Donaza

Same cuisine as Beki, a different question: how far does an AI app builder actually get you before you need to write code?

Donaza was built on Base44 rather than hand-rolled in Next.js. Not because it was faster to type, but because the answer to that question is genuinely useful — and you only get it by shipping something real on the platform.

What the platform did well

Structure arrived quickly. Menu categories, a reservation flow, a cart — the parts that take real time in a custom build were standing within the first session.

The content model held. Adding dishes and categories did not require touching layout, which is the same property that makes the MDX setup on this site work.

Where it pushed back

Art direction is the hard limit. The typographic detail — a serif display, the letter-spaced eyebrow, the exact rhythm of the hero — took far more fighting than it would have in CSS. Platforms optimise for getting something reasonable fast, and reasonable is not the same as considered.

You inherit the platform's decisions. Spacing scales, component behaviour and breakpoints are theirs. You work with them or around them.

What I took from it

For a restaurant that needs menu, reservations and a decent presence quickly, a builder is a sensible answer and I would use one again. For anything where the design is the differentiator, the ceiling arrives early.

Worth knowing which project you are on before you pick the tool.