Donna Jean
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My recent visit to Donna Jean, a renowned vegan restaurant, was a journey of culinary delights with a slight setback. The standout items from my experience were the "Fungazi" pizza and the "Widow Oh So Drunk" hard kombucha. The "Fungazi" pizza was a vegan masterpiece. Its thin, crispy crust harmonized beautifully with the rich flavors of wild mushrooms and the restaurant's own vegan cheese. This dish challenges the norms of traditional pizza with its plant-based ingredients, yet delivers a taste that rivals its non-vegan counterparts. Pairing perfectly with the pizza was the "Widow Oh So Drunk" hard kombucha. This beverage struck a delightful balance between tartness and sweetness, offering a unique twist to the evening's dining experience. It's a commendable choice for those seeking a healthier and tastier alternative to conventional alcoholic drinks. However, my experience was slightly marred by the discovery of a "Health Insurance Surcharge" of 3% on my bill. I was quite surprised and admittedly, not entirely pleased to find this additional charge. While I understand the importance of supporting employee health benefits, I believe transparency regarding such surcharges is crucial. Customers should be informed about these charges beforehand, as it can impact the overall dining experience and perception of value. In conclusion, while Donna Jean excels in delivering exceptional vegan cuisine, particularly with their "Fungazi" pizza and "Widow Oh So Drunk" kombucha, the experience would benefit from greater transparency regarding additional surcharges. It's a gem for vegan food lovers, but awareness of extra costs is essential for a fully satisfactory visit.
Rose VeganRose Vegan
00
I can't begin to say what the place did for my spirit. I celebrated my 7 year bday of sobriety here today and their food warmed my soul and left me feeling like my mother just cooked for me. We had: 1. Biscuits and gravy 2. Lasagna 3. Motherload 4. French toast 5. Orange juice & coffee Biscuits were soft flakey and the gravy was rich and creamy. Great seasoning in the gravy. Lasagna omg if want a hearty meal that you have time to nap after. This is the dish to pick. Def heavy but light at the same time. "Cheese" was creamy and rich and the sauce was zesty and smooth. Perfect layers of pasta. And the shrooms were tasty and meaty motherload had the perfect smashed crispy potatoes and the eggs have a almost Mexican flavor. I think they would make excellent breakfast tacos. If I had to pick my least fav it would be French toast. One slice was thinner than the other so it wasn't soft but saying that, I would order it again. The coconut whipped cream instead of syrup was a delight. And their strawberries are sweet and I enjoyed them as a topping. Orange juice is a must have and the coffee was bold and dark. They offer of course oat milk which is my fav and their sugar was natural and not bleached. Our waiter was a handsome fella who took the time to make sure we were well taken care of. He was warm and caring.
Harris ClemonHarris Clemon
10
I’ll start off on a positive note: the fungazi was delicious! The garlic fries were delicious. The hot shrooms are more of a personal thing: weren’t cooked all the way, drenched in oil, and too hot but again those are personal opinions. The service: horrible. The waitress started out good, brought our appetizers and my friends salad then like 30min went by, people who came after us were getting their food. They forgot one of the appetizers but they did comp it. She rarely came to check on us, I watched her check on all her other tables. It felt like we got forgotten about. Had to keep asking for stuff. The orders were getting mixed up. Watched the waitresses bring out orders to us and other people that weren’t theirs. I’m a people watcher and the staff was having a rough day, I don’t know if they aren’t used to being that busy on a Sunday but whoa. Also this comment is to Donna Jean management. It is up to you as an employer to provide benefits to your employees, not your customers. The 3% charge of the TOTAL bill is ridiculous and shame on you as an employer. Especially when I drove from north county to dine at your establishment. Any who, this place had been on my bucket list for a while. But was very underwhelming. And bad first impression.
Ashley DavilaAshley Davila
00
Donna Jean has been a go-to neighborhood place for Vegan Pizza, but after this last takeout experience we were deeply disappointed. To start, I was put on hold for 10 minutes before giving up and calling in with another phone. They took my order right away, so I do not understand why I had been on hold so long for the first call. We ordered a pizza (four horsemen), the squash pasta, and the cauliflower appetizer. They told us it would take around 35 minutes which was accurate but seems fairly long for what we ordered. The squash took much longer than the rest of the order, so the Pizza was slightly soggy and the cauliflower was cold. Worst of all the portion sizes were TINY for what we payed for. You can see the portions in the picture, but seriously??? The cauliflower was $9 for mid-taste and 4 florets. The squash was over $20 for a tiny portion with alright flavor as well. We always get the pizza, but it was soggy because of the wait. This was extremely disappointing. Please either lower your prices or increase your portion size, and at a minimum improve your customer experience. I do not recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for a fairly priced meal with quality service in San Diego and we will no longer be returning customers.
Andrea ThurnheerAndrea Thurnheer
00
Somehow I didn't realize this place was 100% vegan until I got there, so I was pleasantly surprised that I had almost TOO many options to choose from, as there were also plenty of gluten-free options available as well. First, brunch or lunch? Then their famous Mac & Cheese or an entree or a pizza? I finally chose The Sandwich (tempeh, thyme maple onions, smoked cheddar (cashew-based), and sauerkraut) which also comes with a side of garlic potatoes. It turned out they were out of their gluten-free bread, so I opted for lettuce wraps instead. Delicious! They seem to do interesting flavor combinations that are super tasty. A couple hours later, I came back to get a dessert to-go to have later, so I went with the strawberry shortcake. The "cake" is an orange mint panisse (which is like a chickpea patty), topped with cream (coconut?), strawberries, and a fennel syrup that added a whole other flavor profile that was different and delicious! My servers were super helpful and very friendly. I only wish I was going to be in San Diego for longer so that I could come back a couple more times! I love their mission statement at the bottom of the menu: to make vegetables "seem less weird" ... love it.
Barbara ChinBarbara Chin
00
Little known fact: Donna Jean was started because of a son who wanted to help his mother live longer after a diagnosis of cancer. His mother's name was Donna Jean. This restaurant is the best restaurant I've been to in my entire vegan life. I hadn't had lasagna in a very long time. The last time I had lasagna I was not vegan, and one bite of this lasagna was not only better than my memory of my meat containing version, but was less heavy and far more flavorful. The salads were another phenomenal part of the menu. These weren't your regular ho-hum mixed greens salads with croutons or vegan cheese. They posted a complexity that is unmatched with even seven layer salads. Some were sweet, some were savory, but all we're delicious. Finally, for this to be an Italian restaurant don't get it twisted. It is not an Olive Garden or a place where you will go and have a heavy, starchy, greasy and buttery meal. But rather you will leave feeling like you had a full body Italian three or four course meal without the guilt without the heaviness, but way more flavor. Romantic ambiance. I highly recommend this restaurant to any and everyone. It will appeal to even the most carnivorous out there.
Chenara JohnsonChenara Johnson
40
Nearby Attractions Of Donna Jean
The Lafayette Hotel and Club
Lips Restaurant
North Park Community Park
Pigment
The Lab A Salon
San Diego Affordable Spay and Neuter Clinic (North Park)
Sandy Nails
Kim's Nails & Spa
Boulevard Fitness
BaiBoon Thai Massage
The Lafayette Hotel and Club
4.3
(1.3K)Click for details
Lips Restaurant
4.7
(670)Click for details
North Park Community Park
4.1
(633)Click for details
Pigment
4.6
(405)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Donna Jean
Rudford's Restaurant
San Diego Chicken Pie Shop
Crazee Burger
Colima's Mexican Food
Louisiana Purchase
The Mission
The Friendly
Lucha Libre Taco Shop
Pomegranate
Caffè Calabria
Rudford's Restaurant
4.4
(2.1K)Click for details
San Diego Chicken Pie Shop
4.5
(1.6K)Click for details
Crazee Burger
4.6
(998)Click for details
Colima's Mexican Food
4.4
(1.6K)Click for details
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
2611 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, CA 92104
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Phone
(619) 299-5500
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Website
donnajeanrestaurant.com
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Reviews
Overview
4.6
(557 reviews)
Ratings & Description
Description
Homey locale for seasonal vegan eats, kombucha and beer with a spacious patio & herb garden.
attractions: The Lafayette Hotel and Club, Lips Restaurant, North Park Community Park, Pigment, The Lab A Salon, San Diego Affordable Spay and Neuter Clinic (North Park), Sandy Nails, Kim's Nails & Spa, Boulevard Fitness, BaiBoon Thai Massage, restaurants: Rudford's Restaurant, San Diego Chicken Pie Shop, Crazee Burger, Colima's Mexican Food, Louisiana Purchase, The Mission, The Friendly, Lucha Libre Taco Shop, Pomegranate, Caffè Calabria
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