Donatella Restaurant Review

★★★★★

As the new Executive Assistant and Marketing Director for celebrity chef, Donatella Arpaia, you may think I’m bias. Maybe I am. I’m still gonna write this though, so listen up. If I’m going to promote something, I need to understand it completely. Wrap my head around it, so to speak. Naturally, Phil and I leapt at the chance to dine at Donatella and check out the food.

Overall, we had a fabulous experience. Our server was fantastic– very friendly, helpful, and treated us like we were long lost friends. We sat outside and enjoyed a lovely spring evening. After a long day’s work, it was necessary! At the back of the restaurant, Donatella has “speak-easy-esque” Dbar: Just the right combination of swanky and casual! The bartenders are crazy-nice, the martinis are strong, and the happy hour prices get two thumbs up.  It’s a small, intimate bar. Perfect for a “grown and sexy” night.

Okay, back to the food….we were being indecisive, so our server made some great suggestions and pretty much ordered our entire meal. We started with the signature award-winning meatballs (we got 2 regular and 2 spicy.) Sooo juicy! Spicy were… very spicy. Just a heads up! We also indulged in the weekly special- a fried squash blosson stuffed with ricotta cheese, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and sprinkled with roasted golden raisons and pine-nuts.

Then we moved on and split the “Carciofe” pizza: (Crème fraiche, artichokes, preserved lemon & truffle oil) and the gnudi (ricota gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce.)

I never would have tried that pizza had the waitress not suggested it, and I’m glad she did. It was delicious!! Splitting 1 pizza and 1 pasta was just enough to leave room for dessert…

We finished with the chocolate cake with salted caramel, peanut brittle, and banana gelato. It was beyond! I love a little salty with my sweet, so this really hit the spot. We also tried the famous rainbow cookie ice cream sandwich, which is to die for.

To top it all off- Donatella is almost always at the restaurant greeting guests and hanging out. She’s so sweet and down-to-earth, it’s no wonder Zagaat named her the “Hostess with the Mostess.”

Would definitely recommend this restaurant and have gone back several times. Probably the best feature is that it’s one of the few celebrity chef restaurants in New York City that’s unpretentious, laid-back, and family-friendly. There’s so many more pizzas to try, and we’ve only knocked a few off the list. So many pizzas… so little time… ::sigh::..

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