Donato Enoteca

Review summary

1. E

   Eileen

   Orange County

   34 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   34 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   One of our favorite ristoranti on the peninsula specializing in Northern Italian cuisine. The dishes are authentic and thoughtfully prepared. The wait staff is attentive without being intrusive. A great date night place.
   

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2. S

   Sara

   San Francisco

   9 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   9 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   The food was delicious. My family especially liked the pizzas. They offer one GF pasta option, but are willing to add different sauces to the GF pasta as desired. The length of time it took to get our dinners to our table was really LONG- around 40 minutes after we ordered. We will definitely go back bc we love the menu, food, and wine list.
   

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3. B

   Becky

   San Francisco

   14 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   14 reviews

   Dined on 18 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The food tasted exceptionally well. Nelly and Krinjal, our wait staff took great care of our party of four. Navigated us around our menu choices to pair with the wines we brought. It was an enjoyable dining experience.
   

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4. G

   Gloria

   San Francisco

   59 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   59 reviews

   Dined on 17 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   A neighborhood gem. Delicious food and good service.
   

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5. T

   Terrie

   San Francisco

   15 reviews

   vip
   3.0

   15 reviews

   Dined on 9 November 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   I have been a long time patron of Donato’s attending many of the well organized and excellent gastronomic events. Unfortunately this last visit was disappointing mainly due to the quality of the risotto with pork belly. The rice was not completely cooked, the sauce was tasty, but “soupy”, and the pork belly skin was had some burning, which I suspect was being under a broiler too long. I’ve eaten this dish for years, so disappointed. Still one of my favorite restaurants (had a great conversation with the waiter since knowing him for many years).
   

   Donato EnotecaResponded on 15 November 2024

   Thank you for sharing your feedback with us! We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed the lunch sandwiches. We’re sorry, however, that the risotto with pork belly didn’t meet your expectations, as we always aim for our dishes to be consistent in quality. We’ll definitely review that dish with our kitchen team to make sure it’s up to the standards you expect from us. We also apologize for the wait at the reception desk; that’s not the experience we want to provide, and we’ll make sure to address this with the team to ensure smoother service in the future. We truly appreciate your insights, and we hope you’ll join us again soon for a more seamless experience!
   

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6. L

   Lisa

   San Francisco

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on 9 November 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   I took my husband here for his birthday along with my 16-year-old daughter and 13-year-old daughter. The flavors of the food were good however, the general tone of the table was underwhelming with their dinner. The entrée choices ranged, from the chicken(very very herby) to the Seabass (good) to a kids spaghetti carbonara too Al dente and the basic pizza not lots of flavor. The service was exceptional. The people were very lovely. The restaurant was lovely. I only gave it four stars cause we didn’t fall in love with the food.
   

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7. C

   Craig

   San Francisco

   17 reviews

   5.0

   17 reviews

   Dined on 8 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Easily one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area. Really authentic Italian food with superb ingredients and preparation. Wines are fantastic. Very knowledgeable and professional staff. Donato is the real deal.
   

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8. S

   Sylvia

   San Francisco

   151 reviews

   vip
   4.0

   151 reviews

   Dined on 8 November 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We had the special (non-truffle) dinner served on Nov 7, and the entire experience was excellent. The food was so well-prepared and presented, and the wine pairings were likewise superb. However, in the future, wine pairing should be MUCH smaller, and also only one wine (instead of 2) should be served with each course. There was just too much wine! I won’t do a wine pairing in the future unless it’s smaller and fewer pours, and costs less to take that into account. Otherwise, an excellent night!
   

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9. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on 6 November 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   The salads were absolutely disgusting. No dressing, mushy vegetables, horrible
   

   Donato EnotecaResponded on 15 November 2024

   Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear that your salad experience didn't meet expectations. We strive to provide fresh, quality ingredients, and we clearly missed the mark this time. We'll be looking into the issues you mentioned—like the lack of dressing and the condition of the vegetables—to ensure this doesn't happen again. We appreciate you bringing it to our attention and hope you'll consider giving us another chance in the future.
   

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10. N

    Noel

    San Francisco

    25 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    25 reviews

    Dined on 4 November 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2

    I’ve eaten here several times, and this time was disappointing. We were seated in the bar area because our request to sit in the more formal back dining room was denied. Dealing with the receptionist about this was problematic, and she was not very helpful. The bar area lighting is too bright, compounded by the large tv behind the bar. The bartender was loud, as was the staff member who kept banging plates behind us. We ordered dishes we have had before, but this time they were rather bland. The oxtail pasta didn’t have much oxtail, and the polenta with the branzino was extremely lacking in flavor. Not sure if we’ll go back again.
    

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