Donabe

I want to thank Cat Lopez and the staff at Donabe for taking excellent care of our dining experience for my bachelor party last month!At first we were skeptical of having such a large party in what looks like a mid-sized restaurant, solely based on pictures, but when you ask, you shall receive. And my best men reached out well in advanced if they could accommodate a group of 19 heads for a bach party and they were happy to make sure we were set up at neighboring tables.Food was fantastic and exactly what I wanted (bomb steak and seafood), while the drinks were so well-crafted and offered us a refreshing palette cleanse from the common bar/club drinks in the surrounding area of OT Scotsdale. I think about that Wagyu steak to this day (granted, we did order about 17 of them lol). The Seabass was also incredible. Look no further if you are searching for a quality dining experiences. Located in the W is a nice tough. Even the entrance to the restaurant requires going up a particular set of stairs from the lobby, where there was already a bar and some live music playing. Overall memorable times with great food and drink. Shoutout to Donabe!

We stopped in after bar hopping Old Scottsdale & the District. Had a room so thought hit this on site dining spot.Great sexy vibe, dark, teak & low lighting.Service was great and attentive. Food & wine suggestions were on spot! Waygu lettuce wraps were delightful!! We can say we'll certainly be back.

Incredible experience, food, staff was amazing. I called in a pinch when I found out no one had planned a dinner that was supposed to take place on a Saturday night for 17 people.Cat jumped on it even though it was 9pm, surprisingly was able to accommodate us and make the experience so nice and fun. Thank you so much for everything Cat, Randy, as well as our servers and bartenders and the kitchen staff for going above and beyond. You truly didn't have to and I am so grateful. I will continue to praise you guys to my friends and family.

It's my first time in Scottsdale and my boyfriend booked dinner reservations at Donabe. It's the new Japanese steakhouse that just opened and I couldn't be more excited. [Location]: The restaurant was a little confusing to find because you have to enter through the W Hotel and check-in with a hostess in the middle of the lobby. [Ambiance]: This felt like waiting to get into an exclusive club because there were bouncers using line-ropes to let people up. Once given the green light, the hostess brings you up this tall staircase and you enter their club floor. This reminded me exactly of Vegas clubs. This floor was extremely dark (to see in) and even then, I still didn't know where the restaurant was? You are lead through the night lounge, pass the pool area, until you get to this small space/room that turns out to be a restaurant. This restaurant is located in the middle of a night club basically. **Once you're in there though, it's like you've been transported to Mexico... beautifully decorated with inspirations from Tulum. It's small, but intimate. Extremely dimly lit, but romantic. I had to use the candle light to see the menu.** The wait staff were all super friendly and attentive. Cups were always filled and tables were cleaned immediately. I even saw the manager help set up tables. This kind man checked up on us twice and gave us his business card. [Food]: It was hard to decide what to eat because everything the waiter recommended sounded tasty. We opted for the Parkerhouse rolls, Crispy rock shrimp, and 16 oz wagyu ribeye.- Parker house rolls $12 (4/5): This was the good appetizer to start off dinner. It was more so a loaf of bread (that you pull apart), instead of rolls. But my god, were these super fluffy. Maybe too fluffy because they would get stuck at the roof of my mouth....The whipped butter was a good pairing. - Crispy rock shrimp $20 (3/5): These were good, but weren't as crispy as the name appears to be since it was drenched in sauce (tasted like a combination of honey and bang bang). Lemon squeeze necessary to add some acidity. - Wagyu ribeye $90 (5/5): We decided to get the ribeye because you'll get more bang for your buck. The other wagyu options were only 4 oz, but this was 16oz of PURE GOODNESS. This was cooked to perfection... fatty, juicy, and just melts in your mouth. Whoever cooked this has hands of a God. The chimichurri also bought some herby greenness to the plate and complimented the steak really well. Beware, this is a HUGE CUT OF MEAT. We barely finished half of it, but had amazing leftover the next day... (: Purple rain $20 (5/5): The most popular tequila drink here and it did not disappoint. Very light and refreshing, and glad the smokiness of the mezcal didn't overpower. Prices were a little hefty, but what do you expect with a steakhouse that offers wagyu. It's totally worth it though. You can tell the chefs put a lot attention to detail to their steaks. [OVERALL]: This restaurant is the epitome of fine-dining. It has delicious food, elevated drinks, and the ambiance to match. I highly recommend for your next date night. [PRO-TIP]: You NEED reservations to eat here (my bf booked over a month in advance) and there's a STRICT dress code. I saw several men get turned down because they were wearing shorts and sandals.

My friends and I were in Scottsdale for the weekend and wanted to have at least one high end dinner on our trip. Social media pointed us in the direction of Donabe, a hip, new, Japanese Steakhouse located in the swanky W Scottsdale Hotel. Walking past all the exotic sports cars at the valet and into the gorgeous lobby, we were a little confused to where the restaurant was. We were directed to a check in area by the stairs that had a roped off area like a club. We made reservations well in advance and were immediately taken up the stairs through Cottontail Lounge to the restaurant which is right off the wet deck of the beautiful pool area. Already impressed, we entered into a small, intimate dining room that was absolutely stunning. I can see why this place has a strict dress code as everyone was dressed to impress inside here. Veronica was our waitress and she took great care of us from start to finish. Like always, I was undecided or torn between items and she was quick with suggestions. I started off with a Japanese Old Fashioned while we perused the menu. It was a little different than your traditional old fashioned, but not in a bad way. They really do have a good variety of adult beverages to choose from. We decided to get a variety of small bites first. The Crispy Rock Shrimp was a great start. We also went with Hachi Maki and Kawa Wang rolls. They were both completely different flavor profiles, but tasty. The Kawa Wang won out for me because it had a little kick to it. This place is proud of their wagyu offerings, but I ended up continuing with the sea flavors. I ordered the Ora King Salmon for my main. It was beautifully presented and tasted as good as it looks. I finished off the meal with an Espresso Martini and was completely satisfied. Overall, I am glad we decided to take a chance on something that is new to the area. It was a spendy dinner and to me a little overpriced for what we got, but it is to be expected in Scottsdale.

I was really excited for this place due to their great Yelp reviews but unfortunately the night didn't end as expected. Decor is beautiful but there's only 13 tables that is tightly arranged and bar seating so there's very little space here.Server was very knowledgeable about the menu and she shared with us that their parker house roll, crispy rock shrimp, and wagyu cheeseburger was their most popular dishes which should've been a red flag and should have walked out since their specialty is real wagyu and sushi.We ended up ordering a bunch of items to share which came out to about $400. I really wanted to share with the server that the $65 wagyu hot stone wasn't real wagyu. It was chewy, salty, and a very small portioned but my BF stopped me and we ended up finishing it due to the cost.The $52 toro tartare and caviar was again salty, fishy and not appetizing at all, again my BF didn't want me to say anything but I should've and again we ended up finishing the dish due to cost.I ordered the $23 kawa wang & $25 hachi maki which was also dissatisfying and disappointing with the unfreshness and fishiness of the salmon. Hachi maki was the only dish which I probably liked the most and this roll doesn't contain fish. Drinks are about $20-$23 a pop and their wagyu cheeseburger probably was the only thing on the menu worth the price. It was juicy but it really just taste like a regular cheeseburger. I came here to splurge on fine dining but turned out to be a nightmare. I DO NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYBODY!!

Food 5/5 - Wagyu burger just melts in your mouth, Otoro/caviar combo was dreamy, Salmon roll we ordered was 90% Salmon (YUM!), Oysters were fresh, and the Matcha Cheesecake = perfect way to end the evening. Cannot wait to go back and try other menu items!Drinks 5/5 - Oh my gosh. The cocktails BLEW US AWAY! If you are a tequila fan, Purple rain is a must try. If you like sweeter cocktails that does not taste like alcohol, Saturn is a must! Don't worry if you are not a gin lover. It's such a well-balanced, yet sweet cocktail that I would recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for Asian inspired cocktail, Sake drop was delicious. Yuzu flavor was perfect for this cocktail. We ended the night with Espresso Martinis and it was great. Service 5/5 - Mike, our server, was great! I love it when fine dining servers aren't afraid to have their own personality and he was just that. Funny, knowledgeable, and checked in on us at perfect times. He's so subtle with his attentiveness too, which we appreciated! Ambiance 5/5 - Modern, sophisticated, simple. It was perfectly dimmed, and the lights on the tables made it easy for us to read the menu (thank you for not making us pull out our phone flash lights haha)All in all, this is a MUST try restaurant! I would confidently bring my friends and family here to impress them. Also, don't let the W hotel valet staff confuse you. Donabe validates parking! No need to street park! But honestly, uber over so you can safely enjoy all their delicious cocktails!

Interesting location with it being kind of on a poolside bar patio area. I was definitely expecting more of a restaurant with a doorfront or big entrance. The cocktails are yummy. Burrito was good but everything else as far as the food was not memorable. Overpriced, we saw it on Instagram and it was made out to be much more formal with more adventurous food choices.

Easily a five star restaurant. It would take pages to describe how good this food was. For us ordered for appetizers and four entrées. The food looked so good on arrival. I totally forgot to take pictures of the appetizers.. we just went to town. I'm not Bill Gates so this place was a little bit of a splurge for us.. the food everything was just so flavorful well presented. Wagyu steaks melted in your mouth. I easily could've eaten everything, but they would've needed to wheel me out in a wheelchair as I would've been stuffed. The service was outstanding. The waitress and her team made sure we were well taken care of.. this is a place you definitely need to try. We will most certainly be back.

I loved the service. You have to valet at this location. They have a strict dress code. I found the setting weird as you are separated by glass from the w's bar. It is a very small restaurant so make sure you have reservations. The service was outstanding. My filet was perfect however I tried my companion 's wagu and unfortunately the sauce which I think was chimichurri was very oily and the steak was drenched in it. The sushi rolls were good but overpriced.