Donburi is a much-hyped Adams Morgan restaurant and DC-based food truck that serves amazing Japanese cuisine – fast!

The name of the restaurant is synonymous with what they serve. Donburi is a traditional bowl dish with steamed rice, meats in various forms, pickled vegetables, and sauce.

Though I eagerly anticipate trying the food truck version, I went to the physical location in AdMo at 11:30 on a Monday. Odd timing, I know. It’s an incredibly small restaurant, only 14 bar-style seats overlooking the chef’s station. I’m happy we went so early, the store had gotten so many takeout orders for salmon sashimi, they ran out right after we placed our order! During normal weekends, I suggest getting going during off-timing, or doing takeout.

Let’s get to the food, shall we? Donburi has a small menu, consisting of 7 different types of bowls and a selection of sides. Most of these options are grilled or fried meats or vegetables, such as fried chicken or barbequed eel. You can also opt to have curry sauce added to your bowl, for a spicy kick.

My friend and I ordered the Sakedon, the salmon sashimi bowl. It came with a base of steamy rice, donburi sauce (a soy sauce base), seaweed flakes, pickled vegetables, fresh (and strong!) wasabi, and a hearty serving of salmon. This is the highlight of the meal, 9 thick-cut pieces of fresh and tender salmon is a generous and delicious portion. Its a huge bang for your buck – you’d have to order 4 salmon rolls at a sushi restaurant to get this much fish, and spend 3x as much for it too.

The unexpected star of the dish was the pickled vegetables. On the side of the dish were pickled cucumbers, pickled yellow radish, and pickled ginger. I asked for extra pickled veggies because I ate mine so fast! They gave me a fresh plate, containing a combination of vegetables plus pickled carrots and red peppers. Plus side: the extra veggies were free!

On the table are a variety of sauces that you can add to your bowl. Soy sauce and little sauce trays are a staple. They also feature extra donburi sauce and a spicy pink mayo. Not sure what was in it, but of course, I ate it anyways.

It is also important to note that the service was great! Our orders were taken at the door then promptly relayed to the two chefs. We took our seats, and less than 5 minutes later our food was ready! In addition, the price point is a huge advantage. The Sakedon bowl is 13$, and most other dishes are 11$. This is a great place to get a filling meal for an incredibly reasonable price.

Overall, this is high-quality Japanese cuisine for a low and affordable price. I will be making many more trips to Donburi, this is definitely a new favorite! I was incredibly tempted to give it 5 Cones, but I will pay them another visit before bestowing such an honor. For this price, you won’t get this much amazing food anywhere else.

The Bottom Line

Amazing fresh Japanese food, worth coming back again and again!

Cone Rating: 4.5 Cones! 

Price: $$ (10-20$ for a full meal)

Location: Adams Morgan, Washington, DC (15 min. walk from Woodley Park/Zoo Metro)

Website: No website, but here is their Yelp, Facebook, and Twitter pages!