Don Antonio’s from “The Hills” and “Life in Pieces”

I am a creature of habit, so it should come as no surprise that Don Antonio’s – the subject of my very first blog post back in 2007 – has remained my favorite Mexican restaurant ever since I first set foot inside it over a decade ago.  I initially learned about the Sawtelle-area eatery thanks to its many appearances on MTV’s The Hills and it did not take long for the place to become a staple in my and the Grim Cheaper’s dinner repertoire.  We ate there so often, in fact, that I used to lament that I was developing a bit of a belly, which I dubbed “Little Baby Don Antonio.”  Though we no longer live in Los Angeles, we still make it a point to hit up D.A.’s whenever we are in town.  So I was floored when my friend Lavonna recently informed me that the place had appeared in an early episode of Life in Pieces, a show she had just started watching.  I happened to be in L.A. a few days later and figured a pit stop at Don Antonio’s was in order so that I could do a proper re-post on the restaurant.

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Don Antonio’s has been a Westside institution ever since it was established by Antonio and Amalia Hernandez way back in 1982.

Very little of the place has been changed over the years.

The low-lit interior is comprised of three main dining rooms, the most popular of which is known as the Cave Room, for obvious reasons.

Marked by faux mud-caked walls and man-made stalactites, the cavernous space is where Spencer Pratt (aka the current Snapchatter of the Year – if you aren’t following him on Snap, you really need to!) and Heidi Montag typically sat while dining on The Hills.

Don Antonio’s made its inaugural Hills appearance in the Season 2 premiere titled “Out with the Old . . . “  In the episode, Spencer takes Heidi to the eatery for their first real date.  Upon pulling up to the valet stand, Heidi says, “How’d you ever find this place?  It’s like in the middle of nowhere!”  To which Spencer replies, “This is my spot!  I’ve been eating here since I was like 14.”  In a 2017 InStyle magazine article (which opens with the line, “Spencer Pratt enters Don Antonio’s like he’s Donald Trump at the 21 Club.”), Spencer gives a bit of a different story.  Explaining how he discovered D.A.’s, he says, “When I was 16, there used to be a muffler place down the street where I used to drop off my car.  My older sister, Kristen, brought me here initially.  After that, I was hooked.  I brought all my homies and we made it the spot.  I used to take meetings in the back.  Then, for our first TV date on The Hills, [the producers] were like, “Where do you wanna take [Heidi]?” and I was like, “Obviously Don Antonio’s.”

The restaurant went on to appear in numerous episodes of The Hills, including Season 2’s “Everybody Falls” in which Spencer and Heidi discuss moving in together over a steaming plate of fajitas . . .

. . . and Season 3’s “What Happens in Vegas . . . “ in which the duo’s anniversary celebration is interrupted when Heidi gets called in to work.

A myriad of the couple’s press interviews have also taken place at Don Antonio’s, including the InStyle one I linked to above, as well as one for the cover story of Rolling Stone’s May 11th, 2008 issue, which you can read here.

As Lavonna informed me, Don Antonio’s was featured in the Season 1 episode of Life in Pieces titled “Interruptus Date Breast Movin’.”

In the episode, Matt (Thomas Sadoski) follows Spencer’s lead by taking his boss, Colleen (Angelique Cabral), to Don Antonio’s for their first date.

The duo choose not to go the Spencer and Heidi route of eating in the Cave Room, though, and instead dine in Don Antonio’s main room, which boasts a colorful fish tank.

No matter which room you opt to dine in, a meal at Don Antonio’s simply can’t be beat!  As Spencer told Heidi during their initial visit, the restaurant serves “the best Mexican food you’ve ever had in your entire life!”

For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.

Big THANK YOU to Lavonna for telling me about Don Antonio’s Life in Pieces appearance. 

P.S. Interested in more Life in Pieces locations?  Be sure to check out my friend Michael’s fabulous guest post on the three main houses used on the series here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: Don Antonio’s, from The Hills and Life in Pieces, is located at 11755 West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles’ Sawtelle neighborhood.  You can visit the eatery’s official website here.