Ignore the rating on YELP. Whoever the barbarians who gave it anything less than 4 stars have eaten too many meals at Spaghetti Factory and/or Olive Garden. This place is fantastic. Excellent Italian wines and beers on tap, authentic Italian dishes, a cool ambience on a quiet Berkeley street, a casual bar for an easy drop in drink or meal. Do yourself and your dining partners a favor and give it a try! read more

Went here for my birthday dinner. Service was excellent, atmosphere is awesome. The only complaint I have would probably be the food. The food was pretty good; the pasta was AMAZING and the dessert was also nice. However I think the problem with mine particularly was that I just didn't like the appetizer - the prosciutto. If you come here, I would highly recommend trying the pasta and their large selection of wines. It was an awesome experience and I hope to return again! read more

Mediocre food and the absolute worst service I've had in quite some time. Inept and obtuse is how I'd describe the service. We had a group of four and arrived at 7:30. After putting in our order and getting drinks, it took 45 min to get appetizers and ANOTHER 45 min on top of that to get our mains - a full hour and a half before we were able to actually eat dinner. Dessert (a regrettable decision) took another half hour! Mind you the restaurant had just a few tables with patrons, and there was lots of idle standing around and chit chatting among the 3 servers and even the manager. After getting us apps, our server never once checked in. We were getting hangry and flagged him down, only to be asked 'have you decided on dessert?' It's like he had forgotten who we were and had no clue what was going on. We pointed out that we never even got our food, and he quickly quipped 'oh it's still cooking!' We're pretty sure he never put in the order. After he came to clear away our plates he had the audacity to retort 'hope it was worth the WAIT!' We explained the situation to someone who we thought might be the head server, to which she said she'd 'check all the time stamps'. The young and seemingly inexperienced manager (?) came over with with shots of limoncello when the last thing we wanted to do was linger there even longer. What would have made more sense is to have comped at least one of the smaller items we ordered. Will never come back. read more

Horrible service. We were so excited to sit outside and enjoy a nice meal. But we literally didn't even have a server. Thank God we ordered everything all together or we never would have been helped. We got our appetizer and then didn't hear anything from anyone for 45 minutes. No one asked if we needed another drink, and our food arrived way later. Plus, we paid $30 for a bowl with 10 gnocchi in it. At the very least, give us a heads up that it will be a small portion. No one even stopped by to ask how everything was. The food is descent, but sadly we won't ever return based on this experience. read more

Luca was my amazing server. He was very attentive and answered all our questions. My wife was treating for dinner with a friend and everything we ate left us with our mouths open waiting for the next thing to come. The food is so good at this place was so many layers of flavors on everything from the appetizers all the way up to the dessert. I would absolutely recommend this place for dinner. It's a little pricey, but not bad. Actually, knowing a lot of people would pay for this complexity of wonderful food. It's actually a great value. And I would recommend for those that want to try something really unique they do a grappa tasting where you can taste three wrappers off of their massive selection. Grandpa is a distilled beverage. That's pretty strong, but unique in itself. Everything was incredibly a beautiful twist on old tastes. There were flavors that I had never conceived of putting together myself and now it's got me thinking. Well done our server and the staff were all amazing from the minute. We hit the door and got a big smile and walk to our table to the last people giving wave to the bartenders on the way out. Well done. read more

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This place is so cute and classy! The food is good, but make sure if you don't like your pasta al dente you tell them! I made that mistake and felt like a lot of the dishes were undercooked, but it just wasn't made to the way I like it! Otherwise, the restaurant was super cute, easy to get a reservation on a Saturday night for 7 and wasn't too crowded. Definitely try it out if you're in the area! Drinks are great too! read more

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Donato is classy space in Elmwood, that perfectly complements an evening at the theater, and a stroll to Mrs Dalloways and / or The Book Society. I've been watching Stanley Tucci's program on food in Italy, and was pleased to see some dishes on the menu that he's gushed over. This seems like a more authentic Italian experience than most places. I had the Tortini, while the wife enjoyed the Cacio E Pepe. Both were excellent, and the portions were reasonable. I also had a carafe of Primitivo. For dessert was a hazelnut cake with chocolate sauce and hazelnut gelato, and I had affogato using hazelnut gelato. Absolutely fabulous. The prices unfortunately will prevent us from dining here regularly, but like I said, this is a great component in a lovely date night. read more

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Donato has a cute atmosphere, and a good variety of food / drink options, but I have a few things to note (why I'm rating them 3 stars): 1. Some of the food was a bit bland / not that exciting (the gnocchi sauce was great, but the gnocchi themselves were plain and a bit lacking on flavor). 2. The service was good until it left a weird taste in our mouth... our server was really nice and felt like she was taking care of us. We ordered the Scarpetta appetizer which is basically focaccia with burrata cheese in tomato sauce. It was probably the most flavorful thing we had, but she brought it out with an extra side of focaccia (that we did NOT ask for, mind you) and said she felt this needed more bread and wanted to bring us some. Super nice! Until she charged us for that side of focaccia (that again... we didn't ask for), at the end of the meal. Ok, $4 is NOT a big deal, but the principle of this... left us confused and felt cheated. Not cool. 3. Not living in Berkeley, and about 20ish min away from here, it's an outing to go out here. I don't think I'd push to come back here, honestly. I'd come back if it came upon me, but I do think the service note I mentioned above really left a weird impression. read more

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Had dinner on a Sunday night here with family and had a lovely time. The inside has a great atmosphere with great lighting and lots of wine!! The menu had a lot of options, and there were a lot of seafood options that caught my eye! I'd stick to the pastas over the entrees as I felt they were the highlight of the meal. The pasta was cooked perfectly and handmade by the restaurant!! The service was a little slow, so be sure to come when you're in the mood to wine and dine. read more

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We were a group of 9 celebrating a retirement with no spending limit; we were looking forward on trying multiple dishes. Unfortunately, the waiter was very rude. Not open to giving suggestions or explanations. Upon one of out guest's arrival we pulled a chair out for him and was abruptly told we couldn't do that without checking in with the hostess. The waiter came back to say we couldn't have him seat there but gave no option and left our guest standing. We gladly cramped in to make room for him and clear the awkward situation. The service was very unfriendly drinks good, food was OK but the overall experience was very negative. read more

Ok, we keep trying this place but I guess we are out. Let's start with the bad. The service. Either our guy was inept or had too many tables (both?). He took our drink order and food order and then we barely saw him. For a small restaurant that's a good trick. The good. The food and atmosphere. A table of five entrée and the range was meh! to very good. So 4/5. So who saved the day for the agonizing delays, the female waitress. She saw I was in need, took my glass wine order, additional sparkling water for the table AND brought us our food. Where was our guy?!? AWOL. Aaron (manager maybe) did come by at the end to offer a shot for the table and did take off the second bottle of sparkling water. Didn't offer any apologies of any kind. This would have been a one star review but the waitress saved the day. Will I be back? Nope. Three strikes (at least two foul tips) and I'm out. read more

I recently tried this for lunch and overall thought it was just okay. The appetizers and ricotta were decent, but the cacio e pepe was a real disappointment. I almost never send food back, but in this case I couldn't eat it -- the pasta tasted like it had just been microwaved, lacking the freshness and flavor you'd expect from such a classic dish. While the atmosphere was nice and some items were enjoyable, I probably wouldn't try it again. read more

Donato & Co - Italian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The food was great but I ended up throwing up in the night so I am not sure what was wrong. I have not thrown up for last 5 years so it was bad. read more

I love Donato's Restaurant! It's wonderful to go with my partner to sit at the bar, have a drink and share a meal or to go with friends for a full dinner. The food is wonderful and the service is friendly and helpful. Last week we took our friends, visiting from Germany, and we all had a fabulous meal and conversation! The desserts are amazing! read more

Came here alone in emotional distress yet was soothed by great services and food Recommend all dishes I ordered read more

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Came here on a Thursday evening and was seated immediately. Great server she was so animated and fun. Loved the food, drinks, and service. My friend and I both got a cocktail and it was yummy. I tried their mushroom pasta it was SOO good! Great experience all around. Parking is a bit hard to find so allocate some extra time for that! Price is reasonable for the delicious bites!! read more

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Food was very disappointing. Will never go there again. Had the $20 tuna salad . Tuna was overcooked and so dry . What a joke!

Thanks Yelp for helping us find Donato & Co after finding out that another Italian restaurant we wanted to try was closed on Sunday. Making a reservation was easy through Open Table. We opted for indoor seating as yesterday evening (08/11/2024) was a bit chilly. We started out with the burrata and mixed greens. Burrata and olives were tasty. We liked the various greens and thought they paired nicely with the vinaigrette. I had my eye on the squid ink pasta on Yelp and decided to order it based on the waitress' recommendation. First time having squid ink pasta and it won't be my last. Aunt got the pork chop, which she enjoyed. For dessert, I had the marscapone with salted caramel sauce. It came with almonds and rice crumbles. The crumbles weren't my fave, but I liked the marscapone and caramel. I also considered the hazelnut cake so I think I'll try that next time. Waitress was super nice and gave good recommendations. Service was somewhat slow and the restaurant wasn't super busy. We'd definitely come back for the food. Hopefully next time service will be quicker! read more

Donato & Co - Top: Salad and burrata. Bottom (left to right): SPAGHETTI NERI and marscapone caramel dessert (forgot the actual name) - Italian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Pasta was hard and undercooked - not al dente, but truly when chewing the pasta, it was white in the middle and felt like I was chewing the sides of string beans. And it was tagliolini so it was extremely thin. While the dish was cold, not even room temperature, the sauce was silky and made well. Our server asked if we wanted another dish because she had made a mistake and thought this random dish would go well together with our food. We wondered if it would be on the house since this was a mistake, cold, and offered to us. We wondered why it was not just sent back to the kitchen and thought it might be efforts to lessen food waste. It was practically shoved in our face and she kept selling this dish and practically put it on our table. We felt uncomfortable and confused with this interaction but said sure.. When the check came, there was a 3% tariff that we weren't aware of or noted anywhere and she didn't check to make sure the bill was correct. We paid for that lukewarm overly salty dish the server gave us too. Nice! Rest of the staff were nice and ambiance was overall fine. read more

I have previously written a stellar review for Donatos- a wonderful place to grab a bite and see a movie nearby. I go there about every other week- they have (had) great appetizers, a nice place to sit out and an inviting ambiance. That came to a screeching halt yesterday. I went with a friend and we have many times before. She commented on the half pours- typically at the belly of the wine glass, each of the two drinks we each got was a full finger below that line. The shrimp appetizer we have gotten many times was half the size- just two shrimp in a well-made sauce with olives. 40+ dollars each for two drinks apiece (happy hour) and three appetizers split - no longer on the every other week favorite list. But what really prompted me to write as I guess every restaurant is facing cutbacks...was that our waiter was a pill. He never once approached the table to ask if we wanted more water or drink etc. He acted as though we imposed on him when I called him over. I saw him take orders from other tables and not a smile or introduction as he approached the table. Really? in this market, when restaurants are having a tough time a friendly and competent feeling from the staff goes a long way- definitely did not like feeling that we were inconveniencing him- but that was the takeaway feeling- not a hi, not an offerred glass of water- not a thanks for coming... at double the price per volume and for a feeling that I was close to intruding, I would not go back- dropped off the bay are best happy hour list for me. read more

Such a cute date place. The food is good and the waitress and waiters are friendly. Great local neighborhood date night place. It's my new favorite place to go to for date night and family dinner nights as a nice place to go. read more

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Went for Mother's Day dinner & it was very enjoyable. Even when it's busy you can hear each other talk at the table because they have sound control panels. Overall the ambience is excellent. Our server was friendly & competent. Our dinners were well prepared, pasta bolognese was very good. We've been coming here for years & it's consistently good. read more

Pros: design, ambiance, friendly service Cons: food is not good I wouldn't even give it one star, the worst was the pizelle it tasted like elementary school pizza, portions are tiny, food came out cold, coffee even came out cold read more

Donato & Co - PIZZELLE - Italian Near Me - Berkeley, California

We were in town celebrating our daughter's graduation and wanted to find a place with a good vibe and good food for a celebratory dinner for six people. Donato & Co totally hit the spot! Here is what we liked: - Our server, Kathryn, was amazing...attentive, but she picked up on our cues that we didn't want to be rushed so we were able to have a leisurely dinner without each course coming out on top of each other. - They had a great cocktail menu, so we all opted to start there. Very fun! - I asked for a recommendation for appetizers for our sized group, and Kathryn recommended the Salumi board, Formaggi board, and two orders of Arancinis. It was perfect and so good! - All our meals were wonderful. My wife and I split both the Pappardelle and the Tortino...and we loved each of them. The Torino was pretty unusual, and has not made me love fava beans! - For dessert, we split the Gelati and the Crema Cotta (which was especially yummy!). - We sat in a very comfy booth; the vibe overall was really laid back and warm. FYI, for our group of 6, a gratuity of 20% was automatically added to our bill (even though no one ever mentioned that would happen and we didn't see it noted anywhere), plus there was a charge of $12.75 for "living wage." Despite this, they still had a "Tip" line showing on the bill for people to fill in so be sure to review your check! Bottom line: We loved Donato & Co and would jump at the change to return. read more

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First: yelp guided us here when we looked up Italian restaurants in the area. Thanks, yelp! We arrived to a packed restaurant on a Saturday night and the host managed to get us a great table near the kitchen. Second: our server, Natala, was incredible!!! She strangely read our minds frequently around what we wanted to try, or order. She was able to match what we were looking for every time we described what we wanted. And she is super fun. Third: this food is unbelievable!!!! Every single dish is amazing. Like chez pannise but better?! The lamb is the best dish. Period. Squid ink spaghetti is amazing and the spice is perfect. The calamari in the spaghetti is sooo soft and melts in your mouth. I can't say enough about this food! Oh, the drinks! The bartender is an alchemist. And even the coffee: zero acidity. We drank it black. read more

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Really wanted to like this place However: Management is rude Food is bland. It is overly expensive The portions are tiny for the price point It doesn't really seem like they know what they're doing Won't be back read more

Ambiance was nice. Pasta was decent, but not special. Not sure what took so long. It was a long wait. Appetizers were great. Bread basket was okay, but I don't think we would order it again. Service was not consistent. Table next to us sat after us, but they got the food before us and left before us. read more

Loved everything about this place-the ambiance, the service, and the food! We'll be back.

I was dying to try the UOVO salad and it did not disappoint. The greens with the dressing were yummy and the fried egg added an interesting texture, both crisp and soft and I wish I could have one every day. We shared the Parmesan flan and Salumi, I thought both were tasty but not anything to get excited about. The tortellini with eggplant I would order again though, a small portion but filling. I also enjoyed their non-alcoholic beer option and hope more restaurants begin serving these drinks. read more

This place is very disgusting. The food has no flavor what's so ever I get it's an Italian restaurant and quote on quote it's from scratch . The customer service is also very bad long wait time . read more

My husband and I sat at the bar to have dinner tonight. After I received my pasta I o asked for some Parmesan cheese and the bar tender told me that the chef recommended not to add Parmesan cheese to my spaghetti neri, so I replied that in my country we use spaghetti cheese in that dish. He was sullen and pretentious! Do us a favor managers: tell your employees that the customers are always right, whatever the want they can ask for. It is a very pretentious restaurant . Employees seem to be living in Rome. Do us another favor treat the clients with respect to their cultural identity. At the end the bar tender turned his back to us. Very poor service, read more

This neighborhood Italian spot wraps you up like Sunday dinner at home--if home came with a sommelier and handmade pasta. The warmth hits you first, all smiles and familiarity, but it's the food that lingers. Their pastas are tender with that perfect al dente bite, blanketed in sauces that cling just right--rich, balanced, and never overdone. Every dish feels like it was made for you. Add a wine list that reads like a love letter to Italy, and suddenly, you're family. read more

Donato & Co - MAIALE Photo Credit: IG @tourthebay - Italian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food is Amazing! definitely a berkeley gem. We loved the shrimp salad, fig sauce ravioli, and branzino! Service was great and super chill inside. read more

The ambiance is dead-on; the food is good. We had no problems getting reservations on a Sunday for our wedding anniversary, and we were greeted kindly by the hostess. So why not five stars? The service. Our waitress was friendly, but it took FOREVER to get our food and even longer to get the check. Fortunately, a friend was watching Baz and was patient with us returning a little later than we'd expected, but it was frustrating trying to flag her down. When we finally did, she said: "You two have been hiding in this spot -- out of sight, out of mind." Noted. read more

Best Italian I've had in years! Food: Had the Mezze Maniche with added black truffles- superb! Absolutely perfect pasta and incredible flavor. Drinks: Had the best rye Old Fashioned in many years. Perfect! Service: Excellent service, and the owner has a great personality. Overall cleanliness: excellent Misc: about a 12 minute walk from the Claremont Club resort (all downhill), and a $10 Uber ride back to the Claremont. read more

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So this place is spacious, stylish, & clean. The staff is kind and accommodating. All the wines we tried were good, even excellent. The food, however, was not. While the apps met our expectations, the entrees were, across the board, disappointing or merely adequate. The menu "warned" us that all pasta is cooked al dente, but the pappardelle was simply undercooked. None of the sauces were particularly flavorful and all the entrees were under seasoned. I had to ask for salt. The pleasant staff and drinks may be enough to brings back, but next time, if we're hungry, we'll stick to apps and pizza. read more

One of my favorite restaurants in the east bay! We drive here regularly from Pleasant Hill for the delicious cocktails (Bianco Negroni), amazing house made pasta (cacio e Pepe to die for) and dessert (cioccolato e cioccolato). One of the few places with upscale food that's appropriate for kids. Love love love. read more

Donato & Co - Cioccolato e cioccolato - Italian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Fabulous! I celebrated my birthday here with my best friend. Service was amazing. Food was spectacular. Photos speak for themselves read more

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We stopped by Donato & Co in Berkeley on a Friday night for their happy hour, and overall, it was a pretty decent experience. First off, the happy hour prices were great! I tried their cheese board, salad, and pasta, and while everything was good, it didn't quite blow me away. The cheese board was nice--generous portions and a good variety--but I've had better elsewhere. The salad was fresh and had a nice dressing, but it felt a bit underseasoned for my taste. The pasta was the highlight of my meal. It was cooked well and had a nice flavor, but I felt it could have used a little more depth. The ambiance was cozy, and the staff was friendly, which always adds to the experience. read more

the rotisserie dishes were cooked to absolute perfection. It's quickly become our favorite neighborhood restaurant in Berkeley