Michele StuevenThe minute you walk through the doors of Prima Donna on the ground floor of Culver City’s Shay Hotel, you can’t help getting swept up in the buzz and positive energy of the space at the heart of the Ivy Station devoted to wood-fired pizza and Sicilian specialties.
The moody dining room is flanked by a friendly bar, a theatrical wide-open kitchen punctuated by copper pots, and a wood-fired oven. The outdoor patio is a visually stimulating spot for breakfast and lunch. Nothing diva-like about the place, it’s the rare kind of restaurant where you can call for a last-minute reservation and somebody actually picks up and answers the phone.
Helmed by Chef Michael Santoro, chief culinary officer and partner in the Mosaic Hospitality Management group and former executive chef at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the sprawling space once occupied by the troubled Etta restaurant has risen from the ashes with a purposeful new menu and bar program.
White Lotus Pizza and rack of lamb (Michele Stueven)
Pizzas come and go through the dining room from servers who almost dance from table to table with enthusiasm and attentiveness. A star on the menu is an homage to the last season of our favorite dark comedy-drama series that swept us away on a Sicilian vacation — the White Lotus Pizza. It’s a combination of fennel sausage, white sauce, and tangy tear-shaped caciocavallo cheese topped with crispy potato and red onion on a gently charred thin crust. For starters, the signature fried green olives stuffed with sausage accompanied by lemon aioli are a must for the table.
While lamb chops are currently the ubiquitous protein on nearly every menu in town, Prima Donna’s elegant wood-fired version stands out among other standard options. Marinated overnight and then slowly smoked, the full Calabrian rack comes with mint salsa verde, Sicilian pesto and grilled escarole, cooked to pink perfection.
And speaking of escarole, the test of a true Italian kitchen is usually found in the core of its most basic recipes like beans and greens. Because of its simplicity, you won’t find it on too many L.A. menus. Santoro proves traditional prowess with his version utilizing bright green escarole and fennel sourced from the Santa Monica Farmers Market, huge white butter beans cooked from scratch, a hint of colatura fish sauce made from anchovies and just the right amount of tiny guanciale bits.
And if the bustling atmosphere of Prima Donna doesn’t put a spring in your step, dessert will. Try the lemon pistachio cake — four layers sandwiched between matcha and lemon ricotta filling — or an affogato with Frangelico mascarpone ice cream and double espresso.
Prima Donna (Michele Stueven)
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