Donburi

Came here yesterday with my family for a quick lunch. We ordered a tempura don ($ 8.50), a chicken katsu don ($ 8.50), and a carbless gyuudon ($ 8). The tempura don was a little on the dry side, but the other two were pretty good! The carbless gyuudon was like the regular gyuudon ($ 9.50), but instead of rice, they gave us cabbage and fried tofu as the base. All combos came with a soup, salad, and drink (coffee or milk tea). Portions were decent, and were well worth their lunch price. We also ended up ordering a wasabi beef skewer for $ 2.50. We didn’t realize 1 order was 1 small skewer, and the beef also turned up very dry. I don’t think we’ll be ordering that again. All in all, I’d give the food 3.5 stars.
In terms of service, the service was VERY SLOW. At the beginning, the waitress forgot to give us water when we sat down. We had to ask her twice before she served us some. The food also took a while to come. It took them over 15 minutes before serving us our soup and salad, and another 20 minutes until the dons actually came. When we finally wanted the bill, all the waiters were in the kitchen, so we couldn’t ask for anyone to get us the receipt. It took them over 5 minutes until a waiter actually came back out to serve us again. Overall, I’d give the service 2.5 stars.
Despite the service, I think I will visit again because of their lunch special.

Donburi, the place that me and my girlfriend go to at 1:30am. Yup, this is that kind of place and you’ll see why.
To start off, the ambience of the place is casual with a bunch of drawings. It looks like your typical restaurant with booth seats and high chairs with a few normal chairs. This is somewhere you can come and have a late, and I mean really late, night snack.
Much like this review, the food at Donburi is one that has great attention to detail. The don that I normally go for would either be the Oyako Don or the Ten Don. From the rice to the protein, everything compliments each other and has you wondering if you’re still hungry or just wanting seconds.

Came here on a regular workday to visit my old coworkers for lunch. They only had an hour lunch break and we walked, but thankfully, they didn’t have as many guests when we went, so it wasn’t extremely busy. However, if it got a little more busy, I’m seriously wondering if an hour is enough time to come here for lunch and head back to the office.
I ordered the curry don katsu for $ 8.50 as a lunch menu; including tax, it was $ 9.61. The salad and miso soup came first, though it came a little later than usual because I wasn’t even finished these appetizers yet and the dish I ordered for came.
The curry don katsu wasn’t spicy — they used Japanese curry, which is very different from Chinese and Indian curry. The dish was a fairly large portion — I wasn’t able to finish it, but many people think one portion size is just enough for lunch. The katsu wasn’t as crunchy as I hoped for it to be — maybe they can try to serve it separately next time, so that the curry won’t make the chicken katsu soggy. Nevertheless, the food was okay, I would come back to try some other dishes.

I stopped by lunch and ended up trying out their Oyako Don. O.M.G. It was the best Oyako Don I’ve ever tried in my life. If all of the other items on the menu taste as good as the Oyako Don, this place totally deserves 5 stars. Can’t wait to go back to have another bowl of delicious rice with chicken, egg and onions. Not to mention, the service was friendly and prompt.

Cute restaurant that is of decent size. They several tv around the restaurant where they play animé and a mix of chinese, japanese and k-​pop music over the speakers. The atmosphere is relaxing and down-​to-​earth with friendly service. They have a good selection of donburis (japanese rice bowls) and the portion is very filling. I got the chicken curry donburi and it was flavourful. On your first visit here you can receive a free green tea ice cream scoop :)

Came here late night and it’s the only thing that opened till late in that plaza.
I ordered and chicken cutlet curry rice and my frd ordered pork cutlet curry rice.
Around $ 10 each I guess it’s ok.
The curry was good and a LOT of sauce to cover all the rice which is good (and lots of rice too) but the chicken cutlet and pork cutlet were over cooked and dry. Meh
Service was meh too. Took too long to even get a spoon. Somehow they always looked away rather than being attentive.
Good that they take credit card.
Overall nothing special and probably won’t visit again.

Yummy food and excellent service today! Our server was very informative and not intrusive. I had a tuna tataki don that was very flavorful. I was craving chicken wings so i got those too. Every bite packed with flavour. Also the cod was really tasty as well. Well cooked. Sweet and delicious. Definitely going back again. Highly recommend this place to those who are looking for a meal that will leave you full happy and satisfied.

Came here for my partner’s birthday so we shamelessly ordered way too much food and stuffed our faces. Overall, the food was pretty tasty and we got a good portion’s worth for its price.
The curry sauce for the rice bowl was very yummy — an underlying tone of sweetness that was complemented by very rich spices. The pork katsu, however, I felt was only mediocre. The katsu was thin, the meat was a bit tough, and the breaded batter was too dense. For our appetizers, the best one was the deep fried chicken wings, which was hot and juicy and seasoned just right. The decent apps were: the scallop (quite average), pork skewers (although really salty), and the takoyaki (not bad, but could use prettier garnishing). The worst one was actually the chicken karaage. It wasn’t a bad dish in itself but in comparison to the many places I’ve been to, this one just wasn’t on par. The batter was overly deep-​fried resulting in an undesirable crunchiness and the pieces of meat were either very small or not tender enough.
I found the interior of this restaurant to be very cute and it was my first time at any eatery that played animé on their TVs. The customer-​drawn art pieces on the walls add a very nice personalized touch to the place, making it feel more «home-​sy». It was a comfortable eating environment and the staff were polite and accommodating throughout the meal.

Taste: Loved the Beef Tataki presentation. The meat was soft and tender and tasted great dipped in the ponzu sauce. I never usually eat unagi but i had to try it in Donburi’s Umami Don, and I’m glad I did. The combination of savory flavors in this bowl all went very well together in each bite.
Service: No complaints about the service. Servers were nice and the dishes came out in a timely manner.
Value: Good value. The beef tataki was $ 9.50 and the donburi was $ 10.50. The donburi definitely is enough to fill you up!
Ambiance: Just a regular average casual dining spot. Nothing special really.

Overall average food and environment. The setting was ok but wasn’t too clean. The food sems average for what you get but that is around all the same in that plaza. The only surprising part was the deep fried oyster which comes with a wasabi sauce which makes it really stand out.
Remember to do a check in to get your free ice cream.

Having a restaurant name like Donburi (Japanese rice bowl) is like having a restaurant name like «Tacos» or «Fish and Chips». If you’re gonna have the same name as an entire category of food, you better be the damn best at making that particular food item.
My boyfriend and I came on a Tuesday night after I’ve bugged him several times to go (thanks Unilocal). The décor is fantastic; like an animé come to life with bright colours and cute illustrations. The service was very friendly throughout the meal and they were happy to give us our free green tea ice cream with check-​in.
Between us, we shared two gyudon (beef rice bowl, ~$ 11 each), a takoyaki (octopus balls, $ 5.50), a Donburi onigiri (rice ball, $ 2), a nankotsu skewer (chicken cartilage, $ 2) and a wasabi oyster skewer ($ 3). First of all, I have to applaud the fact that you can choose to have the rice in your donburi replaced with finely chopped lettuce and crisp tofu. This fact itself, will keep me coming back repeatedly. The bowls also come with salad and miso soup.
The gyudon is pretty good. The beef is nice and soft and the sauce is sweet and flavourful. I added an egg for a dollar and was glad I did. It comes barely poached in sauce (onsen style). The portions are quite reasonable in my opinion and I actually had to take some home. I was really in love with the takoyaki and nankotsu skewers here. The takoyaki were large and had great sauces and the nankotsu was grilled perfectly. The onigiri was nothing special; just a rice ball with sauce that is reasonable for its $ 2 price point. The wasabi oyster had a bit of a gritty texture.
Overall, I’m loving this place and see myself becoming a repeat customer. Donburi’s donburi is good but I’m not sure it’s the best. I’ve had some pretty tasty ones in Hong Kong. However, without a doubt, this restaurant is a very welcome addition to Markham’s smörgåsbord of Asian cuisine (did I really just say smörgåsbord.?)
(26÷100)

Too sweet. The 3 bowls of rice we ordered were all too sweet. The beef of the signature beef bowl was nothing special. Maybe if they didn’t strongly promote it, my expectation would have been lower. The deep fried pork cutlet and the deep fried chicken were both decent. The sauces on the rice of all three dons were identical, and the sauce was way too sweet. The rice was well portioned; it was sufficient to satisfy a man of average appetite.
We also ordered a few snacks. They tasted from average to good. My favourite was the takoyaki ($ 5 for 6 balls). The chicken thigh skewer was fair ($ 2). I don’t mind ordering it again. The deep fried oyster ($ 3.5) was good for the novelty, but I won’t order it again.
I enjoyed the snacks more than the rice bowl. This doesn’t sit right with me. Shouldn’t don be the best thing at a place named donburi?

Came here on a Saturday night at 6:30pm. We were four adults and two kids, and the place was maybe ¹⁄₃ occupied. Had it not been for the free green tea ice cream, we would have been VERY dissatisfied. For now, I’ll just say I was dissatisfied.
You order yourself on a piece of paper. The menu is mostly rice bowls, udon noodles and appetizers. The takoyaki came first and was undercooked. We sent it back and came back somewhat better but still more mushy than I’m used to. Flavour and toppings were good.
Beef don came next. Good beef flavour and large amount of rice to accompany. Unagi don comes with pink pickled ginger (?) and yellow radishes so if you don’t like those things be warned. The beef short rib don was okay but the disproportionate amount of meat to rice makes it hard to enjoy after the toppings are gone.
Chicken wings came next which the kids liked… then adter a long time… My katsu don arrived. How long you ask? Two of the other people were already done eating. Our gyoza app still nowhere to be seen. My empty water glass completely ignored.
Noodles were good but the Katsu was dry. Green tea ice cream was the best thing all night mostly because it was free. We canceled the gyoza by that time. Then it came. Then we tried to tell them we canceled it. Then the guy said its on the house. Then we got the bill… We were charged for gyozas. Then we had to tell them. Then we paid and left. Brutal night.

Dropped by for dinner after wanting to come for a very long time. Ordered the unagi don and it was very delicious. I’m not one for rice dishes unless it’s sushi so this was quick to impress. The unagi practically melted in your mouth and there was enough to accompany the rice.
I also got the scallop ($ 3 ea.) and beef with ponzu sauce ($ 2.45? ea.) skewers which were okay but not worth the money, in my opinion. Beef was tasteless.
Next I got the ikayaki which was a bit salty than flavourful. It’s not bad but I probably wouldn’t get it next time. Service was great, and despite the dinner hour, it was fairly empty on a Friday evening so I was well-​looked after. And of course the complimentary Unilocal ice cream you get for checking in finished my meal nicely.
Overall I’d come back but not for their other dishes, just their dons.

Honestly, donburi is a gem! I kept seeing beautiful pics of dons/​udons/​kebabs all over instagram and Unilocal and I HAD to go for myself.
The service there is super friendly and they go above and beyond to please their customers. She even asked us where we were coming from, since it was a late dinner. They also have this thing going on where you throw a football into a small hole to get free ice cream/​onigiri. She was super sweet, encouraging and definitely made a dining experience more fun.
Their menu is surprisingly large and full of delicious looking food. Ordered the chicken terikayi udon (udon dish was nothing special. pretty bland, chicken teriyaki was perfect and the skin crisped to perfection), wasabi beef kebob (bomb!), nagoya style chicken wings (seasoned perfectly) and umami don (holy. is this ever good! coming from somebody who can’t stand the taste of eel) In my opinion, their food is better than just ‘okay’ and I’d definitely go back to try more!
Also– remember to use your Unilocal check in offer to get a free green tea ice cream. Nom nom nom.

I had the classic Don Buri dish called Gyuu Don, which comes with sliced beef and onion with the soy based sauce, it was only $ 9.50 and you can get additional toppings for $ 1 like an egg or extra beef for $ 2. The bowls look small, but they’re pretty filling!
I’ve had this dish before a couple times, but nothing is as good as this place. The beef is really soft and basically melts in your mouth. The sauces is also super awesome and the rice was made perfectly. A simple dish, but every part of it was good quality, tasty and hot.
We had the chicken Karage and Takoyaki as appetizers, they were average in my opinion. The Chicken Karage felt too dry and tough and the Takoyaki was too soft and not solid enough. But the main Don dishes were perfect so outweigh the mediocre appetizers.
I’ve been twice here already and will definitely come back in the future!

Food: ⁹⁄₁₀ — Value: ⁷⁄₁₀ — Service: ⁸⁄₁₀ — Ambiance/​Décor: ⁸⁄₁₀
Would I come again? Yeah.
– Skewers: Mentai Chicken ($ 2), Chicken Heart ($ 2), Wasabi Beef ($ 2.50) — Of the three, wasabi beef was my favourite. Even visually, it stands out with the contrasting colour of the wasabi sauce and strips of seaweed. Both of the chicken skewers were good too, which is a generic description, but I don’t remember them tasting like much out of the ordinary. I completely forgot that someone ordered chicken hearts because I didn’t notice a taste or texture difference.
– Renkon Chips ($ 2) — These lotus root chips were delicious to me in a «fried beyond all recognition» kind of way. I like unhealthy junk food, so this fit the bill, but taste-​wise, don’t expect much.
– Super Size Chicken Katsu ($ 10.50) — This was a giant piece of chicken, much like downtown’s shiny new Hot Star Large Fried Chicken, but this came with two sauces. We picked wasabi and another sauce with the longest name that was like a sweet soya sauce. It was crispy (although the breading separated from the chicken very easily), flavourful, and moist on the inside.
– Signature Onigiri ($ 2.80) — This was probably the most boring thing. While onigiri is literally a rice ball, this was just so plain that I was like… what is the point of this? There was a sweet soya/​teriyaki sauce on the bottom and I guess the «value» comes from the roe topper, which doesn’t taste like much. I feel like it’s less of a «signature», more of a «basic» or «classic». I’d skip it.
– Polar Beer Chicken Wings ($ 10) — It was 10 wings for $ 10, which isn’t bad. They were really crispy and whatever seasoning was on them was delicious; a little sweet, a little salty. I’m not sure where the polar beer factored in???
– Gyūdon ($ 10.50) with extra beef ($ 2) — I guess it was our fault that we didn’t know that gyūdon is literally just sauce, rice, beef, and onions, because it was a bit underwhelming. The extra beef came in a separate container, almost as if to emphasize how little they were giving you. Like the Signature Onigiri, this was definitely more on the basic, classic end of the spectrum; thoroughly average and unexciting.
The service was pretty good. Cheerier from the female wait staff. The restaurant is comfortably spaced out and clean, and there’s a little diversion in the front door to prevent the cold outside air from blowing in on anyone. While some dishes definitely stood out among others, the worst dish was still good.

I haven’t been to Donburi in a year and I miss going here, so I thought I’d try them out again. I came here on a Sunday evening and place is a little busy, but we were still able to find a booth.
I want to try their smaller snacks and my BF wanted to get a donburi gyuu don. I find the prices quite high for such a small portion.
And I was reminded of the reason why I have stopped going here for a year: the LONG WAIT! We came hungry and we had to wait 25 – 30 minutes for our food!
So overall, long wait for food, high price for the serving size, but what could be worth going to is the taste. Their food is tasty I have to give them that. But then again I could say the same for Grand Noodle (which is much cheaper), so whatever.

Came here for lunch on a weekday with my friend. Not super busy so we got seated immediately.
Yum! I had the katsu donburi. It came with miso soup and salad. Plus the check in offer for free green tea icecream. The icecream was really frozen though and small but oh well it was free lol.
Service was okay. We had an elder waitress serving us and there was bit of a language barrier but she seems polite lol.
They have cute fanart on the wall, making a very homey place.
If you’re a vicinity member, they have deals for you! My friend basically got a free meal.
Will be back!

I like this place. I come here often. Great food, great prices, and the owners are wonderful.
Its a Japanese restaurant, hmm who knew there were other items in japan besides sushi and tempura?
You can get a donburi, which someone explained is actually a type of dish. Rice bowl with meat and a sauce. I’m explaining this wrong. There’s udon, the soup with thick noodles and other things in it. Funny story. I can’t eat it. I cant work chopsticks, soup, and broth all at once. It takes me forever to eat and tend to wear most of it. I’ve had it here before. Delicious.
They also have a tonne of appatizer type dishes. Skewers of meat and hearts. Yum. Edamome, seaweed salad, agedashi tofu. Yum, little fish, black cod, rice balls yum. Beef ribs yum
My pictures are all of the app stuff. I’ve never had anything I did not like.
Note: best congee I ever had was from here. On Saturdays and Sundays Irene puts on a pot of congee in the morning. If you are extra lucky you’ll get to have a bowl!!!

y