Donatella Versace wants nothing to do with the Italian restaurant in South Beach that uses her name without consent. After an underwhelming dinner of soupy pasta and grey pieces of overcooked ribeye, we understand why.
The ownership behind the Donatella Boutique Hotel & Restaurant calls it the “official sister property” to the Versace Mansion (which one of Donatella’s partners also owns). The unremarkable Italian restaurant is less than three blocks away, and if you just looked at the limestone columns and beautiful Baroque-inspired courtyard, you wouldn’t question the connection. But they’re not related at all—as Donatella herself made very clear in this Instagram post, which denounces the restaurant for attempting “to capitalize on our tragedy and my name for profit.”
photo credit: The Louis Collection
video credit: Mariana Trabanino
video credit: Ryan Pfeffer
video credit: Mariana Trabanino
She’s not wrong. Donatella is just another business trying to turn Gianni Versace’s murder into a profitable tourist attraction. (The actual Versace Mansion also has a terrible restaurant called Gianni’s, and Ocean Drive’s News Cafe has an orange neon sign that reads, “Gianni was here.”) Without the forced Versace connection, Donatella is yet another overpriced Italian option in South Beach serving average crudo while calling you “signorina.”
Like most of its peers in the neighborhood, they use too much truffle to try and convince you $30 for buttered noodles is reasonable. There’s an undeniable beauty to the outdoor courtyard (not so much with the beige dining room), and the gratuitous use of “buona sera” has its charm after a martini or two. But the charm fizzles once the $300 bill for two arrives. The Versace family are no strangers to steep price tags. But in return, they guarantee a certain quality. The fake Donatella could learn from that.
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Food RundownCarpaccio Di Manzo
This is what happens when you take a mallet to a bunch of food buzz words: black truffle, truffle vinaigrette, and wagyu carpaccio, all pounded into thin sheets that barely keep up with the Boar’s Head samples at the Publix Deli. The truffle is overkill, and the parmesan crisps overpower the bland carpaccio.
photo credit: Mariana Trabanino
Gambero Rosso
It’s like having a shrimp cocktail with a shot of limoncello. If you do decide to come here out of disrespect for the Versace family, get it.
photo credit: Mariana Trabanino
Amalfi Limone
This is the pasta they’ll push the hardest—while urging you to add the $25 scoop of caviar. They’ll say something about the salty fish eggs complementing the lemony noodles. Don’t listen. It’s a watery pile of pasta that’s hard to distinguish from chain restaurant fettuccine alfredo.
video credit: Mariana Trabanino
Ribeye
There’s hardly a sear on the grey slab of beef. We asked for medium rare, but only the thickest piece of ribeye was cooked to that temperature. It isn’t worth $74.
video credit: Mariana Trabanino
Torta Di Vaniglia
The 30-second tableside torch show is the most exciting thing about this vanilla-on-vanilla cake.
video credit: Mariana Trabanino
Dining and Cooking