Haven't been to Dora in maybe 7 years, but my wife and I had a very good dinner here recently. Service was great and the seating on the patio was perfect with the live music on Main St. We both had specials...branzino with lemon butter sauce -excellent and seafood papardelle - good. Starter green salad was very good. read more

Dora - Branzino with spinach and artichokes was excellent. - Italian Near Me - Clinton, New Jersey

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Customer service is extremely lacking. Orange-haired mohawk punk server is rude, abrasive, and in the wrong industry. "NO BREAD NO BREAD!" Hospitality is non-existent at Dora. Also, lately the wait for food has been unreasonably long. Over an hour for a simple pasta dish is not acceptable. The only good thing about Dora is that it's BYOB. Yes, the best part of this restaurant is what YOU bring, not what they offer. Too bad, it used to be decent, but they've run it into the ground. Close up shop and take your attitude elsewhere. read more

Great Italian food in a lovely environment. The service is excellent. Order dessert!

Charming restaurant. Very good waitstaff and the food is delicious! Recommend a reservation.

Delicious food and great staff. I like sitting outside near the Main Street. Every meal I have gotten was amazing, and a few that my wife did not like they fixed it immediately without any hesitation. They offer a wine selection, but nothing else. read more

There was chewed up gum in the breadbasket and stuck to a piece of my friend's bread. This also makes me nervous that they do not switch out the napkin under the bread before putting more in the basket to take to another table. That's so disgusting and unsanitary considering the times we are dealing with. Service was slow and my chicken parm was cold when it arrived. There's so many other Italian restaurants in the area that at least won't put chewed gum in your food that are more worth the time and money. read more

Ordered our food 45 minutes ago. Still waiting. Can we have bread? No. We have no more.... I would review the food but I'm still waiting..... Terrible service. Snooty wait staff and not a single apology. Pass. read more

Dora - This is where my food should be. I'm about to order dominoes. - Italian Near Me - Clinton, New Jersey

Delicious Italian/American fare. We stopped here for lunch, they have indoor and outdoor seating. I had the Branzino filet special (deboned in-house) in a lemon caper sauce with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and wilted spinach....I wanted to lick the plate! My husband had the braised short rib panini with caramelized onions, mushrooms and fontina cheese, yum!! Highly recommend if you enjoy well prepared and delectable fare. Enjoy! read more

Dora - Branzino - Italian Near Me - Clinton, New Jersey

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What a cute little town for such nice outdoor restaurants. Clinton, near the Red Mill, is this restaurant called Dora. The staff was super nice although there was a hefty wait time, they keep your hunger away from waiting for your food with bread with your choice of butter or a green dipping sauce (still not sure what it was but it sure was good lol). I ordered Chicken Francaise which came with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Very delicious and very filling! I've had this dish in other restaurants before but it was very bitter but this was a great sauce over the chicken. I would 100% come back. The ambiance was cute; although we sat outside and I didn't even set foot inside so I can't say the same for that. There were potted plants and umbrellas and string lights. read more

Dora - Chicken Francaise - Italian Near Me - Clinton, New Jersey

I'll start with people skills: poor ( meaning not very friendly and definitely not helpful). Waiter takes your order and doesn't care about anything else. He never asked how the food was or if we needed anything. The person who fills water grabs your glass by the rim (!!!), fills it with water and hands it back to you (that is gross considering you don't know where her hands have been.) Menu is limited, which is perfectly OK because one would think that the food would be cooked to perfection. On the contrary. Food is average, salmon was over salted, steak ordered medium but it still moo-ing on the plate, and ravioli were so extremely overcooked that it felt like you were eating mashed pasta with cheese. When we pointed out the obvious, two waiters came over and said this is how it's supposed to be. There were gnats all over the wall so you are fighting them off hoping they don't land in your food. Anyway .. we will not be returning. read more

They served a dish full of rotten seafood to us. You could smell it from afar. I can't believe any restaurant would serve seafood that had gone that bad. read more

We have enjoyed this restaurant in many seasons in the past. Winter is festive because of the view of the holiday lights on the street as you dine. Spring is delightful as they roll the walls back so that the fresh air can come in. Food is always good and service has always been good as well. We were dismayed at the recent afternoon visit. We had reservations for four on a very hot and muggy Saturday. Upon entering, we were told that there were parties inside and there was no room for us. We would have to eat outside on the patio, , wait for another hour for a table inside, or go down the street to an associated restaurant. We unhappily stayed and ate our meal in the uncomfortable heat and humidity. The staff tried to make it as shady as possible for us on the patio, but it was unpleasant. My husband does not ever want to eat at this restaurant again. I am saddened, as I had enjoyed dining here many times. They gave us free dessert, but it did not make up for the unpleasant dining experience we had there. read more

Had another great dinner outside at Dora's. It was a little chilly but not enough to rush through dinner. Had the veal scaloppini with their delicious gravy along with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Everything on their menu is good so it's always hard to choose what to have. I usually bring a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine just in case. The service as usual was excellent. read more

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The food is good however the service is horrible, plan on sitting for 1-1/2 hours and only getting one meal at a time. I was done with mine before my wife's came out. The other reviews are realistic about the wait. I honestly don't see myself going back. read more

Food was okay, service was really slow, the portions are a little small for the prices. Shrimp was decent. read more

Dora - Italian Near Me - Clinton, New Jersey

I love there food and menu Great service Delicious food and fantastic inviroment I recommend try lasagna read more

Anything I say is not enough about this place. My daughters team was in town for a softball tournament and we coordinated a team dinner at Dora's. This was our first time here and did not know what to expect. Barbarossa and his staff were amazing. The service was exceptional and Covid safe. The food was delicious. We were about 25 people and we very person could not stop talking about how good their entrees were. A couple people are antes something the specific people hat was not in the menu and they were happy to accommodate. Don't forget to sace room for dessert. The desserts are made on-site.. gelato, tiramisu and cheesecake. I mean it was soo good some had seconds. The location is very nice too. It is in a downtown area with cute shops. Def must go. read more

Had lunch at one glorious spring Saturday. The food was uniformly excellent. Our appetizers were a lobster bisque soup and pan-seared mozzarella. Those were cooked perfectly. Two if our entrées were grilled octopus and salad appetizers. The mixed greens salad needed a few more apple slices, but was still a very nice size and delicious to eat. The grilled octopus was beautifully cooked, and complemented by the beans and sun-dried tomatoes. The chicken francese was outstanding, possibly the best chicken francese I've ever tried. The sauce was delicate yet hearty, the mashed potatoes, creamy and the vegetables provided a nice accent. The bronzino special was out of this world. It was grilled perfectly with a beautiful charred flavor. The sauce complimented it well and worked perfectly with sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. It was served with as well as the spinach a. The pricing here is competitive with other Clinton restaurants, and I would definitely recommend it as a place to eat. Getting our appetizers took a little bit of time, but once our food started coming, it came expeditiously. Enjoy this little gem in Clinton. read more

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Love this place and have been going there for years. Never a bad meal n service great Last week had beautiful lunch w gal pals n sat outside n Brian was awesome. We went back few days later n enjoyed ourselves again. We were in town again n my friends and I returned fir lunch today. The polenta w bolognese, grilled Octopus n eggplant rollintini were great apps we shared. We also shared lobster ravioli entree. As usual, all was delicious and still one of our favorite places to meet read more

Absolutely loved the chicken park and salads. Nice quaint establishment with nice size outdoor eating area for more casual experience. Inside more formal. read more

Dont even think about going to this place if your a person of color, if your looking to have a nice meal, or have a nice day. It'll ruin your day. This place will make you feel that you don't belong there literally. They will pass you by like you don't exist. Where party of 7 when we came fro mothers day. It was a chilly day we were dine outside for more than 2hours waiting for our entrees it never came so as the waiter. We decided to leave because the kids are on their blankets waiting patiently for them to eat. This people don't have heart. It's unacceptable and disgusting. We end up in a fast food because the kids were hungry. I will say no more this people still exist and they don't care. read more

We are traveling through New Jersey. Stopped in Clinton which by the way is a cute small town. Walked and checked out some places and decided on Dora. Lite lunch for us. Lobster bisque for the two of us along with a crap cake. Good service and good food. They serve wine by the bottle from a local winery. Also very good. Nice outdoor dining spot. read more

Do I like the charm and the ambiance of the restaurant? Absolutely. Is it romantic? Absolutely. Is the food good? Yes. So where is my problem. I visited with a party of eight on a late Sunday afternoon. The restaurant was fairly quiet and we were seated immediately. My wife and I began with a couple of house salads. Very tasty! Our entrees for the table included the shrimp scampi, the seafood linguine, the Orecchiette, the eggplant parm and the chicken parm. We never received any bread. Italian restaurant with no bread? No dipping oils? As I mentioned, the food was good, however, the portions could have been more generous. More than a couple of us were disappointed. I had the seafood linguine special and it consisted of bay scallops and not sea scallops which was the first time I had ever seen that. In addition, it might have had 3 shrimp and a couple of clams. It was loaded with bay scallops and calamari. Not a lot of linguine. We never received the obligatory, "how is everyone doing" half-way between our meals. If they had, we needed refills on the water. Here is my biggest problem. The total bill came to $290 with tip. We only had two small salads, entrees, a $20 bottle of wine, no appetizers, no desserts, no sodas, no other alcoholic beverages. It appeared to me the prices on the menu and the prices we paid might have varied a bit. Overall, service was lacking, portions were on the smaller side, and the prices were very high. This is Clinton, NJ, not NYC. But I'll be fair, the food was good and the bathrooms were clean. There is street parking. read more

Just had dinner at Doras last night. Beautiful night, great friends and delicious food. We were total enjoying the evening until I ordered the flan for dessert. The waiter who was in such a rush, tipped the plate with the flan spilling the hot caramel on my bare shoulder and my nice summer dress. I realize accidents happen and I am not a "Karen" but the waiter didn't even apologize, just an Oops!! Then he went on with his business. I couldn't believe that he wouldn't even get me a cold wet towel to wipe the caramel off of me! I had to run to the bathroom and clean myself off. I told one of the other waitresses since there didn't seem to be any management around. She later came to the table and apologized and gave us the desserts for free. I didn't care about the free food but I did care that the waiter didn't seem to care at all that he could have burned someone and didn't really care. Like I said, accidents happen and they were busy but rudeness is never acceptable. I really Liked this place but they need better help if they are going to stay in business. read more

I was surprised by the small portions. I love their chicken parm and it normally comes with two sizable chicken cutlets and a nice size serving of spaghetti. Not anymore. The portions have been cut in half and the prices have gone up about $4.00 a dish. Also disappointing was the bread, the crusty Italian bread and or rolls they used to serve have been replaced by a heated hoagie roll. No respectable Italian restaurant should ever serve hoagie rolls for dinner. So, to sum it up, the bread was awful, the food was still good, but the portions are now small, which makes this restaurant a bit pricey. I wouldn't go back any time soon. read more

I am really feeling a 3.5 here but being a nice girl I will round it up for them. I came here last night with the fam. We had a party of 10, they put four tables together for us which I thought was awesome. They made a big square instead of a rectangle so everyone could talk to each other which really made the night better. The service was lacking we had to ask for water few times and there didn't seem to be a bus person at all, we stacked and pushed all the dishes from the appetizers to the middle of out table. They also seemed to rush us a bit, but its a small place and we did have four of their prime tables. Big groups can tend to linger, I get it. Food was I would say 4/5. Some people said their dish was OK and some said amazing. I was quite hungover from my Friday night so I played it safe with some chicken, any other day and I would have been all over anything seafood. Portions were not huge so if you are big eater get a few apps or a salad. I also hate when restaurants pull this shit....you order your entree and they say, would you like a soup or salad with that? It seems to happen often when I am with the family we are always a big group and us five kids range from 26-18 they know we are not the ones paying and assume we don't know any better. They trick you into ordering a $12 salad thinking its included by the way they present the question. The menu was limited but not so limited that it did not have something for everyone and its BYOB. They do sell some sort of wine there tho. read more

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Went here for lunch and had a good experience. The decor matched well with the town. The service was on point. The food was delicious and gave good portions. I would definitely recommend saving room for dessert. The tiramisu was awesome. read more

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I've had many good meals at this restaurant in the past. I made a reservation a week ago for this evening for my husband's birthday with our family. When we arrived, 5 minutes prior to our reservation, which was specifically made for inside, we noticed that there was not an empty table available. When I said we had a reservation, I was told "well, I don't have any tables." Our reservation was there, in the book. We looked at it together. I was then told by another waiter that they could prepare a table on the patio, or I could go to their other restaurant down the street. We took the table outside (despite the extreme heat) because we were not about to find another restaurant for 10 people on a Saturday evening. What struck me more than the mix-up with our table (which was on their list as I saw the reservation book) was the lack of appropriate response. No apology, nothing. Very disappointed in the service this evening. What is the point of making a reservation if they aren't going to actually reserve a table? Most places I know would offer something to try to make up for their oversight, but no effort at all was made to do so. read more

Had lunch there yesterday Nov. 4 with our good friends, so 4 people in total. We had reservations. Waiter seemed to have a problem in understanding we wanted separate checks for each couple. Reason we asked was we were having a light lunch, they were having full dinners and dessert. My complaint, which I should have expressed to the waiter was that my shrimp wrap had at best 1 shrimp chopped into 1/8inch pieces with lettuce and 1 cherry tomato halved. Never have I had such a disappointing $16.00 shrimp wrap. Then the bill came and the waiter put 3 entrees on 1 bill. I think he did it deliberately. Next trip to Clinton's Main St. we will have a slice of pizza down the street. read more

If possible I would've given a zero my wife and I ate there this afternoon the second time I was not impressed she ordered beet salad and within 40 minutes severe stomach pains I had a burger which sucked all it was was chop beef slept together and thrown on a stale bun I would expect that from a greasy spoon diner but not from supposedly an upscale restaurant if you don't take any advice at least listen to this one stay away horrible read more

First time dining in Clinton, NJ as I was here on a business trip. I strolled down Main Street after checking out some yelp reviews and then based on a friends recommendation to this place, I came here! Food was very good. I had the burrata cheese appetizer and the eggplant parmigiana for my entree. The burrata appetizer came with prosciutto that *personally* I would have preferred sliced thinner but quality wise was good! Most of there patrons were sitting outside. The patio is a decent size and seemed great as it's few was Main Street which is so quaint and peaceful! One server for both inside and outside although I was one of the only maybe 10 people inside so I barely saw her after she took my order but the owner was running plates out and was present. Now the only reason I am giving this place 4 stars is because of the wine. There is a wine list on the back of the menu BUT you can only buy by the bottle. I found out after my meal from my friend that you can BYOB but i would have preferred to buy a glass anyways. Overall, I would 100% recommend to anyone looking to enjoy a good meal. read more

Came by on a busy Wednesday afternoon unexpectedly for a celebratory lunch after my daughter's high school graduation. Apparently, many other families had the same plan and they also had the foresight to make a reservation. We really wanted to eat outside since it was a beautiful day, but unfortunately all the outdoor tables were all reserved. However, they had one table they were using for prep/service. They went out of their way to make it available, provide an umbrella for the sun and were happy to seat us. THAT, speaks to the "heart and soul" of a restaurant. It's rare and even harder to find these days with the additional challenges that COVID has thrown to the restaurant industry. The fact that all our meals were 4.5 stars as well just added to them making it a lovely experience. Thanks Dora, we will be back soon. read more

Had dinner last night at Dora's. Eggplant parmigiana was microwaved to reheat and not very tasty. Chicken Frances was ok, but potatoes tasted just like Idahoan mashed ( instant). Creme Brûlée was ice cold and carrot cake was so- so. One positive note-waitresses were very attentive ( got the feeling they were trying to make up for mediocrity in the food. We will not be going back, as their pRices are way out of line. read more

Lunch was excellent! I ordered the short rib panini and it was delicious! The meat was super tender! They have a nice outdoor patio. It's BYOB unless you want to buy a bottle of wine. Great food overall and would definitely come back!!! read more

Dora - Short Rib Panini - Italian Near Me - Clinton, New Jersey

Dora is great for what it is...a cozy little byob in the heart of downtown Clinton. The food is decent and service inconsistent, but the ambience and setting makes it worth a visit when in town for dinner read more

Good, well located Italian restaurant in the Clinton Main St. Menu is standard Mediterranean / Italian fare. It's BYOB which is great since I can bring my own wine choice, but if you like pre dinner cocktails you are out of luck. Service was pleasant and attentive but not overbearing. I had a crab cake appetizer and lobster ravioli. Both good but nothing exceptional. read more

They give you warm bread and dipping oil as soon as you sit down, which are both great! I get the crab cake appetizer every time, cooked perfectly and very flavorful. We've had the meatballs, fried mozzarella, and fried calamari too, all great! Love the crunch of the breading on the calamari. Have tried a few entrees but my favorite is the rigatoni Torino. The sausage and the vodka sauce go together so well. I highly recommend it! read more

Terrible service, no communication from wait staff regarding the very slow kitchen. Restaurants are short-handed, staff should be gracious to customers & kindly let them know & apologize for delays. We sat for an hour & when the food came out, it wasn't that good, overcooked pasta & salty pink sauce. Not going back. read more

The food was delicious although small portions & pricey. The service was absolutely the worst!!!! No one asked how the food was after we had a few bites. We were not greeted when we walked, not thanked for choosing to dine with them & no one said goodbye & thanks for coming in when we left. The waiter was very stuffy & had no social skills. No verbal response when spoken to. Having been a server at one time we usually are very generous with our tips. But not this time. read more

This spot along Main Street in Clinton has always been good. But with Pandemic rules it is a standout. Their food is of the highest quality and it is such a relief from at home dining to be seated and served in an elegant setting. All the servers are masked and the tables are far apart. Also the high ceilings and airy setting feels safe. I had tortellini and my companion mushroom ravioli. Both excellent. For appetizers we split an iceberg wedge. We both remarked on tasty dressing. Wine is on menu but did not try it. read more