Cuisine: While his fine-dining DC eatery, Galileo, undergoes renovation, Roberto Donna shows his rustic side in Crystal City with salumeri and house-made sausages, house-made pastas, ragouts, and pizzas and calzones from the wood-burning oven.

Mood: Conversational din fills the large, brightly lit burnt-orange dining room. On crowded weekends, the place seems understaffed and the pacing slow, though the waitstaff seems more engaged than in the past.

Best for: Large groups and families willing to overlook sluggish service and revel in Donna’s often sublime cooking.

Best dishes: Lemony arugula-and-shaved-Parmesan salad; one of the better vitello tonnatos (veal with tuna sauce) around; lasagnette, a free-form lasagna with a mellow bolognese; Capri pizza with a sunny-side-up egg; ricottaro calzone with mortadella and ricotta; a textbook porcini risotto; airy bombolini, fried dough balls with whipped cream and a pot of espresso-laced chocolate for dipping.

Insider tips: On weekends, reservations are a must unless you eat at the bar. Engaging the waitstaff seems to take the edge off what in the past has been surly service—a “buona notte” goes a long way.

Service: ½