A Table on Church Street

Roberto Donna & Nancy Sabbagh — Two Restaurants, One Vision

On a quiet stretch of Church Street in Vienna, Virginia, two restaurants face one another like old friends in conversation. Together they tell a story not just of food, but of resilience, reinvention, and partnership. At the center of it all are chef Roberto Donna and restaurateur Nancy Sabbagh — husband and wife, collaborators, and stewards of a culinary legacy that stretches from Piedmont to Northern Virginia.

The Chef & His Partner

Roberto Donna was born in Turin, in Italy’s Piedmont region, where culinary precision is a birthright and ingredients are treated with reverence. Piedmont is a land of white truffles, slow-braised meats, handmade pastas, and disciplined technique. That sensibility — refined yet deeply rooted — would define Donna’s career.

He arrived in the United States in 1979 at just twenty years old. By 1983, he had opened Galileo in Washington, D.C., a restaurant that would reshape how the capital understood Italian cuisine. At a time when Italian food in America was often reduced to red sauce and excess, Donna introduced the nuance of northern Italian cooking: lighter, more regional, and deeply seasonal. Galileo quickly became a gathering place for diplomats, politicians, and devoted diners who recognized something exceptional.

In 1996, Donna received the James Beard Award for Best American Chef: Mid-Atlantic, only the second year the award existed. National honors followed, including recognition from Esquire as Chef of the Year. The Culinary Institute of America honored his achievements, and Italy’s Federazione Italiana Cuochi awarded him the prestigious International Prize Caterina de’ Medici. At his height, Donna oversaw more than a dozen restaurants across the Washington region.

But a life in restaurants is rarely linear. The new millennium brought turbulence: closures, financial strain, a federal lawsuit tied to unpaid wages at a former restaurant, and a bankruptcy filing in 2016. For many chefs, such a chapter might have marked an ending. For Donna, it became a period of quiet rebuilding. He spent seven years refining his craft at a smaller establishment in Washington, cooking without fanfare and restoring his footing.

Throughout it all, Nancy Sabbagh remained the steady force. Of Lebanese heritage, she carries a deep appreciation for hospitality and the French culinary traditions that influenced Lebanon’s own food culture. Today, she owns both Vienna restaurants outright, while Roberto serves as executive chef. The arrangement is intentional: she manages the business; he cooks. “No more awards,” Donna has said. “We just want to be at peace and show people that we love them here in Vienna.”

The couple lives nearby in Reston, and the intimacy of Church Street suits them perfectly. Roberto is known for his brightly colored Alain Mikli spectacles; Nancy for greeting guests at the door with a warmth that makes newcomers feel like regulars. Together, they have transformed a single block into one of Northern Virginia’s most compelling dining destinations.

Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano

In February 2022, the couple opened Roberto’s Ristorante Italiano at 144 Church Street NW. The dining room is intentionally intimate, decorated with Venetian masks and luminous glass accents that lend color and warmth. The space feels less like a restaurant and more like an extension of someone’s elegant home.

The menu rotates weekly, anchored in the flavors of Piedmont but traveling across Italy’s diverse regions. Seasonality drives the selections. One evening might highlight black truffle–laced gnocchi; another might feature carrot pappardelle, a house signature noted by critics. Classic antipasti include vitello tonnato — thin slices of roasted veal dressed in a tuna-caper sauce — and fresh burrata paired with house-made focaccia.

One of the restaurant’s most memorable experiences is the whole-roasted Amish chicken for two, carved tableside on a guéridon cart. The presentation is theatrical yet heartfelt — a revival of an old European service tradition rarely seen today. Donna moves through the dining room personally, often pausing to speak with guests before returning to the kitchen.

Monday nights feature a family-style dinner at an approachable price, reinforcing the restaurant’s communal spirit. Wine dinners spotlight regional Italian selections and occasionally highlight bottles from Virginia’s own Barboursville Vineyards, whose winemaker shares Donna’s Piedmont roots. Twice a year, the Donnas lead small groups on culinary tours of Italy — to Sicily, Tuscany, and Puglia — connecting guests directly with the landscapes and producers that inspire the menu.

Reservations are strongly recommended. The scale is modest by design; intimacy is the point.

Le Bistro

In August 2023, when a beloved restaurant space across the street became available, Donna and Sabbagh saw opportunity. What began as a temporary pop-up quickly evolved into a permanent fixture: Le Bistro, located at 111 Church Street NW.

If Roberto’s celebrates Italy, Le Bistro embraces classical French comfort. Inspired by the French chefs who shaped Donna’s early career and by the French influence embedded in Nancy’s Lebanese heritage, the menu is intentionally straightforward. Onion soup gratin arrives crowned with bubbling Gruyère; moules frites are prepared in the traditional style; boeuf bourguignon is slow-braised in burgundy wine with root vegetables; coq au vin is rich with mushrooms and pearl onions.

Donna insisted that main courses remain affordable, most priced under $35. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” he has said. “We just want solid, good food, affordable for everyone.” Sunday brunch has become a neighborhood ritual, and families are welcome — a detail that underscores the couple’s inclusive philosophy.

Le Bistro feels relaxed, convivial, and grounded. If Roberto’s offers refined Italian intimacy, Le Bistro provides the easy comfort of a Parisian corner café — with a subtle Mediterranean warmth shaped by two traditions rather than one.

Recognition & Renewal

Over four decades, Roberto Donna’s accolades have come from both American and Italian institutions. Yet the most meaningful recognition today may be quieter: a full dining room, returning guests, and a stable partnership that allows creativity to flourish without excess ambition.

Nancy’s ownership structure ensures that Roberto can focus entirely on cooking. There are no expansion plans, no restaurant empire in the making. The couple deliberately chose a single block close to home. The scale keeps the work human and the relationships personal.

Beyond the Table

Donna has long supported organizations devoted to hunger relief and culinary education, understanding that cooking carries social responsibility. In Vienna, that spirit manifests in something simpler but equally powerful: hospitality that feels genuine.

Church Street has become their “mini Georgetown,” as Donna jokes — a microcosm of European tradition in suburban Virginia. Guests cross from one restaurant to the other, comparing Italian and French flavors, lingering over wine, greeting familiar faces. The restaurants serve not just food, but connection.

At its heart, A Table on Church Street is a story of second acts. It is about a chef who rose, fell, and rose again — and about a partnership that transformed experience into wisdom. Roberto Donna and Nancy Sabbagh are no longer chasing accolades. Instead, they have chosen intimacy over empire, presence over prestige.

On this small block in Vienna, that choice has made all the difference.