away from the speakers which the wait staff more than willingly abided by.
I’m glad we walked in here and would definitely return soon. It just opened on September 1, and I can definitely see this place filling up like the restaurant above it.

Ordered the eel and tofu rice. Authentic food, Great price, friendly service. I will be back.