This casual restaurant has a strong focus on different preparations of maiz (corn).

Donaji is an Oaxacan restaurant in San Francisco where they are known for using maiz in multiple ways such as sopes, tamales, and handmade tortillas. Another speciality is their mole, a must try.

Chips & Guacamole (8.5/10).

We started off with chips and guacamole, a staple. Their guacamole was extremely fresh and I loved the addition of the pickled onions. The salsa was also delicious without being too spicy.

Sopes: Fried Masa with Pork Cochinita (8/10).

Sopes are essentially fried masa patties that are topped with savory toppings. Their version had pork cochinita (braised pork with citrus) with escabeche (pickled vegetables). The balance of the spiced meat with the neutral masa flavor and vinegary vegetables all harmoniously came together.

Tamales: Vegetable and Pork (7/10).

We tried two tamales. The vegetarian had poblano peppers and the other had braised pork. While the masa mixture was delicious, both tamales could have had a better masa to filling ratio (not enough filling in my opinion).

Enchiladas de Mole Negro (8/10).

Lastly we tried their enchiladas stuffed with chicken tinga smothered in their mole negro drizzled with crema. The mole negro had a great depth of flavor and once again the pickled onions added that pop of acidity and brightness.

While we didn’t get dessert, the churro donut looked very enticing from online photos. Overall my rating is a 7.5-8/10.