1 /5 Amie Applebee: We visited D’Amato’s Restaurant on Saturday, January 3rd at 7:00 PM, and unfortunately the experience was largely disappointing.
Our waitress, Yvette, was the highlight of the evening. She was kind, attentive, and professional throughout the meal. Sadly, her service was the only truly positive part of our visit.
For my entrée, I ordered the gnocchi with Palameno sauce. The gnocchi itself tasted fresh and was well made; however, the sauce was overwhelmingly garlicky—so much so that it nearly made my eyes water. There was no real depth of flavor beyond the garlic, which made the dish unbalanced and unpleasant.
My husband ordered the homemade ravioli stuffed with portobello mushrooms, which was genuinely good and the best dish we had that night. That said, both entrées arrived completely on their own—no sides, no garnish, and not even freshly shaved or grated parmesan offered at the table.
We were surprised to learn that everything was à la carte, yet this was not clearly outlined anywhere. Even basic side salads cost $6 for very small portions, and the entrée portions themselves were quite small for the price.
We also ordered the $8 bread board, which was honestly baffling. The bread was cold instead of warm and served with low-quality oil, vinegar, and very subpar parmesan (comparable to grocery-store brand), all placed in tiny separate cups with no herbs, seasoning, or explanation. It wasn’t mixed or presented in a way that made sense—frankly, we weren’t sure what we were supposed to do with it.
The calamari appetizer tasted good, but the portion was so small it wasn’t shareable, which defeats the purpose of an appetizer.
The drinks were awful. My husband’s soda tasted flat, and we wondered if the soda gun was dirty. There was virtually no liquor in either cocktail—mine tasted watered down and unpleasant, almost like river water. To make matters worse, the limes were dry and visibly brown.
Overall, the entire experience was a 3 out of 10, and that rating is solely due to the excellent service provided by our waitress, Yvette. Unfortunately, between the underwhelming food, confusing and poorly communicated Ă la carte pricing, very small portions, subpar drinks, and lack of value for the cost, this restaurant did not meet even basic expectations.
We will not be returning and cannot recommend D’Amato’s to others s this restaurant’s food was NOT elevated. For the prices charged, fine-dining restaurants should expect far better quality, execution, and overall dining experience. I have no idea how they stayed in business for over 28 years.
