Donato Enoteca Redwood City - Buy Reservations

I love coming here! I recommend trying their pasta, it's fresh. I also like the grilled squid appetizer. The waiters take very good care of you here.

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Made the trip here from Oakland for a Valentine's Day dinner reservation. They tried to seat us at a small makeshift table by a side exit where both my date and I would be sitting next to each other crammed between a wall and a busy door. We told the waitress that was unacceptable and opted to wait another 20 minutes for another table. When we were seated we were taken to a side room off of the dining room where 3 other tables were crammed. It was kind weird that the decor wasn't elegant like that of the dining room next us, then we realized it's because it was actually the entry point to the bathrooms. We waited so long for our food, which I would describe as average at best, especially for what we were paying. They were clearly understaffed seeing as only one server was on the floor at a time. Our server's mood switched between cheerful to impatient/stressed out. Honestly, we've gotten better service from The Olive Garden.

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My wife and I had dinner at Donato a couple of days ago for her birthday. It was spectacular as always. We had the wild boar and the squid ink pasta. The workers all provide great service.

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For dinner, they offer a special prix fixe menu as well as their regular menu items and daily specials.My cousin and I were interested in the truffle items on the prix fixe menu, so we opted to have one prix fixe menu option as well as adding a pizza and broccolini on the side. Needless to say, our decision did not disappoint. Who would've thought a parmesan panna cotta topped with prosciutto and truffle shavings would be the star of our dinner. Pair your meal with their recommended wines and cocktails. I'm a tequila girl so I opted for an "El Diablo." When our dessert came, they recommended we try their port which paired well with the tiramisu. As we ended our night, we were also able to meet Chef Donato! Definitely will be returning to this location.

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The prices were affordable and the food (and sparkling water!) was great. The freshness of the food was evident in the taste of the pasta and maybe the wait time Pasta flavors could have had more seasoning, the dessert was underwhelming. It was definitely the cake that fell short. The density wasn't were it should be. Other than that, we received amazing service and for that will definitely be coming back.

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Upscale Italian, great choice of food items, the trading post stand is a nice touch. Reminded me of Italy. Will go again for sure

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We came here on Saturday for dinner with a small group of friends. Overall, I would recommend this place - with just a couple of caveats.What went well:- Pasta: the agnolotti del plin were really good! Just a bit heavy on the ragù but overall an authentic Italian dish- Dessert: tiramisù was also good- Service: overall good service (I was a bit concerned when reading some of the reviews, but we had a positive experience overall)What we didn't like as much:- The antipasti are a bit underwhelming. We tried the buttata (small and dry), the guanciale (small plate) and the mozzarella in carrozza (this one was not bad)- Attempt to upsell wine: done in a way that was a bit out of place for our taste - only negative note in an otherwise positive service experience

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Wish I could remember his name but our server was lovely and helpful on our early Valentine's Day dinner. It was our first time here and we were so pleased to have found a place that was great accommodating a mushroom allergy, was good with covid regulations and offered nice outdoor seating. The food was amazing, the only thing we didn't care much for was the BRODETTO DI MAREPan roasted local cod, Salt spring mussels, Manila Clams, Whole shrimpMarbled potatoes and spicy tomato, garlic broth & chervilIt was really overly acidic and didn't seem very much worth the price considering the tiny bits of meat inside the mussels. We enjoyed the GAMBERI AL FORNOWood burning oven roasted whole gulf shrimp, organic cauliflower puree Romanesco florettes, pinenuts & olive crumbWish there was a few more shrimp but these were head on and so delicious down to the sauce it was topped on.BURRATA E BROCCOLI RABEWhole imported burrata Pugliese, broccoli rabe & housemade grissiniEasily the best burrata we've ever had and we have had many prior at several different places. Super fresh and creamy, would recommend.BIGOLI E CODA"Bigoli" pasta with Nebbiolo braised oxtail & asparagus 20This pasta was incredible, super filling and decadent with chunks of oxtail. 10/10PANNA COTTA ALLA LAVANDALavender scented panna cotta, caramel saucealmond cornmeal crumble (gluten free)Easily the best dessert to end our meal with. The lavender taste was light but fragrant enough to fill our mouth with each bite. Each ingredient paired nicely with one another.

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My friends and I often lean towards Italian when we go out for casual double-dates. Last night was a special night in particular because I had planned on having delicious Italian pasta paired with a surprise bridesmaid proposal for a good friend of mine. Upon entering, the restaurant gave me an intimate vibe. As the hostess lead me to the tables more in the back, it definitely felt a little more fancier than the front. I was really excited and had high hopes for Donato. WE ORDERED - The 4 of us ordered alcoholic beverages, a Margherita pizza, the braised short rib entree, the 16 oz. Steak entree and 2 pasta dishes. At first our waiter was really friendly and attentive. The pizza arrived first which was okay. I did not enjoy the crust because it was slightly burnt and that's all I could taste. The pizza was flimsy thin and fell apart. THE ISSUE -Our reservation was at 7:15pm and the drinks + pizza arrived around 7:35pm. Afterwards, our waiter was never to be found. At about 8:45pm, we finally saw him and we politely checked in since we had been waiting for SO long. In about 15 minutes, he came back with no explanation with 3 entrees. I sat there awkwardly watching my friends eat while I waited for mine. Again-no explanation. Also his whole attitude changed and he was not as friendly or upbeat as earlier. My pasta finally arrived 15-20 minutes later. Normally restaurants know that they should bring out EVERYONES entree because it's a universal etiquette to eat together. I told my friends to start otherwise their foods will be cold. Also I wanted to mention, by the time all of our entrees arrived, the restaurant was almost empty.THE FOOD -Everyone's dish was disappointing and I'm not saying that based on service or experience. The short rib was smaller than the Yelp photos, the steak was paper thin/a bit over cooked/had burnt potatoes and the 2 pasta dishes were too al dente and lacked flavor. THE DESSERTS-My GF really wanted the chocolate molten lava cake but was worried it would take too long again. When our waiter came back (who somehow magically was upbeat again), he cleared the table and placed a few plates with giant spoons. We didn't know why because we didn't tell him if we wanted dessert or not. So we give in and order 2 molten cakes and he tells us "it's going to be about 10-15 min because we bake them fresh". We agreed that was okay. It is now close to 9:30pm. The waiter returns with a few random (delicious!) desserts and my fiancee says oh we didn't order these, the waiter says without a smile or any genuine tone "I know. These are complimentary". Then the molten cakes arrive but by then we were SO FULL from the 3 desserts prior so the molten cakes were not as enjoyable. He also brought out some special bottle of alcohol, explained the story behind it and poured us 4 tiny shots. This was a nice gesture..THE RESULT -But I am so confused and annoyed by my experience. Did they forget about our entrees? Why didn't he check in with us when our table clearly hadn't received our food for nearly an hour? Did he give us free desserts to make up for it? Or was it because I put "Reason for dining here: Celebration"? Not to sound ungrateful, but why did he give us 3 complimentary desserts (with no explanation) on top of the 2 that we ordered? (It was way too much and we had so much left overs.) Were the complimentary desserts given to us because they knew they forgot all about us and made us wait an hour? Unfortunately the experience and food was not good and we won't be returning ever. Even if we had a good experience here, the food was certainly not the best Italian foods. For a place that tries to make themselves upscale, they fell very short. *By the way, we were at the restaurant for a total of 3 hours because the food took so long. I'm pretty sure they forgot to make our food, made us wait and never gave us an explanation or apology. Smh.

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Had a reservation for valentines Day weekend and when we checked in on time the reservationist at the podium told us there were two people ahead of us. Huh? Isn't a reservation a reservation ? We aren't on the waiting list so a table is held for us in advance. The restaurant isn't supposed to give away the table you reserve. We were on time for our reservation. Customer service at the front desk ; not great. Turn off. Unprofessional. Does not reflect the true nature of the entire restaurant. We were placed indoors at a table inside because no one wanted to be seated indoors. Our waiter, the waitstaff and ambiance was amazing and made up for the lack of apology from the reservationist who dismissed our reservation. The dessert was the best ... chocolate three ways. The bread was also warm and delicious. The calamari appetizer with white beans and arugula is a dish we ordered regularly and somehow lemon was missing. We ordered the Branzino and short ribs. The short ribs were dry but polenta was creamy and delicious. The chestnuts were also a delightful surprise in the dish . The branzino , although fresh , was prepared in a way that emphasized the fishy skin which unfortunately mixed in with the creamy potatoes it was set atop. Usually branzino is prepared so the skin is crisp and lemon infused which would have avoided any mixing of the moist fishy skin. I hope someone can fix the reservation system and offer proper training of the reservationists at the front podium. Apologizing for forgetting our reservation would have been protocol in most upscale restaurants. We did not choose to eat at a midnight I Hop or roadside diner where brasher manners are forgiven. In the Bay Area customer service is what makes or breaks a restaurant because good food is easy to find all over the SF Bay Area .. known as a world class destination. We respect and truly enjoy Italian food. My sister in law married an Italian, lives in Italy part time and is a professor of Italian at NYU . Italy is part of our family culture. I hope that this restaurant trains their staff to uphold a standard which helps it represent a top notch representation of Italian cuisine.

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