The table you couldn’t get is now the table you can sometimes get, and the fusilli alla vodka tastes just as good, the room hums just as loudly, and, yes, everyone was right about Donna’s. The Echo Park restaurant was the epitome of the hard-to-get table when it opened in summer 2023; even now, free tables for spur-of-the-moment visits can still be a rarity. But the enduring hype is well-deserved for a menu of reliable red sauce-gone-2020s dishes, a booth-lined room that begs you to linger, an almost too welcoming bar, and a waitstaff that become fast friends.
What to order
Everyone will tell you to order the fusilli alla vodka and they’re right — what’s not to like? Although I’d argue seasonal specials like the mushroom gnocchi with morels are even more impressive.
Garlic bread is almost a misnomer for the entire half-loaf of crusty sourdough that’s brought to the table toasty warm and caked in a garlicky, herby slather. It’s listed as an appetizer, but order it with your pastas to sponge up the sauce.
You can’t flick a cigarette in Los Angeles these days (and boy are they getting flicked again) without hitting a dramatic Caesar salad, but the version here gets bonus points for its dressing being a riff on tonnato, the northern Italian tuna sauce.
I thought I understood (and disliked) tiramisu until I had the version at Donna’s, which has become a requisite order for most regulars. Ethereally light mascarpone and amaro-cognac cream smoosh out from between the espresso-soaked ladyfingers with each bite.
The vibe
Packed but in a casual way that doesn’t feel like it’s trying too hard. Imagine the restaurant version of your edgy friend who can wear their Italian grandmother’s sweater and somehow make it fashion. That is Donna’s. I waited almost a year to come here because I’m generally hype averse and I immediately hated myself for not coming sooner. It’s not too cool; it’s just a great time.
Insider tip
Be very nice to your server and you might get a tiny glass of the homemade limoncello to finish off your meal.