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DonDon Izakaya
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese
130 Dundas Street WestToronto, ON M5G 1C3
Neighbourhoods: Discovery District, Downtown Core
(416) 492-5292
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 12 am
Fri 11 am - 1 am
Sat 12 pm - 1 am
Sun 12 pm - 12 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
26 reviews for DonDon Izakaya
26 reviews in English
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Review from Susan G.
4/9/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've been here twice now, and both times I really enjoyed it! (Disclaimer: Guu is of course, better. But if you don't want to wait in a line, this is still pretty good!!)
The first time I went, I had their dinner menu. It's set up like a newspaper with tons of pictures. Everything I had was really good, especially the smoked sashimi (smoked right in front of me!) and their special "black croquette". The service is really friendly and attentive - you don't really have one designated server, rather everyone is your server and is happy to clear away dishes and take your order.
The second time, I was expecting the same menu, but they do have a special lunch-time menu. This includes udon, bento boxes, and sushi/sashimi dishes - basically your typical Japanese menu. EXCEPT: everything is so good and beautifully prepared!
My sushi ($14.95) was 10 pieces of heaven! They have interesting garnishes which brings out the flavor of the fish - my favorite was the tuna with lemon zest. My date had a bento box, which came in two separate layers (a little different / interesting) and was full of deliciousness. The gyoza and spring rolls looked amazing.
I definitely recommend trying this place, even if you're looking for a quick sushi lunch. -
Review from Tas H.
Toronto, ON
5/7/2012
For a first visit on a friday night 8pm for 5 people we go seats right away.
First of all - Great atmosphere. Service was friendly...a bit manic perhaps but good.
We order three rounds of the Trio sake tasting - 2 of he $9 one and one of $15. Reasonably priced for someone looking to get a taste of sake.
We ordered a number of dishes but the ones that stood out from the plethora of deep -fried items were
- wasabi flavoured tampura seaweed, the Black Croquets, Japanese hot dog, spicy shrimp and okra, pork buns and the deep fried avocado.
Total was $165 for 5 people and the consensus was its decent for a impromptu group outing on a friday night. -
Review from Daniel O.
4/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
I was super excited to check out DonDon given the buzz and decent reviews that it has been garnering. We arrived early for dinner on Good Friday, I think it was 6pm, restaurant was about half full. By the time we left an hour later, it was full with a line-up.
We were quickly sat by the hostess who wanted us to sit at the bar in front of the open kitchen. I have an aversion to sitting this close to the kitchen, I HATE reeking like food after a meal. It's a neurotic pet peeve of mine. She moved us to a nice table near the bar.
We quickly looked over the menu and ordered drinks. Wanted to order some You's Time sake but they were out. Ordered drinks, I had a nama grapefruit sour, mark had the Nama Lemon Sour (both $5.50). They were okay, but not good enough to order a second.
For food we ordered: Beet Salad ($8.90), Steamed Sabu-Sabu ($7.20), Ginger Fried Chicken ($6.80), Tokyo Style Hot Dogs ($5.20), Smoked BC Tuna Sashimi ($10.50) and Smoked Yellowtail Sashimi ($13.50). The beet salad was pretty standard, goat cheese, beets and mixed greens. Uninspiring. The Steamed Sabu Sabu were essentially pork buns stuffed with pork belly, bean sprouts, oyster and enoki mushrooms and sauce. The buns were super dry (a bit stale) though the pork belly was well cooked. Ginger fried chicken was alright, not nearly as good as Guu's. The Toyko-style hot dogs were also okay, nothing to write home about. The tuna sashimi was our favourite item we ordered, slightly smoked served with a bit of sea salt. The yellowtail version had a funky taste.
Overall, really unimpressed with the food.
So why is DonDon busy? Is it because people are turned off by the lines at Guu? Probably not seeing that there was a line when we left. Is it because more centrally located? Maybe. Given the chance, I'd rather wait for an hour at Guu than eat subpar food. -
Review from Yvonne T.
2.5*
I was so looking forward to DonDon Izakaya (mostly because it didn't have the Guu-famed lineups).
It is located at Dundas & Bay on the second floor. In addition to the group chime of Irashaimase, you will also get a drum beating to usher you in.
DonDon's interior is made mostly of bamboo and wood with large communal tables, and some bar seats at their open-concept kitchen.
The one thing I found extremely helpful was their menu as it contained pictures of many of their dishes.
For me, the lack of service was a sour note. While there were many bodies floating around, everyone seemed to be occupied and it took several tries to finally get our orders taken.
The food at DonDon was a disappointment for me. You had a choice of bland or too salty and the food itself lacked any distinct flavours. You will find a lot of deep-fried items, a lot of potato/creamy items and the garnishes they use are used exhaustively and repetitively (mayonnaise, mayonnaise and more mayonnaise). I am confident in saying this because we ordered some $350 worth of food and beverage split between 6 people, so we sampled most of their menu.
The items that I did like were:
Black Croquettes - This came with a side of ketchup. The outer shell was perfectly crispy and the inside creamy and soft. It was a textural symphony.
Pork Kimchi Udon - I am a huge fan of udon, and the flavours worked really well with the kimchi. My only complaint is that it wasn't really spicy enough.
Fried Mackarel Mayo - The use of this fatty fish was a good call. It just melted in your mouth and the mayonnaise made it even more luscious!
Plum Wine Jelly - This was an interesting dessert, but very refreshing. While it is sweet, the plum wine adds a bit of a bitter ending to it, but not an unpleasant one.
I was pretty disappointed with my experience at DonDon. Next time I'm in the mood for izakaya, I'll gladly wait in line for Guu. Or maybe wait for Kingyo to open up shop in Toronto in the near future. -
Review from Jason K.
4/1/2012
- food wise, hands down, get the negima (pork belly and green onion skewers)... AND DO NOT GET TERIYAKI. Get the salt one. teriyaki is for noobs.
- the banging of the taiko (don don is the sound of a drum...) when anyone walks in gets old fast.
- guu isnt the end all be all of izakaya, but if i compare don don to izakaya's in japan, this place is decent.
- ill be back. need to get my drink on to really guage this spot. -
Review from Cindy Y.
Scarborough, ON
4/7/2012 3 photos
Meh.
It's no Guu.
Not like I expected it to be so, but it tries really hard to do it. The attempt to get the staff to cheer when people enter/leave, the similar restaurant layout, etc. But there are a few reasons why they cannot compete:
- The space is WAY bigger than Guu, so you'll never have the same intimacy of atmosphere
- The food menu is much more extensive -- too big, in my opinion
- The staff's heart is just not in it
But moving onto the food itself, we ordered:
1) Tokyo dog: pork sausage in a hot dog bun topped with kimchi and other pickled veg. It tasted okay, but nothing special. Wish the kim chi was hotter, but being slightly cold it didn't go too well with the sausage. The yellow hot dog bun was clearly from the Toronto hot dog street vendors.
2) F-what f-what pork: (can someone explain the name choice??) It was pork belly along with ginger, green onion, hoisin sauce on a steamed bun (man tou). This was pretty tasty but the bun was again, pre-made and from those big bags you buy in Chinese grocery stores.
3) Black sesame-crusted croquettes: this was my favourite, and I loved how odd they looked as 3 black chunks sitting on the plate. The inside was a creamy mix of potato and cod, and had wonderful flavour. Would order a few plates of this next time!
Overall, it was alright. The service was pretty bad, and we probably had 3-4 different people "serve" us because we just had to flag down a new person every time. Ah well. Maybe they just need some more time. -
Review from Judy W.
Toronto, ON
3/17/2012
Casual and trendy place playing mainstream J-pop hits from m-flo to AKB48 and offering well-priced bento lunch and 'tapas' styled dinner.
Lunch: (4.5/5 stars)
I ordered the Take Box with salmon. It comes with salad, miso soup, kansai-styled sushi, petit tempura shrimp and chicken croquette for $13. Both the sushi and tempura were excellent, but the croquette had only potato and no chicken! The grilled salmon portion was small but the terriyaki sauce and sweet-savory taste made up for it. Lunch time isn't very busy and the staff are friendly. Plus, you get the taiko drumming and greeting shouts.
Dinner (3.5/stars)
I ordered the miso marinated mackerel, avocado croquette and the seafood udon, which added up to around $20. The mackerel was disappointing; way overcooked and chewy (and looked different from the menu picture!). The avocado croquette was a nice surprise - creamy avocado mashed with potato and deep fried in a whole avocado skin. Definetly recommend it! The seafood udon is a generous portion filled with clam, mussel, squid and scallop. I also tried the kimchi pork udon - both are excellent and good a way to fill up.
I noticed that DonDon has been been having a hard time as its constantly being compared with Guu. This is somewhat unfair - if you visit any izakaya in Tokyo you will find that the layout (communal tables + bar etc.) and the environment (warm welcome shouts and farewells) are the same. The layout and restaurant culture is not unique to Guu. Dondon has captured the friendly and casual environment of the late night izakaya, perhaps in a slightly more trendy environment The menu still needs some improvement, but I'm certainly enthusiastic to come back again. -
Review from Laura C.
Toronto, ON
its envitable that you would compare this place to Guu. It has the same feel, decor and ethusiatic server, but with the added bonus of a big Taiko drum.
It wasnt a surprise to me that our wait was about 30mins on Friday night, but they need to accomodate for the crowds. The small hallway is so crowded, and not comfy to wait at.
I have to say I was disappointed that because of some confusion, when we came in, we didnt get a drum entrance nor did we get a fanfare when we left. We were sad. You know, I suspect that the owner has the drum there so he can bang on it to release stress.
We sat at the bar, and it was lovely that where was hooks for my purse and jacket. The wide stools made it more comfortable. We got the pleasure of watching the bar folks make drinks, and it was non stop.
The food we ordered was good and filling, but the selection, although vast, there wasnt much outside of our picks that I would come back for. Unlike Guu, they did not have daily specials, so the menu would stay the same. Maybe this will change.
Everything we ordered was super tasty.
- squid ink potatoe croquettes - black breaded rolls, filled with a mix of fish and shrimp, creamy and tasty, with ketchup on the side for some zing
- two types of japadogs - we got the teriyaki one- good, but seemed like a filler dish
- the salmon hay smoked sashimi was a treat - but the tiny portion at $11.50 leaves you questioning it
- the steamed shabu shabu was good, but i felt like i could have made it at home. but at $4.50 its worth gettting
- fwhat fwaht pork bun - it wasnt anyhting special, but tasty none the less - really soft bun
- kimchi udon was spicy and really good - its a portion good enough to share
- the chicken and corn udon is a great creamy choice too
having pics on the menu really helped in deciding, for sure
for dessert, we shared the green tea mouse with red bean. so tasty.
The service was okay. our food came quickly, but they dont really pay attention to you unless you try and flag them down. you think they would want to turn over seating quickly - but instead we were chatting for an hour after we finished our mains.
I would come back here, but maybe for lunch, when there is less of a rush. -
Review from Derrick A.
Toronto, ON
3/18/2012
I had the chance to visit DonDon Izakaya a few weeks ago for the first time. It remined me a lot of my time living in Japan... I know everyone has commented on how it compares to Guu, but I will not make such a comparison as I have only been to Guu in Vancouver (which was great!).
The atmosphere was great, the sake drums reminded me of my visits to Kamakura (if you have been you will know what I am talking about) and the food was very similar to what you would get at a typical good Izakaya in Japan. For me this is a great place to go with friends, have some snacks and drink your heart out - Absolutely love any place that has Japanese beer on Tap!!!
Will definitely be back again. If I had one recommendation, it would simply be that the portion sizes were a bit bigger. You definitely need to order at least 6 or 7 dishes in order to get full for 2 people which is why I think its a great snack & drinking place (which is what Izakaya's generally are!) -
Review from Kiran S.
Toronto, ON
3/23/2012
Been here twice now, both times a hit. Great ambience, very friendly staff, they announce your entrance 'Izakaya' style :)
Food menu is fun, I am never disappointed by what I order. Except...for the tokyo hot, an 'interesting' item with kimchi and other flavours. Wouldnt order it again, but sure had fun trying it out.
Amazing sake and drink menu. I opted for sweet sake last night (sorry terrible with names) and loved it. I've had their cocktails before, also a good bet.
Washrooms are so nice! total bonus. -
Review from Mel L.
3/6/2012 5 photos
This is a lunch review only. The lunch menu differs greatly from the dinner menu, in that it's mostly bento boxes, noodles, and sushi sets, rather than izakaya-style small plates. They still have a few izakaya-style dishes in the form of appetizers and deep fried snacks, but I suspect it's just the already made or easy to fry up stuff that is available. So don't come for lunch expecting the full izakaya fare, although one can always dream... :)
The bento boxes are priced between $9-$12, and they come in TWO layers so there is a quite a lot of food, and a lot of variety. I ordered the Matsu bento with salmon and it came with salmon, chicken, AND salmon and tuna sashimi, along with all the other usual sides. I haven't seen a lunch bento box that came with sashimi in...well...ever. I was so full for the rest of the day, so well worth the $12 in my opinion. All the food was delicious, and I also ordered grapefruit drink that came with a real half a grapefruit that I had to squeeze into the soda/alcohol mix myself! Awesome!! I love when things are so fresh you have to assemble them yourself.
Decor-wise I love how DonDon looks with it's dark wood and communal tables (plus a few booths), and we got the Taiko drum treatment even during lunch hour! -
Review from Yashy S.
Toronto, ON
4/2/2012
We had heard how fabulous GUU was and had been meaning to try it out...when Don Don opened across the street from us we were thrilled. We were a group of 4 adults and a baby and we went during their opening week.
Atmosphere and decor was fab, as is the service. The food sadly left much to be desired. The wasabi seaweed chips and salted edamame were the best. Simple but with great flavour. The hotdogs which we heard so much about were nothing special, the simple rice and beef dishes were okay but again nothing to write home about. They had some fish dishes that were fresh but again nothing extra ordinary. Potato wedges took over forty five mins to come out (despite us asking the waitress three times for it) and when it did...well they were plain wedges..don't expect too much. The chicken skewers were grilled over high flame and were decent but pretty tame on the flavours. The chocolate and strawberry rice dessert was absolutely weird..and not in a good way. Every dish was presented beautifully but overall the flavours were lacking.
I'm not sure if our expectations were too high..in all honesty if we got similar food from say a small no name hole in the wall, we would have been satisfied. However entering a much hyped up restaurant with great detail paid to the decor, wait staff (neat ipad payment and ordering system!) we were expecting to be wowed and we were not. Sadly. Overall bill wasn't bad at all - about ten dishes and two pitchers of beer came up to $160. -
Review from Adrienne S.
Toronto, ON
4/2/2012
Wasn't impressed...left hungry with $60 less in our wallet.
We went with friends just after it opened. The ambiance is neat with the beating drums, but that's about the best that I can say about Don Don. And for many, this becomes annoying. The food was not impressive. We tried the hot dog with kimchi (so-so), blackened potato croquettes (bland), beef stir-fried with onions on rice (pretty good). The torched salmon sashimi was different, may be the most memorable food dish we had. To top it all off, unfortunately our beer glasses were a little skunky. Nothing beer couldn't mask, I suppose.
DonDon was not bon bon. Sorry, I would not return. -
Review from Joanne H.
Toronto, ON
5/3/2012
The wait was not bad, considering it was only about 10-15 min on a friday night. And the bonus is that you actually get to wait there, indoors, with seating! Not a fan of the drumming honestly, perhaps it feels like they are trying too hard to be like Guu. In terms of food I have to say it was disappointing. Considering the quality of the food at Kaiseki Sakura, I expected a bit more from Chef Izutsu even with the understanding that this is a different type of food and he is probably not the one doing the cooking. I quite enjoyed the space, and wouldn't mind going back for drinks. For a good meal I would go to Guu. But for those who wants variety, Don Don offers a pretty extensive menu.
-
Review from Jennifer K.
Markham, ON
DonDon I have such high hopes when I arrive...
I love the set up of your place... tons of seats both at bar area and the open kitchen area. Great for singles!
Drink selections are really promising! All these choices of Sake and even the cocktails are reasonable at around $5.50.
If I am here for a drink, just drinking alone... I would have give it at least a 4 star. But the food really disappoint me... not because of the small portion or the prices... it is the lack of heart in the preparations.
Nama Lime Sour ($5.50) delicious good... though I have to physically squeeze the fresh lime into my drink, at least I can make it the way I like it! Refreshing and good to go with all the deep fried food usually offered at typical Izakaya.
Soy Milk Tofu ($3.50) with Soy Sauce has quite a delicate taste, the home made soy sauce is really light and not salty at all... more on the sweet side.
"Salted" Yakitori Combo ($6) is a complete failure. Most of them were luke warm... feels like they were grilled awhile ago... especially the chicken one it is just cold!! None of them has this right of the grill freshness or flavour. The quail eggs tasted like boiled one with no other flavour. The gizzard might be the best one at least it has good bite and great to go with a drink!
The atmosphere is on the quiet side... but for me I don't really mind too much.. as Guu can be overwhelming noisy on some days, so noisy you cannot even think or hear yourself...
I don't know if I should come back?? Maybe for a drink or 2??
I am not comparing Guu with Don Don... a little unfair... but the Yakitori I had were as "good" as the All you can eat Japanese restaurant, that is not acceptable!
*4 star for drinks/2 star for food/4 star for deco/4 star for servicesListed in: Japanese Restaurants in the…, Izakaya in GTA!!
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Review from Vicki S.
3/19/2012
Riding on Toronto's izakaya craze, DonDon doesn't do very much to separate itself from the pack. Yeah, I get that it's not 'fair' that DonDon is being compared to nearby Guu, but it's unavoidable. The design of the restaurant is similar and many things on the menu were the same. Guu, however, manages to keep things interesting with their daily specials. It was also difficult to get some recommendations from the servers who were clearly Japanese ESL students on a work visa. However, they were nice about it and went to ask the manager to help out with my questions.
We ordered skewers marinated in teriyaki sauce, which were just average. I was not a fan of the amount of things wrapped in bacon (I shock myself even typing this), but the flavor of the bacon was not complimentary to the green onions and mushroom combo. We also ordered the black ink croquettes, but it was hard to tell what was even in it given the amount of cream and mayonnaise. Half of the menu was deep-fried and drenched in the sickly sweet Japanese mayo. Not a fan of everything being deep-fried, especially when it all tastes similar. However, I loved the creme de cassis and oolong tea cocktail I ordered - it was bittersweet and the fruity flavor went well with the smoky taste of the oolong. The mackerel was also a treat, since the server brought it out and seared it in front of us with a torch.
Things DonDon beats Guu at: decor, ambience (you can actually talk), and cocktails. Things DonDon needs to work on: portion size, creativity and variety in the menu, pricing, and amount of mayo in everything. -
Review from Reynold P.
Toronto, ON
2/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
Don Don isn't a place you should consider bringing a friend. That is unless you want to de-friend them. My words may seem harsh in this review, so I bare warning now for those with sensitive eyes and sweet, innocent souls.
Don Don is a set back from what Guu created for the Izakaya scene. The creativity, detail to preparation, and price-to-portion ratio are all shattered by a less than mediocre restaurant. In fact, I was a bit offended with how much they charged for how little the dishes were. My appetite gauge was no where near full after $58 bill between 3 people.
Like Guu, they yell and scream to welcome you into their dining room. Like Guu, they have coat racks in the front to hang your jackets. Like Guu, they offer bar-side or communal table seating and like Guu, they have the Chu-Hi and Calpico Sours for your thirst quenching needs. So pretty much nothing new- just a big drum they beat in addition to the screaming when you walk in.
Unlike Guu, they do not offer a daily specials menu, which is fine if they offered great dishes from their house menu (which is not the case). Their menu, however, has pictures of most of the dishes! But this is necessary considering how simply they describe their dishes (E.g. shrimp+mayonnaise+parsley = mayo shrimp or potato+chicken+sauce = okonomiyaki??). I never knew garnishes needed to be said in the description...
Anyways, I didn't find the menu too appealing at all. Although a long menu, surprisingly, most dishes seemed really boring or really over priced. We ordered the pork buns, black croquettes, kimchi Tokyo dog, and chicken skewers.
All were disappointing and much smaller than expected. The pork buns are tasty but not that special. They weren't pork belly, but instead a take on the Chinese red-cooked pork done with a weak execution. The black croquettes were the size of a roll of nickels. Without a word of a lie, they tasted like a smooth mash of a Highliner Fish Stick with pork bits inside. That was the most disappointing dish of the meal. The hot dog was almost as underwhelming, as I expected a hotdog to resemble that you find on the street in a cart. This was a mix of kimchi with a halved Vietnamese sausage, which was not good on the palette and hardly had any meat whatsoever.
The one thing they did well were the drinks. Affordable and refreshing, but they are still comparable with those at Guu.
Overall, I was very disappointed with the food I had. As though Don Don came into the Izakaya game blind, unknowing of the competition, tastes or preparation used to prepare similar dishes. I found everything done at Don Don, sub-par and undeserving of the initial hype it's currently receiving. I respect the ideas, people and culture Don Don is trying to cultivate, but they should really respect their customers in return. -
Review from Denise S.
Solid, authentic izakaya! This place just opened 3 weeks ago, but the server informed me that they are waiting a couple more weeks before their *grand* opening. Stay tuned!
Tried this place out with a group of friends tonight and had a great time. This place is gonna give Guu a run for its money for sure!
In brief:
- Huge space on 2nd floor with some small party rooms and tatami rooms (complete with slippers to use when you go to the washroom)
- When you arrive, you will be greeted not only by staff shouting "irashaimase" but also a taiko drum!
- Menu is easy to navigate with pictures of all the dishes
- Highlights -- black croquette with potato, shrimp, cod row and squid ink; cheese wontons; skewer platter
- The kimchi hot dog was interesting and spicy
- The only disappointment with the chocolate and strawberry risotto... Just an odd combination and the chocolate was that artificial syrup-y stuff
- Great selection of cocktails. I had the yuzu calpico sour. Yummy!
- Very friendly and polite servers
Will definitely be back!Listed in: Oishii!
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Review from Amy L.
2/27/2012
2.5*
Opened its doors merely a bit over a month ago, Don Don Izakaya is a new addition to the izakaya craze in Toronto. Now, when I first saw its press release and discovered that chef Daisuke Izutsu is the head chef at Don Don, I was ecstatic. Chef Izutsu was owner/chef at Kaiseki-Sakura (now closed) and I was utterly blown away by his tasting menu. I have to say, it was quite the experience.
After reading several negative reviews on Don Don since its opening, I felt surprised and disappointed at the same time. Unlike Don Don, chef Izutsu personally put together every dish himself back at Kaiseki-Sakura, so that may be a contributing factor. But with that said, Kaiseki and Don Don serve an entirely different type of food (traditional omakase vs bar food), so they can't really be compared to one another.
The menu is extensive and filled with photos, which can be pretty overwhelming for some (especially if you're not familiar with izakaya food). Don Don offers the typical bar-type foods such as fried chicken, skewers, fried vegetables, sashimi, salads, and mayonnaise on top of many of the dishes they serve. Portions are small, but they're meant to be served with a group of people so that everyone gets to try everything on the table.
Black croquettes: breaded potato cake with shrimp and cod paste, coloured with squid ink ($7). Texture wise, it's a little crispy on the outside with a very mushy interior. To be honest though, I wouldn't have been able to tell what ingredients were used if it wasn't for the description in the menu. It simply tasted like a regular potato croquette to me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it.
Tako Wasabi: raw octopus salad marinated with wasabi ($3.50). Not chewy but quite firm. I would've liked if the pieces weren't so petite because if you're not good with chopsticks, then that's going to be a problem. The wasabi was overpowering for me, but if you enjoy the texture of raw octopus and the spiciness of wasabi, then this might work for you. It didn't do it for me.
Wasabi flavoured seaweed chips ($3). Crunchy yes, but overly chewy. I like crunchiness, seaweed, and wasabi mayo, but this fell short on its delivery.
Ginger Fried Chicken ($6.80). Moist, tender, and piping hot - yes! Finally a dish we actually enjoyed!
Soy Milk Tofu ($3.50). Well okay, it was a recommended dish, but I couldn't see how it was special. Smooth and a bit sweet from the light soy sauce. It was decent but it didn't stand out.
Soft Hoppeta-yaki: grilled chicken with mashed potato, bonito flakes, pickled ginger & otafuku sauce ($.8.50) I was looking forward to this dish when I saw it on the menu, but it was underwhelming. The chicken was soft, but flat and tasted like fish. There was too much bonito flakes on top but the pickled ginger provided a sharpness that was much needed.
Atlantic salmon and egg salad ($6.50). This was probably the most disappointing dish only because it seemed so promising. I love salmon, boiled egg, and not to mention, bacon, so this had to be a win. When you take the first bite, you realize the egg yolk mixture is very thick, a bit sour, but overall the taste was unpleasant. The bacon strips on top were cold and thus, lacked the crispy goodness of bacon altogether.
Cheese Potato Pizza: Potato, bacon, garlic, butter, asparagus, and parsley ($7.50). I give them credit for the topping on top as it was flavourful and tasty; the garlic really helped. The potato "crust" at the bottom, however, was not crispy and soft, but tough and reminded me of cold McDonald's fries.
Hanpen Fish Cakes ($6.80). One of the better dishes of the night! Crispy exterior and a delicate, slightly rubbery interior. Tasty and I wouldn't have minded gobbling up all 4 pieces.
Beef Skewers with salt ($3). Not bad; juicy, smokey, and best of all, not tough. Natural beefy goodness!
Skewers combo: pork & green onion, asparagus & bacon, beef, oyster & mushroom & bacon, chicken ($6). Decent but not extraordinary. I had the pork which was uber fatty and asparagus that had a nice bite. I didn't try the chicken but I think my friends said they were dry.
Green Tea Mousse: matcha, milk, red bean, and cream ($4.20). Texturally speaking, this was not a mousse. It was more like a gelée - dense and rubbery. The matcha was extremely strong and you taste that bitterness on your tongue at the end. I'm not complaining because I like matcha, but it might be too much for others. The red bean was a bit sour and the cream helped to balance the bitterness.
So as you can tell, I wasn't too thrilled writing up this review of Don Don. Even after hearing negative comments about them, I was still secretly hoping that the food really wasn't as bad as they say. It's disheartening, but I prefer Guu. I hate to make comparisons when it comes to restaurants, but since you've probably tried Guu before and to give you a better idea, it might help if I say that Guu has better tasting food. -
Review from Christian P.
Toronto, ON
1/29/2012
4.6 more exactly.
Just opened in early January 2012, the 3rd of the Izakaya branch in downtown Toronto with the same concept of bar-seating or huge table to share, but also several 6-person table and a huge tatami room for group (to book). As always (and even more because recently open), very nice staff.
Nice and extended menu (not the usual sushi-sashimi place), with pictures of everything you will want to try. Nice and clean setting. Food is really good and relatively original (and not exactly 100% the same as the Guu-Iza' brother on Church. Prices are correct (but with some very expensive drinks). One or 2 of the food items we tried were slightly overcooked, but overall very good experience.
Japango, you finally have a concurrent of the same category nearby! bigger and with nicer staff! -
Review from Jiao S.
2/11/2012 10 photos
* For whoever read my review , it is a soft four star.
I sucked at the LSAT test, so I went to get conform food on a day "feels like -22"
I've always LOVED Izakaya' and that is why I am debating so hard for how I am going to rate this place.
Well my friend went to this place before me (and I was mad about it!), He texted me saying food was good, so I asked him to comparing to Guu or Fin. He just said "it is different".
So of course I wanna know how different ?
Here is the result:
Food in general, 3.5-4
drink: 2
pirce/quality ratio: 4+
When I just stepped in, I was like.. it is NOT DIFFERENT, the inner deco looks exactly like Guu and so does the dinning environment. The only different part is they have a drum at the door (I guess that is why they called Dondon Izakaya but I could be wrong)
The menu is pure just print out, but I was okay with it. However, there is not much choice for cocktail and they do not have the special lemonade, (the one with the glass ball) . For beer or sake lovers, my comments might not be fair since I didn't pay attention other than cocktails. Luckily, They have Chu-Hi, so my friend ordered YUZU Chu-hi. When the drink is served, they forgot to tell us which one is which, so we picked the wrong one, but the drink was good.
We ordered chicken salad with plum sauce, I didn't like it. Although the texture of chicken is great but didn't feel they mixed well with the salad.
The "milk tofu" was great, but both my friend and I agreed that it could be even better if they come with a sweet sauce rather than soy sauce, so that it can bring out the rich milk flavor.
Also ordered Japanese style hot dog, with chicken and Kimmi, liked it." Pan fried beef ", like stone grill in fin. But the this dish @ fin, However, both the meat and vege are marinated. Although this one came with BBQ sauce (which is great sauce), the taste is still not as good. One more thing is, the pan tend to be too small, so when we put the vege in, it is already cold.
A steamed Shabu-shabu. I learned from a book that is the way people cook it in Kyushu. Steam meat with vegetable under. Taste good.
Skewer combination, i can only say.. not bad.
Overall, it is good. Not as creative as Guu, and they can make better arrangement for seats. My friend and I sit beside a 3 people group, feels awkward.
Dinning environment is very much like Guu, loud but not as loud. They sing cheerful birthday songs for people too. (Price is cheapter too)
I bear in mind the fact they they just opened for a short time, so all the service and other flaws (or menus) can be changed in the future. It takes time to make a good restaurant better. So my recommendation level is 4 star! -
Review from Sarah C.
Toronto, ON
3/1/2012
Food: 2
Service: 4
From reading other reviews, I noticed that everyone has been using Guu as a benchmark. Some have mentioned that it is unfair to do so, but I think given the price of Don Don's menu, they are putting themselves into that category.
With that said, I was very disappointed with my first dining experience at DD tonight. Walking in, it is obvious that management has made an effort to create a very Guu-like environment. Granted the space is much bigger and not as noisy but in any case, it definitely set the stage for what I believed would be a great Izakaya alternative. I was wrong.
Salmon sashimi: $10.50 for 5 VERY small slices. Quality was on par with any cheap Japanese restaurant you can find downtown; and at those restaurants, you could be getting anywhere from 10-12 pieces of sashimi. If you are going to price it like this, I'm going to expect some damn fresh fish that just melts in my mouth.
Kimchi + Pork Udon: Don't remember the price but I was looking forward to this dish. Sure there was some kimchi in there but most of the heat in the dish was coming from black pepper. If you're going to make Kimchi the star of your dish, it should taste like it. Would have been more acceptable to name this dish Black Pepper and Pork Udon with a hint of Kimchi.
Chicken + Corn Udon: Not impressed at all. Thought they were going for a carbonara type dish but just tastes quite bland. Again, way too much black pepper. Since the sauce was white you could visibly see how much black pepper was used. Not cool.
Hokke w/ butter and garlic: Fish was cooked fine but it was much too salty.
Overall, I don't think I'll be coming back here anytime soon. Seems like a decent place if you're just looking to grab a beer with some friends after school/work...but not somewhere I would go to enjoy the food. For the quality you get (really not that much..), I can't justify paying the prices that Don Don charges. I actually find it quite insulting that they think it is OK to charge what they do for the food they are serving.
I'd rather wait a little longer and go to Japango right around the corner. I'd probably end up with a similar bill but at least I'll have had a positive dining experience. -
Review from Janelle W.
Toronto, ON
2/19/2012
The four star rating is partly due to the restaurant's location--there isn't a ton of reliable choice in the area, and while Guu may still be the dominant force in creative izakaya in Toronto, Dondon offers a good experience.
The bf and I ordered: the mayo shrimp, which was the standout dish for me, really tasty; wasabi nori chips, which were crunchy, tasty, but maybe could have used a bit more salt; miso marinated mackerel, which was pretty good as well but didn't blow my mind. We each tried a different ice cream, taro and black sesame, and both were good and about what you'd expect. The menu has good variety, and it was fun to see the hay fire in action as we were seated in front of the kitchen. Overall, lots of fun, and while not a true competitor of Guu, Dondon is still a welcome change of pace from the somewhat lower quality fare surrounding Bay and Dundas. -
Review from Seann G.
Toronto, ON
2/10/2012
Had dinner with my wife and another couple here on a Saturday night. We had originally planned a bigger group but found out that you ideally need to book a day or two in advance for groups over eight.
The atmosphere was fun. It is very noisy, but not abrasive. It was happy noise. If you aren't familiar with Japanese culture and the importance of these wind down sake bars then it may alarm you when you're greeted by banging drums and fanfare. You get the same experience on your way out paying your bill, turning even that menial task into an event!
Our server was incredibly nice, and other servers including the owner will check on you throughout to make sure your needs are taken care of.
The food was in traditionally small servings, which I like. At our table we just ordered many dishes and shared everything. The presentation was fantastic, and the food itself was delicious.
They have a great Sake menu, divided up between Sweet, Dry and something in the middle. I hate it when restaurants forget to do this with their Sake menu, and I think it's the main reason people think they don't like Sake.
After my wife and I shared a bottle of mid range Sake, and gorged on food and a few beers, end price was about $100.
I'll be coming back for the drinks, the food and good times! -
Review from David B.
Toronto, ON
3/24/2012
This place is strangely packed for being so mediocre and pricey. Half the items we got were piss-poor. The rest were decent to good.
Bad:
seafood udon - where's the seafood? Couldn't find it.
don don potatoe wedges - they taste like regular potatoe wedges but without the taste or available ketchup to save a bland dish
cheese wonton - grossest dish of the night. Very bitter and salty.
jalapeno bomb - bland and chewy
ginger tofu - tastes like any regular tofu. Nothing special at all. Certainly not worth almost $5.
japanese omelette - tastes like omlette but blander and more pricey.
Decent:
Pork kimchi udon - needs more spice!
Good:
Shrimp mayo -
Review from Sam C.
2/3/2012
This is no Guu, and for my fellow Vancouver transplants, no Hapa either.
Upon entrance to the restaurant you're in a small enclosed corridor where a host greets you and you're surrounded by bamboo sticks separating you from the restaurant. It was around 7pm on a Thursday night we visited and seemed to be very quiet, figuring we're early and the rush hasn't happened yet. After talking to the host, all tables are taken! This is not the same atmosphere as Guu where upon entrance their yellowing on top of their lungs to welcome you as you step in and the room is filled with noise and excitement. A completely different atmosphere, more quaint and you could actually have a group conversation and hear everyone clearly, except when they beat the large Japanese drums at the door as patrons enter the dining room.
Hoping the food could compensate for the lack of atmosphere in the room, it really didn't overwhelm that much. We tried their sashimi selection (sweet shrimp, butter fish, yellowtail, smoked hay bc tuna) which were ok but we've had better elsewhere in the city. I will give them points on the sweet shrimp as it was big and really succulent. We tried their grilled skewers (can also be fried) which were ok and personally I can't taste the difference between ones with sauce and one that is salted. The egg salad with bacon is a twist on the deviled egg with added bacon on top. The steamed shabu shabu came in a bamboo steamer layered with bean sprouts with several slices of pork and some sauces for dipping, very healthy but nothing special. We also tried the Japanese egg which is basically hot tamago sushi without the rice. The ginger chicken is fried and done well but didn't taste any ginger nor did we taste any ginger in the tofu marinated in ginger sauce. Overall the food was very underwhelming and price points I found on the higher end of the spectrum for izakaya. I just didn't find any value, the food didn't tantilize my taste buds, or the plating/presentation was anything special. I will give them kudos for their extensive sake selection, as we ourselves enjoyed 3 bottles during our stay.
On a side note, it's run by the same people as Sushi Time on Queen Street, so not sure if that is a good or bad thing for people. But I did find their interview with TheGridTO a bit comical saying how they first got the idea to open an izakaya in Toronto 10 years ago but Guu beat them to it.
