Doomie's Home Cookin' — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Doomie’s is a vegan mainstay of Los Angeles, which is why it has survived for so long, and throughout even the pandemic veganpocalypse of plant-based restaurants we’ve seen the last couple of years. It knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything but that, and it does what it does well. The sign right in the window says it: GLUTTONY. You can go to an expensive health vegan place if you want, Veggie Grill is nearby, but if you’re channeling a nostalgic craving for the worst possible vegan food for you, this is the place to go. As a vegan, I feel like this is the only vegan food that is capable of causing me a heart attack, and I say that lovingly. It’s certainly a selling point to all the omnivores out there who stumble in after leaving a club, and as a lonely people-watcher I can say that the large consensus is that the food here is comparable if not identical to their carcass garbage they usually eat.

Their gravy and chili are among the best flavored in the city. I love their pulled pork, especially because (as they boast) it isn’t the same ol’ jackfruit recipe everywhere else uses. They prepare their Impossible patties just right, and you can tell they actually season them. The chicken is breaded, seasons, and fried to perfection and always a thick slab on the sandwiches. They offer a spicy cheese option and it’s actually spicy. Their French toast and pancakes are exactly what you’re looking for if you’re vegan and long for that specific diner style of breakfast. The baked goods here are flawless and the cakes in huge slices. The menu is solid, and I find myself alternative between a handful of favorites every other month.

The prices may seem a little high at first glance, until you get your meal: the portions are beyond generous whether entree or appetizer, and everything comes with a side (something nearly unheard of when eating out in LA—most vegan places would charge $16-18 for the burger by itself). Everything they do seems to summon the hedonistic fat kid in us all, from quantity to quality. I think it’s also notable that, in a community of vegan spots who oftentimes rely solely on frozen name-brand products like Gardein, this place uses its own scratch recipes pretty often, such as their sauces, cheeses, bacon, chili, gravy, and pulled pork, and I think wrapping the vegan drumsticks in tofu skin before breading and frying it was a brilliant way of giving it that horrific skin some psychos miss from their meat-eating days at KFC.

I’ve also only ever received kind, enthusiastic, human treatment from what seems to be a small team of regular faces. Sure, maybe not all of them are painting on some fake smile, or maybe they’re sometimes just very caught up in managing several tasks at once, but that only fits the aesthetic and authenticity of Doomie’s. I’m here at least once a week and there has never been a time when I felt mistreated or disregarded, and they’ve always made the few minor errors right without hesitation.

I appreciate the low-effort, to-the-point decor that has become emblematic of their establishment, honestly. Late at night when I want to loiter comfortably for a little while and eat something greasy and absurdly decadent, I enjoy doing it somewhere that lacks pretense; where I feel like I belong even at my most disgusting and unpresentable. They recently gave the place a modest upgrade, which just meant a new coat of sky blue against the black, a neon light Doomie’s guy, and finally some cushions on the booth seats, but I think they know that their food is what matters most. Honestly, everything about the place is just quintessentially punk.

They’re open 24 hours from Friday to Monday, which is awesome, with incredible breakfasts on early mornings. The parking around it is unofficially free (I’ve slept in my car outside of it many times and have never incurred a ticket or anything). Lotsa outdoor seating. Unlimited refills on soda. Bathroom is easy to get into with a memorable code.

Anyway, I love this place, and am so grateful that it’s still here after all...

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF EVEN TASTING THE FOOD HERE, YOU WILL LEAVE ABSOLUTELY DISAPPOINTED.

First of all, we had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated. That should've been the first red flag in a series of negative occurrences due to the fact that two outside tables were unoccupied and the hostess did not take action in sitting us. After we ordered, we were majorly let down by our mac n' cheese which DID NOT taste a bit like cheese at all. The bacon cheeseburger we ordered was dripping with oil literally everywhere, same with the basket of chicken we asked for, and the fries we were provided. The water cups we were served were disposable...what kind of a vegan restaurant provides customers with disposable cups knowing perfectly that they contribute to such a vast amount of waste? Add to this terrible experience the serving/waiting we had to deal with: our waitress would go to the opposite side of the restaurant to ask a couple if everything was ok and not once did she bother to do the same with us. I had to call her attention more than twice to ask for condiments, more water, and utensils. To top it all off, we witnessed one of the "chefs" come out of the restaurant, wearing a stained white shirt with an apron, sweats, and crocs to go smoke a cigarette no more than 10 feet away from us. It was a nauseating and disrespectful sight. As a side note, all the waitresses would leave the restaurant to go off to other places or to their cars very constantly.

All in all, this was the WORST visit we've had at a "vegan" restaurant. This place is essentially a disgusting burger joint turned plant-based. It really gives a bad name to the vegan fast-food/restaurant lifestyle that's been coming out so strong recently to convince folks to eat in a better way while not harming animals and the environment. I personally do not know why this place has gotten so much local media attention because it is by the far at the very bottom in every single aspect imaginable. I PLEASE BEG YOU not to waste a single penny on this horrible GREASEBALL excuse of a...

Have been coming to Doomie's for almost a decade. While the fried chicken is still great, everything else about the place has gone downhill. I get that changes had to be implemented because of COVID and inflation, like a reduced menu and self-order kiosks, but that's not really an excuse or explanation for poor service and an even poorer atmosphere.

Yes, I know it is supposed to have an edgy atmosphere , with the black decor and snarky comments all over the menu. Those elements I've always enjoyed. But what we saw this time was different. The place is looking incredibly dingy and dirty. It was so rundown that I was barely sure it was open. The staff completely ignored us when we tried to get their attention. Even if we hadn't had questions (though we did and they went unanswered) the staff could have at least acknowledged our presence with a hello, a nod, even just some eye contact. Nothing about the place is welcoming anymore. We made a trek across the city just to get some chicken, arrived with the intention of eating inside, but after seeing the place and experiencing the service, or lack thereof, we wanted to take our food home but were too hungry to drive all the way back and let the food get soggy. We settled for eating outside, which we did in a hurry. It's sad to see what's happening to vegan places all over the city, struggling to survive in this economy and shutting down left and right. I feel for Doomie's, I really do. But it also felt like they were not making an effort and I don't know how much longer it can survive when it makes its customers feel unwelcome and when the place is frankly unappetizing to eat in, even if the chicken is still great...

NextMex, which we also adore and ordered from, has experienced a similar, though not quite as drastic reduction in quality. The display cases were either empty or full of random objects, like it was being used for storage. The staff there at least were friendly and answered our questions. The...