Donburi

Filling, delicious rice bowl for about 10 bucks. Tonkatsu, chicken karaage, fried shrimp, sliced beef, etc. It’s your typical Japanese fare at an affordable price. The counter seating is very limited, but it’s a nice way to watch the chefs at work. There are hooks on the wall for winter coats and purse hooks under the counter ;)
1. Order at the entrance as soon as you come in.
2. Get your sauces ready and ask for the pickled jalapenos (yum).
3. Dig in!

I ordered chicken curry and the pork curry. Both tasted good but where given really small portions of the curry itself. There was more rice than curry. I would rather have more curry than rice. And they give you a lot of ginger. I only needed a little bit of it but they for some reason like it on.

One of the best Asian food around this area. I came here because I craved for rice and sake !!! I will definitely go back here and order more of the katsudon. I like the setup of the restaurant– Japanese style and all the staffs are very friendly.

Let me just ask you something, did you look at the food pictures from this place? Simple Japanese rice bowls, it is so mouth watering! Okay, now you can read my review.
A friend of mine, AYEEE SHOUT OUT TO KHOI WAZZUPP HOME BOY, he is a Japanese food fanatic. I on the other hand was a Japanese food novice so I didn’t know what to expect. After trying out this place many times, I have to say this is so worth the drive to DC.
Limited with seating, but you get to watch the chef work right in front of you. Food has never disappointed me, pretty cheap ranging from $ 9 – 12 per rice bowl. I got Karaage don which is fried chicken. You know that sad moment when you finish the best part of the dish and all you have are the supporting ingredients? Sad right? Not at Donburi! I am happy to eat just the sauce, egg, and rice leftover. the sauce just ties it all together so perfectly.
Everyone that I’ve gone with loves this place. Never heard a bad thing about it!

My friend and I went here a day before snowpocalypse 2016 for lunch and I must say that it wasn’t crowded. We ordered our food. .. I got the Pork (Katsudon) and she got the salmon sashimi (Sakedon). The wait for the food was quick and soon we were devouring our food.
Go here on off-​peak hours because the service is better and not rushed. But, definitely avoid during the weekends because your experience may vary.

Donburi is awesome. I went twice in one weekend. Friday with my wife, on a date. Saturday with my homies.
I had two dishes: the first time I had the Mix Fried chicken/​pork (dude I can’t remember the name) with original sauce. which was REALLY heavy and filling, but delicious. They know exactly how to fry their chicken/​pork (a bit salty, I might add, but that may be my fault as I added some sauces). Next time I think I want to try the curry style…
Saturday night I had the beef bowl with the egg (Gyudon) and holy cow (pun intended), it was by far my favorites among the ones I tried. I know everyone is hyping up the fried dishes and especially the sakedon, but wowowow, the beef bowl is highly underrated. Put your stock in it man, it’s gonna blow up. I’d actually heartily recommend the gyudon over the mixed dish (disclaimer: Haven’t tried curry style).
My wife had their salmon sashimi bowl (sakedon), which was also fantastic. One of my buddies also had the salmon sashimi dish Saturday night and he swore he got a high from eating the food.
Price-​wise, so very reasonable, especially relative to the amount of food you get and also considering this restaurant is in NW DC.

I finally got to come back and try the Sakedon (salmon sashimi)!
The first time I was here, it was a Sunday night and they had run out of the sashimi so I got the Ebi Katsudon (tempura shrimp) and got to try my roommate’s Gyudon (thinly sliced beef brisket). Both dishes were hot.
I think I enjoy the hot dishes better because of the rice and sauce pairings and pickled vegetables. I also got the miso soup, which I would not get again because it has a burnt miso taste, and no tofu or seaweed.
I definitely want to try the Unagidon (bbq eel) next time I’m back!
Both times I have come, the cooks were all very friendly and prepared unlimited pickled vegetables when I asked. They also danced to «Hotline Bling», and it was good food and a good time all around.

simple, comfort japanese rice bowls that are flavorful and affordable! I had the sakedon *note the one with uni in it is off the menu right now :(* but everything i had was delicious! salmon sashimi was fresh, the unagi melted in my mouth and the fried chicken was juicy! I am normally not a huge fan of rice bowls just because I don’t eat much rice, but for what it is, this was very tasty. I would go out of my way for this if i loved rice bowls, but since I don’t, I probably won’t come back just for it. However, my friend who loves rice bowls would definitely come back just for this! yum!

Delicious rice bowls and a great value, but a tiny space and long lines (also limited hours, I think they’d do really well if they opened a bit later on weekends and Friday nights – they’re in the heart of 18^th St!)
Service here is always super friendly and I love the barley water they keep on the counter. My favorite bowl is by far the Ebi Katsudon, which has fried shrimp and pickles galore. I’ve had their sashimi bowls as well, which were good with generous amounts of fresh fish, but I would still stick with one of their fried/​cooked bowls in the long run.

Donburi, how I love thee.
The space is small — it’s like the size of a rowhouse livingroom and you will be elbow to elbow with others as you devour your food. But I loved the intimacy and seeing the chefs at play. Kudos for coat hooks on the wall and below the table, which definitely prevented feeling cramped despite the small space.
I got the unagidon, which is marinated and torched eel. The eel was so buttery tender and served on a bed of soft poached eggs. The sweet and slightly smoked flavors in the eel and the silky egg just melted in my mouth! It was served with pickled radishes, bell peppers, and ginger, which all offered wonderful textual and flavor contrasts.
So worth the wait and trek out to Adams Morgan!

The ordering process is different. If you’re dining in and if there is a wait, the guy at the front desk will call you when it’s your time to be seated. But before you sit down, you have to place your order with him at the front desk AND pay for the meal ahead of time.
I had the eel for appetizer and sakedon for my main course. I LOVE that I can you watch them prepare my food right in front of me. That tells me you’re that confident in what you do and you have nothing to hide.
The eel was very flavorful. My sakedon had very FRESH salmon sashimi and the sauce that comes with the bowl was just the right amount. I hate when places drench things in sauces… but this makes every single ingredient shine with balance and texture.
It’s simple but they do it right.

Very small place to eat with small selection of food and seats only at the bar. You must order at the front counter first then seat yourself as the food is cooked in front of you.
Food is not bad! My beef was tender, my chicken crunchy, and my miso soup tasty. Not much to complain about but I couldn’t call the place a «must-​try» — but still done deliciously well!
Music plays loudly and the strong smell of fried food fills the air.
The biggest issue in attempting to dine here is not necessarily the restaurant’s fault, but parking can be difficult here — the closest parking garage is 10 bucks an hour! But I suppose that’s expected in DC.

Truly brilliant, simple delicious and priced just right! With all the Japanese places around town this rice bar stands out, the food was mouthwatering and the portions were perfect.
Cooked and presented elegantly, reaaaally hope this place becomes a chain because I want to keep having their food wherever I go, yum!
Ps: pair with samurai sake

I love donburi! I’ve tried the salmon donburi as well as the chicken katsu more than once and both were phenomal every time. Very consistent, filling, and delicious.
The salmon sashimi is really excellent, high quality fish. Even moreso than any sushi place I’ve been to in DC. This elevates the dish a lot.
They cook right in front of you which makes it really fun. They sear the bbq eel, fry the katsu, etc. And the counter-​style dining makes Donburi a great place to go when you’re eating alone or one or two friends. Obviously it doesn’t work as well for groups.

Wanted to grab a quick lunch before my bus home and boy was this a great choice! We sat at a bar facing the two chefs preparing our food. Really nice service and tasty food! Didn’t even finish the portion, which was much more filling than it looked. Would definitely come back!

I’m a hugee fan of this place. It’s super fast and convenient so you can be in and out if you’re looking for a quick bite to eat. On that note, seating is VERY limited (only bar seating, maybe ~15−20 seats?) so I recommend trying to come at an unusual time to eat (really early or really late). When you arrive, they have it set up so that you order right at the entrance before you sit down so you don’t have to worry about paying when you finish.
I’ve pretty much tried everything on the menu and have nothing to complain about. Portions are huge, raw fish is super fresh, and everything else is cooked to perfection. I LOVE that they serve iced tea next to the ice water, it’s brown rice tea and it’s my faveeee. Anyway, the food is all made directly in front of you and it’s fascinating to watch (especially the eel torching process). The only thing is they have a tiny selection of bottled drinks but you can have such a fast meal there and then go somewhere else if you wanted, so it doesn’t bother me in the least. The chefs behind the bar are all super friendly, as well.
Fortunately, I’ve never had to wait, but I IMAGINE if I had to, it would be worth it :)

I’m a huge Donburi fan, now that I’ve been twice. Having only tried it recently, I’ve definitely noticed cravings for it and am always up for going here. It’s a filling, hearty, reasonably priced meal.
I love the ambiance. It’s hip, fun, and friendly. Almost like a smaller version of Toki. Also like Toki, it has limited seating and is popular, so you may have to wait.
I’ve had both katsudon curry and mixed katsudon with original sauce. Meat wise, mixed is the way to go (pork and shrimp for me). Sauce wise, it really depends on what you are feeling. Curry was my first introduction to any type of Japanese cuisine aside from teppanyaki, so I have a fondness for it, and it’s definitely good here, and somewhat rich. If you want something a little lighter, go for the original sauce, which style has plenty of flavor. I found the Orion beer and barley water to be nice additions to the meal.
Donburi is a place I am more than happy to return to.

A friend suggested me to order Sakedon and I’m really happy that I listened to her!
I describe this place as a high-​quality Japanese restaurant with affordable prices.

What a great way to start our day. We came here right when it opened at 11 am, so of course, we were the first customers.
One of the chefs greeted us and took our orders (for future reference, the person in the fron takes your orders and then you sit down. Since the person wasn’t there yet, the chef just told them when they got there). I got the Oyakodon because I wasn’t particularly feeling anything breaded or fried at the time. My husband got Donburi Moriwase which consisted of assorted toppings of eel, salmon, yellowtail, ebi, and karaage (soy sauce marinated chicken thigh) on a bed of rice. However, the chef told us that they did not have the yellowtail yet, so my husband asked if he could sub it with a katsudon (pork tenderloin), and he said sure! Woot!
While we waited for our food, we gladly looked on as the chef cooked our food. The set up of this place is really quite cool. 16 stools surrounds the kitchen area so you can kind of see what’s going on with your food.
Our dishes of course came pretty quickly because we were the only ones there. My oyakodon was basically braised chicken thigh, and egg, with sesame oil and onions and other herbs. It was ok. I can’t really say much for it. It was ok. Not bland, but not too flavorful neither.
My husband let me taste his dish. Probably one of the best salmon sashimi I’ve. We even ordered a side of it because it was that good (the side comes with 4 pieces by the way). The shrimp tempura was breaded and fried perfectly as it didn’t over power the shrimp inside it at all. The karaage was amazing! Juicy and flavorful. No complaints there. The pork kastudon was ok. But everything else on the dish was amazing. My husband pointed out that the wasabi was fresh and not from the tube. I don’t know what that means since I don’t really like wasabi, but i’ll take his work for it.
Anyway, definitely a good go to place if you want a quick delicious meal!

FOOD: The sakedon can be the best thing on the menu – but it’s also hit and miss. Each time I’ve gone the people that ordered the Mixed bowl with chicken, pork, or shrimp have really enjoyed theirs. The water in the pitchers has some of those burnt rice tea bags in them, giving the water a subtle flavor.
I’ve gotten the Sakedon (raw salmon with light donburi sauce) each time, and the only thing that has me hesitate to give Donburi 5 stars is the change in the quality of the fish between the two visits. On the first trip to Donburi, the fish was incredible – the flavors were each present, but still complementary, and I couldn’t wait to come back.
I came here the second time after raving to my boyfriend about it for a few weeks. Luckily his bowl (the combination bowl with shrimp and chicken and donburi sauce) was excellent – and it was my birthday dinner so he couldn’t give me too much trouble about my selection. My second trip the bowl was bland and had a lot more fish – but certainly a less appealing cut. The fish had a chew to it, and a sort of sad coloring.
ESTABLISHMENT: This place serves high quality and flavorful rice bowls out of a very small establishment (maybe 12 seats). Sitting at the bar around the kitchen is fun – we enjoyed watching the meals prepped each in their individual sukiyaki.