Les avis sur Ristorante Donato convergent vers une adresse italienne raffinée offrant une gamme variée allant des arancini et des salades à base de fenouil ou de betterave, aux plats de mer et pâtes savoureuses, avec des vedettes comme le branzino et le tartare de thon; le cadre élégant et l'ambiance conviviale font l'unanimité, tout comme un service rapide et professionnel qui peut toutefois varier; les prix sont fréquemment jugés élevés et certaines portions suscitent des réserves sur le rapport qualité-prix, tandis que les desserts et les touches de service sont parfois mémorables mais d'autres fois décevants; en somme, Ristorante Donato ressort comme une destination prisée pour une cuisine italienne bien exécutée et un cadre soigné, avec des saveurs appréciées et une atmosphère qui peut séduire autant les occasions professionnelles que les sorties entre amis, à condition d'accepter des variations de constance et de prix.
We had an amazing evening at Donato. The restaurant itself is beautiful & has a great atmosphere, & the staff made us feel welcome right away with attentive & friendly service throughout the night. The drinks were excellent, & the food was just as impressive. The ribeye steak was cooked perfectly. Very tender, juicy, & full of flavor. We also tried the burrata salad, which I highly recommend. Overall, the quality of the food & the level of service made it a fantastic dining experience, & it's definitely a place we look forward to visiting again.
Service TOP ! Rapide efficace ! Bouffe wow 100% seul bémol manque une petite sauce style poivre pour le steak !!! Sinon calmar wow ! Pates a la vodka wow ! Salade cesar wow !
Enjoyed lunch yesterday with a friend at Ristorante Donato. The ambiance is elegant & lovely. The flowers at the entrance were so gorgeous we thought they were fake!
I selected the Table d'hôte, while my dining companion just ordered the pasta with mushrooms.
The fennel salad was the star of the meal for me, crisp & fresh with a tasty dressing. It was so good, I forgot to take a photo of it! I found the pasta slightly undercooked, however did not want to bother the kitchen to re-cook it. It was still tasty with a generous portion of mushrooms, served with freshly grated Parmesan. The portion was a good size.
The tiramisu was underwhelming. Although it was creamy, there was not much flavour of coffee or chocolate. The accompanying fruit was great!
Being a tea drinker, I found it odd that the restaurant doesn't offer the option of tea with the table d'hôte (only coffee).
My friend & I both enjoyed the complementary garlic focaccia, fresh & served warm. She enjoyed her glass of Prosecco!
Service was good but not overly warm or friendly (though the hostess was welcoming!).
We were celebrating my friend's birthday, & they were kind enough to put a candle in the dessert, which was appreciated.
Walking in, the vibe immediately whispers fine dining meets business power lunch 💼🍷 - but don't worry, even in a dress with sneakers, I felt totally at home (& maybe even a little chic 😏). The place oozes elegance with its lush greenery 🌿, statement furniture, & those dreamy lighting fixtures that make you feel like you've stepped into a magazine spread. Bonus: the flowers at the entrance? So stunning we thought they were fake 🌸😂.
👨?🍳 Food Highlights:
• Arancini = fantabulous little golden bites of joy 🤌🧀.
• Beet salad = fresh, earthy, colorful - a plate that could double as art 🎨🥗.
• Fennel salad stole the show - crisp, refreshing, & dressed perfectly. It was so good I forgot to take a picture 📸 (food blogger fail!).
• Mushroom pasta 🍄: generous portion, beautifully cheesy with Parmesan snow ❄?🧀 - though slightly undercooked. Still tasty enough that I didn't send it back.
• Tiramisu = creamy but… meh. Missing that bold coffee + cocoa punch ☕🍫. The fruit on the side, however, did bring some redemption.
• Garlic focaccia = warm, fresh, fluffy carb-love 🥖💛. Complimentary, but tasted like it deserved its own spot on the menu.
🥂 My friend sipped her bubbly Prosecco with a grin, & the staff even slipped a candle into her dessert 🎂✨ for her birthday. Sweet touch!
👩?💼 Service: Good & efficient, but not overly warm. The hostess, however, was lovely & welcoming right from the start.
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👉 Verdict: Donato is where you go when you want refined dining, gorgeous ambiance, & plates you'd never whip up at home. Some dishes absolutely sang 🎶 (hello fennel salad + arancini), others could use a bit more wow factor (sorry tiramisu 👀). Still, with the elegant décor & thoughtful touches, it's a place that makes you feel like you've traveled - even if you haven't hopped on a plane 🌍✈?.
It felt more like a formal fine dining environment or business meeting place, but I although I came in a dress a sneakers I was glad I picked that place. The arancinis were fantabulous! I loved the beet salad too. It is funny how you sit in a room & eat things you would not replicate at home, but it is not just that. You also pay to get to be in a decor with all those green plants ornaments, amazing furniture & lovely lighting fixtures. I may not travel much, but I do travel in the things that I see.
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$. I do not recommend this place, but I am sending love & hope my comments can be helpful to you.
[BRUNCH REVIEW] Came here on a Sunday, around noon, for brunch/lunch & loved it ! We were 4 people & we shared everything in order to try a lot of dishes. Our favourite was definitely the creamy scrambled eggs with shrimps. It was good with the focaccia bread. My 2nd favourite is probably the caesar salad with breaded fried chicken cutlets (normally I don't like caesar but the sauce they make isn't very pungent, it was enjoyable to eat). Pain perdu & meatballs were ok, you can skip those dishes if you visit for brunch. The service was excellent, they checked if everything was good often, they changed plates between the salty & sweet dishes. Nicely decorated & very warm atmosphere. The bill was around 50$+tx per person (acceptable with the amount that we ate). I would not hesitate to come here for brunch or to try their supper menu (apparently it's quite popular with the locals).
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!
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
