Review content:
I really wanted to like Donatello; however, the combination of good-but-not-above-average food and the astronomical prices charged for it dragged it down.\r
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I'd like to think that I'm familiar with good Italian food, and have had my fair share of it, some of the best of it in the Tampa area (try Casa Ludovico in Palm Harbor). The food at Donatello was good, I can't deny that--but it wasn't great. I had the fried mozzarella appetizer and the spaghetti carbonara the night I went. The mozzarella tasted and looked like it came out of a freezer--it had that distinct chewiness and melting pattern that only comes from processed cheese. Real mozzarella doesn't melt like that. The carbonara was good, and the pasta perfectly cooked, which I have to commend, but it was oversauced, used bacon instead of pancetta (and not very good bacon either, astonishing for a restaurant that claims to be authentic, even moreso given the prices), and cost $28 for a rather small portion. We had the tiramisu for dessert, which was a dense, soggy mess, nothing like the light (in texture, not in calories!) and delectable dessert that it should be.\r
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Furthermore, I got the impression that it was the kind of placed that charged a lot because they thought the could--a see and be seen kind of place, not a place that had high prices because the food deserved it.\r
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I also found the setting dingy and depressing, with everything looking like it was 20 years old and hadn't been cared for at all.\r
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Service was, however, impeccable, I have to grant them that.\r
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Overall, I came away with a very bad feeling from the place. I won't be going back, and feel like I wasted an evening in having gone there. Not to mention $70 for a small, average-tasting meal.
Pros: Service
Cons: Average food, astronomical prices, dingy & dirty atmosphere
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