![]() ![]() The restaurant is solely owned by Donna’s wife, Nancy Sabbagh. In February, 2022, Roberto’s opened in Vienna, Virginia, with Donna as chef, doing what he does best. Alba Osteria closed in 2019, citing rent disagreements with its landlord. At the end of 2013, Donna opened a second restaurant, Alba Osteria, in Mount Vernon Triangle. In 2012, Donna opened Al Dente in Embassy Row, and Esquire magazine named him its "Chef of the Year." In February 2013, a four-seat counter, Roberto's 4, opened within Al Dente. The restaurant closed abruptly after less than one year. Donna and his business partners still faced several civil lawsuits when he returned to the kitchen with the opening of Galileo III in October 2010. Donna was prosecuted for failing to pay taxes at Bebo, and in 2010, Donna pled guilty to felony embezzlement, receiving a five-year suspended sentence on condition of probation, good behavior, and restitution. In 2004, Donna's company declared bankruptcy and his restaurants began to close Galileo closed in 2006, and he had no restaurants to his name when Bebo Trattoria closed in 2009. He requested a rematch and bested Morimoto in 2006. In 2005, Donna competed on Iron Chef America, losing to Masaharu Morimoto after failing to plate a sufficient number of dishes. Donna was invited to Rome in 1996 to receive the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano, awarded by the Italian Government in recognition of serving the best authentic Italian food outside Italy. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington recognized Donna as the "Chef of the Year" in 1990, and the "Restaurateur of the Year" in 1995. The next year, Galileo was named one of the "10 Best Italian Restaurants in America" by Wine Spectator. ĭonna won the 1996 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. ĭonna published a cookbook, Cooking in Piedmont, in 1996. In 1999, he expanded Galileo into a neighboring space and opened a restaurant-within-a-restaurant, Il Laboratorio del Galileo, serving multi-course meals in a small (25-30 seats) dining room, with a glass-walled "showcase" kitchen. By the end of the 1990s, Donna's empire grew to 12 restaurants, including Il Radicchio, Pesce, and Barolo. Donna and his partner Savino Recine opened more casual trattorias, Primi Piatti, and then I Matti, serving pizza and pasta. Bush could not secure a last-minute reservation. The restaurant only seated 50, and in the early days, even Vice-President George H. In 1984, Donna opened Galileo in Dupont Circle, which was an immediate success. He came to the United States at the age of 19, working in an Italian restaurant on K Street in Washington, D.C. Roberto Donna is an Italian chef and restaurateur in Washington D.C.ĭonna was born in Turin, Italy, where he enrolled in culinary school at the age of 13. 1996 James Beard Foundation Award, Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. ![]()
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