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Donato's, a new restaurant in O'Hara, is something of a quandary. Part Italian restaurant, part steakhouse, part clubhouse, it's certainly one of few restaurants in Pittsburgh where it's possible to see a server in a tuxedo waiting on one guest still dressed in her tennis whites before turning to another in a cocktail dress. Male guests almost exclusively wore polo shirts or wrinkled button-downs, depending on whether they'd gone home to change out of their suits or had simply left jacket and tie in the car.
Food:
Service:
Atmosphere:
Overall:
46 Fox Chapel Road,
O'Hara
www.donatosrestaurant.com
412-781-3700
- Hours: Lunch, Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Sat. noon-3 p.m.; dinner, Mon.-Thurs. 5-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m., Sun. 4-10 p.m.
- Basics: Chef Donato Coluccio unites Italian-American and steakhouse fare on this vast menu; attentive servers will go to any lengths to make regular customers happy or turn new customers into regulars.
- Recommended dishes: Stuffed banana peppers, Spanish octopus, steamed mussels, chopped heirloom salad, osso bucco, chicken milanese, grilled artichokes and asparagus, truffle macaroni.
- Prices: Appetizers, $3-$16; salads, $6-$11; pastas, $12-$17; entrees, $18-$37; sides, $7-$12; desserts, $5-$12.
- Drink: Cocktails from the list hover around $11-$13, with a few interesting concoctions; the medium-sized wine list emphasizes red wines, especially those from California, though there are sections of Italian reds and other varietals where international selections can be found. White wines are similarly distributed among Italian, California chardonnays, sauvignon blancs and white blends, and a section of international selections. Selections tend toward the expensive, but there are 17 bottles of red and 19 of white for $50 or less.
- Summary: Wheelchair accessible; credit cards accepted; reservations strongly encouraged; corkage, $15.
- Noise level: medium-loud to loud.
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Donato Coluccio, co-owner and executive chef, was previously the chef at the Capital Grille, Downtown, which helps explain the ease with which he fills the dining room, and the preponderance of steak and seafood on a menu already well supplied with appetizers, pastas and more Italian entrees.
The elegant space, designed by Jim Sullivan, Ashley Tesone and Betsy Deiseroth, speaks to Mr. Coluccio's high aspirations, while the lack of a dress code emphasizes a desire to please a well-understood customer base.
Red leather banquettes are a beautiful contrast to sedate walls papered in ivory-toned vertical stripes, linen-covered tables, drum-like lamps and expansive framed photos of Italian street scenes. The kitchen is open behind a glass wall -- all the better for Mr. Coluccio to spot customers who'd like a moment with the chef.
Personal touches abound. As servers introduce the menu, they emphasize that the kitchen will happily accommodate requests for substitutions or modifications.
On most nights, meals begin and end with a gift from the kitchen, such as a crispy square of lasagna noodle topped with a tomato-mozzarella salad before the meal and a miniature peanut butter cookie or a petite coffee muffin after it. Amuse bouche for people who want to eat in restaurants with amuse bouche, without actually having to eat the kind of things that usually are amuse bouche.
They are clever bites, tasty but unchallenging (for the kitchen or the customer). Fortunately, when it comes to the actual menu, Mr. Coluccio's culinary ambition at least occasionally trumps his desire to please. Among the fried mozzarella and zucchini and jumbo-shrimp cocktail lie hidden treasures, such as banana peppers filled with ahi tuna and cured olives, more delicate and interesting than the usual pork stuffing ($10). The rich oiliness of the fish and the olives was cut by the heat of the seared peppers, while a light tomato sauce and cloves of roasted garlic added a layer of sweetness.
An octopus salad mingles large slices of tender octopus with chunks of potato (a bit undercooked), and a few large, bright green, mild olives, all on a bed of radicchio leaves ($10). A flavorful citrus vinaigrette had a tendency to pool at the bottom of the bowl, so be sure to spoon it on top of the octopus ($10).
Skip the fennel, red oak and Belgian endive salad with its tasteless dressing and the only ordinary Caesar ($8, $6). Instead, go for the crunchy frisee with its adornment of salty pancetta chips and lively parmesan-peppercorn dressing ($6). The antipasto-like plate of roasted peppers and buffalo mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil and aged balsamic, is another delicious beginning ($11).
If the appetizer list is overwhelming, the entree options are downright dizzying. The absolute number of items isn't the issue so much as the superabundance of choices.
There's an assortment of pastas, which can be matched with a list of sauces. Veal or chicken can be prepared in a half-dozen ways, while diners can choose both the style of preparation and the accompanying sauces or garnishes for a lengthy list of house-cut meats and fish.
Most of the pastas were disappointing, which at least cuts down on choices. Gnocchi weren't leaden, but didn't quite approach light. Anchovies were listed as an ingredient in the marinara, but they were incorporated with such restraint there wasn't a hint of their lovely saline nature ($13).
Bucatini with broccoli raab and sausage was oily and starchy, the pasta overcooked, the sausage flavorless ($16).
Eggplant parmigiano (thankfully unaccompanied by pasta) looked quite tasty, with its thin blanket of cheese and bright red sauce ($17). Unfortunately, the eggplant had been sliced unevenly, so while some pieces were tender and almost creamy inside their bread-crumbed jackets, others were hard and bitter.
It was also difficult to eat, as it was served in its piping hot baking dish set onto another plate which didn't quite fit, so the baking dish had a tendency to shift with every bite. At more formal restaurants, this problem is usually solved by placing a folded napkin between the plates. It's possible that another server might have thought to do so. While all the servers were reasonably attentive and knowledgeable, some were more careful about the details than others.
Similarly, while most of the entrees I sampled were fine, some were exceptional. The osso bucco was beautifully correct; the rich meat practically melting off the bones, which were themselves filled with unctuous marrow ($32).
Chicken Milanese (also available with veal) was a wonderful combination of crunchy textures and bright flavors ($21). Chicken breast, lightly pounded until perfectly even, was coated in a thin layer of bread crumbs and pan-fried to an even brown. Alongside came a salad of lightly dressed, peppery arugula with halved cherry tomatoes and some julienned red onion.
Zuppa di Mare consisted of a seafood buffet's worth of cod, mussels, clams, scallops, squid and shrimp atop a pile of al dente linguine in a pleasant seafood and tomato broth ($32). Unfortunately the seafood was more impressive for its abundance than its flavor, except for the cod, which was moist and sweet.
Most entrees are a la carte, although they do include a cup of soup or small salad. Side dishes are somewhat expensive but they are large enough that only one or two are necessary for a table of four.
The truffle macaroni was an extreme exception to the other lackluster pastas, the thin, light sauce allowing the ample slices of truffle to perfume each bite. Order it as an entree or a side dish, but by all means order it ($12).
Both the cippolini onions and peas ($7) and the grilled artichoke and asparagus ($11) were tasty additions to a meal. The seasonal vegetables -- pulverized cauliflower and broccoli raab at the moment -- as well as the sauteed spinach and the cannellini beans were all a bit undersalted and overwhelmed by garlic.
Portions are generally ample, and the desserts aren't all that enticing. Tiramisu was unobjectionable, except for perhaps the price ($11). The panna cotta would be delicious were it about half as sweet as the current incarnation ($7); the cannoli would have been fantastic if the ricotta had been just a bit more sweet. Instead, survey the lengthy list of scotch, cognac, port and grappa, perfect for sipping and sitting a while longer in that lovely room, a place where many diners go to get exactly what they expect, but which still has a capacity to surprise.
Correction/Clarification: (Published September 10, 2010) Jim Sullivan, Ashley Tesone and Betsy Deiseroth designed the interior of Donato's Restaurant in O'Hara. Bill Kolano designed the restaurant's graphics and exterior signs. A restaurant review yesterday incorrectly identified the designer.
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