Dontino's La Vita Gardens — Restaurant in Akron

Visited as somewhat "out of towners" over the weekend (On a Saturday mid - to - late afternoon) and we were so hopeful that our experience would have been amazing, knowing the history and longevity of the place. We always prefer family-owned restaurants over a chain, especially when we're in a town we aren't normally a visitor of. Should have read some of the reviews before we stopped in. We were looking for a place with each of our favorite dishes, and we found Dontino's in a search for local Italian restaurants. Our favorites being veal parm and linguine w/ white clam sauce.

Stay away from their veal parm (unless they decide to up the quality of the veal they're purchasing and/or figure out how to make this properly). The veal was rubbery, difficult to cut and chew, looked absolutely "grey" and horrible. little / no breading - just sauce that really didn't taste much differently than Ragu from a jar :( So brought it to the attention of our server, she sent it back to have it remade and honestly the only difference w/ the redo was it was a thinner slice. Same rubbery texture, same taste and disappointment.

Spaghetti w/ white clam sauce was disappointing because they add tomatoes to it. Server said: "that's the way they make it here", lots of red in a white clam sauce, if you're hoping for a true white clam sauce w/ lots of garlic and flavor you'll be disappointed.

We didn't take home the leftover veal, had only taken a bite or two. You think the server would have taken that item off the bill, or given a discount off that dish or something. We did tell her the redo wasn't much better. Our server was friendly but not an advocate for her customers re: communicating with the kitchen or management.

The salads were fresh tasting, lots of shredded mozz cheese. The homemade pasta seemed pretty good. They should really showcase that and focus on improving their sauces. Good wine selection and the bordeaux we chose was good enough (they sell pricey bottles, but you can also choose from a pretty fair selection of house wines sold by the glass, half-carafe or full-carafe, all at two general price-points). They also have prosecco on tap. Didn't try that, but cool idea. We'd gone in intending to get a couple of cannoli for dessert too but changed our minds due to the disappointing meals we had for dinner there.

On a mid-Saturday afternoon, the place was almost empty. Maybe evening gets a bit busier. Hopefully for their sake it does. Knowing the competition they have (especially with downtown Cuy. Falls not too far away), places like Dontino's really need to step it up and I hope they can stay in business and focus on the things they are great at and get rid of the dishes they're failing at.

It almost feels like many restaurants as of late (especially post-covid, which was hard on a lot of places) have just given up or stopped caring. Hopefully things turn around for these restaurants. I bet Dontino's was a gem...

My companion and I visited Dontino's based on a recommendation. We made reservations just incase they have limited seating due to Covid. We arrived at 4:30pm on a Friday and were the first people in the parking lot behind the resturant. We entered through the front handicapped entrance. We walked by a very nice bar area & were promptly seated. I must point out that the staff take the social distancing, sanitizing, and mask wearing seriously. The menu has all of the normal Italian dishes and a nice selection of deserts. I ordered eggplant Parmigiano with a side of homemade pasta. I also ordered a side of mild Italian sausage that they make inhouse. They offer hot or mild sausage that are in patties. My companion ordered the eggplant as well but with a side of meatballs. The dinner entrees are served with fresh Italian bread and a house salad. The salad has a mix of lettuce and has a slice of tomato and a few beet slices. The main entrees arrived hot and fresh. The eggplant was cut thin, breaded, and fried perfectly. The homemade pasta was made al dente. It was cooked perfectly. The sauce was thick with a tasty combination of tomato and garlic. The Italian Sausage patties (2) were served with a side of sauce and were very good. The meatballs were large and tasted phenomenal! Because we like the dinner so much we ordered a pizza to go. We also ordered a piece of tiramisu and two cannoli's to go. The tiramisu was very good. My companion said the cannoli's are as good as her mom used to make. High praise indeed! While that was our first visit it won't be our last. I already know what I am ordering next time. A plate full of homemade pasta with meatballs. Why stray when you have found something that tastes so good? Obviously, I highly recommend Dontino's. I only wish I had known about this resturant sooner. As we were leaving we noticed the available tables were mostly full and the parking lot was as well. Since this was at 5:30 I recommend making reservations on the...

Stopped in late in the evening last weekend, as the options at the Italian-American Festival were less than alluring. Promptly seated and greeted at the table, the server was more than accommodating while we looked through the menu. Ordered an appetizer sampler, eggplant parmesan and a pizza. The app arrived hot and freshly prepared, with good sauerkraut balls, breaded veggies and boxed mozzarella sticks, and the iceberg salad with beets and house dressing was tasty. Eggplant parm looked a little dark, like the eggplant needed a second coating of breading to protect the color of the veg, but taste was not dramatically affected. Pasta was topped with their classic sauce, which is sweeter and light on the acids found in canned sauces. I'm not sure how to perceive the pizza, as the crust came out a little tough around the edges, kind of a pastry-style crust instead of the hi-rising dough of mainstream pizza shops. Pizza taste was pleasant, with the cheese on top of the toppings, sealing the flavors underneath. Even at the late time of our arrival, there were more than 50 people inside the restaurant closing out their evenings. Diner note: when arriving, there is a parking lot at the rear of the building that leads to the main entrance. Street parking is available in the front. Daily specials are available - Ask...