Donato Enoteca

Have come to Donato for years now. However this was the first visit after the new renovations and menu overhaul. It’s never easy for any institutions to reinvent themselves, but Donato decided to redo everything after a decade plus. Still one of my favorite places in the bay area for its great food and better people.

We love Donato! They have a new bar area which is very nice and great to hang out at, and still have a great vibe and food for the main dining area(s)! They have a new (to us) menu, which has some fantastic items on it, and is organized in a fun way -- broken down by stages of the meal (appetizers, mains, pizza) and also by vegetarian vs. fish vs. meat. A very clear way to navigate a full menu! We started with a bunch of appetizers-- some that I thought were fantastic were the cured meats (e.g., prosciutto) board, the baccala (salted cod on a very neat squid ink polenta cake), the zucca e spinachino, and the bruschetta. My favorite was probably the baccala, though they were all great! For main course, we had a variety of things-- each one was wonderful! These included the ravioli, the ravioletti, and the tagliolini ragu (a classic). And then, of course, their pizzas are amazing-- we tried the margherita (a standard test for us on pizzas and it was perfect) and the very delicious calabrese. And as much as the food was awesome, we also were very impressed with the service! They were always attentive, but never intrusive, and kept the water (and wine) glasses filled and were great at moving things in and out through the several courses of the meal. Highly recommended for any special occasion, or just to go watch a game at the bar-- you can't go wrong!

We came here for anniversary dinner and we were very surprise with the unique flavors and creative dishes! The portions sizes were just right and allow us to have an amazing dessert. Marco our waiter was very kind and accommodating, he was knowledgeable on the menu and made suggestions. Atmosphere was also very pleasant with a farmhouse cute interior design!

Fantastic food! True Italian with some interesting twists. Good for those who are a little more food adventurous- no fettuccine Alfredo here. Wine and cocktails were also great, as was desert. Meat dishes were all amazing, and the salads weren’t bad, but not as great as the rest of the menu. Only reason it isn’t 5 stars is because the service can be somewhat slow, and sometimes it was hard to get a waiter’s attention. Nothing too bad, but not a good restaurant choice if you are in a rush or trying to get to a movie or show later. Pricey, but would definitely recommend!

We held our company's holiday party of about 90 people at Donato last night and they knocked it out of the ball park! I have planned many events, but the service at Donato was exceptional. Fantastic customer service, I didn't worry about things prior to the event and was free to enjoy the party during the event. The layout of the restaurant provided such a fun, elegant atmosphere. We were in the back private room and had full run of the bar. The food was amazing! The staff was the best I have ever worked with. They had all the food ready to go and were so attentive to everyone's needs. They passed out appetizers, made sure food stations were stocked, cleaned up empty glasses and plates quickly. The bar area was a blast and the bartenders were so friendly and attentive.

Food was delicious, we had kind of frito mixto, lamb meat ball, grilled octopus (excellent) , oxtail stuffed ñoqui with spinach and white sauce, ricotta canelones ,sparkling wine ,tonic water, delicious lemoncelo , a new version of ice cream tiramisu and espresso , no disappointment at all (sorry no food picture I was distracted) we arrived around 4 pm and was a happy hour (4pm to 6:30pm) and dinner start at 5pm. The hosstes, so nice , she offered to have a table in the bar and then at 5pm moving us to the dining area, and we accepted. the service in the bar with Ventura was so good and pleasant , if you are looking for a place with a nice personality and a good bartender this is your place, for that reason we didn't go to the dinning area at 5pm, we stay in the bar for dinner . At that time ventura got help and Eugenia takes over our table, also another very good service and actitud, she was very nice and attentive. They deserve 10⭐, please take care them and don't let them go, is no easy to find that kind the person working in hospitality. The place look really nice and super clean. I like the style and decor also the bar have some TVs and patio. definitely I will return to enjoy more of the delicious dishes and the excellent service. thank you very much Ventura and Eugenia for tonight you guys gave us a beautiful night and experience , oh... I must've to mention another sweet lady , sorry I don't remember her name but she is Italian and also speaks spanish, very nice and sweet thank you again to all of you. See you soon