Don Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

If you were excited by the prospect of a nice authentic Japanese donburi restaurant or even a yoshinoya, temper your expectations a lot. I would characterise the place as a pan asian cheap eats. It's nice for the price, and that's it - if they raise the price in a few months that will be the place's death knoll. For now, you won't find a place in the vicinity with a decent dinner for 11 dollars, so partake while you can.

Pictured is the buta teriyaki don. Credit where credits due, the pork is well cooked and tender, and despite the combination being weird, the ginger slices are so artificially sweet it balances out the dish. Though nice it may be, it ultimately feels like I'm eating a homely Chinese dish. This review will be updated as more dishes are tried, but its truly a disappointment for what could have been.

Broadly the menu seems very generically japanese. I would be less disappointed if this were marketed as a canteen/shokudou, because that's the feel. But well, better this sort of restaurant than yet another godforsaken malatang place, and it certainly took a while for another place to open up after baby su demolished poke bowl. Though it's most disappointing that yet again, another mediocre Japan inspired place opens, surely canberra has progressed to having...

Absolutely Horrible Experience at Don

Where do I even begin? From the moment I walked into this disaster of a restaurant, I should’ve turned around. The atmosphere was dead—like no one even bothered to care about making it inviting. The staff? Rude. Not just uninterested, but straight-up dismissive. It’s as if they think they’re doing you a favor by taking your order.

Now, the food... calling it "bad" would be an insult to bad food. The sushi was stale, and the rice was a mushy mess. I could’ve gotten better at a convenience store for half the price. The teriyaki chicken? I’ve had better from a frozen TV dinner. It was overcooked, dry, and tasted like it came from a can. Honestly, it was shocking how little effort went into preparing this so-called "Japanese cuisine."

I had to ask for water multiple times before I was even acknowledged. The whole experience was so frustrating, I’m surprised they didn’t just charge me for the privilege of sitting there. If you're looking for quality food or decent service, DO NOT waste your time here. Don is a joke—this place doesn't even deserve one star. Never...

Had the tonkatsu ramen and okonomoyaki for Sunday lunch as a random decision, and I was pleasently surprised how good the food was. The broth was delicious - it wasnt too rich and heavy such that you get sick of it half way through, it was nicely balanced, flavourful, the toppings complimented the dish well, and the pork was tender and yummy. The okonomoyaki was well cooked, crispy outside, good amount of sauce and bento flakes, although a tad bit smaller than I expected it to be (simply because in other restaurants they come out bigger), I still left satisfied and full. Portion sizes were decent to me (might be a tad small for some people). Atmosphere was calm, there were some dirty tables but I think only one lady was working both kitchen and serving at the time, so cant complain. Service time was fairly decent too, and the lady was nice and lovely. Only critic would be the windows probably could use a good clean, but otherwise it's a good lunch spot. Happy to...