Dorinku Tokyo — Restaurant in Greater Strathcona

We got there at 445 on Saturday which was a great time to go. We were seated immediately, and it took us long enough to eat that we were able to order takoyaki off the feature menu that they release at 530.

We ordered drinks (LtoR in my pic): The Dorinku Ceaser, Lychee, and Tokyo. The ceaser was super good. Pretty close to a regular ceaser but the kimchi addition went so well with the classic flavour and really kicked it up and made it special. The lychee drink was refreshing and very lychee. The Tokyo was the most disappointing but still very good. I couldn't really taste the cherry blossom soda. It mostly tasted like pop and vodka. Overall they were all quite good cocktails for a good price.

Our food: For appetizers we got the beef tataki (!!!!!!) and the shaka shaka fries. The Beef Tataki was my favourite thing of the night. You get 5 pieces and the beef is amazingly fresh and tender tasting. The Shaka Shaka fries were good and bad. The seasoning is insane; It has some sort of delicious sweet japanese flavour in it and wow. But the fries are basically just regular McCain shoestring fries. I'm sure thats why they make sure they coat the fries in the seasoning because that is basically all you're paying for.

For the rest of our meal we got an order of salmon sashimi, Hamachi Carpaccio, calamari, and the dorinku ramen. Salmon sashimi: Excellent! Amazing! So fresh, just the right temp, and decadently thick slices. Hamachi Carpacchio: Maybe a bit to small of a portion but the pieces were buttery and soft, complemented very well by a variety of sauces on top (this wasn't my food so I didn't really eat more than half a piece). Calamari: Wow! The squid:batter ratio was perfect, you got so much squid and it was all so soft! Not rubbery or chewy at all. It was served with a fresh salsa which was such a nice complement to the breading, which got me over the fact that the tartar sauce was so uninteresting. I wonder if the salsa just over powered it? The ramen: This is what we came for. It was okay. The noodles were perfect, that was the best part. The broth was pretty nice. It had an egg base and was a bit thicker. There were two peices of perfectly cooked pork on top. It was just kind of.... boring? The textures were great and the flavours were nice but there was no zing to it. Its unfortunate because they only have this one kind of ramen. I would love to try something else with the same noodles.

The atmosphere is nice, it didn't feel too loud even when it go busy at around 515. It feels like a hip traditional restaurant. The wooden bench seating feels oldstyle, but theres a virtual pachinko machine and a bunch of anime figurines at the back. The bathrooms are amazing. The womens washroom had listerine and qtips and pads?? Wow. Also the bidet. Testing it out was a must. The warm seat was really nice.

Update: finally tried all the pressed sushi except the avocado. Not a fan of the tnt or the saba. The saba was super fishy and the tnt was just sortof creamy but not much else. The pressed wild salmon is still king. Crunchy, spicy, and creamy in harmony. The mango sour drink was delightfully light, sweet, and bubbly. Went great with the decadence of 3 pressed...

Hi! This is a long review since I have lots of time to share my thoughts with this restaurant. The food is good, I have no issues with that at all. So basically, this review is just to say to the management to hire servers who don’t gossip, stare a lot, and doesnt give us attitude by dragging a chair loudly behind our back, just to sarcastically say sorry then rush away. Please improve your customer service. The customer service at Dorinku Osaka was way better than this.

This place has been my go-to if I want to hang out with friends, but today, I met a rude server (or maybe servers??) in this place. We asked if we could move to a different side since the spot they placed wasn't great, We asked KINDLY if we could transfer seats and if there’s any availability on the other side, since we like the vibe there. This guy was our server, and he also works at the bar. He told the 2-3 servers about our request, and THEY GAVE US STARES. At first, we did not mind it because we know they were talking about our request. The girl who works at the front to greet people first offered us the middle area, but we would like to be in the corner or by the window. We just declined and told them that we can stay in front of the bar area. But when we saw the available corner on that side, we asked them again if we could transfer seats, knowing that the table was empty. The server told that to other servers, and they kept eyeing us with dirty/annoyed looks after that. We did not have a good time because of that. My boyfriend and I’s mood before we got our food was uncomfortable because of how we felt with these servers. Even while waiting for our server to give us the bill, the girl who was working at the front was fixing the chairs behind us hurriedly and pushed the chair loudly (the wooden chairs are heavier), making a weird screeching noise behind us. She just said “SAWRY” with a sarcastic, bratty tone, with her back turned against us. Is this really how you guys hire people now? This is very disappointing. I couldn’t believe that the asian guy from the bar, who has a tattoo on his right arm, and the asian girl who works at the front with the wings tattooed on her back and braces would ruin our experience here. Servers should be accommodating and advocating to customers, not be rude and gossip while annoyingly staring at us as if we couldn't see them. We weren’t even being rude to them; we simply and kindly asked if we could move to a different spot. It was not even busy when we asked for...

Went there today around 5pm and the place was a bit full. The food came out really fast as one came after another. The carbonera noodle was hot and creamy, the takoyaki was flavourful and crunchy, the 5 pc toto texture was good, but not as flavorful. The umi and the 5 piece sashimi special was really flavorful and just melts in your mouth. The real ginger was a bonus as it makes a big difference with taste and texture. Ordered the yuzu mojito and the melon cocktail ( both not in photo), it was really light and delicious.

Fair pricing for the quality that you get, and the customer service is excellent. The kitchen staff work hard and fast to deliver your food. Highly recommend going and will be going again!

Dorinku tokyo dec 30 Chicken skins Crispy light batter with an after taste of oil. Thr chicken skin could use more of a kick, perhaps some chili pepper

Cheese tonkayasu Cheesy smoked pork with Bonito flakes and cabbage full of flavor. The sauce itself is so flavorful

5 assorted Shrimp heads were fried and and with good salty. It was really good The sweet shrimp was creamy and slimy but had a slight sweet after taste Yellow tail; really soft like butter with a hint of saltiness. It has a strong hint taste. Pair it with the shiso leaf and some wasabi, soy sauce, the shiso leaf has a strong mint/ lemon flavoring

Sea bream Plain fish with a soft texture. Paired with wasabi and soy sauce thr fish flavor profile changes with the saltiness and spicy kick

Toro: fatty af. The juicy toro tasted like bouncy fish with a rich fatty after taste. You can taste the fatty oil on your lips afterwards. Paired with the wasabi and soy sauce is a killer combo. Especially with the shiso leaf. Definitely a killer combo

King salmon The salmon itself is a bit plain, but Paired with thr wasabi and soy sauce thr fish comes back alive. Not as umami as the toro, but still a...