Ristorante Donato is described as a refined Italian dining spot with a chic, modern ambiance that suits everything from business meals to special occasions. Dishes range from arancini and fennel salad to seafood specialties and pastas, with many noting flavorful, well prepared plates and highlights such as mushroom pasta, branzino, octopus, and the tiramisu. Service is frequently praised as efficient, attentive, and considerate, with staff able to adapt to guests rhythm and even offer thoughtful touches like candle desserts and prompt refills. The atmosphere is often lauded for its decor and lighting, though the space can be noisy and busy at peak times, which can affect the dining experience. Pricing and portions receive mixed feedback, with some calling prices high for the amount of food and others finding the quality and setting worth the cost. Overall, Ristorante Donato emerges as a reliable choice for high quality Italian fare, elegant design, and strong service, while visitors should be mindful of possible pacing, crowding, and price relative to portions.
Food - excellent Portions - on par with the price Quality ingredient - excellent Price to value is excellent Atmosphere excellent interior design, stunning bar, high quality seating, superb view of the near open kitchen. Desserts were excellent. The focaccia placed on the table was so good it was had to stop eating it. Bar menue was creative & classic at the same time while the wine menue was of a high quality & reasonably priced. Staff were beautifully presented, knew their menue perfectly & communicated their menue & specials with clarity & enticing. The front of house was managed beautifully & you can see how every person knows their role & moves on the floor like a well orchestrated ballet.
I was treated by a customer & I am sure it was a pretty penny. Food was just ok. I had the fish whic was also just OK. The zuccini flower was really good.
Joli restaurant rempli de jolies personnes. Service charmant mais cuisine très médiocre pour le prix: Les huîtres semblent conservées dans l'eau douce & manquent de sel. Elles sont sans goût. (Probablement meilleures en saison) Calmars frits ordinaire. Quant à mes gnocchis au ricotta sauce basilique: je n'ai pas vu de ricotta. Une seule feuille de basilic dans une sauce très basique. Le plat devrait s'appeler «Mini gnocchis sauce basique...» Réservez à l'avance pour des places à l'intérieur ou soyez mieux vêtus que nous!? (Difficile d'accès, la terrasse, pour mon père de 101 ans le pied cassé.)
May 17, 2024
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If you can afford it, GO! Your mouth will be ABSOLUTELY FLOODED with flavor that you will never want to end. The Orange-cake dessert is EXCELLENT. As soon as someone will pay for me, i will return in a heartbeat!
Nous avons retrouvé des amis pour le brunch &, malgré le temps maussade, l'accueil & la cuisine nous ont fait oublier la météo. Dès l'entrée, nous avons été accueillis avec gentillesse & efficacité. Le service aux tables est attentionné : nos demandes sont prises en compte & les recommandations faites parfaitement adaptées à chacun d'entre nous. Nous avons passé un excellent moment en compagnie d'un personnel très souriant!
J'ai eu la chance de dîner chez Donato récemment & je dois dire que c'était une expérience extraordinaire. Dès notre arrivée, nous avons été chaleureusement accueillis par un personnel passionné & attentif. Les asperges étaient tout simplement incroyables ! J'ai rarement goûté à des asperges aussi fraîches & savoureuses. Elles étaient préparées à la perfection, un vrai délice pour les papilles. Elles étaient si bonnes que j'en ai oublié pendant un instant que je mangeais des légumes. Le service était impeccable du début à la fin. Le personnel était non seulement attentif, mais également très compétent & passionné par ce qu'ils font. Leur connaissance de la cuisine italienne & leur recommandation de vins italiens étaient parfaites. Parlons de la sélection de vin : un véritable voyage à travers les régions viticoles d'Italie. Les vins choisis étaient à la fois délicieux & complémentaires aux plats que nous avons dégustés. En résumé, Donato est un restaurant italien de premier choix à Montréal. Si vous recherchez une expérience gastronomique authentique, avec un service exceptionnel & une sélection de vins italiens de qualité, ne cherchez pas plus loin. Je recommande vivement Donato à tous les amateurs de cuisine italienne & de bons vins.
The food was good but vastly overpriced. The HVAC made the experience very uncomfortable. They staff seemed to be battling over the temperature & as a result we were very cold. They made a mistake on the order & brought the wrong item. I would not go back
Apr 22, 2024
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Went to this restaurant twice (Sunday & Thursday night) in the last week as I like to give a place 2 tries before I make up my mind. Unfortunately, as nice as the staff & the atmosphere is, this place simply does not bring satisfaction in terms of food & value. Most things we have eaten were close to being good, but always fell short of being done just right. For the price point, I feel like the quality of the execution should really be higher. Here's what we ate: the fennel salad had all the ingredients right, but was overdressed which killed it. The grilled octopus was okay, but the bean purée it came with was bland & not seasoned at all, bringing the whole dish down. The asparagus were okay, cooked well & the Fontina & breading on top brought flavour, but overall very average & underwhelming. Salmon tartare: same thing, just fell very flat after a few bites, nothing particular, but really not hitting the spot. The lobster linguine was the biggest let down. For some reason, the lobster meat wasn't served in fresh chunks; it seems as though they just took lobster meat & stuffed it into some sort of mold & cut it up & threw it in the pasta - the shape of the meat was in these compressed little rectangles, very bizarre. Maybe because it isn't lobster season, so they use flaked lobster meat instead of cooking fresh lobsters & shucking them into the dish? Either way, the sauce also didn't taste much of lobster, which would be the case if they used fresh lobster. If it truly is as raved about as the servers say, I would suggest to keep it a seasonal dish, rather than have an expensive, disappointing dish half of the year. The filet mignon was good, but the char made by the sauce made the outside bites bitter. They also don't seem to serve their meat with any sides here, just a plate of meat, so it was very intense with the foie gras - it would've been nice to have anything to cut the richness of the dish. If the desserts are consistent with the olive oil cake & chocolate terrine, I would say to avoid desserts in general. They just fell short as a whole, nothing amazing, didn't really hit the spot. I would choose a different shape for the cake & add stronger accompanying flavor, otherwise it is just lacking. The chocolate terrine's texture was just off, kinda like a really fudgey chocolate. Not enjoyable at all unfortunately. I will say that the ragu pasta was spot on though! Execution was right, flavors were on point, portion was perfect - very satisfying. Maybe this restaurant is more of a pizza & pasta joint? In which case my ordering was just off & that's on me. But if that is the case, I would prefer they put what they are good at on the menu, & take off everything else. Having items on the menu that are barely average or below satisfaction really lowered the experience of this place. I did comment about the salad to my server, to which the chef offered to compensate with a dessert. But after everything tasted, I found it wasn't worth mentioning every little detail to the server since the issue here doesn't seem to be a one-off, but rather just a lack of execution as a whole. I find this really unfortunate, because if everything was, at a minimum, seasoned right & executed right, this place could be a solid regular neighborhood joint. Alas, I find myself full, but not satisfied, & out 500$. I do not recommend this place, but I am sending love & hope my comments can be helpful to you.
First time at Donato. Will definitely be back but if you prefer a younger vibe book a table after 8pm. Unfortunately we booked too early & got the family & retirement crowd. The service was outstanding, very informative & very accommodating. I had the pasta with seafood & it was simply delicious. Everything was fresh. Very well priced for quality of food. The restaurant is nicely decorated & very stylish. Modern yet feels quaint & warm.
Le service etait parfait, les employés tres gentils & soucient. Le restaurant est tres beau & bien situé. Malheureusement les plats mon déçu, dans ce type de restaurants, j'ai l'habitude de manger des plats plus élaboré, la présentation était bien mais sans plus.
