Many Pastabilities
Austin Italian restaurant extends 'pay what you will' dinner experiment
Diners can order anything they want from the regular menu and choose the price.
Longtime farm-to-table Italian restaurant L'Oca d'Oro, known as an industry leader for fair wages and fundraising dinners, is once again brushing up its business practices in the name of accessibility. The restaurant launched Pay What You Will Tuesdays in December and the team has decided to extend the practice indefinitely in 2026.
To try the deal, diners can stop by any Tuesday from 4-9:30 pm for a flexible meal off the regular à la carte menu, which changes every day. When the deal first launched, it was a three-course meal, but now there is no recommended amount to order. Guests can also order drinks, but they'll have to pay full price for them.
When the check comes, a guest writes down how much they'd like to pay. For an example of how much a guest might choose to pay, a press release estimates that the typical three-course meal would come out to a $65 value.
One of L'Oca d'Oro's best-known economic reforms is a 20 percent service charge on every check, and that'll still happen on Pay What You Will Tuesdays. The fee will be based on whatever number the guest writes, but servers are paid hourly (a base wage of $17), so they'll still take home the same pay that they would during a regular dinner service. Additional tips are pooled, as usual. Tuesday dinner checks will also incur the standard 2.85 percent fee for credit cards.
Diners who want to help subsidize the program can always choose to pay more on their meal, or they can add a donation to their meal during other weekday services. They can even support from afar via GoFundMe — a seemingly less popular choice that has raised $325 so far.
“We know there are so many people in Austin — hospitality workers, teachers, healthcare workers — who help make this city great but can’t always afford to eat out at places like L’Oca d’Oro,” said co-owner Adam Orman. “We don’t like that. So we’re creating one night a week when everyone can enjoy the full L’Oca d’Oro experience on their own terms.”
“Let’s see what happens,” added chef-owner Fiore Tedesco III. “This will tell us a lot about Austin, about restaurants, and about L’Oca d’Oro—and we’re excited to find out what that is.”
Some of the other initiatives making L'Oca d'Oro a unique place to work for Austin hospitality pros include direct primary care (paying a flat monthly fee for doctor visits and urgent care at no extra cost), low-cost counseling, and PTO. The restaurant has also experimented with childcare solutions designed for hospitality workers and partnered with nonprofits for regular fundraising initiatives.
Good Work Austin, a partner organization founded by Orman and Tedesco, offers trainings and resources for industry needs including an up-to-date immigration advocacy toolkit. As recently as mid-January, Orman has urged other restaurants to use the toolkit while giving updates about his employees who have been deported or detained, or otherwise had interactions with ICE.
Besides these business practices, L'Oca d'Oro draws customers simply by serving high-quality Italian food. The seasonal menu allows for creativity in the always-shifting cuisine, which often features Texas ingredients.
