Ristorante Donato

Angie

5.0

It is my second time visiting this restaurant, & I definitely believe that I'll be back.
Great ambience & the music had me wondering who had aux - songs straight from my own playlist! The service is always very fast & the food is very enjoyable. The salmon tartare is a hit. I ordered the lobster pasta again this time & the sauce is just as good as I remembered it. We also got the bistecca which was very tender. Overall, great place & will return

21 déc. 2025
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Tu-Mai

3.0

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.

12 avr. 2024
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Craig

5.0

Located on Sherbrooke street in the commercial district of Westmount, Donato is an excellent Italian style resto with a very warm décor, classic menu options & solid service. Overall, the restaurant has a somber, subtle & quiet ambiance which makes it great for a quiet night for two. While we were there there were several larger group tables & we didn't notice until leaving. As for the menu, all the classics are there including pastas, meats, fishes & pizzas. For our group we had Caesar Salad (good...nothing great, nothing bad), Fried Calamari (very good...meat was tender, not chewy & the batter was crispy), three different pasta dishes (Conchiglie Pomodoro, Spaghetti with Lobster & Rigatoni Bianco) all of which were excellent & tasty. For dessert we had the Tiramisu & the Chocolate Terrine (both of which were very good). Services was always within reach & very friendly, with the two services delivered with little delay. Would certainly be coming back for a second visit. Enjoy!

22 nov. 2023
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Sarah

5.0

Super bon service, super bon drink. & la bouffe est juste excellente. Le pain servis au début est vraiment bon. La salade cesar est un indispensable, fraiche & croquante. Les pates au lobster sont vraiment bonne & les rosé également

15 nov. 2023
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