Permanently Closed - Donovan's - La Jolla

Jason and his team were wonderful. They took care of our every need.

Our server, Jillian, was amazing! She was very friendly and accommodating to my family! This was a family birthday dinner and Donovan’s made it very special! We had a spectacular view of La Jolla Shores and The Cove! The food was superb! I highly recommend Donovan’s and I’m looking forward to dining there again!

This restaurant has traditionally provided enjoyable meals and this dinner was no exception. I would give it 5 stars instead of 4 if the filet mignons that we had were more tender. They were flavorful and prepared perfectly, but they were a bit tough and had some strings in them as we cut them.

Started with seafood chowders and two fillets which were great. A solid 5 star evening from beginning to the end. We enjoyed the evening.

This restaurant is outstanding. The food was excellent, the service was top notch and the ambiance very high end.
Adam, our server, was very friendly and attentive.
I would definitely recommend Donovan’s to my family and friends.

Fabulous dinning experience

Ordered my steak medium but came rare when served. Had to send it back. Waited about ten minutes to have it recooked. Noticed other customers sent theirs back as well.

Classic Steak house in La Jolla with all the ambiance one would expect.
Outstanding service and made you feel at home there.
Great place for a business meal or a date night with your sweetie!

I took my best friend of 43 years to Donovan's La Jolla for her birthday dinner. It was absolutely amazing. We were really given the royal treatment by everyone - the manager and hostess, our server and her assistant servers, and the chef and his staff. We were uncertain of the wine we wanted and our server and manager had never tried it, so we wine tasted and it was a beautiful bottle. We also had a couple of fantastic cocktails to start off the evening. And the food was D-LISH! Every dish we ordered was cooked and prepared to perfection! Can't wait to dine there again! THANK YOU!

We dine at Donovan’s quite a bit, more often in the Gaslamp. This was the poorest service we have ever had at this Donovan’s or any. We will only be going to the Gaslamp restaurant in the future. It took a ridiculous amount of time to get anything, we had dirty dishes on the table frequently and had to wait 15 minutes to pay the bill, and that was only because I got up and went and got the server.

Staff work
Hard to make tables
So
Exclusive you can’t get a window table
But you can look
At the vacant window tables
Your whole
Meal
Very odd
Good
Food
But very snobby staff

We celebrated an anniversary dinner recently. The table had a little “Happy Anniversary” sign and every server wished us a happy anniversary.

I had the filet Mignon and my husband had the lamb rack. Both were prepared perfectly. The sides were excellent as well.

It was a very enjoyable anniversary dinner.

I have been going to Donovan's for a good amount of time. Outstanding service as always. The waiter was really helpful especially when selecting the wine bottle since I am not a wine expert. The ambiance was perfect. The butter used for the bread was so tasty; never disappoints. The shrimp used for the cocktail were so fresh. Even the ketchup sauce that came with the cocktail was superb. It is not Heinz ketchup that is for sure. My 14 oz filet was cooked just how I like it. The only reason why I did not rate 5 stars in the categories: Overall, food and value was because my girlfriend's 8 oz filet was over cooked and she had asked for a medium. We read your description for medium and compared it with mine and it was not the same color inside. I guess since hers was 8 oz there is less room for error and it is easier to over cook. This was her second time to Donovan's and could tell her first experience the steak was better. As a returning customer, I understand this is bound to happen; just human error. Regardless, I had a great time celebrating my birthday at Donovan's.

Try oysters on the half shell as well as Oysters Rockefeller. Both were excellent. The recommendations of the the wine Steward were right on.

First time visiting Donovan's and was amazing. Food was was good service was on point. I highly recommend this place.

We have been going to Donovans since they were in UTC and as always the service is without peer. Wonderful experiance.

Amazing experience as usual. Great service, food, and ambience.

Every dish was some of the best I ever tasted. Service was unbelievable. Great views. pricey but well it.

Victor and team were wonderful!

It was an early Thanksgiving dinner and it was amazing. The service, food, and hospitality are a first class experience.

Food was outstanding, we know what to order and the dishes remain terrific. Thank you for taking previous comments and upgrading the bread, it is now worthy to be served along with the chef's great work. Final issue is the wine list. Wines by the glass are either (1) not American (are you not into local sourcing where possible?); (2) very pricey ($25/glass is hard to swallow); or (3) mediocre. We would pay $15/glass for fine wine as we do at your competition like Manhattan and Marine Room, but $25 is just too much, that would be $50 for a couple to enjoy a glass apiece, the price of another piece of your fine meat. As a result we drink less wine at your restaurant than we normally would so your profit is lower as is our pleasure. We will still patronize your restaurant because of your wonderful food. We are willing to pay those prices because you are sourcing excellent ingredients. We just cut or eliminate our wine consumption.

Wife and I spent our first year anniversary here and they put rose petals on the table to add some flair for the occasion. The wait staff are EXTREMELY professional and almost seem like they went to school just for this position. The food is unspeakably delicious and makes you savor every bite of everything on your plate. They also gave us a complimentary creme brulee for our anniversary, we will be coming back here possibly every year for our anniversary. Hands down the best restaurant I have ever been too.

Great experience on my birthday. Everyone was attentive and friendly.

Bad service

Anniversary

As always everything from start to finish was impeccable at Donovan’s!

Love Donovan's every time I go! Thank you Jason and team for an excellent experience. I was celebrating my son's birthday and a business (rushed) dinner at the same time and it was a breeze. Our martini's were shaken perfectly and everyone's steak was spot on. We appreciate you all! See you soon.

My experience at Donovan's La Jolla was nothing less than exceptional. Service and food exceeded my highest expectations and then some. All team members were very friendly and helpful. Food was exquisite and came in a timely manner. Even the additional dessert to celebrate my birthday was a pleasant surprise. Thank you all for great experience and I will be seeing you soon.

Kind regards.

It was great like it usually is. We missed seeing Victor, but everyone was very nice. We’ll be back Christmas Eve, just like every year, thank you!

Service is outstanding, but the food is not as good as it used to be. When they were at their previous location, near UTC the food/steaks were much better than now. Now the meat seems like every other steak at restaurants around town. We still had a very good time.

Calamari appetizer overly breaded and tasteless
Ribeye steak was okay but for $60 one expects excellent

Great place to celebrate our Anniversary! 2nd year we celebrated there and the service and food did not disappoint!!!

Adam was great. We come when we can and the service was excellent as usual. Thank you! :)

Excellent meal. Excellent service Food was outstanding. Can't wait to return

We had a fun birthday dinner this past Saturday night. The staff was amazingly friendly and made the evening more enjoyable. The food was great and the wine suggestion was spot on. The atmosphere was very nice. The food is pricey but we knew to expect that. The quality was excellent.
We plan to return as soon as we can!

We were sat at 6:45pm and didn’t get our dinner until close to 8:30! We weren’t offered an explanation, an appetizer, bread or anything. In fact our waiter avoided us. We asked for steaks cooked medium and it was rare! Not at all what I was expecting when spending over $200

Terrible service. It took an hour and half to get our meal.
Food was not good. "Prime" steak was not good quality (too much fat) and was well done when we ordered medium rare. The wedge lettuce was fresh, but the dressing was bland.
The place is tattered and feels dirty, unkept and worn.

Really enjoyed the overall experience at Donovan’s. Food was amazing and service was too notch. We definitely will go again next time in the area

Service, food and view are amazing!

We were very disappointed with the experience. The waiter David was very courteous and professional but seemed to be getting pulled too many directions. Our appetizer came out after our salads, then it seemed as if we waited an eternity for our main course. During our meal it seemed as if we only saw a "busgirl". Additionally, an obnoxious party brought their own "music" into the restaurant and was allowed to play some lady singing in Italian. The gentleman who appeared to be the manager looked way over his head trying to get a handle on things. Looked like staffing and management issues.