Executive chef Alessandro Morrone plans to draw inspiration from his Neapolitan roots to create a menu that focuses on southern coastal Italian cuisine, combining traditional techniques with inventive approaches.
South Beach Italian spot Donatella Restaurant will open at Donatella Hotel by the Versace Mansion team with coastal cuisine, housemade pasta, and cocktails.
Photo by The Louis Collection
A Taste of Italy with Housemade Pastas with Imported Ingredients
The kitchen makes all pastas in-house daily, including the rigatoni for the "Nduja" dish, where yellow Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes provide a sweet contrast to spicy Calabrian sausage spread. The black truffle cacio e pepe is made with housemade bucatini, which gets tossed with pecorino romano and Tellicherry peppercorns before being crowned with shaved black truffle. The "Amalfi Limone" pasta offers a lighter option with fettuccine, three-month preserved Meyer lemon, lemon oil, and crème fraîche. Other pasta highlights include "Campanelle Pomodoro" with Piennolo del Vesuvio D.O.P. tomatoes and "Linguini alla Vongole" featuring Manila clams.For seafood lovers, the menu features plenty of options, such as Skull Island prawns — massive wild-caught specimens that get a simple treatment on the Jasper grill before being finished with Calabrian chili butter. Prefer your sea creatures with tentacles? The grilled octopus arrives charred and paired with Taggiasche olive purée to add a briny depth to the tomato ragù.
The kitchen makes all pastas in-house daily, including the rigatoni for the "Rigatoni Nduja" dish. Yellow Piennolo del Vesuvio tomatoes provide a sweet contrast to spicy Calabrian sausage spread.
VE Hospitality Group photo
Renaissance in a Glass
The cocktail program at Donatella blends Italian cocktails with Miami flair. Frank Gonzalez, V&E Hospitality Group's corporate beverage manager, collaborated with Italian bar manager Fabio Passarelli to create a menu that pays homage to the Italian Renaissance while complementing the tropical setting.Classics get Italy by way of Miami treatment here – the "White Negroni" uses Gin Puerto De Indias Black Edition with Lillet Blanc and Suze liqueur. At the same time, the "Italian Mule" swaps traditional vodka for Smoked Lab vodka paired with Amaretto Disaronno and ginger beer.
For wine lovers, Donatella offers an accessible list spanning Italian classics, kosher selections, and wine bottles from Napa, Oregon, and Spain.
The space mixes stone and wood elements with just enough gold trim to remind you that yes, this place shares DNA with the Versace Mansion.
Photo by The Louis Collection
Atmosphere That Transports
The 170-seat restaurant occupies a 1922 Wallace Tutt-designed building with an open kitchen where diners can watch the culinary action unfold. A local artist's mural adorns one wall, while the rest of the space mixes stone and wood elements with just enough gold trim to remind you that yes, this place shares DNA with the Versace Mansion.There's a VIP lounge tucked away for the see-and-be-seen crowd, but the main dining room should satisfy most mortals looking for a nice night out.
Donatella Restaurant. 1350 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, at Donatella Boutique Hotel; donatellarestaurant.com. Opening May 2025.
