Donatello's ️ Italian - Ampthill — Restaurant in England

After a previously average experience my friends and I decided to give Donatello’s another chance. Unfortunately it was the same, if not worse than last time.

I’d like to disclose that we did not feel comfortable informing the staff that we were unhappy with our meals at the time due to several reasons.

The whitebait starter didn’t have any sauce and sat on a small portion of plain cucumber and tomato salad, I also found a hair in mine. My partner and Is mains were alright, somewhat tasty, but nothing beyond home cooking standard. We also noticed that our main portions were small compared to dishes in other restaurants.

Our friends dishes unfortunately appeared to look like microwave meals, or as though not much effort had gone into them, lacking authenticity and freshness. All in all it didn’t feel as though our food was properly Italian.

We waited more than 20 minutes for our bill before my partner had to go up to the screen by the till to ask for it, as it was past 10pm at this point. The lady staff member replied that she was just bringing it over in a cold manner. The other waitress was friendly. The restaurant had no background music and was an uncomfortable and tense environment.

Unfortunately the lovely building and decor does not match up to the overall service and quality of food, so we will not...

Extremely disappointing experience and no response to complaint

We’ve been loyal customers of Donatello’s in Ampthill, but sadly won’t be returning after a frustrating and embarrassing experience.

Me and my husband had emailed and left voicemails following the visit, clearly explaining the issue and including all relevant documents (vouchers, receipt etc). Over a month later, we’ve had no reply. Not even an acknowledgment.

We were misinformed twice by staff about how Donatello’s vouchers could be used. On both occasions we followed instructions given to us by the team, including booking in advance, phoning ahead to check, and confirming again with our waitress on arrival.

Yet when the bill came (just under £120), we were told only one voucher could be used, despite no mention of this limit in advance or on the vouchers themselves.

This resulted in unexpected costs, unnecessary stress and a lot of embarrassment as my mother had to cover the bill last minute.

We’re STILL waiting for Donatello’s to take any responsibility or offer a fair resolution – whether that’s a refund of the £100 that should have been covered by the vouchers, or an alternative.

Really disappointed. We used to enjoy coming here, but it’s hard to trust a business that ignores genuine complaints and shows no interest in putting...

Top tip: Do not, under any circumstance, bring your Italian relatives here - to avoid leaving rather red-faced!! Based on a true story: Our Italian Grandma came to stay with us for a while - and began to miss her usual ‘Italian Flavours’ (I guess you can take the Italian out of Italy…..). Rather than Fratelli’s we decided to give Donatello’s a go - given its positive reviews. I don’t know if we just had sheer bad luck or karma for taking an Italian Nonna to an Italian restaurant in Britain, however, the food was in all honesty, among the worst we have ever experienced.

The Pizza was comparable to a ready-made-frozen supermarket Pizza; by no means stone baked. Likewise, the Calamari was like cardboard. The l Salad sauce was mayonnaise mixed with ketchup.

I do feel guilty for writing publicly such a damning review especially because the waitress was lovely… The food was just beyond repair to even make a suggestion/comment to her. I’m still trying to persuade my grandma that we can cook in Britain - our visit to Donatello’s just wasn’t the night for...