For the last three years, Donaji has been serving a variety of dishes featuring Mexico’s southwestern state of Oaxaca, a cuisine that chef and owner Isai Cuevas described as “complex” and at the same level of European ones.
And, for the last three years, Donaji’s Oaxacan cooking has earned the restaurant a place in the annual Michelin Guide — the highest of honors for any eatery, a list curated by anonymous Michelin inspectors that features restaurants found to be serving quality and above-average fare. Donaji has not been awarded a star, but its inclusion in the guide, like La Taqueria and Itria nearby, signifies customers can expect “simply a good meal.”
When Maria Ascarrunz reviewed its quesabirria tacos in 2021, she wrote: “I could not put these tacos down.”
On a recent Thursday afternoon, aromas of chocolate, corn, dried chiles and freshly made mole and tortillas filled the restaurant’s space at 3161 24th St. Cuevas proudly displayed his selection of eight different bottles of wine: four from Latinx growers in California and four from Mexico.
“Our gastronomy is so rich, and so diverse. Our moles are deep, complex and balanced sauces” said Cuevas, whose tamales were often found in the city’s produce markets. “It’s up there with the European cuisine.”
Donaji, which is the name of a Zapotec princess, opened its doors shortly after Cuevas and his family returned from his native Oaxaca, where they had spent almost a year during the pandemic.
It was during the family’s time in Oaxaca that Cuevas’ dream of starting a restaurant started taking real shape.
“While I was there, I was like, ‘I’m already in the industry, and I’ve been already cooking for so many years,’” said Cuevas. “I came back, and it was that connection to my family, roots, food. I told myself, ‘I need to do something to showcase what Oaxaca is.’”
The first eight months were difficult — “really hard,” Cuevas said — because he opened in November 2021, in the middle of the pandemic. He was stuck fielding to-go orders, he said, and those are insufficient to build a new business.
Why open during Covid-19? It was the right time, Cuevas said: The opportunity presented itself, and he made a decision to take it. Now, about three years later, Cuevas’ gamble is paying off.
“I feel comfortable right now,” said Cuevas. “A lot of people who have been here one time come back with a friend, or some say, ‘Somebody told me about this restaurant.’ That’s a really great experience for us, because people are starting to get to know us.”
Cuevas found his first job in the industry 20 years ago after migrating to the United States. He started as a dishwasher, but watched others in the kitchen and grew captivated by the movement of the cooks.
“I was able to see the chefs cooking, the energy and the adrenaline. That really hooked me,” said Cuevas. “I said to myself, ‘I want to do that,’ and I started working my way up.”
During Cuevas’ tenure working at Epic Roasthouse on Embarcadero, his life could have taken a different turn. He said he almost moved back to Mexico to go to culinary school and was convinced by former Epic’s owner, Jan Birnbaum, to stay.
Birnbaum died in 2018 of a prolonged illness, but Cuevas remembers him as an important figure in his career.
“He stopped me and told me it was too much money for what I was already learning. He said, ‘Keep growing here,’” Cuevas said, smiling and looking around his restaurant. “He was my mentor. He’s the one who really taught me a lot.”
Despite the recent success, Cuevas said there’s still a lot of work to do.
Recently, he started offering classes on the last Tuesday of every month in which he teaches 10 people how to make different Mexican dishes.
The classes last three hours: Attendees cook, and then enjoy, a three-course meal.
The goal, he said, is for his students “to appreciate the complexity of Mexican cuisine.”
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