Donna’s Restaurant

Decent… nothing spectacular… definitely had better breakfasts at similar establishments… home fries are boring… pancakes are chewy… need a knife to cut them… fork won’t do it… taste is overall good… people definitely friendly though and nice… still looking for a killer breakfast place around here… kinda like Billy’s on Berkeley in south end… yum.

Homestyle breakfast? Nailed it!
We love to find new breakfast places after our 5k fun runs. Found Donna’s on Unilocal and could not be more satisfied with the choice. #1 you are greeted and seated by an incredibly polite young person. #2 Donna HERSELF takes your order. #3 the food is exactly how you ordered it. The pancakes are perfect, not too big so that you can only eat half and cooked to a golden perfection. Standard breakfast offerings are well above par. The coffee is hot diner — style coffee. If you’re in the area and want breakfast, do yourself a solid and go into Donna’s.

Dona’s is your classic diner. It’s been running for years so you know it’s very hearty and traditional. It’s a staple I must say. The food is greasy, diner like, very traditional, decent. The service is comparable to what you paying and the location, not that much or that good. No reservations and it can get super crowded in the weekends, but what’s to expect? Again, it’s decent; the service is not at its best, its affordable and close to the airport so stop by if you got stuck in stand-​by.

Not sure what world some Unilocalers live in where eating at a greasy spoon diner a la Waffle House is a cultural experience or a history museum. But I’m not from Boston.

Stopped in for breakfast. Prices are slightly above average. But service was good, fast and hot. I will definitely return food was great.
Edited: after a week in Boston I recant on the prices commit. They seem to be on average for the city.

Classic diner and great Eastie spot. BF and I have lived in the neighborhood for almost a year now, and just recently made it to Donnas, and I’m glad we did. Huge menu with every kind of breakfast food you could want. I had a stuffed french toast special with strawberries, and it was awesome. My bf was thrilled to find they had gluten free pancakes.
It’s a no frills place, but the service is fast and the food is great. It’s fun to watch the Eastie lifers greet each other, and catch up. We’ll be back.

too expensive for mediocre unfilling breakfast. they do have cool wall art though. the homefries I got were undercooked and much of a portion. it just seemed small for the price.

I honestly don’t know how they have the reviews they do. The food is mediocre, the service is poor, and it is incredibly overpriced. For example, two eggs with corned beef hash cost $ 10.50. One egg with home fries and toast are about $ 6. Then, they have a sign that they are increasing the cost of each egg served by 25 cents because eggs are more expensive. Last I checked, a dozen didn’t go up by three bucks.
To add insult to injury, the coffee is extremely weak.
Now, no one expects a diner to provide a fancy, high end meal. For the prices they ask, I at least expect a good one.

My favorite breakfast place in East Boston. Family run and owned. Very friendly and food is great. If I were to complain about anything it’s that their espresso/​cappuccino is terrible. I think they use regular coffee beans instead of espresso beans. Otherwise the place is five stars all the way. My daughter loves the Disney characters painted on the walls too.

Classic dinner. I’ve known Donna since the late 90’s and I love the way this dinner operates. Super fast service and always over staffed with high school kids that Donna orchestrates on the weekend. A true staple of East Boston culture.
Try the eggs Benedict or the corned beef hash.

Donna herself took my order and is a sweetheart with the complete Bostonian accent and personality. I think her entire family works in this joint too. The walls are decorated with Disney murals, not sure why but hey.
Not gourmet food but it sure is good. Everything comes with home fries. I ordered the egg, cheese, sausage breakfast sandwich which came on an English muffin. It was okay, very heavy.
I also got a blueberry muffin and this is what you need to order when going here. They bake em fresh everyday so they’re nice and moist and you can bet they make them with egg, milk and butter since they’re nice and creamy and again, heavy. They’re topped off with granulated sugar, cut in half and thrown on the grill to get nice and toasty; served with butter and there you go.
Granted now I have a food baby and gained at least 5 pounds but it was good! Check it out if you’re in east Boston for sure.
P. S. you’ll be surrounded by locals and that’s worth coming here alone to listen to their conversations and people watch.

I’ve been here twice so far and this place reminds me of the Jersey diners I grew up with. Incredibly reasonably priced food (2 pancakes, 2 eggs, home fries, toast, choice of meat and fruit or chocolate chip pancakes-​option 7b on the menu-​around $ 10) portions as big as your head, some of the best pancakes you will ever have and (bonus) they have turkey bacon (a personal fav)! You get 2 cups of coffee with your meal but you will have to ask for a refill-​once the waitress rings your food you don’t see her again until you get your check but usually it’s because they are under-​staffed for the volume of people there (especially Sunday mornings). Friendly service nonetheless! Also a ton of families come here so be ready for lots of babies! They could go for a re-​do of their décor but honestly the old paint job with semi-​scary Disney characters, while random, adds to the charm! Go there, you won’t be disappointed!

I had an omelet with cheese. I really like it.

I have lived around Boston my whole life, and only found Donna’s a couple of months ago.
I came to see the Disney murals (fabulous and quirky), but stayed for the yummy food. There is always a seasonal special, and the service is always fantastic. The waiters greet you as you come in and are just waiting to serve you. It’s nice.
I recommend almost any of the breakfast foods, but the home fries are especially good!

Great diner breakfast! Simple but good. Awesome breakfast sandwiches with crispy bacon. Ask for the hash browns!

I am writing this review while I am eating my very small bacon and cheese omelet with my very dry toast. Also the omelet is overcooked. (well they call this omelet.)The problems with this place are no coffee refills, no jelly for the dry toast, no choices of bread, the breakfast potatoes are soggy, the server did not comeback to see if I am happy, steady she is on the counter chatting with her coworkers. This is my first review in my 47 years and also is the first time I didn’t ever tip. I as a server I always tip even when I am not happy but this place shouldn’t exist. The server walked past me several times and nothing not even a look. I just came here because the reviews on Google I bet those were written by the people that work her.
I just left this restaurant with not a thank from the server. I am glad I didn’t tip. I always do.

I have lived nearby for over 2 years and I somehow have never been to Donna’s.
I regret this very much. There’s nothing like great breakfast food at the crack of dawn.
The atmosphere is very family friendly and quirky with its random Disney-​themed walls. I am someone that was raised on the Disney classics, so I appreciated them paintings very much.
The menu is extensive and has something for everyone. The portions are great and we absolutely loved the food. We all wished we had room for more.
Everyone is so friendly here, we felt right at home! Also, + 10 000 points for having sugar free syrup as my girlfriend is a type 1 diabetic! Thank you!

Okay, we were fresh off the plane and the family was starving. We Unilocaled for a close place to eat and this was the closest place. We ordered our food and it came out very fast. The funny thing I noticed is that almost all the meals came with 2 cups of coffee. I wanted iced tea, but they only have bottled tea. I noticed that most places I visited did not have brewed tea, which seemed odd to me because this Is the home of the Boston Tea Party!!!
The food was great, with good size portions. The pancakes that came with my meal were especially good. They had a unique flavor and were firmer than most pancakes that I am used to.
I would eat here again because of the great food and service.

This is the best place hands down for breakfast! the staff is so nice and Donna is such a doll! The food is amazing. Also, I read some of the posts about the layout, the food and the staff. This is a family oriented establishment. The food is great, cooked as if you did so at home. The staff is lovely and yes its cafeteria/​tables close proximity to each other but this is not a problem since you are so focused on the awesome food that you’re about to consume that you really won’t care what’s going on around you. Lastly, if your snobby or have an issue with having breakfast with the local folks then you shouldn’t come here. I love this place and the old school «everyone knows your name» welcoming vibe.
P. S. they take cash and C.C.

Any place that has the owner greeting the customers on a Sunday morning gets my vote. I stayed at the nearby Courtyard Marriott and wish I had discovered Donna’s earlier. It is a short walk from the hotel and is right next to the Orient heights metro (a one stop from Boston Logan metro station on the blue line. In October the station was closed for renovation.
Sunday is brunch for the whole day and I had a veggie omelette with wheat bread and some lovely coffee. I amy not go back that way again but if I do I will make my best effort to go back again