Donatello in Brighton and Hove

Good food, reasonably priced. Very tasty.

Food was alright and nothing special. The male staff weren’t very welcoming and all looked annoyed. One of the female waiters was very friendly… I didn’t get her name, but she was great!

We attended Donatello on Friday evening as a party of 25. The food, service & price were amazing! The portion sizes are huge. I had the calamari to start followed by the seafood risotto. Extremely tasty! Would definitely recommend to anyone. The price of the food is unmatched. Good work!

Book in advance it's a well-known place

The pasta and pizza are very delicious and the dessert too.

We had a very enjoyable Friday evening meal here. Good food with very generous portions. A mention for our server, Silvana, who was friendly, efficient and helpful.

Great food first visit with family loved it

Great place to drop in for nice food Silvane was amazing

Booked Donatellos for our team of 25. They were so accommodating, friendly and efficient. Everyone got their meals at the same time. The food was lovely. Everyone was impressed. Thank you! Special thanks to Silvane.

It's alright, busy and probably can only be described as mayhem with the amount of people running around. The tomato salad was alright, it needed Balsmaic vinegar. The pizza felt like it was missing a chunk as it was more rectangular than circle. It was alright for the price £29 for a main, starter and two drinks.

Very nice place to eat, everything was great. Will visit again

Really good food and cocktails!! Cameron provided amazing service and was really lovely

7 years ago I wrote: "Reliably good food, prompt service in a good central location". Nothing changes. Nowadays you can still get a fabulous 2 course lunch for £14.99 with friendly service.

I visited this establishment last night and wanted to highlight the service we received from Cameron! Very rarely do you encounter someone who radiates such a positive and welcoming aura. The food was quick and amazing, my compliments to the chef. Once again, thank you Cameron!

Went for my daughters birthday , the two waitress silvane and giulie where amazing helped with everything polite smiley great memebers of staff so just want to say thanks for the great experience , definitely be back :)

Restaurant was very busy - too busy for the capacity of the room and staff. Service was very slow and disinterested. The person who I was with was vegetarian and queried about another type of pasta on their plate; the waiter who served us picked it up and removed it, without apology and seeming not to realise they should not touch the food (he proceeded to offer us some parmesan). The food was very average for the price. Will not be coming back and would not recommend it.

Good food and good service Not 100% italian but is very nice!

Great value for money! The food is delicious, with generous portion sizes. The menu offers plenty of choices and the staff even prepared a garlic pizza for us to share as a starter despite it not being on the menu. The venue is spacious and is perfect for group bookings

Great restaurant! We were served by Cameron, she was engaging and uplifting. Her positivity improved our experience, she is a credit to the restaurant. Highly recommend the veggie pizza and tiramisu!!

The food was some of the worst I've ever had. The starters were tasteless and I left my main. Would never go back

Good Italian restaurant with good dishes and service as it should be. Highly recommended.

Always a pleasure to eat here , good food and great value

I had an incredibly disappointing experience here and would NOT recommend this place for a birthday celebration. I had a reservation but couldn’t attend, so I personally handed over an item to the staff to give to my friend, who was there for the birthday booking. Not only did they fail to pass it on, but when I called to ask about it, they gave a series of excuses—claiming my friend might have been seated as a walk-in or didn’t give the reservation name properly. If that were the case, why wasn’t any effort made to confirm this with the booking details? Then they blamed it on being "too busy," which makes no sense—shouldn’t confirmed reservations be a priority? If they can’t manage a simple request during a birthday booking, why even take reservations at all? To top it off, when I arrived to collect the item myself, I was rudely told I could "take my cake and walk out." This place clearly does not care about making birthdays special or even respecting the fact that you chose to celebrate with them. If you’re looking for a venue that values its customers and honors its commitments, go elsewhere.

Atmosphere and staff were great, with friendly staff members and a nice atmosphere inside. However, the food wasn't very impressive, overpriced, and just not very nice. Ordered a pizza and felt sick immediately after a couple of bites.

I had an unfortunate experience while dining here. My chair unexpectedly broke, causing me to fall to the floor—a clear safety concern. While accidents happen, what was most disappointing was the staff's complete lack of concern. No one checked if I was okay or offered an apology, yet the service charge remained on the bill with no gesture of goodwill. That aside, the food was decent for the price, but the overall experience left much to be desired. A little care and responsibility from the staff would have made a huge difference.

Very nice restaurant, plenty of food options which came very quickly and full of flavour. I'm glad I didn't go for the big size pasta as the standard size was more than plenty. Staff were very friendly and happy to help, but it took a little while for the bill to come

Was recommended this place but was very disappointed, from the moment we arrived we was greeted by a wanna be John Cleese followed by a gen z millennial who was to stuck up to fetch us a another bottle of wine as she just delivered the food and said she wasn’t a server! Starters arrived with a side of main landed on top! Once the bill was called they decided to add every other tables to it and then ask us to work it out….wont be going back…bon appetit!

Came with my mum , we had crostini to start with then I had Tortellini , both delcious. Great service , nice wine and very good value

The food was alright but the service was beyond shocking. The staff barely said anything to us and plonked things on our table without a word. Other peoples dirty dishes were put down in front of me and we waited nearly an hour to pay for our bill after asking for it twice, 0/10 would never recommend.

We been served by Silvana and she was the best hoast..she always was close and never been too much..definitely will go back..thanks Silvana

Expecting Better…. I was looking forward to this visit as being originally from Brighton, and still a season ticket holder of the Seagulls, a visit to any partner/ sponsor of the club was exciting. Although we made a reservation, they were surprised to welcome us, and we were ushered to a table outside the main dining areas, which had one staff member eating within it and we were the only other table. However, the space soon filled up. Nice menu and two courses each were chosen. Had issues with the two shared starters only: bruschetta was cold untoasted/ baked bread with tepid mushrooms on top: calamari was tepid and very tough. I moaned about the bruschetta and a full refund was given, thank you. My surprise is how this dish is qualified to leave the kitchen? I will try the restaurant again, and look forward to perhaps seeing some smiley faced waiting staff. Up the Seagulls…

Excellent place to visit and eat

Didn't actually get to sit down, we just popped out heads in to ask if we could.book a table for tonight got called over by an older gentle man going "yes...YES" like we were to assume that's how you greet someone when working in hospitality the man (older gentleman) laughed at us and went absolutely not for tonight very abruptly and rudely and gestured at us as if he was shooing us away. I get it's busy but maybe a bit of consideration because we 100% won't be going back to reserve a table. Booked at a lovely little establishment not too far away instead. Work on your customer service.

Exceptionally slow service, ordered drinks that never arrived despite asking multiple times; price is cheap but so is the quality

Great food, reasonable price, service good, service a little slow, but they were very busy . Highly recommended

Delicious! And they have gluten free!

Had a works dinner here on a Sunday, the place was very busy, a great friendly atmosphere, good food, service and prices!

Food was excellent, service was slow.

Went here with friends znd it was very popular, for a Thursday evening. The menu choice was fantastic and very reasonably priced. Did a great 2 Courses for £14.50. I had the Tortellini with a meat & mushroim sauce. It was ok, but thoughtthat tgecpasta was overcooked abd the sayce was dry. Shared a Tiramisu.

Gutted by the bad experience. The restaurant had been recommended to take my family for my birthday. We’d come to Brighton for the day from Essex. Pre booked which was good as it was super busy and we’d never have got in otherwise. Our service was terrible. Rude, unhelpful, slow and just appalling in every way. We went from a young man to a young girl. We thought he was bad, but she was worse. The food was average. Kids loved their pizzas, but the pasta was cold and steak was flooded in sauce. Never received the extras we ordered either. I took my little one to the toilet. It was filth. The door didn’t lock, there was no toilet roll and no soap at the basin. Tried another one, it was the same, but did have a lock. You could excuse this as it was very busy, however, service wise - the staff were very happy to stand together gossiping to stop you getting down the stairs. Truly gutted as I was so looking forward to dinner with all my family together for the first time in a year. What a waste of money. Wish I’d booked somewhere else. Never again.

it is what it is ! I've been coming here for donkeys years ! we were a group of 12 and it was Saturday evening ! the food is good and reasonably priced ! where else can you get a fillet steak for £20 !!!!! the restaurant was packed so we didnt expect 1st class service but everything was ok.. they could maybe employ a few extra staff for Saturday nights but hey ho , we all had a good time ... it's basic italian dishes and a lively atmosphere ...as it says they can seat hundreds so you need to bear that in mind if you want something quieter and special ... dont be put off by the negative reviews !

I have come here every year as i have always loved the food. however the last couple of times i have been the waiter is so grumpy and appalling with service. he is an older waiter. the younger ones are usually nicer. i went there on the weekend and ended up getting food poisoning. its a shame because i really used to love it but now i dont know if i want to go back

Best food I have had in a long time we will be going back

I booked for 14 people 3 weeks in advance. When arriving was told just wait for table wait at door !!. We were put upstairs the table was Not prepared at all and was where all the noisy youngsters were and in a drafty place we also had to keep asking for cutlery. Was not impressed at all. I will go back but not to sit upstairs.

funny that other people have mentioned the same recently, but had very rude waiters who didn't smile or look at us - even throwing a spoon across the table to us when we asked for more cutlery. food came out quickly but then plates were sat on our table the rest of the time despite only having 3 other people in the restaurant, had to ask for a dessert menu or i don't think we would of been asked... staff were more concerned about playing Tag around the restaurant running past our table. ive been so many times before and found the change in atmosphere very strange, wanted to ask for service charge to be removed but was just happy to get out of there so didnt but regret it now.

What can I say, the stake was really nice, was completely ruined by the waiter who served us, we asked for water and then had to ask again, he was very rude when we were ordering and when we needed a copy of the receipt, he refused, the waiter needs to.learn.what customer service is, i would expect a better service from the older waite, not good and almost ruined the experience.

Very disappointed. Dirty table. Grumpywaiter. Had to ask for table water 3 times. Lights so bright thought I was being interrogated. My pasta was so bad i could not eat it. Menu seems to have changed?Last time was special. This time very disappointed.

Came here for a celebratory meal for my parents golden wedding anniversary. From contacting the restaurant originally all the way through they were helpful. We had over 50 in our party and the staff had got a section of the upstairs all ready when we got there for us. The waiters were really good making sure that everyone was sorted and no orders got missed. The staff were all friendly. The food was brilliant. Many of the group had not been before but have since said they have found a place they want to return to again. Dylan did an amazing job coordinating the whole thing and making sure we were happy throughout.

The atmosphere is cozy and the dishes are amazing. 100% recommended.

Food great, portions great too. Make reservations as always busy.

Bloody brilliant restaurant! It was great they were very busy but still fitted us in! Food was great and the atmosphere was fantastic! Plus they did my eldest a pepperoni pizza 🍕 off menu! Only thing I would say is that it would have been nice for the table to have a table cloth! As there was some sauce on the table from the previous people in the groves around the rim of the tables edge and my son got it all over his new hoodies sleeves. (Washed out) I think those classic Italian table cloths would make those circular tables look a lot nicer as well! Anyway that aside! Great service! Great food and great portions!

As italian I'm sorry nothing to do with italian restaurant... of course, it's amazing for english people. I totally agree, but please, we are eating different....petto di pollo alla milanese Served with spaghetti. Really??? What is this? For the pizza, no comment!!!!! Never mind, enjoy yourself. Have fun 😁

As always. Excellent food at a good price. And such attentive service.

Extremely slow and disinterested service - staff more bothered about chatting than doing a check back. When approached by a server after 15 mins of being sat I got a “what do you want?” Very unsatisfied with the level of service. Good was okay but had to ask for cheese/ oil. Would not recommend unless you’re on a budget and don’t care about service standards

Great pasta and garlic bread! They accommodate to pasta changes. For example mix and matching a different sauce with the pasta shape. Service was okay but the food portions were really big and came quickly.

True value for money with the two course special.

So busy. Bit of a food factory.

Really nice Italian restaurant. Food is great. Service was okay, quite slow to take orders and difficult to get their attention, but it was completely full and busy.

Adore this place, along with the rest of Brighton! Quite full but got a table fairly quickly. Delicious food at a very reasonable cost. Wonderful service. Does get busy, busy, busy - recommend booking a table. XXX

Well-decorated restaurant with friendly staff who got us a table despite being full at 12 a.m. (recommend booking ahead). Portions are big, price is cheap; spaghetti was a bit salty for me but fine for my friend, and the pizza could have been warmer. Food came fast, and they do accept cash and card. Decent experience overall.

Title: Disheartening Experience with Arrogant Management at Donatello's Brighton I regret to say that my recent visit to Donatello's in Brighton was incredibly disappointing, not just because of the service issues but also due to the arrogance of the management. When we raised our concerns about our cold meals and the inadequate service, the manager responded in a dismissive manner. despite our corrections. His refusal to listen to our explanation was frustrating and ultimately led to a heated exchange. I’m ashamed to admit that I lost my temper, as it was clear he wasn’t interested in resolving our complaints. As a gesture, he offered a 10% reduction on our bill, which felt entirely inadequate given the poor experience we endured. The total experience with my family was completely ruined, and it’s disheartening to think that a simple meal could turn into such a negative outing. I’m sorry to say that we won’t be returning to Donatello's. It’s a shame, as we had hoped for a pleasant evening, but the combination of cold food, inattentive service, and arrogant management made it impossible to enjoy our time there.

Great place for big groups to get together for drinks and meals.

The manager was disrespectful with the waitress We went there on the 23th of December. It was not my first time at Donatello's so I knew the idea, nice dinner at an ok price for a lot of people. Not the best Italian food but quite fair for the price you pay. Staff was nice and kind, they were serving a lot of people, to remember everything and everyone was almost impossible. A young woman was serving us, we were in a table of 8 at the second floor. At some point my colleagues saw the manager (a man in a blue shirt) being nasty to the waitress who really didn't deserve it (first because no one does and second because she was great). We didn't like it at all, being a waitress is one of the hardest jobs anyone can do, specially in a busy place where, sometimes, people pay a cheap price and expect wonders. I was sorry that it happened and I expect Donatello's treat their people better - we might be wrong, there is always this possibility, but I do not think it was the case.

Poor food and service. Managers rude, and arrogant.

Our second visit and we were not disappointed. Everything was amazing. The waitress, who served us, was the friendliest ever!

We have to agree with the low reviews, we get it is reasonable in price but what a let down in food. Starter over priced, main course pesto pasta covered in a weak watered down tomato sauce, but why, the calzone had no flavour at all and missing the middle. If you paid for these all separately at the menu prices you would have thought ripped off, even at the 2 course meal price we thought we wont be back. Visited 22.12.24

Had my pizza as a special one on one with Donatello himself as it was my birthday. Mario was very attentive and kept getting refills of drinks. Highly recommend but price is quite steep

The restaurant is cheap but well decorated. The food was terrible, my pizza came cold and my friend’s spaghetti was greasy and very bland. The service was horrible, the staff seemed like they didn’t want to be there and were very passive aggressive. I had food dropped on me and everything just took a long time. We had planned to have the 3 courses but due to the time, service and horrible food we didn’t think it was worth even trying the desserts. Even at the price it is , this still wasn’t worth it and we wish we’d spent a bit more and went to a more authentic Italian place.

Donnatello’s has been in Brighton for decades. They deliver a competent menu in a lively atmosphere. Have eaten here plenty of times. It can go wrong though. Badly. My food was swamped in so much salt it made my mouth pucker. Totally inedible. How can a chef make such a basic mistake? It’s a pinch of salt not a cup mister chef. Told the waitress but not much she can do. They’re just doing their job. It’s management that need to wake up. So restaurant gets blacklisted by me for an incompetent chef. Night was Dated 19/12/2024

Racial discrimination is serious

Definitely avoid!! Poor service, poor food quality, bill a mess, bad communication from staff. Very disappointing all round.

Jue (im sorry i forgot your correct name aaaa) was a very friendly server and the salmon pasta was amazing!

Had our staff Christmas Dinner last night, and we were so lucky for the managers to get us a table for 5 of us. We had a lovely table in the main restaurant. We all opted for 3 courses. The staff who served us was absolutely fantastic. The whole restaurant was packed out. We all had amazing starters with additional cheesy garlic breads to share, I opted for the seafood spaghetti. And like all the mains the food. Taste was fantastic. We had some lovely cocktails and wine with Dinner . Then the girls had desserts . Which they all enjoyed. The Manager gave us a complimentary shot which was delicious, we all had such a fantastic night and cannot thank you all for the amazing food and service, merry Christmas to you all. B

Stop looking at the review and go there, trust me you won't be disappointed. Good food, great service and great prices

Super disappointing. The hotel where we stayed suggested we eat in “this canteen”, I can’t call it a restaurant. Warm exterior, but noisy interior. We feel that everything is done on an assembly line, there is no taste or flavor. Hot dish served and late due to error in the order. Maybe because of the crowds this All Saints’ Day weekend? I don't recommend it if you like good food. In addition, no commercial gesture.

Essentially I've worked hospitality my whole life and understand environments. I experienced food poisoning and was sick, the staff were overworked sorting out too many staff parties. I won't be returning and think why save a few quid and get far less quality?

Mediocre attempt at Italian. My friend ordered the vegetarian pasta dish, no sauce or anything this is as it came! Fairly sure a real Italian person would have a meltdown seeing this sad dish! My pizza (The Donatello) was a bit wet and the base wasn't fully cooked. Reading the positive reviews on here leads me to believe they're written by bots as this place doesn't have a good recommendation by word of mouth.

Mediocre attempt at Italian. My friend ordered the vegetarian pasta dish, no sauce or anything this is as it came! Fairly sure a real Italian person would have a meltdown seeing this sad dish! My pizza (The Donatello) was a bit wet and the base wasn't fully cooked. Reading the positive reviews on here leads me to believe they're written by bots as this place doesn't have a good recommendation by word of mouth.

23 women on a Christmas night out. Food was great good portions nice atmosphere.

Lovely restaurant, very buzzy, all the food we ordered was very good quality & the service was prompt & friendly. Thoroughly recommend.

We had cheese garlic bread and olives to share to start followed by 4 cheese pizza and lasagna with a side of the pan roast potatoes and a cocktail each. The food was amazing! Staff very very busy with a lot of Christmas parties in but they were very attentive and friendly. Looking forward to returning when we next visit Brighton.

We visited Donatello Italian last night and were initially impressed by the welcoming ambiance and decor, which made us excited for a nice family meal. We had our two young children with us, and while they can be a handful at times, we hoped for a smooth dining experience. Unfortunately, the service fell short of expectations. Our children's pizzas arrived on time, but my partner's and my pizzas were delayed by about 20 minutes. We expected the meals to come out together so we could enjoy eating as a family, especially since the kids only settled while eating. This left us waiting and unable to eat at the same time, which disrupted the meal and made the experience stressful. I had to prompt the staff to ask about our food, and when it arrived 10 minutes later, it was clear it had just been prepared as it was piping hot. This made me feel like our order might have been forgotten, especially as staff seemed to be avoiding us, perhaps because the kids were a bit unsettled. The delay meant that just as our food arrived, the kids had finished eating and were restless again, so my partner and I couldn't enjoy our meal. When we opted not to include the service charge due to the experience, the waiter became noticeably dismissive, which left a sour note at the end of our visit. A simple acknowledgment or apology would have gone a long way. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated, and the food was decent when it did arrive, but the rushed service and lack of preparation took away from what could have been an enjoyable evening. I hope this feedback helps the team improve, as the place has potential for a great dining experience with better coordination and attentiveness to families dining in.

Have been coming here for years but food has really gone downhill. I had seafood risotto and the mussels were small and so were the prawns and it was very runny. Very disappointed

The pizza and dessert were also delicious, we were satisfied with everything.

Popped in here for a bite to eat, great atmosphere, food was excellent!

Poor service, didn't even offer pepper or parmesan when the pasta arrived, only to be told "we're too busy" and left if on the table. Pizza, underwhelming, missing that authentic taste I would have expected.

all very good, super recommended!🔝😍

Best resturant I've ever been to by Far absolutely incredible pizza and the puddings are just immaculate

Service was fine, nothing exceptional at all but not bad either. The food also was not bad but it was in my opinion below average. I had the amatriciana and it was the most mid bowl of pasta I have ever had, you could easily make better at home. Maybe I just chose the wrong thing off the menu but I've had my fair share of amatricianas as a massive foodie and this was the only one that just wasn't very good. Oh also calamari was pretty soggy :( as if had been left out for a significant period of time prior

Didn’t even get passed the door as the manager was so rude in asking me and my party to keep moving back from the door even though we had booked then he continued to bark ‘be patient’ at us at us and even though we weren’t even asking to be acknowledged. We therefore walked away as if the service was going to continue along that that same vein we were in for a unpleasant experience. We went to pizza express instead and was welcomed from the get go as a walk in (even though they were as busy) and the service was excellent. A sign of where to stand was put in later as we passed but I’m still shocked that an established restaurant such as Donatellos could have staff that disregard their customers in such a way, they should be well experienced in coping during a busy service. I have been many times before so wanted to support a local independent business but sadly I wasn’t given the chance. Won’t be back and will ward others off.

Nice food, fun atmosphere and lovely team if waiting staff

The food here was nice and cheap! They have a good lunch deal on too. We had a lovely waiter who helped me decide I what to order as the menu is so big. I would have given 5 stars if the host seated us at our table instead of just pointed to an empty table. Does he do that to everyone?

Went to Donatellos at around 4.15 and they told us to come back at 5pm as there would be 'plenty of tables' quoting the guy in the blue jumper. We went back at 5pm and he said sorry an hour wait?! If he was honest we could've saved time and gone somewhere else. Always rude staff.

We ate well, the dishes were good, the restaurant is nice and the prices affordable. Unfortunately the experience was ruined by the manager's disrespectful attitude. Although he agreed to receive us 45 minutes before our arrival, he rushed us to leave the premises, clearly showing his annoyance. He turned off the music, when we asked him for a second carafe of water, he brought us a carafe of water already started and lukewarm, picked up our still full glasses without asking our opinion, and when I asked to take out my pizza, he just impatiently handed me a box, leaving me to scramble to put it in. An unpleasant and unacceptable attitude in the catering industry.

Amazing friendly staff, delicious food, quick service, and the energy of the place was incredible

Ordered the lasagna which took over 30 mins to arrive, and when it did, it came burnt and didn’t taste good at all. When I asked the waiter about it he literally ignored me! Service was awful we had to wait for the waiter for so long and tried to grab his attention multiple times. Unfortunately disappointed as I had high expectations.

Had lunch there today.. Food was nice but the gentleman serving us was very abrupt when asking for our choices and never smiled once. He gave the impression that we were inconveniencing him. Even my young grandchildren commented on it. Bit of a shame really because it spoilt, what was a special occasion.

Doreen lyons I went to donatellos for my birthday with my family what a bad experience. The waiter did not seem to be interested in us waited ages for our meals could not beleive my starter of tomato mozzarella was given to me a ball of mozzarella on a plate with loads of cherry tomatoes cut in half

First time of visiting Donatello’s Supposed to be one of the best Italian in Brighton. There was 9 of us celebrating a birthday, Very disappointed service was terrible kept getting our orders wrong Drinks wrong My Pizza was cold and like cardboard, had to get my knife and fork from the empty table next to us as the pizza was just dumped in front of me and the waiter just walked off and left me sitting there, the rest of the party was also disappointed with there food and service. Out of 9 meals only one of us was satisfied and cleared there plate . I thought it must of been an off day but looking at the previous reviews over the last few months it seems they have more off days than good. Time for the management to get their act together I think

Disappointing, considering how it used to be. Less than average food, minimal service. Wouldn't go again.