Donato&co

Massimo Costetti

This is the best Italian food that you can get around here, in the modern, high end sense of Italian cuisine. It comes in a sophisticated, not pretentious ambiance. The wine list includes some of the best and rarest Italian bottles available and the cocktail list is worth the visit alone. I’ll keep going back anytime I want to splurge in authentic, contemporary Italian food and wine.

Faye PS

My fiancée booked this place to surprise me for a birthday dinner. I was skeptical because he’s not the best at choosing restaurants. I asked to go to some place that serves organic, real, thoughtful yet rustic food. This restaurant hit all of those points. Everything was delicious. We got the radicchio salad, dived into the spaghetti Neri and the calamari and octopus dish. We wanted more food as portion are about medium size. We then added the truffle ravioli; downed everything with wine and left happy. Service was excellent also- no BS and quick, thanks for a nice time!

Guan-Lun Liao

The service is outstanding! We had a great time at this lovely place. We tried the popular Parmigiano and Vasetto (chicken liver), and we loved them. The pasta was good, but we weren't amazed. Would like to try the Spaghetti Neri and Calamari next time, and would recommend making a reservation before visiting.

Shaheen Rasheed

Good ingredients, good options and good sized portions! Nice to have Donato open again. They even have a small store where you can purchase items to take home (sauces, pickles and pasta). Compliments to the chef who shared his recipe and us invited to his cooking class!

Jin Park

Love their food. I went to this restaurant with my Italian bf and he seemed to be quite satisfied with the food. Also the server seems to be knowledgeable about their food. I loved the way she explained today's special to us.

Raymond Tarin

What a great spot right off College! Our server was excellent. He paced our meal perfectly and was kind and attentive. The food was incredible and we were very happy with our cocktails as well. We will definitely be back!

Victoria F

Seriously the best Italian restaurant in the Bay Area. Everything from the pasta, to the bread and the desserts are made in house. Beautiful ambiance, great service, wonderful food, lovely bar and wine selection. Lastly, the prices are not insane.

Matthew Hernandez

Some of the most authentic italian food in the Bay Area. I had the Scorfano with some of the most delicate, yet firm Red Rock Fish, with tender calamari, and savory shrimp. The stew itself attacks your palate with a flurry of umami punches to the taste buds. My mother got an authentic Italian Risotto. I tried a bite, and it reminded me exactly of my experience eating Risotto in Rome. Toothsome, rich, creamy, and savory. Definitely a treat of a restaurant.

Anne-Sophie Bousset

So yummy! The ricotta, pork chop, and vanilla creme dessert are 👌 Staff is warm and courteous. They have lots of gluten free options (surprising for an Italian restaurant - I know!), and their chef was #1 for gluten free in Italy. I'm eagerly awaiting the gluten free version of their chocolate hazelnut cake 😋 And they're great about social distancing! We called about getting 2 tables 6ft apart so we could see friends who aren't in our bubble for dinner, and they kindly accommodated us.

Michelle Musser

My mom and I are visiting Berkeley after taking the California Zephyr train to Emeryville. Donato’s is the only local restaurant we visited outside our hotel (Claremont Club and Spa.) While they don’t have a traditional green salad, we did enjoy the local purple frisée salad with turnip, walnuts and egg. We also shared the bolognese pasta and bread basket. Everything was delicious.

WOW. One of the best meals I have had in years. The grilled Calamari was served a top of a layer of Yukon gold mash potatoes, next layer was sauteed red peppers and eggplant. Surrounded by arugula. Unique and delish. The chocolate and chocolate desert was divine. A chocolate mousse with a hard cap of chocolate and other chocolate ingredients. In Europe this restaurant would be a Michelin rated restaurant. The waitress was charming and always there when you wanted her, but never hovering. A delightful dining experience.

Had a lovely dinner at Donato & Co in Berkeley. 🇮🇹 The atmosphere was cozy, and the service was friendly. The risotto was a great choice—creamy, well-balanced, and satisfying. 🍚👌 The rest of the menu had solid options, with fresh ingredients and classic Italian flavors. Overall, a good spot for a relaxed meal! 🍷

We had a truly lovely early dinner at the bar. Bobby, the bartender, was wonderful. Kind, accommodating, and the perfect host. Didn’t blink when I asked for a special drink, and quite knowledgeable about the menu and the wine choices. The manager was also as kind and warm a host as one could hope for. We arrived before the official dinner hour, but he kindly escorted us to the bar where we dove into the happy hour menu. We started with several appetizers, all of which were tasty and well presented. I particularly enjoyed the sausage, and the polenta with fontina. Our good intentions of stopping after the appetizers gave way when I saw the spaghetti al neri with bay scallops on the menu. A perfectly sized portion of delicious pasta and scallops. My wife had the squash tortelloni with sage and brown butter. Delicious balance of sweet and savory. Highly recommended!

There’s something very authentically Italian and brave about this place. I had cappelletti with fig reduction and Walnut sauce and it was spectacular. However, I had so much sweet fig reduction in my mouth at first that it was almost off putting. Digging into the dish I realized how good it was. We sat at the bar and had some excellent cocktails. Overall, I would definitely go back again.

Celebrated a birthday dinner here. Overall we had a great experience. Our server was friendly and attentive. The food was delicious and its a really nice space. I highly recommend the Calamari and Octopus main(see pic), the pork chop, and the Salumi appetizer. We ordered the brussel sprouts as a side and they were pretty bland.

Benjamin Whitaker

Had a lovely dinner at Donato & Co in Berkeley. 🇮🇹 The atmosphere was cozy, and the service was friendly. The risotto was a great choice—creamy, well-balanced, and satisfying. 🍚👌 The rest of the menu had solid options, with fresh ingredients and classic Italian flavors. Overall, a good spot for a relaxed meal! 🍷

David Palmer

We had a truly lovely early dinner at the bar. Bobby, the bartender, was wonderful. Kind, accommodating, and the perfect host. Didn’t blink when I asked for a special drink, and quite knowledgeable about the menu and the wine choices. The manager was also as kind and warm a host as one could hope for. We arrived before the official dinner hour, but he kindly escorted us to the bar where we dove into the happy hour menu. We started with several appetizers, all of which were tasty and well presented. I particularly enjoyed the sausage, and the polenta with fontina. Our good intentions of stopping after the appetizers gave way when I saw the spaghetti al neri with bay scallops on the menu. A perfectly sized portion of delicious pasta and scallops. My wife had the squash tortelloni with sage and brown butter. Delicious balance of sweet and savory. Highly recommended!

Andrew Hawn

There’s something very authentically Italian and brave about this place. I had cappelletti with fig reduction and Walnut sauce and it was spectacular. However, I had so much sweet fig reduction in my mouth at first that it was almost off putting. Digging into the dish I realized how good it was. We sat at the bar and had some excellent cocktails. Overall, I would definitely go back again.

Jaron Ness

Celebrated a birthday dinner here. Overall we had a great experience. Our server was friendly and attentive. The food was delicious and its a really nice space. I highly recommend the Calamari and Octopus main(see pic), the pork chop, and the Salumi appetizer. We ordered the brussel sprouts as a side and they were pretty bland.

David Karamian

family and friends and always enjoyed it—until now. We went for my wife’s birthday, expecting the warm atmosphere and great food we remembered. Instead, the vibe was dull, with either no music or the wrong kind. The carpaccio appetizer arrived dry, so I asked for olive oil. We were given barely two teaspoons—and then charged for it. At that point, I half-expected to see a charge for salt and pepper, which we also had to request. Sadly, this was our last visit to Donato.

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.

Ajay Arora

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.

Super slow service, below average food. Ambience is okay. Not recommended for larger groups. We came in at 5:30 and they dragged us here till 930 with absolutely lousy service, that too when it was not too busy otherwise.

Waited for an entire hour to be served our main meal. The server made almost no effort to communicate about or apologize for the long delay other than a glancing comment as he breezed by murmuring our food was coming. That was a half hour after we ordered. Another half hour later, I asked where our food was and a different person came to our table apologizing but our food still hadn't come. After 10 more minutes, 3 of the 4 entrees were served at a tepid temperature and the 4th took several more minutes. We were offered no gesture of amends, not even one dessert to share among the 4 of us. Won't go back!

We had dinner at this restaurant as we are visiting our son studying in California. This experience at Donato restaurant wasn’t nice. We’ve been waiting 45 mn to get our meals and the portions were very small. 4 shrimps on a small salad for 25 dollars, same for the pastas… overpriced.

Something is wrong at this restaurant. There was a strong odor, pungent like decay. I did not mention it as I was a guest of my friend with family. I won't ever eat here again. My food was disgusting TG I wasn't paying. Waiter 0 personality. Go someplace else to eat.

Jonathan Soles

Came here for a large dinner of about 30 people Thursday night. I’m in disbelief that the restaurant was half empty and yet we only had one person taking care of us. Service was horrendous. He was dry and unwelcoming. I was so embarrassed for our host for choosing this establishment.

Rhythm Arora

Super slow service, below average food. Ambience is okay. Not recommended for larger groups. We came in at 5:30 and they dragged us here till 930 with absolutely lousy service, that too when it was not too busy otherwise.

Peter Morfin

Waited for an entire hour to be served our main meal. The server made almost no effort to communicate about or apologize for the long delay other than a glancing comment as he breezed by murmuring our food was coming. That was a half hour after we ordered. Another half hour later, I asked where our food was and a different person came to our table apologizing but our food still hadn't come. After 10 more minutes, 3 of the 4 entrees were served at a tepid temperature and the 4th took several more minutes. We were offered no gesture of amends, not even one dessert to share among the 4 of us. Won't go back!

Laurence Decugis

We had dinner at this restaurant as we are visiting our son studying in California. This experience at Donato restaurant wasn’t nice. We’ve been waiting 45 mn to get our meals and the portions were very small. 4 shrimps on a small salad for 25 dollars, same for the pastas… overpriced.