Donatello

This is yet another glorified kebab shop which uses the facade of an italian restaurant. The food is at best what you would expect to find in the kitchens of first year students. The service is terrible, mainly due to the fact that they are understaffed. The place lacks character and is not worth spending your money on. It is a disgrace to italian food.
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Phil Jackson
Sunday, June 22, 2008

We didn't have a very good experience with this restaurant. We walked in to find during a Saturday afternoon that we were asked to sit in the bar and wait for a table. After a 20 minute wait, a couple paid and left only for our table to be given to someone who had just walked in! We were not amused. We then had to wait further for a table then was shown to another table without so much as an apology for the long wait.

We then had to wait a considerable time for our starters to be delivered and it really wasn't worth the wait! The bill was then delivered and as we sorted out what we were paying the bill was snatched away from us by the manager as they had omitted to include our wine on the bill. Given the dreadful service we experienced you would have thought that, as a gesture of goodwill, that they might have honoured their mistake.

Won't be going back when there are plenty of very good Italian restaurants to visit in Brighton.
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Anon
Monday, June 09, 2008

I went there at lunch time with friends! We felt very welcome! It was very quite I must say!

Food was great! I had aubergine al forno (parmigiano)! I'll be back there!
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Sheila
Monday, May 26, 2008

This was my first visit to Donatello's and recommend that no-one ever visit there (well at least on a Saturday night!) It started off OK and the starter's were of a very healthy portion size, I chose the Parma Ham & Advocado which was fine though obviously does not require any cooking so could not go wrong there. Other guests were less impressed by the aubergine starter which was more cheese than anything else. On to the main's and a mixture of pasta and pizza dishes all arrived pretty swiftly but were clearly not of the standard to be expected from an independent Italian restaurant... more of bargain basement freezer store reheat than a freshly produced tasty restaurant fare. Meanwhile attempts to order drinks turned into a war of attrition and on the fourth attempt our wine eventually arrived to wash away the bad taste of our mains.

When it came to the bill we were not prepared for the 45 minutes it eventually took to get it right. After our sugestion that the food was less than satisfactory the manager seemed to care little and would only remove the already added service charge and the value of one very over salted main meal. Their only excuse for the poor service was the fact they were very busy that night!

We left with our evening with our spirits somewhat dampened by the whole experience. Some of our party had eaten there before and were suprised by the poor quaity of the food and the attitude of the staff towards us. My advice: Don't go if they are busy, do not sit downstairs by the door which was used every 5 minutes by staff as a short cut giving a cold draught every five minutes, check your bill before paying and don't bother complaining. Cheap I give them but not particularly cheerful and little service to speak of if they are anywhere near capacity. Better of going to Pizza Express at least you know what you are getting.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Having eaten at this restaurant numerous times over several years I am impressed with the consistency.

Nice decor, table linen, clean glassware, crockery, polished cutlery etc and friendly, polite and efficient service - which stays friendly efficient and polite even if something is wrong - I once had to send something back, and it was handled with grace.

The pizzas are not bad [for outside Italy], the pasta fine, the other dishes OK. Prices very reasonable.

It definately is not the place to go for a candlelit dinner for two, but for any other occasion or for a group is fine. Fri's and Sat's can be very busy and birthday parties, hen parties etc are to be expected.

Frankly faced with a choice of Donatello's or one of the many other Pizza/Pasta places in town most of whom charge a lot more - Donatello's wins every time for me, and it is the staff who are to be complimented.

There are other smaller places if a more romantic setting is what you are looking for.

Robert - Kemp Town
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Robert Haddock
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I took my children to Donatello for a treat last weekend.

I ordered the seafood pasta and my kids had a pizza each. The food was delivered promptly and was very impressive. The kids finished there pizzas, which is usually un-heard of and my pasta had plenty of seafood in which was just perfect. I enjoyed it with a glass of house red. The meal was fantastic and brilliant value. Overall 10/10!!
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Sylvia - View all reviews by this user
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I took my children to Donatello for a treat over the weekend and was pleasantly suprised at our experience. I found the service excellent. We ordered Pizzas for the children which they polished off (to my astonishment, as they never finish any meals) and my partener and i ordered the seafood spaghetti, which was just delicious with plenty of seafood in.

The atmosphere was great as was the service, we were really looked after by our waiter. I would recommend Donatello to anybody for a good day/night. I would certainly go back... next time with out the kids!!!
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Emma
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I Arrived last night and the place was like a cattle market, upstairs and down. We where sandwiched between 2 tables with a 4 inch gap either side. Food was to an adequate standard but nothing to boast about! - Personally, i cannot see what all the fuss is about. I would had rather had my Valentine "candle light dinner" in my local Whimpy.
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RE
Friday, February 15, 2008

I have never had a bad meal at Donatello's...but haven't had anything particularly marvellous either!

The staff always make me feel welcome, and it's somewhere you can feel comfortable even when lunching alone.

It's busy and buzzy, but very well run on the whole.
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Lorna Pengelly
Sunday, February 10, 2008

I used to go to Donatello's often, but hadn't been there for a couple of years until last night.

The service was OK (10% service automatically added to the bill, so the staff don't have to work on offering good service for their tip). Always a bad sign if a restaurant can't rely on their food and service to receive tips at the goodwill of it's customers.

The food wasn't great. Tasted like it had been frozen and microwaved. Even the parmesan wasn''t fresh - it was the dried stuff you but in pots from a supermarket. Not nice!

Wouldn't recommend it to anybody that knows anything about food!
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Friday, January 25, 2008