Donguri Restaurant

Excellent quality Japanese food, you really do get what you pay for. Check the specials of the day. I almost always get anything with sea urchin (my personal favorite). It’s not a sushi restaurant per se, but they do have tons of fish (cooked and raw). This restaurant focuses more on sashimi and delicious cooked food. They also make their own sauces, tofu, stuff like that. Omakase is good too.
To those who complained about the prices, I would say that the ingredients here are ALWAYS fresh, the chef buys and prepares whatever is in season, and so yes it may cost a little more. Frankly, I’d rather spend money on food than fancy designer clothes or shoes, etc. because nutrients that go into my body prolong my life.
Will be back!

A small, comfortable restaurant with attentive staff. We had corn tempura, soft-​shell crab, salad with grilled salmon and grapefruit, and large sashimi platter. They were all absolutely delicious. The only thing we weren’t crazy about was the roasted duck breast served in grapes sauce. The duck was cooked perfectly, but the sauce was too strong and killed the flavor of the duck. The black sesame pudding and zenzai were very good. We had a wonderful dinner and would definitely eat here again.

The closed dark wood door & the absence of posted menu make it feel a little uninviting to step in, but once you do, you’ll find a lovely little quiet restaurant with very polite staff with nice instrumental jazz music on the background. We were there for a light bite so we ordered the octopus & fresh pickled cucumber, vegetable fritter, and shrimp tempura udon, then finished with a cute little strawberry stuffed mochi dessert. The ceramics they use are all so adorable, and the food was light and delicious.
Con: Everything is quite pricey compared to other Japaneses restaurants nearby. But very much worth it!
A hidden gem.

Quiet comfy place with good food. Will try omakase next time. Dessert is especially delicious.

High-​quality Japanese cuisine but portions are very small and not convinced they merit the high prices. Place is very small even by NYC standards and seating is tight, but there is nice authentic Japanese feel to its simple aesthetic and décor.

The entrance and inner space is tiny. It feels like eating at home. The menu for today’s special is hand-​written!!! So cute:) We ordered assorted sashimi and corn tempura as appetizer, uni & salmon roe donburi as entrées, and homemade tofu as dessert. Each dish is pretty small but delicate. And I would highly recommend the corn tempura.
It is a little bit overpriced but the environment deserves it.

The food is generally very good, but the blue fin tuna donburi ($ 35) is a bit misleading. It’s a mix of blue fin and regular tuna, so not great value.
We got charged extra for drinks we didn’t order. Check your bill.
That said, it’s a great atmosphere.

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

Portions are small compared to similar Japanese cuisine restaurants. Pretty cozy and intimate environment but the dish did not stand out

This was an incredible surprise. The food was spectacular (we had the Chilean sea bass and crispy duck breast). The service was phenomenal (Nikki was fabulous-​we would come back just to see her again). This place is a neighborhood gem!

Just a lovely evening thanks to Moon and Ayami
Super friendly staff and amazing food
Refined yet relaxed environment – an awesome experience
Sake-​Ikura Donburi was fresh and served with some of the best rice I’ve had in a long time
Soft Shell Crab was cooked perfectly and very rich in flavor
Monkfish liver was out of this world (creamy, briny, flawless layering of flavors)
Sashimi was super fresh and the Otoro just melts in your mouth
My friend who lived in Japan for 15 years said the Mochi (get both Mango and Green Tea) and Strawberry Daifuku (made in house) took him back to his childhood (Think Pixar Ratatouille) ^_​^
Highly recommend!!!
Plus — great music (Coltrane, Davis, etc)

I was quite pleased by dinner with the lady friend and two other people we haven’t seen in quite some time. It was a good experience.
Since drinks are my specialty I started us off with a bottle of senzan cold sake. It was a slightly sweet and dry which was exactly what I was looking for.
For appetizers we ordered the sea urchin with avocado and corn tempura. The corn tempura was light and lightly salted. Very simple and executed well. I see what the fuss is over this one. The sea urchin (uni) was paired very well with avocado. It also comes with wasabi and soy sauce as a complement to the dish. Also very simple and excellent. The uni was fresh.
For entrees the friends had the duck breast and Chilean sea bass. I didn’t try them, but they seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. The presentation was spot on. Duck breast seemed cooked to perfection. The Chilean sea bass looked simple, and quite honestly isn’t too difficult to execute. I was definitely impressed with the execution of the duck breast.
The lady friend had the red snapper head. It was steamed and came with a light ponzu sauce on the side for you to add additional flavor to it. I thought the fish was good as is. It was half a head, but trust me it was pretty damn good and ample for a portion.
I had the negi toro buri. Simply put this is a fatty tuna tartare over rice in a bowl. It was garnished with wasabi and slices of seaweed. The dish also came with some soy sauce on the side. I also believe this is a very simple dish, but executed well. The key to anything related to fish is freshness, and this had that.
Everything we ordered was in the menu except for my dish. Just wanted to let you guys know in case you were looking for it. They do have a chalk board with specials listed so definitely look it over.
We didn’t have dessert, but they did serve complementary slices of grapefruit dipped in sugar as well as small cups of tea per guest.
Wait staff was excellent and very attentive. Restroom was small, but clean. Be aware that it is a sliding door.
So the ultimate question in regards to being a foodie is… Will I come back? Answer is yes. There are other things on the menu that I definitely want to try. I recommend this place.

We really loved the food, service and ambience here.
We ordered the mini assorted appetizer, small assorted sashimi, sweet corn tempura, green tea soba with prawn tempura, and salmon and salmon roe don. The assorted appetizer allowed us to taste up to 6 – 7 samples from the appetizer menu. This was perfect bc everything looked so good on the menu and we got to try them all at once.
Food here is very authentic and unique, often in delicate presentation. We loved their special home made items: saseme tofu, sweet corn tempura, and candied grapefruit peel.
The hot green tea soba looked so simple but tasted amazing. The hot soup paired with the refreshing taste of green tea soba makes this a perfect comfort food.

We have eaten at Don guri before, previous times have all been very positive.
Today we went with our 1.5 year old child and the restaurant was half empty.
The waiter was obnoxious and said that we cannot be seated with a child.
We asked to speak to the owner who was not there. Instead the chef also said that we cannot be seated with our child, who we have dined with at the restaurant earlier.
This is a unreliable, poorly run establishment with multiple health and safety violations.
It is best avoided by all diners, adults and children.

Love this place… Like being back in the 80’s old school awesome clean friendly inexpensive Japanese chef owned place on the ues.

Tiny place that serves great food! Highly recommend making reservations before going.
Monkfish liver was so good!
Wagyu tataki from their specials was delicious but a little too salty. And their sashimi was fresh, tasty, and had excellent presentation.

Delicious food and impeccable service. Try the corn tempura. It is the best tempura I’ve ever had. The udon soup was perfect and I even loved the green tea ice cream rice balls. Bravo!

Authentic menus!!!
My husband and I go there often and never got disappointed.
Green tea hot soba is very good. Corn tempura is exclusive-​!
Dessert is amazing-​!
Clean & quiet & Friendly Service~!

Chef Yamasaki is totally awesome!
…welcome to the hood… we’re newly engaged chef’s (amatuer) to the UES hood, and certainly appreciate passion. Mr Yamaski’s menu is super fresh, and very creative.
great dishes yet to explore…
highly recommended!!!

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!