Plant-based restaurant serving food with Mid-West-meets-California flair. House specialties include Nashville hot shrooms, cast iron mac and cheese, cashew mozzarella, and different flavors of pizza. Also has a separate brunch menu with dishes like French toast, frittata, and chocolate tart. Relocated from 2949 Fifth Ave. Open Mon 5:00pm-9:00pm, Wed-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-9:00pm. Closed Tue.
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2611 El Cajon Blvd, San Diego, California, USA, 92104
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- Delivery
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- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
- Free Wi-Fi
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Last update on 26 Jan 2025 by DonnaJeanSD
Update business info -
Added by westcornersville on 23 Feb 2017
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256 Reviews
First Review by Mike Weinberg
Rina_green
Points +70
Amazing restaurant - Edit
This place is simply perfect. The atmosphere is great, everybody is just so friendly and the food is amazing. I had the mac and cheese and a cheesecake. Felt like vegan heaven. It is also great that they don't use plastic straws but straws made of steel and cotton napkins.
Read moreGuest
Antimary
Points +42
Delicious - Edit
Great atmosphere, everything was delicious. Had the four horseman pizza, mac, blueberry cheesecake. Loved it all.
Read moreGuest
RisBurton
Points +1224
I Love This Place - Edit
Chicken fried mushroom and mac & cheese
Read moreGuest
pesne100
Points +139
The death of my savings account - Edit
My favorite vegan restaurant in California - Gracias Madres in SF is the only one close to it. Unbelievable quality, a simple yet inclusive menu, and pizzas / pastas that make me say, “wow..” with every bite.
Read moreMy only tip/critique is the addition of the “dunk sauces” - the waitress was nice enough to share most of them are something you’d be able to whip up at home/purchase at Sprouts for the same cost & triple the quantity.
Was eating here when I lived in my car without a job, lol. That’s how good it is
Pros: Non-overwhelming menu, Quality ingredients , Chill vibez
Cons: Dunk Sauces
Guest
Aja
Points +20
Seasonally appropriate, truly plant-based - Edit
Donna Jean is my favorite vegan restaurant in San Diego. I love Chef Roy’s version of vegan cooking. Everything is crafted in house including the best bread and butter I’ve ever had be that vegan or when I was not vegan. You won’t find any processed vegan bits here, I go to that stuff sometimes but truly respect that Donna Jean isn’t that. The handmade pizzas, pasta, sides, seasonal salads and brunch are so good. The ambiance is great and they can accommodate small or large groups. The vegan selection of drinks is a perfect accompaniment. The service is always some of the more kind, attentive, comforting service I’ve found in these parts. Well done!
Read morePros: Non-processed 100% plants and fungi!, Delicious, explorative food, Seasonally chosen, carefully developed dishes!
Guest
Greenstone
Points +96
Flavorful - Edit
The pizza was delicious. We had the roundgarden and it was light, had a really fresh tomato sauce and had unique flavors. The Fraser salad was great too!
Read moreGuest
pbjazz
Points +43
Mac and Cheese (ish)!!!! - Edit
Wow, the Mac and cheese was amazing!! My husband liked the pizza, but I'm not a fan of nutritional yeast flavor. Would I come again definitely! Would love to try the other offerings. And more Mac and Cheese 😋
Read morePros: Everything vegan
Cons: None in my book.
Guest
SEALEGS303
Points +116
Excellent! - Edit
Great story, incredible staff and even better food! Amazing!
Read moreGuest
whtwethnkwebcome
Points +158
Nice refined eats - Edit
Great atmosphere great food
Read morePros: Brilliant menu, Location and atmosphere , Drink selection
Cons: Food runner lacking on food descriptions
Guest
tonyakay
Points +3816
Great Vibe Great Food - Edit
Italian inspired but with gluten-free options galore. Ima sucker for Ceasar and order it as my top dish wherever. The Ceasar is good. The gluten-free iron-skillet Mac and cheese was amazing. Spacious room and affordable prices. I especially love their hard kombucha.
Read moreGuest
Cali-Vegan
Points +97
The pasta! - Edit
If you're looking for a nice pasta spot, vegan or no, this is your place. The owner is constantly experimenting and honing his pasta skills, it's all made in house.
Read moreThe pizzas here are crazy good too, more representative of what you would find in Italy than typical pizza spots.
And I know it's not always possible, but try the desserts! I almost never have room but try to plan ahead lol! The Meyer lemon cake is amazing but the menu is constantly being changed for the season.
Guest
hannahmeimei42
Points +48
The best all vegan spot in San Diego - Edit
This place is amazing. They have a seasonal menu and the chefs are super creative.
Read moreGuest
dlynch
Points +66
Perfect - Edit
Everything about this place is perfect. Stop reading this review and go eat here!
Read moreGuest
Noku
Points +150
Outstanding. - Edit
Delicious, complex vegan food from scratch. You can’t possibly go wrong here.
Read moreGuest
sydonius
Points +20
Tasty pizza - Edit
Great cashew cheese. 100% vegan.
Read moreGuest
NeilGaudet
Points +349
Good food. Great story - Edit
I love the story of how the restaurant started. The food was good. Not amazing given the prices but I’d go back.
Read moreGuest
Kyrena
Points +78
Fancier Than Expected - Edit
After reading a bunch of descriptions of this place talking about "comfort food" I was envisioning big plates of mashed potatoes and cornbread. I was way off! Not a bad thing at all though, our meal was super delicious!
Read moreWe had the Nashville Hot Shrooms (so amazing), Tortellini (yum!), Dill Pine Nut Agnolotti (delish!), and lemon cornbread cake. The cornbread cake was the only letdown- it was more like cornbread and less like cake than I had hoped. Still yummy!
Due to the fancier nature of the place, the prices are higher. The outdoor seating is very nice and the service was fantastic.
Would absolutely come back and try more! And revisit those Hot Shrooms :)
Pros: All vegan!, Flavorful and complex dishes!, Nashville. Hot. Shrooms.
Cons: I can't think of any!
Guest
RossEcheverria
Points +216
I love it all! - Edit
Have tried something new every time I’ve gone and loved each thing. Right next to evolution which makes it convenient when I want Donna Jean and my husband wants vegan fast food.
Read moreGuest
fsfsfsfs
Points +41
Great vegan cheese options - Edit
Get ready for a rich experience! Pizza, pasta, cheeses. The great thing about dishes here is that they take risks with textures and flavors.
Read morePros: Everything vegan!, We've liked every pasta and pizza we've tried
Cons: Quite expensive for fast casual. $15-20 entrees.
Guest
sadielena
Points +18
Great vibes and yummy food - Edit
The food was delicious! We ordered the Mac and trees and the hot shrooms. The patio is beautiful and they even have a doggy menu!
Read moreGuest
thoge40
Points +57
0% Raw options or willingness to accommodate - Edit
Incredible that a 100% VEGAN restaurant has NO RAW options, nor the willingness to accommodate. It runs out that even the cheesecake factory has more options for HEALTH conscious individuals than does DONNA JEAN, I hope some day this restaurant cares about clients who care not only of animals but also of human health, or at least achieve a higher etiquete of service by accommodating what they must categorize as special need customers (special needs because we want to eat living food).
Read moreHow hard is it to add an actual living salad to the menu?
The only reason I gave 2 stars is because the system did not allow me to give 0 or 1 star, 2 was the minimum
Cons: Not a single raw option, No willingness to accommodate
Guest
Bellimaus
Points +160
Leckeres Essen!! - Edit
Tolle Auswahl, Pizza, Pasta, Salate und Nachtisch. Sehr freundliches Personal.
Read morePros: Alles Vegan! , Sehr gute Qualität , Besondere Zutaten
Cons: Bisschen teurer, aber zurecht!
Guest
BorderlessBros
Points +785
Great food, poor service - Edit
One of San Diego’s top-rated vegan restaurants and winner of best vegan restaurant in 2018!
Read moreFood****
We ordered the Four Horsemen Pizza and the Salisbury Tempeh w/ potatoes and red-eye gravy. The latter was a savory dish with a lovely combination of flavors between the Italian-style salad, potatoes, seasoned tempeh and red-eye gravy. This is definitely not something you want to pass up at DJ. Now the Four Horsemen Pizza w/ Ricotta, Pesto, Tomato Sauce and Smoked Cheddar was questionable. Despite all these ingredients we only tasted the pesto and tomato sauce—I might add that we did ask them to add more Tomato sauce to the pizza, which could have been the reason we tasted nothing but tomato sauce and pesto. However, the presence of cheese was lacking. I would recommend not modifying this order, we can’t give a fair review on the pizza since we did modify it but the tomato sauce was not that great and no flavor.
Atmosphere and Parking***
Parking next door at Evolution (vegan cafe)—not many spaces but there’s plenty of free street parking in the area! Space inside and outside the restaurant. Lighting was nice and tables appropriately spaced.
Service*
The waitress we had was very nice and always smiling when approaching the table. However, she served the entrees separately about 10-15 mins apart from each other and when we asked for the check she said she would get it but after waiting for 10 minutes I had to get up and ask the hostess. I’m a very patient person and this doesn’t bother me too much but I imagine it would bother others that attend this restaurant. For that reason the rating for service is low.
Price $$
About $20 per entree
Pros: Great atmosphere and seating with lots of space , The Salisbury Tempeh is to die for
Cons: Service was not great and for the price it should
Guest
StefiPefi
Points +36
Excellent - Edit
It was hard to choose because everything is vegan and looks fantastic, but I had the mushrooms and green salad and both were phenomenal. Staff is incredibly friendly as well.
Read moreGuest
ShelbieMoser
Points +238
Amazing - Edit
I was in SD for work and was so happy with this place. Very relaxing atmosphere. I had that Mac n’ Cheese and ceaser salad and loved them both. #eatingwithshelbie
Read moreGuest
TXRhody
Points +544
Fantastic pizza - Edit
I went here based on the reviews and I was satisfied with the quality. The restaurant is somewhat trendy and cool. The service was ok.
Read moreI had the four horsemen pizza, which was excellent. The outside crust was perfect. The inside was a little flimsy. The cheeses were tasty. It was not overwhelmed by nuttiness or gooey fake cheese. The overall presentation was good. The price was ok.
Cons: Dirty restrooms
Guest
MultiLito
Points +33
Best vegan restaurant - Edit
I have been dozens of times over the last few years and this place is my favorite, I’ve had most of the menu and tried at least half the pizzas, I haven’t had a single bad experience in Donna Jean it is that good. The musts for me are Nashville hot shrooms and skillet Mac and cheese, the rest of stuff I’m always rotating but those are the two plates I always order.
Read morePros: Fully vegan menu with lots of options, Amazing pizza , Great selection of beer
Cons: A bit pricey
Guest
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