Review The Don - Milford

Very busy restaurant, we went around 7:30 and it’s nearly full house on a Wednesday night. Food was great and authentic as usual. You have a lot to choose from on their menu. Portion size is great, I won’t say it’s pricey.

Great food and friendly staff! We’ve been here many times and have never been disappointed. Highly recommended.

Lovely Japanese atmosphere with absolutely delicious food. The chefs greet you as you walk past the kitchen which adds that extra touch. Food was cooked pretty quickly. Loved the interior of the restaurant which gave off a very authentic vibe. Price was really good for the quality. If you're planning to take your family then maybe book to be on the safe side. Would definitely recommend and will be back for more and more!

Really enjoyed our night tonight at The Don. A good place to take family or friends. The food is delicious and the service is great. Can't wait to go back.

Strongly rcommend Tempura udon！Massive portion with low price. But not recommend the Kastu-don，not tender and not fresh，texture is undesirable.

We had dinner here tonight, food was pretty good, the noodle my partner said is 75% close to what tasted in Japan. The soft cell crabs is outstanding. Lost one star because of the serving order, they brought the salad and sashimi after the noodle.

Please see my photos. A little Gem discovered in Milford, Auckland.

Def the best donbrui cuisine👍

Food is always great here...we all had the $75 3 course meal...with 9 small starter, scallop our favorite.. choice of main...and creme brulee n green tea ice cream...mmm scallop..enjoy

I came to this place because I tried The Don in the city thought this would be the same one. It felt ok to start with and environment, service was good. It was quit busy during lunch time on a Thursday. Until the order came I realised it’s different. You can see it’s a Korean over Japanese by the way they present food and when I pay my bill I heard the language. I’m not against that Korean operates Japanese food. Many Sushi shop in town are owned by Korean. But that’s just me when it comes to food I like the idea of tasting authentic. I give 4 star for this restaurant because of the service and environment not the food. I don’t think I will come again.

The Don's food is a special kind of delicious. I was taken to this restaurant by a friend last night only to return with my girlfriend tonight. Two completely different sets of dishes yet equally well executed. I will probably be back tomorrow.

I took my daughter and her friends here. Kids loved their food: Renton chips, chicken & prawn skewers, takoyaki etc. A lot of small dishes to choose from.

Great place for dinner. We ordered the sushi and sashimi combo on special, karaage chicken and pork skewers (not pictured). Everything tasted great and the quality and plating was much better than your standard Japanese joint. Portion sizes could have been a bit more generous but other than everything was great. Staff were very friendly too

Very fast service. The food tastes great and fresh! Especially the spicy tuna rolls😍

Very yummy, large portions, very good value, nice interior. Been here twice already and still would come again!

Food was okay but the tables were crewed even in 2nd level lockdown.a little bit price though. Standard japanese saki bar

Had dinner here tonight <br/>We ordered the soft shell crab <br/>Kaarage chicken <br/>Salmon teriyaki <br/>Food was good came out quick nice and hot<br/>Staff happy and friendly <br/>We will definitely be back to try more from the menu <br/>Thanks 😊 <br/>

Food are all good !! <br/>Winter special green tea Crème Brûlée was really delicious !

fish don tasted very much like the seafood salad there. both got strong taste of black pepper sauce but not too bad. went well with the rice. my friend ordered chicken katsu don. good too.

Wow! This place did not disappoint, I'm still raving on about their food a week later. Good value for money and the food was delicious. We did have an issue where the waiter didnt come back to take our order but once they noticed they were very apologetic. Otherwise amazing food. Highly recommended checking it out.

Katsu sauce chicken is always delicious. Teriyaki chicken roll is so fresh and comes out warm. Friendly staff. The freshest Japanese I’ve had and reasonably priced too!

Great consistency taste, we ordered 5 take away donburi plus sushi and sides, and they still manage to deliver within 20minutes. Dragon roll and ginger pork plus melon soda are our all time favourites

Delicious food. Beef sukiyaki was too sweet, but overall, the food was great. Generous amount of meat on donburi and sushi tasted super fresh. Nice atmosphere as well.

Sashimi tasted really fresh and good. Overall, food was really satisfying. Ambience of the restaurant was also very good with great and polite service. Would definitely come back

Its one of those random days again where most of us at home was quite lazy to prepare dinner, usually we have the energy to cook but for some reason (most probably the weather) we just want to bum out. Our usual schedule is that I leave office at 4:30PM and I will be at home at 5:00PM, from there I usually prepare our dinner and depending on the dish I will be done somewhere between 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM, I then take a picture of the dish and 15 minutes later we are ready for dinner. This time it’s already 7:00 PM and no one cooked and there were no left overs so we decided to dine out, usually at this time we are already on our way out to jog but instead of a jog we looking for something to eat.

Came in for lunch with the family and have to say it wasn't worth it. I got the 'teriyaki chicken' sushi and it came out warm which was not pleasant and the seaweed was super chewy and was still crispy.  The presentation also wasn't very nice. Probably wouldn't come back and don't really recommend it.

Nice Japanese food which is very well priced. Really friendly service from the staff. Food came quickly and the place has a nice cosy atmosphere.

I saw the high ratings of this restaurant.  I went there for lunch last Friday. I had Sukiyaki Hot Pot set lunch ($18.9)  It was so disappointing.<br/>I am fully aware that usually Japanese restaurants use those bottled sauce to make the broth for this dish.  They just need to dilute it, so it shouldn't go wrong in a usual case.  However, this Sukiyaki hot pot ... broth has been over diluted and become tasteless.  The sliced beef was tough and overcooked. The spring onion in the hot pot has been over-cooked and it became yellowish. No taste at all.  <br/>At the end, I had to ask for some soy sauce to go with it and couldn't finish the meal.  Their 3 items for the Entree also offer you something cheap and basic.  (2 very small pcs of sushi, 2 tiny spring roll with sweet chili sauce and a few pcs of Edamame beans). I will not go back at all.

4/5 Taste<br/>4.5/5 Display <br/>5/5 Quantity <br/>4/5 Customer Service<br/><br/>Brilliant Japanese Restaurant in Milford.<br/><br/>This place is perfect for those who love Japanese food but poor af like me.<br/><br/>I eat a lot and im a poor business owner so I normally stay away from Japanese Restaurants.<br/>However this Restaurant broke the stereotype that Japanese restaurants are expensive with small portion. This place had huuuuuuge portions and price was really really reasonable. No wonder this place was paacked! <br/>I am definitely returning for more food.<br/>

Great service, good price and tasty food! I love their more unique selections such as the Curry Udon. Their karage is very nice too. Expect everything to be cooked very well here!

Nom nom nom...it's The Don!<br/>Went there for lunch on Saturday. Great price, decent portion and best of all our dons were delish!<br/><br/>Very friendly and speedy service. Will definitely be back to try other things on their menu.

The Don was lots of Fun. The Jap panakeke was yummy in ma tummy. Dumplings all round at ma table. Good find in flash as Milford. Def would come back for a food attack.

Came here for my birthday as they do an amazing happy hour, and amazing food. Prices are so good for the food you get, and the service is always amazing and everyone is super friendly

Small &busy place so you will need to book. Food came out fast. The soft shell crab came out in a decent-sized plate but it could be crispier though. The teriyaki dishes were tasty, but we were expecting more, like to have had more veges in the dish and a bowl of rice like in other restaurants perhaps? Instead it only came with a bite size rice roll. Overall it was a good dining experience, but just didnt live up to our expectations.

Really amazing dishes and quite affordable. A good place to have lunch and dinner for sure :). Very well presented. I recommend getting the soft shell crab! Its excellent

Came in for lunch with my husband. I had the miso katsu which the katsu is really nicely battered and cooked. I’m pregnant and can not have raw food, they changed my salad to stir fried bean sprouts and roast vege, which is very nice of them. My husband has a sashimi set and sushi which are very nicely presented and taste nice as well. Sashimi was fresh. Over all lovely lunch.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy The Don, and have eaten here many times before but this rating is based on my experience last night.<br/>We chose to sit outside as it wasn't too cold and we had our dog with us. My partner went inside to advise we would be eating outside.<br/>We waited approx 10 minutes before the menu came out (by the way the menu has changed lately, no longer are you able to look at the drool worthy pictures you now have to chose your mains by descriptions, which is fine if you are familiar with Japanese food) Another 15 minutes before the waiter came to take our order. After about another 15 minute wait, we were presented with one of the starters we had ordered. Oddly each starter came out within intervals of 10 minutes with no cutlery, we had to ask. Finally my partners main came out after another 10 minutes. <br/>His katsu was lovely and tender and the sauce was beautiful I pinched some of his pumpkin to mix with the grave.I mashed it up with a fork took a bite and nearly broke my tooth. There was a piece of metal in the pumpkin (looked like part of a scouring pan). When My partner went to pay, he explained the metal was in the pumpkin (he didn't realise I had bitten into it) No apology. Overall service was APPALLING. Next time we might just go to Browns Bay instead. Sorry guys but you dropped the ball on these regulars.

Nice setting, not that large of a space, but feels like a cute Chinese alley way. The staff are really friendly, the even bang a gong when you come in.<br/>Everything I've ordered from here has been really good and prices are affordable.

We have always loved the Don in CBD, so when we knew that there is another branch in Milford we knew we have to try them out. The ambience in the Milford branch was really good. We ordered our all time favourite, which is the chicken katsu don and decided to try their seafood okonomiyaki. The prices are definitely more pricey than the one in CBD. The katsudon was really good, we definitely enjoyed it. However the seafood okonomiyaki was a bit bland for me, it was just seafood pancake with pickled ginger glazed with sauce and some dried flakes on top, I was expecting a bit more, like scallions/cabbages with it but oh well, comparing them with the one I had in Osaka/Hiroshima maybe a bit too much. I still prefer going on my way to the Don in CBD for my japanese fix.

Waiters were great, order was correct even though ordered a lot. Food was delicious and you could taste everything on the plate. <br/>It was super nice, sushi was done well, pork katsu don was delicious; great amount of salad and enough rice for the sauce and pork. <br/>The dishes are yummy and would come back to this joint in milford as not overpriced but absolutely delicious 😊😊😊

Lovely authentic Japanese eatery.  Well priced and a HUGE menu to chose from.  The service was friendly and efficient and food very tasty.  There are quite a few Japanese restaurants on the shore, and this one is well worth a look!

I love this place food, whenever I want to have Japanese food I always go there and eat.<br/>I was regular customer from city place and I'm happy they opened Milford so I can come here after my work.<br/>Thanks everyone. Even I went here this afternoon as well. Lol

Awesome food and friendly service. Good ambience. <br/>Wide selection of vegetarian dishes. Child friendly too. We have nothing negative to say about them :)

Nice food! 菠菜口感很好，炸藕片有点硬，但蛮香的。奶酪鸡排饭不是很腻人，很好吃，还配的菜和生姜。还带miso 汤。 食物选择种类很多，价钱不贵。will come back ，下次去试其他的菜式。<br/>只是有天中午14:30去他们就提前关门了，时间表上写的15:00关啊！这点非常不好！

We have tried so many Japanese places, but this place tops them all! Absolutely dynamite divine food is always delivered, none the less, brilliant prices that you wouldn't find most places, and the vibe and environment of the team is always so happy and welcoming! Favourite restaurant & food of ALL TIME. 😀

Nice affordable Japanese place in Milford. They had good service but the waiters didn't look like they wanted to be there (but then who does want to work at a beautiful Saturday afternoon). We started off with takowasabi, gyu tatami and sashimi. All was really good especially the guy tatami which came in a large portion and was both flavourful and fresh. The Takowasa was delicious but tasted a bit off. Their sashimi was fresh enough and it was really good for the price comparing to other Japanese restaurants. For main we had the chicken yakiudon and the gyu don which were both good but not amazing. Overall a neat little place that has good food that isn't overpriced.

Standard quality food, standard service, good menu options and good location.<br/><br/>Nothing too special about this place but can't fault anything from it. I won't crave to go back there but happy to return if friends suggest.<br/><br/>At the end of the day, good authentic Japanese restaurants are hard to find in Auckland and this place is a good option for a quick bite.

Renovated with a new image and name, The Don is a welcome addition to the Milford dining arena. <br/><br/>Armed with informative and colourful menus, The Don provides a great atmosphere for any occasion and delivers consistently delicious food.<br/><br/>Dining in with family, we ordered a wide selection of dishes and what impressed me was the efficiency at how quickly our meals came out. Barely 10 minutes in and we were served our entrées before being bombarded with mains. <br/><br/>The Don isn't too different to other Nippon establishments, and they provide generous portions and great flavour in their mains.<br/><br/>The salmon was fresh, katsus were crunchy, and the fresh, crisp renkon chips and cheesy egg plant delighted our tummies.<br/><br/>Showstopper: Favourite of the table was the thin sliced beef and the Japanese Steak Don.<br/><br/>Overall Grade: A-

Have been so many times to this little Japanese restaurant and I love it every time! Great variety in the menu, good quality food and great service. Much better than the pre-existing Ten Japanese restaurant, which used to be there.

Miss the old Ten restaurant that use to be here as it was our go to Japanese Restaurant. Thought we would give the Don a try. A completely different menu and chefs as expected. Thought I'd order the steak don and sushi I usually order from the Previous restaurant. Sadly not at the quality of the previous chefs. Steak was overcooked and a bit tasteless. The fish in the sushi was not as fresh as we previously had. The service was good and the staff were friendly.

Very surprised that this gem has not yet been rated. Food is fresh and tasty, service is nice, small but cozy restaurant that brings diners closer together, pricing is fair. They bang a small drum as you walk in, music is played but not too noisey like Nippon in Takapuna. Parking is a bit limited as the road is quite busy, but driving to eat at a sake bar is not recommended anyway.