Donatello Restaurant

Am a big fan of this place, the pizzas are amazing and delivered to your table really quickly
The only criticism I would give it maybe invest a bit more into the salad bar.
Friendly staff well worth a visit

Different to most restaurants in Brighton, Donatello is a big restaurant with lots of food. Honestly, I would go to other places to have nice Italian food.

Donatello’s is ideal for families (with children) and a group of friends with its easy to read menu, friendly staff and value for money food, which tastes good too. It is always busy and they cram the tables in, so don’t expect much ‘elbow’ space and you will need to speak loudly to hear each other at times, mainly due to the big party groups they get in. I would not go here for a romantic meal but ideal for a catch up and for those of us who want to go out but don’t have much money.

Great cheap and cheerful Italian place. I always enjoy it and find a lot of pasta and pizza dishes to choose from. Kind of a Brighton institution.
If you have a larger group dining, it’s good. My only objection is the picture of a topless Fatboy Slim on the wall. Clearly he donated money to the restaurant because why would you want to see that while you’re eating?

Very good Italian restaurant in the lanes. I love it here, but I hate it at the weekends, when it is at its busiest, for me it is way too loud. But I much prefer it in the week, when it is so much calmer. During the week, the food is at its best, service is much better, but the prices are very good. And the menu, there is so much to choose from!

Reasonably priced Italian food.
I first ate at Donatello as a skint uni student, when my friends and I didn’t have much money but wanted to eat out, we would go there.
The food is good, nothing amazing, if you have friends or family visiting that want a meal out at a decent price I would take them there I suppose.
It’s cheap and cheerful, always busy which is a good sign. I think they do a two course meal for around 7.95 which is a bargain really.
Some people really hate the place, some people love it… I’m neither here nor there really! Nothing to write home about but you should try it at least once.

I visit Brighton regularly and there have been a few times that I walked past Donatello’s and thought that it looked like a really nice place to eat. It looks like that on the outside. After finally trying the place, I would never go back again. I had the vegetable soup to start with which was basically water with a few vegetable thrown in. There wasn’t even any bread rolls served with it. For main I got a four cheeses pizza which was far too rich to eat and ended up giving me bad heartburn. We also waited ages for drinks. The atmosphere in the restaurant was not very nice as people were seated so closely together and the staff were really rude. The only reason I have this place two stars instead of one is because the food was cheap.

I don’t recomend this restaurant. The people is very rude including the boss. Expensive and not tasty… I’m disapointed :(

Myself and my girlfriend had a rather uneven experience at Donatello, the food was good and inexpensive but the service was downright poor. The waitress threw the menus at us and brought out the wrong wine, and was overall ungracious. Hopefully the dishes we had were decent, except for the desert which was bland and tasteless. If you’re looking for a cheap and decent Italian meal then Donatello is the go to place, but don’t expect anything classy or charming.

It’s cheap. That this the only good point.
Don’t even think about trying the profiteroles… Serving this is a crime!
Following up on the previous comments, the service is poor and generally uneven, either friendly or downright hostile. Despite this, a 10 percent gratuity is included by default!!!

I do not like leaving bad reviews, but feel this one is necessary. Poor service and the food was mediocre. We ordered garlic bread, the Donatello pizza and the vegetarian lasagna. Not sure how anyone can ruin garlic bread, but it happened. Our servers had an attitude from the moment we sat down till the moment we paid our bill. No class in my opinion. Would not recommend this restaurant.

Donatella’s serves lovely authentic Italian food lovely atmosphere friendly staff and very reasonably priced especially the two and three course deals
give it a visit u you won’t be disapointed

Ok, Donatello’s isn’t going to blow your socks off as far as the food is concerned, but it’s kind of become a Brighton institution over the years. It’s a massive place (seats 400 + extra seating outside when the weather is kind), the food is mega cheap and the service is quick. If you want a quick, cheap bite to eat in Brighton then you could certainly do worse.
There are numerous seating areas — upstairs, downstairs, in the bar and outside. Because of it’s size, it’s great if there is a large group of you. As already mentioned, the food is pretty standard Italian — pastas, pizza, antipasti etc, and the menu is huge so you should be able to find something for everyone. I would recommend the tortelloni gratinati if you like rich, cheesy dishes.
The toilets aren’t that special, but hey, you can’t have everything.
Oh, and they sponsor Brighton and Hove FC!

We watched the new Bond movie and headed home through the Lanes in Brighton, looking for a restaurant. Usually this is easy, but on Christmas Eve at 9 p.m. this is hard. However, Donatello looked busy but inviting, so we ventured in. First off, we noticed an interesting beer menu and no free seats, so we sat at the bar. Our wait was short and soon we were seated in a pleasant part of the extensive restaurant with a very attentive waitress and lively atmosphere. I breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered that the piped music was very quiet (off would be better), and was even happier when our food arrived just ten minutes after ordering it. We had superb garlic bread (simple, traditional, and crispy), aubergine cheesy back, and spaghetti with garlic, chilli, and parsley. These were all very tasty indeed. We had around two beers, two palatable house reds, one Grappa, a bottle of mineral water, and one double espresso. For dessert we had crème caramele and ice cream. The bill, remarkably, was in the region of £40 for the two of us, including service, which is amazing good value. I’ve paid a great deal more for a great deal less, not least in Italy.
I know we were very lucky in getting in at a good time, but on this experience I place Donatello very high. It wasn’t just that the food was really delicious, it was the pleasant ambience, outstanding value, and attentive, friendly service. I can’t ask for more.

I was a bit underwhelmed by the food at this famous Brighton establishment.
The Good:
+ Friendly staff
+ The garlic bread was great (how can you ruin garlic bread anyway?)
The Poor:
— The pizza. A strangely hard crust, a completely run of the mill tomato sauce, and some bizarre topping options made the pizza a complete miss.
There are definitely better options for authentic Italian food within a mile radius.

5 star for the food. 2 stars for the service. Food was absolutely fantastic. It seemed like the staff didn’t really understand English. At least my American-​English. I wanted an appetizer and entrée, a la carte. I didn’t want to order the lunch special. When my food came out, I didn’t bother trying to correct them since the lunch special was cheaper and the special actually looked very delicious.
Donatello is situated in an alley in Brighton and has a pretty good view for people watching.

Mama Mia!
The location– hidden treasure in the lost, yet mystically alive lanes of Brighton. Truth be revealed, i hadn’t the clue to its where abouts. Upon asking a few strangers along the electricity fueled streets, i was given the correct coordinates and set sail to reach the destination. Hint– look out for the monsoon.
Once inside, the friendly Italians guided me to our table booked for 12 and highlighted the bar for a full selection of delectable and intriguing cocktails.
The menu was easy to follow; rates were amicable and service was clear cut. The starters arrived promptly despite the large order as well as the mains and desserts.
It was a close friends birthday; they cleverly and very genorously brought out a slice of mouse chocolate cakes with fresh strawberries and cream avec sparklers! The entire table and staff joined to sings happy birthday. Great atmosphere.
Splitting the bill was a piece out cake; literally and well done.

plenty of space for groups, but not ideal for xmas–
I felt like a sardine, last time i went. they were literally cramming them in (surely not safe, if there was a fire, etc.?)
fare value, though rather bog standard Italiano fare.
I feel Al Duomo is far better, across the road.
And I HATE having to wait at the (expensive) bar, for a PRE-​BOOKED table!

Donatello’s is one Brighton’s more famous set-​ups: the head restaurant in a big old chain of Italian eateries all over the centre of town. The food in all branches is generally the same: bog-​standard Italian fare, well-​made and perfectly nice for extremely reasonable prices. Of all the branches of this set-​up around town, unfortunately Donatello’s is my least favourite: it’s the worst organised, with far too many tables for far too few waiters. Still, it’s good food, although the whole chain isn’t without issues either!
The basic set-​up for all of these chain restaurants is generally great: the food is good and very cheap, with plenty of lunchtime deals and that kind of thing: the prices here are really impressively low! The food isn’t the best ever: more often than not a little over oiled and salted, and the service leaves much to be desired: it’s traditional Italian service, if you know what I mean: gruff, surly and often a little rude. As the head restaurant in this chain, Donatello’s has all of this in spades, but here it causes some greater problems.
You see, in the smaller branches, the busy atmosphere is as a real boon: you can forgive surly waiters if everyone around you is having a good time! However, Donatello’s itself is so big that the waiters are all overworked, making them even more short-​tempered. Also, the atmosphere suffers even more from there being too many people, too many tables, and just too much noise. No, this is not a nice set-​up, but the food is quite nice. I’d recommend going to Fat Leo’s across the road: mostly the same food, a bit less cramped.

Donatello’s is a classic example of «Italian». I use the quotes as a way of outlining the fact that it is quasi-​authentic trying to pose as authentic.
The menu is actually not that bad. There are loads of choices, and they cater to our healthy– gluten free friends, by offering whole wheat and gluten free pastas. My huge dish of whole wheat spaghetti was doused in oil and garlic, and instead of dried chili flakes had massive red and green fresh chilies which gave the dish some serious kick.
Everything was slightly above average. From the Twenty minute wait for a table to the salad bar… This is the type of joint where you celebrate birthdays and milestones, and even where teens go on dates (I saw a bunch). I wouldn’t recommend it for someone looking for real Italian cooking, this like I said has big quotations around it.