Donburi, or Japanese rice bowls, is a versatile and comforting staple of Japan’s casual dining scene. Uncle Don in Rosalie is an eatery that looks to elevate the humble dish with modern cooking techniques and house-made ingredients often reserved for more upscale dining experiences. The menu starts with an appetite-whetting selection of starters, including pork katsu sandos, baked cauliflower with miso chickpea cream, Japanese meatballs with potato salad and house-made burnt eggplant dip with lotus chips. The don selection is divided by protein, mixing novel flavour combinations with traditional options. Seafood dons include the likes of tuna tataki bowls with shisho leaf and soy-cured yolk and grilled freshwater eel with scrambled free-range egg, while the chicken category includes char-grilled chicken with teriyaki butter, and karaage chicken with sweet-and-sour glaze and Japanese tartar sauce. Carnivores will be hard-pressed to ignore the wagyu steak don, which places charcoal-grilled wagyu (with a marble score of seven plus) on a bed of rice alongside a soft-cooked free-range egg, shallots and chilli threads. Pork lovers can savour a Japanese pork bolognese don, while vegetarians can tuck into a tofu on tofu don (fried tofu with tofu cream and gyoza skin furikake) or a shiitake mushroom don with ginger yuzu. Each don is served with a bowl of miso soup and a small helping of pickles, while sides like charred broccolini, Japanese curry and onsen tomago (low-temp cooked free-range egg) can help fill any gaps. Uncle Don’s beverage menu is also finely considered, with a range of hot teas, Japanese soft drinks, tap beer (Asahi and Yamato), Japanese bottled beers (Kirin, Suntory, Dai Dai Ale IPA and Kyoto Beer matcha IPA), Japanese fruit wine (plum, yuzu and peach) and a clutch of sakes offering plenty of material for thirst-quenching quaffing.