Donatello Restaurant

Seriously, best restaurant i have been to! Donatello on Elm in Toronto - the service was sooo good - made very special by our knowlwedgable server! The food - sublime! I highly recommend it! What a night!!! The lamb was perfect, and the seafood pasta in a pernod cream sauce to die for. Such wondeful hosts! OMG!They even wrote Happy Birthday Michelle in chocolate around my tiramisu. Such a special night!

If there was an option for negative stars regarding service, food and experience. I would offer a negative 10 star review. The service staff are extremely rude. Food is not made in house and the pasta is clearly frozen. But waiting over an hour for just mains while watching other tables who arrived after our small table of 5 receive their food before us is just dispicable. Avoid at all costs.

We enjoyed everything about our visit here. Beautiful street, the best service we have ever had and we are out All the time, and our food was very good. We have no complaints....will definitely return again!!! Our server was very attentive, knowledgeable and interesting...unfortunately...we did not remember his name, but he is from Bangladesh...that may help?? Haha...

Good Quality

Love the food here, tasy and good portion. A bit on the expensive side.

A horrible experience all around

I once visited Donatello years ago for a work Christmas party. The meal was a la carte. I dismissed the underwhelming cuisine as just being the nature of the beast when you have a large party during a busy time of year and day....sadly this wasn't an isolated incident. Some friends from out of town came in and saw positive reviews for Donatello, so we decided to give it a shot. The restaurant wasn't very busy, but the waitress still got out order wrong. I had butternut squash ravioli, which was undercooked and over-salted. It was practically inedible. The service was equally awful. At every stage in the evening, one of the wait staff was rushing us, seemingly hurrying us to get out of our table and get out of the restaurant. Honestly, I felt like I was getting the bum's rush. After paying our bill we raised our concerns with the Maitre'D who seemed almost indifferent and assured us there was no rushing. This place hardly deserves a place on Elm St. and is the farthest thing from fine Italian dining I can imagine. Toronto has plenty of other great options...check them out and stay away from this place.

Great Food, Great Atmosphere

My favourite restaurant downtown and won't break the bank. Food is delicious and the service is friendly and attentive. Personable owners that make you feel like guests not customers. Always an enjoyable visit and always a must when I visit downtown Toronto. The homemade ravioli is phenomenal.

Unimpressed

Poor attention to detail all around. Service was amiable but very inattentive: Water came long after wine was served. Balsamic Vinegar & Oil, served it attractive containers with bread, were insipid quality. Food was uninspired and not very authentic Italian. Carpccio was attractively plated but near tasteless. Veal was over-floured and somewhat over-cooked. Flavors were lacking.

The glass of house wine was diluted with water...

The glass of house wine was diluted with water. The Minestrone soup was decent. A bit too salty. The lamb chops were fresh but were overdone. Asked for medium rare, came medium. The service was poor considering the price of the entire meal ($55). The waitress was polite but unhelpful. A party of 3 came after me but were seated first. Neither of us had a reservation.

Everything was delicious, my only criticism would...

Everything was delicious, my only criticism would be that it was WAY too salty. And that applies to salad as well as the main dishes/sauces.