Donato Enoteca

I have to admit to having pretty low expectations of this place... seemed like maybe another factory restaurant in downtown Redwood City. Wow was I surprised.

Starting with the server, who is knowledgeable and had great recommendations. He suggested the calamari, and we expected something out of the fryer, but it turned out to be a delicious grilled calamari with long beans and salad. Really nice and unexpected.

Also, had the branzino which was delicious and the green salsa was amazing. On top of some kind of polenta cake which went perfectly.

The folks I came with, had a kind of short rib pasta, which they said was incredible, as well as a Gorgonzola pizza. Raves all around.

Great spot with a cool vibe right in downtown and really delivered on food and experience experience.

This review is for the food only. The service was amazing. We ordered a radicchio salad, burrata with rabe and tomato, bread service, roasted chicken, and branzino with garlic gnocchi. It was truly disgusting. The salad was nothing like the write up and would have been impressive if we were at Mel's Diner. The burrata was not creamy nor tasty with essentially stale bread and flavorless pesto. The burrata was also strangely ugly with overcooked broccoli rabe and a single stewed tomato. We would quickly learn this was not strange for this restaurant.

The branzino was truly the ugliest dish I've ever seen with two shades of green paste, bits of brown something that vaguely looked like twigs, and no gnocchi, but rather a tasteless potato pancake with the texture of glue. While the green paste was clearly olive and tasted okay and the fish was cooked well, the potato blob was nasty. I couldn't eat it.

Worse was the "roasted chicken" and potatoes which was swimming in a thin onion grease broth. My husband remarked that this was what he expected POWs must eat. The gruel onion grease broth destroyed the texture of the chicken which also had some green paste on one side only.

Clearly the kitchen has zero quality control. While we did not have to wait for our food, it had clearly been sitting for quite some time before they brought it to us, which indicated they have a timing problem. They need to fire the chef and the cooking staff and start over.

They also need to SCRUB CLEAN the restaurant as it smells like a frat house after a party - stale beer. We were seated in the bar area and had to move outside as the stink was unbearable. We would have walked out at that moment, but stayed because we had a gift card. Usually we walk out if the restaurant smells bad. I honestly wish we had and am surprised we did not get food poisoning.

We will never ever come back to this restaurant since the food was that horrible. The front of house staff, however, should be hired en masse as they were great. The waitress, the servers, the hostess, the folks bussing - they deserve to work in a place with great food to match their great skills and chipper attitudes.

This part of Redwood City has soooooo many better choices. Don't waste your time or money at this slop house.

This establishment is an authentic Italian restaurant situated in downtown Redwood City, offering abundant seating both indoors and outdoors. The menu features a splendid selection of genuine Italian cuisine, along with an impressive array of wines and cocktails. Our office group chose to dine here.

We commenced our culinary journey with Moscow Mule, which proved to be just right. Now, onto the dishes:

Contorni - Cavolfiore Romanesco: Regrettably, this dish resembled a regular cauliflower, lacking proper roasting. The arrabbiata sauce failed to impress, leaving me at a loss for words. I strongly discourage ordering this.

Antipasti:

Insalata Radici Noci E Caprino: The crispy caprino cheese stole the show, but it was a single piece within the vegetable salad.
Insalata Pollo: The grilled chicken breast was satisfactory.
Calamari E Fagioli: The calamari and beans were commendable, but it was not what I had ordered (Tonarelli Al Nero Di Seppia).
Insalata Gamberi: Prawns outshone the grilled chicken, grilled to perfection with a usual salad.

Pasta Fatta:

Spaghetti Carbonara: A cheesy delight, exceptionally creamy. A must-try for cheese and cream enthusiasts.

La Carne e Pesce:

Branzino E Porri: Grilled Sea Bass Fillet was impeccably prepared. The sauce and braised sweet leeks were delightful. However, no extras like salad were included.

Panini:

Piadina Di Verdure: Unfortunately, a disappointing dish. It featured a bland medley of roasted veggies in a panini. Best avoided.

Finished off with Tiramisu which was just okay.

While the experience was quite expensive, it is only truly enjoyable when the right items are selected from the menu.

Donato has been on my radar for a while but because there are so many Italian options in the Bay Area, I hadn't gotten around to trying it. My friend suggested it as she had been here many times and really liked it. I loved the menu as it has a lot of interesting dishes. The restaurant is spacious with 2 sections that can be booked for private group dining along with outdoor dining. There is also a bar/counter space.

My friend suggested either the bigoli or tonnarelli and being in a seafood mood, I picked the tonnarelli. She got the bigoli so I got to try both in the end. We both ordered a glass of Prosecco and tbh, I wish they had a better Prosecco on the menu as the only one by the glass on the menu was meh.

Both dishes were quite good. The pastas perfectly al dente. The calamari in the tonnarelli was tender and the bottarga added a bit of umami and salinity. The braised oxtail for the bigoli was meat and flavorful but not overly fatty.

Service was friendly, but the one ding against this place, and hence 4 and not 5 stars was how long dessert took. We ordered dessert and it took 25 minutes to come out. The staff's reasoning is that it's a warm dessert so needed to be heated. (No, it was not something like molten chocolate cake that needed to be made fresh - just a cake that needed to be reheated.) I understand that some dishes need to be heated but 25 minutes for dessert is excessive. Next time I'm there, I'll know to skip dessert.

A solid Italian spot. I appreciated that the portions were filling and the service was fast. There was live music starting to play as we were leaving.

The cappuccino was the highlight - so good! Agnolotti was also delicious. The bread basket was fine. Alcoholic beverages were on point.

Outside of the cappuccino, nothing was a super wow, but it was all good. And definitely more bumping than I expected on a Thursday night!

Chef Scotti's use of seasonal , fresh ingredients is reflected in his cooking, focusing on Northern Italian cuisine. My family is from Northern Italy so we are tough critics, Donato's met our standards. An upscale dining experience, perfect for a celebration or a date night. Busy bar vibe on a Thursday evening, parking was plentiful across the street in a lot. We started with a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino as recommended by our knowledgeable waiter, the intense color with hints of cherry, berries and hints of oak was fabulous. The combination of flavors in the ravioli reminded me of ravioli I have had in Italy, the pasta dough was the perfect thickness, the brown butter sauce complimented the ravioli. The grilled Branzino was served with a salsa verde. We couldn't resist dessert, our selection did not disappoint, we will be back soon.

Love this place. It used to my favorite celebration restaurant, but that's up for debate. Last time I was here a beautiful couple bought me dinner and offered to crew me for Barkleys Marathons - ha! Gosh, again, if you couldn't even buy me a Whole Foods gift card after I suffered economic abuse last fall... citing travel reasons as excuses.. well I don't determine what happens to you, not that creative.. ha! But enjoy your day!

This place is great hidden gem. I've come here for cocktails at the bar, which I had no clue existed until I walked to the back of the restaurant. Bartenders knew how to make great drinks.

Also came here for a special event, in a private room. It's a great setup for a large party.

Calamari- not your standard breaded. It was too fishy for me and it was mostly beans.
Meatballs- great dish. Can't go wrong.
Burrata toast- came with half of the cheese round over veggies and toast.
Oxtail pasta- can't recall its name but it was good! Pasta was nice and al dente. Meat was slightly dry but still very satisfying.

Would def go back, especially on their outdoor deck space on a nice day.

Always a great ambiance with food that never disappoints. My kids love the homemade kids menu and the service is always thoughtful to us whether I'm with my kids, or my friends. Thanks Donato for being a part of our regular dining options.

Went here for dinner on a Saturday night for a belated Valentin's day dinner. Had a reservation and were seated right away. Table wasn't the greatest to be honest, right behind the bar but overall nice atmosphere and the waiter was also great. Recommended me a red wine that complimented the dish I selected in a nice way. We ordered the wild boar bruschetta as appetizer and the sea bass and the slow braised angus short rib as mains. The appetizer tasted good, but was a bit basic with not too much variation in taste. The braised short rib was nicely cooked and tender, however there wasn't nearly enough sauce so it felt a bit dry. The polenta could have been a bit creamier for my taste. The sea bass was good, but overall the dish was a bit bland and could have used some more seasoning. So overall good atmosphere, great staff, unfortunately the food was lacking flavor and didn't justify the price.