For once, I didn't feel like having Santouka so I opted to give Don Don Tei a try. I ordered the mixed seafood bowl for $7.95, which consisted of 4 thin slivers of pre-cut salmon, 3 slivers of pre-cut tuna and a pile of chopped tuna. Any sashimi pre-cut is not fresh in my book. You can be the judge on whether or not to give this bowl a try. I was also tricked into getting a green tea, which I actually preferred, over the bowl. Why would I say tricked you ask? When someone asks me if want miso soup OR green tea with my meal, I think it's implied that the miso soup or the green tea comes with the bowl and not for an additional $1.50. Not that I mind paying $1.50 for a green tea, (which I usually get from the pastry stand across the food court, YUM) but I just felt obligated to pick one or the other. After today's experience, I will stick with Santouka in the future. read more

Located in the Mitsuwa food court, it's not the most amazing sashimi, but decent and satisfies a craving. I usually get the Salmon Don. The salmon is sliced pretty thin. Rice is tasty - has a mild vinegar taste to it, which complements well, but fish to rice ratio isn't quite even. I'm usually left full only because there's a lot of rice. Bowls are priced around $9. read more

I have been to Mitsuwa food court for many times and for most times I go there for my meal. Mitsuwa's food court has 7 venders, all Japanese food (one Chinese food, perhaps?) and Don Don Tei now is my favorite one. I went to Don Don Tei one Sunday afternoon I will NEVER go there again in weekends as finding a parking slot took me nearly 15 mins, lingering around in its parking lot. They have a lot of parking but not enough for all enthusiastic customers. Anyway, I found my slot, hiding in the corner of inside garage. Honestly, my budget was only 10 bucks and it is insane to expect too much on it. I didn't want to get shitty stuff neither. However, I was surprised by the quality of its food and it definitely worth its price. BTW, Don Don Tei is CASH ONLY. Many people lined up for Santouka but I don't know why. For me, personally, it sucks. The price range of Don Don Tei is 7-10, which is good for me, someone does not want to spend a lot. The menu has many "bento", rice bowl in Japanese, including Tuna, salmon, tempura and pork. It also has soba noodle. I ordered the Tempura Set, 8.85 bucks. It came with miso soup, steamed white rice, tofu, soy sauce and 8 pieces of tempura. Beside these, a piece of napkin and a pair of disposable wood chopsticks. If you are not good at mastering chopsticks, they offer plastic fork and spoon. This set YUMMY, much better than my expectation. Literally, I would still pay for it if the price was 10 instead of JUST 8.85. The golden wrapping is crispy but not oily, drained before presented, and miso soup will save you if you feel too greasy. The soy sauce is excellent. It matches tempura and adds flavor to flavorless tofu :) However, the wrapping for the shrimp is tooooo thick. It gives you a mouthful fried flour instead of the original taste of its content, shrimp. Relatively nice food, relatively acceptable price and relatively average service? Oh no, it has no service at all, only a cashier stands there, calling people's numbers. But it's in a food court, who expects service in a food court? Anyway, if you want nice yet cheap food, Don Don Tei is the place you should go. read more

Don Don Tei - tempura set - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I was craving chicken katsu and thought this would be the best place to check out. Unfortunately, they never called my number but someone else took my order. Going back to them some fifteen minutes later, they realized what had happened and was very apologetic. They scrambled to make sure my order was out as soon as possible. The food was great, and their service to accommodate for a missing order was much appreciated. read more

Went to their soft opening, tomorrow will be their grand opening. A little unorganized, and the poor girl behind the cashier looked stressed and possibly depressed. Other than that the food was pretty good, especially for 50% off of EVERYTHING for a pre-opening sale. $4.30 for a seafood mix bowl containing Tuna and Salmon Sashimi, plus the ground tuna you'd find in spicy tuna? AWESOME. Cheapest lunch I've ever had that contained edible raw fish. I had to go back to the counter twice cause they forgot soy sauce and wasabi, but for first day open I guess that's not uncommon. Will be trying out their other dishes in the future. PS: If you order separate from your friends, dont be surprised if your ticket # jumps 4-5 digits despite ordering right after. They share the cash register system with the also new udon place right next to them. It was weird how I got 36 and a minute later my friend behind me got 40. read more

For 7.95 plus tax I got the mini ten-don (rice with 3 pieces of tempura: shrimp, eggplant and squash) and cold soba. Not badddd for the price. Noodles were plentiful and the tempura was fresh. What more can you ask for? read more

Don Don Tei - Mini ten-don with cold soba $7.95 - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Yum! It sounds like some other people had hit or miss experiences, but I've always really enjoyed eating here. I usually get the same thing - the salmon don. My sister and I tend to pull a Gilmore Girls at mall food court esque sample everything type mentality and grab a dish from as many food stands as we can stomach when we go to the Mitsuwa food court. The salmon don is definitely one of my favorites. I also love how you can add miso and salad for a dollar more. Very affordable and tasty place to get rice and fish. Will definitely be back ! read more

I ordered a special katsu-don. The dish was well prepared and steaming hot right out of the kitchen. There was generous amount of egg and pork cutlet all over the rice bowl. I love it, would come back and order the same dish or even try others read more

Don Don Tei - Special katsu-don - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

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Food is great. Special Katsu-don ($6.95) has 5 mid size cutlets. Pork is in good quality as well. Two girls at the counter were smoking by Mitsuwa entrance. I saw them while I was driving in. The air around the entrance stunk because of them. A minute or two after the opening time, store managers were looking for cashiers. Those stinking girls ran back to the counter. No matter how good the food is, it is no good if served by stinking smokers. If the store management cannot screen out tardy smokers when they hire cashiers (in this job market), how good can they be when they hire chefs and select food material?? I will change to one star if I see those girls next time I am there. read more

Nothing special. I got the oyakodoburi (egg and chicken rice bowl) and it tasted pretty standard. I might be extra harsh because it's a dish I've made easily enough a few times. Overbooked egg sucks, but undercooked is pretty disgusting, as I had to find out through my donburi. :( They get as few or fewer patrons than Sky Express and L&L, so that's a bad sign already. On the bright side, no long lines or 30+ minutes of waiting like Santouka! read more

I know there's always that one guy that has a bad experience. And today I was that guy. However, If the workers are respectful, I can deal with it. Rude. Messed up order. Forgotten order. And the worker up front was rude and didn't even make eye contact with me. I tried to be nice until the very end, I just asked for my money back. read more

Good food but horrible customer service. The cashier is never smile & very rude. When I asked her if my order was ready or not, she didn't even bother to answer. They accept cash only and the ATM machine charges $2 for cash withdrawal. So I will never come back even though the food is good. I rather go somewhere else that take cards & has better customer service. read more

Ordered the salmon don and it was not good. The salmon itself was ok but the slices were so thin and comes with about 6 slices and a heaping amount of rice. What am I suppose to do with the remaining rice? Not worth $8. read more

Don Don Tei - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Quality food for the an affordable price. Great service . My go-to is their Pork Don bowl.

(+) one of the cheaper katsu-don dishes for $5.90 (-) katsu in katsu-don wasn't very crispy (-) too much soy sauce in the egg and in the actual katsu too I guess you get what you pay for! read more

This restaurant is located inside Mitsuwa Market in the food court. It's less busy than the others and you can get your food just a few minutes after ordering. I have been coming here for years and have never had to wait in line for more then 5 minutes. They serve raw fish a la sushi and sashimi here served over rice among a few other dishes, but the raw fish bowls are definitely their focus here. Don't be confused. This isn't poke or sushi. It's raw slices of salmon or tuna served rice. They also give you soy sauce and wasabi on the side for you to dip your fish in as well. I usually get the Salmon Don or the Mixed Poki Don. The Salmon Don will get you about 10 slices of fish topped on a bowl of rice with ginger and some greens as garnish. The salmon is quite good! It's not amazing sushi and it's sliced quite thin, but it is quite tasty. There are also small bits of chopped salmon in the center as well. It's a decent value for then price at ~$9. The Mixed Poki Don is the same price, but as its name suggests, you get a mix of tuna and salmon. The major difference here is that the fish will already have a sauce on it so don't put more soy sauce on it or it will be too salty! I feel like there is a little less fish with the Mixed Poki Don, but it's still very good. I've been coming here for years, and I will probably still continue to come here for years. It's not the most amazing food, but definitely a tasty place to check out if you don't feel like waiting in line for ramen! read more

Unless you like your sashimi cooking as you're eating, DO NOT order anything raw here!!! The sushi rice is steaming hot! My salmon was getting white! I couldn't even eat my bowl. Also, on a side note... the young tall guy who works there has the worst customer service. Doesn't smile, no thank you, no personality. I don't know how you could still have a job. read more

This is one of the many restaurants in the Mitsuwa food courts, definitely NOT the best one but probably the cheapest one. The menu is full of rice bowls and a couple soba/udon options ranging from $5.50-7.95 range. Although overall the bowls are pretty average in flavor and quality but hey you can't beat the value for a economical lunch! If you want quality bowls/plates definitely go over to Misasa 2 stores over. Note this place is also cash only like all the shops in the food court. So hit up the ATM before you come or there's a BOA ATM at the entrance. read more

I had the pork katsu don. Maybe I just don't like katsu don? The pork was a little over cooked and was a bit rubbery. Maybe it was a bad day? I'll have to try it again! read more

I would not recommend this place for beef sibuyaki bowl. The meat was extremely dry and over cooked. I had to drip it in my friends curry in order to make it a little more edible...but the bowl itself just had barely any flavoring and very dry meat!! read more

Wasn't the best thing I've tried at the Mitsuwa food court. Was pretty plain, and the katsu wasn't as crispy as I would've liked it to be :/ read more

Don Don Tei - Special katsu bowl - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Love the spicy tuna don bowl here... The sauce is pretty spicy but they put a lot of tuna. Too many rice in the bowl but the sauce makes it better even just eating with the rice. Price is not too bad, pretty reasonable. read more

Don Don Tei - Spicy tuna don - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

A Japanese restaurant in Mitsuwa Market Place food court. They serve authentic Japanese food. read more

Don Don Tei - Katsu don !! - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

Don Don Tei is one of the many eateries at Mitsuwa. I had dinner there today and ordered the mini combination of the hot soba noodles and tempura (shrimp, eggplant, and green bell pepper) with rice. I have to say - not the best tempura I've had. Compared to their life like displays, my tempura had such a thick coating of batter. I also didn't like that they gave me tempura eggplant since the eggplant kind of acted as a sponge with the oil. However, I really like the hot soba noodles. On the plus side, service is great and the entrees are very inexpensive. Worth a try! read more

Located in the Mitsuwa marketplace, Don Don Tei serves up some righteous Don Buri (rice bowls). I ended up with their Special Katsu Don and destroyed it. Good quality food at a decent price. I'll have to go back and try their poke bowl based on the images i'm seeing as I write this review!! As always @Mitsuwa: cash only read more

I keep on seeing reviews about their seafood bowls but I'm here to say People here are getting the wrong things. Ever since this store opened up, I haven't gone to any other in Mitsuwa. The Katsudon is one of the best I've ever had. They have two, the regular for around 5$ and the special katsudon, which is $1.50 more and comes with an extra fried pork cutlet. The cutlet is fried beautifully, and very flavorful. Some places manage to fry just a regular piece of pork with nothing special, but Don Don Tei here gets it right. Around the sides will be onions (which are nice) and cooked eggs, and on top of the pork cutlet are egg whites. The egg whites aren't fully cooked yet, but they cook as they're served to you, so that when you dig in, it's done and harmonizes greatly with the cutlet. Another great thing is the juices or broth or dashi (i'm not too sure) that seeps into the rice, making it delicious and easy to eat. This doesn't happen with any of the seafood options, and I gotta say, this is what bumped it up to 5 stars. None of the bowls at Miyabi-Tei manage to do this. The best part is that the portions really good enough for even big eaters For those who want a stronger flavor, you can go and steal some of the tonkatsu sauce at Miyabi-Tei, but it really isn't necessary. read more

Not bad for price if you want the egg and chicken bowl or pork cutlet bowl with eggs. Price is great at $5.90. As for fish, I wouldn't recommend it. Quality of fish is what you get for the cheap price. Just so so. read more

I ordered the katsu-don to go because the food court was just too crowded on a Sunday at lunchtime. The katsu wasn't all that crispy given all the egg mixed over it. The onions were nicely cooked, and rice is rice. If an Asian restaurant can't cook rice, something's very wrong. Overall, this place hits the spot when you're hungry. As other reviewers have mentioned, be prepared to have cash on hand. I did see a BofA ATM in the building near the elevator to the garage, which might be helpful to some. read more

It's located in the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa at the food court. All the food stores are cash only with the exception of Matcha Love being $8 minimum for card. My boyfriend and I shared a special Katau don (Pork culet rice bowl $7.95). The cashier was nice and funny which I'd always a plus. Special just means a largest size and the regular bowl. It was yummy! It had green onions, fully cooked white onions, and eggs with thee katsu and rice. The katsu wasn't that crispy unfortunately. We finished decently satisfied. read more

Don Don Tei - Special Katsu don (Pork Cullet rice bowl $7.95) Special = large/bigger than regular - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

I ordered the katsu don and it was not the best quality pork katsu that I have had. They prices are pretty cheap for the large amount of food. The pork katsu was crunchy but a little dry and the sauce was kinda bland but at least had caramelized onions. This place is cash only and even though I went during prime lunch hour on a friday, I didn't have to wait in line. It was overall not bad but not the greatest katsu don that I've had. read more

Don Don Tei - Katsudon - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

went to mitsuwa for a few grocery items and wondered around the food court. they have a big sign that tempura is available. sold! i ordered just one tempura and it was less than $2. staff was friendly. the tempura was super fluffy and tasty. will be back. read more

I was in a hurry but still asked the cashier if my order was correct. Should have opened the tightly knotted bag to make sure. I ordered the regular ten don, was charged for the special ten don, got it home and it was pork katsu in the bowl. read more

Ordered set number 17 and it taste awful....please rethink about eating at this place. Wast of my 10 dollars.....not pleased at all!!

I had the special tempura rice bowl with a lot of tempura fried pieces and it was so bomb. Had to get their sweetened iced green tea again. This place never disappoints! read more

Went to Mitsuwa to do some grocery shopping and my tummy started to grumble, so I decided to try Don Don Tei. I had the Katsu Don and loved every bite of it. The food was hot and delicious and was very satisfying. The quality is great and at a reasonable price. Tempted to try every bowl on that menu of theirs. Remember, CASH ONLY!!!! read more

Dropped into the Mitsuwa Food Court with family for a Saturday night dinner and as expected on a hot, October night, the food court was packed. I've been here a couple of times and the service at Don Don Tei has never, to my own experience, been slow. All the times I have been here the entire order turnaround time, from placing the order to getting the food, was fast for the amount of people they had to manage. If the line is long, give it a couple minutes to die down since the cashier is usually on double duty, from what I have observed, to take orders and manage "front of house" transactions as well as placing the food on the trays for customer pickup. Food quality wise, I've gotten the Salmon-don as well as the Oyakodon on numerous occasions and both have not failed me. They are usually my go to bowls at this location. The food is nothing extraordinary and probably won't blow your mind, but taking into account that this is a food court establishment, I would recommend it since you can order and get your food relatively fast compared to the other establishments in the same food court. read more

If you're in the food court at the mitsuwa and want a tempura set, this place has the best variety and taste. If you want lunch sets and bowls which are not seafood based go to MIYABI-TEI Where they have consistently decent food. Not awesome like in Japan but close enough at a economical price. Don Don also has a decent spicy tuna bowl which is colorful and tasty. Nice hard working crew helps the line move along read more

Don Don Tei - Katsu bowl. Little dry but still good - Japanese Near Me - Costa Mesa, California

CASH ONLY! BEWARE! An alright place for rice bowls. I got the egg and chicken karaage bowl. It was very plain and had a very sweet flavor due to the miso that they mixed the rice in. That was my least favorite part since I'm not a huge fan of miso. The chicken was soggy and not at all crunchy which was also a huge issue I found. The egg though was cooked to perfection and there were lots of green onions to garnish which was delicious. Overall, if I'm craving a rice bowl again I'd come here to try their other dishes. read more

So it's my firt time trying this place. As I was looking at the menu, a worker opened the water bin and water got all over my jeans. He did not say sorry, I don't think he even knew the water got on me. But looking at the floor, it seems like water drips a lot. I later told the cashier up front and she said sorry. I mean, idk. Im just really annoyed read more

I order a spicy tuna don and it looks totally different to the picture! And it taste like Korean dish bt not Japanese don!! They use sweet n spicy sauce mix with lots of lettuces, red pepper, purple union, cucumber and ONLY FIVE PIECES OF TUNA!! Im very disappointed!! read more